Intro to baking finals are today.

Thus far I have a C in the class due to my inability to study hard enough for the written exams. My production is on point though and hopefully that will save me from failure.

Luckily I'm also working with a great team and our final product usually kills!

Next semester I will be taking on a larger credit load as a mere experiment and to advance a little quicker.

In the meantime, I'll worry about finishing up the next two days and doing as well as possible.

Missing All the Fun

So, I've been absent for a minute. Again with the time restrictions and the trying to balance everything in my life. I've got quite the number of things I have to blog about so check back tomorrow for some more fun. I haven't even updated gone through my RSS in at least a week. EEK!

In the meantime, check out my sweet pastry work here. Heh.

Busy Busy.

So I've been away again for a minute, but only due to a serious lack of time. Coupled with my CPS [Chronic Procrastination Syndrome], I'm barely getting things did. School is going strong and baking is proving to be more of a science than an actual skill. Been making everything from muffins to pizza to fancy brioche and creme brulee. Tons of fun. A ridiculous contrast can be seen or felt, at least by me, on how much more I enjoy these courses versus accounting and statistics.

Midterm is coming up next Monday so I'm going to have to take a leave of absence this weekend from all social activities, with exception on Friday night for work and Sunday night with The Blackjacks who will rock everyone's faces off. Nothing like good dirty-denim-sex-rock to get me prepared for a baking midterm. Heh.


In the meantime, trip out on this come-to-life South Park-type dillio:

The Monowheel:



Not sure how old the real deal is, but I just learned of it's existence and I can't stop laughing at the South Park reference.

From the office, with love...

Dearest Blogosphere,

I have not been neglecting you out of malicious intent. I have been quite busy taking care of life. Or not taking care of it, I suppose is also a safe assumption. Needless to say that the new school-after-work schedule is limiting my spare time.

It is, however, for the good of mankind.

I have been making simple breads during Week 2 of Intro to Baking. This week there will be more yeast breads. On that note, the progress gallery and current "beta-portfolio" can be seen at my flickr site.

Week 3 begins today, I really should be doing my homework.

Love,

Me.

First Week. [Culinary School]

It is now Thursday and I have completed my first week of Intro to Baking and Pastry, and although I could have done better, it was not a complete catastrophe. We took our first quiz, it was (thankfully) an open book quiz. Following that it was production time. We got to make a few items and this time we worked it a bit differently. Instead of making every recipe a group effort, we each took one recipe and worked on it. First we had the Strawberry Shortcakes. (I ate almost all the left over strawberries). I had nothing to do with these, other than the fact that they were done by one of my teammates, I had no hand in their making. They ended up having too much baking powder due to a recipe miscalculation. The taste was not very tastey. Overall appearance was great though.

Then there were the Popovers. Also made by the same person who worked on the aforementioned shortcakes. They appeared to be good upon being removed from the oven, but once out in the open, they flopped. They were bit floury in taste.



Then came my Sour Cream Muffins with Streussel Topping.These were entirely my creation. The taste was on point. The appearance kind of sucked because: 1. I overfilled the cups with batter 2. My streussel butter was too soft and didn't bake well and 3. I didn't let them sit and cool for long enough so they fell apart upon removing them from the tray. Overall they were delicious and they're in a bag at home waiting for me.

Then last, but not least, were the Ham and Cheese Scones. Also not my creation, but part of my team's effort to bake. Not exactly what went wrong here, but the dough was very pale and bland, and it took forever to bake.


This week my team was responsible for Sanitation and we made sure the place was spotless at the end of class. Next week, we're Sous Chefs. Can't wait to see what all that's going to entail.

Missing In Action. [Baby Steps]

Apologies for the lack of posts lately, but it has been definitely a full couple of weeks. Between the job, the school situation, and a few other personal issues, I have been lacking time, if not anything else.

I spent last week undegoing the admissions process at the Art Institute of Washington for the Culinary Arts Management program. amazingly I was accepted and I was able to finance my education, something I thought that never in a million years I would have been able to accomplish. I acquired some Sallie Mae loans, which are great and all, but all the media-infused paranoia sets in when I think about all the horror stories about them.

This week, I actually started classes. Due to my current 9-5 situation, they were awesome enough to accomodate me in an evening class schedule. This quarter I'm taking Intro to Baking, an 8 credit course, and tonight will be my third night at it. The class is beyond interesting. The people are great. My Head Chef is amazing. It's proving to be a great experience already.

I get to wear a sous chef uniform and my knife kit is rolls 51 pieces deep. The lectures and bookwork is awesome, very much unlike the accounting classes I took at NOVA.

Our blueberry muffin recipe was missing butter, which was removed in the mixing process because it coagulated too fast. The taste was definitely good, but the appearance and texture lacked.


Yesterday, although I came in a little late due to some expectedly unexpected situation, I gave an oral presentation on Eggs. That's right, eggs. Love them. Shortly thereafter, we began the lab production part of the class in which we got to bake some country muffins and blueberry cupcakes. Considering some of the atrocities I saw in the classroom, we didn't do so bad. although not perfect. Our biscuit recipe lacked a bit more butter and salt, but my eeg wash was purrrfect. And the appearance and texture were on point. They layered real pretty like.


Tonight, if I'm not mistaken, we make sour Cream muffins!

Edumacation Progress. [Baby Steps]

I made it on Wednesday to my appointment at the Art Institute to speak with an Admissions Consultant. I got a tour of the campus grounds where the culinary program takes place. A lot of it reminded me of the grounds at L'Academie, but AI had a few more tricks up their sleeve. They have an awesome part of the program where you work on the front end of the restaurant (dining room). They actually have a 4-star restaurant set up on the 12th floor near the kitchen classrooms, name Culinaire, where you serve random guests and are responsible for the operations on that side of the room. This does not take place, if I understood correctly until about your Junior year.

They have a lot more classes that go with the curriculum than a regular school does. For example, for my electives I will be able to choose classes such as Web Design or Photography. Basically anything they offer as long as it's approved by the Dean.

It was all really exciting. Being there, talking to them about it, and (although I know they're probably just worried about taking my money) they were super encouraging and helpful about everything. The campus is conveniently located about 10 minutes away from where I work currently, so that will dissolve commuting issues.

At the moment the only thing we're waiting for is for all the financial aid paperwork processing tobe completed. I locked down an appointment next Tuesday with an Admissions Officer and should everything be kosher, I should be commencing classes come April 1st. I'm really trying not to overexhert myself in anticipation just in case something comes up and this doesn't materialize, but I can say that I am doing everything in my power to achieve this. Stay tuned, more to come.

A Journey of a Thousand Miles. [Baby Steps]

Amongst the series of purposes GUE serves, one of the major ones in this project is to track the advancement in my life from the roots of where my kinship with food began and trace the path of where I hope to end with it. I've been working on a series of life revamps throughout last year and this, which include (but are not limited to) taking charge of my savings and day-to-day finances, clearing my credit report, making plans for the future, and pin-pointing what it is I want in life and where all of this is headed.

Going to culinary school is something I've talked about for almost two years now on a serious note, yet something that's played around in the back of my head for way longer. Reaching this goal, this late in the game, has become a hard goal to achieve, financially. Always caught up in the dilemma of:

• Classes are at day time hours,
  
• I have to work at these hours,
  
• I could quit my job as a sacrifice for school -
  
• But then I'd have no money to live -
  
• I could get loans and budget -
  
• My credit is not where it needs to be to get the needed bank financing,
  
• Must work to clean credit,
  
• Can't go to school because I have to work.

Wow. Just writing down this thought pattern (recurring) makes me short of breath. Definitely a very real scenario and one I deal with every time I try to figure out how to get ahead.

In any case, I've made some calls and ran some numbers. First I aimed low and compact, quick and easy by starting with L'Academie de Cuisine. Then I aimed way high by looking at the CIA, which a photo of the campus alone was enough to make me want to drop everything and go try and get a job as a janitor there. Alas, it is too expensive for me to attend, as much as I would like to. Now I'm shooting for something good and affordable (I hope), or so I intend to find out tomorrow at the Art Institute of Washington, where I hope to take on a B.Sc. curriculum in Culinary Arts Management.

I have an interview/appointment locked down with someone from Admissions who I hope will be able to open up some doors and create some options for me. This is both very exciting and nerve-wrecking at the same time. I don't want to get my hopes completely up just yet, but I can't help feeling a little bit of excitement in anticipation of perhaps finally landing where I need to be. Wish me luck!

Biomechanics: Chapter 2(?)

So I got a chance to draw some more and elaborate on my art project of biomechanics. I'm really liking how it's coming along, as well as a few of my classmates. the bad news is that I was really going out to finish this and submit it to the student art competition, but my teacher says that because it isn't traditional artwork (i.e. human figure and such) it may be rejected upon submission. He did mention I could make an attempt at submitting it as an Industrial Design piece, but he wasn't very optimistic. Kinda sucks, but I'm going to finish it anyhow, I'm really digging the shading. I'll get a better resolution pic when I get a chance, this came off my phone.

Educated guesses

Next school semester begins in about a week. After this last semester of chaos, underachievement, and disillusion, I've signed up for one art class this semester to unwind. What still lingers in my mind is whether or not I should compliment it with a design class as well. Seems like a waste of a semester to take just one class. Recreational culinary classes even.

I'm definitely not signing up for the death trap that last semester was again, but I think this semester I should do something else than just drawing.

I think my undying need to complete a degree I hate just for the sake of security is not the right choice. I need to clear my mind. Reassess my situation. And figure out where all of this falls into my long-term goals.

I feel like I've hit a point of no return. Something needs to be done without regression. There are plans and ideas floating around that will soon have some light shed on them on this blog, but not quite yet.

GRS, had a write-up today on completing college education and the difference it makes on a financial level.

I've always been of the idea (perhaps this being the very same that deters me from enjoying corporate-land and accounting classes) that going to school for four years should not be so I can waste away my life working for someone else. Making someone else rich. I am a firm believer that if I'm going to spend the rest of my life breaking my back to survive, I may as well break it for myself.

= Breakfast Toast =: Stupid Mondays

Perhaps this is also why all the courses I actually excell in, are courses I can apply to my every-day life and not some pipe dream of cubicles and artificial lighting. Seriously. Who ever thought the American dream was to live like an iguana?
The monitor your heating rock. The cubicle your tank. Lunch hour to eat the same crickets every day for the rest of your life, just hoping your tail doesn't get cut by some asshat who's having a bad day.

2007 was a year of realizations. A year of advancements. Physical. Spiritual. Mental. Moral. Financial.

2008 will be a year of applied theories and progress.

Lord knows I've got plenty of role-models to measure up against, and a list of their mistakes to compare notes with and try to not do the same. I will not submit to mediocre pre-dispositions of society. Not to sound like the idealistic, anarchy-pumped non-conformist, but I will become more than life chooses to grant me.

What would appear to be the first day of the rest of my life.