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So what's new,.... Well, we had Mrs. Sharon Pike and Gargee (her friend) in New York last week. They crashed at 45 Carmine,...and crash is a light word seeing their unruly behavior! By the time I got off work,...met these two gals for a couple drinks,...Sharon had already managed to ditch her underwear and tuck them neatly in Gargee's purse. Something about lines showing in the skirt. Either way,...big points for gong show. They were hilarious and clearly loving life. So we all had a nice chat,...shared a bottle of vino,...and then it was escort time,...first to 'Famous Joe's Pizza' at Carmine and 6th Ave,...then back to the apartment where my living space got hit by their hurricane antics.

Last night,...It was Miss Ali Cunningham's turn to visit the city,...one week later. What a treat,...(gosh this sounds dorky now,...like i'm a grandfather telling a story),...but it was fun. Very good to catch up,...and I love hugging this girl. Good connection I suppose. Hmm, so we met in the meatpacking disrict, with Brenner and her friend Molly. We lasted at this one bar for about 15seconds,...and then moved on to Fredericks,...a local hip restaurant on Hudson street for a couple more bevies,...and then we headed home. Really short and sweet.

Last night of course is another reason to celebrate,...it was our graduating 'Friday Night Dinner' at school. This was a really big deal for most of the students, especially a fellow classmate Molly who had the biggest outburst of joy for having reached her dream of attending culinary school and of course making it through this final night. Basically we did about 90 covers,...4 course meal. The starter was an antipasti plate consisting of a couple purees,...sauteed mushrooms and crisp crackers made of quinoa and millet,...with rosemary. Then came the salad. This was what me and my partner Rachel were responsible for. Seems like a non event but I'll tell you,...matchsticking carrots and beets for 100 guests is a major thing. We then perfected the dressing which was a thyme, garlic, lemon, olive oil program. All served on a bed of baby arugala with pea shoots,...and ontop,...insanely thin sliced Shitake mushrooms that get lightly oiled then dried in the oven for like 20 minutes....hint they taste like bacon a bit. Following this was our main which was a Ratatouillie. Totally random too considering their is a major motion picture out right now called 'Ratatoullie" Anyhooo,....it was done with a zucchini and pasta mix with a tomatoe sauce,..with onion garlic herbs etc. Dessert was a chocolate cake with berries and flambayed peaches. Crowd loved it.

I mentioned my salad partner earlier named Rachel. The next part of the blog is a series of people or events,...that have recently really reminded me of what life is all about. So starting with Rachel,....just a story about peaking with a wicked good,...and emotionally high encounter in new york. Again,...I guess these stories are all here for when i'm old,...or have my next Memento moment and forget. Anyhoo,...Rachel is a gal that is in the same class. An extraordinary gal in many ways and here's the kicker. Basically for the longest time I figured this girl totally hated me. Not disliked,...but hated me. Turns out I was partially right cause I asked a few of my 'Sperm Wars' type questions early in our semester and she thought I was wierd and robot like. Annnnyyyyyhoo,...the point of all of this is that after class on thursday we shared a drink and had really interesting conversation, shared laughs and stories dah dee dahhhh. Oh yeah, my point to all of this. How interesting to have the guts to leave Vancouver,...leave a lame'o life/career and pursue something you've been thinking about for a long time. Think of all the cool people you meet, the experiences, the bonds made etc. Oh yeah when the conversation got interesting or just deep (emotionally perhaps) she shivers. Really. Quite hilarious, actually i know the feeling.

Ok, ...next: my pal Roman. About a month ago I we had dinner at Mangiami,...the place we've been to many times,...Crystie and Stanton Streets,..right near his bar called 212,...which I get into easy all the time cause he's the bartender n'shit. awesome. Anyhow,...this one particular night,...we had dinner,....great conversation about life, career, travel....and at the end of it all,...we did one of those hugs between bros....kinda like bouncers do,...half hug with a 'what up brother' hand shake,...basically its when two guys wanna say, 'hey man...wicked to see you,...and i love you and all but,...lets just not look wierd in the process of saying goodbye' Anyhow, that joke and explanation aside,...it dawned on me as i walked away,...on a wonderful new york evening that 'this is the rub.' that's it. that's what so much of life is all about. Good people,...those moments,...friendship, trust,...all that.

Ok,....there was definitely a 'rub' moment last night when in the middle of our school Friday Night Dinner,...I looked around the kitchen as everything was hectic and thought,...here i am man,...new york city, getting it done. And then...tonight,...working at Mas (where i'm interning) I had another one of these. The kitchen crew at Mas is just as good, and perhaps better at times than some of the Anthony Bourdain stories of Kitchen Confidential. The language,....the jokes,...the grind,.....the wit,....the toil,...the everything. Like take for example,...the bartender walks into the kitchen,...kinda like friendly of course,....but kindof a dork trying to be hip. This is dynamite, bait,...or an excuse or whatever one calls it for a highly wittly sous chef and kitchen alpha male to tear into.

I still don't know if this is all for me,...but one thing i can say is that the moments, particularly like tonight at Mas will always be remembered. Class new york tales of fast hot kitchens,...oh yeah,...hot fcuking servers,...the best cuisine,...and the leadership coming from our head chef named Galen Zamarra- a guy who won the James Beard award for best chef. Basically this means he's the fcuking shhit. The kicker here is that Galen is 'yes' committed to a-1 product and presentation, though he pulls it off with a mellow demeanor complimented once and awhile with wit,...laughter amongst the group, jokes,... He's a classic serious, but funny, mellow guy who has some dale carnegie intelligence about him. Like at the end of the night for example,...he hollars to the bar to come bring us all some beers. So looking around this small kitchen you see a whole slew of characers,...guys, and a couple gals from all walks of life,...wound up, but tired at the same time, sweaty, hot,....proud but also tired and ready to fcuk off back home so they can sleep. The closest thing I can imagine is this is what people in the army feel out on duty. These people become your family and your side,....the people you all must work with and rely on during the intensity. Orders are hollered out,...food is timed,...pans are hot,...the whole thing. So oh yeah, back to the point of all of this,.....this is the rub. Looking around the kitchen,...I just thought to myself,...here we are in life,...doing this thing,...it was pretty cool. I think if more people could taste this that maybe we'd be happier. Oh god, now we're pushing things and getting a little hippy and esoteric etc. You know why? I just though about the hard work i did tonight- romance or toil,...or both? Hey, one last tidbit,...and something that Anthony Bourdain spoke of to a Tee! On mexican and ecuadorian workers- Yes, truly the best. Best work ethic,...content. Fast,...yeah i'll say again, fast mothers and they gett'r done bigtime. Pictures to follow soon...