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lonbergwrites · 4 years ago

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CIA Man

This is part of a multi-part review and commentary on the book Notes From A Young Black Chef by Kwame Onwuachi.

…

So 18 weeks have passed quickly... actually, I got the audiobook back from the library much sooner than expected... so let’s get back to it, shall we?

I’ve struggled since last reading and writing about this book with some of the things that I’ve said about the author and chef. I had a lot of harsh words for his brashness and braggadocio from the previous chapters. I turned his life and experience into stories out of a novel. A little part of that is that I’m thinking a lot about novels right now, as I prepare to get back to writing one... but that’s not really it...

I cannot believe how different life is now from when I started writing this series. “Back then” I couldn’t believe how different life was from what it had been earlier this year. I was out of work and a full-time house spouse, taking care of my two young kids day in and day out. And then the events following the death of George Floyd.

I may know the streets where so much ache and hurt and unjustice overflowed in Minneapolis, but I don’t know the lives of those that suffer at the hands of unjust authority. I don’t know that much about the lives of the black community. I’m a member of an interfaith, multi-church, multi-racial organization that works to lift up everybody in my community, and do racial justice and healing. I’m not the most ‘woke’ person I know by any means, but I am really trying.

... but reading Chef Kwame’s description at the end of this chapter - a metaphor for consomme representing his life - it struck me that I was showing my privilege. I had judged him for his “lack of experience” and grouched about having worked with people with that kind of mentality. I hope that didn’t come across as “those kind of people” - I didn’t intend it to have racial overtones, because in fact I was mostly thinking about white kids (because honestly, most of the chefs I’ve known and worked with have been white people - white men in fact). But a little of my unconscious racism showed through.

Chef Kwame talks about how all of his experiences made him the perfect student - cooking with mom, learning in a high stress environment in the Gulf, slinging drugs, then candy, and then catering. He’s not wrong. He’ll admit that he bit off more than he could chew... but he went back for that education to take his life and his profession seriously... and honestly, what high achiever hasn’t bit off more than they could chew? But more than that, how many of those people make good on the bluster and suit up for the task like a professional? Quite few.

I read the last chapters’ reviews that I wrote, and I mention that:

“That’s the hubris that a lot of the people that I went to culinary school (possibly myself included, though I wasn’t too full of myself, I’d like to believe) who hit the wall and learned a lot of humility real fast when getting into a real kitchen.”

Obviously, I was - and often can still be - full of myself. I don’t know if Chef Kwame will ever read this - I know that he’s at least seen the start of these reviews as he’s liked the first few on Twitter, and has retweeted the first installment - but if I was harsh or did harm, I’d like to formally apologize. You are raw and honest, and I hope to read with a more open mind moving forward.

... back to the chapter...

The bit that brought home this chapter to me was the line: “Daytime was for consomme and braising, nighttime was for quesadillas, tacos, and espazotes.” [note here: since I’m reading on audio, I couldn’t look up the word ‘espazotes’. I’m personally not familiar with this term. I speak some Spanish, so I wrote it out phonetically, but I was unsuccessful googling it with various spellings. All I was able to get to was the herb, and I don’t think that’s what he was intending.]

When I was in culinary school, I worked a restaurant gig at night. At first it was Applebee’s. Believe me when I say that I was making nothing as fancy as he was at that indy Mexican restaurant where things were done from scratch. I was grilling steaks, thrown as I was at the highest-ranking station right away because I was in culinary school (the only other culinary student at the place was on the fryer [the lowest station on the brigade], which surprised me because of his tenure - but shouldn’t have because he was one of the few Latino cooks, most of his compatriots being dishwashers and bussers).

Within a few weeks I was quickly shown a new station because I refused to weight steaks to get them done faster, so my ticket times were too high. I later worked ‘mid,’ which was the flat top station that made the quesadillas among other things. That was a rough, sweaty, hurried place. It helped me build my hussle, even though my feelings here hurt because it was a demotion - not in pay, but in prestige.

When I left Applebee’s, I was told that it was a good thing I was going to a different style of restaurant. The Kitchen Manager said I wouldn’t make it as a career cook there because while I did have attention to detail, I didn’t do things the corporate way. I’ll huff and puff and shit on the place because what he did honestly mean was that I took my time and did things right (right not being right to Applebee’s standards), but I couldn’t keep up with the other cooks. He wasn’t wrong. It wasn’t the place for me, and I’d never survive a lifer gig there. But I was fortunate in that I didn’t need to.

After Applebee’s I worked at a small chain of mid-level Italian restaurant in what is now called the fast casual mode. Everything was from scratch (or at least from scratch at the central corporate kitchen that aided in upping the larders for the dozen or so locations in the metro area), and I was using real techniques alongside more (technically) skilled cooks, most of whom were also in various culinary programs. Here I did fit in. Here I was fast enough.

I did ruffle a few feathers on the pizza station. I worked at a Pizza Place all through college. It was the small-chain kind that did some things in a more traditional way. One of those things was tossing the pizza crust. I was really, really good at it, so on our busiest nights on the weekend, I almost always worked the pizza station because not only was I good at it, but I put on a good show in the open kitchen. An assistant manager hated me doing it - it was actually “against the corporate rules” - but the main manager and the kitchen manager loved it, and so did the crowd of families (and especially the kids) who came in every weekend. I think the other cooks saw me as a bit of a show-boater, and they weren’t wrong. But I was good at the pizza station, no one could argue that. I don’t always do things by the book, but fortunately in the right kind of environments (for me), you don’t always have to.

This point in my life the work married the studies. Chef Kwame mentions how be brought uniformity in the guise of mirepoix to his Mexican restaurant (where he was working as sous chef during culinary school - no small feat). He taught the cooks to sear their big chunks of meat before braising. This Italian place was the proper place to use my new skills in a way that Applebee’s certainly wasn’t.

The awe that Chef Kwame shows towards culinary icons, institutions, and restaurants is one I understand. It is one I’ve felt. But the thing that really struck me - especially reading this in the wake of the death of George Floyd and this much-needed tipping-point in American culture - was the section where he’s arrested coming back to school at 2am after closing at the restaurant where he worked nights.

(side note: this man was also running his catering company in NYC on the weekends! How many hours does he have in a day? Mad respect. Mad respect.)

Being pulled over by the cops if you’re black can be a death sentence in the US. He got arrested and booked because he had some outstanding parking tickets. The officer: “seemed like the kind of guy who wanders around with his hands down his pants making sure his dick is still there.” I’ve seen those officers, and it was visceral to me. I viscerally dislike and do not respect people like this. But I can do that safely. It is an eye-opener to hear the lived experiences of our brothers and sisters of other skin tones. We need to do better in America.

All of these “stories” that throw me are the lived experiences of our neighbors. We need to get in tune with what’s going on. We need to listen more. I need to listen more. There is a lot of work to be done. I’m truly looking forward to continuing on this journey with Chef Kwame.

~BPL

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candlesundae · 7 years ago

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The Sims 4 Months of the Year Legacy Challenge!

A ten generation legacy challenge all based on the months of the year! (I know that there’s twelve months in a year but just wait) Made by @candlesundae

Basic rules:

Must have one heir each generation (obviously) but doesn’t have to be biological unless specifically stated so

Use whatever cheats that would make this challenge fun for you, but I would recommend minimal cheating :)

Live wherever you’d like! Move lots whenever you want

Try and complete each of the generation rules, but if you don’t quite make it, you don’t have to “fail” the challenge!

Play on whatever lifespan you want

Use the tag ‘months legacy’ if you do end up posting :)

If you play this challenge, make sure you let me know because I’d love to see! You can @candlesundae me and I’d be happy to check it out

Generation 1: January

It’s a new year, and that calls for a fresh start! You’ve just moved into a new town, with no friends, and no family, but you want to change that. All you want is to be happy and to make others happy. You really want this year to be more successful than the last, and you’re going to do everything to make it great!

Traits: Cheerful, Good, and Family Orientated

Aspiration: Friend of the World

Career: Business

Rules:

Have two or more kids (with the same sim)

Max Charisma Skill

Complete Friend of the World aspiration

Get to level 5 of the Business career or higher (recommended to go into Management branch if you get that far)

Generation 2: February

Now’s the time for love, especially for your special valentine. You’ve always wanted to find your soulmate, but it was always difficult for you. Even though you didn’t have a lover, you always had a special place in your heart for the arts. You always had a wild imagination and let it flow through painting. You also loved being outside, dreaming about your secret crush.

Traits: Creative, Unflirty (if you don’t have City Living try Jealous), and Loves the Outdoors

Aspiration: Soulmate

Career: Painter

Rules:

Have a “crush” in high school or romantic interest, but don’t become girlfriend or boyfriend

Once you become a YA fall in love with a different sim and now can make it official and be bf/gf

Max Painting skill

Complete Soulmate aspiration

Get to at least level 3 of the Painter career or higher (recommended to go into Master of the Real branch if you get that far)

Generation 3: March

You have always seemed to have the best luck ever. You’re successful in your career, and want to earn lots o’ cash by the end of your life. You are career driven and you don’t have time for family, but you are always up for hanging with friends. You know your priorities, and you know you’ll always get what you want.

Traits: Outgoing, Ambitious, and Materialistic

Aspiration: Fabulously Wealthy

Career: Tech Guru

Rules:

Have a childhood best friend that you stay best friends with until you are an adult

Get a part-time job as a teen

Max Programming skill

Complete Fabulously Wealthy aspiration

Get to level 7 in the Start Up Entrepreneur branch of the Tech Guru career

Don’t have kids until you are an adult

Generation 4: April

It’s always so rainy inside. Well, not literally, but that’s how you feel. You don’t have many friends, and feel plain out gloomy. You like to stay indoors most of the time, and can’t stand it when there’s eww, bugs. Your parents really don’t seem to care about you or your siblings all that much, but you didn’t mind. You’d rather sit in your room and write books.

Traits: Loner, Gloomy, and Squeamish (if you don’t have Outdoor Retreat try Perfectionist)

Aspiration: Bestselling Author

Career: Writer

Rules:

Have a diary as a kid (if you don’t have Parenthood skip this step)

Finish the first step in the Bestselling Author aspiration as a teen

Max Writing skill

Get to level 6 in the Author branch in the Writer career

Generation 5: May

You grew up in a quiet household, but you. are. so. LOUD! You wear wild clothes, love to party, and just love to yell bleep bleep bleep bleep. You are a bit sassy, but everyone kind of goes along with it. You don’t really want a family, but things happen and times get crazy, just like you.

Traits: Goofball, Dance Machine (if you don’t have Get Together try Insane), and Noncommital

Aspiration: Party Animal

Career: Secret Agent, Entertainer, and Criminal (for when your sim gets tired of their job, here are the options)

Rules:

Complete Party Animal aspiration

Max Comedy skill and Dance skill (if you don’t have Get Together just skip this step)

Have broken up with at least two boyfriends or girlfriends in your life

Be a single mother/father of triplets (can be cheated for)

Generation 6: Summer (one of the June, July, and August triplets)

There’s a 104 days of summer vacation and school comes along just to end it. The annual problem of this generation is finding just one way to spend it. There’s so many things to do, how could you possibly choose just one? You love to have a little silly fun, and are a little bit messy sometimes, but you have the best time ever. You want to try everything, but still have a steady yet awesome career, unlike your mom/dad.

Traits: Slob, Childish, and Bro

Aspiration: Chief of Mischief

Career: Astronaut

Rules:

Get through milestone l and ll of the Chief of Mischief aspiration

Get level 2 in ALL skills (even as a child)

Build your own rocket and go to space

Get to at least 4 in the Astronaut career or higher (recommended to go into Interstellar Smuggler branch if you get that far)

Generation 7: September

You always thought your family was crazy. You always wondered if all of your ancestors were like this, or if it was just your parents and their’s. You wish you knew more about your family history. You love to know about the past, and like collecting rocks in your spare time. You’d much rather study animals than eat them, so you always keep away from meat. You are a smart cookie and have all A’s in school. You always have been curious about the complex design of each and every sim. One day you want to something great for the world.

Traits: Genius, Vegetarian (if you don’t have City Living try Bookworm, and try not to eat food with meat), and Geek

Aspiration: The Curator

Career: Doctor (if you don’t have Get to Work, be in the Culinary career)

Rules:

Complete the Fossil Collection

Get to Logic skill level 5

Get to level 4 of the Doctor career or higher

Complete the Curator aspiration

Have a room in your house dedicated to your fossil collection

Generation 8: October

You always thought your parents were weird, but they’d say you’re the weird one. You love to scare people, eat candy, and wear strange makeup or clothes. Your friends say you’re a clown, well, your imaginary friends, you don’t have many real ones because of your...interesting...personality. You need to make money somehow, so you do it the best way you can, by stealing. You do have some living friends, and they are fish! Always remember, fish are friends, not food.

Traits: Insane, Kleptomaniac, and Hot-Headed

Aspiration: Angling Ace

Career: None

Rules:

Wear strange outfits/makeup

Steal for money (by having a good mischief skill)

Catch fish and either put them in a bowl or mount them

When you catch a fish type you already have you can sell it

Max the Fishing skill

Complete Angling Ace aspiration

Have a butler to take care of your children (if you don’t have Vintage Glamour, just have a sim in your household that’s the “butler”)

Generation 9: November

You feel as though the past generations have been pretty wonky. You want to be the change that this legacy needs. All you want is to start a crisp new life, even though you are thankful for all the good things you have now. You loved the butler and always wanted to be like them. You helped the butler clean as a kid and learned how to take care of yourself for the most part. You make sure to stay fit, and made a career out of it. You want to give your family a life that you never had.

Traits: Neat, Active, and Self-Assured

Aspiration: Big Happy Family

Career: Athlete

Rules:

Max Fitness Skill

Get to level 5 of the cooking skill

Get to level 5 of the Bodybuilder branch of the Athlete career or higher

Complete Big Happy Family Aspiration

Do most of the cleaning and cooking

Live with the heir until you die

Generation 10: December

You lived your life with everything being done for you. Your parents did all of the cleaning and cooking, so you never had to lift a finger. You love your parents to the moon and back. You grew up to be quite a couch potato though. All you ever did was listen to songs and play them too. You love music. You can sing, play the keyboard, and guitar, and even the violin. Music lights the soul and makes any spirit bright. What fun it is to ride and sing, even if you mess up sometimes.

Traits: Lazy, Music Lover, and Clumsy

Aspiration: Musical Genius

Career: None

Rules:

Be best friends with your mom or dad

Make all of your money by busking for tips

Max a skill on an instrument

Complete the Musical Genius aspiration

I had a really fun time making this challenge, and I hope that all that choose to play have a fun time doing it! Happy Simming!

-Love, Em

#months legacy #sims 4 #ts4 #sims 4 challenge #ts4 challenge #simblr #candlesundae #m

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drinkmeblog · 6 years ago

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8 preguntas para Robert Simonson

Aunque no nos pudimos dar el gusto de entrevistarlo para La Nación, luego de un insistente acoso en persona y por mail, les traemos en exclusiva "8 preguntas a Robert Simonson" (http://robertsimonson.net/) y un bonus track para los bartenders lectores.

¡Van en inglés y en breve las subimos en castellano para todos los que no leen en inglés! Disfruten.

Even though we couldn't talk with him for a @lanacioncom piece, we got an exclusive 8 questions to @robertosimonson (and a bonus track for all you bartenders & readers) for the blog 💕 EN version, ES coming up. Enjoy.

Para los que no tienen idea y cayeron en esta entrada del blog cual paracaidistas, Simonson es una eminencia para los que gustamos de leer sobre coctelería en medios. Escritor de la prestigiosa y siembre bien ponderada sección de bebidas del NYT (¡esas fotos!, ¡esos textos!), pero también columnista regular en revistas de calidad como Punch Magazine, Imbibe, Saveur, GQ y la difunta Lucky Peach, entre otras, aparte de escritor de varios libros (The Old-Fashioned, A Proper Drink y el más reciente 3-Ingredient Cocktails).

1) You wrote about the cocktail renaissance of the last 30 years, however the curve seems to be reversing. Or at least that´s what some are saying, such as the journalist Kevin Alexander and his interesting article from Thrillist (https://www.thrillist.com/drink/nation/craft-cocktails-revolution-whats-next) As in all food & drink trends it would seem that ubiquity ends up being counterproductive. Massification, lack of technique and serious formation (due to the fact that everyone must have a cocktail program in any place nowadays), lack of originality (copycat bars and drinks, business above all) and innovation (everybody doing the same, playing safe), seem to be some of the culprits of the demise of the crafted cocktail. Any thoughts or ideas about it?

I think that what Alexander is saying is that with explosive growth and expansion, the cocktail business has faced challenges. This is true with any cultural or culinary revolution. True, restaurants and bars now feel they must have a decent cocktail program. That’s not a bad thing. It’s also true that they don’t always have the know-how and the skilled staff needed to execute those cocktail programs. They run before they can walk. Furthermore, there are always latecomers who want to jump on the bandwagon and collect some of that cocktail money while its hot. This ends up muddying the waters with sub-level and gimmicky spirits, cocktails and bars. There’s no stopping such efforts. That’s the free market. The genuinely innovative people are always trailed by the greedy and opportunistic. But, for me, the general point is cocktail culture is spreading, not receding.

2) What can be done about some of these negative trends?

As a journalist, I don’t know what I can do to stop bad trends. I can write about them, of course, and voice my disapproval. But that almost never has an impact. People drink what they want to drink, and there’s always someone willing to sell it to them. One thing I have started is to review bars for Punch. Bars are hardly ever seriously reviewed the way restaurants are. Reviews are a good way to appraise and evaluate what cocktail bars are doing, including certain trends.

3) Which are the bars that get you more excited?

Three sorts of bars get me excited. One sort is the cocktail bar that does all the basic, bedrock things well, without a lot of hype or flash. The second is a bar that introduces something completely original. The third is a bar that expresses the personality of its owner, with that owner being on site at all times to steer the ship.

4) How come you have NEVER come to South America? Isn't that a little bit strange given the rage many trends (latino inspiration drinks and alcohols) are having right now in the States?

It is a bit strange, until you consider the expense. I am a journalist, and journalists do not make a lot of money. I pay my own way, wherever I go. On very rare occasions, a publication will send me, but that does not happen often. I do not accept press junkets offered by spirits companies and corporations. I consider such trips to be unethical, professionally speaking. So it takes me a longer time to get to countries and cities that have a strong spirit, cocktail or drinking culture, places that I should visit. I would love to visit Tokyo, Peru, Jerez, Cognac and other important capitols of spirits and drinking, but it will have to wait until I can do it on my own terms.

5) Which things do you take with you from this trip?

I learned two main things in Buenos Aires. One, that the cocktail movement is a lot more advance there than I had expected. And, two, Buenos Aires has a rich cocktail history on which to draw inspiration.

6) Lets talk about conventions. One thing that surprised me was that you wrote on a IG post that you were in favor of hearing first and drinking later. Aren't most of conventions like that? What do you thought of BAC?

No. At most cocktail conventions in the United States, drinks are constantly available from the early morning until late at night, and drinks are served at most seminars, either as educational tools (samples of Scotch, say, at a seminar about single malts), or as refreshments. On occasion, I have asked that drinks not be served at my seminars, because I find them intrusive. They also find them an infantilizing force, as people come to expect them when they go to a cocktail seminar, and either won’t go or won’t be happy if they are not served. But I’ve been told that people expect drinks, and that events won’t be as successful or fun without them. The logic of that makes no sense to me. When you go to a seminar about food or restaurants, are you served an omelette while you listen? And, of course, there’s the inescapable influence of liquor brands. Most seminars are sponsored by a brand, and the brands insist their product be poured at the event. I thought BAC handled this aspect of conventions very well, though, like most conventions, brand money is what makes the engine go. I’d love for somebody to figure out a way to hold a liquor convention without their first call being to Diageo and Pernod Ricard asking for money and product. There has to be another model.

7) There has been some change in the mentality within the industry recently (for example with Jim Meehan’s talk “Rethinking the modern bartender” we started talking about some issues that seemed left behind or were simply taboo). I was wondering how do you see two particular aspects: on one side, the little attention paid to issues such as addictions and mental health in the industry? On the other, the need for evolution of the role of the bartender (being a more well-rounded and complete?

The quick evolution of cocktail industry over the past 15 years has been so exciting for its participants that it was easy for them to forget about the potentially dangerous side effects of spirits and drinking. We’ve had the heady era of discovery and celebration. Now, it’s come time to deal with the repercussions. Alcohol has always been an aspect of adult life that must be approached with caution and responsibility if its to be enjoyed in the long term. There’s been a lot of denial about these issues within the cocktail community. Hopefully, that’s coming to an end and we are on our way to finding a balance.

8) Lastly, we think it’s important that women be included more and more in the industry nowadays. Nonetheless we are curious about what we perceive as a dilemma: a sort of “genre quota” to be filled with female bartenders. Do you feel there’s such a thing? Do we want women to be included because they are female or because they are extraordinary in what they do? How do you see women’s current role?

I don’t know how things are for women bartenders and bar owners in Argentina. I only met a couple while I was there, so perhaps that answers the question. Here in the United States, we have never lacked for talented women cocktail bartenders. But they have rarely been put in charge of bars, or get the opportunity to own bars. That has begun to change, but not quickly enough. There’s an entrenched patriarchy in the cocktail world, just as there is in most lines of work. I have not encountered any instances in the United States where a woman has been given a position in a bar simply because of her gender. There are too many talented women around for that to happen. I do believe in meritocracy. The best qualified people should get the job. But the idea that there aren’t women out there who have the skill to merit any job is, I believe, a fallacy.

BONUS TRACK

Which basic reading materials do you recommend for bartenders?

Here’s a brief list: Books: “Imbibe” by David Wondrich, “Regarding Cocktails” by Sasha Petraske, “Potions of the Caribbean” by Jeff Berry, “Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails” by Ted Haigh, “The Joy of Mixology” by Gary Regan,“Straight Up and on the Rocks” by William Grimes, “A Proper Drink” by Robert Simonson (I know it’s mine, but it’s the only history of its kind, and bartenders should know the history of the cocktail revival).

Magazines: Imbibe

Websites: Punch

#editoriales #Crónicas & Editoriales

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non-sequitura · 4 years ago

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It’s been a bit!

~Top 10 things I'd be majoring in if not Psychology~

1. Economics (moneeyyyyy. Apparently ppl major in this when they want to get rich and don’t know what else to do. But I genuinely like money and markets. I find them fascinating. It’s like my dad’s numismatics obsession on a larger scale.)

2. Music (One of the only things on this list I’m confirmed to be good at, which also makes it a more fun choice. Would probably try to get experience accompanying people and playing chamber music, with maybe a master’s in collaborative piano. Then, I could accompany musicals, or teach choir, or teach children, or anything really.)

3. Philosophy (I’ve always been interested in logic, ethics, and basically the “soft” side of figuring out how things work. The analysis is like crack to me, and writing papers would allow me to settle on conclusions then contradict myself the next day, which sounds delightfully challenging. Also, a lot of the classic philosophers had pretty funny lives that it’d be interesting to study in context.)

4. Computer Science/Symbolic Systems/UX design (Specifically, I’m interested in the user interface side of things. Coding and solving problems can be fun on its own, but once you start thinking about what people see on the other side of a program, it changes your whole approach.)

5. Physics/astrophysics (My first intended major. I sat in on an astronomy class once, and it was super interesting. Physics on a less mathy, grander scale, almost. Not sure what I’d go into anymore bc so many jobs in physics focus on physics, not people primarily. But I doubt it’d be a useless skillset outside of physics research.)

6. Game design of some kind? Maybe specializing in writing, coding or music if that's possible. (I love games. I love working on games. This could kill my love for them or enhance it; not sure. But it’s like the user interface thing specifically oriented toward games.)

7. Human Resources Development (Very generally relates to psychology, but in a less scientific, more pragmatic setting. Would almost certainly prepare me for jobs in human resources and not much else, but “keeping everyone productive and happy” is already one of my life goals, so it doesn’t seem like too much of a stretch.)

8. One of the other general "developments" like child development, gerontology, social work (I like focusing on the health of children and the elderly. There aren’t a lot of programs focused toward helping them in comparison to all adults, but I think the psychological differences in different stages of life can yield extra care and attention.)

9. Dental Hygiene (not really a major so much as a preprofessional program) (I always wanted to be that person who cleans teeth, makes suggestions on what the client needs, then sends them off on their way with a goodie bag and hopefully not-too-sore gums. I think I’d be good at it, especially since I’m so meticulous with my own teeth and find cleaning things satisfying.)

10. A long, long time ago I could have seen theatre or film acting, but I'm kind of removed from thinking about that world, now. Maybe it’d make more sense if I was trying to make money from voice acting again (there are no degree programs in voice acting in the United States as far as I know.)

Bonus job path ideas -In another world, I considered majoring in Criminal Justice or something else law-related and becoming a forensic scientist, forensic psychologist or private investigator. Maybe even trying to work for the CIA. Most of those jobs are pretty intense, though, and criminal justice involves a lot more study of law and history than I'd probably be good at.

-I've considered going into plant science or evolutionary science. They're very cool. Sadly, bio majors like that require too much studying of the other stuff I don't like (AKA humans.)

-I though I'd enjoy being one of those traffic designers who figures out how long a light needs to be red/green. Come to think of it I'm not sure I found it so interesting it would have been fun for 8+ hours/day, though.

-I also thought that culinary school could have been interesting. But I generally try not to make hobbies I use to unwind a source of income.

Thanks for letting me fantasize for a while. I like to imagine that there are alternate Annies in different universes that are killing it at all these things and doing other stuff that doesn't even exist in ours.

It can be a fun exercise. I recommend it. It helps you reconnect with your past ideas and makes you feel quite capable of anything.

-12/26/20

#non-sequitura-blog #blog #12/26/20 #december #2020 #longform #list #seriousness

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wineanddinosaur · 4 years ago

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Next Round: Belinda Chang on the Future of Virtual Events

Airing between regular episodes of the VinePair Podcast, “Next Round” explores the ideas and innovations that are helping drinks businesses adapt in a time of unprecedented change. As the coronavirus crisis continues and new challenges arise, VP Pro is in your corner, supporting the drinks community for all the rounds to come. If you have a story or perspective to share, email us at [email protected].

In this episode of “Next Round,” host Zach Geballe sits down with Belinda Chang to discuss her new project, “Virtual Boozy Brunch.” While this project is Chang’s newest endeavor, it is one of many exciting positions she has held in the wine world. Here, Chang discusses how she moved into the wine and hospitality industry shortly after majoring in biochemistry and economics, and the influential roles she has held along the way.

Early in her career, Chang moved to Chicago then San Francisco, where she was selected to replace Rajat Parr as the new wine director for the Fifth Floor. From there, she earned a series of interesting positions and was chosen to be the wine director at MoMA, as well as the first national Champagne educator for LVMH. She also led a team to win a James Beard Award, as well as hosting both an annual pre-prom for female nominees to get ready for the ceremony and an annual pool party in Aspen.

The latter two events were put on by her own company, which she describes as “luxury experiential marketing.” Now, her platform hosts “Virtual Boozy Brunch,” which she initially launched to support wine professionals at the beginning of the pandemic. Today, the series has evolved into what she calls a “sip-along, cook-along, bake-along, dance-along, and many- other-things-along experience,” where users can log on and learn within interactive sessions. Chang emphasizes that these events always focus on user engagement and storytelling and will continue on well into the future.

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Zach: From Seattle, Washington, I’m Zach Geballe, and this is a “Next Round” “VinePair Podcast” conversation. We’re bringing you these conversations in between our regular podcast episodes in order to focus on the issues and stories in the drinks world. Today, I’m speaking with James Beard Award-winning sommelier and the creator of “Virtual Boozy Brunch,” Belinda Chang. Thank you so much for your time.

Belinda: It’s my pleasure. Thanks so much for having me virtually, Zach.

Z: That’s still the way we do pretty much everything these days, for now. So let’s start before we get into “Virtual Boozy Brunch,” where I want to spend a fair bit of our time today talking about your past with your trajectory, your career as a sommelier, before Covid-19 changed everything.

B: Sure. Like many of us, I started at university. I was a graduate of Rice University in Houston, Texas, who majored in biochemistry and economics. And if you ask my parents, they would probably say it all went wrong when I started dating the lead singer of this ska band. I mean, there were pretty good ska bands, right? They opened up for the Mighty, Mighty Bosstones. It was a college band, but they were pretty darn good. And the lead singer of the band who I was dating, he was a senior. I was a freshman, and he had the whole down low on how to be really well-fed and drink wine while being a college student and on a typical college student budget. And that was to work at the University Faculty Club, which is called Cohen House. And so that was my first job ever. Of course, I followed along and got myself a job at the Rice University Faculty Club, and I ended up being the head waiter there because I think I was just really having so much fun. So what that looked like was during my lunch hours, I was carving brisket — that brisket in Houston is so delicious — and ladling out bowls of the incredible gumbo and shrimp to say that they had on the buffet line for all of my professors. And then in the evenings, we had a small team that did these synchronized service, fine dining events for the president of the university. And a lot of the illustrious alumni, like the Baker family, people like that. And that was my first experience with fine dining and great wine. Well, the great wine at the time, I think, was Magnums of Macon-Villages.

Z: Seems great.

B: Yeah I mean, it was a private institution, and to me, that was slightly nicer than what they were serving at some of the other faculty clubs. But that’s how I got into this whole thing and fell in love with wine and fell in love with hospitality and fell in love with it all and decided to abandon the path that I had been set on to, maybe become something respectable, like a doctor or a lawyer management consultant. So while I was there, I then — after I fell in love with the lead singer of the ska band who knew a lot about how to get free food and wine — I then fell in love with the new chef of the top restaurant in Houston, which at the time was a restaurant called Cafe Annie, owned and operated by a Ph.D. in biochemistry who became a chef. His name’s Robert Del Grande. He won all the James Beard Awards and was a huge wine lover and lover of rabbit enchiladas and mole. So that was interesting. But, they ended up with a Wine Spectator award-winning program. And it’s a beautiful place where I believe that we had the most interesting clientele you could have at the time, like Colombian drug runners and people like that that are in Houston. And so there were a lot of Chateau Mouton ’82 and magnums of Dom Perignon all over the place. So that was a really fun place to get my start in restaurants proper. So I started in the kitchen there. I knocked on their back door one day and ended up being hired on as a banquet line chef. So I know a lot about making wild mushroom quesadillas really quickly and en masse and also doing that, remember that like ’90s Zig-Zag from the squeeze bottle? The crema fresca over the mole-topped enchiladas and all kinds of beautiful Southwestern food. And that’s where I got my first subscription to the Wine Spectator. I started reading about wine, started guzzling that Newton Chardonnay Unfiltered. I guess Texas is the biggest buyer of that wine. And there started my wine education that set me in that direction. And then a lot of things happened after that. I don’t know if we want to go into that.

Z: Well I just was going to say maybe obviously you’ve had a remarkable and illustrious career, and feel free to recount more of it, but I’m just wondering, obviously for all of us there are the initial formative restaurant experiences that you say “this is where I learned the ropes.” But then along the way for you as well, were there any other stops that you particularly feel like recounting? Or if not, we can certainly move on.

B: Yeah, I mean, I think I think the early stops are to be the most interesting because they really are the formative ones. So I had a great time at Cafe Annie and I loved working with the husband-and-wife team. And I’m grateful that I started on the culinary side to have a good grounding in how a fancy kitchen works and all of that, which made it easier for me to adapt moving forward. So while I was at Cafe Annie — and maybe this is also a little bit about my career strategy from the beginning — I went to Cafe Annie because a friend of mine told me it was the best restaurant. So if you’re going to learn something about cooking in restaurants, go there. And then while I was at Cafe Annie I saw a cover of the Wine Spectator that said that Charlie Trotter’s in Chicago is the best restaurant in the world for a food and drink experience. And I thought, oh, well, of course, I should just go work there next.

Z: I appreciate that. That is some self-confidence.

B: Right. So I wasn’t even thinking about it. It��s like how you might think to yourself, like, “Oh really? Yeah. I’ll just go to Harvard. That’s what I’m going to do.” And so I faxed my resume and went to Kinkos before it was FedEx. I remember driving there, sending in a resume that I’d cobbled together. And lo and behold, by the time I got back, on my answering machine that used a regular cassette tape was a message from Chef Trotter himself. So that was the next thing I did. I packed up everything. And I think within a week I just hustled myself out to Chicago and started working there. And there he starts you wherever he wants to start you, and even though I was so proud of myself at that point, at Cafe Annie I was the only woman working as a captain in the dining room, which in fine dining is like the top of the heap. I went to Charlie Trotter’s, and I was a food runner. So five years there, and I ended my time as the wine director of that very venerable cellar and learned everything you could possibly learn about operating a restaurant in the way that he did and many other lessons. So I think that’s the stop that really set me on this path forever and also informed a lot of what I believe in hospitality and how to deliver experiences and how to work and how to mentor and lots of other things. So I did that. So I went from Houston back home to Chicago. My parents have lived here, and I lived here from third grade on. This was my hometown. And after a couple of years at Charlie Trotter’s, I got a call that a chef named Laurent Gras was looking for a wine director and a replacement for Rajat Parr in San Francisco.

Z: I think I’ve heard of him.

B: Yeah, right. So I was like, oh my God, who doesn’t want to be the follow-up to Rajat Parr and that incredible cellar stocked from floor to ceiling. That was a giant cellar of Burgundy, I think probably the largest in the country, if not the deepest in the country just at that moment in time. And so I flew myself out to San Francisco with the same thought, like, “Of course, I’m the one to replace Rajat Parr.” And I met the chef. I think I was probably the 60th person he’d interviewed, the very last person who put their hat in the ring for it. And there’s a nice moment here where I took the elevator up to the fifth floor, right? The Fifth Floor in San Francisco was on the fifth floor, and I saw Martine Saunier sitting outside and she was on a cell phone. And it wasn’t an iPhone. It was like one of those big ones, I think, or maybe a Motorola flip phone. And she looked up, and we didn’t know each other well. But I met her a few times and she said, “Oh, Belinda Chang.” She said, “Are you here to interview?” And I said, “yes.” And she nodded. And I went into the interview. I found out later that she called chef Gras after and said, “hire her”.

Z: Oh, wow.

B: Yeah. So that was a really cool moment. And I didn’t know about this for many years. And I can tell you, I love him deeply. I think he’s so amazing and I treasure my years that I worked with him. But I do know that when I walked into the room, he was definitely like, but you’re a girl, right? But he comes from very classic dining rooms. And I’m sure in those years, there definitely was not a woman sommelier on any of those service teams.

Z: Yeah, I think that is a safe assumption.

B: So it was pretty cool that she got in the game and told them what to do, and he followed her advice. And I think that at that time that was the job that a lot of people wanted.

Z: I bet, yeah. If 60-something people applied, I bet so. So before we shift gears and talk a little bit about “Virtual Boozy Brunch” and what you’ve been doing lately, what was the last sommelier or wine director job you held? Was your stepping away from the floor just a thing or time that had come, or how did you make that decision?

B: Yeah, it’s a great question. We can fast-forward to it. So from the Fifth Floor in San Francisco I came back to Chicago to oversee a big group of restaurants for Richard Melman from Lettuce Entertain You. From there I was recruited by Danny Meyer’s team to take over the wine director position at the Modern and MoMA in Manhattan. And then after that, after winning the James Beard Award with my team, I then went into a couple of experiments. I worked with Graydon Carter and Ken Friedman at the Monkey Bar, and then I went into that corporate paradigm that a lot of people think that they want to go into after single owner-operators or small-group restaurant paradigms. And I spent some time as the corporate wine director at Starwood Culinary Concepts, which was part of Starwood Hotels and restaurants run by Jean- Georges. And then after that, I spent time as the first national Champagne educator for LVMH, for M.H. USA. So those are all the various things. And then after all of that, I decided it was time to get back onto the floor. So I took a managing partner and wine director position here back in Chicago, my hometown, with Maple and Ash. So that was the last time that I was on the floor. And that was a two-and-a-half-year stint that launched me into my own business.

Z: And so let’s let’s talk about that. So what were you doing, broad strokes, pre-pandemic? And how did you pivot into virtual events?

B: So pre-pandemic, I was about a year and a half into my first foray into single-owner-operated bootstrap entrepreneurship — terrifying in and of itself. But pre-pandemic, I had some great clients. I was working with Champagne Taittinger and Calvisius Caviar, and I was already then doing something that’s not easily explained. I guess if you had to give it a one-liner, it was luxury experiential marketing. The funny thing is, I actually did do some virtual Champagne 101 and food and wine pairing classes via Skype for editors at Sauver Magazine and Elle Magazine before this all happened. But aside from that, I was putting on really cool experiences, like an annual pool party in Aspen and my six-year-running James Beard Awards pre-prom, which put together a glam salon for all the women nominees and women winners to get them red-carpet ready. So things like that. So definitely in the luxury space, definitely in the experiential marketing space. So when we got to that fateful March — which feels like it was 10 years ago, but I guess it was just a few months ago — it was the first year of the business where I felt like it was all going to be OK. I had all my 2020 Q1, Q2, and Q3 lined up, deposits put down, and it was in one day, I was in Toronto on a business trip when I got all the calls. I got four of them in a row, which I thought was really weird, from different clients. And they were all calling me to refund deposits, so I emptied — like, literally emptied, maybe to the last 5 cents — my operating cash account and, of course, refunded all these clients, because I want to work with them again later and sat and cried on my couch, on this red velvet couch. So you can picture me just like, “Oh my God. Oh, my God!” Yeah. So that led to a “Virtual Boozy Brunch” a couple of days later.

Z: So can you again, having attended a couple of them, I don’t know that I could fairly ask you to summarize it in a couple of sentences, but just for the people who are listening who aren’t familiar and we’ll include the links in the show description, what is “Virtual Boozy Brunch” and and how has it maybe evolved since the early days of the pandemic?

B: So it’s how I got off the couch. So I got off the couch a day later and I saw Jackie and Dani’s virtual happy hour. I don’t know if anybody has seen that, but they were really, I think, the first to really put on this big effort where they were inviting three bartenders a night with two showings a night and recreated a bar scenario where friends and supporters could come in and virtually tip these bartenders from all over the country. And they also gave an opportunity for the liquor brands to come in and help out and sponsor all these bartenders that needed help. They’re all furloughed. They’re laid off. What are they going to do? So I thought I should try to do something for the wine people. I feel like that never happens because they all think that we’re landed gentry or something. And it might be because we all have friends who are such natty dressers, that I think it’s pretty unusual or until now pretty rare that there was a dedicated effort to help them. Like, who needs help? They look like they’re doing just fine. But just because we are sipping and swirling Jayer doesn’t mean that we bought it ourselves. It’s just a part of our job. So I thought well, what could I do that could be something similar to this virtual happy hour scenario that really helps wine people? So I called Carrie Leavens, who is a protege of mine. I called a friend Rachel, who was at Osteria Mozza. And I said, “You know what? Let’s put together a Sunday brunch where you can come and chat about wine. You can invite all of your collectors and your fans and your friends and your supporters. And they can tip you for sharing your magic. And we’re going to find a way to do that virtually on camera so that you can still ply your trade.” Right? Which is making people feel great and helping them to drink good wine. So that was what episode 1, 2, and 3 were about, having great wine people and giving them a place to connect with their supporters and fans and try to make some money and do it without having to ask for a handout. And what we realized was that a lot of our chef friends were coming and tuning in and a lot of other people with interesting stories and magic to share were tuning in. So it evolved after a few weeks into this sip-along, cook-along, bake-along, dance-along and many- other-things-along experience. So it evolved really quickly from being like a virtual wine class into being like, I don’t know, it’s a living magazine. It’s a virtual experience. It’s a lot of things right now.

Z: Yeah, well, and I will say just from my own experience attending a few of them, one thing that I think is really fun about it is it feels like going inside the cooking segment of something like “Good Morning America.” And this isn’t a negative thing, but not kind of polished within an inch of its life the way those things are, like, “Hey, mistakes happen!” Swear words definitely happen. People are drinking. But I think you guys do an amazing job of making it. If you want to learn how to do something, you really can. And I think that was the next question I was going to ask. I think one of the hardest things about the virtual format in my experience, especially as it relates to things like cooking, cocktail creation, even the more static things like even just wine tasting, I find it’s very hard to communicate and to receive that training when you’re distanced from somebody, when you’re watching them through a screen. But I think you guys do a really good job of making all of the recipes, all of the cocktail recipes really comprehensible. So how have you done that?

B: Well, I think from the start, we’re thinking about why someone would tune in and how we could keep a great audience and make this endeavor worth our time and engage people all the way through. I mean, I don’t know about you, but especially as I got later into my career, I was like “the formal wine tasting is the most boring thing.” And I was always trying to find ways to make it a little more interesting, in that landscape of back in the day when you and I were full-time directors on the floor, you get like 50 invitations per day. So it’s like, how do you choose which one’s going to be really great? Aside from like maybe going to the one that has the most expensive wine, I think in this virtual space, the ones that are really interesting to me are the ones where I get to really participate. Right. So we never have a moderator read off the questions from the chat and relay that to the chef. We flip you up on screen if you have a question about, “did I do this correctly or does this look right or is it brown enough?” So our audience is always invited to be a part of the experience in every way. I always tell our team if at some point you’re looking at the gallery of viewers and they’re all looking down and they’re texting or they’re looking at their phones instead of what’s happening, we’ve done something wrong. We want it such that everybody who’s in the audience is engaging with the talent the entire time. So it’s a really worthwhile endeavor, whether the talent wants to tell a brand’s story or share a recipe or technique, or just connect. We make it so that it’s a platform in which they can always do that at the highest level. So I think that’s what we’ve learned how to do throughout the pandemic. And I think that’s what we’re doing best.

Z: Yeah, for sure. Yeah, I definitely can tell the participant and viewer engagement is high, which is very challenging to do, both in person, frankly, and also virtually. So I think the last thing I want to ask you about, at least at the moment, is we are hopefully — knocking on every piece of wood in my house — at a point in time where it feels like the end of the pandemic might be closer than the beginning. And obviously, none of us know what that process period is going to look like. It’s going to be uneven. Some people are going to be vaccinated and feel comfortable going out in the world. Some people might not even after being vaccinated, it’s going to take time, et cetera. But obviously, like anyone who’s created something in this period of time, you have some thoughts about how to carry it forward into a post-Covid landscape — and don’t feel like you’ve got to share any trade secrets here — but what have you been thinking about in terms of continuing “Virtual Boozy Brunch” once that virtual part is no longer mandatory?

B: It’s such a smart question, Zach. And also to your point about not showing any trade secrets, I’m very proud of the fact that I think that our “Virtual Boozy Brunch” format, which started March 16, has inspired tons of people to do their own take on it. So all my trade secrets are not secrets, I always want to share. I love sharing best practices and what I’ve learned. But to your question, I absolutely think that this is an idea whose time has come — not just because of the pandemic, but because it’s a smart way forward, particularly for marketing and this striving for experiential marketing and authenticity and storytelling. I’m going to be attending virtual experiences, I think, for the rest of my life, because it’s expensive to travel, right? Remember when we would get offered the trip to Germany, but you could only send one person from the restaurant or they were only inviting 10 wine directors from around the world? You can put together this programming that is so powerful if you do it well and hire the production team where it feels just like you’re in Luca Cerrado from Vietti’s mom’s kitchen, smelling the blueberry risotto because they sent you all the ingredients. And you can be stirring that pot with them from home and you can visit the vineyards and you can invite as many people as you want from all over the world. So I think that this is some cool stuff. I always use this analogy: You know those futuristic movies where they’re having the board meeting and all the people on the board are holograms and they’re all sipping the same Scotch together? Whenever I saw a movie vignette like that, I always thought, “Oo, how could we do that in the wine and food space?” And we’re doing it! So I think that this is going to go on forever, and people are going to get better and better at it and send bigger experience boxes and really make this so it does feel just like you’re in the room, but you’re in the room so safely and you can be in any room anywhere in the world with just the click of a button and the opening of a laptop. So I think it’s so cool. I’m all about it, and I’m all in. And I don’t know when I’m going to want to go like, are people going to still do Vinitaly? I don’t know. I did the virtual version of it this year, and it was really fun.

Z: Yeah well, I think that — just my two cents on this whole thing — I think two things seem pretty true to me. One is that virtual experiences and in-person experiences are not mutually exclusive. And people are going to want some of each. They’re going to want the experience of whether it’s getting on a plane and going to Europe, some of them, or the experience of just going out to dinner or having someone serve them. All those things are going to still be popular with people. But I think what we’ve learned, as you said, is that you can do an amazing job of creating a really memorable experience. I think the fear heading into this or before the pandemic was people were going to see a virtual experience as, at best, a pale imitation of an in-person experience. And I think what we found is they’re not exactly the same thing. And there are things that a virtual experience can deliver that an in-person experience can’t, including the fact that you could do it in your house with your pajamas on. And that is, as it turns out, for a lot of us, a thing that we like very much. I also think the other piece of this is that I wonder about, even in my own career. You said that in-person wine tasting had gotten old to you. And I largely agree that there becomes a time for everyone, especially professionals, but even I think for amateurs or just hobbyists and enthusiasts that having access to all the wine is less important than having good wine. And I think about some of the consumer-facing events I’ve been to big, big events in the States and it’s like, is there going to be the same demand? Maybe there will still be the same demand for the drunken s*** show that is these big, hundreds and hundreds of producers pouring drinks as much as you want events. There are always going to people who want to get drunk, for sure. But I think that the smarter positioning for a lot of people is going to be, if you’re a winery or a spirit brand or whatever, do you really want to go be lost in that sea of drunken red-wine sloshing, or do you want to do focused events for people around the country? Who are your actual potential customers? And I think that’s where you’re going to see a lot of that shifting is people’s marketing budgets are going to say, “You know what? We’ve been able to really reach our audience directly, as opposed to hoping that someone not too inebriated comes by our booth, likes our wine, and then remembers to order it five days later.”

B: “Remembers.”

Z: Yeah, exactly. Remembers anything that happened, of course.

B: Agreed. 100 percent. I think we’re at a really interesting moment for those of us that engage in the storytelling marketing activation side of things. I think we are now going to see some permanent changes and things for how we move forward, even when it is possible for us to all be safely together in the same space again.

Z: Absolutely. Well, Belinda, thank you so much for your time. I really appreciate it. It’s been super cool to watch you experiment and explore this virtual space, and I look forward to seeing what comes in the months and years ahead.

B: Thank you so much, Zach. It was a pleasure.

Thanks so much for listening to the VinePair podcast. If you enjoy listening to us every week, please leave us a review or rating on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever it is that you get your podcasts. It really helps everyone else discover the show. Now for the credits. VinePair is produced by myself and Zach Geballe. It is also mixed and edited by him. Yeah. Zach, we know you do a lot. I’d also like to thank the entire VinePair team, including my co-founder Josh and our associate editor, Cat Wolinski. Thanks so much for listening. See you next week.

Ed. note: This episode has been edited for length and clarity

The article Next Round: Belinda Chang on the Future of Virtual Events appeared first on VinePair.

source https://vinepair.com/articles/next-round-belinda-chang-virtual-boozy-brunch/

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johnboothus · 4 years ago

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Next Round: Belinda Chang on the Future of Virtual Events

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Or Check Out the Conversation here

Belinda: It’s my pleasure. Thanks so much for having me virtually, Zach.

Z: Seems great.

Z: I appreciate that. That is some self-confidence.

B: Right. So I wasn’t even thinking about it. It’s like how you might think to yourself, like, “Oh really? Yeah. I’ll just go to Harvard. That’s what I’m going to do.” And so I faxed my resume and went to Kinkos before it was FedEx. I remember driving there, sending in a resume that I’d cobbled together. And lo and behold, by the time I got back, on my answering machine that used a regular cassette tape was a message from Chef Trotter himself. So that was the next thing I did. I packed up everything. And I think within a week I just hustled myself out to Chicago and started working there. And there he starts you wherever he wants to start you, and even though I was so proud of myself at that point, at Cafe Annie I was the only woman working as a captain in the dining room, which in fine dining is like the top of the heap. I went to Charlie Trotter’s, and I was a food runner. So five years there, and I ended my time as the wine director of that very venerable cellar and learned everything you could possibly learn about operating a restaurant in the way that he did and many other lessons. So I think that’s the stop that really set me on this path forever and also informed a lot of what I believe in hospitality and how to deliver experiences and how to work and how to mentor and lots of other things. So I did that. So I went from Houston back home to Chicago. My parents have lived here, and I lived here from third grade on. This was my hometown. And after a couple of years at Charlie Trotter’s, I got a call that a chef named Laurent Gras was looking for a wine director and a replacement for Rajat Parr in San Francisco.

Z: I think I’ve heard of him.

Z: Oh, wow.

Z: Yeah, I think that is a safe assumption.

B: So it was pretty cool that she got in the game and told them what to do, and he followed her advice. And I think that at that time that was the job that a lot of people wanted.

Z: And so let’s let’s talk about that. So what were you doing, broad strokes, pre-pandemic? And how did you pivot into virtual events?

B: “Remembers.”

Z: Yeah, exactly. Remembers anything that happened, of course.

B: Thank you so much, Zach. It was a pleasure.

Ed. note: This episode has been edited for length and clarity

The article Next Round: Belinda Chang on the Future of Virtual Events appeared first on VinePair.

Via https://vinepair.com/articles/next-round-belinda-chang-virtual-boozy-brunch/

source https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/next-round-belinda-chang-on-the-future-of-virtual-events

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nessnessquik · 7 years ago

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The Nanny - Chapter 2

I am completely overwhelmed by everyone’s amazing and encouraging responses to my first chapter. It’s hard to explain just how much your comments mean to me! You guys are just the best. I hope you enjoy everything to come!

Special thanks to Corinna, my amazing Mandarin translator!! And always Kaiya and Liz. Love yall. =)

Also on AO3.

“Do I have to go to school today?” Daisy looked up at Melinda imploringly from behind her bowl of cereal.

“Eat another bite, Daisy, and yes.” Melinda answered, glancing at her daughter from the island where she was assembling a turkey and cheese sandwich for Daisy’s lunchbox. The disappointment on Daisy’s little face made her want to change her mind, but her shift started in an hour. She couldn’t call out now unless there was some kind of emergency.

“But-but I wanna go to work with you.” Daisy sounded like she was on the verge of tears.

Melinda set down the sandwich and immediately went to crouch beside her little girl. She was used to Daisy's reluctance to part from her. Especially when she was a baby, her separation anxiety had made it difficult for Melinda to go anywhere alone. But this was something different. She usually wasn't this clingy anymore unless she was sick...or something was upsetting her.

“Daisy, xiǎo huā,” Melinda had given Daisy the Mandarin nickname when she was still just a baby: little flower. Melinda put a hand on her back and switched to Mandarin, as she frequently did at the house with Daisy. “What’s wrong?” She probed.

Daisy put her spoon down and threw her arms around Melinda’s neck for a hug. “I don’t wanna go to school. And I don’t like aftercare. I wanna stay with you.” Daisy’s voice was muffled by Melinda’s shirt.

Melinda held onto her and stood up, rubbing her back soothingly as Daisy straddled her waist. “I know you don’t like aftercare, xiǎo huā, but Mama has to go to work.”

She was loathe to leave Daisy in the daycare program after school. Her previous nanny, who moved away in January, usually picked her up right after her class ended. The past couple of months without a nanny meant that most days, Daisy had to stay in aftercare until she (or Peggy or Maria) were able to pick her up. Even though the school was good and the teachers were kind, Daisy expressed how much she disliked it. On particularly long or bad days, she would cry in class about having to go. Ms. Anne Weaver, Daisy's VPK teacher, explained to her that Daisy played by herself most of the time in aftercare. She thought it had to do with the fact that many of the other students in aftercare were older, and none of her classmates stayed after school. Melinda hated that her daughter had to be in a place where she felt she didn’t fit in, but without a nanny there was just no way for her to make sure Daisy was taken care of for those few hours without being at the school. Part of the burden of being a single mother, she supposed.

Melinda could feel Daisy relaxing in her arms the longer she held her, and finally Melinda pulled back to look into her daughter’s face.

“Hey,” Melinda moved the brown strands of hair away from Daisy’s face. “Guess what tomorrow is? My day off! You know what that means.” She saw the beginnings of a smile start to creep up. “We can do Tai Chi in the morning, and after school we’ll go to Aunt Peggy and Aunt Maria’s classes at the gym. Then at night we’ll eat ice cream. How’s that sound?”

“And play Chutes ‘n’ Ladders?”

Melinda groaned, causing Daisy to let out a giggle. “Okay, Chutes and Ladders too.”

Daisy hugged her once more. “Wǒ ài nǐ, Mommy.”

I love you. The phrase warmed her soul. “Wǒ ài nǐ, xiǎo huā.” Melinda set her down. “Now, finish your cereal.”

Daisy peered into her bowl and wrinkled her nose. “But it’s all squishy now.”

Melinda sighed and quickly began packing Daisy’s lunch away. Their little heart to heart (though she cherished every second of it) had left them with little time to linger. Looked like it was going to be another protein bar breakfast kind of morning.

“Okay, go get your shoes and backpack on, I’ll be right there.”

Melinda was sitting at her desk, reading through a few patient files and filling out paperwork when Natasha barged through her doorway, knocking once as if that was all the warning she needed.

“What are you waiting for?” Natasha demanded, hand on her hip.

“This mother’s latest report from her OB/GYN.” Melinda replied without looking up.

“I’m talking about Phil. You haven’t called him yet.”

Melinda finally lifted her head to roll her eyes. “I’ve been a little busy. And how did you even know about that?”

“Pepper told me.” Natasha sat on her desk, which she knew Melinda hated, and leaned on some of her papers. “Phil was one of Clint’s teachers in high school, so when he moved back here, Clint introduced us. I think you and Daisy would like him.”

“Good to know. Now get off my desk and go find someone to patch up.” Melinda knew what Natasha was doing. She was trying to annoy her into contacting the man.

“Are you going to call him?”

Melinda sighed. “Nat, you’re more of a four year old than Daisy is sometimes.”

Natasha folded her arms. “Well where do you think she gets it from?”

Melinda shook her head, concealing her smile. “For your information, I was going to call him today.”

“Hmm, well let me help you with that.” Nat swiped up her phone from her desk faster than she could blink and, moving just out of reach, began dialing Phil’s number.

“Natasha!” Melinda lunged and grabbed the phone back, but it had already started ringing. The glare Melinda sent the redhead would have caused every intern (and some doctors, for that matter) to apologize profusely and run the opposite way, but her friend just grinned back.

“You’re welcome!” Natasha called out as she left, shutting the door behind her.

Melinda huffed in annoyance, but quickly turned her attention to the phone...which had just stopped ringing.

“Hello?”

“Dr. May? Hi.” The man stuck his hand out, his blue eyes betraying some nervousness despite his easy smile. “Phil Coulson.”

“Most people just call me ‘May,’” Melinda stood briefly to shake his hand. “Thanks for agreeing to meet on such short notice.” She gestured for him to sit in the chair across from her before sitting back down.

Melinda chose her favorite breakfast cafe as a meeting spot for her interview with the renowned-yet-surprisingly-ordinary-looking Phil Coulson. The mid-morning sun peeking through a few clouds and the gentle breeze made for a very pleasant day for an outdoor brunch.

Phil thanked her as he seated himself, looking around the quaint patio and the rest of the cafe and nodding in appreciation. “I’ve never been here before, but I find that those little, lesser-known restaurants are usually the best ones, don’t you think?”

Melinda nodded in agreement, gazing at the property fondly. “I’ve been coming here for years. The owner, Sif, and her husband are good people.”

“How long have you lived here?” Phil asked, leaning forward with eager eyes.

Melinda cocked an eyebrow. “Aren’t I supposed to be the one asking questions here?”

“Oh-geez, yeah you’re right. Sorry.” Phil seemed to deflate slightly as he looked away from her to study his menu instead.

Melinda suppressed a smile at Phil’s obvious embarrassment. It was healthy to be a little nervous at an interview-it meant that he cared about what she thought about him.

All the same, Melinda could almost hear her mother’s voice in her head, chiding her for speaking without thinking first.

“It was just a joke, Mr. Coulson.” Melinda’s voice broke the silence. No need for him to already think the worst of her.

“Phil,” he responded immediately, looking back up at her. A slightly more cautious smile tugged one side of his mouth back up. “You can call me Phil.”

“Well, Phil, Pepper said you work at a bakery and substitute teach at a high school?” Melinda picked up her menu. “After we decide on what to eat, I’d like to hear about how you got into that.”

Melinda’s first observation was discovered less than a minute after ordering their food: Phil Coulson was a talker.

She listened, making internal notes of his appearance while he spoke: he had brown hair (thinning at the top), blue eyes (the blue button down he wore really made them stand out), average height (still a good amount of inches taller than her), nice smile and voice (sincere and pleasing), he wore a suit jacket over his dress shirt (disguising what appeared to be a strong set of arms). Hmm. Perhaps he wasn’t as ordinary as she thought he’d been when he walked up.

In fact, she mused to herself, he’s actually kind of attractive…

Was all of this information she needed to know about a nanny?

Probably not.

Melinda mentally shook herself and forced herself to tune back into Phil’s story. As his bacon and spinach quiche cooled on its plate, he told her about his difficulty in choosing a subject in college to focus on. He’d bounced around for a while until he’d finally graduated as the only history major with an excess amount of culinary electives. It was there, apparently, that he’d met and roomed with Tony Stark.

“Which was just as fun as you can imagine, if you know Tony at all.” Phil stated dryly. Melinda snorted in understanding before swallowing a forkful of her own ham and cheese quiche.

“Has he changed at all since then?” Melinda inquired.

Phil chewed a bite of his (nearly forgotten) food thoughtfully. “He likes to act the same as he did in college, but it’s more of a front now. He’s grown up a bit since then, thanks to Pepper and Fitz.”

Melinda scoffed again and muttered. “Could’ve fooled me.”

Phil grinned at her, and Melinda was surprised at how easy it was to smile back at him.

Sif chose that moment to swing by, refilling their drinks with expert precision. The brunette raised her eyebrows, glancing between her and Phil as she poured. “Enjoying everything?”

Melinda sent her a look, knowing exactly what she was hinting at.

The double meaning seemed to go right over Phil’s head as he nodded enthusiastically. “This quiche is delicious. Is there any way I could convince you to give me the recipe?”

Sif smiled. “I’ll speak to the cook.” She walked away to serve another guest, but not before throwing another smirk over her shoulder in Melinda’s direction.

She pretended not to notice.

“And after college?” Melinda prodded him.

“Oh, right. I taught history at a local high school here for a while. That was interesting since I was only a few years older than some of them. Then my father passed away suddenly and I moved back to my childhood home to be with my mom.” Phil’s eyes looked distant. “She helped me rediscover my love for baking, and she’s also the reason I came back here.” His smile was back, though it held a bit of embarrassment. “She basically kicked me out and forced me to pursue my idea of opening my own bakery.”

“She sounds like a great mom.”

“She is. She taught me a lot. She’s also the reason I love kids.” Phil fiddled with his fork. “She taught me to take care of them when I was still young myself. With a bunch of younger cousins, I was basically the family babysitter. Until, unfortunately, college forced me to retire from my budding career.”

Melinda let out a surprised chuckle at the joke. At the sound, Phil's blue eyes snapped quickly to hers and he beamed back, looking delighted with himself for causing her to laugh.

“I’ve been rambling. I’m sorry, I’ve been told I do that a lot.” Phil tilted his head as he looked at her. “What about yourself? And Daisy?”

“Daisy’s four, she’ll be five this July.” Melinda subtly ignored the prompt to speak about herself. It didn’t matter what Phil thought or knew about her personally, as long as he took good care of her daughter. This isn’t a date, it’s an interview, Melinda told herself firmly. She pulled out her phone as she spoke. “She loves dressing up, Chutes and Ladders, ice cream, and playing outside. Here’s a picture of her, in case you haven’t seen one yet.”

Phil studied the photo with a smile. “Yeah, I have seen some of you before, actually.” Melinda glanced at him quickly and watched his ears turned pink. “I mean you as in plural, like the two of you. Y’all, as some might say. Pepper and Natasha have shown me a few of you and Daisy.”

Melinda bit back a smile at his stammering. With anyone else, the admission might have sounded creepy, but with Phil it was almost...cute. In a dorky, kind of endearing sort of way.

Phil cleared his throat to break up the awkwardness. “She looks sweet.” He finally stated.

Melinda squashed down the urge to tease him, deciding it would be more professional to just ignore the exchange. “She is.” A little, affectionate smile crossed her lips as she looked at the picture. “She can also be a bit of a handful. Many of the other nannies found her difficult to keep up with.”

Melinda’s eyes suddenly focused above the picture to see the clock in bold letters. She nearly groaned aloud. When did it get so late? “I’m sorry, I need to go pick up Daisy from school now or she’ll be waiting on me.”

She stood up and grabbed her purse, then hesitated and considered Phil in front of her. He was now on his feet as well and he looked at her with slight concern in his eyes. “Would you...like to meet her?”

Phil’s eyes widened in surprise, but he quickly grinned and nodded. “I’d love to.”

#philinda #philinda fanfiction #phil coulson #melinda may #Daisy Johnson #natasha romanoff #mine #my fanfiction #agents of shield #seriously you guys!#each and every comment made me so happy it just warmed my whole heart!#I just hope you guys continue to like it-as sappy as it'll get! haha #THEY'RE JUST SO CUTE I CAN'T TAKE IT #philindaisy #the coulson family #nanny au

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mmoondance · 5 years ago

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I’m too lazy to copy it all down here so:

1. Are you named after anyone?

Yes, my middle name is Jo and my dad’s middle name is Joe. Fun fact: my dad wanted me to be a boy, I was going to be Eric had I been a boy. I was supposed to be Katelyn if I was a girl but my mom’s friend named her kid Katelyn before I was born so to make both mom and my dad happy they named me Erica.

2. When was the last time you cried?

Uh, I think it was 3-4 weeks ago. Why? Well I had a programming in C# assignment that was really hard and I couldn’t figure out how to get it to work and I was so stressed I started crying over it. Note: I ended up turning the assignment in the wrong way so my professor allowed me to do it again. I asked a friend for help and he helped me. I have since got my grade back and got 100% on it.

3. Do you have kids?

No. I can’t even take care of myself let alone someone else.

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot?

Yes, all the time.

5. What’s the first thing you notice about a person?

I’m honestly not sure. It differs, my friend from math I noticed his eyes first because he’s got really pretty eyes. My Math SI Session leader it was his clothing. Girls it’s their hair or clothing. Sometimes shoes or backpacks. Hmm I think height gets my attention a lot too.

6. What’s your eye color?

Brown, though people tell me they sometimes look red. It may be that I’m a red head and my hair reflects in them? Idk?

7. Scary movie or happy ending.

Either? I like watching scary movies but I also love happy endings because sometimes non-happy endings feel unfinished. *coughs* “Extraordinary You!” (Though if you’ve ever seen Kill It, it’s ending is far from the norm in kdramaland and it fits it so well so I guess things being unfinished if not a happy ending isn’t always the case.)

8. Any special talents?

I like to write but I’m not amazing at it. Hm, I’m not really good at pointing out my talents...

9. Where were you born?

Indiana, US

10. What are your hobbies?

Writing, creating YouTube videos, blogging about kpop and kdramas (kind of), listening to music, watching Asian dramas, watching Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, reading, watching YouTube, hanging out with friends, going to the gym (to play badminton, pickleball, running/walking, or basketball), and eating? XD

11. Do you have any pets?

Yes. I have cats and dogs. 2 dogs, Oreo and Pepper. They are Lab-mixes. Then I had 5 cats, 2 of them recently died due to poisoning (we had this epidemic in our neighborhood of cats dying because of some sick freak putting poison out.) We now have 5 again, after adopting 2 again. Though technically we only have 4 as my neighbor stole one of them and keeps her inside. Anyways the oldest name is Daisy she’s a calico (her brother is one of the one’s who died) she hangs out with the dogs and hates the other cats, Libby is the one the neighbors stole, she’s a black/gray tabby, Lizzie is black/gray tabby, she’s literally the softest little bean, Ellie (he’s a boy, originally thought he was a girl because of the vet) he’s an orange tabby, my dad is pussy-whipped for him istg, and lastly we have Marley, she’s a black cat, she has some white on her tummy though, and a super small white speck on her nose. She cute. She isn’t a year old yet. (wow that was long...)

12. What sports do you play?

I used to be on the basketball team in high school and I ran track in middle school. Now in college I play basketball for fun, badminton, pickleball, and running/walking from time to time when my friend wants to run/walk.

13. How tall are you?

5’7”

14. Favorite subject in school.

Right now? Algebra (you’ll never hear me say that again though.) I hate all my other classes except Business Communications but it’s not my favorite. But I’d say my favorite subject would be culinary arts, art, sometimes chemistry or biology if they aren’t too advanced.) Oh, I love working with excel if you consider that a subject. Or working with computers.

15. What’s your dream job?

Honestly if I’m working on a computer, using excel most of the time then sign me up for any job doing that that makes decent fucking money. I think it would be cool to work at like Apple or Google but I think those have bad auras around them.

Tagged by: @nakyngs

Tagging: @maelynjung @emeraldbabygirl @jaejoongs-nipple-piercing

15 questions tag

1. are you named after anyone?

nope! my dad just liked the name “elena” and my middle name was supposed to be my grandma’s name but my aunt’s kid was born first so…

2. when was the last time you cried?

a few days ago? i think on friday or saturday?? i watched a uwma fmv damn i teared tf up

3. do you have kids?

no and i never will unless it’s an animal KDFJKD

4. do you use sarcasm a lot?

constantly dkfjd

5. what’s the first thing you notice about a person?

their … face usually ksdfjk idk maybe the eyes??? i don’t rly focus on one specific characteristic

6. what’s your eye color?

blue ! sometimes its more of a deep rich blue and other times its a lighter grayish cloudy blue

7. scary movie or happy ending?

happy ending bc i’m a p*ssy

8. any special talents?

yeah i can like . move my ears w/o moving the rest of my head . it’s wack . uhh also i’m rly good with animals i’d say? idk if that’s a special talent but i’ve always been rlly good with like . any animal

9. where were you born?

florida yeehaw

10. what are your hobbies?

making sns au’s, writing, watching asian dramas, making shit in photoshop, playing with animals, listening to music, listening to podcasts, learning languages

11. do you have any pets?

yes !!! there’s the family dog, max, and then there’s MY baby that i raised, carly 💞💘💕💞💓💘 max is a black and white, 10 year old lab-pointer mix, and carly is an apricot/blonde, nearly two year old cockapoo !!! we also used to have a cat that i had my entire childhood but she died about 2 or 3 years ago :( also idk if this counts but my sisters both have dogs that i interact w constantly: my oldest sister has a gray, 11 year old mini poodle (that i think is mixed with other breeds) named george and my second sister has a light blonde, 6 year old golden doodle named gatsby !!!! i could literally go on forever abt my pets . someone pls ask me my pet history ((if u actually wanna know)) bc i WILL tell you everything

12. what sports do you play?

none bc i am Not Athletic At All but ! when i was younger i did gymnastics and horse riding (two sports i still rly love but don’t have the opportunity to do :<) and when i was RLLY young i played the kid version of baseball

13. how tall are you?

5′2 or 157 cm hehe

14. favorite subject in school?

psychology!! or foreign language, but only hypothetically bc i haven’t actually been able to take a language i was RLY passionate in yet

15. what’s your dream job?

as ally put it, ideally not needing a job lol ! but realistically, i have several jobs that would be ideal;; a professional pet foster mom, an interpreter/translator, or a forensic investigator lol

tagged by: @doyoungcity

tagging: @ncttrinities @yedarnit @baejingf @berryjaellie @k8teez @chansyeezys @m00ndance @hwangskz and anyone else !! pls lmk if you want to do this ask game and i’ll add ur url to the tagging list hehe

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sentrava · 6 years ago

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April 2019 Highlights: The Highs + Lows

Remember the golden days of blogging, back when we didn’t care about photo-editing or SEO and pounded out posts several times a week? Well, those days are kind of back! While I still spend copious amounts of time post-processing photos for each travel post—not to mention, researching and fact-checking the history of the cities we’re visiting—I managed to publish eight blog posts in the month of April, which I’d say is on par with my early blogging years a decade ago. Yay for living in a new home conducive to writing!

In April, I was out of town seven nights, but took several day trips for work, as well. It was also one of our busiest months from a business perspective: We on-boarded a few new tourism board clients, sent out some massive proposals to others who had reached out over the spring, signed contracts for several speaking gigs, spent a lot of time with my niece (top priority), filed numerous print stories for upcoming magazine issues and finished up a year-long tourism video project for Rutherford County, all while making the transition to a new house and doing a bit of work on the Victorian and Myrtle. Whew! No wonder I’m even more tired than normal.

We also have settled into our new house quite nicely, despite it being pretty sparse in furniture for the time being—I even hosted 30 ladies in my wine club already—and it’s hard to believe we’ve only been here just shy of two months. I feel like this house was built for us, and we just love our new neighborhood so much and the fact that we have people dropping in for happy hour several days a week. If you missed the announcement that we relocated, you can read all about the Cedar House here. The Victorian is rented to travelers through the end of June, and then we’ll be listing it and Myrtle as commercial rentals going forward.

I just finished a speaking gig at a virtual conference today and have two later in May: one in Florida and one in East Tennessee. I’ll also be giving a talk on brand ambassador programs at Travel Con next month. Meet me there, or if you can’t fit Boston into your schedule then watch it all from home with this virtual pass for $149.

Now, onto a look back at this past month…

Highs

We started April in Cincinnati. I finally learned how to properly spell the city name, hurrah! And as expected, we positively fell in love with Cincy and its creative vibe. I can’t believe it took me 36 years to get here (other than layovers in the airport). It’s such a vibrant hub of artistic expression, from the murals to the culinary pioneers, and I can’t wait to tell you all about it. Our next travel posts will indeed by recaps of our time in Cincinnati.

We went to our first NASCAR race. And I was not prepared for how much fun it was going to be! SVV has long-time been a racing fanatic, but this was my first NASCAR experience and his first time at Bristol Motor Speedway. Read all about our thoughts on that here (with some drinks recipes to boot!).

We’re back on pretty strict Paleo (or Flex30 as we call it) while not on the road. We’re both just feeling “blah” for so long in terms of energy and know a lot of it has to do with our stress level and what we’re putting into our bodies. And why does food taste so much better, too, when you’re being mindful about what you cook and only putting clean things into your body? A novel concept, huh? We won’t be cutting out booze entirely, though I’m definitely cutting back, but reverting to clear spirits (like gin mixed with La Croix) and saving bourbon and beer for special occasions, like our travels.

While technically Panama City Beach was in March, we finally published a deep-dive into planning a weekend there. Heading to the Panhandle soon? Use this PCB weekend itinerary as your guide.

We kicked it in Memphis for four days. We spent this past weekend soaking up this glorious summer weather—we seriously had no spring in Tennessee; it skyrocketed straight to the 80s, and I’m OK with that as long as the humidity stays manageable—checking out new music, drinking whiskey and just growing our love for Memphis even more. We’ll be writing a blog post about Memphis’ new generation of soul very soon, right in time for its bicentennial. In the meantime, here’s a recap of everything we ate and drank on our last visit to Tennessee’s biggest city a few months back.

We got to the final round of two different grants we applied to for our mural program. The interview process was, um, interesting, but we’ll find out in June if got them. Even if we don’t, we’ve had some really great discussions about public art with potential backers lately, and I’m confident we’ll be putting up some new murals this summer. (We actually have a pair going up on the dugouts of the baseball field currently!) If you love public art, we have a website and a Facebook page for a public-benefit company, DMA, where you can follow developments in real time.

Lows

None! That’s got to be a first. April was a pretty great month, all things considered.

*****

May has us in Florida, Oklahoma, Maryville and Huntsville for work, as well as producing another arts festival. It also has us keeping Charlotte for four days while her parents are in Mexico (*send prayers and virtual bourbon since I can’t drink it right now*).

How was April in your neck of the woods?

April 2019 Highlights: The Highs + Lows published first on https://medium.com/@OCEANDREAMCHARTERS

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queenofairandsnarkness · 7 years ago

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Do you remember Brienne x Lucas Blackwood? Because I do and right now I am craving fic where he bakes her cupcakes that are inspired by her. And they are delicious.

The St. Cecilia’s Bake Sale was started... oh, ages ago. Brienne did it when she was a child, wide-eyed and following a bickering group of more interesting students. Mrs. Stark said she’d done it, and Rhae’s gran said it was done when her eldest was a student. It was all about responsibilities, and civic involvement, and getting the biggest sugar high possible.

(People still played poker with Rhae, then. No one thought a seven year old could fleece them.)

It was a little competitive- the students got to choose what they wanted the money to go for, and all of the teachers picked out their own projects. (Brienne had suggested better, safer gym equipment, Walda always suggested a knitting club, and Rhae wanted it to go to the theater program. Howland Reed suggested a summer garden program, because he was mad as a dragon. Cerelle Lannister’s idea of new technology won, because she said it would make the school like Star Wars. She was good at playing the kids.)

Then, of course, you have the actual baked goods. No one was allowed to buy things- it wasn’t in the spirit of it. The culinary school across the street allowed them to have an afternoon helping the students bake, of course, treating it as a lesson for both groups of students, and unofficial groupings did happen. Plus the teachers’ own contributions, which were evaluated by students and voted on. (Walda won last year with mini chocolate chip waffles, a Gull Arryn the year before with some salted-caramel maple syrup thing that had been too sweet for Brienne’s own liking.) It came across as a slightly manic Bake-Off, and was generally the most entertaining day of the year.

Walda had bubbled off too many ideas for Brienne or anyone else to keep track, Rhae was merely smiling and not answering, and Cerelle was probably going to hire a chef to do most of the work. She hadn’t gotten around to asking Lucas, as they tended to communicate better under masks. When on rooftops. Or beating people up.

Brienne had made scones- her mother had left behind a scrapbook of recipes, stained and still smelling faintly of spices. (Also, cider, but Selwyn Tarth inherited the Sapphire Isle before he married.) As a girl, she’d sometimes tried them, feeling awkward and sure to failure. (Renly had suggested that she not act like everything was a battle, but Renly was kind of a dolt who didn’t follow his own advice.)

Over the years, she’d gotten better, and her orange scones tended to vanish quickly whenever she brought them to a meeting. She made a batch of orange for confidence, then tried a lavender-honey mix that she’d been meaning to get around to. (She smelt strongly of lavender for two days before the bake-off, when she was experimenting, and was slightly baffled by Lucas Blackwood’s expression.)

Rhaenys was carrying three large boxes on her lap as she wheeled through the hallways, an honor guard of some of her favorite art students making sure none of the littles crashed into her. Normally it would drive the other woman crazy, but Rhae’d been in more pain then usual, and was looking faintly exhausted all week. Also, the boxes were huge and Rhae normally had something good and the allergy sufferers went to her, first. She labelled.

“Shoo, shoo, I’ve got it from here,” she said. “Thank you, though, for asking me if I wanted help.”

“Is it biscuits?” asked a girl. “Miss Tarth always brings scones.” Rhaenys winked.

“You’ll find out in the afternoon,” she said. “Now, get to class!”

“Scones, again, Brienne?” Rhaenys asked. “I’ll take a lavender one with my meds.”

“Pain pill?” Brienne asked. Rhaenys nodded.

“One day,” she said, pinching her nose, “I’ll say yes when Q offers. One day, when I judge the risk to my sanity worth it. I haven’t been able to use the canes in two months without feeling like I’m reenacting the little mermaid.”

Damn it- Rhae could occasionally walk with a pair of canes, but Brienne had seen them only infrequently since they started at St. Cecilia’s. She knew the damage was slowly degenerative, that the healers had only managed that, but...

“The visions?” Brienne asked.

“It’d fry them,” she said, absently, ignoring the question Brienne was trying to ask. “That’d be the risk to my sanity- I’d be able to keep up the mirror tricks, but that’s it. Also, go visit poor Lucas. This is his first bake sale here, the poor boy is probably terrified we all went mad.”

The poor boy was their age and taller then Garlan Tyrell, but Brienne went, suspecting Rhae wanted some quiet time.

Lucas had two boxes on his desk, and Brienne sighed. “Lock them up.”

“What?” Lucas looked up from his planning, blinking.

“The sweets- the students will stare at them if you leave them out,” Brienne explained. “Put them in a drawer or cupboard you won’t be using today- don’t stash them in the teacher’s lounge, they’ll all be stolen.”

“Ah,” he said. “Thanks for that.”

Brienne wondered what she should do- she wanted to stay for a bit, but she wasn’t quite sure how to talk to him in the school. “How was the...” she waved her hand, not quite sure if there were curious ears nearby.

“Fine, fine, thanks for the assistance, by the way,” he said. “I think Stannis Baratheon is dealing with the aftermath.”

Brienne tried not to pull a face- Renly’s brothers were both dicks in their own ways, but rigid Stannis just didn’t... well, probably remnants of her embarrassing teenage crush on Renly.

But she couldn’t see Stannis liking a vigilante.

She moved to help grab the baked goods, and Lucas blushed and snatched them away. “I’ve got it.”

She raised her eyebrows. “You have Pari Martell in your class, right?”

He nodded, locking them in a mostly empty drawer. “Yes...”

“Did she start making illusions in spelling, yet?” Brienne asked. “I had her last year.”

Lucas blinked. “...Not yet... is that something I should worry about?”

“Probably,” she smiled. “She likes to visualize words to help her memorize them.”

He nodded. “That’s going to be entertaining. I suppose we should avoid the dino unit...”

“I know for a fact she loves Jurassic Park,” Brienne agreed. “Her mum finds it hilarious.” Mostly because the ghost-raptor had nearly bit Darkstar in the rear.

“Any other disasters you’d like to worry me about?”

“Fairly sure Walda Frey is a serial killer, so don’t be rude to her,” Brienne smiled. She was ninety-five percent sure.

They chatted with slightly more ease, and Brienne realized she was faintly unhappy when the time came to run to her room.

Rhae was looking at Lucas’ blueberry cupcakes. “They have a plastic sword on them.”

“You think he bought them?” Brienne didn’t think that he was the type to cheat.

(Also, he’d arranged a small gluten-free table decorated with raptors and Iron Man that a pair of pleased nine-year-olds were manning.)

“No, no, the frosting is too awful for him to have bought them,” Rhae said, tilting her head. She’d made candied-apples, and had found a glittery witch hat somewhere, complete with ruby slide-on slippers. Brienne’s paper chef hat felt a bit silly, and kept falling off of her.

It was true, though, that his cupcakes had the swords coming out from a sliding, partially melted blue frosting.

“They match your eyes,” Rhae added. “The frosting, that is. And the cupcakes are blonde!”

“And they have lavender in them,” Walda added, munching on one. Some of his students had bought them out of pity, but Walda seemed pleased. “They look a bit silly, but they taste divine.”

“If they’re meant to be inspired by me, that explains the looks,” Brienne said, feeling... confused. Among other things.

“Lord, what fools these mortals be,” Rhaenys muttered. “Or he could be someone who never made cupcakes before.”

Pari Martell walked up. At some point. She was far too good at sneaking, and she hadn’t been seen at Lucas’ table. “Hiya, Auntie, hullo, Miss Tarth.”

Rhae raised an eyebrow at her niece. “What did I tell you about calling me that in school?”

“Deria calls you that!” Pari protested, nearly dropping the cupcake she was holding.

“Deria’s three, I’ll explain school rules when she can read,” Rhae said. “Did you buy one of Mr. Blackwood’s cupcakes?”

“He said to give it to Miss Tarth,” Pari said, big brown eyes wide.

“Thank you,” Brienne said, leaning down to grab it. “And you know your aunt just prefers you not adding the silly nicknames to the auntie, right? The other teachers might tease her.”

“Oh,” Pari nodded. “Okay. Bye, Miss Tarth! By Auntie Seer!”

“Try not to make anyone cry,” Rhaenys called, head bowed. “...She’s worse than her mother.”

Brienne bit into the cupcake, which was... amazing.

“Yum?” Walda waggled her eyebrows.

“Yes,” Brienne admitted.

“Like the chef?” Walda pressed, smirking.

Brienne felt the ugly red blush creep up her face, missing the delighted gasp of one of the girls. (One of the ten-year-olds who had been running the apple booth with Rhae, and then set off giggling.)

While they obviously didn’t win, Lucas had received a large bundle of votes from the older girls that made Mrs. Smallwood frown and Rhae cackle.

“I’ll tell her the girls are shipping their teachers, don’t worry,” she said, because Brienne’s friends were awful people.

#i write stuff #becauseforoncethisisme

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juliebeanbook · 8 years ago

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three: who is gonna mend these white fences?

Lazy mornings at Ben’s were the nicest thing. Nestled among his copious amount of pillows, cradling a steamy mug of coffee in both hands, stretching out my legs long and slow against his sheets. A chill breeze blew through his open window, and I reached off the bed and grabbed his sweatshirt, pulling it over my head.

Ben lay next to me, flipping through the newspaper. (He was the only guy my age I’d ever met who actually read a physical paper copy of a newspaper; I teased him about how he was secretly seventy years old.) He liked to read my daily horoscope to me in dumb voices. “Today, the Libra should be careful to protect their interpersonal relationships,” he said in a ridiculous cockney accent. “An old family conflict will flare up in the near future like an angry red pimple flaring up on the face.”

“Eww!” I said, smacking his arm. “Who the hell writes these things?”

“Julie, there is clearly an undiscovered artist behind the Gazette’s daily horoscopes,” he said, gesturing to the Diversions section. “A brilliant creative mind, just waiting for the recognition he so greatly deserves.”

“Okay, fine, what else does it say?”

“Um, you’ve got to use your good mediating skills to resolve familial conflict. Blah, blah, keep your friends close, blah, blah, something about family ties and their fragility. Relevant at all?”

“Not really,” I said, but it sort of was. If my family was anything, it was conflicted and fragile. There was a reason I was staying in the city for the summer instead of opting to go back to my parents’ place; we had a strained relationship, to put it lightly.

“Actually though, speaking of family, I need to take off soon. My sister is coming over later with her girlfriend, so I should probably get back and clean the sexy apartment.”

“The what?”

“Nothing.”

Ben set down his newspaper and looked up at me. “Her girlfriend, huh?” he said, as if he’d just realized what I said.

“Yeah, Anne-Marie,” I said, ignoring his surprised tone. “I really like her. They’ve been together for forever, like five years or something? Probably longer, I think they were dating secretly for a while.”

“Are they going to get married or anything?”

I was taken aback when I realized I didn’t know. Jamie had never talked about marriage; I hadn’t really thought it was something she was considering. “I don’t know, actually. I’m not even sure if it’s legal here. That’s terrible, right? I feel like a terrible sister, I should know this.”

He smiled up at me, and I couldn’t help but smile back. He was the kind of hot that made you want to smile just looking at him, like he made you happy because a person that attractive existed in the world and you were allowed to have sex with him. He reached up and ruffled my hair. “Nah. You’re a good sister. Go home and be a good sister and we can hang out soon, kay?”

“Are you free tomorrow night? We could get dinner or something.”

“Hmm, I don’t know. I’m pretty busy, Bean. I’ve got tons of…office stuff to do.” He pointed over at the desk on the other side of his room. “Business stuff. Spreadsheets. Numbers.”

“Numbers, eh?”

“So many numbers.”

“All of the numbers. Just waiting to be calculated.”

“I’ll pick you up at seven tomorrow.”

I giggled as I jumped off his bed and got dressed. “Actually, can we go a bit earlier? I’m playing a show tomorrow night.”

“Oh right, with your friend’s boyfriend’s band?”

“Yeah, The Entertainment. I did a couple solo gigs with them and I guess they liked me, cuz they want me to actually play with them. Or, you know, there’s only three of them and they need more bodies.”

“Well how about five thirty?”

“Sounds good.”

I leaned over the bed and kissed him. As his hand reached up to cup around my neck I melted into his lips for a moment before pulling back. “Gotta go use my good mediating skills to resolve some familial conflict,” I murmured, and he laughed behind me as I left.

When I got back to the sexy apartment, loud dance music was blasting, making the place sound like a club, minus the sweat and bad drinks and the sensation of a stranger’s boner grinding up on your ass. I turned the corner into the kitchen and found Andy doing something like sweeping, except instead of walking like people usually do when they sweep, she was sort of dancing, her narrow hips wiggling back and forth to the beat of the song. She hadn’t noticed I’d come in. I took off my shoes and crept towards her, reaching out and tickling her around the waist.

She screeched and turned around, hitting my arms away. I cackled.

“You’re a dick, Jules,” Andy said, picking up the broom she dropped and continuing her dance party/cleaning session.

“Love you too, Andy,” I said, grabbing some Eggos from the freezer and sticking them in the toaster. “This music sucks, though.”

“It’s my pump-up music!” she said, collecting the dust and crap from the pile she’d made into the dustpan. “I can’t clean at a useful level without a healthy dose of Jason Derulo.”

“Fair enough. Want a waffle?”

“I do. Tons of butter, a bit of raspberry jam.”

I waited for them to pop, then took a tub of margarine out of the fridge and smeared it over Andy’s waffle. “I’m going to be honest with you here, this waffle looks disgusting.”

“Says the un-converted. Just try it, I swear to God it’ll change your life.”

I put a little butter on my waffle and topped it with a spread of dark red jam. It wasn’t bad, to be honest, but I pretended to have to choke it down. Andy stuck her tongue out at me.

I joined her in cleaning the apartment but had to learn her rules quickly. Andy was a kind of Type A personality, but not a typical Type A – she was neurotic and particular, a neat freak by nature, but she played by her own rules. Her room was a chaotic mix of colour, books stacked precariously on top of each other like unsteady spines, but everything had its own place. Andy had a way of living that was specific and non-negotiable, a complex game that no one knew the rules for but her.

When the doorbell rang at one, Andy had swept the whole floor, I had arranged our kitchenette and living room so that we didn’t appear the slobs that we actually were, and Andy had forced me to change so I didn’t “reek as much of walk of shame.” (“Andy, it’s not the walk of shame; I’m dating him, I’m not ashamed of anything.”) I opened the door and Jamie burst into the room in a flurry of hugs and chatter. Anne-Marie entered more quietly, reserved as always but pulling us into gentle hugs. Tall and lean, with light hair that curled down to her shoulders, Anne-Marie had a quiet sense of dignity about her, something I had noticed in her since I first met her; it commanded a sort of instant respect.

Jamie had picked up McDonald’s on the way, so we all dived into some chicken nuggets and salty fries as we caught up. Anne-Marie had found a steady job working as a librarian in a local school; Jamie had just graduated from the local college’s culinary program. (She’d gotten a university degree in marine biology, then realized she was afraid of the ocean and spent a couple years finding herself before deciding on the culinary arts as her true life’s calling. We were all waiting for her to realize her deep-set fear of ovens or something.) “I think I might have a spot in this new bistro opening up,” Jamie said. “Like, downtown. It’s small, but I think it’ll be a good place to start off.”

“I don’t know if ‘bistro’ is the word you’re looking for, love,” Anne-Marie said, a quiet smile playing at the corners of her mouth.

“Well, okay, yeah. I guess it’s not really a ‘bistro’ exactly, it’s more like a bar and grill sort of thing. Like upscale barbeque.”

Anne-Marie just raised her eyebrows at her girlfriend.

“Okay, fine, it’s a burger joint,” Jamie said.

“In a truck,” Anne-Marie added.

“So it’s a food truck?” Andy clarified.

“A gourmet food truck,” Jamie said, trying to justify herself. “They cook all of these weird types of burgers. One of them has apples and white cheddar on it, with a maple mayonnaise. Fucking delicious.”

Ever since starting the culinary program, Jamie’s taste in food had sort of surpassed mine. She liked all sorts of things – foie gras, paté, plantains – that I guessed I wasn’t sophisticated enough to appreciate.

“What about you, Julie?” Anne-Marie asked me. “Have you got a job for the summer?”

“Yeah,” I said with my mouth full of at least two McNuggets. Andy laughed at me. “I’m interning at Planned Parenthood. One of the girls in my program has an aunt that works there, so she got me hooked up. I figured it was a good thing to put on my resume, you know, for when I want to get into med school.”

“What kind of doctor do you want to be?” said Anne-Marie.

“An obstetrician,” I said, almost proudly, as if I already was one.

“And a gyno,” said Andy. “Cuz Julie loves vaginas.”

“Andy, I don’t love vaginas.”

“Well, you’re going to have to love looking at people’s junk all day if you want to be a gyno,” Andy pointed out. “You’d better really love hoo-has if you’re going to be so up close and personal with them.”

“You’re disgusting, you know that, right?”

“You’re the one who wants to shove her face up into peoples’ crotches for a living.”

They all laughed at me; I just rolled my eyes and collected the greasy garbage that threatened the newly clean sexy apartment.

Mid-afternoon Andy had to leave to go work a shift at the restaurant, so the three of us hung around and watched some bad sci-fi movies, made some KD. They grilled me on my love life, and I gave them minimal details.

Then Jamie got sort of quiet. She sipped quietly at her can of root beer, staring at Star Trek or whatever it was that was on the TV. “Have you heard from Mom and Dad at all lately?” she asked, in a small voice.

“Um…yeah, they called a couple weeks ago I think. You know, to see if I’d moved in alright.”

Jamie nodded. Anne-Marie took her hand, squeezed it.

“They haven’t called you?”

“Nope,” Jamie said, her voice full of forced cheeriness.

“Jamie, I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine! It’s fine. They haven’t called in five years, I shouldn’t have thought things were just going to magically change.” Jamie’s voice wavered. Anne-Marie leaned her head on Jamie’s shoulder, nuzzled it with her nose.

“Well, I thought that maybe it might work. I guess –”

“It’s okay. Really. I’m used to it by now.” Jamie smiled at me, but I couldn’t smile back. About a month ago, on my suggestion, Jamie wrote our parents a long letter, making it as diplomatic as possible. If it were me writing, I would probably have ranted about how they were being shitty human beings and terrible parents and Jamie hadn’t done anything to deserve the way they were treating her. But Jamie had kept the tone relatively friendly, just reminding them that she loved them and that she wanted to be in their life. It apparently hadn’t made an impression on them.

“It was a good idea, Julie, but I’m done now. I’m just done. It’s their turn. I’m done chasing after them.”

“I know,” I said, coming over and sitting beside her. “This isn’t your fault. It isn’t up to you to fix this.”

She nodded, a few tears running down her face, and I hugged my arms around her side. Five years can soften a blow, but it isn’t long enough for a wound to heal over completely. I grabbed the remote and turned the volume up on Star Trek, holding onto Jamie tightly, Anne-Marie and I doing our best to keep my sister from falling apart.

#julie bean #julie bean book #chapter 3 #who is gonna mend these white fences

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allomammal · 5 years ago

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Resolutions 2K20

In the year of their lord 2019, I had nigh 10 resolutions set up for the new year.

1. Run 600 Miles 2. 100 Push-Ups a Day 3. Flexitarianism 4. No Lattés 5. Limited Take Out 6. Practice/Learn Spanish Daily 7. Reading (At Least) One Book a Month 8. Writing/Journaling (At Least) Twice A Week 9. Undefined Resolution On Programming (Python/R)

However, the year would encounter me in the most precarious position that I have known to-date. Having separated from my pair-bond in late March, my entire world fell to disarray – certainly not all at once, but in bursts of calamity with intermittent, fleeting calm, and frequent tears.

I accomplished a resounding… NONE of my 2019 resolutions (though, I did come close with 594 miles over the course of the year [Anxiety, Illness, & Injury, 2019]).

BUT…

As I’ve recently been reading up on and trying to practice mindfulness, I am learning to forgive myself for those things that I could never have foreseen. (To be completely honest, a more **MINDFUL** me should have seen it all unfolding and it is now painfully obvious that I could have and should have changed course; hindsight and all of that).

I intend to keep this post brief, as I’m still re-calibrating my self and trying to re-fashion a version of me that postures less and emotes more honestly; a me that takes account of and responsibility for his own emotions; a me that communicates sincerely from a place curiosity and care (I’ve been reading “Say What You Mean: A Mindful Approach to Nonviolent Communication” by Oren Jay Sofer).

Resolutions for 2K20: 1. Run at least 365 Miles This year, I’ve become increasingly aware how closely related my physical and emotional state are – having experienced the worst anxiety attack of my life during and after a 3 mile run over the summer. Additionally, I suffered through a two-day bout of depression after running 14 miles on Thanksgiving Day and then not eating or sleeping enough to allow my body (and mind) to recover. I don’t like how my physically-emotionally exhausted self interacts with the people who love me. So, I think I’m deciding to focus on shorter runs with more strength and flexibility training. I’m not sure how this will turn out, but let’s give it a go, yeah?

2. 100 Push-Ups a Day I guess this is part of the strength training that I was talking about above. Really, this is a small, mostly cosmetic thing. I liked the way my chest looked and felt when I faithfully executed my daily 100 push-ups back in 2018. So, I just want to look and feel pretty. Is that a fucking crime???

3. Hiatus from Facebook Having separated from one of the greatest loves of my life, I find that Facebook inspires in me nothing but existential dread and a reminder of what I’ve lost. I suspect I will not deactivate my account, but I may adjust my settings on Twitter and Instagram so that those posts are automatically fed to the people that still check for me via Facebook. I’ll still have the Messenger app, too I guess.

4. Practice Spanish Weekly In the past few weeks, I’ve occasionally practiced Spanish by listening to newly discovered acts like Fer Casillas, Kordelya, Los Mesoneros, Elsa y Elmar, and Siddhartha. I’ve also taken to writing out their lyrics and then annotating and translating their lyrics. I’m not sure how this will ever help with conversational Spanish, but… I guess… fuck it, right?

5. Read A Book (YOU ILLITERATE FUCK) or an Ecology Paper The books I’ve been reading lately are of the Buddhist, mindfulness, self-help variety. In lieu of expensive and infrequent therapy visits, these seem to be helping me engage and examine my emotions more thoroughly and I hope that, someday (with enough practice), I’ll be able to communicate my emotions sincerely and won’t hurt the people that I love with my imprecise or harmful language.

6. Draw Some Shit Weekly In high school, I was active in my drawing classes and loved expressing myself with mixed-media (mostly pen and pencil, but occasionally oil or chalk pastel). In the past few days, I’ve been sketching again. I have a couple of sketchbooks so it’s about time I use them. I’ve rediscovered how focused I become when drawing and working on shading. The amorphous cloud of anxiety that I occasionally experience just seeps out of existence. And, at the end of an hour-long doodle-session (not to be confused with a 10-15 minute-long doodle-session), I feel pretty damn accomplished… and I have some tangible product to look back on (as opposed to the other kind of doodle-session).

7. Blog on Ecology or Maths at Least Once a Month This one hinges on the one about reading a book and ecology papers. I wrote, like, one explainer on an interesting ecology paper back in 2018. I want to continue writing those sorts of things because I think I might be well-positioned to demystify some ecology and statistical things for people who aren’t as ecologically or statistically-minded. That, and I think I need to start writing again to hone any semblance of skill that I may have had. Maybe, I can position myself to apply for a PhD in the next few years.

8. Fold and Put Away My Fucking Clothes After Laundry My Room… is my mind. If my room is cluttered, then my mind is cluttered. I think my short-term efficiency in the past few weeks and months have made me feel less accomplished and less organized. To rectify that, upon doing my laundry (which is often on a weekly basis), the gods command that I iron and put away my fucking clothes.

9. Cook Weekly Meals (Less Take-Out) This has been difficult to do since moving in with my long-time friend and current roommate. Negotiating how much space my groceries take up, how much time I spend in the kitchen, etc. that has been a challenge that I have allowed to disrupt my normal habit of preparing a weekly meal for work. This has resulted in me spending more money than I’ve needed to. It hasn’t helped that I’m easily influenced by the eating habits of friends (this was the case when I lived with friends in the past). I definitely need to regain discipline in the culinary arena. I’m hoping that this will also help with my physical and mental health.

10. Limit Alcohol Consumption This has been a financially unwise routine to help me get through grading my students’ work this semester. Daydreaming about simply talking to the pretty bartenders has also helped pass the time (though, it’s probably been counterproductive to healing and becoming a functioning human being again). Anyhow, I need to cut back on how much I spend (it turns out that drinking IPAs at the bar is expensive AS FUCK). So I’ll probably limit myself to at most 2 bar-visits per week, a maximum of 3 drinks per outing, and I will probably forbid buying any beer that is not on special… at the bar. I’ll still be able to purchase my beloved fancy-boy IPAs at the local HEB. It’s just not financially sustainable for me to drink like that at the bar... Ya know, this also goes for getting coffee at cafés. I’ll have to rely on Valero and QT for my coffee needs if I’m ever out and about.

And finally, this is not really a resolution but I just want to directly address myself:

Leave Cigarettes in 2019 YOU STUPID FUCKING BASTARD.

I said I’d make it brief, but I’m my Dad’s son. So, there it is.

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littlemissmeggie · 6 years ago

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fruit asks; peach, passion fruit, strawberry, grape, banana, blackberry, pomegranate, plum, kiwi, watermelon, apricot, star fruit i hope you're having a great day! :)

omg! i forgot i even reblogged that! thank you for sending me some fruit!

peach: do you have any piercings or tattoos?yes. i have 17 tattoos. (i had to count, like, five times because i always forget.)

passion fruit: how would you describe your style?oh man, i don’t know. i wear high-waisted jeggings with whatever shirt i am wearing tucked in. i wear a lot of band shirts and sweatshirts. i wear knock-off keds from target and ballet flats. most things are mismatched, including my tattoos and the decor in my apartment. that’s the best i can do.

strawberry: favorite desserts?butterscotch pudding, chocolate cake, fruit tarts and pies (especially strawberry rhubarb), grilled peaches, and homemade ice cream sandwiches.

grape: if you could take a vacation anywhere in the world, where would you go?i’d love to go back to the uk. i absolutely adored scotland, especially edinburgh, and ireland. i’d love to go to australia and south africa too.

banana: favorite horror movies?oh, i really liked both of the conjuring movies. the cabin in the woods was pretty awful but also kind of good. the cabin fever remake was pretty good. xx. (”the box” is ok. the other three are better.) the strangers. 28 days later and 28 weeks later. the classics like the omen, the blair witch project, the texas chainsaw massacre, the silence of the lambs and all the hannibal movies. the hills have eyes. the mist. shutter island. se7en. the descent. hostel. anything alfred hitchcock. this one i can’t remember the name of that’s like found footage of these people making a “paranormal state”-type television show who go into an abandoned hospital and it’s scary as shit. a lot more that i can’t think of because i may not watch a lot of movies but when i do, they’re almost certainly horror/thriller movies.

blackberry: is your life an action film, a comedy, a romantic comedy, or drama?like, a dramady? like, part drama, part comedy? there’s drama in my life (drama may be a bit extreme but negative things have happened) but there’s a fair amount of fun shit too.

pomegranate: when do you feel the most confident?at home, alone or with my boyfriend. anywhere with my boyfriend, actually. in a kitchen anywhere. at a concert or in the middle of 70,000 people at a music festival.

plum: favorite clothing brands?i think the only brand i care about is american eagle because that’s where i buy all my jeans. otherwise, i shop at target and buy whatever brand has something i like. as far as clothes i can’t afford or wear in real life, i love mcqueen and gucci. stuff like that.

kiwi: what’s something that fascinates you?the mafia. alex turner and tranquility base hotel & casino. most music, to be honest.

watermelon: do you have a job? if so, what is your job title?i do. i’m the culinary lead, which means i help run the culinary program at my job. i’m trying to start my own bakery cafe though.

apricot: what do you do when you’re sad?i mostly listen to music when i’m sad. i meditate sometimes. i drink tea and hang out with my cats.

star fruit: favorite sea creature?i don’t think i’ve ever really thought too much about it but probably dolphins? they remind me of summer vacation at rehoboth beach.

this was fun! thank you so much! 💕

#meggie talks #about me #Anonymous

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goarticletec-blog · 6 years ago

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When Football Gets Boring, Watch Netflix’s ‘The Final Table’ on Thanksgiving

New Post has been published on https://www.articletec.com/when-football-gets-boring-watch-netflixs-the-final-table-on-thanksgiving/

When Football Gets Boring, Watch Netflix’s ‘The Final Table’ on Thanksgiving

Netflix knows how much you love food. It’s why the streaming giant has put big bucks into a slate of programming about exactly that, including Chef’s Table, Salt Fat Acid Heat, Ugly Delicious, and so on. And since the only thing better than watching shows about food is actually eating it, they couldn’t have picked a better week to roll out their latest binge-friendly original series, The Final Table, available now.

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The Final Table is an ambitious “global culinary competition” featuring some of the world’s most talented chefs—24 of them as contestants, and nine, all culinary icons, as judges. Representing their home countries, those nine are Mexico’s Enrique Olvera, Spain’s Andoni Aduriz, the U.K.’s Clare Smyth, Brazil’s Helena Rizzo, India’s Vineet Bhatia, Italy’s Carlo Cracco, Japan’s Yoshihiro Narisawa, France’s Anne-Sophie Pic, and Grant Achatz from right here in our own backyard.

Each episode focuses on a different country’s cuisine, and with a master in the room judging each chef’s every move, shake, and garnish, the pressure is on. The goal is to make it to the eponymous Final Table, where there’s no money on the line—this is all about respect.

If that’s not enough culinary talent in one room, the host is no slouch, either. After 18 years of eating and critiquing his way around the globe as an editor for Bon Appétit magazine, Andrew Knowlton is picking up where he left off from his Iron Chef days (minus that hair) as the emcee of this global affair. Knowlton recently relocated (with his wife and daughters) to Austin, Texas, where he’s consulting on the menu at The Carpenter Hotel, a place for food, drink, coffee, and a pool (“for hot, lazy days”). “I would gladly choose breakfast tacos over bagels any day,” he laughs.

Knowlton talked to Esquire.com about the show, chef egos, and what it’s been like to work on his own restaurant.

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Netflix

He thinks people are ready for a different kind of cooking show.

This is the next generation of cooking competition. It’s amazing A-list competitors and gods of cuisine who are judging them, and its all just to celebrate the culinary arts, what these men and women are able to do when they put their best foot forward. It’s about the sheer artistry and the beauty of cooking, combined with interesting personalities. I didn’t wanna be involved with a show that was making a game out of everything.

Even among professionals, egos are inescapable.

If you and I got into the kitchen together, after a couple of days, I guarantee you, we’d be angry with each other. Even though these people are professionals, some of them have Michelin Stars and all kinds of things, tension came naturally. They still have egos and all that. But we didn’t have to put some artifice up and that’s a cool thing.

Working on the restaurant side has given him a broader perspective.

Customers notice things that restaurateurs don’t, and restaurateurs dwell over things that customers don’t even look at. I’ve always been sympathetic to restaurants but now I’m empathic—I can really understand the nuances. I’m not trying to open a restaurant that has Michelin stars, just a classic hotel restaurant that I want to be a neighborhood place. Plus, being able to work with my wife has been pretty rad, too.

Never read the comments.

Unless you have worked in food, you don’t understand the sacrifices to a quality of life that people in the front and back of the house make. It is the most backbreaking—literally backbreaking—and feet numbing job you could have. So the way people use social media to make quick judgments about people or their places, it’s devastating. I’ve watched a chef bust his ass for a week, then he reads one review and it turns him into this feeble thing. I tell him not to worry about it—I’d like to see diners do the same. Just because your food is slightly over-seasoned or a steak is slightly over-cooked, it’s a night out, your world’s gonna go on.

If nothing else, food should make people happy.

People wanna have a good time when they go out to eat. They have a good time most of the time. I hope they feel the same way about the show. I think they will. But at the end of the day, I walk away being like, “that was cool.” It celebrates the things that I value most in restaurants: the pure artistry of it, and making people happy.

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lifeofnes · 6 years ago

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Wk 3

I finally got into a kitchen this week! Two different ones! On Monday I got to work in my niece’s restaurant, Conrado’s. I’ve talked about it before, but it’s this quiet, cute, 25 seater diner right above their family’s nail salon, in the middle of the busy market. None of the hustle and bustle seeps into the place. There’s wood floors, light-weight metal patio furniture for tables & seating, potted succulents, dangling light fixtures, framed portraits of our family members, and gaudy but cute melted glass decorations hung up. It has a bunch of chalkboard quotes that you’d probably see on a 17-year-olds pinterest homepage. Matter fact, most of this is rather pinterest-y. But that’s not a knock, it’s cute, and most importantly: it’s clean and air conditioned. Both rarities here, believe me, and to have both? 5 stars. Kristel has an acoustic Filipino folk-song playlist on repeat. Think, Bahay Kubo and the like, played on a soothing Spanish guitar. She serves all day breakfast and these gigantic pandesal sandwiches the size of a child’s head. And while it’s not the culinary work that I thought I’d get into, work is work. I’m gonna make this french toast. Yaherd? Things move slow mostly in the morning, a few orders of pancakes and pandesal french toast. A few ‘silogs are slung, and a maniac orders alfredo at 10am. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not bad alfredo, but it is 10am. Anyway 1:30 rolls around and orders come to a dead stop. We don’t get anyone in the door for an hour. I ask Kristel if this is normal for them and she says yeah she usually watches a movie or plays with the little baby that belongs to one of the workers downstairs. We get maybe 2 sandwich orders in the next 3 hours but for the most part, a pinoy movie is in the que. So we watch a flick on YouTube. Some rom-com with Sharon Cuneta falling back in love in her 50’s or whatever. It’s funny I guess. Kristel asks me about my love life and I tell her I don’t have one right now lol. She presses me for details and as I’m about to give in and tell her, she cuts me off and says “Your dad told us everything! Hahaha! He was crying and telling us to take care of you! Hahaha!” I’m laughing but taken aback to one thing in particular. “He was crying?...like crying, crying?” I ask. She says yeah, “One day he called us, I guess it was after you made up your mind to come over here and was saying that you’re so hurt and that you don’t know what you’re doing with your life.” Naturally defensive, I fire back that i’m good, that I haven’t felt like that in a while, that we’re friends now/she isn’t to blame as to why I’m here, and that I do kinda know what I’m doing with my life sorta, but I’m really kinda shocked still that my dad...cared. Through tears, called my relatives to take care of me in an emotional capacity that he believed he could not. I’m sure he would’ve done fine if he tried. I felt hope and disappointment kinda all in one. I wanna do better. I tell her some half-drawn sparknotes version of my romantic life and she does hers. It’s a nice bonding moment. By this time it's 3:30-4 and no one is eating in the restaurant. So Kristel send me and her only other employee, CJ, out to the palengke to grab groceries for the store. Out the door with list in hand and 500 pesos in her pocket. Time to make magic happen. CJ was so quick on her feet it was hard to keep up. Weaving through stands of vegetables, dodging hanging clothing items, correctly predicting every direction people were walking while looking at their cells, she was masterful. Everything she did was efficient, but charming still. She was like a studio Ghibli character come to life. Tastes a grape, squeezes a mangosteen, makes a face at a baby, takes a sharp left, selects the vegetables, haggles the grocer, pets the cat that's always sleeping at the light bulb stand, it was fun to witness. We get back to Conrado’s in no more than 30 minutes and unpack. Just in time too, after a few games of cards we get a last minute rush and are on our feet until close at 7pm. Everyone loves Kristel’s sandwiches, I think it’s the size and quality of the pandesal. It’s sweet but not overly so, and chewy but not heavy. Also did I say that it was the size of a child’s head? For like 200 pesos (4 dollars) what a bargain. That was the template and timeline of pretty much every day I spent there, (which was only 3 this week but I’m expecting to be there a lot more this month haha) Ate Oya (Oyo’s older sister, convenient, I know) finally took me to her new restaurant, Casa Carmen Cafe. They soft opened in June and are planning a grand opening in November. It’s a gutted out traditional bahay kubo house with original elevated skeleton, the exposed wood beams, and refurbished exterior; complete with the sliding capiz windows. It’s a little more upscale and twice as big as Conrado’s, but simple and elegant nonetheless. She Introduced me to the staff and the other co-owners. They’re five cooks in the back, five servers, and six owners. All really friendly people and excited to have a free set of hands. Casa also does food to order, but they do Filipino food instead of breakfast and pasta. They make some of the best regional dishes I have ever had in my life. Dishes like Kansi, which is a Iloilo regional beef and jackfruit soup. It’s made sour with the batwan fruit -- which is native only to western Visayas -- instead of tamarind, sampalok, or vinegar. It’s tart like sinigang but has a deeper savoriness and more dimension due to lemongrass and asuete. Suman sa Gata at Manok which according to one of the cooks, says is a super specific Cavite specialty; a sticky rice cake cooked in coconut milk and then steamed with a sliver of chicken on top. They also put spins on classics without losing the heart of the dish. Things like crispy dinuguan and fried halo-halo. They had me finishing and plating dishes first day. Finishing final grill items, wiping edges, garnishing plates, my hands felt alive, useful in a way that I can only compare to making art. It was surreal to be in a kitchen like that, and to be cooking and serving food that I've worked my whole life around. It really brought a prestige to Pinoy cuisine that I've only ever seen in Instagram photos. To see very humble stews and barbecued meats elevated to this level, at this capacity really brought me hope that I could do something like this someday myself. What was surprising was while all this gorgeous food was around them, the most excited the kitchen got was when Kim; the heaviest of the line cooks bought really crappy pizza with the promise of drinking beer later on that night. Which was so hilarious, and comforting to me. They tell me next week, i’m prepping pata and learning their dinuguan recipe. Word. On Friday my birthday happened, I shared it with my cousin Lou! He however was turning 50 lol. And before you think this is gonna be all island boy vibes and noodles, think again. It starts with a cat. 5 hurricane and ends with a very unpleasant argument with my mom. There are noodles still. So that’s good. As the day was happening I was angs- y from the two different super storms planning to DDT my whole life and not being able to gather all the family I wanted to see because of them. I ended up a touch frumpy most of they day. For some context, with Oyo now gone I didn’t really have a mode of transportation the whole past week. Mom didn’t believe I could drive by myself here. She didn’t know I drove his sisters car last week and was thriving in this type of balls out driving culture. Yeesh, and God forbid I take a tricycle by myself and get kidnapped?...I don’t know, I’m a clear half foot taller than most of the people here, in the best-ish shape of my life, and I don’t want to brag, but can throw a decent punch. I don’t know. So this whole past week I was at the mercy of my mom taking me places. Dropping me off to either of my nieces that owned restaurants, which was clearly awesome. But when I wasn’t working and being checked on constantly I was stuck by her side running errands or fixing the up the apartment in San Carlos. I felt like a preteen again. On top of that, there were things I wasn't giddy to do like: being drug to 6am mass, (rough) she then told me to order then cancel catering, (twice??¿?) and the city had erratic brownouts for 15 hours. All of which making me feel a bit—powerless. So after mass (which I mostly slept though) I was stuck at the house with nothing to do on my birthday, and no one was coming over hahaha. It’s a peculiar kind of “kick-in-the-groin” paradox when you’re not trying to make a day all about you because it makes you feel cringey and childish, but in doing so you end up trying to please yourself anyway by not feeling those things. After some alone time filming ants and laughing at myself I decided to interact with people. Tatay and I feed chickens and I tried having a comprehensive conversation with him to no avail, oh well. He end up telling me he had to get me goats. Like a switch flipped in his mind and he wouldn’t rest until is original programming was complete type of vibe. I didn’t want to fight him on it, and so about an hour later he comes back with two goats, a mom and a kid. He made me name them, THEN told me we were gonna kill them later. Cool. That’s cool. Couldn’t really sway him, being stubborn is his worst and best trait. My mom ended up taking them down the street to some relatives to take care of them and told tatay that they were too small to kill and eat anyway. Good going mom. I went inside and started looking at old photos with inay. She had stories for almost every person and photo we looked at. That was beautiful. All of my mom siblings are really brave, but especially my mom. Hearing first hand accounts of her young adult years was assuring. A few hours later I got wind that everyone at home was a-ok. What a relief. I took a step back from the lack of command I had going into the day and laughed at the parallel it had with my whole past year. I can toil and strive and work with what I got, the best that I can, but at the end of the day, things are gonna keep on turning beyond my control. I get gratification of autonomy with what I do yet the assurance of things moving forward without me. What a rad gift. Power got back on about 6pm -ish and we decided to head out to kuya Lou’s house to celebrate together because they also had power back on. We ended up having pancit and spaghetti. Noodles for long life or whatever. We ended up hobo drinking beer and a handle of jack. I had some pretty good conversations about dreams and goals with some of my cousins and got to know each other better. My one nephew JR is an aspiring historian and we talked about Philippine history for a pretty long time. That was really exciting for me, he knew so much and I don’t usually have anyone to gab about that kinda stuff or even ask questions from. At around 9 when it was dark two of my pamangkin shut off the all the lights to fake a brownout. They ended up walking out with 2 lit birthday cupcakes. It was really sweet of them, too bad I didn’t take any pictures. Live in the moment and what not right? I ended up having to go home early that night because my mom’s foot was acting up and after a few sharp looks shot my way I could tell she wasn’t feeling comfortable. I told her to go home by herself and that I’d get a ride back to the bukid somehow. She sternly said no and I resigned my pride to argue in front of family, I could tell she was more uncomfortable seeing me drink that much with my cousins than the pain in her foot. On the drive back home I argued about the lack of freedom I was feeling with her and the juxtaposition of her own life around my age. I think I nailed my talking points. She ended up seeing my side of things and we apologized to each other. I think the pressure is getting to her from both sides, of being a child again living with her folk and remembering to be a mom. I doubt it’ll be the last time I talk about this dynamic. I do hope it gets better soon.

#alloranes

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