Keeping on Truckin'

Monday and Tuesday are my last days of Essentials of Dining Room.
Its been an interesting experience. I don't know what else there is left to cover in Advanced Dining Room, which I'll have in the spring.

One of the most interesting (and unexpected) aspects of this class is all the French we are learning. We are serving food for the French Cuisine section and the entire menu is written in French.

Wednesday I start "New World Cuisine." It should be called "Grilling and Frying" but that wouldn't sound as good.

Stole this quiz from Maggie:

1) When was the last time you went to the bathroom outside?
when we went hiking last

2) When was the last time you saw one of your parents?
August, right before I moved out here. I'll see mi madre in less than 2 weeks, woo hoo

3) Which family member do you most resemble?
the postman. shhh

4) Do you wear cologne/perfume?
I mostly collect it rather than wear it because i have "hoarding tendencies"

5) Do you wear deodorant?
yes. Degree to be exact

6) Do you 'clean up nice'?
Dude. I always look nice, even if it is only in my mind.

7) When was the last time you tripped and fell?
i took a spectacular dive when i was running with Maelynn back in July. Sprawling and all.

8) Where was the last place you slept besides your home?
the Subaru while it was raining

9) What are you listening to right now?
rats chewing and cars traveling.

10) Have you ever started an uncontrollable fire?
yes and it burned burned burned. That ring of fire.

11) Ever run out of gas on the road?
no but I know someone who has done it twice

12) Would you rather cut the grass or rake the leaves?
Mags is right. No one says "cut the grass". I would rather MOW than rake. Because raking is pointless. The leaves will just fall again. And you can mow leaves!

13) Your name spelled backwards?
ylime. y lime. hehehe.

14) What is the last thing you downloaded onto your computer?
a stupid stupid Blackberry update that did nothing to help me access the internet. You'd think the tech would've figured that out ahead of time.

15) Last time you swam in a pool?
Eeesh. Jeff's experience at the Y made me wary. I don't remember.

16) Have you ever been in a school play?
2nd grade. I was forced!

17) How many kids do you want?
having a big family would be neat. maybe 4. So there would be an even number for rides at the amusement parks. Its weird to ride with strangers when you're little.

18) Type of music you dislike most?
anything that involves random screams and shaking and asks the listener to "interpret the meaning themselves." Its like throwing something on the sidewalk and calling it art.

19) You registered to vote?
in indiana.

20) You have cable?
no, satellite but thinking about that and the bill makes me upset

21) Ever prank call anybody?
yes.

22) Best friends?
sure.

23) Would you go bungee jumping or sky diving?
sky diving. but someone would have to push me out

24) Do you have a garden?
used to have some herbs before the move

25) What's your favorite comic strip?
I like Foxtrot

26) Bath or Shower, morning or night?
shower. night. I used to like bathing but it involves too much doing nothing

27) Best movie you've seen in the past month?
Hmm. Maybe 3 Kings. I have seen bits and pieces of Anchorman though and love it even MORE

28) Favorite pizza topping?
spicy italian sausage

29) Chips or popcorn?
popcorn with lots of stuff on it

30) What color lipstick do you usually wear?
see question #4. But I do love me some gloss at times.

31) Have you ever smoked peanut shells?
No. I usually stick to whatever fits in a hookah

32) Orange Juice or apple?
orange. freshly squeezed

33) Favorite type of chocolate bar?
chocolate. Dark.

34) When was the last time you voted at the polls?
Fall. Not for My Man Mitch. You can bet on that.

35) Last time you ate a homegrown tomato?
at Dad and Peggy's

36) Are you a good cook?
kinda. Chef Johnson would deg to biffer I bet though

37) Ever order anything from an infomercial?
no but if i'd had a credit card at age 12 I would've been in serious trouble. Especially one of those things that made 1000s of julienne fries.

38) Sprite or 7-up?
diet Sprite

39) Have you ever had to wear a uniform to work?
Yeah but the worse the uniform the shorter the time I worked there.

40) Ever thrown up in public?
I take great pains to avoid that.

41) Would you prefer being a millionaire or find true love?
Hmmm. What if I already have one of those? Huh? Huh?

42) Do you believe in love at first sight?
sure, there was this half-Japanese guy in St. Louis and i was in 8th grade and I felt it. Electric.

43) Can ex's be friends?
sure but not when you get all bitter on them when they least expect it. I mean, of course they can.

44) Who was the last person you visited in a hospital?
Vincent, when he had a valve in his heart replaced with that of a pig. 2 years ago i think

45) Did you have a lot of hair as a baby?
yup and i looked native american. No one has ever said that but that was the first thought in my head when I saw the pics

46) What message is on your answering machine?
"hi, this is emily..." I have a telephone voice that is higher-pitched and kind of dumb.

47) What do you think about most?
right now, alcohol. That's just sad though and it shall pass.

48) Favorite form of travel?
I really enjoy swinging. In a swing.

49) Ever drink rotten milk?
I have had some enter my mouth but did not swallow. At school we call this the "sip and spit" method.

My Secret Garden

I really enjoy running and cooking. I'm really trying to do both daily. Exercising, too, but there is something about being outside or circling around a track that really clears the mind.
My sis brought up that we have a 3rd cousin, once removed in Puebla, Mexico where she's spending the semester. He also runs a culinary institute.
I want to say how crazy it is that he runs a cooking school and that I'm actually going to one, but I bet we have a 3rd cousin who has rats and/or has run a half-marathon as well.
I'm glad she'll be able to spend Thanksgiving with "family," as it means a lot to my people.
Michael Bluth: What have we always said is the most important thing?
George Michael: Breakfast?
Michael: Family.
George Michael: Oh right, family. I thought you meant out of the things you eat.

I've dropped my phone for the last time. Well Maybe not the last, last time. But it doesn't work now. I'll get my new one on Tuesday. That is why I'm not answering when you call.

I See Paris, I See France

Today was the end of Introduction to Dining Room - Week 1. It was also Day 3, and I'm finally starting to see some progress in my waitressing technique.
I'm not the most coordinated gal in the world, so balancing 3 plates in one hand/arm actually took a day or so to master.

The most interesting part about this term is our chef. I thought he was Basque at first, judging by his fiery personality and statement that "it is ok to love violence."
No, he's just French.

Here's Chef's take on foie gras - "If you have eyes on the side of your head, I'm bound to kill you and eat you."

My last day at the liquor store will be this Saturday. I was starting to get burned out and frustrated after the first week and that was a bad sign.

Chef says that we need to have a "secret garden," or other hobby/interest that keeps us sane. He noted that drinking and watching TV, although distracting, would not be what he'd recommend.

The First Week

Although it was just 4 days long, the Stocks, Soups, Sauces block will be half over on Monday. I forgot my knife kit on the first day, which wouldn't have been a big deal, except that my apron and two sidetowels (crucial parts of the uniform) were in it. I was directed to the storeroom where I plead my case. I can look fairly pitiful if I feel that way, so I got spares for the day.

I don't want to be too critical, but I think the chef we have is kind of arrogant, and not just talking about his skills as a chef. Not admitting when you are wrong really irritates me, especially when it involves blaming the rest of the class.

I've never had any direct experience with the military, but "culinary boot camp" pretty much sums up how we relate to our superiors. Every sentence or phrase ends in "Chef" and we say, "Thank you Chef" when we are corrected. Everything has to be ironed and pristine. You go through a lineup at the beginning of each course block (more if the chef deems it necessary).
We are being taught proper dining room procedure...for example, do you know that the proper way to eat a piece of bread is to tear it into smaller pieces and butter them as you go?

Everyone, including myself, buys into the system. We are there to learn how to cook, not to be babied or treated gently.
In a moment of weakness, I forgot where I was (I can think of no other justification) and licked butternut squash soup off a serving spoon. I was going to enjoy it and then take it to the "dish pit". Unfortunately, Chef saw me and said "I don't ever want to see you do that again!" Basically, it is a bad habit that I need to ensure never happens again.

Getting up at 5:15 am is something that will take longer to get used to than I had thought. My body doesn't do well with getting up when it is still dark, regardless of what culinary delights and learning it will receive that day...
Speaking of delights, we got truffles in exchange for some veggie soup, compliments of a chocolate class and their vegetarian chef. It is a treat to have a gourmet lunch (of varying quality) and fresh bread every day.

Wise Words (Or Those I Agree With) from....Pamela Anderson ??!

I'm not going to explain how each of these pithy statements has impacted my life, but each rings true. Just ask, if you're curious.

Love never goes away; it just changes form. (For me, this isn't just true regarding romantic love. Love changes as people change and go in and out of your life.)

The best decisions you ever make are usually the ones you make even when everyone else says not to do it.

In order for a man to feel whole, he needs someone to look up to and someone to look up to him. (The someone who is looked up to doesn't necessarily need to be alive. You can tell if a man is searching for both ends of the equation.)

You know when a prayer is answered. (This is kind of a 'duh' statement, but I need to realize how many of my prayers are answered, continually.)

A pic of where I work

Just so you can get a visual...the website is meridianwine.org
I have no idea where the frog logo came from. However, I am proud to say that I turned down the 2 black babydoll tees with aforementioned logo that were offered to me. I'd rather just wear one uniform per day thankuverymuch!

What to Wear

Today I got my JWU ID card and was sized for my uniform. As someone who avoids ironing and is somewhat messy, I foresee that looking perfect every single day will be harder for me than some
Here's what I will be wearing (the female is modeling the "dining room" uni and the male is wearing the chef's): Click on the bar below

Guys can't have beards or long sideburns and no makeup or long fingernails.
I just have to plan ahead...is all. I'm mostly worried about making it to school on time. No idea what the traffic will be like at 6:15 am...and my chronic tardiness just can't happen!