A near miss

Ok i'm sure you're all really sick of reading about how perfect and wonderful new york is. So just to include a little playful NYC bashing I'm going to explain what happened to me on the way back from work today.
Just a note that this blog does include some less then tasteful descriptions. Be advised. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

My normal commute is about 40-50 minutes from the door of my work to my doorstep at home. This breaks down into about 10 minutes of walking and 30 minutes on the subway, so it's pretty easy and I get a lot of reading done on my commute. I can't complain about that. However New York has one GIANT flaw. There are NO NONE ZILCH ZERO public bathrooms! It's ridiculous.

So anyway my story. I leave work, walk to the subway, hope on my train (the 6) headed uptown and away we go. About 3 or 4 stops down the line I suddenly come down with a really strong urge to go no. two. There's no kidding I have a pretty regular system (yeah I'm not likely to get colon cancer!!)

I'm debating in my head how long can I last before I have an accident right there on the subway. There are tons of public safety announcements made constantly, about not falling off the platform, being lost in the gap, not holding on to the handrail etc.... But there is not one single public safety campaign about making sure you don't ruin yourself on the subway. In my view, who cares if you fall, just get up or get a new hip, but taking a leak or dump on yourself could ruin your entire week!

So here I am thinking how long can I last.... when I decide "fuck this, I'll just get off at grand central station and use a bathroom there". GC was only 2 stops away, NBD. But just before the stop, the subway car stops. There is a problem. We sit, just seconds away from the platform. For TEN MINUTES!

Ten minutes later (i'm dying by now) I get off the train and hurry to the nearest bathroom. There is a line longer then pete to get into the bathroom. So I hurry to the other bathroom. It's closed! I stand looking at the men's bathroom for five minutes, debating what to do. Wait in the long line with the ladies or just suck it up.

What I finally ended up doing is irrelavent, because I made it home safely and without an accident. But that's not the point. The real point is that NYC needs public bathrooms and they need them now.

It's change we need, it's change we can trust and change we can believe in.

First Week In Pastry Training.

Sorry it's taken me a couple extra days for a new post. I didn't want to let it slide but things have been crazy here in nyc. I'm learning to juggle a whole new time table which is exciting and straining. Sorry without further a due....

I am officially (as some of my facebook friends may have noticed) a culinary pastry student. I have typical chef's whites with my name embroidered on them, super 80's plaid paints and a very sexy tool kit (more to come on that). So there is no denying the fact that I'm on the wagon and on my way.

The kitchen is set up much like a science lab, everyone at a work station with a partner and lot of tools. Typically there is a short lecture explaining the science behind what we are doing, followed by a demo and then we are sent to do our best to replicate what chef showed us. It's very straight forward and when everyone is on their A game, the class works like a well oiled machine.

The first day of class we hit the ground running, Chef Toni (the head chef) gave us some basic instructions and then we were off to make our first dough, a french dough called Patee Sucree which translates to 'sand dough'. It's an ever so slight sweet dough that is crumbly not flaky. It's used for a lot of basic sweet tarts. Which leads me to our first big project which was making an Tarte aux Pommes, apple tart.

This tart spanned the course of two classes and was relatively easy to make for yours truly although as a whole we had two causalities. The first being that an older gentleman in our class has already dropped out. I can't lie... I saw this coming from a mile away. He is a police detective with the NYPD and baking was something he "liked to do".

The second causality was one of the ovens was 'accidentally' turned up to 500 degrees while the tarts were baking. So about half of the classes' tarts were burnt. It was generally agreed it was an accident but I suspect it was a vicious crime committed by the same apple trees that threw apples at Dorthy in the Wizard of Oz.







However, I was lucky because I put my tart in the other oven. Yeah maybe I sabotaged the other oven but you can't prove anything!

My tart came out wonderfully perfect! (or at least not uber burnt). I was able to take it home on the subway and shared it with my friend Ariella (shout out!) and my roomie.

Even just through this first, relatively simple recipe I have already learned so many new techniques and tricks that a normal cook book (even the most detailed) could supply. My bench in right up at the very front of the room, right next to Chef's table to I get a great view of what she's doing and can ask her a billion questions all the time.

My Tarte aux Pommes with apricot nappage

hola, yo no hablo español

Yesterday (saturday) was my first day here that I haven't been really busy/had some really important things to do such as painting my kitchen or scrubbing my floors. Typically when I'm given even a moment to relax I take it, there isn't always a ton going on in Royal Oak but not here! On my day off I went to the Puerto Rico Festival.

The Puerto Rico Festival is basically the equivalent of a Pride Festival but for Puerto Ricans, (ridiculous costumes, booty dancing, wonderful food, live music, tons of cops keeping the peace, a big parade and lots & lots of pride).

(corner of 117th and 2nd Ave)

For the geographically inclined, I live on 117th between 1st and 2nd ave, and the festival ran from 114th- 125th along 2nd ave. So the party was literally on my door step. In fact here is the old man who was chillin on my corner. He had an entire switch board and randomly "honked" his bike-vehicle like a chicken or a cow. He scared a lot of passers by with his barn yard sounds and was clearly enjoying himself immensely!

The food was awesome! (oh did I mention I like food/like trying new food) Unfortunately though I was alone and speak ZERO Spanish. I know how to count to ten and say 'hello' and 'my name is clare'. But that's it! All around me were signs and people with loud speakers all in Spanish. I felt like I had been transported to a different country. This was the menu at the food stands....
I'm gonna guess that Mofongo is some sort of Mango drink and maybe Relleno de Papa roughly translates to "Dad's favorite dish" but like I said earlier, I'm not a linguistic expert.


However, what I did manage to find was a very helpful and english speaking cook who showed me his incredible meat cooker! There is a wood fire below this thing and then huge slabs of meat are thrown onto this tee-pee like structure to cook. It's kinda gross to see so much raw meat but I got to taste a small sample and it was wonderful, really tender with a great smoky flavor. However I didn't feel up to eating an entire cow leg so instead I enjoyed a grilled plantain and some sort of fried meat pocket, which was all very yummy.


In short it was a very successful Puerto Rico Festival and next weekend I'm going to the Coney Island Mermaid Parade!!!

A Working Woman

I got a job praise the lord!!!! I might actually make it in the city so please ignore any rumors you have heard to the contrary.

So here is the play by play:

Finding a job in NYC has proven to be just as easy as everyone says it is (it doesn't hurt that I'm absolutely god's gift to employers). I replying to about a gazillion adds on craig's list, all in vain but I went to my first interview and boom just like that I got a job.

The bakery is Le pain Quotidein at 801 Broadway. It's an organic bakery, just like Avalon, my old job in the D. So Hollahhh!!!
I'm gonna be working behind the counter, even though the bakery has a full menu and a wait staff. I have ZERO experience as a waitress so they hired me on as a counter person. Whateves I don't care. Money is green and it needs to be in my pocket.

I have my job orientation on Friday and then training every day next week. So I will start officially two weeks from today. The pay is pretty low but because it's a job in my desired career field i'm willing to take the financial hit for the time being.

I spent the afternoon roaming around 116th street between 2nd and Madison . Everyone in my neighborhood speaks Spanish and with my blond hair I stick out like a republican at a gay pride festival. But I love my neighborhood. I'm only slightly scared every time I leave my door step, (mostly because the step is pretty big and there is a good possibility I could trip).

Anyway that's all from the big apple. I have my orientation for the French Culinary Institute tomorrow : ) It's the first day of school but I still haven't picked out my outfit. I need to get on that ASAP!

New York Is Calling.

First of all I'd like to say that im currently eating my way through an entire pound of bread. I've been nursing this loaf all day because I have nothing much else to eat and it's sooo delicious. I've got bread, wine and cheese in my apartment and then a crap ton of my roomies food.

But i'm not too worried about the carbs because whatever... i've walked about 20 miles these last two days.

Ok so to continue on..... here is a list of shit i've done while in nyc

• saw a belly dancer while eating at a Moroccan dinner

• Seen part of the Berlin Wall at this ity bity park near Time Square

• been heckled by Latino construction men... "hey blondie, hey blondie" I do after all live in Sparlem
  

• visited the nyc public library which some of you will remember was the library that carrie was gonna marry big in

• 

"The good ones screw you, the bad ones screw you, and the rest don't know how to screw you"

• taken the ferry across to Jersey

• visited a few art galleries on 24th street where all the cool galleries are, including the gagosian.... check out their webpage This exhibit was absolutely fucking outstanding and totally free! I will be back ASAP

• went to the whispering wall at grand central station where the architecture is such that you can stand in facing one corner and whisper into the wall and the person on standing in the corner kiddy corner to you can her you perfectly clear.

• Walked by the park where JT and Andy Sandburg filmed "dick in a box" you will see them sitting in basketball hoops.. yeah i saw those hoops (and a lot of little kids playing basketball)

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myspace layouts

• I've rearranged the living room

• Planted some pots for our patio

• Started painting the kitchen a very wonderful chocolate color. I'm gonna eat nothing but chocolate cake and ice cream with chocolate syrup because our walls look so delicious.
  

• Oh yeah... UNPACKED ALL MY SHIT!

• Answered a craig's list ad and got a free guitar lesson in exchange for an hour of teaching the guy how to read music

• Visited the union square market at 8 am to get some fresh food... hey here is a picture of union square:

• Said goodbye to my family : (

• Fallen madly in love with the city

(And that's just the reader's digest version)

So Long WSU

Wow it's been FOREVER since I last posted. Mostly it's because I finally have a life now! I've been busy finishing up my degree at Wayne HOLLAH!!! But now I've got some time on my hands now to bring this blog up to speed.

Today, I was walking on campus, going to clean out my gym locker, and campus looked beautiful. The sun was shinning, the trees are flowing, the grass is a healthy green and I think some birds were singing but I couldn't really hear over the gun shots and police sirens.

This last month has been an emotional roller coaster. I've become so appreciative of my friends, so grateful to have such wonderful, loyal and fucking fun ass friends. But on the flip side, it's sad to know we are going to be torn apart. My parents always told me to be happy I was young, that growing up isn't as fun as it appears. Only now do I truly believe that they were right. If growing up means leaving my friends, then I wish I could stay 21 forever. But its too late now cause I'm already 22.

Singing My Way to the White House

I realize in a few weeks this post will be completely obsolete... but I've started living in the moment.

Here are some of my favorite political songs, all about our favorite presidential candidates.

"She use to smoke weed.. said she didn't like"

The Cheesiest Song for Obama

McCain Lacks Harmony