Re: reception

[MCARROLL@grog.ric.edu]

Hi Jeanne,

You had to go and bring up sticky (sometimes literally) stuff like who bakes
the pastry. I hate it when you go practical on us! Actually, it's pretty much down to a science after 5 years. We have baked pastry only on Tuesdays (same
for fresh-brewed coffee). The muffins come from a wholesale club (Sam's), the bagels come from a local
bagel meister, and the two loaves, two dozen brownies, and one coffee cake
are baked by me and a very good friend who can never be repaid. We end up
making the junk only twice a semester and freezing it.

For the rest of the week, we sell only packaged snacks (these are on sale
on Tuesdays as well). I make a run to the wholesaler's about every two weeks during the fall and spring semesters (I take the summer off). The tutors and
clerical staff do all of the unloading and care of sales, set up, and
clean up. In the beginning, the staff also took turns baking, but we 
found that there are quite a few problems with that arrangement. Some students
had even busier schedules than mine, some had unreliable stoves, some were just lousy cooks.....

Yup, it's a bit of work, but it's now a regular part of my schedule. The
good news is that the tutors have attended and presented at about a dozen
conferences in the last five years, and the administration has supported
us with extra funds (such as airfare) when we've needed it - I think
it's because they know we work hard to pay our own way.

Meg
mcarroll@grog.ric.edu