O.M.G.

It is official! I am now a resident of the State of New York (technically, not legally). I will be sure and post my address soon; I am sure y'all want to know where to send all the letters and packages I see in my near future. Also, I guess this would be a great time to mention that there is always an open invitation to come and visit. I am only about an hour and a half away from New York City. By the time you come, I am sure I will know more about the Hudson Valley area, between here and NYC.

Life has been pretty crazy since I turned 23 on May 7, 2010. I graduated from UGA on May 8th. I moved out of my apartment in Athens on May 9th and 10th. I painted my bedroom in that apartment on May 12th. I drove home to Thomasville on May 14th and three and a half more hours to Destin that night. I came back from the beach on May 16th. I had my wisdom teeth removed on May 18th. I recovered at the beach in Destin from the 19th to the 22nd. I spent some much needed time at home, organizing, and hanging out with my best friend (my mom). I packed my car early on the 27th, drove to Atlanta to see some friends, and stayed in Winder with my sister and mom that night. I said goodbye to my mom (who left for a wedding in Sewanee, Tennessee), which was awful, on the 28th. All of this craziness leads me to the beginning of my new, almost equally as crazy, journey.

I flew from Atlanta to Charlotte and then from Charlotte to Newark on May 29th. The flight from Atlanta to Charlotte was the worst flight of my life. That's a bold statement, I know, but it is also a true statement. I was flying my least favorite airline, number one, and though they did not lose my baggage this time, I had to check my carry on, as it was the world's smallest plane. Also, I have been fighting being sick (thanks, you-know-who), and with the pressure in my sinuses and the pressure of flying, I literally thought my ear drums were going to explode. Mix all this fun with a flight attendant attempting to be funny, who suggested we leave our wallets on the plane, and you can imagine how ready I was to land in Charlotte, just to get on another plane for another hour and a half. When I got to Charlotte, however, I talked to my friend Allan (one day, Dr. Hamilton) for a bit, and I had forgotten about the terrible first flight by the time I boarded the second. Yawning (not the gum I was chewing the entire first flight) helped with popping my ears.

Morgan, Fallon, and Jess met me at baggage claim, and we piled all of my stuff into Morgan's car. We drove to Jersey City, enjoyed a beautiful dinner downtown, and drove to the new Mrs. Plosser's apartment. We slept quite comfortably, woke at a reasonable hour the next day, got dressed, and piled in the car again to eat brunch. After exploring around Morgan and Kevin's apartment, which included pictures behind the Statue of Liberty (FYI, Lady Liberty is just as beautiful from the back), and swinging on the swings at the playground, we packed the car and drove to Poughkeepsie, New York.

Poughkeepsie is great and, with it being only tenish minutes away from the CIA, it pretty much has everything I could ever need or want here. After driving to Hyde Park to explore the CIA a little bit and checking into the hotel in Poughkeepsie, we went to the Galleria to see Sex and the City 2. After enjoying our blue raspberry Fanta icee, one of my favorite things in the entire world, and popcorn, we ate at Bonefish Grill, one of my favorite restaurants in the entire world. Sadly, we then dropped Fallon at the train station, as she had to get back to the City to work on Memorial Day. Morgan, Jess, and I were pretty exhausted and went to bed soon after getting back to the hotel.

This morning, May 31st, after getting ready, we ate lunch at Panera (a close second to Atlanta Bread Company, in my book) and then spent some quality time (and money) at Bed, Bath, and Beyond and Target. We moved in my room around 1:30 and determined what else I needed from Target. Then, it was time for Target round 2. We came back to my room to pull everything together, from hanging clothes in the closet to unpacking suitcases to making my bed, etc. (I left for about five minutes with Morgan and Jess still in the room to go pick up my books from another hall. Exciting!)

Jess and I said our goodbyes to Morgan, and then, we walked around campus, killing time before our tour. Our tour was an hour and a half, and after the tour and now, I feel more confused than comfortable about navigating around this place. (Side note: I met our tour guide when I came to the CIA in April. He watched my suitcase for me while I ate at the Apple Pie Bakery. We are best friends, basically.) After the tour, I had a meeting in the lounge of Angell (pronounced "angel") Hall. While I was in the meeting, Jess came back to my room to get her suitcase to hail a cab to the train station to go back to the City. Getting my key from her and saying goodbye was rather rushed, which made it a whole lot easier to see her go, back to Georgia ultimately, leaving me here ALONE. The meeting was not over, and I went back inside (a little misty-eyed), to listen to more about quiet hours, parking restrictions, etc. After the meeting, we ate pizza, and I went upstairs to meet my roommate, Amy, which brings me to now!

As I have typed this, I have watched the sun set over the Hudson River outside the window in the computer lab. This is a beautiful campus, and besides the many steps I must climb to get to class, I am excited about living here. Overall, I am feeling slightly overwhelmed. I do not feel like I know exactly what is happening as far as classes, getting started, etc., but I think everyone feels that way. I have orientation tomorrow and Wednesday (my previous post= wrong). I have to wake up early and be dressed in business attire. Welcome to the real world, Haley. I guess I should have seen this coming, with graduating college and all, but I thought it was summer?! I will let you know how it goes.

I miss Georgia already, but I am excited to be here, for now!

Haley

*Thank you, Morgan (and Kevin and Kurk), for being so gracious. You not only allowed me to stay in your home but to use your car. You took time away from your busy, honeymoon life to accommodate me and that means so much. Also, thank you for being my "mom" and making sure everything was perfect here before you left. I cannot thank you enough.

Less than one week.

I am new to this whole blogging thing. (Ben Terry, help!) Please be patient with me. My hope is that this blog will be an easier way for more people to keep in touch and know what I am doing from day-to-day (week-to-week or month-to-month) while I am living in New York for culinary school. If you know me, I am fairly confident in who I am. With that out in the open, I want to go ahead and warn you that I may be corny when I blog (see title above :)). Yes, this is real life.

Let me answer two questions. Why am I going to culinary school? What is the CIA?

As most know, I recently graduated from UGA (Go Dawgs!) with two degrees in Food Science and Biology. (Seriously, what am I ever going to do with a BS in Biology?) I loved being a Food Science major, and I really wish I had declared Food Science and Technology (FDST) after attending my first Chocolate Science class my first year at UGA. The food industry is ever-changing and involving, and even with the struggling economy, there is always a need for food scientists. A food scientist can work in quality control, ensuring that every product attains (or retains) a certain level of quality (by weight, color, the lack of contaminants, etc.). A graduate can work in manufacturing, in mixing the raw materials, cooking, packaging, etc. One of the most popular areas in food science is research and development, in creating a successful formulation for a product from a small-scale to a large-scale launch. Who wouldn't want to work making and testing ice cream formulations and new flavors everyday? That is a specific job of a food scientist.

I do enjoy learning about and studying the science of food: how to make an emulsion, ensuring the food safety of a product, developing a new food product (and winning a competition for it), being up-to-date on food trends, and the list continues. I also love cooking, and though food science does involve cooking in a way, it is not necessarily the same thing. There is a difference in the science behind food and actually cooking and baking food.

In the Spring of my third year at Georgia (I number my years, as I was there for five.), I began to research culinary school. With a Food Science degree and a culinary degree, many doors can be opened to me in the food industry. I am not sure exactly what I want to do in the future, but I am passionate about what I am doing. Food is essential to life. There is no better feeling in the world than fun fellowship with delicious food, and I love being able to be apart of something so fundamental.

The Culinary Institute of America is the world's premier culinary college (www.ciachef.edu), with its main campus located in Hyde Park, NY (the birthplace of FDR, remember from elementary school?). The CIA offers two degrees programs, depending on previous education or work in the industry, with a focus in culinary arts or baking and pastry arts. My program is 21 months, and I will be a baking and pastry arts student. I enjoy cooking in general, but I love baking in particular. If I have ever had the pleasure of cooking dinner for you (a shout out to the Family Night Dinner crew), you know that a meal is never complete without dessert.

In four short days, I am flying to New York, and as of right now, I only have a one-way ticket, which scares the hell out of me. I move on campus Sunday, begin orientation on Monday, and begin school on Tuesday (I think). I have never lived more than 5 hours and 275 miles away from home. The CIA does not have classes for three weeks in July (July 9-August 1). Meaning, I will be home in six weeks for three weeks, which is the only reason that I believe I am so calm about moving 1200 miles away at the moment.

Thanks for your interest in what I am doing. This is only the beginning of what I know is going to be an incredible journey, and I am glad you want to join me, in whatever way possible.

Haley

*Thank you, Katy Capers, specifically, for the URL name help and for being my first follower. I cannot wait for you to move to Boston!