Monday, February 28, 2011
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
The Job Hunt
Objective: A part-time position that will not suck away my spirit
I'm searching for a position to help pay of some debt but will offer a break in my schedule; love being at home, but love it even more when the rest is earned. I'm also exploring whether I should go back to teaching. I miss it, I miss the kids, but I don't miss the boredom or stress of teaching. Will these things have changed in a meaningful way?
Pursuing a job has been stressful in itself. It took me reading this quote to realize why: "The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. In cooking you've got to have a what-the-hell attitude." --Julia Child. I've been afraid of failing, much like my first year of teaching: chaotic, scary, hopeless. By stealing Child's what-the-hell attitude, I recognize that I was putting too much pressure on myself. Nothing is going to perfect, and, even more, it's okay to mess up.
What-the-hell!
I'm searching for a position to help pay of some debt but will offer a break in my schedule; love being at home, but love it even more when the rest is earned. I'm also exploring whether I should go back to teaching. I miss it, I miss the kids, but I don't miss the boredom or stress of teaching. Will these things have changed in a meaningful way?
Pursuing a job has been stressful in itself. It took me reading this quote to realize why: "The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. In cooking you've got to have a what-the-hell attitude." --Julia Child. I've been afraid of failing, much like my first year of teaching: chaotic, scary, hopeless. By stealing Child's what-the-hell attitude, I recognize that I was putting too much pressure on myself. Nothing is going to perfect, and, even more, it's okay to mess up.
What-the-hell!
Thursday, February 17, 2011
The Results of My All-Day Bake-A-Thon
The Results...hmmm.
First, it wasn't all day. I started around 11, after several distracting (but enjoyable) hours with Facebook, dog walking, and Hulu -- not watching Hulu, just hunting for things to watch. Also, a 2-hour walk the day before a bake-a-thon is not a good idea: a pulled a muscle in my left ankle was begging for more attention than I was willing to give it. Demanding it function for the several hours of standing that I needed of it was, perhaps, too much to ask.
For the first hour, I slated for myself to start two batches of italian bread, chicken stock, and english muffins, and I was only about 15 minutes beyond that first 60 minute time-limit. But that put me 15 minutes behind the next hour -- tortillas and cooking the english muffins, 30 minutes behind for the 3rd hour -- bran muffin and spice mixes, and by the 4th hour (what was predicted as my 4th hour -- potato gnocchi), I was actually on my 5th hour. And while I did not even attempt the pierogies (the filling, in fact, is still waiting for some attention in the fridge), I accomplished all on my list.
And yet, despite the amount (the overwhelming amount on paper) of foods that I created, my freezer doesn't seem to bulging with nourishment. Indeed, my goal of cooking one day and eating for a month is one that I may not achieve the first time through. Yet the ability to pull out 5 tortillas cut my Chicken Tacos for that night in half, more than in half. That in itself made the Bake-A-Thon a more-or-less sucess.
First, it wasn't all day. I started around 11, after several distracting (but enjoyable) hours with Facebook, dog walking, and Hulu -- not watching Hulu, just hunting for things to watch. Also, a 2-hour walk the day before a bake-a-thon is not a good idea: a pulled a muscle in my left ankle was begging for more attention than I was willing to give it. Demanding it function for the several hours of standing that I needed of it was, perhaps, too much to ask.
For the first hour, I slated for myself to start two batches of italian bread, chicken stock, and english muffins, and I was only about 15 minutes beyond that first 60 minute time-limit. But that put me 15 minutes behind the next hour -- tortillas and cooking the english muffins, 30 minutes behind for the 3rd hour -- bran muffin and spice mixes, and by the 4th hour (what was predicted as my 4th hour -- potato gnocchi), I was actually on my 5th hour. And while I did not even attempt the pierogies (the filling, in fact, is still waiting for some attention in the fridge), I accomplished all on my list.
And yet, despite the amount (the overwhelming amount on paper) of foods that I created, my freezer doesn't seem to bulging with nourishment. Indeed, my goal of cooking one day and eating for a month is one that I may not achieve the first time through. Yet the ability to pull out 5 tortillas cut my Chicken Tacos for that night in half, more than in half. That in itself made the Bake-A-Thon a more-or-less sucess.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)