Side Effects May Include Awesomeness

I'm back! And I don't just mean on my blog. I am mentally back to the me I know and love. California (or as I like to call it, Utopia) gave me a new attitude and completely revitalized my mind, body, and Vitamin D levels. When I returned to class last Friday, my classmates kept telling me how refreshed I looked, which maybe isn't that big of a feat considering my previous look was somewhere between downtrodden and inconsolable. So get ready for a great big dose of sunshine because I'm practically tap dancing around my apartment...not that there is room to tap dance in this place, yep, just stubbed a toe. Not even the fact that someone seems to be chiseling their way into my bathroom from the apartment next door can get me down. Not even now when my shower caddy just gave way from all the hammering.

Anyway, I spent 5 days basking in 75 degree, blue skied sunshine and the joy of unadulterated girlfriend time. I rode beach cruisers with my Bestie along the Hermosa Beach strand. I sat out on decks, patios, and sidewalk cafes sipping on whatever beverage seemed appropriate for the moment and remembering how lovely a gentle breeze feels as opposed to how a smack you in the face wind stings. I enjoyed sitting face to face with my friends and catching up and laughing and then missing them again before I was even gone. There were moments when I was sitting with my dearest friends in the sun taking in the palm trees that I was so happy I literally thought I might cry. (I could be a commercial for the side effects of winter). The best part was that it brought things for me in to such sharp focus. Well, maybe not sharp, but a clearer focus, which again, not a huge feat considering my outlook before was like someone had rubbed mud on a pair of scratched up ski goggles. That were tinted orange. And it's nighttime. So my trip helped me turn on the lights, wash off the mud, and just throw away those old goggles. I may still have astigmatism in my right eye, but the view is much better. Wow, I really should lay off these ridiculous analogies and get to the point.

California is home. And it's home in a way that I can't quite identify. My friends that love me, the familiarity, the weather, my favorite spots...they all play a role, but there is just something that feels like it's home for me. Even with all these silly sunlight induced emotional swells, I wasn't worried about getting back on the plane to Frostytown. Being THERE made me realize that I was in no way done with HERE. New York still has so much to offer me and going away made me realize that this experience is far from over. (Plus, the entire time I was in SoCal, I kept thinking about Mike shivering under a blanket waiting for me to return and how he should be with me. He was actually brewing his next batch of beer: a Belgian Wit flavored with orange, coriander, and honey...yummmers, and probably enjoying having the apartment to himself). Anyway, it renewed my excitement and my sense of purpose in being in this great city. Winter is slowly, painfully creaking towards Spring, but it's coming and there are more and more days where we being outdoors isn't an exercise in toughness.

All of this new found zeal comes at a perfect time because we begin the final level of our culinary school program tomorrow. Just six more weeks and this amazing experience will be behind me. (I can't even think about that right now because I can't believe it's almost over). We finished up our final station of the Level 5 rotations and I think Saucier (the meat station) might have been my favorite. It's challenging because you have to cook the meat to specific temperatures and orders to tend to fly in big batches. I love, love, love my team and am sad to have to part with them. We work well together and have had a ton of fun being on the hot line together. Last night as the final plates went out and the graduating Level 6 girls next to us realized that they had just fired their last order in the school kitchen, eyes started to well up. A la Grecque and I couldn't help but look at each other and exchange a "We are so going to be crying like babies 6 weeks from now" look.

So for the next 6 weeks, my plan is to kick ass. Even if it means putting on a happy face for Chef Pastry Grump as I start Level 6 with my new group tomorrow. I am going to squeeze as much as possible out of my final days in L'Ecole and I am going to enjoy every moment of it. No more inconsolable face. No more muttering under my breath. And no more worrying about what the future holds. I'm all in. (This message was brought to you by Vitamin D and the Sun).