What the hell to do for GSL or how I learned to stop worrying and love to cook by Charles Isbell with appropriate thanks to Tao Alter Revised by Mark Foltz 2/99 with a couple of things added by Christine Alvarado 9/99 tweaked again by Todd Atkins 10/2001 The Short List of Instructions: - send mail to the gsl list Thursday - send mail again on Friday - cook some food (remember the veggies) - don't spend too much money - reset the 8th floor playroom - go after Agnes Chow for your refund - read all of the directions below ================ GSL Instructions ================ By this Thursday, one of you should send a note to the gsl mailing list (gsl@ai.mit.edu) reminding the body that you will be doing GSL. At a bare minimum, you should mention the kind of food you will be serving everyone (like pasta or wings or whatever), where said food will be served (almost always the 8th floor playroom), when said food will be served (no earlier than 12:10pm and almost certainly no later than 12:30pm), and who all of you are. Late Friday morning, you should send the message again. If you wish to convey this information in a fanciful and entertaining manner, more power to you; however, we understand that not everyone can be as twisted as Carl De Marcken(tm) or Oded Maron(tm) (of course if you *are* Carl De Marcken or Oded Maron and you're reading this, then you are exactly that twisted). No one will hold this against you. All the basic information you need to do gsl is included below. Beyond that, happily work out the details between yourselves. If you have any questions, email me at calvarad@ai. GENERAL GUIDELINES ------------------ For lunch, the expectation is that you will make some spectacular dish. For recipe ideas, the AI Lab Working Paper 323 ``The GSL Cookbook'' has recipes that scale well to 90 people. The Czar has one extant paper copy; the other was stolen from a monestary in Switzerland in 1993. Or, ask around for cookbooks or recipes, or ask those who have cooked GSL before. Use your imagination, but remember that your masterpiece will be shared with the masses. If you're driving, you can get a temporary parking pass from Annie Lawthers in room 929. Pick this up Thursday afternoon or Friday morning. MIT doesn't have to pay sales or restaurant taxes, so make sure to use the tax exempt number 042-103-594 (the Lab isn't allowed to reimburse you for these taxes). Debbie Deng (at or near room 930) or the Czar can give you a photocopy of the permit/form that you will bring to show when you spend out-of-pocket so that tax will not be charged. Debbie Deng will process your reimbursement (that will take about a week and a half) and with whom you should discuss any other reimbursement details. GSL requires some effort to do, so there should be at least three of you if you're going to cook. Four is more than reasonable but somewhere after that we start to hear rumblings from the crowd, so try to keep the number of participants between three to five. Of course, if you're going to need more bodies in order to do something absolutely spectacular, by all means get more folks. Feel free to discuss this with me. CLEANUP ------- ***Remember to bring a large black garbage bag for the gsl eaters' plates so that you do not overflow the 8th floor playroom's garbage can.*** You should clean up when the gsl is over. A good rule of thumb is to leave the room the way that you found it. This means resetting the eighth floor playroom to a socializing area. The large table should be put back on the right-hand side of the room, and the red chairs should be arranged around it. The colored chairs should be left in two or three rows facing the blackboard. Ask me if you need details on how to reset the playroom. MONEY ----- The MAXIMUM you can spend is $240. It is expected that ~$230 of that is food and ~$10 is paper plates, napkins, forks and so on (cups, we already have SO DON'T BUY THEM). You should lay out the money and get reimbursed from the aforementioned Debbie Deng. Be sure to save any receipts and return them. Please give your receipts to Debbie Deng no later than a week after gsl. The Powers That Be are annoyed to get requests for reimbirsements six months after the fact and may sneer at you. It also makes Debbie Deng's life easier. BTW, the AI Lab has an open account with the LaVerde's Star Market in the student center. You can get the blanket P.O. number from Debbie Deng. When placing orders/purchasing food, you need to let them know that you are affiliated with the AI Lab and give them the Purchase Order number. You can place orders over the phone and have the food delivered (there may be a $5.00 delivery charge). LaVerde's will then bill the Lab directly. Please remember that you need to bring Debbie Deng the *signed* copy of the food receipt. SHOPPING -------- You should probably shop at the grocery store of your choice. Star Market frequently provides home delivery if you lack a car. QUANTITY -------- Food: You're trying to feed 80-100 persons (that translates into 26 large pizzas). It's okay to make too much, but it's pretty embarrassing to make too little. Ask others who have done this for advice. Oh, and remember that some of those 80-100 persons are vegetarians. And vegetarian-acceptable food is a proper subset of all food, so more veggies are always safe. Drinks: You need 10-12 half gallons of beverages, which can be soda, juice and/or milk. For some meals various juices are more appropriate than sodas. Dessert: That's a very nice touch. Ice cream sandwiches, fruit and the like are welcome. Paper Plates, Napkins: Provide about 100 - 125 of each. ACCESSORIES: Paper Plates, Napkins, Serving Utensils ----------- First, there may be enough napkins in the 8th floor playroom, by the coffee and tea. You will always find cups there. For plates and forks, check the gsl closet (see below). If there's not enough you have to buy more. If you then have leftovers, leave them in the closet. Also don't forget about the large garbage bag. Remember: The price of supplies is included in the $240. Don't forget serving utensils. You should find some in the GSL closet. Otherwise, check with the Czar. THE GSL CLOSET AND FRIG ----------------------- There is a GSL closet on the seventh floor across from 749. In it you will usually find spices, pasta, pots, pans, napkins, potholders, plates and forks. You should check it out before going on a massive shopping spree. When you're done with GSL, any leftovers that can live in the GSL closet enviornment should be put there. Other leftovers should probably be split among you and your friends and perhaps left for GSB. Speaking of GSB, there is a GSB/GSL refrigerator in the machine room on the 7th floor (that's room 720). It is chock full of GSB beverages, though, so nothing should be stored there unless for too long (perhaps just between GSL and that day's GSB) and then only in small amounts. The same goes for the 8th floor fridge and freezer, which is another good place to store temporary GSL supplies. You will also find pots in the 3rd floor kitchen. They graciously allow us to use those pots and their stove; however, this requires an immediate cleanup and return of said pots. When you need to store drinks, ice cream and other perishables just before GSL, the 3rd floor refrigerator is a good place to try first. Again, this is only to be used for a short period of time. THAT IS IT ---------- Go cook, you crazy kids.