#64 - Baby steps

I have started to lose track of days because the main purpose of being in London (going to cooking school) has been abruptly curtailed as classes draw to a close and people struggle not to buckle under the marathon Patisserie session this week.

Unintended benefit of being injured and being unable to go to class - I actually have some time to organize myself - very necessary as I have to juggle logistics and try to guess when I will be back in London to take my exams (so planning clothes, potentially some equipment and of course, my uniform) to mention just a few things.

Am trundling along, doing what needs to be done - which includes a lot of rest and allowing about twice as much time to do everything.  You don't realize the little things you take for granted until you can't do them anymore - like tie your own shoes (I've been wearing boots with zippers), not poke out your eye when trying to put on some mascara (preparation for last night's Christmas dinner was...interesting) or tucking in those strings on the dress which you  need to keep it on the hanger (or you would cut the darn things off).

Food for amusement (yours)
Hopefully my little trials and tribulations will give you a giggle or three and thank heavens that you aren't as clumsy as I am.  I debated whether or not to put in this next little bit, but I did promise the good, the bad and the ugly.  I'm not sure where this falls on that list.

So the Christmas dinner - lots of fun, lots of interesting people and I even remembered names!  The preparations were a bit fraught (this is the bit I debated).  Ok - so not having a roommate meant there was a little bit of acrobatics needed as well as a lot of patience in order to get the hooks done up on the bra which needed to go with the dress.  If you are wondering what I did for the last couple of weeks, the answer is that I have a lot of dance tops and I just wore my regular t-shirts under my chef's jacket because the bandaged club at the end of my right wrist didn't fit through the sleeves of my long sleeved shirts.  So yes, it was all a bit chilly.

Then there was the matter of the hair - fairly simple...when you get a hair cut, they blow dry it for you so that was fine.  But the makeup...the 10-minutes normally allotted had to be stretched a bit in order to allow for very slow work.  I was in a hurry the other day and accidentally poked my eye with the mascara wand - not an experience that anyone wants to repeat, I am guessing.  Speaking for myself, definitely not.

Final bit of embarrassment...so I managed to get through dinner with the gimpy hand fine during the starters but hadn't thought through the main very well.  The burn unit says lots of protein to help with the healing so I chose steak.  So far so good.  Until, of course, it's time to eat the thing.  They supplied a steak knife and I managed to cut a small bite.  The only thing is my hand is achy - no idea what from, but I am guessing one of the culprits is the middle finger.  Anyway - a very nice guy sitting near me volunteered to cut the meat for me - until one of the waiters saw and came over to finish.

I am guessing it's going to be a no go for the Patisserie final (even if I were able to do it in terms of the recipes) given the current state of the hand.

Must admit to inspecting the dessert and tasting it in pieces, then together (how they taste our things at school).

More learning!
Anyway, dinner over (in which conversational topics ranged from accents, words and misunderstandings, to Exceptional Men, to Christmas parties past and future, travels, movies, etc.) it was time for more education.  Previous  experiences with casinos have been limited to getting lost in one (Crown, in Melbourne) and going to a wedding (Star City in Sydney).

In terms of betting, I had no clue.  Luckily there were some sharks in our midst...I got a crash course in roulette, or at least this casino's one.  No photos were allowed so unfortunately there aren't any shots of people playing and having a good time.  It was actually more entertaining watching the people in our group playing that I think betting might have been.

Today was a whole day of nothing.  A little bit of organization to try to prepare for packing and vacating the flat but otherwise, a lot of sleep.  I'm not used to being up so late...

Class tomorrow morning - luckily they pushed it to 9am.  After this weekend, that's going to feel pretty early.  This is our last class - who knows, we may all wax nostalgic.

Anyway, must go and rest.  So until next time - may you also feel little stress from the silly season.