Spring 2000
Working in Heck's Kitchen: The Double Life of Dennis Geib
Working with children can be quite a challenge! They can be very demanding. But at least they are cute, and (usually) nice to you . . . try feeding a hotel full of hungry people! That's my other job; for when I am not at Sanchez or home with kittycat, I am . . . "the room service guy."
Last year, I was barely able to feed and clothe myself with my full-time AmeriCorps member stipend. But then I took on a new, constantly hungry family member. Vladimir (my cat) demands only the best, so I work both at Sanchez (Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday) and at the Doubletree Hotel on 15th Street (Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday). I wait tables in the hotel's restaurant and deliver room service.
The "hospitality industry" is a difficult one to work in, I have discovered. Many people are very particular about what they eat. And it is my job to make sure they get what they want. It's a heavy responsibility, to be sure . . . but that's what I do. Mi trabajo en el hotel hay veces facil y hay veces dificil. Pero yo puedo practicar mi espaˆ±ol con los empleados. Mucho de los empleados son de Mexico; me ensenan muchas palabras nuevas. Yo me gusta español mucho!
So working at both places has been good for many reasons: Kitty is happy, I make enough money to save some every month (graduate school no es barato), and all my bills get paid on time.
*Mr. Geib works in Ms. Stanford's 1st grade and Mrs. Krebs' 3rd grade classrooms.