Not So Worthless

When informed that I would be required to attend college orientation class every Monday, I figured that it would be silly and worthless. I guess there was no way to know that Mr. Coronado would be awesome! We're not learning just silly meaningless stuff- we've done stress tests (I racked up 386 points on mine...), learned about eye patterns, and yesterday, we learned about speed reading!

I always thought that I read slowly and that would always just be what it was, but speed reading is an acquired skill. In my first round, I read 330 words per minute. When following a pen with our eyes in the second round, I was able to read 363 wpm. Then we took a few times through where we scanned the page with increasing speed, not looking for actual reading or comprehension. And once we took a third stab at reading, I was able to knock out 638 wpm! Mr. Coronado told us if we practice this activity for 20 minutes everyday, we'll be reading 1,000's of words per minute in no time!

So, I climb on the train, determined to use the ride down as practice time; however, upon opening my book I remembered that I love my adjectives and adverbs too much to skip right over them. I want to know precisely what the situation looked like when Harry got caught in the trick stair in the middle of the night. I want to know just how silly Rita Skeeter looked while sneaking on the Hogwarts grounds. And thus I concluded that leisure reading and speed reading are simply going to have to be kept in separate spheres of my life. Maybe I'll practice with a text book- I'm just looking for the nouns and verbs there anyways...

Online Rhyming Dictionary

Life at current times=sooo good!

I got to spend last weekend with my mister down in Waco! We took a drive down to Austin for the Ben Folds concert which was outstanding! I was in awe the entire evening. He played most of the songs off of the new cd- Way to Normal, some off of the "fake" Way to Normal and of course a ton of the classics. I loved everything from the story telling to the standing on the piano, not to mention the mad piano skills. At one point in the concert, he was rocking out so hard that he broke a string! His crew rushed out like it was Nascar or something.

Check out the song Free Coffee- there's no synthesizer. He places empty Altoids tins on the strings of the notes he wants to affect and it makes this crazy metallic nuttyness! An hour of Missy Higgins, 2 1/2 hours of Ben Folds, some Wataburger to round out the night- it was the best concert and greatest date ever!

So then today, I took my practical midterm for Fundamentals and made an 82.5! We were told to shoot for a 70 and that even a grade as low as 45-50 shouldn't be disappointing. We were told that it was a learning experience and as long as we didn't feel like we were floundering, we shouldn't hang our self esteems on whatever grade we saw... So I was mentally prepared for my 40 or whatever... I stink at cutting tournees, my attemps at emulsification have never been successful before... And yet, here I am with a B on my first practical! Here's the grading rubric:

Veloute Sauce: 15/20
(great consistancy, right taste, but I reduced it too much, yeilding only half of what I was supposed to produce)
Hollandaise: 18/20
(perfect color, great emulsification, slightly lacking in the flavor department)
Mayonnaise: 15/20
(weak emulsification and extremely lacking in taste. I have no clue what mayonnaise should taste like since I can't stand the stuff... Needless to say, I wasn't offended)

Knife Skills: 16.5/20
(minor size/consistancy issues, but my tournees were great for a first try? Okay...)

Time Management and sanitation: 18/20
(I pushed over into the "grace period" with my sauces... Whoops... Oh well!)



I was soo excited! Tomorrow, we're making breakfast foods! Omelettes, Croque Madame, Eggs Benedict, Crepes, Cheese blintzes, Garden frittata, and fried/sunny/overeasy eggs! It's going to be glorious, minus the strait up eggs at the end there... After I've stuffed myself with blintzes and crepes, I'm flying out to Arizona for Michelle's babyshower!

Ahhh, it is good times, my friends...

Plenty-o-Time

I'm already 1/3 of the way through Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Year 3) thanks to the hour a day I spend on the train! I just started the Harry Potter series a little less than a month ago, but between the ride to school and the spare time I have on campus (I'm always obsessively early, remember?) I have been able to just fly through these books! I'm loving them by the way, so if you didn't jump on the band waggon way-back-when like myself, definitely try to get your hands on them someday.

Second Time's a Charm?

Week two of culinary school has almost come to a close and I am still loving it! Today we made beef consomme, puree of split pea soup, and a classic bechamel sauce. I took charge on the sauce. And had to make it twice...

I stopped stirring for just a second too long to observe a demonstration and the flour from the roux had all stuck to the bottom. So I had to dump it out and start over. The second time around, I hardly ever took my whisk out of the pot, giving Chef something more to pick on me for... As if he really needed anymore help! :P However, the second go around was superb!

The "taste all you make" rule is absolutely my favorite! And puree of split pea soup is actually quite tasty!

What a Week!

And it's only Wednesday...

School= wonderful
Work= Not so much any more...

My classes have been all very interesting and fun. Great teachers, new friends, and index cards. Lots and lots of index cards. I'm still super super excited about getting into the kitchen, even if it is at 6:30 am (or before since I'm ocd)!

Tart Bakery in Plano has not been as much of a money maker as the owners had hoped and so they're trying to cut back on somethings, reorganize their staff and such... Which means that I'm currently out of a job... So it's back to the drawing board. I think I'll get on board with a catering company or something... Lots of opportunity from my school, so I'm not too concerned. Just a little bummed. I really liked it at Tart...

At least I can look forward to getting my Megan in town sometime Thursday/Friday AND my Grady on Friday! Plus many many more of my OU friends will be in town for the big Oklahoma vs. saxet game and I can't wait to see them!

And now for a nap. It's my only hope of waking up at 5 tomorrow morning.

Sweet Jesus-

Please keep on smiling down on me. Be with me as I start in this new adventure.

I know that sounds soo cheesy, Lord- something someone would say because they want to sound more eloquent while praying- but that honestly is what this is.

I know you know. I know you know I know you know. I really am glad your sovereign, it's a pretty cool thing. Makes talking with you a lot easier.

Anyways, I ask that I might not push you aside as my anxiety and excitement creep in as my classes start or when I end up sitting next to a stranger on the train. You're cool, it's all cool, I just need to keep talking to you all day...

Thanks for loving me always. I love you too.

PS- thanks for the sunshine.

One More Week!

School starts next Monday and I am sooo stoked! I absolutely cannot wait to be submersed in culinary classes finally! I think I'll feel a little a little more stable and secure. I'm not exactly enjoying this feeling of limbo.

Apparently, I'm not as awful at frosting cupcakes as I thought I was- after realizing that I was what had "happened to the cupcakes" the girls at work said that I was doing well for having only been working a couple of days! It's a really fun job- the girls are crazy and fun. Still no real luck on the phone confidence...



Some random photo collection to come once I figure out this mystery of a phone...

I Don't Have a Creative Title Today

But things are going really well all the same! The job is magnificent! I'm learning the pricing slowly, but oh so surely. The customers so far have been pretty patient while I ask Stephanie a million and thirty-four questions, but I have the cash register and credit card machine down and I'm almost comfortable enough to answer the phone without hesitation and wincing! It'll take a while before I can handle taking special event or cake orders on my own. People here are unforgiving; a woman last week claimed that we ruined her daughters first birthday because the color frosting didn't match precisely the pink of the table cloth and napkins. Mind you, she never gave us a color swatch... Other than picky picky Plano and Dallasites, the job is really fun! I'm awesome with the sprinkles and practicing my cupcake frosting in the down time! I love our little brown aprons!

Interesting tid bit for your enjoyment: I figured since I've been working and babysitting but not spending a cent of it, I could justify some new tennis shoes. I've had the same pair since the beginning of high school which are now smelly, falling apart, and squeak when I make any movement in them! So I went to the New Balance store earlier to get the help and advice I needed in my purchasing endeavor and found out that my foot sizing situation is a little more ridiculous than I had realized... I knew from buying pointe shoes years ago that my left foot is larger than my right; in the pointe shoes, it was only a half size difference... Today was the first time I've had my foot measured since 11th grade and it showed that my right foot is a 9-9.5 while my left foot is a 10.5-11... Awesome. I've never seen a sales rep so thoroughly disturbed before! He recommended a size 10 as a happy medium, and it works in that it's not too tight on the left nor too loose on the right. I really want to put them on and go for a run right now, but it's a little too toasty out for that. I'll just have to be patient for a few more hours...

Come On Already!

Good night nurse, I'm ready for things life to pick up again! I really want to work and I am so excited about starting classes that it almost hurts! Fortunately, the job starts Tuesday at 10am! And with any luck, I'll come home to a newly carpeted bedroom and study! Then after exactly one month to the day, I'll be able to move myself in... Mom and Pops absolutely cannot wait to get their dinning room back, I'm sure! And I can't wait to have my life organized and back in order, but most of all, I'm excited to not be living out of boxes and bags any more!

Completely unrelated- I love babysitting in this town. People here have too much money and will use it to ensure that you'll actually answer the phone when they call to schedule the next date or appointment. Apparently, I am in high enough demand around here that I can incur $12 per hour as the going rate for the family wanting first place in the pecking order of my calendar... I'd say that's a little gratuitous- $7 or $8 per hour is just fine by me, but why negotiate for less when they want to throw their money at you? Better yet, agree to babysit a few kids from a couple families so all of their parents can go party together- you get paid a solidly huge chunk from the coordinating parents AND have other parents tip you as well! Yeah, that's fine; I'll buy myself a tank of gas and some croutons for a drive on up to Noma off the bonus bucks.



I'm really hungry but having just finished reading Night by Elie Wiesel, I almost feel bad walking out to my excessively stocked pantry and/or fridge in the middle of the night at my own freedom.

It's Official!

I have a job at Tart Bakery! I'll be receiving my schedule by the end of the week and I'll start sometime next week! For the first few weeks, I'll work along side the managers until I feel comfortable and confident on my own. Until then, I'll be studying the menu and learning the pricing; Kristen said that I don't need to worry about precise memorization yet because that will all come along later in time with experience. But it'll be easier on me when I start if I have a decent idea of the dollar range for different items.

I am so ridiculously excited! I need something to do! Since completion of room painting, I've been wickedly bored. Mostly enjoying the novelty of my new bed and phone--either napping or playing... And room reorganization will occupy a substantial part of my time once the new carpet is installed, but that won't be for another couple weeks.

Regardless, I do look forward to working for the sake of working and not just because it gets me out of the house. This bakery seems like it'll be great experience and really good fun! Many long hours on my feet, plenty of smiling and sales, but all exactly what I want to do.

Oh, I can hardly wait!

PS- check out Spiders on Drugs- it's a quality vid :)