My Life

been a long time...

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 19:45:09 -0500

So, it has been forever since I have posted. Work has been busy, busy, busy. With Homecoming, accreditation and now visiting faculty, we have been swamped. I think we have been busier this year than in previous, or at least it feels that way. I’ve been trying to spend as much time as I can with my kids, but there never seems to be enough hours in the day. I’ve really got nothing tonight. I’m in need of some sleep and maybe a drink or two.

Has it been that long, already?

Wed, 3 Sep 2008 18:55:57 -0500

It is hard to believe that I’ve been back at work for over two weeks. One minute it seems like it was yesterday, the next and it has been 3 months. I guess it all depends on perspective. I try to make work a “fun” place for my crew. Keeping everyone’s spirits up with broken “kitchen Spanish”, letting the crew choose the radio station, extra hours for a long day’s work, some perks. Yes, we have the summer off, but during the school year, we bust our tails. Last week was our opening Welcome Back Cocktail Party. My crew and I busted out 1000 appetizers, 200 each of 5 different kinds. We did, Tequila Lime Guacamole Boats, Wild Mushroom and Goat Cheese Stuffed Squash Blossoms, Mini Veal and Beef Burgers with Melted Brie and Dijon Mayo, Ratatouille on Asiago Crostini and Classic Deviled Eggs. It’s been a while since I used a piping bag for a majority of the day, and couldn’t figure out why my hand and forearm were sore the next day. Some times you have a blond moment! The rest of the week was the usual opening of school, meetings, orders, training, inventory, menu planning all the desk rider stuff. We did run some test recipes past the faculty, which some were a hit, others not so much. It keeps you constantly on your toes, trying to figure out the next trend and capture it before it goes disappears.

The first actual student lunch was this past Tuesday, starting with the high school. It was great to see the returning students, hear stories of their summers abroad and what their plans are for the school year. Wednesday was the start of the junior high school lunch. Wow, is all I can say. Our junior high added about 15 kids this past year. Does not sound like a lot, but when your enrollment in junior high last year was 140, 15 is a lot. The place is busting at the seams! We have already had to adjust our prep numbers, and today was only the second day of student lunch service.

I was so glad that we were able to take the full holiday weekend off. The crew got everything we needed to, accomplished and we were able to reward ourselves before the madness. Susan and I went downtown with friends of ours, Dave and Nancy for a spectacular dinner at Spiaggia. Susan met Nancy through the local mother’s of twins club and became fast friends. Susan then decided that I needed to be introduced into the fray. For a guy, it is the usual, “Oh, my friend So and So is married and her husband is just like you. You two will hit it off.”. Once heard, there is usually a rolling of the eyes because we all know that most of the “Husbands of Friends” are idiots. The women get the men together, do the introduction then duck off into some black hole in the house, letting hours of awkward silence pass, before they decide to see if someone is dead in the living room. All I can say is if this guy was “Just like me.”, he would appreciate being left at home to watch television. Dave, on the other hand, is actually one of those people who you can talk to. All around good guy and funny as hell. That dry off the cuff humor, that if you aren’t listening, you will miss a gem.

Now that we have fully gone off the rails, back to the original story...Spiaggia. All I can say is that sometimes you find yourself going, “How in the hell did they do that?”. Wow. I had an awesome Handmade Spaghetti with Lobster and Ramps for the first course. My second course was Wood Roasted Dorade with Fava Beans, baby artichokes and asparagus. I was blown away and yet at the same time, inspired. I started to dissect what Chef Mantuano, had put together. Simple food, well executed, fresh ingredients. The classic combination that never ceases to amaze and impress.

The best thing about this whole weekend was seeing the kids interact with each other. Too funny. Matthew was a wild man, climbing just about everything, including the walls, I think. We went to my parent’s house, so the kids could see Grandma and Grandpa. We learned, “Grandpa fixes cars.” and “Grandma works hellos.”, which is twin speak for telephone. It is always good to see my parents, seeing them interact with the kids is really special.

I can’t believe that this week is almost over. Where did it go? Short weeks are either super fast and over in the blink of an eye or they drag like a 12 on, 1 off. We just need to find that groove for the year. It should be around the corner, we just have to clear homecoming!

Hi-ho, hi-ho, it’s off to work i go...

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 22:02:50 -0500

Started back to work today, full time. Oh what fun it is. Actually, it isn’t that bad. I like my job, the people who work there and the people who we serve. It is sort of bitter sweet. I miss my kids during the time at work, but I’m glad to be at work getting ready for the start of another school year. I’m pretty lucky that I get to spend as much time with my kids as I do. I know that a lot of fathers wish they could spend as much time with their children as I do. On the flip side, a lot of fathers would say I’m crazy for spending as much time as I do with my children. Eh, you can’t please everyone, so just try to please yourself and the one’s you love.

Today, was a full on office/meeting day. 3 meetings about the upcoming year and events, then a full day of sitting in front of the computer, working on menus. Most of my recipe development was completed, so it is just a matter of plugging them into the rotation. The hard part is figuring out what has run it’s course and take it off. I have been at the school for 5 years and I have worked hard to make the entree selections popular on every day. There are items that are not as popular, but once they are take off, people ask for them again. Eh, you can’t please everyone, so just try to...oh, you know the rest.

Friday is our first service day, New Faculty Meeting. We are serving lunch for about 50 faculty and staff. The real fun begins next week! We hit the ground running starting Monday and I don’t think there is a real break until the end of September, when we run up against the Jewish holidays and then we are at the middle of October. Just in time to finalize the party for the kids and all the planning. Let’s see if we can pull this one off! I have no idea what the theme is for this year’s party, so we have to do a little research and figure something out. In between work and picking up the kids and then after they go to bed, don’t forget the work you took home and then before you realize it, the clock says 10:30 and you aren’t even half way finished with what you need to complete for the next day. Then up at 5:30 to start all over. Whew, I thought this was getting easier...who knew.

Well, at least I can take solace in the fact that I make a difference in my little corner of the world. One of the major goals I set for the year was to get approval to set up and coordinate a garden with the elementary division of our school. We got approval Monday and it looks like it should be moving forward in the spring. The space is a lot bigger than I had anticipated and we should be able to develop a great program. We have a lot of backing from the faculty, parents and community members. It was a long road, but we made it!!

Now I need some sleep before I turn into a pumpkin. I didn’t even get to watch the end of the Chicago Outfit program I TiVo’d. You can’t please....

Say good-bye Summer

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 21:07:17 -0500

I’m sitting here thinking back over the summer, how fast it always seems to go by. Seems as though it is moving faster every year. I remember being a kid and summer seemed to last forever, (BOOOO...nice cliché, Hack!) but somewhere along the line, the hours don’t seem as long. There doesn’t seem to be enough time to get to all the projects, programs and play dates. And as this time is running along, somehow the kids grow up too quickly. We were looking back at a few photos from our first outing of the summer. Matthew and Sarah had about 20 words, were barely able to put together a two word sentence. Today, it was, “More Rice, Please.” at dinner. Now granted, it was more like, “Mo, mo, frice, Pees.”, but you get the idea. When did all of this happen?

Yesterday, we went down to Chicago’s Millennium Park for our annual end of summer trip. We started this as a lark, and it seems to be the perfect ending. This year, we went down and expected everything to be packed due to Air Show Weekend adding a third day and having the Blue Angel’s performing. When the Blues are on the marquee, it seems like it is even more crowded than normal. Millennium Park wasn’t as crowded as I thought it might be, which was nice. You could still get photos at the hot spots, but nothing near “The Bean”. It was pretty funny watching all those people take photos standing next to The Bean, knowing that they were going to have the highlights so blown out that you could barely make out the pictures. About the only place to take a picture was in the shadows, in the middle. Take a photo in a good spot and you will have 30 people try to recreate what you have done. The rude one’s will even try to get into the spot you are occupying!

After some time at Millennium, we walked over to Grant Park and Buckingham Fountain. Even though it is mainly a night thing, watching the lights change color, it is even more impressive in the day light. There is something about the fountain that is just incredible. Especially, since it was built over 80 years ago. No computer controls, just good ol’ water pressure and plumbing. During our time at the fountain, we watched the planes practice their runs around the lake front and through Downtown. Hearing the jets overhead jaw dropping. Having not served in the Armed Forces, I don’t have the perspective of those who did. I am just like a little kid when it comes to military aircraft. A quick lunch on the benches that line the walkway and we were on our way. A quick stop at the Video Fountains at Millennium Park and then we were back in the car, headed home. A full morning of sightseeing, packed into a few hours. As we were leaving the city, the kid’s were saying, “Bye, bye, water.” Susan, said, “Bye, bye, Chicago.” For the next 10 minutes we heard, “Bye, bye, Cago.” A great close, to a wonderful summer.

When the morning comes way too quickly...

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 12:59:08 -0500

The last thing I remember last night was that Michael Phelps won the semi finals in the 200m butterfly, then zzzzz. Fast forward to a peaceful dream that I really couldn’t tell you the details from, because I was woken from it by the crying of Matthew and the nudging of my wife.
5:45AM
“Matthew is up, I’m going to see what’s wrong”, was what greeted me.
I was almost entirely out of bed before I understood what was happening...
“No, I’ll see what’s wrong, I thought you were awake.”
Not then but I am now. Or at least I’m trying not to be. She comes back and said that there was nothing wrong, he was just awake. I try to go back to sleep but we all know what is coming next. Birds chirping, kids fussing, the cat decides that he wants to see what is going on in the bed, tossing followed by more tossing then some turning. Nothing. No sleep to be found, so I flip on the television, sound down, watching the closed captioning. Now, we have been doing the closed caption thing on our television in the bed room because the television and the kid’s room share a wall. Over the course of the last few months all I can figure out is that deaf people must think we are idiots. I have never seen so many errors in typing in my life. Even my typing is better than these peoples’. Wow! They can spell, “Disintegrate”, perfectly, but “Pioneer” comes out, “Pie on ear”. No kidding. Back to our show...So the Susan gets the kids up and they are at their usual speed, Mach 3, and we are running at about 3 miles per hour. Then after about 10 minutes of them jumping on and off the bed, it is on to breakfast, bath time and then playing. It is now silent in their room, since it is nap time. Hopefully, we can get some sleep as well.

Oh yea, on the plus side for me, I shaved this morning with out any cuts. “Oh, so now this is news?”, you might say. Well, actually it is since this was only my fourth shave with my new straight razor. Yes, I said straight razor. Figured that I would give it a try and I have to say, it is only getting better and better. I’ll delve deeper into this whole thing at a later time. I’m off to bed!