So, I went crazy with my camera phone today, so I've decided to just do a quick photo blog of the day's adventures. Enjoy!
Today we made danishes. Here is a big braided danish I made. This is an in-progress picture. I didn't cook it, as I didn't want to take it home. So I just made it then tossed it into the freezer. It'll just need to be thawed, proofed, and baked and it'll be good to go! 
Finished product before freezing! 
Here are some danishes myself and a classmate made. Mine are on the left. Mmmmmm, cinnamon rolls made with hazelnut filling. 
Here's a picture of that tray baked out. Something was different about our doughs and hers took much longer to cook. So, since we had to leave them in until hers cooked, that meant that mine were a bit overcooked. You can see mine clearly in the back as they are much, much darker.
I said I'd try and get some pictures of the kitchen, so here are a few. This is a picture of the bread making area. This has been my station so far this year as we're just sort of plunked anywhere for the moment. Once we start rotations, this is where I start, as I'm on Bread and Retail for my first 2 weeks. 
Clearly you can see we are HARD at work. That's my knife kit right at the front with the pizza cutter. The rolled out dough you see with the square and triangle? Yeah, that was my failed attempt at making croissants. Apparently those aren't the type of triangles that you use to make croissants. The triangle needs to be more "pizza slice" shaped. What is that? And isosceles triangle? I think so. 
This is facing over towards the other side of the kitchen. I think the Lucy Maud stations are over there. You can see all our little mixers lined up. We also have bigger mixers for making larger quantities of dough. 
And what I think is my new favourite picture of myself. :)
Apparently you do not want me to sleep tonight. Fine then. I shall blog.
Neck is...well, I don't even know. Sort of better but sort of worse. It's more of just a general pain now, but it's moved up into my head, which I'm not liking. I did get some Advil, and it helped for a bit.
I was supposed to go to a workshop on pears tonight, but apparently the bus broke down. And being that this is Charlottetown, there is no replacement bus. How very unhelpful. I could have maybe made it there somehow, but my head hurt anyway, so I just went home. It was an optional thing anyway. I will have a rant about the bus later. Oh, it's coming.
Charlottetown...what to say about it? Oh, I know. I don't like it. I really don't want to stay here. I'm mostly counting down the months until I can leave. OK, that came out really mean. It's a nice enough city, probably a good place to raise kids, but there's jack squat here to do. I've spent every weekend just bored out of my mind. I'm attempting to find stuff to do, but overall, I'm just sort of unimpressed with the city. Everybody told me I'd fall in love when I came out here. Well, in all honesty, it's not much different than back home except it's more boring. Perhaps it's nicer if you're just sort of popping in here as a tourist. But living here - not my cup of tea.
I did find out that the school hires 2 pastry students to work the summer. (Did I mention this last post? I can't remember.) So anyway, I would be willing to stay 4 extra months if I were to get that job, but that's it, then I'm outta here.
Oh, and everything here is SMALL, did I mention that? I went and got a library card today, and once I got in there and was looking at the books I was like "Seriously? This is it?" This is the capital of the province and the library is smaller than the one in Weyburn is. And Weyburn is 1/3 the size of Charlottetown. This place just isn't big city enough for me.
Had to go to school today for a "Library Skills " class. Just another "Here's the library, here are the books, here is how you find a book" class. As if I can't figure that out myself. What a giant waste of time. And it was MISERABLE out - thank you Tropical Storm Kyle.
OK, this blog is super negative...hmmm....need something positive...
I did hear back from Girl Guides and I'm going to meet with the coordinator tomorrow! They definitely need people, so once I get a record check done (working with kids, that's sort of a standard thing) and fill out some paperwork, that should be something for me to do!
I got woken up tonight at 7:30 (yes, I went to bed at 6:30, I was tired!) by Zellers who was phoning me for an interview, so I have that tomorrow afternoon. So perhaps I might have a job. Although I'm at the point now where I wasn't expecting one and now I'm not so sure I even want one. But I'll go - if it turns out I don't want a job, I can always quit. :) I just need to make sure I can balance everything. I do want to volunteer, so that's my girl guides, and I have school of course. So the question is if I can put a job on top of that. I think I can. I just don't want to go too insane. Need to find a happy balance.
I'm getting a personal trainer. I decided the money was worth it. I'm just going to be meeting with her once every two weeks to keep me on task in terms of working out while I'm here. So, hopefully that all works out well. I met with her last week and really like her, so I foresee good things with that. Didn't work out today though - mostly b/c my neck still doesn't really work and I don't want to strain it more before it heals.
I think I've run out of things to say for the moment. Tomorrow we take the dough we made last week and make final products out of it! So, hopefully I shall have some pictures for you. :)
I don't know which muscle is responsible for keeping my head upright and moving it around, but I pulled it last night. So I'm not feeling so great today. Took some Tylenol and that gave me a small amount of movement, but I'm still quite limited. I think I'll be spending a lot of time laying down today so that I don't have to hold my head up.
So! The rest of the week! Wednesday we made fillings - blueberry, hazelnut, and pastry cream. All quite simple and easy. Yes, I managed to boil my milk over but my pastry cream still turned out. There was a big banquet yesterday for the Olympic Youth Team, so the summer pastry students had been spending the whole week preparing for it. So, if we had spare time in between doing what was planned for the day, we helped them out. So, on Wednesday I helped with coring some apples for apple crisp. My first time using my melon baller...I suppose that's exciting. :P
Thursday we made Danish Dough! Thursday was definitely my best day in the kitchen. My dough turned out great and I got it done quickly. In my spare time I helped slice up pears - pears that had been soaked in a mixture of red wine and spices - so my uniform got a bit messy.
Friday...ugh, Friday. The downside - I let myself fall asleep for a couple hours when I got home Thursday (still trying to get used to the new sleep schedule) so I was up until 12:30 and then awake at 5am to get ready for school. So, grumpy and tired to begin with. Then we made Puff Pastry which is the devil. In the end, the puff pastry worked out, but it's definitely not my favourite thing to make. The way Danish Dough and Puff Pastry get the butter content in is to make the dough and then roll it out. Once it's rolled out you just put a block of fat in the middle, fold the dough around it, and then roll the fat into the dough that way. And if the fat doesn't stay in the dough, you have a problem. Therefore...I had a problem with my puff pastry. The upside to Friday was that I still had time to help out with the banquet stuff, so I got to help make Truffles! I piped chocolate into pre-made truffle casings and then when we ran out I got to make my first Ganache...basically a type of chocolate sauce to simplify it. So that was fun!
So, we made the doughs this week - next week we use the doughs to actually make the Danishes and the different types of Puff Pastries. Not too sure how that'll go, but we'll see.
Overall, kitchen is awesome. Some things are frustrating - two in particular. The first is just having to share things like the scales. Which I just need to stop being a baby about. I just like to work fast and I don't like getting slowed down b/c I don't have access to equipment. However, once we get into our regular rotations, everybody will be making different things, so that should alleviate the demand for all the equipment. It was very frustrating on Wednesday when we needed a burner to make our fillings and there weren't enough, so we just sat there with nothing to do. The second thing that frustrates me is trying to work with classmates who haven't done the minimum amount of work required to get ready for class - like finding their recipes. I'm hoping that stops soon and that people will get the idea that you need to spend 10 minutes each night getting organized for the next day. Really, there's very little homework - more just preparation for the next day. There's no excuse not to have a recipe ready when you know what you're making the next day.
At home I made perogies on my own for the first time. I've helped make them before, but never done it completely on my own. But I said I'd bring some for Thanksgiving - one of my classmates has invited everybody over for Thanksgiving supper so I'm looking forward to that. I'll have to make probably one more batch just so that we definitely have enough. I didn't think I had made that many, but after they were frozen and I put them all in the same bag, I found I had made a lot more than I thought.
I'm finding Charlottetown quite boring. I've sent an e-mail to the Girl Guides to see if they can use me as a volunteer to help run their programs - I'm hoping that works out. I found a list on the UPEI website of places to volunteer and that's the one that interested me the most, so we'll see if that pans out. But I really need to find SOMETHING to do. Clearly nobody wants to hire, not just me, but anybody in our pastry class. Our schedules flip flop too much and no employer wants to deal with it. I'm definitely going to be giving that as feedback about this new style they're trying with the pastry class. But yeah...I'm super bored here and I need to find something to occupy my time. I'm wishing I'd registered for a web class with the U of S to get a bit closer to finishing that degree. Next term I'm definitely registering for at least one, if not more, that I can do during my spare time here.
Anyway....my neck is giving out, so I'd better go lay down for a bit. Riders game in an hour - go Riders!!!
Subtitle: WTH PEI?
Seriously? 10% PST? You make me sick.
Oh yes, I made those. And Chef Richard called them "Excellent Specimens" in front of the whole class. Granted, I didn't know they were mine at the time. And granted, most of you have probably made bread like this before. But, making something this simple was a good intro to the kitchen - where to find things, how to use the oven (which is GIGANTIC), and other handy things.
Now, the rolls I made. They actually taste better than these braided loaves, but they didn't turn out so great in the looks department. So, you don't get pictures. :P
Overall, waking up early wasn't so bad. I went to bed early, so it really makes no difference - as long as I got enough sleep! Also, a classmate was awesome and came and picked me up, so that saved me about 40 minutes of walking. :) His car is in the shop tomorrow morning, so I'll be walking but that's ok. I figure every day that I can get a ride is one less day I have to walk, so I should be grateful for it.
On one hand, my feet are going "You idiot! This is why you got a desk job. We hurt!" But on the other hand, the time flew by and I was glad I wasn't just sitting behind a desk anymore. :)
Voting!
So I voted today! Yes! That's right! I went in to register, as I'm registered back in Saskatoon and that's not real helpful to me. So, after much paperwork the lady said I could vote right then, or on the 14th, and I was all like "Let's do it now!" So I did. Now, I've never advance polled before, so this was new to me and exciting. Yet very complicated. I am given a ballot with a blank line that just says "Write the candidate's name" or something to that effect on it. So, I was like "Oh shit, I don't know any of the candidates...I rarely do, I just look at the party beside the name and vote like that." So I piped up and asked if there was a list in the thingy that you vote in. You know...half of a cardboard box. And she says they can't make up a list of people - you know in case some scandal occurs and somebody drops out. ;) But she told me the names and I memorized the guy I wanted. Then I went in with my ballot and little envelope and write the name down. Then I had to stick the ballot in the envelope without folding it and seal it. Then I had to stick the sealed envelope into ANOTHER envelope, sign it, and seal it. Whew! But there it is! I've voted!
This means that when the results from advanced polls come in, they will reflect my vote! Which is, granted, insubstantial in the grand scheme of things. But hey, at least the dude I voted for will at least be able to go "Well, I didn't get 0 votes, whooo!" That makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Or something.
Now it's your turn!
Bus Insanity!
A few short months after the murder of Tim McLean on a Greyhound bus, another stabbing has occurred! Here's my understanding of the timeline:
-Police in Ontario take a guy into custody for disturbing the peace, charge him, then release him
-He later that day comes back and asks them to take him to the hospital for psychological reasons
-The police do so, he's assessed by a doctor, deemed safe, and released
-He had a "strong desire to go home" so the police used social assistance funds to pay for a ticket for him to go home on the bus
-The police put him on the bus (this is misleading...not sure if they just bought the ticket, or if they dropped him off at the bus station, or what exactly happened there)
-He apparently has a knife and stabs somebody on the bus about 2 hours into the trip
-He goes to the front and asks to be let off the bus, the bus driver stops, lets the dude off, and then just drives away
-The police arrest him on the side of the road.
Now, I swear this is straight out of a movie. If it wasn't for the fact that people are getting killed, injured, traumatized and more, this would almost be hilarious. Instead it's just tragic.
What is crazy is some of the comments people are leaving on the CBC website in reply to the article. Let me quote some of my favourites:
"The police are funny. Like clowns. And seriously?! They let the dude off the bus and kept going??????? "
"I got off a bus in Moose jaw Sask this week end and a guy was selling crack on it."
"I really wish people would stop referring to criminals or other ungentlemanly men as gentlemen."
"The era of taking naps on Greyhound buses is probably now over."
"Again? Why is it these knife carrying crazies are always headed toward Winnipeg? "
And last but not least...
"Commenter wrote: "The OPP are out of control. If the police put that violent man on the bus, it was a fearmongering conspiracy to push people towards a neo con police state."
The bus was heading the right direction ;-)"
Well, sort of an exciting week.
Let's see...I last blogged on Monday. Yes, exciting news there - no need to take my 2 core classes - excellent!
Since then, let's see. Tuesday was CPR. Boring, but I haven't taken it since my Bronze Cross days, so it was very good to get a refresher and get officially certified. There have been changes to both CPR and First Aid in the past few years, but nothing crazy. Wednesday was First Aid. Overall, these two I'd taken before, but I find them interesting, so they weren't too bad of days. I did learn that one of the symptoms of a stroke is an impending sense of DOOM!
Thursday morning we did WHMIS. For those who don't know, that's Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System. Not nearly as bad as I expected! It's something you need to learn, but once you've learned it, it's a lot of common sense. Read labels, don't pour stuff into an unlabeled container, don't use anything if you don't know what it is, etc., etc.
So, once the paperwork goes through, I will be officially certified for CPR, First Aid, and WHMIS!
Onto Thursday afternoon! FINALLY we got to meet as a group with our chef instructors. There are a few classmates we hadn't met yet. People who took the culinary previously didn't have to sit through the core classes again, so we haven't seen them the first two weeks. And we had never been officially with our instructors. So, this was exciting! Oh, Thursday I also came down with a cold...so while exciting, I was also sitting there quite miserable with a sore throat. And I'm still miserable as I type this.
We got our officially "bibles" for Pastry - a GIANT binder with recipes, notes, and definitions. Now, nothing is ordered or indexed or anything - so it's up to us to go through it and put some dividers in and figure everything out. So, I'll be doing that with a couple hundred pages of recipes this weekend. We aren't necessarily given the recipe for everything. So if we're told that we're making a particular thing and don't have a recipe, it's up to us to go find a recipe from somewhere. Perhaps our textbooks, perhaps the library from a book, or perhaps just go online and find something.
We also FINALLY got our schedules for the entire year. The first three weeks we're doing basics - so we're either am or pm. I, of course, am scheduled for the morning. After that we start bi-weekly rotations. We're on one of 6 stations for 2 weeks, then we go somewhere else. 3 of the stations are in the morning, 3 of them are in the afternoon. And if you're on one particular afternoon station, there are also Saturday night shifts that you may have to come in for. Not cool. Chef Richard, teaches the AM class and Chef Pam teaches the PM class. Chef Pam is definitely more strict, but you can tell that you'll be able to learn a lot with her. Chef Richard has a lot of knowledge and sometimes it's a bit overwhelming as I'm definitely a beginner when it comes to professional pastry arts.
So, there are 12 bi-weekly rotations. I'm on mornings for 7 of them and afternoon for only 5 of them. And I only get one afternoon rotation this term and the other 4 are next term. Which I guess is ok since next term will be the colder/snowier one. So, for those of you who are texting me at 8pm Saskatchewan time, I can assure you I will have been in bed for at least 3 hours by the time you text/phone me.
Last thing on Thursday...UNIFORMS! Yay! How exciting! I am now wearing sweat pants to school every day - I just change when I get there anyway. So, our uniform consists of:
- Checkered Pants - they're hard to see in the following picture, I had my apron too long. Suffice it to say, it's very small checkers. The pants are very poofy around the hips. And mine need at least 4-5 inches hemmed off them, which I'm hoping to accomplish this weekend. We get 3 pairs of pants and we're in charge of washing them.
- Chef's Jacket - this is embroidered with our first and last name. Just a white jacket. There is a tiny white pocket in the upper left sleeve for pens/pencils. Other than that, no pockets. Just some in the pants.
- Necktie - You think tying a regular tie is hard? Try a chef's knot. It's craziness. But I think I've got it down.
- Black Steel Toed Shoes - these we had to supply ourselves. I found a pair that are like runners - paid about $75 at Mark's.
- Chef's Hat - this is just made of paper. My understanding is that the taller it is, the more senior you are. Your hair has to be completely underneath it.
- Apron and Side Towel - those are fairly basic. They're white and go around your waist. My apron in this picture is tied much too long. I think I'll shorten it a bit next time I tie it.
Anyway, here's the picture! I texted some of you. If you didn't get a text...well your phone doesn't do pics or I don't have your cell number. :P
Today was our first Theory class in the demo kitchen. You know those kitchens you see on TV with a chef behind them showing you how to make something? Exactly the same thing. In about 2 hours Chef Richard made 2 batches of bread, blueberry filling, hazelnut filling, and pastry creme. So, I'm assuming that's what we'll be making on Tuesday when we get in the kitchen. Theory class is cool, but it's obvious I've never done this professionally as I had no idea what he was talking about half the time. I definitely have to do a lot of reading. After theory was done, they took us on a really quick tour of the kitchens. And that was it! So, now I'm off until Tuesday! Hopefully I can kick this cold by Sunday. :)
Anyway, I have more to say, but I've talked enough for one post. I'll save the rest for another post.
It sucks. It's slow and I hate it.
But I'm still happy I have it.
I got exemptions for both of my Core classes, which are both on Mondays! I've already taken both courses at the U of S (or the same information at least) and gotten credit, so I can use that in place of having to re-take it. So, no Business Communications (writing memos, doing speeches) or Computer Skills (let's learn how to use Microsoft Word, Excel, and Powerpoint!). Bleh! So boring, both of them! So happy to be exempt!
So, what does this mean? Well, I'll tell you!
First of all, I don't have to go anymore. So, my Mondays are free. In December I'll have to start going in the morning only for Theory, but my afternoons will remain free.
Secondly, I get reimbursed for my books. About $200 worth I believe. I'm not sure about tuition yet - the person who would know is out sick, so I have to wait for her to get back so I can ask.
Anyway - I'm really happy right at the moment! :)
Well, that sure was on crazy week to start classes!
On Sunday, a federal election was called! Yay! I love elections, I have to say. I love watching the results pour in and I love the debates that happen throughout. Especially the nonsensical ones that I have with people! I'm too lazy to change my layout into a blue one, so we'll stick with my diary layout...but hey, the Conservatives have lots of secrets in a diary of their own, so I guess it's appropriate enough! Go Conservatives! I'm not going to get into a political rant right now...but it'll come, just wait. I haven't had a chance to read any platforms yet, so I'd be talking out my rear if I said anything right now.
Monday we started our first class and we're already finished it! No need to go into detail as I ranted about it a couple posts back, but suffice it to say, I'm glad it's done. The test went well...I know I passed, it's just a matter of how well I passed. We had to get 75% to pass - I'm hoping I got at least 85%.
On Friday we finally got to see the kitchens! Very exciting! Our kitchen is huge, has lots of fun equipment, and a lot of flour. I think I'm going to have a blast! My one chef instructor gave us a short little rant about how the chocolate you get at the stores is basically just pure crap. And that what we'll be using is quality. Yay for quality! Anyway, once we get in there, I'll sneak my camera in and get some pictures for you of our kitchen. I have say, having been here as long as I have - I picked the right institution. I don't think I could have picked a better one. For example, a team from my school won the World Youth Culinary Championships last year and are headed to the Culinary Olympics very shortly. So, being top in the world is nice - it definitely increases the value of the certification I will get as well as makes me confident that I will get the best education possible.
Everything here is quality. The food we use is quality. The chef instructors are some of the best, most experienced chefs in the world. The equipment is top of the line - our dishwasher is worth $80,000 - it's the only one east of Montreal. The oven the culinary students use is worth about $28,000. They have high expectations for us, but in return, we get to train with the best of the best.
I don't think I've mentioned this, but every day we get a free meal. Well, I'm sure it was worked into our tuition, but they didn't mention anything about it until we got here! Right now it's lunch, but I think if you work the early shift they also do breakfast. And by a free meal, I mean that we're getting a gourmet lunch every day. So far we've had things like stuffed porkchops and ratatouille. (Yes, ratatouille! We were excited too.) For most of the things, in all honesty, we have no idea what they are. We sort of line up and go "well, that looks good, give me that" and point to what we want. They write the names of the stuff on a white board, but we don't know what it means. So, every day we get a main course (meat, starch, vegetable), our choice of soup or salad (remember...gourmet...this is no plain lettuce salad), dessert (right now made by the culinary students...clearly not as good as what we'll be making, haha), and a drink. Pretty darn good! On first glance it almost seems like the students are sort of working for free, but it's actually a great setup. This way we get to learn by experience, actually making the food, but we don't have to pay for it and we have somebody to eat it, so it doesn't go to waste. I consider the free lunch a perk after those two other things. But anyway, for anybody who was wondering...yes, I'm eating healthy. They plate the food for us and everything, so you don't even have the option of taking big servings, therefore, it's a healthy, well-rounded meal that we get. Overall - one sweet perk to culinary school.
I spent some time on Friday touring around Charlottetown some more. I'll start that series of posts soon. So far my plans for "series" are the Oddities of PEI, Residence Life, and A Tour of Prince Edward Island. Hopefully I can keep them relatively interesting. My plan is to write those posts when I'm in a blogging mood, save them, and then post them to fill in when I'm not in a blogging mood!
Today I went out and did a bit of applying for some jobs. I'm mostly just looking for something for the weekends so that I have something to do. And the cash would be nice too. So, here's hoping that something pans out. Then I went to a movie with a friend. Just FYI - the movie Traitor is good...not great, but good. Then I decided to stay up for the Riders game - started at 11pm my time. We lost. :( But BC did play a good game - so at least it was entertaining!
Plans for tomorrow are to do some wandering around Charlottetown in the more residential areas that I haven't seen yet. Of course, that will depend on the weather. If it rains, I'll stick inside. I cleaned during the Rider game, so tomorrow can just be a lazy, lazy day I suppose!
Anyway, I'll probably post again tomorrow, but I hadn't posted for a while, so I figured I had better write something! I'm sure you all didn't mind the break in reading though - I can go on and on sometimes. Like this time. :P
Have a good day all!
The license plates only have 5 characters, not 6. Also, there are 2 designs - one claiming it to be the green province and another with a picture of the bridge on it.
(Had this one pre-written. Still slogging through ServSafe. My brain is about to implode.)
Silly school and studying.
I have to say, I'm loving getting back into the whole "student schedule." The just completely messed up schedule that no normal person would love. But I love it! When I was finishing my degree, I couldn't wait until I had a Monday-Friday 9-5 job. Well, I sort of had one, and it's not as great as I though. I love the messed-up-ness of a student schedule.
The studying...bleh. Got hit with it hard this week. We are taking ServSafe (www.servsafe.com) this week. It's like the FoodSafe course you take when you work in a restaurant...except this is for managers/owners and is INTENSE. Instead of one day, it's a full week course. Problem though, is that our prof, awesome as he is, is a slacker. We take a break once an hour, have left at least an hour early every day, taken 1 1/2 hour lunchbreaks, spend more time telling stories than going over material, and are currently 2 1/2 chapters behind. And who gets to make up those chapter? Us, at home. And we're writing our exam on Thursday for some reason, not Friday. So, we have tomorrow and Thursday (before the exam...ie. no study time) to finish the next...8 1/2 chapters...and we've only done 6 1/2 in the 2 days we've had so far. So, I'm attempting to get through the material on my own a little bit ahead of him, but it's rough.
Food Safety is a mixture of really boring, common sense things and really hard to memorize biology/chemistry information. For example, they feel the need to teach us to send people home who are vomiting. Really!? Who doesn't know this!?? And then for a second example, I have to memorize pathogens, such as Clostridium perfringens gastroenteritis, what causes it, what food is commonly associated with it, the most common symptoms of the illness, and what the main prevention measure is for it. And that's just one.
Now, it's a 90 question multiple choice exam. Only 80 of the questions count, we don't know which 80 though, and we need to get 60 of them correct. Chances are I'll pass, but I would like to pass with flying colours. Hence, the studying.
Anyway, figured I'd give an update. Now, back to studying! You'll see me on Thursday night when the exam is over. :)
Paying for laundry sucks. There's no question - everybody agrees. It's expensive, annoying, and you always have to wait for a machine. For the last 4 years, I've had free laundry right outside my door. Sometimes there was waiting, but there was also a good relationship in the house such that I could just cycle laundry through and put mine in. I would fold other people's laundry and they'd fold mine. It was a nice little thing we had going on.
The laundry here is pay laundry, but it's the best pay laundry facilities I have ever used. First of all, you don't need coins. That's right. You just take your student card to this machine and you load money on it. Now, the machine CLAIMS you can use your VISA, but I tried and it wouldn't read my card. I was warned that the machine didn't always work. But regardless, I was able to load cash onto my card. So, then you take that card and all the machines just take the cards. You put it in, it tells you your total, and then you push what you want, and off you go! Easy! Loads are $1.25 to wash and the same to dry. No more carrying around quarters and loonies! No more scrounging! And since you need your student card to pay for laundry and to let you back into your room, you'll never forget your room key. Because you need it for laundry! So, no getting locked out when you go to do laundry!
And the machines are in GOOD SHAPE. They're front loading washers and they hold a fairly large load. And unlike most laundromats, you can put a large load in the washers, and the driers actually DRY the load! WOW!
Now, my other secret to doing laundry in a laundromat, especially in residence or a building where lots of students live, is to go on a Friday or Saturday night. Yeah yeah, I'm a loser and I should be out. Well, the fact is that I don't like partying and I don't really like "going out". At least not very often. However, most other people do. So, while they're gone, nobody is using the laundry room, which leaves it open for me. No pushing, shoving, waiting, throwing laundry on top of machines - they're just there waiting to be used. It's great.
While it sucks to pay for laundry, I think I lucked out here and laundry is not going to be a concern at all.
See that? That's the norm here in PEI. All waste is separated into waste, compost, and recyclables. Even in fast food establishments. This is all part of the Waste Watch Program, the only one in Canada, as far as I know. It's run by the Government of PEI. Here is just a small excerpt explaining the purpose of the program:
The Waste Watch program enables us to effectively reduce the amount of waste being buried in landfills. By sorting the waste we generate in our residences and businesses, we are helping to preserve our farmland and drinking water. We are contributing to the solution of waste management and environmental protection.It's a little bit confusing right now, but I think I'll get used to it fairly quickly.
I thought this would be a good discussion topic - good idea, bad idea, comparison to where you're living now? Feel free to comment and perhaps we can get a discussion going!
Yup! There they are! My $300 Wusthof's! :)
I need to get them engraved when I get a chance (and find out where an engraving place is).
Overall, a busy day. Was on the way to school by 7:30. Got there at about 8:15-ish. We were told to be there at 8:30, but of course they didn't start until 9am. You know, for the people who are late. I can't wait until class starts and the late people just get locked out of class. I shouldn't have to wait because somebody else can't read a schedule and get where they need to be on time.
So, this morning we got introductions for all the staff. I remember a few of them. Definitely remember the two Pastry Chef Instructors - Chef Pam and Chef Richard. I think my army cadet training is going to come in handy. You can definitely see how there's a specific hierarchy and behaviour that's expected. The chefs are either called, for example, Chef Richard, or sir or ma'am. Reminds me of cadets.
We got our schedules. So, next week we have Serve Safe (food and kitchen safety I'm assuming) from 9-5 every day. Then we have some core classes the next week (we have Computer Skills and Business Communications as far as I know). As well we have 2 and a half days of CPR/First Aid/WHIMIS. Then we start getting into Pastry Art Theory. And trust me, there's a lot. The textbooks are HUGE. Every Monday for the whole year basically is just core classes or theory classes. So, kitchen is really only 4 days a week for the most part (might be some exceptions). This means that the 6:30 days are only 4 days a week once they start. We don't know yet, once we get into the kitchen (September 23) if we're going to be going in the morning or later. Either we have kitchen from 6:30-10 and then theory from 10-12 or we have theory from 10-12 and then kitchen from 12-4. (Maybe only until 3:30 - the schedule isn't super clear). So, I only need to walk to class on the 6:30 days and only to class, not home.
The Pastry students are in charge of screating pastries for the Lucy Maud Montgomery dining room upstairs. The Culinary students create desserts for the cafeteria in the basement, but we support them when needed. So, if they're short on deserts, then we'll fill in the gap.
We also had a session on extracurricular activities - hopefully I can find something. Then a quick session on the health/dental plan.
After that, we went upstairs to fit for uniforms. Uniforms are a BIG deal. Regardless of where you are, you need a uniform on in class. But you cannot wear it off the property. If your uniform is dirty, you're not allowed in class. They wash everything except the pants - we're in charge of the pants. We get 3 coats (stitched with our names!) and 3 pairs of checkered pants. They wash the coats for us - it's a "dirty for a clean" exchange type model. So, it's important that you give the laundry people a dirty one or they won't give you a clean one. And if you don't have a clean one, you don't get into class. We also must always have steel-toed shoes on - the profs check before you come in the kitchen. The uniform consist then of - black steel-toed shoes, black socks, checkered pants, chef's jacket, bowtie. And when in the kitchen we also have an apron, side towel, and hat. And of course there's rules for piercings (none!), beards (you have to wear a beard net if it's too long...never knew such a thing existed), and other things. It's pretty intense, but I'm sure it'll become routine soon enough.
We then of course got our KNIVES! Yup, paid $300 for them - pretty exciting to get them. It's just one of those things that you carry with you everywhere.
Then we had free lunch. Yay for Orientation!
For the afternoon we had some group trivia, then a group scavenger hunt around downtown. Wow, thought we were going to die. It got REALLY hot out, we were walking alllll over the place, taking pictures at various places. Was really fun though - got a chance to talk to some people who will be taking classes in the building. Also gave me another chance to wander the downtown - I still want to go this weekend and check everything out a bit slower. But I found out where the Charlottetown Centre is - that's the main building for Holland College. That's where the gym is and the bookstore. The gym mostly sucks, so won't be using it. There are others around to use. And that one is really out of my way. Would only go there if it was good. But, good to find the place! After the scavenger hunt we were done, so a girl helped me find the Charlottetown Centre again. I bought a new bookbag - my U of S one was really pretty much wrecked, so I didn't bring it with. And I really need an actual bookbag, not a sidebag if I'm going to be walking. I also got a bus pass there. Only $75 for four months. Otherwise it's $50 a month. So, a pretty good deal! Took a bus back and all went well. Definitely a smaller bus system than Saskatoon. Which is in the end biting me in the ass because there's no bus running at 6am. It's such a small system that it apparently doesn't need to run that early. So, I'll be walking for my 6:30 classes. Oh well.
Anyway...just did some errands after that, had supper, and am hanging around here. Have to be back there at 8:30 tomorrow, but plan on taking the bus. The bus only takes me to the end of University Avenue. It's about a 5-10 minute walk from there to get to my school. Still, a whole lot better than 40-50 minutes walking.
Well, I made it! Today is the end of my 3rd full day here and I think I'm mostly settled. It'll be about another 3 weeks before I'm really in a "schedule" but for the moment I'm doing ok. Where to start...
Saturday
Saturday was Michelle's wedding. Sort of the "beginning of homesickness." For those who maybe don't know - I get brutal cases of homesickness when I leave home. It only takes a few days before I'm fine, but for those few days, I'm a total mess. So, with basically EVERYBODY saying goodbye that night, I was in breakdown mode. It was multiplied by the fact that I had been averaging maybe 5 or 6 hours of sleep a night for a while. The wedding itself went well. Michelle is now married off and I'm letting everybody skip me with the "When are you getting married?" questions. Please feel free to direct these questions to Andrew.
Sunday
Well, Sunday started with waking up after about, again, 6 hours of sleep. Had to leave Weyburn at 8am to get to the airport in time. Fortunately dad took me, so that was awesome. Got to the airport and the whole trip went perfectly smoothly. All my flights were on time, all was well. I had a 4 hour layover in Toronto which was super short after my 14 hour layover in Minneapolis. However, the Toronto airport SUCKS. There's nothing to do - there aren't even business areas with desks to set up your laptop. So, I ended up sitting on the floor to use my laptop, in a random area where I could find a plug in. We got into Charlottetown at about 10:40pm local time. In Charlottetown you just walk down stairs right onto the runway and then into the building. It pretty much REALLY sucked to walk into the airport and have nobody there. It didn't seem bad when I did it last year in DC - but of course then I knew I was going to be home in 2 weeks, so whatever. Anyway, my luggage came through fine and I got a cab to my hotel. Loverly hotel, but expensive - that's me all over. I love to travel...in 5 star hotels.
Monday
Monday was raining. Bleh. So, I walked to the campus and got all checked in. Went into my room to check it out and met the roomie. Then I got a cab back to the hotel, grabbed my luggage, checked out, and cabbed back to my place here. So, officially moved in. The place seemed pretty shitty when I first got here. The walls are all cinder blocks and the floor is tile, no carpet. Feels a bit like a prison cell. But the more I'm here and look at it, it's not so bad. If we had drywall painted walls and carpet, the place would be quite nice. All the furniture looks brand new - I think it's only a couple years old, maybe less. I'm in a two-bedroom apartment - guess I should say that for anybody who isn't here. So, just one roommate.
Here's a picture of my bedroom:
Here's a picture of the kitchen:
And a picture of the living room:
The first night was a bit rough. Still in homesick mode. Nothing was open on Monday, so I couldn't do any shopping at all. Fortunately I had brought sheets, but I had no blanket - just one flimsy sheet.
Tuesday
Well, I got over my homesickness fairly quick! It's all about doing things and getting into the groove. I think I had about 3 bad homesick days in Saskatoon when I moved there - only 1 here, so not bad!
Tuesday was...SHOPPING. I just needed stuff for my apartment. So, off I went at 10am for shopping. I headed down to the RBC to change my address - found a Value Village and spent $11 there for a comforter, afghan, and lamp! I also went to Telus and got a SWEET new phone! Here's a picture:
After that I walked to Wal-Mart which is maybe a 20-25 minute walk the other way from my place. There I just got a few more things for my place - some posters for the wall, a mirror, tiny laundry baskets. So, I spent a bunch of money, but I think my place is looking a lot better now. A lot more livable.
That night I went to meet 2 of the girls that I knew were in my course, thanks to Facebook. One girl is just like me - not really sure what she's doing, no real pastry experience, kinda scared about the whole thing. The other girl managed to scare the two of us. :p She has been working in pastry for 5 years, has been here since January, and knows lots about the program/profs. So, apparently there are 2 chefs teaching - one is nice and the other is really strict. Also, there are going to be two classes. One starts at 6:30am and is in the kitchen until 10:30 and then at 10:30 the other class joins and the two classes do theory together. Then when theory is done, the first class leaves and the 2nd class heads to the kitchen. Then after Christmas we'll switch who goes at 6:30 and who goes at 10:30. So, I'm hoping for the strict chef and 6:30am for this term. Strict chef b/c it's easier to go from a strict chef to a lax one than the other way around. And 6:30 b/c this term is the warmer term - January/February are the horrible winter times. And I can't take transit to school at 6:30 - it doesn't start until 7am. So, for 4 months I'll be walking to school. I timed the walk tonight and going quickly it's a 40 minute walk.
Wednesday (Today!)
Today was registration. Brittany, the girl from the night before who was like me, came to pick me up so we could go together and have somebody to wander around with. Once we got there we met Andrew, who also came from Saskatoon. And there's another guy (didn't get his name) who is from Moose Jaw. So, there may be more Saskatchewan people. We didn't really get a chance to meet everyone - just if you went up to somebody and asked their name.
At registration I just confirmed that I paid my tuition. I paid $5 for a locker there - I have no intention of dragging my knives and stuff home every day. We then got our pictures taken for a student ID, but the card machine was broken, so they'll e-mail us once they're ready to be picked up. Then we picked up our books. Two huge pastry books, one that's on Microsoft Word, and there's one more to come that isn't here yet. The Microsoft Word one the guy said to keep in the shrink wrap because some people challenge it, and then if you want to return the book for credit, it has to be in the shrink wrap. And the missing book is for Business Communications. And the guy said that I could talk to my professor, but since I've taken Business Communications at the U of S, I could probably use that as credit and not have to take it again - which would ROCK. God that class was boring.
So, I've got some information to go through tonight and read - some textbooks to flip through. Tomorrow is where we get a bit more detailed information in terms of classes for the next few weeks. From what I've heard it's a week of Food/Kitchen Safety and 3 days of CPR (Woot!) so that's cool. And not at 6:30am from what I've heard. But I'll find out for sure tomorrow. We also possibly get our knife sets and we get measured for our uniforms. We have to wear a uniform at all times. Even when not in kitchen classes there is a uniform of black dress shoes/pants, etc. So, I think I need to go shopping this weekend.
We had a social at 4pm tonight, but not really anybody showed up. Just a few of us who had already met. So, we played pool for an hour and then all headed home. I walked to the school from where we were and then walked home so that I could time it. While there I took some pictures.
Here's a picture of the coast. This is a view from my school:
Well, I was told the dirt was red here and it is, but it's still weird. I feel like I'm always on a baseball field with shale. I don't know if this picture does it justice, but here's some dirt:
And here's a picture of my school:
So, I walked home and it took about 40 minutes. So, I'm thinking probably a 50 minute walk through snow. Which means I'll be leaving for school and hour early every day. Oh well. It's just 4 months really - the other 4, if we have 10:30 classes, I can take transit. And I can take transit home.
Then I got here and said "OK, I should probably tell people how stuff is going" since you've all been texting/e-mailing. So, here ya go! Feel free to ask questions in comments - I'll respond!
P.S. If you want a postcard, tell me!