Currently, I'm well into my second week of holidays. It sure feels like I've been on holiday a lot longer...
Anyhow, aside from being good to myself and taking time out during the first week of holidays I started work at Merediths. It is a good place and very different to SkyCity. I don't regret taking the job there at all. It hasn't been easy though. Because I am only there a couple of times a week, it makes it harder for me to pick things up and personally, I find that frustrating. Some may not see that as a problem at all but being a perfectionist and having such high standards for myself, I hate not being able to just 'get it'. So it's def a learning curve for me...I'm back at work again today for the next 2 days. Hopefully what I learnt last week, I haven't forgotten.
So after work last week, I was going to just laze around at home on Thursday. But I got a call asking if I was keen to do some painting. So off I went and spent the day with Rebecca and Kate in the garden painting the day away. It was nice to have some company as oppose to just vege-ing out in front of the tv. Friday included sending dad off to the airport and taking the Dunn girls out for the afternoon. It was awesome...I had a blast and I think the girls did too. Unfortunately, I got sun-burnt!!! Once on Thurs and again on Fri. Come Friday evening and I was rather sore...
I didn't do much during the day on Saturday. Some friends and I went out for dinner at Bracu in the evening, though, and it was good. Us four have spent a lot of dinners together this year and it's nice to enjoy dinner with some other chefs...Jie Min was heading back the following day so we thought it would be nice to have one more dinner before we went our separate ways only to be meeting up again in late Jan.
So, despite keeping busy and out of trouble I have been pretty disciplined in making time for myself. I guess, it's a little easier to make sure I keep this going at this present point in time as it is the holidays. The true test will be if I can maintain it when I'm back at uni. Oh well...I've got a few more months before I have to worry bout it.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Friday, November 16, 2007
Photos and more
Well, I am officially done with uni for the year. We finished up with a HUGE deep clean of the kitchen, which took a good part of 4 hours, and then lunch with the rest of the class and our lecturer. It's been a great year and def no regrets for deciding to go back down the road of being a poor student.
Though much of what I did this year in class was repetition of the previous two year I was at uni, there was still loads to learn and repetition was very much welcomed. I picked up new skills and honed the ones I already had. So next year looks to be another brilliant year. But before that comes round, I'm looking forward to the upcoming break that I'll be having.
For photos from the final buffet, head to this website and scroll down to the photos link and enjoy...The photos on there are of the whole buffet but for some shots of my work here they are:
And all those tiny mice and frogs that you see with the labels..it's a joint effort between myself and a friend of mine, Jie Min. We spent 3 days making them out of marzipan. There is a reason why we made them mice and frogs-a little inside joke, you have to be there to get it...but enjoy the photos anyway.
So I start work at this new job next week. I'm both looking forward to it as well as nervous but I guess that's expected when starting at a new job. Anyhow, I do have the next few days off before starting so I'll be enjoying them...however, I do have a yucky cold which came down on the day of our Final Buffet!!
Plans over the holidays? Aside from working, I've just been asked to house sit for a friend's friend. It'll be a nice month of having my own place so I'm looking forward to that. And then I head away to KL, Vietnam and Singapore before I'm back at uni for my final year. (And it will be my last year of uni for a nice little while when I'm done...). Another friend and I will also be meeting up with a lecturer to start discussions rolling for next year's competitions. We will also be getting a one on one masterclass on sugar work. Now that...I'm looking forward to! Should be fun. I'll also be keeping busy making X'mas presents, as I do every year, and that will keep me out of trouble for a few weeks.
So, I'll be occupied but not exceptionally busy...
Though much of what I did this year in class was repetition of the previous two year I was at uni, there was still loads to learn and repetition was very much welcomed. I picked up new skills and honed the ones I already had. So next year looks to be another brilliant year. But before that comes round, I'm looking forward to the upcoming break that I'll be having.
For photos from the final buffet, head to this website and scroll down to the photos link and enjoy...The photos on there are of the whole buffet but for some shots of my work here they are:
And all those tiny mice and frogs that you see with the labels..it's a joint effort between myself and a friend of mine, Jie Min. We spent 3 days making them out of marzipan. There is a reason why we made them mice and frogs-a little inside joke, you have to be there to get it...but enjoy the photos anyway.
So I start work at this new job next week. I'm both looking forward to it as well as nervous but I guess that's expected when starting at a new job. Anyhow, I do have the next few days off before starting so I'll be enjoying them...however, I do have a yucky cold which came down on the day of our Final Buffet!!
Plans over the holidays? Aside from working, I've just been asked to house sit for a friend's friend. It'll be a nice month of having my own place so I'm looking forward to that. And then I head away to KL, Vietnam and Singapore before I'm back at uni for my final year. (And it will be my last year of uni for a nice little while when I'm done...). Another friend and I will also be meeting up with a lecturer to start discussions rolling for next year's competitions. We will also be getting a one on one masterclass on sugar work. Now that...I'm looking forward to! Should be fun. I'll also be keeping busy making X'mas presents, as I do every year, and that will keep me out of trouble for a few weeks.
So, I'll be occupied but not exceptionally busy...
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Updates
I know...I know...I've been VERY VERY slack with updating. Let me try and make it up with this post:
Well it's been a pretty crazy few months since starting term 4. It's gone by with extreme speed, I must say! 3 weeks into the term and we had our first assessment, 2 weeks later it was our final assignment was due in along with having our final theory assessment and the following week we had our final practical assessment. So it's been full steam ahead, as you can see. No complains from me though, that assessments and assignments are over and done with for the year. As much as I enjoy them, they were getting a bit draggy and I was starting to really dread them. But it's done now.
Since we've finished with the business end of the year, we've been starting on some things that need to be done for our final buffet that is being put on next week. A friend and I have been spending all our free time at uni making marzipan animals and a potrait for the buffet. It looks pretty cool, dare I say. I'll post some pictures next week of the buffet when it's all set up.
In the midst of all that, I resigned from Sky City and landed myself a job at a new fine dining restaurant on Dominion Rd, Merediths. The chef/owner is Michael Meredith who was the previous head chef at The Grove.
I'm yet to start work at Merediths but I have officially been offered the job. I'm very much looking forward to it; with much to learn. It's a tiny 28 seater restaurant with an open kitchen, gorgeous interior and toilets are quite spectacualr too! (I know it sounds crazy to be analysing a toilet but toilets are one of the few tell tale signs of whether or not the restaurant is about to go under!).
Everything, with the exception of breads and cheese are all made on site, including desserts! That was just such an awesoem thing for me when I saw that. At least this course will come in very handy for me to put what I have learnt into practise.
However, landing this job meant that I have had to put my trip to Melb on the back burner again. But I'm not too annoyed about it, considering I got a free trip earlier in the year and saw eveyrone I wanted to see then. Granted, it was a very rushed trip but it was still a trip. So it'll just have to be next time...
I am still making the trip back to KL in Jan. It's a month long trip with 2 weeks of it spent in Vietnam and Singapore. My friends and I are doing a trip to each others countries and they will be spending 2 weeks after Vietnam and Singpore in KL with me. We are all looking forward to it...however, I'm not looking forward to the pounds that I will pack on from that month long food-filled constant-eating trip!!! Oh the sacrifice...
With this new job, I will also be having Xmas and New Year's off! A rare occasion and one that I'm looking forward to. It's because the restaurant closes over that period, so I get time off...Otherwise, I would've spent another Xmas and New YEar staring at pots and pans and stoves-though, I really shouldn't complain...it's part of the industry and I knew that before I got myself into it. But I will def savour this time off over New Year and Xmas.
Besides, work and uni there hasn't been much else happening. I'm still on a break from ministry. I'm still not sure when I will get stuck into it again but it is being considered at the moment. It's been hard to take a break but I know that it was needed. It's often even hard to think about it but it needs to be done. So we'll see what happens when the new year rolls round.
Well, that's about it for news for now. I hope it has made up for the lack of posts over the last month and I will endeavour to put a few more posts up when holidays roll round in the next week or so.
Well it's been a pretty crazy few months since starting term 4. It's gone by with extreme speed, I must say! 3 weeks into the term and we had our first assessment, 2 weeks later it was our final assignment was due in along with having our final theory assessment and the following week we had our final practical assessment. So it's been full steam ahead, as you can see. No complains from me though, that assessments and assignments are over and done with for the year. As much as I enjoy them, they were getting a bit draggy and I was starting to really dread them. But it's done now.
Since we've finished with the business end of the year, we've been starting on some things that need to be done for our final buffet that is being put on next week. A friend and I have been spending all our free time at uni making marzipan animals and a potrait for the buffet. It looks pretty cool, dare I say. I'll post some pictures next week of the buffet when it's all set up.
In the midst of all that, I resigned from Sky City and landed myself a job at a new fine dining restaurant on Dominion Rd, Merediths. The chef/owner is Michael Meredith who was the previous head chef at The Grove.
I'm yet to start work at Merediths but I have officially been offered the job. I'm very much looking forward to it; with much to learn. It's a tiny 28 seater restaurant with an open kitchen, gorgeous interior and toilets are quite spectacualr too! (I know it sounds crazy to be analysing a toilet but toilets are one of the few tell tale signs of whether or not the restaurant is about to go under!).
Everything, with the exception of breads and cheese are all made on site, including desserts! That was just such an awesoem thing for me when I saw that. At least this course will come in very handy for me to put what I have learnt into practise.
However, landing this job meant that I have had to put my trip to Melb on the back burner again. But I'm not too annoyed about it, considering I got a free trip earlier in the year and saw eveyrone I wanted to see then. Granted, it was a very rushed trip but it was still a trip. So it'll just have to be next time...
I am still making the trip back to KL in Jan. It's a month long trip with 2 weeks of it spent in Vietnam and Singapore. My friends and I are doing a trip to each others countries and they will be spending 2 weeks after Vietnam and Singpore in KL with me. We are all looking forward to it...however, I'm not looking forward to the pounds that I will pack on from that month long food-filled constant-eating trip!!! Oh the sacrifice...
With this new job, I will also be having Xmas and New Year's off! A rare occasion and one that I'm looking forward to. It's because the restaurant closes over that period, so I get time off...Otherwise, I would've spent another Xmas and New YEar staring at pots and pans and stoves-though, I really shouldn't complain...it's part of the industry and I knew that before I got myself into it. But I will def savour this time off over New Year and Xmas.
Besides, work and uni there hasn't been much else happening. I'm still on a break from ministry. I'm still not sure when I will get stuck into it again but it is being considered at the moment. It's been hard to take a break but I know that it was needed. It's often even hard to think about it but it needs to be done. So we'll see what happens when the new year rolls round.
Well, that's about it for news for now. I hope it has made up for the lack of posts over the last month and I will endeavour to put a few more posts up when holidays roll round in the next week or so.
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