So I haven't posted in about 6 months. Pretty bad, I know. Things got a little hairy there towards the end of the semester. I got really busy with classes and tests and papers and projects, and my little cooking blog fell by the wayside. Then, even after the semester ended, I was on the hunt for a new job, filling out dozens of applications every day and getting very few call backs for somebody with a great job history and a college degree. And then a tree fell on my car. That's right, you heard me. Part of a 100+ year old oak tree fell and crushed my car to bits. And I cried. It was my baby, and though I complained about it on a nearly daily basis, it was my car, and it was still running, and most importantly, I wasn't having to make any payments on it. I was more than a little discouraged. Pretty tough to get a job with no transportation, but fortunately the insurance company came to the rescue with a rental car, I finally found a job working the front desk at a local hotel, and eventually got a new car, plus car payments too. I lost 35 lbs during the summer, but have since gained it all back :( I'm also desperately trying to get my thesis done. I'd really like to get a better paying job now that I have to start paying on my student loans soon, and there is a lot of family pressure to be done with it already. So I'm struggling but I'm still here, still cooking when I have the time and money.
Things are great with the (not so) new apartment. Lindsay and I (and our THREE cats!) are really enjoying it here. Currently listening to rain on the tin roof with a cat in my lap and avoiding folding the rest of my laundry. I'm stressed out about school and money stuff but mostly pretty happy. Mario and I's three year anniversary is in about a week and a half, we are actually going to be staying the night in the hotel where I work. It's sad, I know but I get a good discount, and it will be nice to take a little mini vacation.
So I've got some big plans to get back on the cooking scene. Yes, my degree is in Psychology, and it would be great to find a job in my area but jobs in the field seem really discouraging right now. Psychology just seems like more of a chore than anything to me at this point. I haven't loved it like I used to in years. And what I feel really passionate about these days is cooking. So I'm still working on my cookbook plans and thinking about creating a website. I'm interested in maybe starting a small catering business, though my lease states that I shall not operate any business out of my unit...haven't found a way around that yet. And I was helping Mario with one of his film class projects when we had a really phenomenal idea. He needed to do a short instructional video and asked me to cook something for him, and so this weekend, we made a how-to video for making bananas foster. It was a ton of fun, and got me thinking, I would love to have my own cooking show, so what's stopping me?!?! Mario and I are going to attempt to film, edit, and produce a cooking web show. If it works out, it would be something great for both of us to put on our resume, so we are going to give it a shot. He's got access to professional camera equipment as a film production student and we are aiming to create at least one episode a month, plus I could do some video blogging too. His class project within time restrictions should be up on youtube by the end of this week, and an extended cut to follow soon after. Food Network, here I come!
