And in a flash...it's over!
It is absolutely incredible to believe...no, to KNOW, that I have completed Skills I. Good grief. Could three weeks go ANY faster? I mean, really? It's one of those strange passages of time though where the days seem to streth on forever. Each day is so filled with so many different things that the almost 8-hour stretch of time actually could well be several days, or a week, or sometimes even a year. But the overall time period just zooms by without regard to what actual reality should feel like. The point is, however, that in what seemed like a snap of the fingers, a blink of aneye, I finished Skills I and am now poised, on Monday, to enter the world of Skills II.

Of course, Skills II won't be all that different from Skills I. Same kitchen. Same chef. Same people. But less only sauce and much more a little of everything. Les plats complets, you know. I am excited to begin working with proteins. To fiddle about with starches. To play with the veg. I mean, Hollandaise is exciting and all, but I didn't come here for that. Or at least, just that. I came here to learn the rhythm and flow of food from nothing to plate. And that's where we're moving. Huzzah much?

In other news, I am now, what one could consider, involved on campus. I'm the new Public Relations Manager for the Student Government Association and I'm a core member of the Chefs Sustaining Agriculture. With the former I get a shiny gavel pin to wear on my chef coat and with the latter I get mad hippie cred to supplement my already extensive mad hippie cred. Truly, I DO believe quite strongly in sustainable agriculture, regionality, seasonality and all that jazz. I'd believe even more strongly in it if we could figure out a way to make sure the average American family could actually afford to use local, sustainable product, but you can refer to an earlier post I wrote (regarding a TRUE family-values platform) for more of that diatribe in waiting. Being involved is cool and we all know how I like belonging. And it all fits with my plans to take over the world.

The Great White North continues to be the Great Cold-But-No-Real-Sign-of-White North. Apparently just some miles to the North of us here in NY, people are trying to dig themselves out of something absurd like six feet of snow, while here in the Valley we're sitting pretty without any prospect of snow on the horizon. Weird winter? You bet. Am I'm complaining all that much? Obviously, no...I don't think I've ever hid my absolute dislike for the white stuff BUT it does beg the question: is this strange weather an indicator of a much larger, more perversive and perhaps more dangerous picture? Or is it merely a blip in the old almanac? Time, perhaps, will tell, but by then will it be too late? So many questions, too many secrets, not enough straight answers.

Peace Corps week is coming up. I got some new lovely stickers, bookmarks and a prettier, updated map from DC yesterday in the mail. If anyone would like a lovely bookmark with interesting facts about Peace Corps service, let me know.

Besides that, there's not much in terms of news to share. Skills I down, 3 more weeks and then we start actual production. Scary? A little. Exciting? I'm jumping out of my skin!