Calling, NY?! Oh wait...

Well, the last time we chatted I had a Blackberry with a black screen. Contrary to its name, a Blackberry with a black screen is not a good thing. I woke up and headed to the Verizon store, hoping to return to campus with a functioning phone. No such luck. Apparently Verizon cannot send a phone to a campus mail room, where the recipient cannot sign for the package. Can they mail me a phone to the store? No, they cannot. (Really?) They could mail it to Thomasville. Um, do you see this phone, "can you hear me now" people? I live in NY and therefore need it to be at least sent to the state or REGION OF THE COUNTRY. My next stop was to walk to Tech Support. Unfortunately, my phone is no longer under warranty and they could not help me either. So, basically, Verizon, you cannot help me at all, period. Oh wait, they did give me a number to call the Service Center to explain my situation. ON WHAT PHONE WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO USE TO CALL THEM? I was on the verge of tears and all I wanted to do was call my mom. Here I am, forced to live in the Stone Age with no means of communicating with her. Good thing I have email and even better, a mother who can fix anything and make everything better. Thanks, Mom! I should have a phone in the next two days.

I came back to the CIA, phoneless, finished my homework, printed my homework, and ate lunch at K16 (pasta pomodoro with baked mozzarella and arugula). Then, with knife kit, apron, and side towel in tow, I walked downstairs to my Skills kitchen.

When I first came to the CIA, I was a little torn between Baking and Pastry and Culinary. Besides the fact that the first Culinary block after basic Block B is Meat and Fish, which completely turned me off, I thought I might like to be well-rounded and able to cook, not just bake. After only one day in Culinary Skills, Block D, I am 100% in the right major, if you can even call it that. My hands still smell like garlic and onions from class. It is super hot. My knife skills are lacking. Slicing, dicing, mincing, etc. is all the same to me. I do not really care about the difference between a stock and a broth. (A stock is made with meat bones, while a broth is made with meat. A broth can be served as a simple soup, and a stock is used as a base for other preparations.) Today, we spent the entire class for the most part, 1:45-8:45 making a chicken stock and cutting a few veggies. Okay, it is not THAT bad but I am ready to bake!

Here are a couple exciting things that happened in Culinary Skills today:
*What is "werter?" Chef Klug pronounces the liquid that forms ice and produces steam this word. H2O. Understand what I am talking about? It drives me absolutely insane.
*What is knife steeling? This was one of the terms we had to define for our homework. One of the students in my group, a good friend of mine, who will remain nameless, wrote, and submitted as a part of his homework, that knife steeling is when you take another person's knife. REALLY? So funny. A steel hones the blade of the knife. Unlike sharpening, the steel smooths the edge of the knife, which can become jagged during use. In fact, our mascot, or whatever it is, at the CIA is the steel. We are the CIA Steels. Be jealous.

Every night, we have a break from 6-6:45 for dinner. I went to K16 again and ordered the hummus. The hummus was good but it was not served with enough pita or veggies. I had to eat it with a fork by itself and that's no good.

After class, I was exhausted for some reason. I came back to the room and Skyped with my mom (it was almost like having a phone). I started my homework, which includes defining terms for the next day and answering several study questions every day. I tried to convince Nate, who is Culinary, to teach me everything he knows, which he agreed as long as I help him with Math. Sweet deal for me, because I heart Math. Done. Then, I watched the season finale of Army Wives (so good).

Now, time for bed. I hope I make it through the next three weeks of having the same class every day. I guess I better get used to it, as this is how it will be from now on (minus one block). Goodnight, friends!

MOM? MOM? MOM? MOM? MOM? WHHHHAAAATTTT? HI.

Baker Haley