Let's recap the last year in a few sentences

I started at a new restaurant in January of last year, as a paid, PAID, line cook. I worked my way through a monster pantry station, then made "pizzer," (that's "pizza" to those of you who aren't silly), then made my way to our fancy sister restaurant, where I can work two other stations with relative ease.

What a year. I'm tired. But also so, so happy that I've found myself crying tears of joy in inappropriate places, like on a 2 am bus ride home after a nine-day stretch of work. This trade saved me, dammit, I'm allowed a little emotionally-inappropriate leeway.

I thoroughly explored Istria last autumn, a region of Croatia that will only leave you with a dropped jaw or two. I foraged for Chantrelles and Porcinis and ate a ton of food, which ranged from "FUCKING HELL!" to "Let's never do that again, kay?" I can't even... I'll get to Istrian food in a more than a few entries.

Let's address all of this  in the next few weeks. I'll get my notes on Croatia together, my musings about line-cooking, and share the idiotic things my lovely co-workers have to share with the rest of the world.

God I love my little life. This is it, and it is wonderful.