On to Bigger and Better Things!

Unfortunately, I don't belong at The Culinary Institute of America anymore. I had yesterday and today off, so I took the opportunity to visit some friends before moving out to the Hamptons. I got to meet my old boss' beautiful new baby, hang out with old co-workers, see friends working at school, and relax with friends, but unfortunately being back made me feel like I didn't belong. I never cried or looked back the day I graduated at the CIA. I guess it's hitting me now instead. The school has changed and so have I. The people I walked through the halls with, studied with, worked with, spent most of my time with are no longer there. It's not my home anymore. That chapter of my life is really over and now its time to just take a leap of faith (like bungee jumping).

This leap of faith is including my new job at Topping Rose House in Bridgehampton, New York. It is a luxurious hotel and restaurant that has only been open since August. The kitchen is under the direction of Tom Colicchio (Top Chef's Judge) and is also a "farm to table" operation. We have an acre of land where we grow some produce and then buy from local farms on Long Island. Currently the restaurant is only open for dinner Wednesday through Sunday and brunch just Saturday and Sunday. However the hotel is supposed to be officially opening in April. I am excited to have this opportunity to work in this kitchen. Cross your fingers for me!

99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall

Every time I was waiting for my next flight, this song (99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall) was constantly playing in my head. I only have myself to blame for all the flights and waiting, but I needed to save some money after this trip. I bought a return ticket from Australia originally, and it was cheaper for me to pay the change fee and fly back to Melbourne than to buy a new ticket from Japan. Yes it would've been direct from Japan, but I have some school loan payments coming up!


Flight Plan... Osaka, Japan to Singapore to Melbourne, Australia to Los Angeles to New York

Time waiting in airports:
34 hours
Time on a plane:
34 hours

Rock the Boat!

Well that was an amazing 4 weeks of traveling around Asia! Sorry I couldn't keep you up to date on everything that was going on! Internet was a tad hard to come by and extremely expensive on the cruise ship. Good news is that I don't get sea sick (a small concern I had when booking a long cruise). On the cruise we stopped in Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, China, South Korea, and Japan. My laptop is currently dying, so I will touch on just a few of my favorite highlights! The Grand Palace in Bangkok, Thailand was beautiful. All the detail work and upkeep on the palace is incredible. Vietnam had some amazing food that I got to experience and very cool markets with various items. It snowed on the day I climbed The Great Wall of China, which made it a tad slippery but beautiful! The Temple of Heaven in Beijing was also a sight to see. The city of Nagasaki was interesting to learn about, to see how the city has grown since the atomic explosion. The parks and museums had so much information about that day. Of course I will have to have another visit back to China to check out the Terracotta Warriors and explore more of The Great Wall in better weather. Is it bad I'm already planning stuff I want to see when I come back? It was extremely interesting to see how people in Asia live so differently from us.

Luckily I made friends with most of the crew members on the cruise line! I had heard that the clientele of Holland America was mostly retired people, but I didn't know there would be about 10 people around the age of 18-25, we had a special club, called Generation Next. Everyday I was asked at least once if I was a crew member and when I responded that I was a guest on the cruise they were usually in shock. Of course I made friends with a lot of them, then they usually became my grandparent. I was asked once why I didn't have such nice wavy hair like my grandma. In response I just said we were just friends, not related and sorry I don't have wavy hair! So thankfully the crew was closer to my age and I got to hang out with them on and off the ship! Also figured out I would never work in a kitchen on a ship, because those bakers never get off the ship, forget about seeing the sights! So I will pass on that!