First Day

I guess first week really.

Anyone else feel like it should already be next Saturday?  Because I sure do.  Don't get me wrong, the days are FLYING.  But I've somehow squeezed more productivity into this week than I did for most of last year.  Yikes.

Really though, it's about time we got this ball rolling.  The phrase, "shit or get off the pot," has been resonating in my head for most of the past year.  And I really am well-prepared due to the Master's degree.  50% has been a review, and will continue that way for much of the first few terms.  Thank god.  Because the looks on some people's faces after Day 2 made me cringe.  You could almost see the threads of sanity snapping behind their eyes.

1 week down, 207(?) more to go.

17. Read 30 non-school books

Despite the craziness of Summer, I still squeezed in a few good reads.

Somehow, I missed this one in high school.  I was walking by the required Summer Reading table a few months back, thinking nostalgically of the many Titles I was "forced" to read.  "Lord of the Flies," "The Picture of Dorian Gray," "The Crucible," "Mosquito Coast," "The Lost World," "A Doll's House," all that Shakespeare...  And then I came across this one, realized I never actually read it, and decided to give it shot.  How did I miss this book??  Anyway, it was great to say the least.

I actually already read this one a couple years back.  But I love dogs... and John Grogan brilliantly depicts the highlights of dog ownership, both good and bad.  That, and I'm trying to get the book count up here.

*Edit: I just saw this is also being made into a movie.  Starring... you guessed it....      Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston?

I didn't want to be one of those students that read "doctor" books.  But there wasn't anything else that caught my interest that day.  It's alright, but I don't remember much from it if that's any indication.

I'm not one to get into the "beach reads" during the Summer Months.  But even this one was a little too depressing, especially since I read it on my honeymoon.

This almost violated my "beach read" rule because it was so melodramatic.  But I just couldn't put it down.  Which is why I won't watch Maury Povich - I'll spend an hour glued to the TV, wanting to know who the baby's daddy is.

And, finally, my latest read.  I've been following this guy's blog now for the past few years.  After all those years of waitressing, I took pleasure in reading about his pains and woes from the profession - and how he got revenge so many times.

11 down, 19 to go.

Last Day

That's it.  It's over.  No Mas.

My life as a waitress, after 8 years is finally done.

I started in the business just before the start of my Senior year of High School.  Of High School.  I began as a hostess and had to deal with the Friday and Saturday night waits and seating charts at a busy corporate restaurant and bar (oddly enough, now bankrupt).  People were rude, pompous, and arrogant.  And the worst ones had children just like them.  I was called names, yelled at, and even got pulled into the middle of a few fist fights.  Eventually though, I graduated to the highly sought-after waitress position, and now these angry and rude customers were mine at a table for a whole hour.  Super.  Yet, I was able to work my way through College by raking in some cash through my Summer, Winter, and Spring Breaks.  Hell, I'd work a day or two around Thanksgiving if that meant another couple $100.

Summer after my Senior year of college, I stayed at school, but I just couldn't pull myself away from all that flowing cash.  I worked at a local bar in the town and dealt with drunk and sick college students.  Not a far cry from my "other" job at the University.  I was just seeing them earlier in the night as opposed to later.  I would be at work until 4AM cleaning up the mess they left behind.

Quickly thereafter, I packed my car and drove to Colorado.  Where should a smart and intelligent woman with a Bachelor's in Science work in Colorado?  Why, a Brewery seems like a good idea.  And it was, it really was.  Plus, I learned some great restaurant-Spanish.  The cash was incredible and I spent every dime of it on Skis, ski passes, and a lavish lifestyle in an expensive Mountain Resort town.  Here, the customers would throw money at you for whatever service you could give them.  "Sing "Happy Birthday" to your mother-in-law?  That will be $30 sir."

Having returned back to Philadelphia for Graduate School, I decided that a low-key, easy job was the best way to fill up my days before class at nights.  So for 3 or 4 days a week, I waitressed at the local pizzeria down the street from my house.  The customers here were a pretty laid-back bunch of guys who would stop in for lunch and tipped me really really well.  I made great friends with the staff, and had some damn good pizza for 2 years.

And how quickly, it's 8 years later.  I tossed in the apron a few weeks ago, around mid-July, just before the Wedding.  I bid farewell to this grueling line of work shortly before I left for Colorado.  No sense in prolonging the inevitable.  And really, I couldn't take just one. more. day.  Because as great as straight-up cash is, this job sucked the big one.  And now, with Medical School, and no way to hold a part-time job, I can officially free myself of this profession, and take out a boat-load of student loans.

And I'll always over-tip.  Always.

8. Learn one new recipe and cook it once a week.

It's Tuesday evening and I still have 4 whole more days of "nothing" before school begins.  I got back from St. Lucia last Tuesday and have been enjoying the down time, especially after the chaotic days in July.

So, seeing as I have nothing to do (and I'm sure as hell not going to pre-study), I've been cooking up a storm.  I've visited several recipe sites and modified them to come up with my own little version of tonight's dish.

Crock Pot Pulled Pork Sandwiches (with baked beans and green beans)

(This has several parts - so bear with me)

1. The Pork

1 shoulder of pork (that's right, a whole shoulder - yes, it's big)

1 onion

4 cloves of garlic

Chop the onion and place half on the bottom of the crock pot.  Dice the garlic, place half at the bottom with the onion.  Add the pork.  Place other half of onion and garlic on top of pork.  Add about 1 cup of water to the crock pot.  Set on low for 9 - 12 hours, or on high for 4 - 6 hours. (The longer, the more tender)

When done, remove the pork from the crock pot on place on a cutting board.  It should be falling apart - this is how you know you did a good job.  The juice from the crock pot can be used for a gravy, but isn't necessary for this recipe.

Tear the pork in pieces using your hands, being careful to remove the fat and bones. Surprisingly the fat separates very easily from the warm pork. Careful, it's hot. Use a couple forks to tear the pork if you can't handle the heat. ;-)

Did I mention the gargantuan size of a pork shoulder??

Be sure to dip (several) pieces of torn pork into homemade barbecue sauce for quality taste assurance.

Replace the pork back into the empty crock pot.  Add the desired amount of barbecue sauce and allow it to simmer on low for another 4 - 6 hours.  Serve on buns or by itself.

2. Barbecue Sauce (makes about 4 cups)

8 cloves of garlic

2 tsp. of chili powder

4 cups of ketchup

1/4 cup of water

4 tsp. of worcestershire sauce

1 cup of brown sugar

3 tsp. of yellow mustard

4 tsp. of liquid smoke

Stir ingredients together in a sauce pan on med-low until bubbling.  Remove from heat and eat.  Yum!

I modified lots of recipes to get this one for barbecue sauce.  I found that by adding more or less of various ingredients, you can end up with completely different flavors.  So modify to your heart's desire.

3. Baked Beans

1 onion (chopped)

15 strips of cooked bacon

2 cans of baked beans

Saute onion and cooked bacon in olive oil until onion is soft and translucent.  Add cans of baked beans.  Stir, remove from heat, and place in oven-safe dish.  Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

4. Green Beans

Saute fresh green beans with olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper.

Basically, this took me like 2 days to cook.  But it was well worth it.  And now we have enough food to last us to my first exam in 3 1/2 weeks.

Oh yeah, and serve with beer.