Georgia on My Mind.

Block B. Over. I cannot really say that I am sad to be done with my first block of culinary school. I guess my mind has been trained in the short time I have been here to think that classes should only be three weeks long, and six weeks felt like a lifetime. I have heard that Block B is one of the hardest, and it is the foundation for your GPA. For the most part, from this point, I will only have one class per block, only one grade to factor into my GPA. Only one of my grades is posted right now for this block; I got an A- in Product Knowledge. I am fairly happy with that grade, seeing as I had to virtually score a 100 on the Final to make an A.

I woke this morning in my new room at around 9:45. My alarm was originally set for 8:45 but that did not happen as planned. I got dressed and walked to the library. My new favorite place to study in the library (as I have expressed my frustration for the group tables) is the little cubicles by the windows. Perfect. It is comfy and cozy, and I cannot hear the other people yapping away.

My Gastronomy Final was the one I was worried about the most. (Let's face it that I was not really worried about any of them.) There were 34 multiple choice questions worth half a point each and eight fill-in-the-blank questions worth one point. I know I got the eight fill-in questions correct, as they were specific questions about the chef presentations. For the multiple choice questions, there were a few tricky ones but not enough questionable ones to lose my A(-). People can say what they want about Professor Raider, but I thoroughly enjoyed this class. She is passionate about what she teaches and about farm-to-table cooking; it was a pleasure to have her as a teacher.

We finished the Gastro. Final in about thirty minutes and then stood in line waiting for K-16 to open for lunch. I ordered the Sicilian pizza with Caesar salad. It was not my favorite thing in the world, with too much breading, baked cheese, and tomato sauce. I ate it though. A group of us reviewed the study questions from the back of each chapter in the ServSafe book and walked upstairs to our classroom about fifteen minutes before class. The exam was okay. I know I passed but some of the questions were really bad (as in they should not have even made it on the test). It was not like I did not know the material about what they were asking but the answer choices did not make sense or were not what was covered in the book/class. I will know my certification exam score in about a week, but I will have to wait until after break to find out my Food Safety grade. I cannot wait to display by ServSafe certificate in my room, maybe in Thomasville next to my two UGA diplomas!?

I finally was able to check out of 204. I did three loads of laundry (which need to now be folded). Now, I am just waiting for Danielle to finish her exams and go eat. Later, I must pack because I have to be out of my room by 9. I have to take the train tomorrow and get to LGA from Grand Central, and I need to leave early anyway.

I am very, very, very, very, very (5 verys seemed like the appropriate amount) excited about flying back to the South tomorrow. I logged on to cnn.com last night and on the front page was an article about the heat wave in New York and it being triple digit temperatures up here. Seriously? I may be complaining now, but I will be begging for this weather back when it is winter here, I am sure. I am also so happy about Katy Capers meeting me at the airport, and seeing Katie Weiser, and staying with Brittany M. (I am not going to attempt the last name, Brittany) in Nashville, and seeing Alice Floyd (and Eddie Sally) get married with Allan Hamilton as my company, and visiting STC to see the newly engaged Teena Nass (and all my other STC friends). All of this is only in the first three days! After that, I do not even know what adventures my mom, Jess, and I will have. It is a great feeling to finish a block strong to be rewarded with three weeks at home. (Did I mention that I am pumped about spending quality time with my friends, Chickfila, Zaxby's, Yoguri, Peking, and Doc Chey's? I cannot wait!)

My flight information (for my mother and sister, mostly):
Delta Flight 695
Departing LGA at 2:00pm
Arriving ATL at 4:38pm
Window seat and Sky Miles included in this ONE WAY TRIP HOME (which just means I get to drive 1200 miles in three weeks but not alone but with my BEST FRIEND, MOM.)

Just an FYI, Danielle, who likes to know that she is second only to me as the star of this blog, wanted me to be sure and inform you of what songs we sang last night at karaoke. Besides the guy who sand "God Bless the Broken Road," we were hands-down the two best singers. Not very many people showed for the "break from finals," and therefore we got to sing as many songs as we wanted. Sweet. (No, the lack of people did not affect our second and third place in awesomeness in karaoking. We would have been great even if more people had come. You know you were thinking it!)
Song 1: "She's in Love with the Boy" by Trisha Yearwood
Song 2: "Golddigger" by Kanye West
Song 3: "Where is the Love" by the Black-Eyed Peas (I am Fergie, of course, when I karaoke their songs.)

See you in less than 24 hours, Georgia. I heart you mucho, and I have missed you so much! Peace out, hot New York, and see ya later!

EAT MY WORDS

Hay Reh