Lovely Rita, Meter Maid

Does anyone else love that Beatles song? I'm scared about Hurricane Rita though. My great-aunt, uncle and cousins have had to evacuate their Gulf and Galveston homes...
I'm so very excited about the weekend. Even though it is just about Thursday, I'm eagerly awaiting the second shift at my second job.
This Sunday afternoon, I'm assisting Chef Jean Pierre (he doesn't even have a last name, how cool is that) while he makes Mosaic of Shrimp with Tomatoes Concassé, The Veal Loin à la Normande w/Lemon and Poppy Seed Tagliatelle Pasta and Orange Créme Brûlée with Rhubarb Compote. It seems entirely appropriate that there would be wine with this meal, hopefully someone will bring it?
Anyway, more United Way "Fair Share" gift inputting tomorrrow, sorting toiletries for Armed Forces (that should be going to Katrina victims btw) and I'm on to bigger, better and at least, not promoting Corporate America to everyone.
Until next Monday. :(

Meeting Lucy or A Night of Great Beer and Food

I'm a touch late blogging about last weekend, but definitely want to write about the amazing experience I had. The 10+ hours of flying became an afterthought, the fellowship, atmosphere, beer and food were that sublime. I got to the Cathedral Hill hotel about 2:30, checked in and then met my mentor, Lucy Saunders, for the first time.
Lucy has a incredible wealth of food and beer knowledge and I love how understated she is. So many brewers, foodies, etc. are so "in your face" about all they know and who they've met. I was more impressed by her unassuming manner and could listen to her talk all day.
We met with Chef Bruce (I think that leaving out the chef part is like calling your doctor Jim or whatnot) and went over the menu and found out what beers were going to be there.
The Beer List
21st Amendment - Watermelon Wheat*
Bear Republic - Black Bear Stout*
Black Diamond - Wild Rice Ale
Drakes - Denoginizer
Half Moon Bay - Devils Slide Summer Ale
Lagunitas - Maximizer*
Moonlight - Reality Czech Pils (my favorite)
Russian River - Damnation
Triple Rock - Titanium Pale

*Did not try

The event was not billed as a dinner but rather as a selection of appetizers. I figured out that if you were hungry, you needed to arrive on time and be ready to grab food while it was available. If not, you probably wouldn't get to try everything. Luckily, I was sitting in just the right place and had the proper eager-and-desperate-for-food look on my face.

I could go on and on about the food...All of it was delicious.

GRILLING WITH BEER MENU
Cured, Skewered and Seared Salmon with Sweet Dill Mustard Sauce - my favorite
Porter Lime Marinated Grilled Baby Lamb Chops
Lagunitas Imperial Stout Marinated Kurobuta Pork Skewers w/Bear Republic Brown Ale BBQ Sauce
Grilled Marinated Steak Skewers with Point Reyes Blue Cheese Aioli & Grilled Yellow Pepper Catsup
Damnation Brined Grilled Eggplant
Display of Artisanal Cheeses (and Fruit)
Cream of Grilled Wild Mushroom Soup in Asian Spoons (a spoonful just wasn't enough!)
Grilled Heirloom Green Zebra Tomato Gazpacho with Dungeness Crab - possibly my lease fave, was just served too cold
Butter-Poached Gulf Prawns with Grilled Heirloom Tomato Cocktail Sauce

Lucy gave me a book called Recipes Into Type, which tells you how to write cookbooks so that they are put together correctly and easy for the reader to follow. I'm enjoying it and will be testing at least one of her recipes this weekend.
As soon as I get my photos developed/on the computer, I will post them.
An awesome weekend, thanks so much Lucy!

Mysterious Letting-Go

Earlier today, I saw Larry at the administrative assistant's birthday party. Five minutes ago, we're informed that Larry is no longer with the company. Barry, the VP in charge, is not an easy man to work for, so there's no doubt in my mind that played into it. I am curious and concerned because Larry always said hello if we passed in the halls, was a good Businessnetics teacher and seemed more open-minded and practical than almost everyone else in the marketing department.

I wonder what exactly one has to do to get fired from this place. Openly disagreeing with management? Exposing corrupt practices?

Larry's wife is in the Newcomers' Club. I'm sad for both of them, as well as their two young daughters.

Where I'm Going on Friday...

Yes, I'm excited. The flights are going to be long but it'll be worth it!!

Hurricane Relief Efforts

This is Blog for Relief Weekend-I signed up to donate to Noah's Wish (http://www.noahswish.org/index.htm) They train volunteers to rescue animals from disaster-type situations. A team has been sent to Slidell, Louisiana (across the lake from New Orleans) to reunite pets with owners or find animals that are stranded