a new year... and some resolutions

Well, it is a whole new year... 2008 and I realize I'm a total slacker. Well, at least I have been at writing on this thing. Man, a year ago I was posting all the time, with cool pictures and stories from ICE... those days are long gone. Now I work my ass off and am lucky that I have time to catch up on my sleep and pay my bills!

But it is all good... I'm still loving my work and having a good old time with my coworkers. The restaurant even hosted a great party for all of us, giving us two days off from work - one to gear up and attend the event, and the other to recover from hours of open bar! And I'll tell you what, if there is one thing you can rely on restaurant folks to do, that is drink till they can't drink no more! Or at least until the bar closes... then we find somewhere else to go!

So I have three simple resolutions this year...

one... to stretch every day so my muscles aren't so tight... seriously I can hardly touch my toes anymore without bending my knees... this is a sad state of affairs for a girl who used to go to the gym 5 out of 7 days and do pilates 3 of those days (well, in the height of my gym obsession)

two... to divert some of my paycheck into an account to help me be able to live somewhat comfortably when i'm an old lady who can't touch her toes... but seriously, one thing the restaurant industry isn't famous for is setting up their employees (financially or otherwise) for their future... that is why i'm taking it into my own hands

three... to have some experiences here in nyc (brooklyn) that broaden my horizons and then share them with you, via this little lonely blog...

wishing you the best in the new year... anyone that might check in on this pathetic thing...

falling... for brooklyn

Man, I'm a slacker... I'll be lucky if anyone even reads this thing anymore! But anyway I'll write with no explicit promise to write more frequently than every 2 months...

Last Tuesday I literally fell on 7th Ave in Park Slope. It sucked. I've fallen three times on the street since I moved to NYC (and I was completely sober every time - for all you doubters out there) and once at work (see old post below from August). I've been falling like a little girl running too fast. The second time was the worst, ripped my favorite pair of jeans and had a big nasty cut on my knee. Now I have a scar... seriously like a little kid! Last Tuesday wasn't too bad, bloodied my hands and did something weird, but not permanent to my knee - no blood or cuts involved though. I also didn't tear up my second favorite pair of jeans. Thank goodness!

It made me think that I need to slow down! I'm thinking about applying it to all areas of my life, except for work, where moving as fast as you can is actually beneficial and necessary. But I still find myself walking quickly, passing people by on the street. Rushing around, but not always in a frantic "i'm late" kind of way. I decided I'm just a fast walker; I have long legs and they like to move quickly to take me where I want to go.

Also in the vein of moving slow, I read Michael Pollan's Omnivore's Dilemma and was disturbed by the picture he painted of the food society in which we live. I'd suggest reading it; it will open your eyes to what industrial food it doing to our bodies and our environment. I wish I could say since reading the book I've been able to live outside of the industrial food establishment, but that is not true. I just think about it more and have tried to make some conscious choices to do my part to say, "Hey, I care about how my food gets to me and I want to make sure that in 30 years, my little baby relatives have the opportunity to eat real food... energy that comes from the sun to nourish their little bodies with as few middlemen involved as possible." One of the choices I've made is to support the organic and sustainable farmers at the farmer's market. I would encourage people to find local farmers and find out more about their farming practices and buy produce and meat from them.

I could go on and on about this, but I will leave you with one last compelling realization I had on Sunday while watching a segment on 60 Minutes about MRSA, a new strain of staph virus that can only be controlled/eliminated by one drug. ONE DRUG!!! So many pharmaceuticals (especially antibiotics) are put into the food we eat that drug companies make more money selling their antibiotics to food related sources (companies raising livestock, for example) than to sick people. I truly believe that now people are getting sicker because of it. If there wasn't such an abundance of antibiotics out in the world now (especially in our food sources), the viruses may not mutate as frequently and with such destructive consequences as they are now.

And for another little branch off the living sustainably and responsibly rant I'm on... A few weeks back I was walking down 7th Ave in Park Slope and stopped dead in my tracks to see my brother's friend, Matt Eskuche's glass art in a shop - see my links: EssVetro, for more info on Matt. The shop is called Greenjeans and I had a chance to visit the exhibition and talk to the owners, Amy & Jae. They are interested in supporting artisans who understand and demonstrate a passion for their craft, whether it is glassblowing, pottery, woodwork, doll making, etc. I think that this is something that can easily be applied to the food world too - cheesemakers, winemakers, artisan bakers, chocolate makers, farmers. So see, it indeed does come back around for me to food.

And in a total birdwalk of thinking...
I need to make an effort to carry around my camera more often. A few weeks back I saw an all black squirrel on the way from my apartment to the subway. I was totally amazed. An all black squirrel!!! I've never seen a black squirrel. I didn't know they existed. I've seen this squirrel a few times. Anyway, I need to post a picture so people don't think I'm completely nutty. I also find that if I ride the F train late at night and I'm in a certain car there is a man that appears to be dead asleep but then wakes up every now and then to pee in the corners near the doors. He does this while moving himself down the length of the train until he decides to move to the next car. While I'm disgusted, I'm also fascinated that he will do this while there is a relatively populated train. It gets me wondering if he is a drunk, is completely kooky or maybe just incontinent? I'd like to take a picture of him because it is just a very strange experience to be on the train and realize a man is peeing in the corner.

8 days a week... i love-oh-ove-oh-ove it!

My chef has me scheduled to work for eight days this week... well, it isn't exactly a week now is it? Some how miraculously though those 8 days have broken up perfectly to 3 days in one pay period and 5 in another. Definitely would have loved the OT... but on the bright side, I have Saturday & Sunday off to watch some Red Sox vs. Yankees action and some Patriots football.

Wanted to update you all on the "best bruise ever" situation. After speaking with my personal medical consultant (aka Mom) and evaluating if I could walk the next day, my bruised ass did not go to the doctor. My bumm is still sore and the colors are changing and the bruised area is getting bigger, but all in all things are good. I must say though, I find often I sleep on my stomach, but not having the option of sleeping on my back is really throwing me for a loop in the middle of the night!

shoes & bruise

The Shoes.... So about 1 year ago with the help of my former coworkers, I was able to afford an awesome pair of dansko clogs to stand around on my feet for tons of hours. I seriously couldn't be happier with them. They made it through culinary school with me and kept me tall and well supported. Since my externship and taking my job, they have been through a lot - splattered with batter, dusted with flour, coated with simple syrup, christened with strawberry sauce... but the worst offender is water... and every night they get doused with water when I'm cleaning... then, put in my locker in a humid damp locker room... and have taken to developing mold spores! Yuck! So way back when I purchased these lovely shoes I also purchased a cleaning kit as well as a waterproofing spray. Although the clogs were given a good bath of the waterproofing spray a few times, the excessive amounts of water that my feet come in contact with seem to be trying to counteract the effect. So here is a picture of my favorite shoes, one pre cleaning, one post cleaning...

The Bruise.... I've sustained some injuries in my life, but nothing nearly this, well, purple/black/maroon. Tonight while walking down the stairs, I slipped on the second to last one and while holding a tray full of random items I was bringing back to the kitchen, lost my footing and fell straight down on the same step onto my ass! It shook me, but honestly, I truly believe that if I hadn't been carrying anything, and tried to catch myself, it might have been worse. Maybe not... I guess I'll never know... But for all of you who always wished you could see, here is a nice shot of my bumm and my best bruise ever! And for all of you who are concerned, yes I have worker's comp and yes, I'm considering seeing a doctor tomorrow and yes, at 3:44am, as I post this, I have ice on my bumm!

hanging in the slope

The restaurant was closed on Sunday and Monday for Labor Day. That is definitely a nice perk. We are actually closed on a few holidays and the days surrounding those days. That is sort of nice, it means I might actually get to see some family on some holidays.

Otherwise work is going well. I'm finally getting into a nice groove. I still have to figure out how to be faster. I'm afraid that might mean cutting corners. I'm not sure I'm willing to do that. I share the station I work with another girl and I feel like sometimes she doesn't do everything I would if I was working the station. If I'm there and I'm working another position, I look over and she's making coconut tarts an hour after she arrives. I think "Damn, why am I so slow?" But then I get on the station and take a look at what has and hasn't been done and think "Could she have fit that into her schedule?" I'm not sure. All that matters at that point is how much I can get done without being totally in the shit.

Anyway... enough about work... bottom line: It is fun. I look forward to going everyday. I welcome the challenge, even if I feel like I'm having a panic attack during service. Supposedly, after Labor Day the number of covers (aka reserved diners) goes up to at least 200, usually more, every night until after Valentine's Day. Holy monkey... can't wait for that!

Otherwise... my life is chill. Today in the park was a trip. I was walking down the street and through the meadows and paths in Prospect Park and wishing all my friends and family were around me and we were having a big ass bbq and throwing frizbees around and my bro was strumming on the guitar and there was lots of good food and tons of laughs. Instead I laid out on the grass in the sun and passed the hell out! Naptime! Then I got a double scoop of ice cream on my way home (rocky road & chocolate peanut butter) from this pretty good little place called Uncle Louie G's.... and thought about the fact that his neighborhood needs a homemade ice cream place like JP Licks back in Boston.

bruised, but not (totally) broken

Well, as many of you know, I started a new job over a month ago when I got back from my little vacation in Cali. It has been crazy because I'm still commuting from NJ to NYC almost every day. There have been 3 people that have given their notice since I joined the pastry kitchen staff. Staff turnover always makes learning a new station a little more difficult. When I joined the staff I was doing mostly production work... making parts of desserts for a restaurant that does over 200 covers on average per night. I was getting into the swing of things and really had a great groove down. Then I was trained on the "cold" station during evening service. That was challenging, but really fun. I love working service - the heat and buzz of the kitchen, the vibe and feel of line cooks grilling meat, ducking and spinning between their lowboys and their flattops or ovens, the sous chef's voice a constant reminder of the ebb and flow of the evening.

I was hired to replace one person and my chef shifted other staff members to fill an open spot on days, but then as two more evening service people gave there notice, I was trained on the "hot" station during service. All I can say to describe this station is that it is the culmination of all the work every single employee does in the pastry kitchen. There is an insane amount of pressure as suddenly, you become responsible for leading the pastry service and the look and intergrity of every dessert plated and delivered to guests.
* Melted ice cream? Managers in the front of house complain to your chef before they come to talk to you about it...
* Server puts in the wrong order? So this job requires a little psychic ability too now?
* The new guy calls in "sick" after too many beers with the staff the night before (it's his 3rd day!!!)? Yup, you're hung over too but do you pussy out and call in? Nope, you suck it up and suffer through what could maybe be one of the worst working days of your entire life.

So what I'm getting at here, is this - I'm learning a lot. A lot about my work ethics, my goals, my sense of leadership and how I need to motivate myself to come back after a day where I felt like I wanted to walk out after a brutal night and maybe never come back! So this is what I chose for myself, this is the profession I wanted to be in. I might have chosen to ease into the "hot" role a little more gently, but frankly, my chef had to look at the staff she had remaining and figure out who she could trust to take on the responsibility. I'm flattered that she's given me the opportunity to take on the role. I'm also pissed because it is a painful, painful learning process. Right now, no matter how fast I move, how much I think I accomplished in the hours before service starts, it seems that I'm still never on time and always have at least one more thing that I need to do. One of the girls who works the station now and has been working it for a few months said, "One day it will just click. You'll suddenly have five minutes before service starts and you'll be up at the station and everything will be done and in it's place. But it takes a few weeks, just stick with it."

So that is what I'll do. This is indeed what I've chosen for myself. I need to embrace the idea of being the person on the evening staff with the most experience, even if it is a little forced and sudden. Maybe some day I want to run a pastry kitchen, just because I haven't done it before doesn't mean I can't do it or that I should think that people look at me and think I don't have the experience to be a leader.

My life in pictures... for the last month...

Went to a Red Sox game at Yankee Stadium. Nothing like friendly Fenway, but still fun! The bleachers are so steep once I was sitting down, I couldn't bear to get up for beers. The Sox lost, so I didn't have to endure too much abuse. We were up by about 8 games at that point, now we're still up 11 games. GO SOX!
My Mom has an beautiful yard. She spends a lot of effort landscaping and caring for her garden. There was a pretty bad frost this winter in Cali and she lost lots of plants - including a large part of her outdoor orchid collection. I'd have to say she did an amazing job of bringing the yard back to life! Here I'm having a nice little conversation with my adorable 20 month old niece. She was nice enough to be giving me little pieces of grass, which I would blow into the air and then we'd have a good laugh about it. Later we were playing bubbles, where she would blow imaginary bubbles and I would chase them around her front yard. That was also a hoot!
This is the little lady eating an apple. She's a good little eater. Some times she wouldn't like the part of the apple she was eating and then just spit it out. On the couch. It was funny, but not a good habit to encourage.
Here is my brother, Mike, selling his glass at Solana Beach. He's there every Sunday with an amazing selection of jewelry, vases, paper weights, globe ornaments, goblets and many other unique wares. Catch him every Sunday at the Solana Beach farmer's market.The pot with the flowers is mine! I bought that from him. It is beautiful. I can't wait to put something colorful and bright in it.
This was one of the funny things that Pyke and I did at my Mom's house. There is a cabinet that has glass doors on both sides. We enjoyed smudging it up by making faces and peeking through at each other.