I am the leader and administrator of a group of food loving folks here in the Seattle area who love to explore new cuisines. We meet up monthly to explore that passion at a minimal cost. It would be great to get new members. If you are interested in joining, please email me at Aaronhodgen@gmail.com for more details.
Ruminations on a Day Off
Warning : This post might turn into keyboard diarrhea. I have some things I would like to talk about and I’m not entirely sure where my thoughts will take me by the time I’m down writing, and this post might not have any real theme tying it together. Regardless, when words need to come out, I start typing, so bear with me. If you’d like.
In my last two posts, I mentioned that I have finally gotten a kitchen mentor, which means a lot to me, and that I am trying to plan a trip to Oaxaca. So here I will be discussing both of those concepts and my recent thoughts on them through the course of today, my day off.
My mentor told me that she wants to give me weekly challenges. These will be a series of research projects, sometimes actually involving cooking things for her (maybe?). In many ways, it is a structured way of going about one of my hobbies, as I really enjoy learning and reading about food. Last night we were discussing it briefly in front of somebody else, who asked what we were talking about. Her response was, “I am going to be giving Aaron weekly challenges to learn more about food and cooking that will make it so he knows more about food and becomes a better cook than …. anybody.” That was an interesting revelation to me in some ways. It shows that she sees a lot of potential in me. I kind of felt like I have the blood of a good cook flowing through my veins ever since I finally stumbled on this career and that confirms that those who know more than I do agree. In order to be a great chef, you have to love, appreciate, understand and know food to extremely minute detail. These challenges will help me to do that.
This week’s challenge should be interesting. “How many types of spring onions are there, and which four varieties are local to the Seattle area?” Okay, I’ve heard of spring onions, and have seen them floating around at work. In fact, I’ve read about a few recipes involving spring onions. I’m not entirely sure what they are, though. To the best of my knowledge, they are basically onions that are picked earlier than usual (obviously, in the spring), so are smaller and I would assume would have a different flavor. I’m guessing milder, to say the least. Never tried them, though. By next Thursday, I will know a lot about them.
One thing that my mentor might not realize, but will soon understand, is that when I am given a research project, I take it very seriously. In culinary school, we were supposed to pick two of the five mother sauces of French cuisine, and two of the sauces that were derived from them. At that point, it was required to write an “essay” about them, including how their made and how they were invented. I put it in quotations because it didn’t feel like an essay to me : the length only had to be half a page. I turned in a five page essay, because we were not given a MAXIMUM length. I assume she’s expecting me to come back to her with a verbal response that includes a number, and then a list of four local varieties. That’s not going to happen. I will give her a written report consisting of a list of all the varieties, and the differences between all of them. That’s just how I roll!
I sat down to start my research project, and as I was about to type out “spring onions” into the search bar, my fingers betrayed me. Instead of doing my research project, I found myself searching about Oaxacan cuisine. For some reason, it just felt like even though my trip is in October, reading about Oaxaca was more pressing. And when I research a destination, a vast majority of it involves reading about their food. There are very few things more upsetting than getting home from a place I visited and hearing about an incredible dish that I hadn’t tried while I was there. Also, it is the one aspect of a local culture that you can get a really good idea about before you get. And while I only have a week to get back to Z about spring onions, there are still a lot of things I need to read about Oaxaca before I buy my tickets. For instance, what part do I want to go to? Is there a chance that maybe another part of Mexico might give me more of the experience I want to have? When is the cheapest time to go? All of these questions have to be answered before I pay for a flight.
I’m currently thinking about going in the period of September through November. The trip will likely be for only a week, as that’s how long work is willing to let me go. Otherwise, I will be forced to either re-apply there or find a new job after. No thanks. I love that job, and intend on keeping it until I finally have enough to move to India. Airline tickets generally should be purchased at least three months in advance to get the best deal. So, though the trip is kinda far away, I realistically have two weeks at the least or two and a half months at the most to have a clear decision. Therefore, it seems my subconscious was right in having me look up Oaxacan cuisine.
The things I have read about Oaxacan food seem very compelling. I’m still thinking that the regional traditions of eating there might be the most interesting for me in the whole country. What’s great is that there are many dishes and drinks there that not only predate the Spanish conquest of Mexico, but have actually endured since before the time of the Mayans or Aztecs. How often do you get the chance to taste history? So one question is answered. No, there is not another part of Mexico that I want to go to more than Oaxaca. That is the place for me. Now, what part should I go to? That one will take a while and is not a question for today. Fortunately, from my understanding, travel to anywhere in the Estada (State), is conducted through a flight to Ciudad de Oaxaca (Oaxaca City), and then moving on from there through local transport. That means that after I have sated my appetite about the cuisine there, I can research spring onions. Because the “When is the cheapest time to go” question can be answered in minutes! After that it’s just a whole lot of price comparisons, and trying to figure out if there is an agent that can arrange discounts.
Today seems to be the first step in re-awakening a passion in me. Researching food is something that I once did almost fanatically, but I have done extremely little of it since my life changed drastically a year ago. Between having challenges, and finally planning a trip, I feel like something has clicked in me that has been dormant for a long time, I welcome it’s awakening. Although, I still just can’t wait for the future and wish it would come quicker.
Mexico, HO!
I have mentioned before the fact that I am feeling some intense cabin fever. That was many months ago, and I still haven’t gone anywhere.
The last time that I left Seattle was September, 2012. That particular trip was to New York City. It was a hell of an adventure, and NYC is very different from my hometown. However, there are many things that are the same. Realistically, Americans are Americans and the US is still the US, despite any slight differences in attitude, or behavioral and/or speech patterns.
I long for a cultural experience that is different from the one I encounter here. There are people from the East Coast of the US living in my area. They are usually an anomoly, but it wasn’t much to get used to when I was on the other side of the country.
The last time I left the country was almost three and a half years ago, and that is WAY too long of a time. Many of you have been witness to my efforts in trying to start up my trip around the world, or my ambitions to leave to go somewhere else long-term cook/teach/backpack, … whatever. The time has come for me to realize that there are too many things holding me back right now. I will never give up my dreams, but right now it it realistic to think of them as something I can do in five years or so.|
In the meantime, I have some extreme cabin fever. and I need to get out of my country. I have always wanted to go to Mexico, but have never been. It’s time to make that a reality. In fact, I can even speak broken Spanish, and a trip down there will only improve my comprehension. I have always been fascinated with Mexican culture, and I feel it is time to experience it first-hand.
Oaxaca is the state I intend to visit. It is the state that is generally considered amongst Mexicans as having the best food in the country, and it seems to be well off the tourist map. The first of those two points is far more important to me, but the second point just confirms suspicions. What I want in a trip to Mexico is to eat some great food, practice my Spanish, chill on a beach and see some ruins (be they Mayan, Aztec, Olmec, or whatever). A visit to Oaxaca might force me to give up on the last goal, but that’s okay. I can always go back sometime.
Coincidentally, there are now four people that I work with who come from Oaxaca, so I have people who can help to guide me through my experience. A few of them have offered to have me meet up with their friends and relatives while I’m there. Honestly, though that is an amazing opportunity, I feel a bit skeptical of taking them up on those offers due to how bad my Spanish is. I must admit that I am a bit scared to find myself as a guest of somebody that I can’t really communicate with.
Anyways, we’ll see what happens. If in any way I can make it happen, I’m going to Mexico in 2014. Preferably Oaxaca, but I will take any part I can get my hands on.
Mentor
Today is a very happy day for me. I’ve been working in the food industry as a cook for almost two and a half years and have never actually found somebody who is willing and/or qualified to actually be a mentor to me. There is one who fits the description, but he isn’t really available when I need him, due to amazing shit going on with him. As of tonight, I think I have finally made a mentor possible.
For people who don’t understand my industry, let me give an explanation. There is a hell of a lot there is to learn about being a cook and/or chef. You can’t be the former without becoming good at being the latter. Our industry is one of the few that still gives credence to the master/apprentice mentality. It is really important as a beginner cook to find somebody who can act as a mentor to you, to guide you through the things that you need to learn, and teach you what you don’t know.
It is highly unusual to not find somebody to be a mentor for you within the time that I have been working in my field. In many ways, it has been kinda sad and depressing for me.
There are many people who cook simply as a means to an end : they do it for the money (not that the money is great, but because they’re good at it). I’m not one of those people. I cook because I want to, because I love it, and because I want to be a chef someday. For those in the second group, it is important to find somebody who can help you along in that process. To have been working as a cook for so long without having someone in that capacity has often felt like I was spinning my wheels. I am so thankful that I finally feel like I have a chance of making my dreams come true. Thank you, Zephyr, though I know you will probably never see this!
Giving In (Sorta)
When I first started this blog, I imagined that September 2014 at the absolute latest would be my departure date. As I am dealing with the reality that I still have student loan debts from my time in culinary school, I have been scaling my pipe dreams to be more in line with what reality means.
That does not mean that I won’t be prioritizing leaving the US for extended travel. It just means that in order to be a responsible adult, I have to temper those thoughts with the concept that I have a responsibility to pay back my loans. That means that I will be making payments while I’m here – that will slow down my savings a bit. If I’m careful and frugal, though, I can still accumulate a travel savings.
It also means that I can’t really afford right now to fly somewhere and just wander around. It is important that I have a work source in the destination that I have in mind. Neither one of those concepts are big obstacles, they will just slow things down a bit.
So I’ve decided : what the hell. Realistically, I am stuck here for the time being. We only have one life to live. If I can’t currently spend my time doing what I REALLY, REALLY want, I will at least spend the time before that is a possibility doing the next best thing. Therefore, I have decided that I will start a band. I’m envisioning a ska-fusion band. You might ask what musical genres I will fuse with ska. That depends on the other members of the band. As long as it’s energetic, upbeat and happy-sounding (ska lyrics generally bely the feeling the music has), I really don’t care. All music has it’s benefits.
And who knows, perhaps that will give me yet ANOTHER option for making travel possible. If it doesn’t, oh well, I’ll be having fun at home! And without spending money that could go to traveling.
Life is Funny
This post can also be titled “How We as Humans Attract Ourselves to Other People”, but it’s kinda lengthy, difficult to say, and just doesn’t have the same ring to it, so I’m whatever.
Eh, if you can’t tell already, this is not going to be a super intensive post. It is just some more random ruminations from my head, but it is based on an unexpected experience that I had today,
The moment I woke up, I decided that today was going to be a throw away day. I wasn’t going to accomplish anything, and would just waste the hours being waking and bed. It is one of my days off, and I’m scheduled to work tomorrow morning at seven, just to have another day off on Sunday. Also, it has been a while since I’ve had a day to just sit around and do nothing, and we all know how great that can be sometimes.
Well, I was well on my way to accomplishing my goals of accomplishing nothing, and had been living a dramatically unremarkable existence all day. Then I decided to go for a walk to pick up some cigarettes. I very easily could have driven, but for whatever reason I chose not to. It seemed a walk was in order. I’ve learned that when I feel compelled to do something, I probably should. Sometimes the universe has something intended for me. Often it doesn’t, but it’s worth finding out.
On the way back after getting my smokes, I decided to stop in at the local taco truck. This is a rather inexplicable phenomenon, because I have eaten at this taco truck in the past and wasn’t so thrilled with it’s food. However, something was telling me that I should, and I listened. They had something on their list of meats that I had never heard of : buches. Now, I am pretty familiar with taco trucks, Mexican food, and am used to eating strange cuts of meat. Don’t even get me started on the wonders involved in a taco de cabesa. So, I asked the worker what buches was, and she said “stomach of pork”. Okay, I’ve never tried that, time for a new experience. From that point forward, I switched to Spanish : “Da me tres tacos, un de boches, un de lengua y un adobada. Puedo tener arroz y frijoles tambien por favor”. (Give me three tacos, one pork stomach, one tongue and one spicy pork. Can I have rice and beans as well please).
During this process there was an interesting looking man sitting at one of the picnic tables nearby who was intermittenly laughing while I was ordering in Spanish. After I was done and paid, I turned to him and I said “So you find it funny to listen to some silly Gringo speaking Spanish poorly?” Anyways, it turns out that he wasn’t laughing at me, but was actually laughing about something else that had happened to him earlier. Regardless, he seemed like a very interesting man, and was curious why I, as a gringo, would be trying to speak Spanish.
I sat down at his table and lit up a smoke while I waited for my food. We got to talking about traveling, which apparently he does every year for three months from December to March. He’s been to many places in the world, but is particularly in love with South and Central America. Turns out, he is of Mexican descent, but was born in Canada and raised on the East Coast of the US, and owns his own business. Apparently, we actually have a lot of other things in common, and get along swimmingly.
My original intent was to get my tacos, rice and beans, and walk back to my house to eat them. I ended up eating them all right there because the conversation I was engaged in was so compelling. In the end, he offered me a job. It’s in construction, remodeling specifically, and isn’t really my field. However, since I am so determined to earn money to get out the country, I am willing to pick up any side work that will get me some more cash while I’m working on my career (believe it or not, I do have career goals, despite what it might seem, they just aren’t quite as important as my travel goals). We exchanged numbers, and he says he has a job coming up in a couple weeks that is just down the road from my house.
The whole thing just left me with some strange thoughts. Ordinarily, I’m not particularly prone to talking to strangers, and I would almost never call someone out for laughing at me (even though he wasn’t) the way I did him. I’ve smoked cigarettes for quite a long time, and I realized early enough that we can “smell our own”, as in, for whatever reason it’s usually easy for a smoker to be able to recognize that somebody else is a smoker as well, without seeing them actually engaging in tobacco usage. As time went on, I started noticing that I could have the same realizations about people who share other things in common with me. It started slow, with only one or two traits at a time, but nowadays, I’ve noticed it is very easy to tell when I meet people if they have shared interests or personality traits with me.
I can pick a music nerd, a smoker, foodie, traveler, divorcee, etc, out of a crowd and it usually doesn’t even require actually speaking to these people before I begin picking up on it. At first, it seemed like either I was making things up, or it was just coincidence. Now I realize that it is far too accurate for either of these concepts to be true. For a while I thought I was maybe more perceptive than other people, but that’s an arrogant idea. Now I more believe that some people just aren’t as receptive to it as others. Regardless, it seems that there is some psychological phenomena that attracts us to like minded people, to allow us to network. Perhaps it’s some defense mechanism, or maybe it’s some strange instinct. I’m sure the field of psychology has noticed this and has a word for it, but if it has, I know nothing about it. That’s science, and I’m more of an artsy type than a science person.
Either way, it’s interesting. The chances of me meeting this man are extremely slim. He doesn’t live anywhere nearby, but was here to do an estimate. And the one day that he was here, I walked by, and decided to stop where I am not likely to have done so, and got food somewhere I’m not likely to have eaten at, and spoke to a stranger for no reason whatsoever.
Life is funny, yeah?
Why I Love Being a Cook
I have the best job in the world, for many, many reasons. Let me explain them to you. Obviously, this line of work isn’t for everyone, but these are the things that make me happy to be a cook on a daily basis.
1. Every day is different : There is always something new and unique going on, in one way or another. Sometimes, this comes in the form of walking into work to discover some surprise. Maybe I have to drain and clean the ice cream freezer. Maybe I’ll get two orders for a particular item right off the bat and discover that I’m missing one of the ingredients. Perhaps it will be that for whatever reason, 80% of the people who come in are all interested in ordering the same dish and I run out of the prep for it early on and have to make it in mid-rush. Whatever it is, it’s always a unique day. Sometimes it can get frustrating, but I really appreciate the diversity of my days.
2. I get paid to play with food : I love food. Like, ridiculously so. The list of food items I don’t like eating is extremely small : horseradish. That’s it. Everything else is great. I have been known to read the driest, most boring (to other people) books about food from cover to cover like it’s a compelling novel. Actually, that is something I can do with travel guides as well, I guess it’s my superpower – reading dry, boring books as if they’re interesting! Anyways, what could be better for a food lover than to have a job where they make, cook and prepare food all day?
3. Free food : I get a free shift meal every day that I work. The portions are large enough that I usually end up with leftovers. That feeds me twice in the day. As somebody who doesn’t usually eat breakfast (yes, I know I should and that it’s supposedly the most important meal of the day bla bla bla whatever, don’t care), that usually does it for the day. I have managed to cut my grocery spending in insane amounts. At the time that I wrote the tips on how to save money through your grocery trip, I was spending $40 a month of groceries. Now that I’m working full time at a real restaurant that does things normally, I honestly think that I have gotten it down to ten bucks. Though to be fair, I haven’t actually been tracking it recently, because I know that it’s ridiculously low.
4. The coworkers : Anthony Bourdain in “Kitchen Confidential” states that the people working with him are basically a “pirate crew”, and in many ways, that is an accurate way to put it. Working in a kitchen, my coworkers are some strange, hilarious, amazing, fun and cool people to have around you. The folks who tend to choose to cook for a living are generally some form of social outcast, and often have a very different way of looking at and living life. It makes for some endlessly entertaining conversation. As somebody who himself doesn’t really feel like he really fits in, this is the perfect work environment for me. It’s cool to be a part of a group of people that I can actually identify with in some way or another. That is sometimes a rare opportunity for me.
5. I can let my hair down : There are very few taboos on the line. You can tell the most offensive gay and racist jokes, behave like a dolt, and swear like a sailor, and none of that matters as long as you can cook food. Nobody gives any fucks. One of the best things about that concept is that cooks actually tend to not hold a lot of prejudices. It’s not as if anybody is actually homophobic or racist, it’s just that they choose to refuse to get offended by things. The thing is that it requires a really tough skin to handle this job on the daily, and we have all learned to take things in stride. If you want to make it in this industry, you have to be able to put up with people accusing you of being gay, insulting you, and just generally being extremely offensive. It can be off-putting at first, but after a while, you come to realize that all of these behaviors are happening simply for shock value. It’s a bit like being in the punk scene. Everybody is accepted for who they are, and they are loved, but that won’t stop somebody from giving you shit, all with the best intentions, in that they just want you to realize that you are just as welcome as everybody else!
Proof of how awesome I am
So, despite the fact that I was inclined to decline the position I was being offered at job #1, I sent in a resume thinking it would be interesting to find out just what the story was. A few days later, I got an email from the head of HR asking me to come in for an interview. Being the only professional course of action, I scheduled and attended.
In some ways, it was a bit hilarious. I’ve been to so many interviews in my life, and they usually end up going about the same way. This one was extremely different. I was only asked three questions, and the two people conducting the interview looked a bit bored while I answered. At first, this seemed confusing and strange, until the real part of the interview process began. They began telling me what the details of the job were, and what responsibilities I would have. It soon dawned on my that I was interviewing for a position that I had not actually seen anybody doing, so I asked “Is this a new position that I am applying for?”
The answer was quick, and it was obvious that the Chef was revealing more of his hand than he was intending : “This position was created a year ago, but we haven’t really felt that there was anybody to fill it”. And then he began backtracking by telling me that they were wanting to interview some more people, but it seemed like this statement was half-hearted. Honestly, I think he was bluffing.
Here’s the interesting part : I thought I was interviewing to take on the position of those people who were my direct supervisors, when in reality, apparently I was interviewing to become their boss. After much more description of what I would be getting myself into if I had that job, the two chefs who were interviewing me told me that I had a week to get back to them. There was no talk of, “we will get back to you after we have talked to the other applicants” or any of that kind of stuff. I was left in the conclusion that the job was mine for the taking if I wanted it, and that in many ways, I had been handpicked specifically for the job. That is a very weird feeling for me. I can’t think of a single time that I have had so much power and control of my future.
It is now day six of the seven that I was given, and I think I have come to a decision. While a double promotion can be really great and beneficial to me, that job would still not have a guarantee of hours. Job #2 has me working forty hours a week, without exception. Not only that, but I’m learning a lot, love the people I am working with, feel like my co-workers have accepted and like me, and my chef there has promised that she is interested in cross-training me and eventually moving me up. In short, it feels like I have a lot of advancement opportunities, even if I don’t get the position skipping option.
Furthermore, I’m considering leaving job #1 entirely. The way that I go about finding out about my schedule involves emailing Chef every week. For the last four weeks, I have emailed her to be told that there aren’t hours for me. It seems like a lot of work for no return, and now that I have a fairly decent steady income, it doesn’t seem worth the effort. One of the chefs there has been really, really amazing to me, and we have a lot in common. I’m looking forward to the potential that he could become a really good friend and/or mentor to me now that I’ve decided to at least partially (if not completely) move on.
Thank you dear readers for keeping up with my constant long-winded crap.
Welcome to TORIC v2.0
I have decided to change the format of this blog. Since my travel planning had remained static and unchanging for such a long time while I was unemployed, or working part time, there were fewer and fewer things to say about travel. Plus, the things that I could think of saying seemed like they were a bit silly considering the reality is that I really wasn’t going anywhere for a while.
Now, the possibility seems very real, but to be honest, I’m not really doing anything to prepare for my travels right now besides saving up again.
So now, The Open Road is Calling is no longer a travel blog so much as it’s just my personal blog. I will drivel on about things that I love and am passionate about. Expect blog posts about food, cooking, music and of course I will still talk about traveling when the mood hits me. I’ve just decided to stop worrying so much about what the content is and just talk about whatever I feel about.
More news
For many months now, I have spent my evenings staying up quite late chatting with friends around the world online. It’s always great to have a chance to catch up with people who are physically removed from me, and be mutually aware of what’s going on in each others lives.
With the recent job changes that I’ve made, I find myself working in the morning a vast majority of the shifts I am working. That means going to bed much earlier, even when I don’t necessarily have to. It’s been past the time that science shows a behavior change will stick (I believe it’s 27 days?), and this has become a habit for me.
It’s interesting. On the one hand, I know it’s much healthier for my body if I keep a regular sleep schedule in line with my geographic location, and I physically feel really awesome. Sometimes, I regret that I am not able to keep up with my buddies in other places as often as I would like. Fortunately, good friends are those that you can talk to after a long time and pick up right where you left off. I still care about these people, and they do me.
I have an interview for that job I talked about in my last post. It’s in an hour and a half in fact. I have never felt such a low amount of nervousness about a job interview in my life, and am convinced I will nail it.
So the new sleep schedule had me waking up at eight this morning, with nothing going on until after noon. Sitting around my house, I suddenly remembered that I still have that online TESOL class to finish. How did I forgot about? Anyways, I have spent the morning learning about how to teach English overseas.
Both of my jobs are in Seattle, as is the interview, obviously. I live in a suburb a thirty minute drive away and don’t start work until two and a half hours after the interview is over. Driving home is not an option, as that is a waste of money, so I think I will spend the afternoon sitting in the park with a book. The weather is semi nice, which by Seattle standards means it’s awesome!
The Open Road is Calling! 