So far I've had my boyfriend and my best friend come visit me. On separate occasions. And this up coming weekend my Mom and sister Em are coming!
James surprised me by coming a few weeks earlier than I expected. We were together for his 20th birthday which was exciting. He met all my friends and thinks they're awesome(they think he's pretty awesome too). And, there was a dance here at school that weekend so we got to dress up and have a nice night out. We were even able to visit the city before he left.
My best friend Nans came over her spring break. That was so much fun. We also went to the city and hung out with my friends and just did friend stuff.
As nice as it is having made new friends, it's double nice having friends from back home visit and see my life here.
Monday, April 29, 2013
Extern, D.C, and Staging
So I last left you having settled in, made friends, visited the city, met Buddy, etc. What happened next...
One thing that I know should be added to this timeline of my life here at the CIA would include being the first in my class to secure my externship. Weeeee!
(note: please see "The Baking and Pastry Program" if you need a refresher as to what an externship is)
Every couple of months the CIA hosts a career fair in which numerous employers come looking for potential externs and graduates. It's quite a big event that lasts two or three days if you're lucky enough to land an interview. Well, I went with my good friend and being as we were still new to the whole program, we didn't take it too seriously, and by too seriously I mean not at all. Yes, we looked nice in our clean pressed chef whites, and I even brought what I thought was a half-decent resume, but we were going more for the experience than to land an extern. But land an extern I did!
As we were skipping along with our swag bag of free goodies(which we were advised was unprofessional) we came across a booth with big fancy posters displaying a breathtaking view of a resort on the James river. There was also a slide show playing with beautiful plated desserts. I was sold. The chef approached my friend, who is in the Culinary program, and talked with her for a bit and then told me that the pastry chef had just stepped away and would be back if I wanted to stop by later. We left, continuing up and down the rows of booths and I didn't think much of it. However, right before we were going to leave, I thought I might just swing past again. Sure enough, the pastry chef was there and the other chef remembered me. The pastry chef and I began talking about the work he does and what the extern would be like, then he suggested that I come back for an interview the following day. I wasn't planning on securing an extern or interviewing or anything really, but I felt I couldn't say no.
I reevaluated my resume and wrote a cover letter that evening in preparation for the interview. It was short and sweet, more me asking him questions than anything. The chef said he would let me know in the next couple of days. Well two days later, he called officially offering me the externship. I was excited and didn't really know what to do next. Now all the paperwork is about to be set and I will be spending next August through December in Williamsburg, VA!
Although I had committed to Williamsburg, part of me felt I had made the wrong decision. Prior to going to the career fair, I had found a catering company based in D.C. Anyone who knows me knows how much I adore D.C. Their website was packed full of pictures of desserts, cakes, etc and it looked so cool. I felt like I needed to try for it just to see if they would take me. With help from my seminar instructor I sent in a new cover letter and resume. Right away I received a response from the pastry chef there asking if I could come in and stage. That means to basically intern for the day. I conveniently had a Monday off of school and said I could come. At first I was just going to drive down myself, but I casually suggested to my friends that if they wanted to come with, they could. One of my friends was super excited and said he would love to go, so we drove down on a Sunday afternoon(6 hours) and spent the evening walking around town.
Monday morning I meet with the chef at the company and spent the morning touring the facilities and helping out with little odd jobs. I have to say, it was a great experience and there is absolutely nothing wrong with the company, but it just wasn't for me. I felt much better in choosing Williamsburg after knowing that I wouldn't have made a huge mistake in not going to D.C. After it was over, I met up with my friend and we spent the rest of the day going to the aquarium and seeing the museums and such. We drove home that evening. It was a nice little get-away, and they ended up paying me for my few hours of work!
One thing that I know should be added to this timeline of my life here at the CIA would include being the first in my class to secure my externship. Weeeee!
(note: please see "The Baking and Pastry Program" if you need a refresher as to what an externship is)
Every couple of months the CIA hosts a career fair in which numerous employers come looking for potential externs and graduates. It's quite a big event that lasts two or three days if you're lucky enough to land an interview. Well, I went with my good friend and being as we were still new to the whole program, we didn't take it too seriously, and by too seriously I mean not at all. Yes, we looked nice in our clean pressed chef whites, and I even brought what I thought was a half-decent resume, but we were going more for the experience than to land an extern. But land an extern I did!
As we were skipping along with our swag bag of free goodies(which we were advised was unprofessional) we came across a booth with big fancy posters displaying a breathtaking view of a resort on the James river. There was also a slide show playing with beautiful plated desserts. I was sold. The chef approached my friend, who is in the Culinary program, and talked with her for a bit and then told me that the pastry chef had just stepped away and would be back if I wanted to stop by later. We left, continuing up and down the rows of booths and I didn't think much of it. However, right before we were going to leave, I thought I might just swing past again. Sure enough, the pastry chef was there and the other chef remembered me. The pastry chef and I began talking about the work he does and what the extern would be like, then he suggested that I come back for an interview the following day. I wasn't planning on securing an extern or interviewing or anything really, but I felt I couldn't say no.
I reevaluated my resume and wrote a cover letter that evening in preparation for the interview. It was short and sweet, more me asking him questions than anything. The chef said he would let me know in the next couple of days. Well two days later, he called officially offering me the externship. I was excited and didn't really know what to do next. Now all the paperwork is about to be set and I will be spending next August through December in Williamsburg, VA!
Although I had committed to Williamsburg, part of me felt I had made the wrong decision. Prior to going to the career fair, I had found a catering company based in D.C. Anyone who knows me knows how much I adore D.C. Their website was packed full of pictures of desserts, cakes, etc and it looked so cool. I felt like I needed to try for it just to see if they would take me. With help from my seminar instructor I sent in a new cover letter and resume. Right away I received a response from the pastry chef there asking if I could come in and stage. That means to basically intern for the day. I conveniently had a Monday off of school and said I could come. At first I was just going to drive down myself, but I casually suggested to my friends that if they wanted to come with, they could. One of my friends was super excited and said he would love to go, so we drove down on a Sunday afternoon(6 hours) and spent the evening walking around town.
Monday morning I meet with the chef at the company and spent the morning touring the facilities and helping out with little odd jobs. I have to say, it was a great experience and there is absolutely nothing wrong with the company, but it just wasn't for me. I felt much better in choosing Williamsburg after knowing that I wouldn't have made a huge mistake in not going to D.C. After it was over, I met up with my friend and we spent the rest of the day going to the aquarium and seeing the museums and such. We drove home that evening. It was a nice little get-away, and they ended up paying me for my few hours of work!
Wait, I have a blog?
Oh-my-lanta!
I realized that it has been exactly 3 months(to the day) since my last post! Where has the time gone? I am very bad at this stuff; I don't know why it's so difficult for me to keep up with this blog. I mean I am busy with class and work(yes work!) but still I somehow manage to nap almost daily, yet cannot stay faithful to this blog. Well here I am, back again. On a whim I decided that a change was in order so I changed the color scheme of my blog, like it? Then I thought to myself, "Self, since you're already here, why not write a wee bit?" so that is precisely what I am doing.
Now comes the fun part. Trying to recall 3 months of stuff that has happened without boring everyone to tears.
Here it goes...
I realized that it has been exactly 3 months(to the day) since my last post! Where has the time gone? I am very bad at this stuff; I don't know why it's so difficult for me to keep up with this blog. I mean I am busy with class and work(yes work!) but still I somehow manage to nap almost daily, yet cannot stay faithful to this blog. Well here I am, back again. On a whim I decided that a change was in order so I changed the color scheme of my blog, like it? Then I thought to myself, "Self, since you're already here, why not write a wee bit?" so that is precisely what I am doing.
Now comes the fun part. Trying to recall 3 months of stuff that has happened without boring everyone to tears.
Here it goes...
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