New Paltz is the Ultimate.

A few things:

Firstly, I finished fundamentals this week. It is definitely a bitter-sweet feeling. I was extremely fortunate that I got to work under Chef Walnock for these fifteen weeks. She has truly been an inspiration to me and all of my classmates. She has a great mentality about baking, and life in general. I love her attitude and her mannerisms.

Secondly, I was checking my schedule and I noticed that I am not scheduled for any classes between October 12 and November 19. I went to the registrar's office to confirm that I have three weeks off from school and then immediately went to my chef. I told her that, for three weeks, I will be pulling my fingernails out because I will be so bored and begged her to give me something to do. She said that she's going to be working on a new menu for American Bounty (one of the restaurants on campus) and that she could really use some help on Thursdays and Fridays. I told her I would love to play guinea pig/research assistant/whatever she needs for those three weeks. I guess for the rest of the days I'll be working doubles at Eveready. We'll see.

Thirdly, I want an apartment. Really badly. Not that I am not the most fortunate person EVER because my roommate really rocks, but I want my own bedroom, my own kitchen, my own bathroom, my own EVERYTHING. I want MY stuff to sleep on and around. Unfortunately, I am going to have to wait until after externship gets done in June to get an apartment. I'll be renting a place in Boston, but when I get back to Hyde Park I will hopefully find a few other people who want to live off campus.

Currently, I'm sitting in a coffee shop in New Paltz with Angela, Mary and Katy. We've been here for nearly two hours. I don't want to leave. So I'm going to get off fo here to hang out with them, but I'll update as soon as something else interesting happens!

Reevaluating.

This was supposed to be an easy week for me. I'm finished with Gastronomy, Nutrition, and BIET, so I'm left with only BPT (kitchen class) and First-Year Seminar. I had all day yesterday off, and I wanted to use it to figure out my life. I made a to-do list, which included going for groceries, talking to financial aid about the tuition increase, and talking to the housing office, among other things.

Things got a little bit more complicated than I had planned when I went to financial aid. I ended up sitting down and talking to a financial aid counselor because for WHATEVER reason, the school had not bundled my private loan with the minimal government aid I receive. Basically what ended up happening is that I was told that I will be receiving about half of the refund money that I got in July. I'm now expected to live off of $2,100 for nearly 8 months, as I won't be getting much (if any) aid during my externship. As you can imagine, I was/am livid. COOL. I don't understand why people who pursue their dreams continually get the short stick.

What did I do after hearing this news? I got a job. I went right down the road, applied to be a server at Eveready, and was hired on the spot. I know how to pull myself out of a rut. I can thank my parents for that skill.

What it comes down to: is it worth it? Is being broke, frustrated, constantly over-tired, and continually on the brink of sickness worth pursuing this career path? The answer for me is yes. Yes. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. I simply cannot imagine doing anything else. For every one time I have felt confused, insecure, or unhappy, I have felt inspired and full of life 1,000 times. This school is full of people with the same glimmer in their eye. That glimmer? Passion. Passion for food, life, experiences, travel, and creativity. I thrive here, I have finally found my niche. As far as I'm concerned, this school is the ultimate stepping stone up to the pinnacle of my happiness.

So, CIA, throw everything you can at me. I may break down momentarily, I may cry more here than I ever did at UT, but I will not give up. I love it here, and no money problem can lead me astray. I've found my people, and I won't leave them easily.

Shoes.

Let me just stress something for everyone who is unaware: there is nothing more important than comfortable shoes. I could argue this point until the day I die, because this week has been hell for my feet.

Last week I was scorned by my classmates for being able to stick my fingers through the holes in the bottoms of my crappy Wal-Mart kitchen shoes that I have had for over three years. They were good shoes to me. They never hurt my feet, they were non-slip (at least for awhile), and they were less than $30. How could you ask for more? However, even I realize that shoes with holes in soles are not appropriate for kitchen wear. Not only is it unsafe, it's pretty unsanitary as well. I decided that on Saturday I was going to purchase new chef shoes.

I originally had my heart set on Dansko's (they're like...the nicest kitchen shoes ever, or something), but I really really really did not want to spend $150 on a pair of shoes that will inevitably end up having flour, eggs, and other miscellaneous food items splattered all over them. Additionally, I have no source of income right now, and my bank account is starting to look pretty thin. Instead of going to look for Dansko's, I ended up at DSW. I walked over to the kitchen shoe aisle and immediately pulled out my phone to look up reviews for every brand in the store. I found only a few negative ones, but most of the shoes had pretty good write-ups. After nearly an hour of trying on clogs, mary janes, heeled shoes, flat shoes, and nearly every other kind of shoe, I settled on some low-heeled clogs by BOS.

This is where I will tell you that this purchase was one of the worst in my life. I didn't realize until Tuesday that I had made such an awful choice, but throughout my 6.5 hour kitchen class I struggled. I ended up having to sit down to keep myself from crying from the pain in my feet. After class, I walked/hobbled/half-crawled back to my dorm barefooted. It was finally when I got back to the dorm and realized that I could not even stand long enough to take a 10-minute shower that I panicked: I had already thrown my Wal-Mart shoes in the trashcan.

Wednesday was no better. At the beginning of class I felt a twinge of hope because my feet hurt a little less than the day before; I assumed this meant that they were forming to fit my feet. I was completely wrong. By the end of that class I WAS crying. I had tears rolling down my cheeks as I tried, with as much dignity as possible, to make the trek back to my dorm. I ended up coming up to my room, getting in the shower, curling up in a ball, and staring at my purple toenails in horror for nearly half an hour. The next morning I woke up to find my toenails still a light violet color, and my feet swollen up to nearly twice their size.

I don't have any choice at this school about whether or not I can attend class. I lose a letter grade every time I miss, so I jumped out of bed, yelped from the pain, and stumbled into the bathroom to get ready. It was then I remembered that my Wal-Mart shoes were still in the trashcan. So I dug. It was shameful, and it certainly did not help my already fragile emotional state, but I rummaged until I pulled those shoes out of the trash. I didn't even care that their home had been a toss bucket (Ruchi's word) for the past three days. I could not have been happier to wear them.

My feet finally feel better today. I'm walking more normally, and I no longer fear the loss of my toenails. I will not, however, be wearing the BOCs again. Dealing with that much pain for over 6 hours in a kitchen is nearly soul-shattering.

Moral of the story? Buy shoes that you know will support your feet. Ask your classmates and chefs which brands they prefer and listen to them. Don't be an idiot. I'm here to learn lessons for you people, so heed my advice.

To Infinity, and Beyond!

I have so much to say this week. First of all, I realize that it has been awhile since I've posted, I've just been so busy and sick this past week I didn't feel much like blogging.

SO. Last week I was really really sick. I had a miserable cough, I was congested, and generally just run down. I ended up at the doctor on Monday, and he prescribed me antibiotics. I've really only been feeling decent for two days now, but at least I made it through the weekend.

Even though I was sick, I am required to come to class as long as I'm not dying. So on Tuesday and Wednesday I hauled myself up to Roth Hall and endured two six-hour kitchen classes. This week, I was on the tart station. We had freedom to choose the flavors of tart we made, so we chose: a 10" peach and blueberry tart, chocolate and caramel mini tarts, a raspberry linzer tart (we didn't get to choose that), and smaller tarts that featured an array of fruit. The best part about tart day was chef telling me that if I sold my peach tart in a bakery, it would be the first thing to go, regardless of price. *ego boost*

By Friday I was feeling a little less like death, so I headed to Boston after my last class. I had previously arranged a stage (temporary employment stint) at a restaurant in Cambridge called Craigie on Main. I may have mentioned this in a previous post, but I got to do the actual work on Saturday. I showed up at 9 AM, nervous as I could be, and walked in through a large red door on the back of the building. I quickly stumbled upon a man sweeping the floor who spoke no English. Fortunately, he directed me to the lady I was going to be working under for the day: Jess.

To get started, she gave me a tour of the area I would be working in. It's a cave. Literally, a cave. It's the craziest restaurant set up I've ever seen. The baking and prep areas are downstairs (underground), as well as dry storage and a small wine cellar. That was where I worked for eight hours. It was great. I started out cutting peaches, melting chocolate, making rochers, and making dough for galettes. It was near the end of my shift that I was allowed to do something really cool; I was taught how to make frozen desserts with liquid nitrogen. I spun a buttermilk ice cream, as well as a coconut sorbet, and I couldn't have been more excited. What a cool thing to know how to do.

At the end of the night, Jess took me into her "office" (the dry storage area) and talked to me about how I did. She said she was very impressed with my speed and my ability to do multiple things at once. She said I am a lot better at both of those things than a majority of people with my experience level. I was really excited to hear that. After our short conversation, she offered me the opportunity to externship at Craigie. She said she wanted me to come back and do a production shift (where I work when the restaurant is actually putting out desserts) on October 6th, but that she would be glad to see me working at Craigie for the 18 weeks I am allotted to extern.

^That's the building. It's adorable.

I GOT OFFERED AN EXTERNSHIP!!!!! I am so pleased with myself. I will most likely be working under Jess Scott, the best pastry chef in Boston, from late January until mid-May. What a cool weekend! I'm so stoked!

While I have been offered an opportunity, I am still waiting to hear back from a few places in San Francisco, and one place in Charleston, SC. I need to weigh out all of my options before I decide where I want to end up for four months. I'll post more when I know more!