Employee meals and how they all suck

Let's talk about a little thing called lunch. It's fairly important to eat I would say, but your employer doesn't have to feed you. I never cared that I lived on fast food and ramen. I was in college when I started working at Travelodge, so to me the 2 free pizzas from Papa John's was absolutely fucking awesome! It was the first perk I ever had. It was a welcome one too. I was practically starving what with my cigarette and alcohol needs.

Once I went to the morning shift I started eating the leftover Krispy Kremes. Let me tell you, they didn't have them up North at this point. I never in my life thought I would like any doughnut that wasn't Dunkin Donuts. I was wrong.
But I'm not a pig and when I left I was OK without my free pizza and doughnuts. It was nice while it lasted.

Small version of a huge hotel hotel chain

I worked a short stint at this property and not a whole lot of memorable things happened except I'll never forget my first "walk" in which I made a lady cry. We'll talk about walking later, folks. It sucks monkey's ass if it happens to the wrong person.

Anyway, I needed a job because I had walked out on Traveldoge, literally walked out on my shift which is the first and last time that will ever happened, but that is another story for another day.

My best option for work was to stick with what experience I had, I reasoned. I'd be graduating shortly anyway so why not just do it for a few more months? Little did I know that 7 years later...

It was a thousand times nicer than the other place. It was semi-new, had a partial kitchen, a bellman. It was like a real hotel. Besides the usual front desk stuff, part of my duties were to keep a bowl filled with apples and to bake cookies for the guests. (I do NOT bake), but you know, do what you gotta do.
The best part was that partial kitchen. Free Mountain Dew (and cookies)!!! I had to pay for my lunch, but if I was broke as a joke an apple and a Mountain Dew would suffice.
Soon I moved back home to home cooked meals and a fully stocked refridgerator and pantry.

Comfort Inn in a suburban setting

This place did have a kitchen but it was not meant for the hotel. It was meant for the huge banquet hall. Room service food came from the restaurant that was across the driveway, and it was owned by the sister of the Greek owner of the hotel. Not to say anything bad about the Greeks or the Indians or any race but simply when you work for a family-owned hotel, they do not exactly pay well or give many benefits to the employees. I made less as a supervisor than I did at the hotel before that. I understand why, but well. Let's just squash this part of the post before I say something stupid.

The good thing about this place is they had us set up a huge continental breakfast with everything that could be nuked or toasted. Fresh fruit, frozen waffles, yogurt, danishes, that kind of thing. You could always find something to nibble on. And coffee all day long!

Current property in urban setting

When I heard we had an employee meal program I almost shit myself. They're going to feed me? Everyday? And I have a choice? What started awesome almost 5 years ago has become one of the things I am sick of most.

We don't have a kitchen either (which I learned was odd for a hotel of our caliber.) There is a place for prepping for room service orders in which the food comes from a restaurant we don't own. We are strictly forbidden from grabbing drinks or anything like that. The option for lunch was a little voucher for a small store downstairs that we could get a sandwich and chips or we could use it as $3 worth whatever we wanted to buy. I was known for creating little gourmet meals out of my $3. You'd be surprised what you can do with Lean Cuisines, string cheese, and yogurt.

The other option (which became the only option after a few years) was White Hen. (Oh and it was 2.5 blocks away. This city isn't known for its weather.) We could get sandwiches, salads, soup/chili, soda, chips (not all at once). Here's the thing: you have to like sandwiches. I am not a big fan, hence my Lean Cuisines. But then White Hen started doing pizza! Whoo! We were all a twitter.

Until I got food poisoning.

I have never had it before, and it wasn't that bad I guess, but the only reason I could think of for suddenly getting so sick was from that damn pizza. Shit! Now what was I going to eat?

Today I am saving money. My colleague went to White Hen. My list went something like this:
Chkn soup or chili (if they don't have either then plain chips and a Mountain Dew.)
Turkey sandwich with tomatoes, lettuce, cucumber on white.
Hold the salmonella.