I wish I was a drinker

Seriously, I'm not joking. Tomorrow is my first day of the American Bounty Restaurant - Front of the House. First day we take a quiz which will test our knowledge of the menu. Besides knowing all the starters, soups, salads, entrees, and desserts that are on the menu, we are also responsible for knowing wines, beers, scotches, whiskeys, gins, rums, and bourbons. And that's exactly why I wish I would've been a drinker - I would have some sort of pre-existent knowledge of the alcohol. Instead, I have to memorize the entire list, trying to keep the scotches away from the whiskeys, and gins away from the bourbons. Back to studying!

The end is near

Today, September 25th marks the official end of my kitchen classes at the CIA - the checkered pants that have been a pain in my waist for so long are in the trash, and so is the apron that has been bleached over and over again and yet still has the grey stains from the aluminum steel that is so prevalent in our kitchens.

Today marks the end of paper toques, burners that don't work, greasy sheet trays, and mismatched pots and pans. I'm hoping it is also the end of slicing my finger and going to the emergency room to stop the bleeding, or burning my arms in a 400F oven. But sadly it is also the end of experiencing and learning from some great chefs and instructors.

What's next? Over the next three weeks - my LAST three weeks at The CIA, I will be taking Front of The House class, working in the dining room of the American Bounty restaurant, which kitchen I occupied over the last three weeks. With a smile and a notepad, I will take food and drink orders from our customers and deliver their food in a timely manner. I'll be a waitress!!!

Top of the Class

A few days ago I got a call from the Financial Aid Office - in the middle of my class. A bit panicked, I picked up the phone to find out why they were contacting me - as far as I was concerned, I was fully paid through the last two classes at the CIA and no longer owed anything to the school.

Turns out, that for once, the school wasn't asking me for money, but were giving me a scholarship! As a student with the highest GPA in my class, I was honored with the Presidential Scholarship Award - very exciting!

On my way to the Financial Aid office, I was contemplating the generosity of the award - boy did I have high hopes! For the school that is definitely expensive, the award was rather skimpy. The Presidential Scholarship amounted to $1,000 or 1.5% of the tuition. Yeah!

Next week, I will be presented the award during the new student orientation for the incoming class, in hope of inspiring a few students to reach high for academic achievement.

Better Late than Never

I am a bit embarrassed to share this story. I've had my car for a bit over 4 years and over the last 4 years have driven quite a bit - particularly in the last year (New York to Iowa and back, Iowa to Wisconsin, NY to DC, etc.). I've been getting better at driving long distances, but still, it's hard, and I get tired - especially my right foot, controlling the gas and break pedal.

From time to time, during the dreadful hours of driving, I have been considering using the cruise control feature of my car - but somehow, randomly pressing the buttons has never worked for me - and I wasn't about to pull out a manual while driving 80 mph (i mean 60 mph...of course).

Well, the wait is over. This Labor Day weekend, on the drive from Montreal to Hyde Park, my friend and co-driver Erica has patiently explained the use of cruise control. I am a changed driver.

I wonder what else I have been missing out on :)