Rainin'!

Ah, well finally it's been a nice relaxed evening in my little bubble of the world. I had the past two days off work, and tonight, so I finally got the last of my to-do's done and figured I'd sit down and make sure everyone knew I was still kickin'.
I did three huge loads of laundry, while it was running bought a bathroom scale and an extra set of sheets. Then walked back home, put everything in the dryer, and then sat down to read some of Anthony Bourdain's new book. He spent about a chapter talking about Pho (a noodle-beef-broth soup) in Vietnam, and I ended up grabbing a huge bowl from a food cart, and a cup of coffee and enjoying my evening with lots of warm liquids.

I've been thinking a lot about my future plans after I'm done with school, weighing my options. I'll be done in less than a year, as as strange as it is. Basically I'm debating between two almost co-mingling ideas, and I would love some feedback. Keep in mind that I have been talking to a lot of current/former professionals in the culinary industry about my options, so I've done a little bit of brain-picking.
The first thing I've been thinking is that I would love to travel after my externship. I'll be working in some restaurant for about two and a half months as soon as I'm done with my last term at OCI. I would like to do my study in Brooklyn and be able to maybe sleep on Jory's couch for a month and a half and chip in as much as I could for rent. That would leave me with my stuff more than likely stored somewhere in Portland until my eventual return. I don't plan on renewing my lease after my 9 month long lease is over at my apartment now, but I plan on staying here in my building, just paying month-to-month. So basically I could go anywhere after my externship, and I am starting to mull around the idea of maybe doing the WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) program and maybe go to Costa Rica or somewhere that I could really see some neat ways of farming and get out in the world for a bit. I could do that anywhere from a few weeks to several months, depending on any agreement I made with any farms. After that I could come back, hopefully get a job and start trying to make my way in the world of food. My externship will make my resume a lot easier to pass out, and I doubt that any experience in the world would really hurt me in any way.
Then, as another option, I could go back to school, and get some sort of writing/journalism credentials so I could start moving forward in that department. I've talked to my instructor Lance, who is a real, bionafied food writer, and although he initially said that he thought just culinary school would be enough to get my foot in the door for a magazine or paper, he recently said that having journalism degree would be a great help. The college that is just a few blocks away from my apartment now, PSU, is reasonably priced and there's also PCC (Portland community college) that I believe I could get in-state tuition for. Or I could go back to Texas and go to Sul Ross, which I haven't completely ruled out. Mostly I would need to do something that was cost-effective, and hopefully funded with grants/scholarships.

It's really strange, but this is the first time I can remember that I've actually considered going to College for the knowledge, and the understanding that it would make me better at what I eventually want to do. I feel like maybe because I've taken the first step, and moved forward with my life and the things I want to do, I have gotten to that point. Also, let it be said that I LOVE culinary school, and I don't regret my decision for a minute. I think OCI is going to prepare me in every way imaginable for any culinary job I could get, and the things I'm learning there are going to be completely indispensable. It's just a matter of figuring out what comes next. Just lots to think about. I'm hoping the right path will make itself clear and I will be able to go that way.

Cait! As an adult! Almost/maybe!
Crazy times in Caityville!
But good, important, growing, and beautiful times all the same.
And rainy times, did I mention that?
Love! So much love!