first ever trail!

In culinary speak, a "trail" is the interview, or audition to make it into the kitchen as a cook. You go in for a shift and work for them, and all the while they're observing your technique, cleanliness, attitude, etc. If both parties feel like it's a good fit, then yay, you're hired!

So with that said...I have my first trail tomorrow at Oceana, a fine-dining seafood restaurant in midtown west, for an extern position. I met the pastry chef at our school's job fair a few weeks ago, and we bonded over talking about dim sum (since it's his life passion to learn, and I happen to know how to make it!) He's known for his awesome plating (it definitely helps to have an architecture degree and background...), and really nurturing teaching-style. I'm excited and nervous all at the same time because I really really want it, so pray for meeee please!

:)

Be strong and take heart

Psalm 31

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

...

⁹ Be merciful to me, O LORD, for I am in distress;
my eyes grow weak with sorrow,
my soul and my body with grief.

¹⁰ My life is consumed by anguish
and my years by groaning;
my strength fails because of my affliction,
and my bones grow weak.

...

¹⁴ But I trust in you, O LORD;
I say, "You are my God."

...

¹⁹ How great is your goodness,
which you have stored up for those who fear you,
which you bestow in the sight of men
on those who take refuge in you.

...

²⁴ Be strong and take heart,

all you who hope in the LORD.

The s t e a d f a s t love of the Lord never ceases.

His mercies never come to an end.

They are new every morning, new every morning.

Great is thy faithfulness, O Lord.

Great is thy faithfulness.

you can't make this stuff up

Last night, my neighbors (who happen to be a frat, judging by all their wooden Greek letters nailed onto their wall) had a HUGE party that was also SUPER loud. Their drunken singing woke me up in the middle of the night, and after unsuccessfully trying to go back to sleep for 10 minutes, I decided to wake up and tell them to shut up. I pounded on the wall a few times, only to hear a "knock knock, who's there" mockery chant back at me. Christine was awake, too, upset at their volume level (which was a reoccuring problem last semester, too). My hand hurt from pounding, so I kicked the wall instead. I could hear one guy trying to tell people to be a bit quieter, or maybe I was only pretending I heard that. Either way, we decided not to call the cops, and I went back to sleep with their loud drunken voices as my background.

When I woke up this morning, I went to the bathroom only to see the door closed and this sign posted on the door:

STOP. DO NOT use the sink. Our neighbor's VOMIT-filled sink flooded into ours @ 2AM. Called Stuy and they sent a handy man who couldn't do anything. The stuff from the sink is on the tub.

Nancy or Jane, can one of you call Stuy to send a plumber ASAP? I'm not sure when I will wake up (stayed up until 4AM disinfecting after he came by).

Btw, if you see Wesley in the AM, it's b/c I called him (in case trouble started next door).

Thanks,

CKim

AGGHHHHHHH. WHAT THE FREAK!!!!!!!!

I didn't dare open the door to see or smell what monstrosity lay in that sink, so I went the morning without peeing, brushing my teeth, washing my face, or putting in my contacts, only to rush to school in the middle of a blizzard. At school, Jane had informed me that Stuy couldn't get us a Plumber b/c of the weather, and she actually ended up cleaning it herself!! She took paper towels and scooped out the vomit into a bag and threw it away. "It was probably the grossest thing I had to do" - Jane.

Wow. My roommates are heroes. Cleaning the bathroom at 2AM, emptying out a vomit-filled sink. They're really taking one for the team!

After coming home, I looked into the sink and the sink had actually filled up again with water and remnants of the vomit because every time our neighbors turned on the water, it would come into ours and clog. I went over next door, knocked on the door, told them the situation about their stupid party and stupid vomit, and demanded that they clean the bathroom and pay for the plumber. They felt sorry (ha.) and came over and scooped out the water+vomit remnants into the toilet....but Jane had already done all the dirty stuff!

But seriously. Lessons of the day?

1. DO NOT VOMIT INTO YOUR SINK. Throw your junk up into the toilet so you can at least flush it down!

2. If your neighbors are punks, just call the cops. Maybe if the party had been broken up earlier, that person wouldn't have been throwing up all night and we could have all gotten a bit more sleep and a little less trauma.

3. Jane and Christine are my heroes.

my kind of wedding cake....NOT

Allow me to introduce you to the "Croquembouche" (literally meaning 'crunch in the mouth'), a very classic French dessert that is used as the centerpiece for weddings, banquets, first communions, etc. It's basically a tower of cream puffs that have been filled with pastry cream and coated with caramel and lots of other goodies. You serve it by breaking off the cream puffs to give to the guests. We coated ours in cocoa nibs, pearl sugar, coconut, and ground pistachio. It's glued together with caramel and decorated with more crazy stuff, usually nougatine (almonds in caramel) or like in ours above, some piped choux decoration. We literally spent most of the day assembling this thing as a team. As you can see, my partner and I are psyched. . . . haha.

Yeah... Kinda ridiculous? I think so.