Off and Loving It!

This last week has been absolutely lovely! One of the joys in life for me is being able to wake up with no alarm, whenever I happen to come out of the sleep coma naturally. Since I'll be back to getting up early in about two more weeks, I'm making sure to do that every single day while I can.

I've even gotten to see the people who meant the most to me from work! Joe and I had beers together last week at his house. Coincidentally, he lives just a few blocks from me. When I arrived, there were three glistening steaks set out, waiting for the grill. While we drank and smoked, I got to hear some things about Joe from his long time friend and roommate, Jimmy, that I never knew. For instance, Joe used to pitch in the major leagues, when he was about 20 (remember, he's a little over 50 now) and didn't continue along that career track because he slipped on some ice and hurt his pitching arm. Apparently he was throwing at speeds of 103 mph at the time.

It's always amazing to me to hear about someone who's had a chance to live more of their life than I have, and all the twists and turns that happen over the course of 50 years or more, just to one person! Later on Joe and I were talking about moments in life where the fear of dying or being seriously injured was a major factor. He mentioned that he had been in a modern day duel of sorts, against a member of a biker gang. The duel was called "The Rage" and it involved sitting cross legged across from your opponent, blindfolded. A weapon of your choosing was laid between the duelers, and the battle ensued. The rest of the gang sat around you, waiting for something to happen. Joe is a very good storyteller and he kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. He also used to breed labradors. I'm sure you're probably thinking that all these facts might be fabricated, but really, what did Joe have to gain from lying about something like this? We're never going to be romantically linked, as our relationship is rather sibling-like if anything can describe it.

Joe also said all the things I was hoping he would say about my recent absence from work. Things weren't the same without me, he liked me way better than the new baker. He always used to come into the bakery to make jokes and give me a hard time, and now he barely goes in there except to grab produce. The new baker is apparently very serious, and he resents her leaving him little baked items because he thinks she is just trying to feed her own ego. Now I used to leave him little things too, or ask him to taste something just to check if it needed something else. But I guess I came across as not really needing approval, even though I did. For me, there is a camaraderie in a kitchen that is built not only on social interaction, but also on skillz. Just as I would test things out on the rest of the kitchen, they would send things right back to me, and of course cook anything they could that I requested. Sometimes Joe would discuss his thoughts about that day's specials with me, and when he was stuck, I'd try to give him some ideas for what he could do, without any personal investment, should he decide on a different course of action. But there was still a part of me that felt like I needed to prove something to him as a chef. He knew that I had had my own place in the past, but I had never really told him that 99.9% of my cooking experience had been in the hot kitchen, not the bakery. I'm sure he never thought about it, but I wanted him to know that my real skills were there. I finally had my opportunity to show them off when we hung out that night. There was no thought to having something accompany the steaks, and I suggested maybe we go pick up some veggies at the grocery store. Joe was game, so he accompanied me to the store. I have never shopped with a fellow chef in a grocery store before. It was a fun experience, as we whipped through the aisles like lightning. I hate shopping overall, and it always irks me when I have to shop with someone who pauses at everything of interest, and often puts things in the cart they won't be buying later. Joe was nothing of the sort, and while being 3 or 4 beers into the night, he was all business. Anyway, I picked up some ingredients for a salad I really love to make and eat, that I used to make all the time at my cafe. We got back to the house and we whipped up the salad together. My moment had come when he pronounced that the salad was amazing. It really made me happy.

I also got to go dancing with Miguel, his wife, and two of his friends at a Spanish bar. It was so much fun, and I even held my own playing pool. I wasn't attracted to anyone, so I could be the jackass that I am with no holds barred. It was great fun. His wife is lovely, and I really hope they come to see me at the inn sometime. Sadly, they said that Miguel was NOT floating around the restaurant, and that he had been relegated to being the pastry chef's assistant. Mig doesn't like her very much either, and I told him to find another place to work, as the owners just don't know what they want. I mean, why are they okay with giving the experienced pastry chef the assistant and not me? It just doesn't make sense.

I went and picked up my last paycheck, and that went fine. I was dressed up for a date I was going on later and I looked very girly and sexy. It seems somewhat strange to be dressed like that in a kitchen with everybody all in uniform, and sweaty and smelling like fish and raw meat, but it was a fun twist to me.

Just to let y'all know, I'll be moving back to the inn this week. Then I'll be traveling for a few weeks, so the blog will probably take a rest, but you never know, I might feel the urge to start bouncing ideas off of y'all. Be sure to check out some of the links I'll be posting, as I've just started tuning into a whole bunch of terrific food blogs.

Have a great few weeks everybody, and I'll definitely back by the first week of September when I'll be officially installed at the inn!