3 Weeks Down, 44 Up

I'm keeping myself busy and school is fun, I have friends, more than I thought I would. That's good news. It's ridiculous but I can't seem to sink in here with my other half somewhere else. I have hobbies, good food, aspirations, a schedule, a job, money, beauty everywhere and I just can't settle, I'm always turning my head away from something and looking for another thing. I speak to Mag no less than every 4 or 5 hours.



I went camping last weekend with 4 friends from class. We drove to Chemainus after class and bought groceries, and more importantly, raspberry wine. We ate well and swam in the coldest freshwater I have ever swam in. It took me 20 minutes to get the courage to cross the river (due to the cold, not the current), I did, got out, warmed up and got my heartbeat back to normal, then dove off some rock back in and to the other side, then we left. There was bear poo, it looked like raspberry but didn't have the same aroma. We drank and laughed a lot, it felt healthy. I opted to sleep outside after remembering my discomfort on the last camping trip, it was pretty special sleeping in the grass. I felt great the next day.

We've made a lot of cool stuff in class these last 3 weeks. A whole world of stocks, thickeners and sauces; white, brown, bouillon, fricasse, blanquette, beurre manie, roux, cream, bechamel, tomato with prima vera, hollandaise, balsamic and white wine vinegarettes, caesar. I've deboned whole chickens, made french-fries, learned how to properly clean a mango (finally), eaten jicama, cut more shallots than I have in my entire life, and made fresh mayonaisse. It was all fun but the games are over, on Tuesday I go into main-kitchen rotation, I start in pastry, the most challenging station. If you make a mistake with a sauce, you change it, if you make a mistake with a cake, you throw it out. There are 8 people in my group and 3 of them are probably the most unprofessional, uncaring and immature people I've ever worked with, 1 of them I am nervous to work near...should be fun once we go to a la carte. Not that cooking shouldn't be fun but if you're having fun it's 'cause you wanna be there, not 'cause you're bored and your mind isn't on your work.

Here is a photo of me with a huge spider that was in my kitchen. Objects in photo are larger than they appear.



Trust me, it was huge, it just looks small 'cause I have a giant head.

It's a long weekend, I was thinking about hanging out at the airport and catching a last-minute cancellation but the trip home was far too epic for even my unfaltering limits of patience. Fly to Philly from Ottawa at 6am, Philly to Bellingham WA, Bellingham to Seattle, 3 hour Seattle ferry to Victoria, coach from Victoria to Nanaimo. Total travel time was 14 hours for what could be accomplished in a 3 hour flight. I'm just gonna skateboard instead, there are great parks here, I've skated every day for the last...while. I might also call my Dad's friend John Tanner and inquire into whether he and his family would be interested in visiting some local vineyards or cheesefarms.

I probably have a job, $19 an hour, 4 hours every Monday night, bistro linecook. It's just to aid in getting myself home at Christmas.

112 days until I kiss Mag at the airport.

Here is a poster I bought.



I'm going to skate.