PIC OF THE DAY - GREAT GENERAL LEE REPLICA SEEN AT OUTLET MALL

PIC OF THE DAY

THOSE CRAZY DAYS AT CHI CHI'S

The year 1986- my first job after high school was at Chi Chi’s restaurant on Regent. I started off as a dishwasher but after a month worked my way up to cold food preparation/line cook/receiver/jack of all trades.  Food wars in the kitchen were common; you always had to watch your back in case a tomato or guacamole was fired at your head. My best wars were with my buddy Brian. It started off tame but quickly escalated to painful. He first upped the ante with a raw hamburger patty. I was crouching down getting something out of the oven when he came out of nowhere and slapped that raw patty with all his force – square in the middle of my back. Every square inch of that patty hit me. They probably heard the smack in the dining room. All I could do was fall to the ground and writhe in pain. That is still the most pain I have ever been in.  The next day I went into the fridge- took out five or so lemons- squeezed a cupful of juice out of them. I then walked to the back area where Brian was doing inventory. I was pretending to drink my juice (he didn’t know what it was) while talking to him.  I said “Boy, that freakin hurt yesterday, I wonder if this will feel the same” – He said “WHAT?” I then threw the cup of juice right in his face. Let me tell you folks lemon juice burns. He was screaming, laughing, and choking all at the same time. He ran to the bathroom to rinse his face and eyes out. When he finally came out of the can he looked like he hadn’t slept in three years. His eyes were red like fire- could barely open them. He laughed and said “GOOD ONE – WAIT TILL TOMORROW”.  I laughed but I was really scared.  We were really good friends (I was in his wedding party) and it was 100% all in fun- but it this was getting dangerous. I thought to myself “I’m going to end up in the hospital tomorrow”.  The next day I came to work looking around every corner, behind me, above me, everywhere. Half way through work I was in the middle of the kitchen making salsa when I heard a scream “BONZAAI”.   I turn around to see Brian rounding the corner with some kind of giant orange ball. (I later found out it was a giant cheese ball that was soaked in water and frozen in the freezer). I saw him pull his arm back like a baseball pitcher- I dived for cover. He was so in THE ZONE of kill he didn’t see he was standing under the metal canopy over the stove. His arm came over to throw the ball of death but it was stopped as he slammed his hand into the canopy full force. This time his scream was in pain. As it turns out he was the one who had to go to the hospital. He had a badly sprained wrist, a broken finger, and four fingernails which turned black and eventually fell off. He called me later that night and we agreed to a truce. When he came back to work a few days later we both made our own giant cheeseball of death- took some decorative plates from the dining room wall, lined them up on the fence and let the cheeseballs fly.

Other notable events - A kitchen manager stabbed a mouse on the floor with a fork in the dining room before customers saw it.

We used to get ground beef in packages, open them and dump them in a big tote container- then put it in the fridge. A tub was misplaced and left in the back room; other boxes got piled on top of it. A month later I’m cleaning the storeroom when I find this tub, I open it not knowing what’s inside. I immediately get smacked in the face with a stench that almost floors me. It was a hundred pounds of oozing blue green brown slimy soup of rotten meat.   I’m sure it moved. I had a flashback of “THE FRUIT” (SEE EARLIER BLOG) and thought it had finally found me. That was scary.

Word got around Chi Chi’s that Darcy (the 6 foot 3 line cook) saw a rat outside by the dumpster that was as big as a cat- and he majorly freaked out and wouldn’t take the garbage out anymore. I took this opportunity to go to the store and buy a big fake rubber rat which I put in the store room on a shelf behind a box.  I ask Darcy to get me a box of canned tomatoes.  He goes to the storeroom with me following him closely behind. He grabs the box but doesn’t see the rat- so I say “what’s that” and point to it. He turns- sees it- starts screaming like a girl- knocks me down and tramples me in his mad terrified frenzy to escape. I hurt my elbow but it was well worth it. On a side note - about 5 years later when I worked at Club Regent I myself saw a rat that was as big if not bigger than a cat.

QUICK MOVIE REVIEWS

CASE 39       - Movie was not bad, a little predictable but ok to watch.
AVATAR      - Did not enjoy this over long cartoon at all. 2 hours too long.
QUARANTINE 2   - This was actually a very good zombie flick, great action decent story
X-MEN- FIRST CLASS  -  I am not a big fan of the x-men pics. This is the best one. I really enjoyed it.
TRUE GRIT (remake)  -  Not very exciting, very slow (i fell asleep once) and worst of all no John Wayne.  

VIDEO OF THE DAY- KATE PERRY SPOOF(LAST FRIDAY 13 NIGHT) courtesey of VBROCKLADYV

PIC OF THE DAY - WHO COULD HAVE DONE THIS

PIC OF THE DAY - DOES IT NEED ANY EXPLANATION

PIC OF THE DAY- EVIL BERT

"THE FRUIT"

The year was 1981 – grade 7. An experiment was started.  What would my ham sandwich look like if I put it in a margarine container and kept it in my locker at school for a week?

Well after a week it was of course mouldy and smelly – it also shrunk a little bit. It was decided to add leftover lunch items as space became available. After 8 months “THE FRUIT” as it was affectionately called built up an excess of gas and exploded in my locker. That was a nasty clean-up. It was given a proper burial in the schools backfield. It was then decided that the experiment must continue. I got a giant glass mason jar (jam jar) with a metal lid and rubber seal – this was a big ass jar – it would hold the beast. The process started again. The experiment would last until 1986- 5 years.  Slowly bits of every type of food were added the first couple of years, along with other objects which included- Plastic army men, hot wheels cars, quarters, nickels, dimes, dead insects etc. These were added to see if they would be “eaten” by “THE FRUIT”.

“THE FRUIT” was kept in my garage in-between school years – but was always brought back to my locker the first day of school. After the first couple of years the jar was filled to capacity and turned into a semi-liquid every color in the rainbow jar of goo. Some things disappeared in it others like the hot wheels car remained visible. Masks and gloves were to be worn at all times if the jar was opened for fear of gas fumes, burns to flesh and possible experiment escape. (it moved inside that jar like it was alive- I’m not joking) The girls with the locker beside mine were afraid of it, but respected its power. I assured them it was under control. One day when I was walking down the hallway to science class I saw a quick flash of something small running down the hallway. I thought “HOLY SHIT ITS LOOSE”. Then I saw it was a chicken someone had let free in the hallway as a prank. I breathed a sigh of relief. Grade 12 came to an end – I brought “THE FRUIT” home.   Dale, Hugh and I opened the fruit one last time and dared each other to take a whiff. We tried to light it on fire to see if it had become flammable -lit a match to it (no dice).  We put the lid back on and gave it a proper burial in my back yard. One day it’s going to break free and go on a rampage looking for its creator / or / explode and take out a few city blocks. I am glad I moved out of the neighbourhood. Hugh still lives in the same house- it will find him first and devour him-giving me some warning and time to get the hell out of town.

ORIGINAL "THE FRUIT"

CLASSIC VIDEO- "BD-THE MOVIE"

CLASSIC COMMERCIAL FROM 1984- CAMERON HILL FURNITURE CO-OP