Athens, I miss you.

I hope you did not read the title of this post and think that me missing Athens means I hate Hyde Park and New York; this is not the case. This is what I miss about Athens:
*Jess and Eliot
*that everyone talks like me
*my roommates (Jenny and the twins)
*my friends and WL Team
*Chickfila
*Zaxby's
*Doc Chey's
*Yoguri
*Kroger/ Publix (yes, I miss the grocery store)
*my queen bed (O.M.G. I miss it so.)
*more than my queen bed, I miss having a room to myself and not in a high maintenance kind of way
*my car
*the weather (I would rather KNOW that it is going to be hot and not have bipolar weather)
And this list could continue.

This is my attempt at a segway to the topic of my talk with my Residence Director, in that Athens equals no one such person. For those of you who know my room situation, you know that it is not the best case scenario. The rule stands that no guests can be in the room after 11pm. One point for Haley. A contract can be signed for all those living in the room, and if this is broken, disciplinary action can be taken. One point, if needed, for Haley. Basically, I am right; in all things about this situation, I am right and the other is wrong. I know I am being vague, but you can ask for details. Unfortunately, this is real life.

Yesterday, I only had one class at 11:30, Product Knowledge. Professor Mosher graded our quizzes, handed them back, and reviewed them. I did okay, not great, but I am still on the path to an A or A-. After talking about our quizzes, we started a new unit on tomatoes, peppers, and squash. Tomatoes are selected by the type of tomato, the color, the size, and the degree of ripeness. Mmm peppers. Peppers have capsaicin, an irritating element, and the more capsaicin that in a pepper means the hotter it is. In Scoville units, the measurement of the spiciness of a pepper, the Anaheim pepper is the mildest with 2000 units, and the Scotch Bonnet is the hottest with 350,000 units. Squash includes eggplant, zucchini, cucumbers, butternut squash, etc. Squashes are selected based on level of maturity; zucchini is picked immature, called a soft shell squash, and butternut squash is picked ripe, called a hard shell squash. Mosher gave us samples of the Padron pepper, two types of cucumbers (ew cucumbers, yum pickles), spaghetti squash, and the Chayote squash.

After PK, Alex, Jason, Emily, and I worked on our math project in the library and actually finished it. It is due on July 2. (I am turning over a new leaf and not procrastinating!) We were given a recipe and had to apply all we have learned in Culinary Math thus far to scale the recipe, figure out how much edible product we need, how much we need to purchase, and how much it will all cost. I enjoyed working on the first part but figuring out how much cilantro we needed chopped, the amount we should purchase in bunches, and the cost was a pain. Ten percent of that class done.

I went to Banquet last night. Danielle does not think we have to go every day, but it is part of our PK grade. I want to ensure I get all five points for participation because those are easy points.
SPECIAL DRINK (loved it): Lemonade with Vanilla Bean
Appetizer: Mushroom and Sausage Risotto
Entree: Salmon with Mashed Potatoes and Haricots Verts
Dessert: Cheesecake with a Berry Sauce and Berry Salsa

Today, I took the shuttle to the Mall to buy a few things. I am looking forward to having my car here, but until then, I am mastering public transportation and navigating places just fine. I ate fast food (glorious). I went to Target, and Old Navy, and the Loft, and DSW, and Gap, and other fabulous places. I did not buy too much. I got some things to celebrate the Fourth of July (shocking). I enjoyed myself.

Now, I am back at the CIA. I just finished the first part of Season One of Glee. Everyone told me that I, of all people, would love, love, love Glee. True story. Now, I must wait for Volume 2 to come out on DVD. How am I going to go to sleep now with nothing to fall asleep watching? I guess I will have to get hooked to another show. Is there rehab for an addiction to TV on DVD?

Tonight and tomorrow is the Stars and Stripes celebration here at the CIA. There will be a dance and fireworks at Anton Plaza (in front of Roth) tonight. Tomorrow, there is a block party behind Rosenthal Hall with games, music, BBQ. It should be fun.

Team USA lost. World Cup dreams over. Clemson lost in Omaha. South Carolina and UCLA in the College World Series finals. Hmm.

Less than two weeks, people. Get excited. Three weeks with no roommate! Yippee. Oh, and I get to see most of you; that is exciting too. :)

EAT MY WORDS

Haley