Bites.

Has it really been a week since I wrote something here? Wow. Time flies when you're working perhaps....or rescuing chickens.

I had the day off on Sunday, and went down to Oly, as it had been my mom's birthday earlier in the week. And shortly after I arrived, I heard a noise outside, and my little sister ran outside to see what it was. She came back and said that there was a chicken stuck in the fence. And indeed, there was a chicken stuck in the fence.

It had escaped from the neighbor's back neighbor's house, and then the dog chased it into the fence, where it got stuck and ruffled it's feathers. I pulled a slat out, and carried it back to it's home. I will not lie and say that the idea of chicken for dinner did not cross my mind, as I was cooking dinner that night.....

Which ended up being:

-Oakland Bay pork shoulder steaks, grilled with marinated grilled onions

-yellow finn new potatoes, chorizo (also from Oakland Bay), wild arugula, and grilled green garlic with dijon vinaigrette

-grilled local asparagus. so yumsville, usa.

-butter lettuce and french b'fast radishes with oil/vinegar

I am slowly, and need to go faster, working on ideas for my new position of basically re-branding the identity of the restaurant at work. Menus, personnel, habits, ethics, systems are ALL changing. Old is gone, new is now. People are going to be unhappy at 1st when the boat starts a rockin', but that is what the bosses want. One cook brought me something today, and said, what do you think? I asked him the same question, and he said, "I didn't taste it." I literally threw my hands up in the air. Ridiculous.

Last night I went to e&r for happy hour and obtaining paycheck monies, had a great bite there, then went to art of the table, and had more great food. Local food is so good.... tonight Seattle restaurant week continues, with Joule happening at 9:30.....

Elvis Tried.

I returned from my trip to the neighbors to the north with little incident.

I could've died though. Elvis almost did me in.

I was taken to this bbq joint by Beth, and her, me, and her housemates ordered the Elvis platter, a ginormous platter of smoked meats and accoutrements.

Other than that napkin-destroying experience, Vancouver was chill, with a stop to climb Oyster Dome in the Chuckanuts, and man, what a gorgeous day it was! The view was to the Olympics, with the San Juans in full splendor before me, as I sat on the edge of a cliff. See?

Started the new job/returned to the old job today. A long day of getting it done, and I am unused to waking at 7, so I will be going to bed here now. I am wiped!

CicadaFest 2010!

I was unemployed for 14 hours.

In short, I am back at the company I was at before the restaurant. Position will be different, I will be running the restaurant, and so, it means it will be my food on the menu. I have a vision of nice bistro food with local sourcing. It's a hotel with room service, so there are some concessions I have to make, but most things can be worked out....anyways more on this as it happens.

Yesterday I went to eat dinner at Frank's Oysterhouse and Champagne Parlor. I was all gussied up in my suit, since I was heading to a classical music recital afterwards. My friend Bishop and I ate a fine dinner of deviled eggs, wedge bibb salad with green goddess dressing, ham n cheese biscuits with apple butter, crab louie, and a NY steak with some potatoes gratin. The whole deal there is throw back 50's era menu stuff with some modern viewpoints. It's a nice little spot, I'll be back, but probably for happy hour in their cool little lounge.

And then, after a musically-challenging-for-me-in-its-esotericness-and-technicality recital, I went down with another friend, who also gussied up, to the Sambar, for high end cocktails, such as a Dechlers and the old Corpse Reviver #2. They were meticulously crafted, for sure.

And then we went to the local PI, where we were overdressed by a huge margin, but explained to people that we were celebrating the cicadas coming out for the 1st time in 13 years, and MAN! HOW AWESOME IS THAT!?!? So, yeah, that meant enjoying the High Life.

And then for people outside of this city, Soundgarden played a reunion show last night, where tickets went on sale less than 24 hours before, and sold out in 2 minutes or something like that. Crazy.

Scothc,

T'was my last evening at the e&r. And boy, did the fates hate me.

The grease trap over flowed. Three times. I had my arm shoulder deep in the nastiest, rankest, foulest bile of all time. I still smell the acrid, dour aroma in my septum.

But it all ended, as thing do, with love. And beer. And Chinese food at the Moon Temple. Replete with girls and mai tais and dancing and bmx bike tricks the BMX bandit never knew. And Scotch. Some Scotch.

WRC.

I had the day off. Spent it planning my upcoming adventure camping, running errands, napping, reading, and I'm now making spaghetti and meatballs with pickled peppers and arugula/rocket.

My housemate Allison started talking about this story, and then just emailed it to me.

It's about a dude who bought a $500 car off craigslist and then entered it into the World Rally Championship, basically untested. And he finished 3rd.

I have 2 more days left at the restaurant, and then the weekend up to BC to see Beth. Should be good!

Spring Heavy.

I just got in from a spring time day run. The shadows are cold, the sun is warm-ish. The sky is a blue of your imagination, and the pillow-clouds are crashing into the dark, brooding, threatening ones that somehow are releasing their drops one at a time. The pear tree in the yard looks young and innocent, but invigorating somehow- it is the new leaves that are so green, an imitation version of the real thing.

It is spring.

Lamentably, I have given notice at my job at the restaurant. I had reached a point where I felt no connection to the position; goals were not being realized, and I concluded a life of not caring or being stressed out constantly was not fair to me or anyone else involved, such as my boss. Life is here to be amazed and enjoyed. I recognized my issues, and have chosen to fix that.

I also got notice from NZ Immigration regarding my status, which could have been best described as "hibernation on Aaron's part for months." They basically called me out, and I have resumed that path, taking care of and sending out the necessary paperwork yesterday to NZ Qualifications Authority in Welly. They are holding the key to whether my culinary school is considered good or not; that conclusion will result in points putting me over the required mark by NZI for a residency permit. If that is the case, I will be invited to apply/pay a lot of money for said permit, and fill out yet more forms. Then it's a matter of earning the money to return. Best case scenario: January. Maybe.

I think about my life since I left my company, and my very cush job, and it's been an adventure. Some so fun, and amazing, like my months down under, or camping up in the Olympics, but there's been a lot of time wondering "what am I doing?" I have gotten conclusions from that, but I have also concluded that that question is perhaps never answered in life. That might be the trick of, I hate to say, "simpler" people (I am an elitist?), but to settle into that answer. I am driven to greatness, but at the moment my tires haven't quite found traction.

Though through all of this, I am excited for the future.

BunnyBrunch.

It's Easter, and I've always connected it, as an adult anyways, with cooking Easter Brunch.

Which I hate.

And this year, I don't have to do it, so ha! I am drinking coffee, and reading this morning for a little while....