This is from Monday the 29th on my myspace blog:
Ok I guess today is a P day. I don't really know what that means though. Those are just a few things that kinda popped into my head this afternoon while I was making mayonaise products at work.
Why is patience a virtue? What is so good about it anyhow? Ever heard the saying "the early bird gets the worm"? And really, I have none. I am probably one of the most impatient you will ever meet. As you know I broke up with someone recently, and I'm starting to think it was because I wasn't patient enough with him. I'm definetly not going to put this all on me, I know it take two people to make a relationship fail, but maybe I should be taking more of the blame/responsibilty for the demise of this particular relationship. Maybe if I forced myself to wait a little longer before getting angry he would have come through and we could have communicated better.
You know though, looking back on it, I'm not sure being with him was the right decision to begin with. Not that he's a bad person or anything, but we were just so completly un-matched. (Is that a word?) And I do admit that having some differences is good, but when there are no hobbies/passions that two people share I think it gets hard to agree on activities. I really do want to be with someone who isn't exactly like me, but sharing one or two things would really also be nice.
My relationship ended and I've been a little emotionally charged, so to speak, for a few months now. But I guess when I got a little drunk and sort of had it out with him, it provided me some much needed closure.
Ok whatever, that's mostly irrevelent now anyways. On to pantry challenges. Last night I downloaded the show "Top Chef". I find it particularly funny because that's kinda what I do too. So my mom got into watching this show when I first got out of culinary school because she wanted to understand what I do better. Ha. Well anyhow it's become one of the obligatory points of discussion when we speak on the telephone. So I found out that I can download the show to my ipod, yes! I don't have cable and really don't wanna splurge on something I would only watch one night a week anyhow.
So last night I stayed in and had a marathon (of sorts) of the first two episodes of the second season. And one of the quickfire challenges was a pantry challenge of sorts. I love pantry challenges, that's pretty much how I eat when I'm home. It's especially fun when I'm at work, cause you know they have two huge walk-ins full of stuff for me to play with. Pantry challenge is self explanatory, use what's on hand, sometimes with the twist of having to use spesfic ingredients(i.e. before they go bad).
The particular one last night included of all things: escargot (mmm yum), american cheese(ick), peanuts, a potato, and I think two other things I forgot. It was pretty fun. And it definetly made me start thinking about having my own pantry challenge. Mostly as a way to utalize ingredients in different and more creative ways. It's really nice when I read something or see something that really makes me think about food the way I did before it was just a job.
Don't get me wrong, cooking for a living is definetly interesting and fun, but to some extent the work is so hard that the pay isn't really ever going to be worth it. Well not until you get to the top or are people like Tyson Cole.
I think there's been a lot of glamorization of cooking in the past few years. With all the tv shows, and this new culture of american foodies, everyone wants to cook in a restaurant. It's mostly not that fun. I mean sure there are days when it's exciting, but for the most part you make the same stuff over and over again. That's what I'm having a problem with. And I know, I know everyone says you have to pay your dues before you can do anything awesome in food. But paying dues is also a way to weed out a lot of people who don't have the motivation to truly succeed. Maybe this is just a way that I'm getting weeded out. Not that I really want to stop cooking ever, but there is something about being able to see your family on holidays, go out for a drink with friends occasionally, or even take care of my own dog that makes me want to find a better compromise. To do the things with food that I would ultimately like to do I would have to sacrafice most, if not all of the things I think are important to me right now, and I'm just not willing to do that.
It doesn't mean I can't still work on being creative with food, having my own pantry challenges if you will. And that's what I think I'm going to start doing more of. I really do enjoy that, maybe I'll have pantry challenge night at my house once a week and work on something until I can get it right. I can cook at my own house and blast my own music, cause really the music that everyone listens to at work really drives me nuts, I mean c'mon, do we have to hear the same ACDC cd like four times in a row. And the worst part is that when I go to change the music, or even just put on NPR, everyone groans.
Serisouly, if i had my way we would work ourselfs through the entire pixies catalog. They are the best band of the past 30 years, I may even go so far as to say they are also the most influential band of the past 30 years. I'm working on a CD for a friend of mine, and I'm having such a hard time figuring out which songs should go on it, there are so many great pixies tunes that deserve to be on it. You know, I'm not totally sure he has any of their music, so maybe I'll just put all the best known songs, you know the ones you're reconize from movies and stuff. I think most of that stuff is a little easier to digest than some of their more esoteric stuff.
Wow, it's 5. I need to eat before I go to karate class.
-Scarfy
