Whoa... today was the last day of my first quarter in culinary school. I'm reeling a little bit. The practical for my class felt as intense as any academic test I've ever taken (although I hear it only gets better from here!). Grades were great, but as Bev put it when I spoke to Dad over the phone, "that's wonderful, although not at all surprising." I do feel like I've learned more in the last few weeks than I did in the ENTIRE TIME I attended Purdue. I don't know if this is just because I'm so much more interested in cooking relative to engineering or if it's because the subject matter is just so different from anything I've ever looked at before. The engineering (and my previous work experiences as a crew leader at DOW) have helped in some respects though. Organization, team-leading, and logical skills help no matter whether you work on a factory floor, in a field of soybeans, or in the kitchen. Even being mechanically inclined helped me set up the stripped pasta machines in record time. Yay static mechanics! What I did find hilarious is that I actually did super well on my practical because I was working alone. *groan* I'm such a ridiculous introvert. This is one aspect of myself that I've been working on for years. Obviously, it will have to continue to be addressed because thus far I've found that most work/life-skills are collaborative even if I prefer working independently.
The worst part about the quarter being over is that I'm not sure what to do with my "three weeks off." I don't particularly want that much time to sit around forgetting everything we've learned... There is a plan in the making for visiting Jungle Jim's in Ohio sometime next week which will at least take 1 day. There are 3 Farmer's Markets (so 3 Saturday mornings). I also bought myself a pool pass so I can swim each day. This unfortunately has been hindered by the seemingly constant lightning storms that have been in the area recently, particularly around 5 o'clock when I'm walking out the door. I've also been walking up a storm which has been good (although arguably not good if I want to swim) for me. *ALL PUNS INTENDED*
I never did update the blog on my market activities. It's a long story, but essentially I ended up being the Market Master for the downtown Farmer's Market instead of having a booth there. The booth would have been an expensive startup since any kind of juice would have required a commercial kitchen or a huge amount of space, cleaning supplies and man-power at the market itself. I wound up going to the Chamber of Commerce to ask for some pointers of the Market Master as per the Health Department's recommendation. I walked in the door and asked for said Market Master and wound up speaking to the Market Coordinator instead who told me that the position was open and asked if I was interested. At first I was hesitant, but my family unanimously thought that being the Market Master would open more doors in the long run and would be a better option. Needless to say, I applied, interviewed and was offered the job which I was offered the Monday of my first day of school (oof, I need to update more often apparently). It's been a blast so far and I love the vendors. The worst aspect of the job is having to kick out all the pets that people bring to the market. It's a shame, but there's really nothing we can do about it. On the other hand, the reason for not allowing dogs is that some folks don't have well trained dogs which makes it a pain for the folks who do. Ugh, I had to kick out a cat-owner the first day! Talk about heart wrenching! Everything else has been great. It does require waking up at a ridiculous hour of the morning on Saturdays but I'm usually up so early for school that it's basically just any other day. I get up, I go to (fill in the blank: school, the store, work), I come home, I nap, I teach piano, I make awesome food, I swim and/or walk, occasionally I watch ridiculous amounts of tv on the interenet, I chill with Taffy, I go to bed. Seriously, I have the coolest life right now.
Anyway, my current plan is to write a "beginners piano book of country music" over the next 3 weks since I have so many students that have been begging me for more modern country music. I heard Lady Antebellum's "Compass" for the first time and I'm in love with it. I've started working out a simple version on the piano which I will hopefully have a chance to write down tomorrow or Saturday (or tonight if I can't sleep). Good Directions and Long Black Train are also on the list of songs to try. I have 26 days to get a book together. It shouldn't be that difficult to do if I'm dedicated. Only problem would be if I actually DO get everything together, I might only be able to use it for my students and I probably couldn't have them perform anywhere more public than a small recital unless I wrote for special permissions from the artists. Oh well, we can cross that bridge when I get to it.
Speaking of piano, I did hold a recital for my students on June 1st at the WLPL. It was a huge success. If I can upload the video on here, I will. Otherwise, I'll put it up on my youtube account and link it here a bit later. I do need to make the DVDs I promised the parents of my students and send them out before the next quarter starts.
Well, I'm essentially just writing a to-do list now. I didn't even get to talking about the trip taking Sasha down to Florida but that can wait until next time. I hope everyone is having a most excellent evening!
