one run down

Yesterday I finished my first official run on the train. I traveled northbound on Wednesday to Fairbanks, stayed over night, then came southbound back to Anchorage. This will be a typical run for me, and I'll do this a couple of times a week. The craziest part about these past two days was the number of hours I worked - in 2 days I was on the clock for almost 31 hours!

We weren't working nonstop for that entire time, but we were definitely working hard. On Wed. morning I had to do a thorough inventory of the kitchen I was working in (along with one other cook) and then begin prepping for breakfast. Our kitchen was serving two dining rooms, so our breakfast service was pretty long and as soon as it was over we went right into lunch prep and service. Then in the afternoon, we jumped right into dinner and served that - so Wed. I was on my feet the majority of the day.

Thursday was a lot easier, however, because one of the cars that our kitchen was serving didn't have any passengers for the southbound leg. At the end of our two days, though, we did have to thoroughly clean and organize our kitchen so that it was ready for the next run.

In many ways the work I did these past two days was very similar to the work I did at the Soda Shop - it's fast paced, a pretty small working area, there needs to be fast turnover of tables, etc. - basically the qualities of the majority of restaurant kitchens. The main difference was simply the fact that we were on a moving train car. It takes an hour or so to get adjusted to the bouncing and rocking back and forth of the train. By the end of yesterday I was pretty used to it, your legs start to naturally compensate for the movement. One downside is that this compensation really works your ankles, legs, and back - so I'm pretty sore today, but I'm sure I will get used to the physical demands of the job.

Obviously, another big part of being on this moving train (in Alaska) is looking out and seeing the passing scenery. Our kitchen had a tiny little window that we could peek out of here and there, but yesterday I did have some down time and was able to go out into a dining room and watch outside. Even though the hours were long and the work was hard, I just had to glance out and tell myself that i am working in one of the most beautiful states in the county. Unfortunately I don't have anymore pictures right now, but I'll try to get some more soon.

My next run is on Sunday, and then I'll have two days off again, and go back for another run on Thursday. So, as of now, I'm working two days on, two days off - but later in the summer as business picks up, I'm expecting to be two on, one off. It's nice to have a couple of days off to recuperate/reboot a bit, but right now I'm off to get some things done here in Anchorage and maybe even do some hiking outside of town.