"It is in the compelling zest of high adventure and of victory, and in creative action, that man finds his supreme joys."
~Antione De Saint-Exupery
Who likes exciting news? Everybody?!
Exciting news everybody! They emailed me back last weekend! I got to stage again for the place I worked at two weeks ago and they offered me a job! I'm so excited I can't stop smiling! Or dancing! I'm so happy that I get to go back and play and learn in that kitchen for a while! WOO HOO!
My weekend wasn't shaping up quite like I had hoped it would. My plans to go to Indiana and see the Magnificent Ms. Fox didn't work out because the train schedule and my school schedule just wouldn't pan out, at least not for this weekend. I was starting to feel a little bummed as a result of this unfortunate information and then BAM! awesomeness! The way the events unfolded was really amusing too. After I wrote a thank you email to the Executive Chef for the opportunity to work in his kitchen I realized that I really should thank the man who put my name in the Chef's hat in the first place, so I wrote him an email as well. The result was a back and forth correspondence of what staging was and the such. This friend of the family asked me if a stage was all I was looking for out of it so I wrote back that I would have loved to work there but I hadn't heard back and maybe I wasn't at the right level, or just right for, or all the hundreds of 'nice' ways to say that they didn't want me while trying to not be a disappointed baby about the whole thing. As soon as I hit the 'send' button I look at my inbox and BAM email from the Executive Chef telling me that they'd like me back and if I could come back Tuesday (yesterday). I just about combusted with joy. There was ridiculous dance moves nonstop smiles. I start today which means this gets to be a short post but I'll post more when I can on the matter!
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Tulips With Which to Taste
Apparently there is just something about tulips, or maybe just flowers in general, that make it impossible to escape them in the world of the arts. This, to my great surprise, includes the culinary arts as well. Now, when I say tulip I don't actually mean the flower, just the flower motif. In class yesterday I learned that a tulip is a kind of cut of poultry (it may apply to other meats, too, but right now it is just poultry). It is essentially a drumstick but with the bone cleaned. It looks like this:
Neat, huh. Not quite the sophisticated style of the impressionists, but they had paint brushes and we have knives. All in all, I think we've done pretty well with the tools given us. I also learned how serious the French are about their chicken. According to my new professor, there is a whole town in France that takes chicken and raising chickens for food so seriously that the whole place is a no fly zone lest the planes make too much noise and stress out the poor birds. The town is named Brest (which if you ask me is just a little too much on the nose) and I now have this sick goal to go there just to go chicken tipping. I realize you can't tip chickens like you would cows, but I can scare them a little bit and see if anyone notices the difference in the consistency of the protein on their plate. I'm a little evil, I know.
My new class has officially started and we hit the ground running. So far our lecture days are mostly filled with making a time table for the series of dishes for the next day in the kitchen and our kitchen days are just filled. Pretty much as soon as I get to school I put my head down and start processing dishes. Its really interesting and I, of course, love it. Work is still good. We're going into the holiday season which means we have seen a lot more parties as of late which is a fun wrench in the works to hopscotch around.
I have officially gone to a four day work week. Its a little odd. I definitely needed the extra day and once the homework gets going in this class I'm pretty sure I'll be back to a much more hectic schedule but right now I feel so weird. I'm rested, organized, heck, I'm even bored on occasion! I'm not sure I entirely like it. I'm thinking of maybe throwing some volunteer work into the mix. My two ideas would be a local soup kitchen or the Chicago equivalent to the Dumb Friends League. My other option is to take up a hobby like writing again, but that feels almost selfish. I will have to mull it over for a bit and let you know what I come up with.
In the mean time, I am emailing a chef at my school for his input on a long shot. I'm going to try to get an externship at the French Laundry. I really doubt I'll get it but like the Lotto says, you gotta play to win. Maybe all my luck that I haven't used betting at lotto will help me land this externship. Haha. We will just have to see.....
Friday, November 9, 2012
Out of the Frying Pan and back into the Blogspot
Hello! Long time no post, I know. Life has been a little loaded lately, but I am going to start asking to work four days a week now instead of five so, hopefully, all of you lovely people won't have to go a month and then some without some news from me. So much has happened in all that time, too. For starters, I finished my first term (I earned A's in both my classes), I got two new classes and a brand new Chef Instructor who I really like. Now, as of Wednesday, I'm done with her classes (I Aced both of them as well) too and I start a brand new term on Monday. So, essentially, I made you all miss a term of my school. I'll try not to let that happen again. My last Chef instructor was pretty cool too. We both have a gluten intolerance so she and I both really bonded over that as well as the fact that I work in one of her favorite restaurants in the city. She liked to pick my brain about the kitchen there and my Executive Chef. She even asked me to have him come in and talk in front of my classmates, which he was sweet enough to do. It was really amazing, actually, to here him talk about the industry from his perspective.
Like I said, I start a new set of classes on Monday with a focus on Meats and Fish so I'm going to the big girl stuff now. I think I'm going to try to take lots of pictures of all the food I make so I'll be sure to pass those pictures along here. Anyway, I'll post more soon, I promise. I hope everyone had a fun and crazy Halloween!
Like I said, I start a new set of classes on Monday with a focus on Meats and Fish so I'm going to the big girl stuff now. I think I'm going to try to take lots of pictures of all the food I make so I'll be sure to pass those pictures along here. Anyway, I'll post more soon, I promise. I hope everyone had a fun and crazy Halloween!
Monday, September 17, 2012
Attack of the Tourne-asaurus Rex!
Firstly, I'd like to just go on record in saying that my apartment, when its clean, is absolutely beautiful in the morning light. They way the sun catches the ivy around the windows and casts these gorgeous shadows complimented with the warm orange glow that comes from a sunrise, so lovely...
and now on to some chaos! WOO!
Luckily, the chaos is all the exciting wonderful. Don't get me wrong, its exhausting but I go to bed with a smile on my face and wake up ready to start the day. Okay, okay, maybe the first few minutes of my morning are spent negotiating with my alarm clock for just a few more mins of shut eye, but after THAT and a bit of caffeine, I swear its all puppies and rainbows! Literally, I can see puppies and rainbows! Who needs expensive illegal drugs when you can get happy little hallucinations via just a little sleep deprivation?! Goooooooood stuff! I'm kidding....mostly. What fun is a blog if you can't mess with your mom, indirectly, about your health?
My current schedule is a little hectic, I get up and get to school by 6am Monday-Friday, get home by 10-10:30 then I head out for work by 11:30 and work until about midnight Tuesday- Saturday. Sometimes something takes up more hours than other times, sometimes they take up less, it shakes out to a long day either way. Like I said previously, despite the hours and craziness, I really am completely caught up in the joy of all of it. I love my job. I am learning so many new things. Somethings are big like recipes and techniques, just the other day, I learned how to make corn nuts, and somethings are really very subtle like how a kitchen like this one works as opposed to the other kitchens I've worked in or watching how the dynamic of different chefs shift depending on who is in charge and why. It's all fascinating to me. Better yet, I seem to be doing a good job based on the feedback they give me so bully for me!
As in any kitchen, my coworkers are a rowdy bunch of characters. I'm still trying to get a pulse on a majority of them, mostly because there are so many. Everyone is really great and I feel lucky to work with all of them. I've gone over and over in my head how to address my coworkers in this forum without invading personal rights and all that legal crap. The more I thought about it the more I realized that I didn't want to. Yes, I could give them false names or I could get all their permission to talk about them constantly on this forum, but I honestly don't want to. I don't want this to be a vehicle for airing my dirty laundry about work. I want this to be about the work itself not the petty squabbles of who said what that pissed off who and how that resulted in a domino effect during a rush..... no. Just no. There are plenty of reality shows for that crap.
Without further preamble, on to the work! Let's start with the more boring stuff and move toward the fun stuff, so....School! It's not that school isn't fun, it is more that school is about the very basics right now. I have a sanitation class at the moment and a Foundations I class. Sanitation takes place in a cut and dry classroom. Its an essential subject matter, and very important but also equally as boring. I just took my state examination to be sanitation certified this morning. Standardized testing always makes me giggle. The absurdity of some of it. The examination proctor must read word-for-word a script of instructions and if someone walks in late they can start over or go back they have to keep going and then pull the tardy person aside later and read the script word for word and blah blah blah. I get it, I really do. The absurd part is that the script starts with 'Good Morning'. So, when the proctor has to walk outside and repeat the script word for word, all over again do they have to read the 'good morning' part or is that implied? What if another person walks in even later than the first person so the proctor has to start all over for them too? If the proctor leaves it out just once will there be terrible dire consequences?! Will a lack of 'good morning' irrevocably damage a person's ability to take the test?! Is it a psychological thing or just a matter of good manners? What if you're taking the test at night?! See, absurd. Its like bureaucracy getting colorful or something, all it translates to is throwing a splash of slate grey on a wall adjacent to all the generic grey walls if you ask me. Though, I guess no one did so maybe I should just go back to giggling quietly at standardized tests when I have to take them.
My Foundations I class is a lot of fun, actually. That is the class that takes place in a giant kitchen. the course matter is the most basic of things. How to use a knife, cutting straight lines, tournes, and the cuissons. According to numerology, the number seven is supposedly perfect because it is a complete number. There are seven days a week, seven deadly sins, seven saving graces, and now we can add in seven cuissons to the theory. Just watch, now that I've told you this tidbit of information, you'll start seeing sevens EVERYWHERE! A cuisson is just a way to cooks something, so the seven cuissons are the seven classic cooking methods they are rotir (to roast), griller (to grill), poeler (to pan roast), sauter (to pan-fry, sauté), braiser (to braise), frire (to fry), and pocher (to poach). What this translates to in class is a whole lot of tasty grub! The protein of choice via the school is chicken, but hey beggars and choosers, right? My teacher has been great about the gluten thing too, deliberately not dredging a meat in flour when the recipe called for it so I could eat it too and warning about when he had to. Les Cuissons also make for a far more exciting class than what it had been before, which was just basic cuts and learning how to use your knife for the first time while keeping all your fingers intact. Then, I got my new tourne knife! What is a tourne you may ask with the pitch in your voice going up slightly to indicate that it is, indeed, a question? THIS is a tourne! Not one of mine, I haven't really taken any pictures of those.
It is a 'turned' vegetable that is barrel shaped with seven (there is that damned/blessed number again!) sides and is evenly pointed at both ends. They can be a real pain in the butt. Personally, I haven't had that much trouble with them. My issue comes from the fact of my freakishly small hands. In order for me to get the kind of control I need to make nice tournes I have to choke up on the blade of my pairing knife thus putting most of my fingers at risk of getting sliced and also completely throwing off the balance of my knife. All in all, just plain annoying. I had been referred to a knife store nearby by some people at work and ended up picking one up for fairly cheap when I was there. Tourne knives look like THIS!
They have short curved blades which, when you're looking at them in pictures don't look that strange, then you see them up close and, to me, they look like raptor claws. This thought, unfortunately, sent my mind on the dangerous quest of thinking and all I could picture in my head was a bunch of dinosaurs siting in 'knitting' circle tourne-ing potatoes! I called them all Tourne-asaurus Rexs. I would really like to blame this terrible pun on sleep deprivation but it was all me. I'm honestly and naturally, just that weird. The visual still makes me giggle.
Work is very interesting. I have been exposed to new equipment, like induction stovetops and sausage stuffing machines as well as a plethora of new inventory and ways of cooking or treating all of it. Probably one of my favorite images from work was on my first day. I came out of the office and found a middle aged mexican man stuffing sausages with a meat grinder looking contraption, completely enthralled with his work and the radio behind him was playing "When You're Strange" by The Doors. Something about that scene was just perfect. I walked into the next room and Don McLean's "American Pie" was playing and I knew I was in the right place. There is so much work that goes into keeping a place like that running smoothly. There is so much upkeep. The majority of the things that I have learned how to make so far is based on a lot of things that were already made, canned, preserved, cleaned, or cooked. It really is mind blowing for me. My official job is a line cook. I work both cold side and hot appetizers which essentially means that I'm in charge of various salads and the charcuterie on cold side as well as some fried stuff for grill station when they should need it, and small hot plates when I'm on hot side. Over the past two weekends I have gotten to be a floater for both stations. Someone else runs either station and I help whoever needs it. I love it! Even back at my old job being a floater was one of my favorite things. I got to zoom around helping people and generally feel like a super hero. Good times.
Well I believe that is all for now!
and now on to some chaos! WOO!
Luckily, the chaos is all the exciting wonderful. Don't get me wrong, its exhausting but I go to bed with a smile on my face and wake up ready to start the day. Okay, okay, maybe the first few minutes of my morning are spent negotiating with my alarm clock for just a few more mins of shut eye, but after THAT and a bit of caffeine, I swear its all puppies and rainbows! Literally, I can see puppies and rainbows! Who needs expensive illegal drugs when you can get happy little hallucinations via just a little sleep deprivation?! Goooooooood stuff! I'm kidding....mostly. What fun is a blog if you can't mess with your mom, indirectly, about your health?
My current schedule is a little hectic, I get up and get to school by 6am Monday-Friday, get home by 10-10:30 then I head out for work by 11:30 and work until about midnight Tuesday- Saturday. Sometimes something takes up more hours than other times, sometimes they take up less, it shakes out to a long day either way. Like I said previously, despite the hours and craziness, I really am completely caught up in the joy of all of it. I love my job. I am learning so many new things. Somethings are big like recipes and techniques, just the other day, I learned how to make corn nuts, and somethings are really very subtle like how a kitchen like this one works as opposed to the other kitchens I've worked in or watching how the dynamic of different chefs shift depending on who is in charge and why. It's all fascinating to me. Better yet, I seem to be doing a good job based on the feedback they give me so bully for me!
As in any kitchen, my coworkers are a rowdy bunch of characters. I'm still trying to get a pulse on a majority of them, mostly because there are so many. Everyone is really great and I feel lucky to work with all of them. I've gone over and over in my head how to address my coworkers in this forum without invading personal rights and all that legal crap. The more I thought about it the more I realized that I didn't want to. Yes, I could give them false names or I could get all their permission to talk about them constantly on this forum, but I honestly don't want to. I don't want this to be a vehicle for airing my dirty laundry about work. I want this to be about the work itself not the petty squabbles of who said what that pissed off who and how that resulted in a domino effect during a rush..... no. Just no. There are plenty of reality shows for that crap.
Without further preamble, on to the work! Let's start with the more boring stuff and move toward the fun stuff, so....School! It's not that school isn't fun, it is more that school is about the very basics right now. I have a sanitation class at the moment and a Foundations I class. Sanitation takes place in a cut and dry classroom. Its an essential subject matter, and very important but also equally as boring. I just took my state examination to be sanitation certified this morning. Standardized testing always makes me giggle. The absurdity of some of it. The examination proctor must read word-for-word a script of instructions and if someone walks in late they can start over or go back they have to keep going and then pull the tardy person aside later and read the script word for word and blah blah blah. I get it, I really do. The absurd part is that the script starts with 'Good Morning'. So, when the proctor has to walk outside and repeat the script word for word, all over again do they have to read the 'good morning' part or is that implied? What if another person walks in even later than the first person so the proctor has to start all over for them too? If the proctor leaves it out just once will there be terrible dire consequences?! Will a lack of 'good morning' irrevocably damage a person's ability to take the test?! Is it a psychological thing or just a matter of good manners? What if you're taking the test at night?! See, absurd. Its like bureaucracy getting colorful or something, all it translates to is throwing a splash of slate grey on a wall adjacent to all the generic grey walls if you ask me. Though, I guess no one did so maybe I should just go back to giggling quietly at standardized tests when I have to take them.
My Foundations I class is a lot of fun, actually. That is the class that takes place in a giant kitchen. the course matter is the most basic of things. How to use a knife, cutting straight lines, tournes, and the cuissons. According to numerology, the number seven is supposedly perfect because it is a complete number. There are seven days a week, seven deadly sins, seven saving graces, and now we can add in seven cuissons to the theory. Just watch, now that I've told you this tidbit of information, you'll start seeing sevens EVERYWHERE! A cuisson is just a way to cooks something, so the seven cuissons are the seven classic cooking methods they are rotir (to roast), griller (to grill), poeler (to pan roast), sauter (to pan-fry, sauté), braiser (to braise), frire (to fry), and pocher (to poach). What this translates to in class is a whole lot of tasty grub! The protein of choice via the school is chicken, but hey beggars and choosers, right? My teacher has been great about the gluten thing too, deliberately not dredging a meat in flour when the recipe called for it so I could eat it too and warning about when he had to. Les Cuissons also make for a far more exciting class than what it had been before, which was just basic cuts and learning how to use your knife for the first time while keeping all your fingers intact. Then, I got my new tourne knife! What is a tourne you may ask with the pitch in your voice going up slightly to indicate that it is, indeed, a question? THIS is a tourne! Not one of mine, I haven't really taken any pictures of those.
Work is very interesting. I have been exposed to new equipment, like induction stovetops and sausage stuffing machines as well as a plethora of new inventory and ways of cooking or treating all of it. Probably one of my favorite images from work was on my first day. I came out of the office and found a middle aged mexican man stuffing sausages with a meat grinder looking contraption, completely enthralled with his work and the radio behind him was playing "When You're Strange" by The Doors. Something about that scene was just perfect. I walked into the next room and Don McLean's "American Pie" was playing and I knew I was in the right place. There is so much work that goes into keeping a place like that running smoothly. There is so much upkeep. The majority of the things that I have learned how to make so far is based on a lot of things that were already made, canned, preserved, cleaned, or cooked. It really is mind blowing for me. My official job is a line cook. I work both cold side and hot appetizers which essentially means that I'm in charge of various salads and the charcuterie on cold side as well as some fried stuff for grill station when they should need it, and small hot plates when I'm on hot side. Over the past two weekends I have gotten to be a floater for both stations. Someone else runs either station and I help whoever needs it. I love it! Even back at my old job being a floater was one of my favorite things. I got to zoom around helping people and generally feel like a super hero. Good times.
Well I believe that is all for now!
Thursday, August 30, 2012
You Can't Spell Architectural Facade without 'Face'!
Weird title I know but it's all I have at the moment, clever-wise... Essentially, I'm posting this because I forgot to mention something in that last incredibly long post! I found the random faces that were carved into the building when I was walking around near the library the other day! Here are the pictures! These were on a building at the corner of Congress and Dearborn. I hope you find them as charismatically whimsical as I do!
When Life is a Beach, Start Jones-ing for Indiana
It's been a while since I last blogged. Part of the reason for that is because of lack of material and the other part of that is simple lack of motivation or time. The result is that this particular post will probably be a long one.
I never did hear any word from the place I staged at, I wasn't expecting it but it is still a little sad for me. It was such an incredible place. But Ce' la vie! If nothing else it was a great opportunity and I'm so glad to have had it.
The rest of my week was pretty cut and dry. School was good. So far sanitation class is super boring and my foundations class is all about cutting potatoes and onions. Starting yesterday, though, we graduated to carrots and celery so woohoo! The upside of boring classes at the moment is that is gives me plenty of time to be looking for a job and my next stage.
The career services at my school has tons and tons of job listings which is both helpful and overwhelming so it feels a bit like climbing to the top of the mountain every time I approach it but I'm steadily getting it all organized into a workable situation. I've applied to some jobs already but I still have more places I want to check out and possibly apply to so we'll see what happens.
Though the money I've saved before I moved out here is holding up, the lack of a job leaves me feeling super antsy. I can't tell you the last time I went this long without a job, honestly. I think I'm starting to get tired of my little 5 block radius world too. I primarily go between either school or my apartment at the moment and I really need a change of scenery and situation. Don't get me wrong, I get out and explore but it makes me nervous every time I do, not because of actual fear, but because going out and exploring usually means spending money which the thought of doing without having an income of some sort coming in to replace the money I've spent adventuring makes me anxious beyond reason. It's ridiculous, I know, but to each their own neurosis, right? If you think about it, too, having a driving need for a job is probably the least troublesome neurosis to have so.... Lucky me? ^_~
Anyway, this wanderlust with a dash if cabin fever made my brain stumble upon a genius idea! I'm going to Indiana for the weekend! Now, without the proper background information there are some among you that might read that statement as proof that I have officially lost my mind so let me explain. I don't know anyone in Chicago. Well, that might be a lie, I did visit Sara when she was going to school in Illinois so there is a high probability that some of the people she introduced me to live here too but as far as I know, I don't know anyone in Chicago. The closest person I do officially know is the magnificent Ms. Fox (who has not given me the okay to blog her name so this is the only name you get for the time being) who lives in...::drumroll:: INDIANA! To be more precise (without being precise, for the sake of privacy) about 6 hour drive. Since I don't have a car that makes it very difficult for us to see each other or hang out, until now. The answer? Trains! Yep, I'm getting tickets to take a train to see her! I'm excited! New scenery! Excellent company! An adorable puppy to snuggle in the absence of my own! Who could ask for more?! So, now I'm all jazzed and jones-ing for Indiana!
On a completely different note, I put an obscure reference to a no good, very bad, terrible day I had on Monday which at the time was very frustrating but now, looking back and having told the story a couple of times is actually pretty hilarious. See, what had happened was....
I woke up to go to school got dressed, thought I had everything in order an left for my foundations lab class. As I got about three-quarters of the way there I realized I was missing something crucial, my ID badge. This may not seem like a big deal, but it actually is. They make a big stink about how you need to have your badge at all times on campus, there are signs everywhere about it actually. What's more, that little ID badge has a little chip in it that unlocks the door to the building. Needless to say I had to turn around. By this point and time, there was no way I was going to make it to class in time, without my ID mishap I would have been on time, even a couple of minutes early, but since it became a factor I was pretty much decidedly late. Which made me soooo frustrated and angry. I'll be the first person to admit that I am not known for my punctuality, in fact, there was a joke going around my circle of friends for a while that made it quite clear that I was notorious for quite the opposite, but it always bugs me when I'm late. I have since worked on that and I am much better at it, so when I start falling into those late patterns I become extra frustrated. Eventually, I got back to my apartment, grabbed my ID badge and start out again. I remember thinking as I was heading down the stairs that I could just put on the lanyard that had my ID attached to it on my way to school it by some stroke of luck I figured just take a second and do it then. Lucky that I did too. Turned out that somewhere between my apartment door and where I was standing in the stairwell, my ID badge had decided to become unclipped from its lanyard. So I had to go back to find this stupid piece of plastic that had, by that point made me 10 mins late. I found it laying just outside my apartment door. So I grabbed it, secured it, did one more check that I was not missing anything else and double timed it to school. But the time I got there I was 20-25 mins late for class. I was drenched in sweat from all the running around in my long sleeve chef jacket. My Chef instructor took one look at me and asked me if it was raining outside. I apologized and he was very understanding and said something about how he understands that sometimes life gets in the way But wait! There's more! Not five minutes after I get there he asks us all to pull out our homework so we can go over it in class. What do you know? I forgot it.... Back at my apartment. Oi! I told Chef an he chuckled and told me to just bring it in the next day, no problem. Class went on and everything was fine.
Until...
I got home. I got in the elevator to go up to my floor just feeling beat up and upset about the other crap that had happened that morning. I get off at my floor put my key in the lock to let my self in, start to turn it, and can't. My key got stuck in the lock. I couldn't move the lock, couldn't get the key out, nothing. I fiddled with it for a minute or two, give up, go to the front desk and the doorman called maintenance for me. The maintenance guy gets there and starts asking me questions. The conversation went something like this:
"Is there anyone inside?"
"Nope, I made sure of it. I knocked a few times (but my all my roommates' class started about 10 mins ago so I wasn't surprised but I had still held on to the slim hope that maybe one of them had stayed home or something)."
"Are you sure?" then he proceeded to knock on the door. When he finished with that he started jiggling the key in the door and doing all the things that I had tried to do to no avail. Then, "Was the door all the way locked?"
"I don't honestly know, I wasn't the last one to lock it but it was locked enough to not let me in, so I put the key in and....here we are." He starts in on the explanation about how sometimes this happens because of this that and the other thing and the whole time I'm just holding my breath and counting to 10 trying to not lose it on this man. Eventually, he decides that the key is, in fact, stuck in the lock as I have told him and he goes to get his drill kit and proceeds to drill out not just my key but the whole lock too. Long story short, we all got new keys and I raised the white flag on the entire day and didn't leave the apartment for the fear of what else might just happen that day.
I was actually going to blog about it as it was unfolding and then realized halfway through that maybe blogging angry isn't such a good idea. Everything comes up all profanities and self-pity and who wants to read that?
My roommates and I also went exploring and the such this past weekend. Our building had a pool party BBQ which was alright, there was free food which is hard to complain about. Afterwards, we all went to the beach because, turns out Chicago has beaches! No ocean, but beaches all the same! Lake Michigan is huge though so it makes sense, I guess. The beach is really close to our apartment too, within 10 minutes by foot, actually. We ended up splitting up. They went to sunbathe and I decided to rent a bike and ride it down the coastline? Lakeshore line? Whatever. The path was lakeshore park trail so, there you go. It was a beautiful day and the views were superb, though the sidewalk path was a little crowded. We all met up again And waded int the water until we started getting hungry. Then we headed home, made dinner, had a dance party, and generally bonded more as roommates.
Anyway, that has been my week so far. I hope you found my bad day as funny as I'm starting to. I'll try to post more often so my blogs won't be as long but I make no promises on the matter. Allonsy!
The attached pictures are of the beach
I never did hear any word from the place I staged at, I wasn't expecting it but it is still a little sad for me. It was such an incredible place. But Ce' la vie! If nothing else it was a great opportunity and I'm so glad to have had it.
The rest of my week was pretty cut and dry. School was good. So far sanitation class is super boring and my foundations class is all about cutting potatoes and onions. Starting yesterday, though, we graduated to carrots and celery so woohoo! The upside of boring classes at the moment is that is gives me plenty of time to be looking for a job and my next stage.
The career services at my school has tons and tons of job listings which is both helpful and overwhelming so it feels a bit like climbing to the top of the mountain every time I approach it but I'm steadily getting it all organized into a workable situation. I've applied to some jobs already but I still have more places I want to check out and possibly apply to so we'll see what happens.
Though the money I've saved before I moved out here is holding up, the lack of a job leaves me feeling super antsy. I can't tell you the last time I went this long without a job, honestly. I think I'm starting to get tired of my little 5 block radius world too. I primarily go between either school or my apartment at the moment and I really need a change of scenery and situation. Don't get me wrong, I get out and explore but it makes me nervous every time I do, not because of actual fear, but because going out and exploring usually means spending money which the thought of doing without having an income of some sort coming in to replace the money I've spent adventuring makes me anxious beyond reason. It's ridiculous, I know, but to each their own neurosis, right? If you think about it, too, having a driving need for a job is probably the least troublesome neurosis to have so.... Lucky me? ^_~
Anyway, this wanderlust with a dash if cabin fever made my brain stumble upon a genius idea! I'm going to Indiana for the weekend! Now, without the proper background information there are some among you that might read that statement as proof that I have officially lost my mind so let me explain. I don't know anyone in Chicago. Well, that might be a lie, I did visit Sara when she was going to school in Illinois so there is a high probability that some of the people she introduced me to live here too but as far as I know, I don't know anyone in Chicago. The closest person I do officially know is the magnificent Ms. Fox (who has not given me the okay to blog her name so this is the only name you get for the time being) who lives in...::drumroll:: INDIANA! To be more precise (without being precise, for the sake of privacy) about 6 hour drive. Since I don't have a car that makes it very difficult for us to see each other or hang out, until now. The answer? Trains! Yep, I'm getting tickets to take a train to see her! I'm excited! New scenery! Excellent company! An adorable puppy to snuggle in the absence of my own! Who could ask for more?! So, now I'm all jazzed and jones-ing for Indiana!
On a completely different note, I put an obscure reference to a no good, very bad, terrible day I had on Monday which at the time was very frustrating but now, looking back and having told the story a couple of times is actually pretty hilarious. See, what had happened was....
I woke up to go to school got dressed, thought I had everything in order an left for my foundations lab class. As I got about three-quarters of the way there I realized I was missing something crucial, my ID badge. This may not seem like a big deal, but it actually is. They make a big stink about how you need to have your badge at all times on campus, there are signs everywhere about it actually. What's more, that little ID badge has a little chip in it that unlocks the door to the building. Needless to say I had to turn around. By this point and time, there was no way I was going to make it to class in time, without my ID mishap I would have been on time, even a couple of minutes early, but since it became a factor I was pretty much decidedly late. Which made me soooo frustrated and angry. I'll be the first person to admit that I am not known for my punctuality, in fact, there was a joke going around my circle of friends for a while that made it quite clear that I was notorious for quite the opposite, but it always bugs me when I'm late. I have since worked on that and I am much better at it, so when I start falling into those late patterns I become extra frustrated. Eventually, I got back to my apartment, grabbed my ID badge and start out again. I remember thinking as I was heading down the stairs that I could just put on the lanyard that had my ID attached to it on my way to school it by some stroke of luck I figured just take a second and do it then. Lucky that I did too. Turned out that somewhere between my apartment door and where I was standing in the stairwell, my ID badge had decided to become unclipped from its lanyard. So I had to go back to find this stupid piece of plastic that had, by that point made me 10 mins late. I found it laying just outside my apartment door. So I grabbed it, secured it, did one more check that I was not missing anything else and double timed it to school. But the time I got there I was 20-25 mins late for class. I was drenched in sweat from all the running around in my long sleeve chef jacket. My Chef instructor took one look at me and asked me if it was raining outside. I apologized and he was very understanding and said something about how he understands that sometimes life gets in the way But wait! There's more! Not five minutes after I get there he asks us all to pull out our homework so we can go over it in class. What do you know? I forgot it.... Back at my apartment. Oi! I told Chef an he chuckled and told me to just bring it in the next day, no problem. Class went on and everything was fine.
Until...
I got home. I got in the elevator to go up to my floor just feeling beat up and upset about the other crap that had happened that morning. I get off at my floor put my key in the lock to let my self in, start to turn it, and can't. My key got stuck in the lock. I couldn't move the lock, couldn't get the key out, nothing. I fiddled with it for a minute or two, give up, go to the front desk and the doorman called maintenance for me. The maintenance guy gets there and starts asking me questions. The conversation went something like this:
"Is there anyone inside?"
"Nope, I made sure of it. I knocked a few times (but my all my roommates' class started about 10 mins ago so I wasn't surprised but I had still held on to the slim hope that maybe one of them had stayed home or something)."
"Are you sure?" then he proceeded to knock on the door. When he finished with that he started jiggling the key in the door and doing all the things that I had tried to do to no avail. Then, "Was the door all the way locked?"
"I don't honestly know, I wasn't the last one to lock it but it was locked enough to not let me in, so I put the key in and....here we are." He starts in on the explanation about how sometimes this happens because of this that and the other thing and the whole time I'm just holding my breath and counting to 10 trying to not lose it on this man. Eventually, he decides that the key is, in fact, stuck in the lock as I have told him and he goes to get his drill kit and proceeds to drill out not just my key but the whole lock too. Long story short, we all got new keys and I raised the white flag on the entire day and didn't leave the apartment for the fear of what else might just happen that day.
I was actually going to blog about it as it was unfolding and then realized halfway through that maybe blogging angry isn't such a good idea. Everything comes up all profanities and self-pity and who wants to read that?
My roommates and I also went exploring and the such this past weekend. Our building had a pool party BBQ which was alright, there was free food which is hard to complain about. Afterwards, we all went to the beach because, turns out Chicago has beaches! No ocean, but beaches all the same! Lake Michigan is huge though so it makes sense, I guess. The beach is really close to our apartment too, within 10 minutes by foot, actually. We ended up splitting up. They went to sunbathe and I decided to rent a bike and ride it down the coastline? Lakeshore line? Whatever. The path was lakeshore park trail so, there you go. It was a beautiful day and the views were superb, though the sidewalk path was a little crowded. We all met up again And waded int the water until we started getting hungry. Then we headed home, made dinner, had a dance party, and generally bonded more as roommates.
Anyway, that has been my week so far. I hope you found my bad day as funny as I'm starting to. I'll try to post more often so my blogs won't be as long but I make no promises on the matter. Allonsy!
The attached pictures are of the beach
Monday, August 20, 2012
The First Stage in a Theater of Changes
Today was my first day of school which turned out to be both exciting and boring at the same time. My instructor gave us our introduction to Sanitation 101. It was pretty droll and he pretty much outlined the entire first chapter for us which was less than riveting, to be sure. Especially since he has a pretty monotone voice. It was all a bit strange because to listen to the man you'd think that he was short his morning coffee, or a hug, or maybe both, but then he kept saying things like, "I know it's sanitation but get a little excited about it guys." I kept thinking, 'I will if you will, Chef!' Ce la Vie!
The good news was that we got out of class early. This was fairly serendipitous for me because I had a stage (pronounced so that it rhymes with 'pause') line up for right after class. It was at a really cool restaurant whose name, as advised by my sister, I will not name here. Their whole concept is that they create menus based off what is in season, and if something is going out of season, they preserve it. But wait! There's more! They make their own bread, and all they're pastries are from scratch, they use their own roasted tomato sauce in dishes, they don't buy that precanned, they get in whole cow, pig, and even lamb carcasses and break all the meat down off of that instead of buying cutlets, then from that they make their own sausages, cured meats, and even salumi! It really is an incredible place, even the scraps that they don't use they compost so that it all goes back into the earth for the next harvest. It really is a really interesting idea for cutting down on food waste.
Anyway, I had the privilege to stage there for them thanks to a good word from a family friend. It was so different from anything I have ever experienced! The kitchen was huge, for starters. It spanned two floors and then some in the back. They had two walk-ins one for just produce, one for just proteins. Then they had a whole storage area for all their canned products, of which there quite a few, then they had a spot just for letting tomatoes and other fruits, like peaches, chill out until they were ripe and ready to be used or preserved. They had a whole pastry section with at least four employees devotes to just that and then five or six night crew guys for the line, three dishwashers who were always busy and countless moving parts. They also have a whole brunch crew, I guess, and they're saying that they are going to be opening up for breakfast soon, too.
The guy who I staged with was very patient with me, (he actually reminded me of a guy I used to know in London who we all called 'Fierce Pierce'. They matched all the way to the tie-dye bandanna on his head. ^_^) it really did feel like my first day at Union four years ago. I felt like I knew nothing simply because of how differently their kitchen ran. I worked on the hot appetizer station which was a lot of fun and my stage partner started out the night by letting me do one dish by myself, then it became two, by probably 8 he let me work the station pretty much by myself. He still was looming over my shoulder and corecting and refining the things I was doing.
And they kept feeding me! There was a staff lunch before they opened for dinner, then they kept making me dishes to try, partly because they were bored, partly because that's just what they do for people who stage. Here are all the things I ate tonight:
-Crispy Carnaroli Rice- brunkow cheese curds, smoked spring onion vinaigrette, pickled summer beans, three sisters pea shoots.
-Local Lettuce- basil pesto, fennel, whole grain croutons (they left these out for me because I'm glutarded), pickled tomato vinaigrette, mouton frais.
-Pan-Roasted Diver Sea Scallops-arugula, piperade, housemade lomo
-Crisp Slagel Family Farm Pork Shoulder Confit-fried chickpea panise, house summer giardiniera, curry yogurt, cucumbers, fresh mint
And a couple other sides of stuff, plus homemade chocolate ice cream, and I got to try a lot of the little components from my station. Speaking of which, here is what I was in charge of making tonight:
-Crispy Carnaroli Rice- see above
-Growing Power Russet Potato Gnocchi- slow cooked kale, bacon, sweet corn, pickled green tomatoes (which were incredible just by themselves)
-Whole Wheat Cavatelli- sweet and hot peppers, juliets (a kind of tomato, I learned that tonight too), garlic, onions, basil, Parmesan
-Local Tomato and Smoked Apple Butter Tart- prairie fruits farm moonglo cheese, klug farm summer apples, sorrel, sweet onions
All in all, it was a big night for me. I think I did okay. I felt really lost at first and I don't usually talk much when I'm just starting to get the hang of something, but I took the advice given to me, asked a lot of questions about what I was doing and what was happening around me, gave it my best shot, was honest with them about everything, held my head high, struggled to not apologize but just say okay and try to make it better for the next dish, and just tried to focus on the fact that I was being allowed to play in this amazing kitchen with some pretty decent guys, who you could tell were putting a lot of pride and heart into every dish that they were plating, while relishing the fact that they kept giving me all this exquisite food all night long. The sous chef and I talked afterwards and he asked me what I wanted, whether it was an internship or what. I told him that I would love to work there for them and he told me about some positions that they might have available because they were opening for breakfast. I'm supposed to call him at noon on Wednesday. So I'll hope for the best but I won't hold my breath. Tomorrow I have to go report back to the career service guy that I talked to on Thursday last week after orientation and probably hit up the wanted postings on the school site.
Anyway, it's late and I have school bright and earlyish tomorrow morning that I can't be late for! Goodnight!
This is a picture of me in my uniform for my first day of class. As dorky as it is, tradition is tradition. ^_^
The good news was that we got out of class early. This was fairly serendipitous for me because I had a stage (pronounced so that it rhymes with 'pause') line up for right after class. It was at a really cool restaurant whose name, as advised by my sister, I will not name here. Their whole concept is that they create menus based off what is in season, and if something is going out of season, they preserve it. But wait! There's more! They make their own bread, and all they're pastries are from scratch, they use their own roasted tomato sauce in dishes, they don't buy that precanned, they get in whole cow, pig, and even lamb carcasses and break all the meat down off of that instead of buying cutlets, then from that they make their own sausages, cured meats, and even salumi! It really is an incredible place, even the scraps that they don't use they compost so that it all goes back into the earth for the next harvest. It really is a really interesting idea for cutting down on food waste.
Anyway, I had the privilege to stage there for them thanks to a good word from a family friend. It was so different from anything I have ever experienced! The kitchen was huge, for starters. It spanned two floors and then some in the back. They had two walk-ins one for just produce, one for just proteins. Then they had a whole storage area for all their canned products, of which there quite a few, then they had a spot just for letting tomatoes and other fruits, like peaches, chill out until they were ripe and ready to be used or preserved. They had a whole pastry section with at least four employees devotes to just that and then five or six night crew guys for the line, three dishwashers who were always busy and countless moving parts. They also have a whole brunch crew, I guess, and they're saying that they are going to be opening up for breakfast soon, too.
The guy who I staged with was very patient with me, (he actually reminded me of a guy I used to know in London who we all called 'Fierce Pierce'. They matched all the way to the tie-dye bandanna on his head. ^_^) it really did feel like my first day at Union four years ago. I felt like I knew nothing simply because of how differently their kitchen ran. I worked on the hot appetizer station which was a lot of fun and my stage partner started out the night by letting me do one dish by myself, then it became two, by probably 8 he let me work the station pretty much by myself. He still was looming over my shoulder and corecting and refining the things I was doing.
And they kept feeding me! There was a staff lunch before they opened for dinner, then they kept making me dishes to try, partly because they were bored, partly because that's just what they do for people who stage. Here are all the things I ate tonight:
-Crispy Carnaroli Rice- brunkow cheese curds, smoked spring onion vinaigrette, pickled summer beans, three sisters pea shoots.
-Local Lettuce- basil pesto, fennel, whole grain croutons (they left these out for me because I'm glutarded), pickled tomato vinaigrette, mouton frais.
-Pan-Roasted Diver Sea Scallops-arugula, piperade, housemade lomo
-Crisp Slagel Family Farm Pork Shoulder Confit-fried chickpea panise, house summer giardiniera, curry yogurt, cucumbers, fresh mint
And a couple other sides of stuff, plus homemade chocolate ice cream, and I got to try a lot of the little components from my station. Speaking of which, here is what I was in charge of making tonight:
-Crispy Carnaroli Rice- see above
-Growing Power Russet Potato Gnocchi- slow cooked kale, bacon, sweet corn, pickled green tomatoes (which were incredible just by themselves)
-Whole Wheat Cavatelli- sweet and hot peppers, juliets (a kind of tomato, I learned that tonight too), garlic, onions, basil, Parmesan
-Local Tomato and Smoked Apple Butter Tart- prairie fruits farm moonglo cheese, klug farm summer apples, sorrel, sweet onions
All in all, it was a big night for me. I think I did okay. I felt really lost at first and I don't usually talk much when I'm just starting to get the hang of something, but I took the advice given to me, asked a lot of questions about what I was doing and what was happening around me, gave it my best shot, was honest with them about everything, held my head high, struggled to not apologize but just say okay and try to make it better for the next dish, and just tried to focus on the fact that I was being allowed to play in this amazing kitchen with some pretty decent guys, who you could tell were putting a lot of pride and heart into every dish that they were plating, while relishing the fact that they kept giving me all this exquisite food all night long. The sous chef and I talked afterwards and he asked me what I wanted, whether it was an internship or what. I told him that I would love to work there for them and he told me about some positions that they might have available because they were opening for breakfast. I'm supposed to call him at noon on Wednesday. So I'll hope for the best but I won't hold my breath. Tomorrow I have to go report back to the career service guy that I talked to on Thursday last week after orientation and probably hit up the wanted postings on the school site.
Anyway, it's late and I have school bright and earlyish tomorrow morning that I can't be late for! Goodnight!
This is a picture of me in my uniform for my first day of class. As dorky as it is, tradition is tradition. ^_^
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