The Grades are In!

Greetings from the world of Culinary!

On a bleak and raining morning, I have just picked up my grades and next quarter's schedule. I am quite surprised with myself that I pulled out 3 A's and 1 B for a GPA of 3.9 which I think places me on the "Dean's Honor Roll" whatever that means.

I apologize for the lack of updates the past few months, I could never get into a recapping mode to do this justice so I opted for the "no news is good news" theory.

The end of last quarter was a blur. I turned in projects and paper on onions and cheese. My presentation of cheese did include a video that truely showed my humor as well as my age. I was purusing the internet and found a video by Monty Python that went through about 25-30 various types of cheese. It made perfect sense to me that I could list of the types but why not do it with humor. If you would like to view the video it can be located here. The one problem was that I am 31 yo and the closest aged person to me is the teacher so as the video was rolling and I and the teacher are laughing...the rest of the class just stared with a look of slight confusion. But then again, who better to please than the teacher eh?

As for the actual exams, I did fairly well. The two tests I was really stressed about was the Safety and Sanitation class since that is a federal test that everyone takes and my practical final in Culinary Skills (aka in the kitchen class). I made a 93 on the final in safety and sanitation class when I guess helped my B at midterm become an A. As for the practical exam, I am very proud to say that I finished the exam this time. Though I did end up with green beurre blanc which in french means "White Butter", when asked how it turned green, I simply replied, I have no idea. This time during the test, I used a tactic, I have seen by my good friend and physician, Dr. Jon. If you are a patient of his, you will know that going from room to room he is singing to himself. So I sang "Majesty" during the test. Why that song you ask? Good question, the only answer I can come up with is that most of my brain was on the cooking and so it dug deep in the recesses of memory to the first "contemporary" song I remember learning as a teenager. It did help the nerves, though I still made a C on the test. But I ended up with the B for the final grade so I am not that upset. In fact I was more excited that I finished the test than I was concerned about the grade.

After finals, I discovered that procrastination is no fun when there is nothing to procrastinate about. Eventually I was able to get in my toaster on wheels and head to Alabama. The main purpose of the trip was a cute girl in Dothan so please forgive me if any of you Auburnites did not get a chance to see me. I spent around 24 hours in Auburn, a good deal with family. For those who are just know catching on...yes I have a girlfriend. Her name is Dia Baugh and teaches 9th grade math at a school outside of Dothan. We met through her brother who attends AU. The rest of the weekend from Thursday afternoon till Sunday was spent with her and her family. To protect the "gag me with spoon" reflexes I will just say we had a great weekend. One note is that I was finally able to watch "Pride and Prejudice" (not the A&E version). I enjoyed it and now am thankful that my mom did not try to marry me off like the mother in the movie.

I have returned to Nashville to cooler weather and the days getting darker a little bit sooner, fall is approaching. Work underwent some changes while I was gone. I now have a new store manager and another assistant manager to work with.

I can tell I am still missing my friends and family because I have to take second glance every once and awhile at people who remind me of them. A great example is 2 nights ago at the store, I was stocking the beer case (yes part of the assistant manager's job) and this cute little girl with a full head of hair pulled back in a ponytail was down the aisle. I thought...Maggie Hardin?...I knew in reality it was not but boy was there a resemblance. Then as she approached, I realized that this was a family who are regulars. So we started talking and this little girl stuck out her tongue at me (kinda like Maggie again). They have 4 daughters ages 12 to 7 months I think. A few weeks ago when I first met this family, the little girl has a small stuffed moose with her. I asked her if it had a name, she replied with her sisters' names. When I asked her again, she said...it is just a moose not a sister. Oh well.

I want to thank you all for your prayers and concern over my bell's palsy. It is improving and I have noticed my smile is getting better but it is still slow process. I was really hoping to be done with this before the next quarter started but oh well. Life goes on.

Take care and feel free to update me with your lives as well.