Blog Has Moved!

Attention! To all three of my readers! hahahaha!!!!!! I will no longer be blogging here because I have issues with this site. Please go to suziecups.com if you want to read the latest in Cuppie Cakes life! Excitement awaits! Well, more like useless rants await... ;0)

An Observation...

So I went to Beaver Creek last weekend. Its a posh-ish place in the Rockies, known for its skiing and luxurious accommodations. No, I wasn't there on my own bill, but on Bon Appetit magazines tab. Otherwise, I would have never seen the beauty that IS Colorado in the winter.
I was a little scared of the cold, fully forgetting the fact that I loved being in cold weather, especially snow. But it had been so long since I had, the hype surrounding it was far worse than the actual temperature was.
So, it got down to about 12 degrees...peh! Its all good when you have a super-warm-knitted-hat-made-just-for-snowboarding on your head...oh and a good scarf helps too.
Anyway, as I said this was a Bon Appetit event in which chefs came to strut their stuff, do some networking and have a little fun. I was lucky enough to be chosen to be the pastry bee-otch and accompany my boss/co-worker/celebrity chef who had been invited.
There were lots of activities planned including dinners, cocktail parties, ski races, Iron Chef battles, wine seminars etc. It was a kind of "convention" if you will.
All these activities lead up to Saturday night where all of the guest chefs set up booths where they prepared small portions of food, to hand out to the paying guests who came specifically for this event. Everything went well. Thank God.
I always have a bit of a problem mixing buisness with pleasure. I suppose it stems from my desire for control over the situation, the fact that I am high strung when it comes to work and my desire to not look like a jack-ass, especially in front of my peers.
The ideal situation would be to stay one day AFTER the work is done, so that it is all behind you and you can chill out for a bit, maybe take in a half day of snow shoeing. Unfortunately, because of a knee injury I was not able to partake in the downhill action, but I did ice skate at the outdoor rink. Although I didn't last long when the temperatures started going into the 10's.
I have to say though, that I loved it. I absolutley LOVED being in the snow!! I felt like a kid again and went outside with my arms out in front of me, waiting for a large flake to land on my sleeve. You know, the kind that are big and dry and really look like the kind of snowflakes you cut out of paper! That is the best, really...the detail of a snowflake that you can see with the naked eye...
Also I realized how into snow sports the residents and visitors really are. Some people see the weather as an inconvenience. Its cold, its a bitch to shovel, it destroys your car, your skin, your toes, its dirty, its wet and its cold. It makes you want to move to California.
Others move to Vail BECAUSE it snows so much! The quality of the "powder" is superior to anywhere else in the U.S. People come from all over the world to ski these slopes. People get boring service jobs just to support their snowboarding habit! Its so awesome! To feel so strongly about something that can be so harsh and wild that you cannot bear to be away from it because its conducive to the happiness of your very soul. Wow! What a lifestyle. That is some intense shiz!
It is always nice to see intense passion in someone, whatever their passion is. It makes you feel alive and that anything is possible, really.
Sometimes passions need to be reignited. Sometimes you need a push back into the right direction, when you may have been detoured by something that appeared to be easier, only to leave you wanting more.
Moral of the story: If you have a passion, whatever it is, do what you can to stay focused. Sometimes the things that make us the happiest get pushed aside in the daily grind. Then we wonder why we are so unhappy with life. These things that we love, need to be practiced so that we can have peace of mind. Even if that means skiing in single-digit weather.

Scratch That...

...about the next entry. I stand corrected. My all-knowing-baseball friend, Mike told me I was wrong about the A's being responsible for the success of Jermaine Dye and Johnny Damon. Dye was on the Braves before the A's and Damon on Kansas City. My bad. But weren't they partially responsible for what they became? I think so.

GODDAMAH!*

At Oakland A's games, frequently you see shirts that say "In Billy We Trust". The meaning lies in the fact that we must have faith in the GM of the team because of his incredible knack for choosing up-and-coming players and turning them into stars (i.e. Johnny Damon, Jason Giambi, Jermaine Dye). Beane is also known for making educated trades and creating a team that quite often makes it to the playoffs, while maintaining one of the lowest payrolls in the Majors.
The release of the best seller "Moneyball"(2003) gave some insight into Billy Beane's philosophy and even talked about current Major Leaguers while they were still on AAA teams. One of those guys was Nick Swisher.
Nick came to the A's and brought such a GREAT attitude to the clubhouse. The fans LOVED him. He had a special handshake/dance for each individual player on the A's, and he loved being an Oakland Athletic. He was signed through 2011 which gave a sigh of relief to many fans, especially because he really didn't settle for "that much money".

Today he was traded to the Chicago White Sox.
How horrendously sucky.

I remained faithful during the trades of Mulder, Hudson, Byrnes, and so many others.
I stood by them when they began talking about moving to God forbidden
Fremont, making them the Oakland Athletics of Fremont (?!?!?) Still
scared of that thought...
While they are talking about acquiring Barry Bonds, whom I dislike intensely, I am still holding fast.
I was even hanging on to a glimmer of hope after the trades of Scutaro and Haren, two of the best guys out there.
But now Swish?

That completely BLOWS.

It seems that it is next to impossible to be be a fan of a team with ANY of the same players remaining there for any extended period of time. I guess the solution is you must be a fan of a specific player, then follow that player through the 15 teams that he plays on through the years. Am I just an idiot for realizing this now?

In a world that is so chaotic and uncertain, it would be ideal if we could look to a
baseball team and know that once spring comes, our boys would be back. That long awaited cold winter would pass and we would be at the ballpark with our extended family once again. Not so. Instead, there is a new group of guys to get to know EVERY year and this year, the familiar faces will be few and far between.

Swisher will continue to kick ass. Mark my words. I will continue to follow his career wherever it may take him. I just hope that as an A's fan, I can "trust Billy" even though he seems like he is making some ridiculous choices. Goddamah!!!

* Goddamah is a word created by a Mr. Jia Ming. Jia Ming was a Chinese man who I worked with and was curious to learn "bad words" in English, to coincide with the English classes he was attending at SF City College. Upon introducing the word "goddammit", he pronounced it god-dam-ah and so it was adopted by all who worked with him at the time. It has stuck ever since. :0)

NYE 2008

I have never been a fan of NYE...never. There is a lot of pressure to find the most "fun" thing to do around town. Often people keep their options open, just in case something more promising comes up. And in my experience, it has rarely been as exciting as the hype surrounding it. Although I think it is nice to reflect on the year passed and be with friends, I do not think it is neccessary to do this on a specific pre-determined day. Sometimes reflections can come at the end of a week, a day, or even a couple of hours later.
I find that I reflect most, during my time alone. I think of the good and the bad things and what I have learned from each one (at least the ones I can remember). I constantly think of how I can improve myself on a daily basis. Do I always act in ways that will improve myself as a whole? Nope. But I do think about it.
This NYE I will be working for a few hours, then going home early. I will most likely reflect, because I am sick and getting better is more important to me than getting drunk, especially on "Amature Night". By this, I mean the people who go out only on NYE and cannot handle their liquor, only to be hurling on Market Street by 12:15.
No offense to those who do partake...please do! This year, it's not for me. And it if isn't for you, don't give in to the pressure. Take it easy, reflect and realize that it isn't much different from last night. Happy New Year!

What Have I Got Myself Into?

So because this blog is public, I will not be so blatantly obvious about the details of everything I do, as usual. But I will say that things have changed in my life pretty dramatically- i.e Changing jobs after 6+ years at the same hotel, chained by the "golden handcuffs" (as the refugees call them).
But I figured it was a good thing to do, you know...LEAVE and try something new- opening a huge restaurant from the very start. Opening day is quickly coming, and things have been rather hectic as one would imagine. Mostly, I find it frustrating to get things done in a timely manner.
Its rather difficult to juice a case of limes without an electric juicer, or to make a lime-yuzu curd while a man 10 feet away is cutting a hole through the wall. Not to mention the wretched sneezing fits I have had from travelling through the site to the kitchen! But things definitley could be A LOT worse. Here are the top things I LOVE about the new job (not in any particular order) so far:

1) All new equipment- Any of my friends who are cooks can totally relate to this. It is nice not to have to go through piles of sheet pans to find the one that is the least warped to bake a level cake on. Or to actually FIND lids that match the bottoms of those different-sized Cambros? Whoa!
2) All new people- Its' nice to not be the only new-kid-on-the-block. Chances are, if you are confused, everyone else is too, so you don't look like the only jack-ass in the place.
3) I was found, and wasn't looking for the job- Yeah, that feels pretty good when someone believes in you so much that they rally to get you in there, especially when they can get someone else for less. Thanks to my famous headhunter!
4) Stepping out into the unknown- I kinda like somewhat of a routine. When I get comfortable and I can do my job with my eyes closed (like at the hotel), I just go through the motions and I am not learning. I am learning again. Learning=Growing.
5) It takes me less than 10 minutes to ride my bike to work and I have parking- Bikes are faster than Muni. Bikes are way less annoying than Muni. Bikes are cheaper than Muni. Annnnndddd... I have secure parking in a garage which is great because I don't have to worry 'bout my Marin getting messed with.
6) The place is GORGEOUS! Really nice. Its gigantic but you can tell they did not hold back on anything at this place. From the plates to the cocktails, to the decor, to the food. Its friggin' cool and I am really impressed. And being a cynic, I am not easily impressed ;0)

Of course there are things I don't like about the new job, but they aren't too significant. It's just a cool time right now and I am excited to bust some ass and show 'em what I got.

What is it about the rain?

Rain is often an inconvenience for many. People complain about it as though it is the most wretched thing on earth when water is the number one thing that sustains all life. Okay, okay, there are some times when rainy weather is not desired, like when I was in Phoenix at spring training and the A’s-Giants game was rained out. That was a major bummer for sure. Usually though, I welcome it. I love how clean the air seems during and after the rain. It rinses away the film of nastiness that cumulates on the sidewalks during the warm fall months in San Francisco. The sound of it soothes me and brings back comforting memories of being in the house I grew up in, eating fondue with my family and retreating to the floor in front of the fire and watching a movie.
The first day of rain is always very pleasant for me. I was thankful to not be working and be able to enjoy it, taking care of some errands along the way. I strolled around with my umbrella, and my thoughts and I was able to process some things that I needed to tend to.
Something I had been thinking a lot about was the negativity in the world, more specifically in my own life. This has been on my mind for quite some time, but only recently am I actually taking steps to reduce the negative influences in my life. Not to say that I am cutting everyone out of my life who has sucked at one time or another but more to be mindful of how negative people affect me, who I spend my time with and how I spend my time with them.
As I get older, my time becomes more valuable. I have eliminated some unhealthy relationships, especially in the past year or so. If this means I don’t get to do a bunch of things I don’t really want to do, just for the sake of being social, then so be it.
My relationships are very important to me. I take them very seriously. I enjoy nurturing those I care about and sometimes people take advantage of that generosity. Sometimes I find myself giving much more than I am receiving. That is my fault. But I am learning.
And the rain comes as a reminder to me that I am progressing and making these positive changes. Sometimes, it just washes away the outside film, revealing something that we might not have noticed if the weather had remained the same.