One of the joys of my work day, no matter where I worked, is lunch. A break in the day to re-fuel and get something delicious to satisfy the body and the soul. I no longer get to have this joy at work anymore.
I have endured almost a year of just terrible meals from the cafeteria. Today’s lunch pretty much captured what is now a typical meal at EA Vancouver. Lunch was a breaded pork chop, with rotini pasta in tomato sauce, and a side green salad. The side salad was the most palatable thing on my plate. The pork chop was dry as a bone and as tough shoe leather. I had two bites of it before deciding I didn’t want to expend more energy trying to chew that what I’d get from eating it. The pasta was this goopy mess with the consistency of glue. It had been cooked too long or sitting too long and got soft. It was like eating a pile of mush. Like I mentioned, the salad was the best thing about my meal and it was just a few pieces of lettuce, spinach, and other small chopped up vegetables.
I now dread going to lunch because I’m faced with trying to find me a meal that will disappoint me the least. It’s all about managing low expectations now, not trying to find something tasty to eat. It’s amazing how low the bar is now. We’re a billion dollar company and we can’t even feed people properly at lunch.