Mid-term

It's Wednesday, November 2nd. I got up at 5 am to study for a Nutrition test and I've been answering e-mails instead of studying! Yesterday I took my mid-term in my kitchen skills class. Very surprised - I got a B+. For me, that's amazing. My knife skills are not anywhere near some of the students in class. In fact, I'm planning to go to open lab every Saturday - probably for the next 4 years! I love open lab. You just request the ingredients you want, there's a chef there to ask questions or show you a technique, and it's just considered part of your tuition. I don't have to buy the ingredients myself and practice at home without the assistance of a chef to show me the proper technique. Anyway, the mid-term was timed. We had 2 1/2 hours to complete the following: Chop one carrot and one onion into small dice - 1/4 inch. Surprisingly, I got high marks on those and I've been terrible at those cuts. We had to blanch, shock, peel, seed and chop a tomato into 1/4" dice; a potato into 2" x 1/4" x 1/4" Batonnet (all of these cuts have to be EXACTLY the same size); a rib of celery into 1/2" dice, and a shallot very finely minced. Then we had a poach an egg (harder than you'd think), make a blond roux, then use it in a Bechamel Sauce (mine, he said, was too thick); and a reduction and Hollandaise Sauce (got 7/10). I didn't look at ANY of my grade sheet - didn't want to get discouraged in the middle of the exam - after every task, he'd look at it and grade it. I'll look at it when we get it handed back to us. My cuts are getting better and better every week. Thank goodness my notebook is neat and complete, my participation in class is good, and I haven't missed any classes. That helps my grade. I was the next to last person done, but I was done before the 2 1/2 hours so I don't care. I left the carrot until last because that is my worst cut. I got full marks! On the divorce, I had to sign some additional, updated papers and a Quit Claim to the house - my beautiful home. That was tough. I had a bit of a meltdown this past Sunday while practicing for my mid-term. Anything sets me off these days. I just want this divorce over so I can start to heal. I've not spoken to Dan since before I moved out in August. I don't even remember my last words to him or his to me. I do have an A so far in my Nutrition and English classes. I just registered for next semester's classes. I'll have (2) 5 hour classes a week in Baking and Pastry Skills Lab, a 3 hour class in Baking and Pastry theory, and a 3 hour class in Purchasing and Product Identification. I hear from all the "kids" that it's the worst class ever, the professor is so difficult, and it's very, very hard. It will definitely be a challenging semester because lots is expected in the Baking and Pastry courses. Of course, being left-handed is a huge disadvantage with so much hands-on stuff. But I so want to learn the proper techniques to cake decorating, pastries, and baking in general. Here's a photo of me in my uniform. Don't you love it - all the cool kids are wearing them! LOL!