Well… it has certainly been an eventful week over here at T.I….
Storms…Program shifting events… eye opening “revelations” from these events… lessons learned along the way.
Man… let me start from the beginning.
As most of you likely saw on the news last weekend… Hurricane Hilary was heading right for LA. Now this type of event in any other circumstance would cause some level of concern… wanting to make sure that you and the family are prepared… the house is in order… everyone is safe and hunkered down. But… in here… it is a bit different. I obviously wanted everyone to be safe outside these walls but I would be lying if I said that there wasn’t a level of excitement percolating in here with all of the guys. I think it is just a “new event”… something that takes us out of the normal swing of things and adds a level of excitement to life. We were day dreaming about winds swaying the ships back and forth across the water… torrential downpour rains… wind gusts blowing the palms trees across the yard… basically re-imagining the T.I. version of the film “Twister”. And we weren’t alone in this… the powers that be closed the yard down all day on Sunday… Commissary and Laundry were cancelled on Monday in preparation for possible flooding and clean up after the storm… I mean… T.I was ready for Hilary. Well… Hilary didn’t even bother with T.I… at the end of the day… we got some moderate rain and enough wind to cool down the units a bit… and that was that. But reality is… that is a good thing… no damage done… no issues… keep it movin’.
Monday and Tuesday afternoon flowed normally… went to work and all ran smoothly. Then… come Tuesday evening… I started hearing some rumblings through “Inmate Dot Com” aka the prison rumor mill that the lead chef in the OM has been informed that he is to report to R&D (receiving and delivery… this is where all inmates go when they arrive at T.I. and then where they go to process out on the other side) at 6am Wednesday morning. I was just with him less than 2 hours ago and we were discussing the menu for Wednesday and if we were going to make potato wedges or just normal fries with the burgers. Now he is heading to R&D tomorrow and possibly leaving?!?! Okay – I need to get to the bottom of this. I wait for the “Call Out” sheet to get posted around 6pm and there is his name… scheduled to report to R&D tomorrow at 6am…
I toss and turn all night thinking about what this is going to mean for me… if in fact he is actually leaving… I “wake up” at 3:35am and get ready to head into work. As I turn the corner between the breeze way and the North yard… I immediately see him standing in the middle of the yard and hear him say… “Zach… I’m out man. I got informed last night to pack my belongings and they are shipping me out.” Wow. It is real. We say our goodbyes… I thank him for everything that he has taught me thus far and off he goes. And just like that… I am the number 1 chef of the OM…
From now on… I will be preparing the menu every week… working with the warehouse to put in the orders for everything that I need to prepare the meals… track inventory to make sure the OM is properly stocked… work with the baker for any baked goods that we may need for the week/s ahead (until I learn to bake them myself)… and oh yeah… cook all the meals! I am extremely excited and feel ready to take on my new role… but I also acknowledge that in order to do my job well… put out incredible dishes and continue to learn and grow… I will need to work with the baker and learn the skills to create incredible sweet and savory dishes… work with the compound cooks to fill in the inevitable gaps that I have while cooking the main dishes and slowly but surely… earn the title of Top Chef T.I. 😉
The week has reminded me that nothing is for certain behind these walls… that I must always be conscious of this fact and not get so set in my ways that a change completely throws me off balance… because at some point… to some degree… change is inevitable (both in here and in the real world). The week has taught me that we are all just a “number” when we wear the khaki suit… the guy that was #1 had been the top chef in here for 3+ years… seemingly a necessary staple in the kitchen in order for it run properly… and guess what… Wednesday morning comes around with him no longer here… and everything went off without a hiccup. This isn’t to say that he (or any of us) weren’t/aren’t appreciated… needed… useful or the like… but at the end of the day… the sun keeps rising and setting and the clock keeps ticking. I think this is a strong lesson that I will keep with me on the other side of this journey as well… we are all important in our own unique way but the big picture is always more vital than our individual piece of the puzzle and how all of our individual pieces fit together that “finishes” the puzzle is the real key.
So… I will take these lessons… and these experiences from this past week… wake up at 3:35am tomorrow morning… head into the kitchen and start prepping for the week ahead. On the menu this week in “Chef Hollywood’s” kitchen will be Chicken Florentine, Chicken and Pork Pineapple Fried Rice, Loco Moco, Fried Chicken and Waffles and Pulled Pork Sandwiches… sides to be decided the day prior. Wish me luck!
Stay Healthy. Stay Active. Stay Prepared so you don’t have to get prepared.