The Long Day Is Over

I'm currently:
Just typing tonight. Too tired to multitask.

Some thoughts:
This morning I got to the bakery at 7am. Did all the cakes for the front of the bakery, made flower parts out of gum paste, cut dots out of fondant, etc. Overall a good morning.

Around 2:45pm I went downstairs to the front of the bakery-- where the customers come in-- for my first day of training. More training? Front of the bakery? Yes and yes. You see, having a dream of becoming a baker and quitting your job to do so is all well and good-- except that leaves you without any income while you apprentice. So, I taked to the boss, and he agreed to give me some hours in the front where I can get paid.

The training wasn't bad. It was mostly a whirlwind. The hard part is going to be remembering how much things cost, and figuring out which size box to put it in. They have like 500 different cakes/pastries and it seems like no two things are the same price. And after working from 7am, all those darn boxes blur together. But I'm sure over time I'll get it.

The weird part was when everyone from upstairs came down to leave-- and saw me working. They were all like 'what the hell are you doing down here?!' I'm sure I'll hear more of that tomorrow. My friend says to tell them that it's paying my bills, and if they don't want me working up front, they can pay my bills for me. hah!

Anyway, today was a bit humbling. I'm an NYU graduate who worked my way up the ladder at a non-profit to the point where I was training other people, handling the board & committees, and answering questions of executive committee calls. Now I'm working along side sophomores & juniors in high school. Everything I do needs to be overseen by someone else. And everything needs to be explained to me. Even upstairs, it's frequent that someone will grab something from my hand to show me how I'm doing it wrong. Or will yell something at me across the room.

Sigh. I was really bummed about everything. And how overwhelming the change has been (and it's only day 4!!) Don't get me wrong- I'm so happy about the baking. But the enormous change is just a little hard to take in. And to top it off, it's Friday night, and while everyone else is out, I'll prob wind up staying in since I worked 12 hrs today and I have to be back tomorrow at 7am!

So I was bummed, but then I came home and checked my email. My former co-workers, my grandmother, and my cousins had all written me emails inquiring about how I'm doing and telling me how proud they are that I'm following my passion. It really gave me a boost. Thanks all... I needed that.

It's still so early and there's so much more to learn. Tomorrow is another day. And Sunday, my day off, is almost here. Things are looking up.

Until Soon... Bake Big! Christine

Headshots! What's Your Fav?

I'm currently:

At the office spending my lunch hour in my cubicle since its super muggy outside.

Eating a very ripe peach which got sadly bruised by being tossed around in my purse on the way to work this morning. (Sorry, Peach.)

Some thoughts:

My brother, an aerospace engineer/budding photographer took a series of photographs of me last weekend. Out of these photos, I need to pick a headshot for an upcoming event program. I'd also like to have a few photos handy for when I do other events.

You're probably wondering: Why is an aspiring baker holding a pile of fresh fruit and not a plate full of mouthwatering cupcakes?? A good question. The answer is slightly complicated. I do love baking, but I also love FOOD in general. And while I love to BAKE goodies, I can't always EAT goodies.

The hell you say?!

You see, I have type-1 diabetes. A diabetic baker? Yup, that's me. (Well technically I'm still a diabetic baker's apprentice, but that's just semantics.) Anyway, aside from baking, I do food demonstrations and tastings at events in NYC. One of the main events I work on is a Makeover Event for women with diabetes put on by DIVABETIC. In September, I'll be doing this Makeover event in Washington, DC. I'll have a station and will do food demonstrations, talk about different healthy foods, and show women with diabetes how to enjoy the natural sweetness of fruits and vegetables. This may seem a little hypocritical since I'm a baker, but I like to think that both can go together. I don't see any reason why I can't be healthy, eat well, and still bake. Everything in moderation, right? Who knows... maybe someday I'll own a bakery that sells sugar-free sweets!

Anyway, the point being that I switch between two different hats: 'Christine the Baker' and 'Christine the (healthy) Food Expert'. These photos fall under my Healthy Hat.

You can view the photos on my brother's new website: www.michaeljcphotography.com.

Let me know which pic gets your vote!