Armageddon USED to be my favorite movie

Lately, New Hampshire and most of New England has been subject to some pretty wild weather. We're talking brutal winds. Torrential rain. Rapidly changing temperatures. Huge, powerful waves. Flooding so bad, thoughts of building an Arc aren't such a bad idea anymore (anyone have access to a pair of hyenas? Cheetahs? Giraffes?) Every morning I wake up and peek out my window, expecting brimstone and hail at any moment. Armageddon, perhaps?

Okay, maybe not that extreme. But still, pretty alarming. The crazy weather we've been experiencing is beginning to make an appearance in my thoughts and dreams at night. Just this past night (or morning, should I say, since I had this dream at about 5:00 this morning), I dreamed of tornadoes and falling trees, and rain that came down in sheets like the water from a shower-head. I was with several people, my mom being one, but I don't quite remember who else. We were in the backyard of my sister's God-parents' house in Greenland, NH, but her God-parents weren't there. It was windy and raining, but we were still running around in the backyard, until a small funnel tornado appeared at the edge of the tree line. We ran for shelter, but I remember watching a giant tree snap in half like a twig and fall. And then roll, crushing other trees in its path. I know that isn't possible but hey, it was a dream. This sequence repeated several times, a tornado appearing and us running for shelter, then going back outside and it happening all over again. I think I got annoyed with the repetition, which is what woke me from the dream.

Pretty strange.

What else is going on, besides inclement weather? My birthday is quickly approaching, Easter Sunday. Happy Birthday to me: I get to work a double shift because Easter is pretty busy at the Wentworth. I went to dinner last night at Brazo with Deb and some friends, for Restaurant Week. I'd never been to Brazo before, even though it is one of Phelps's restaurants. I was very impressed! Restaurant Week is a week-long event, it happens about twice a year, in which 30 or so area restaurants participate. They create a special menu, or select certain items from their regular menu, and offer a 3-course meal for a set price. Lunch is $16.95 set price, and dinner is $29.95. It has proven very successful in the past couple of years, and is something that we all look forward to each year. So last night at Brazo, I ordered the following:

• Ahi tuna tartar with capers, lemon, soy, red onion, cilantro aioli and sweet potato chips (absolutely DELICIOUS!)
  
• Roasted acorn squash filled with a savory mixture of quinoa, sautéed zucchini, red pepper, and goat cheese. Served with black bean puree and watercress salad
• Pistachio studded chocolate terrine with candied pistachios, raspberry coulis, and burnt orange mascarpone cream

To drink I had a Red Sangria, made with Brazilian natural cane rum, Los Cardos Malbec wine and fresh fruit juices. TO DIE FOR. I absolutely loved every part of my meal. I can't wait to go back to Brazo again soon!

....Which won't be for some time, I'm afraid. You see.... I am MOVING! To New York! Ah! I have been asked to travel within my company and head to The Sagamore Hotel and Resort in Bolton Landing, NY, which is on Lake George. I am going to be the Assistant Pastry Chef there, in training for the Executive Pastry Chef position, should the current EPC decide to leave. I leave for NY on Monday the 5th with a stop in Burlington for a day or so. I will be in Bolton Landing on April 7th and ready to start work on the 8th. The hotel is seasonal, so it is only open until after Thanksgiving, and then closes for the winter. So I will be returning to the NH Seacoast in about 8 months. This is a really good opportunity for me to learn about the workings of a much larger bakeshop and its production (the Sagamore is about twice the size of the Wentworth and does a little more than double the production that we do). It is also a good opportunity to network with other chefs, and also a good resume booster. Plus, I have an opportunity to advance my career... though I'm not particularly certain this is the direction I want my career to take. However, it will be a good experience nonetheless.

I think one of the best parts of being in NY is how close I will be to Burlington! I think it's about an hour away, so I will be able to see my sweet, wonderful Bear more often! And my Goddess-sister, when she returns to New England from her adventures and travels. Which, by the way, I simply cannot wait to hear about! I believe she will be returning on the day I leave, so hopefully I will get to see her soon enough! So, I'd better sign off and return to packing. I never realized how much junk I've managed to accumulate throughout my life, and sifting through it to pack and organize (take to NY vs. leave behind) has not been an easy task. However, I was pleased to discover some pictures from my high school senior prom back in 2002 and reflect on how handsome my Bear was in his CG dress uniform! I mean, of course he is still so handsome and VT rugged now :-) Ok, back to packing...

Dream a little dream of me...

I had a dream last night! Believe it or not! :-) Lately I have been so utterly exhausted in my waking hours that I never remember what I dream, or even if I do. But last night was exciting and thrilling, and I awoke hours before my scheduled alarm with a gasp, delightfully realizing that my dream was so good that it affected me physically as well as emotionally. I was out of breath, energized, and ready to go!

What was the dream? you may ask. Picture this: a chilly, sunny day, miles and miles of fluffy white snow, comfortable ski boots, a quick ride up the side of a mountain on a ski lift, and then at the top - ah! An endless view of blue sky, white cotton clouds, and snow-peaked mountains glistening in the sunlight. Wintry nature, as far as the eye can see.

I dreamed I was skiing in Vermont. :-)

I swear I could still feel the rush of wind on my face as I slid down the mountain, graceful and cat-like on my skis (which proves that it was, in fact, a dream, as I am anything but graceful and cat-like while on skis...). The biting cold that kissed my red cheeks, the winter sun warming my shoulders and back, and the feel of the frozen ground cutting beneath my skis. It felt so real! It was a bit of a disappointment to awake, tangled among the bedsheets and fleece blankets, to realize that I wasn't on a mountaintop in Vermont, but alone in my bed beside the ocean. *Sigh* Oh well, maybe someday soon....

In the meantime, I am kept busy at the Wentworth. A week ago, I spent three wonderful days with my Burlington Bear, relaxing, reading, exploring... Poor Bear was having a bit of a rough week, so I baked him some cookies to try and cheer his spirits. I had a job interview with Laura at The Essex, which is a beautiful little resort in Essex, right outside of Burlington. The interview went well, despite my being over-qualified for the bakeshop position I was seeking. I should be hearing back from Laura with her decision quite soon. It's strange, but I'm not sure how I feel about the whole thing. If I don't get the job, I don't think I will be terribly upset. My plans and dreams of moving to Vermont are, sadly, on hold at the moment due to my incredible lack of funding. Maybe another summer on the beaches of NH isn't such a bad idea...

Ponderings...

I have always wanted to create a dream journal, something I could tuck away next to my bed with a pen so that when I wake up in the morning (or whenever I stumble back into consciousness), I could instantly write down what I remember of my dream before it slips away into the abyss. I have been saying this for nine years now, since one of my sophomore English classes back in high school. I have yet to do it.

Until now, I suppose. I was never a fan of this "new-age" blogging trend. It took me a while to understand what people meant when they were talking about their blogs, and frankly, it never posed much interest to me. My life, sadly to say, is busy enough as it is. When do I have time to sit down to use precious minutes to read other people's thoughts (minutes that could be used for anything else... Sleeping... umm, sleeping... Cleaning the apartment... Who am I kidding?) Then a couple of days ago, my best friend/deity/goddess-sister introduced me to her blog... and instantly I was hooked! I sat at my computer, fighting a raging headache for reading without my out-of-prescription glasses, for an hour and read through most of her posts. I have always been a fan of her writing; she puts thoughts and dreams and ideas and just life down on paper (er.... computer...) in a way that, simply put, catches my breath. She is, without a doubt, one of my favorite authors, feminists, maybe just women in general; up there with Maya Angelou, Emily Dickinson, Rachel Carson, Alice Walker, Naomi Wolf, Virginia Woolf... (well, maybe not completely Virginia Woolf... her style of writing perhaps. That's it). Seriously. Check out her beautiful blog here.

I just turned my dream journal into a "shrine" for my best friend... and most of last night's dream has slipped away. Oops! What I can remember is this:

• There was a talent show, I was in it, and singing. "On My Own" from Les Mis, I think.

• I was frantic, because come show time, I didn't know what order the show was in. I didn't know when I was going on. And each playbill that I looked at had a different order listed.

• I was surrounded by people from schools of the past: elementary, middle school, high school, even college. Three people I distinctly remember are my childhood friends Lydia and Stephanie, and a friend from college Joshua.

• The hall we were waiting in to go on stage looked just like the banquet hall from the Wentworth by the Sea.

• My mom and my Uncle Ron from Germany were there to see me perform.

• Whoever was organizing the show stopped the show halfway through because there were so many acts, they didn't realize that there wasn't enough time to get through them all.

• I never got to perform.

I think the purpose of me recording my thoughts is not necessarily to analyze them individually and figure out what they mean, by try to analyze trends and find patterns. I know that when I'm sick with fever, I have crazy f*cked up dreams, but that's probably because my brain is slowly frying itself with sickness. On normal days, when I'm not sick, what do I dream of? No necessarily why, but what?