I have just finished cleaning my apartment and am officially out of it now. Sad. Keys are turned in and last mail has been picked up.
Now off to live with my amazing friend for a couple weeks before I split and head back north.
I will really miss San Antonio and friends.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Moving
I've started packing. When I pack, I am very meticulous and like to take my time. Sometimes I am a procrastinator and cannot take my time like I enjoy doing, but luckily this is not one of those times.
The upcoming date when I will no longer reside in my sweet little abode I currently call home is 28th February. That's Monday. Only five days away.
As I pack, I find myself questioning why I brought some of the things I have here with me! Also, I wonder why I have so many clothes but can never seem to find anything to wear. Its amazing all the little knickknacks or nonsense that piles up. I will continue to sort through it all and organize!
I also must clean. Scrubbed the oven yesterday. I didn't even know there are still ovens without a self-cleaning cycle. Unfortunately, mine happens to be one of them!
The next few days will be filled with finishing packing, cleaning every crevice of my apartment, and using every spare moment to hang out with friends. Come two weeks from now I will be heading north.
The upcoming date when I will no longer reside in my sweet little abode I currently call home is 28th February. That's Monday. Only five days away.
As I pack, I find myself questioning why I brought some of the things I have here with me! Also, I wonder why I have so many clothes but can never seem to find anything to wear. Its amazing all the little knickknacks or nonsense that piles up. I will continue to sort through it all and organize!
I also must clean. Scrubbed the oven yesterday. I didn't even know there are still ovens without a self-cleaning cycle. Unfortunately, mine happens to be one of them!
The next few days will be filled with finishing packing, cleaning every crevice of my apartment, and using every spare moment to hang out with friends. Come two weeks from now I will be heading north.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Sadness
My time here in San Antonio is coming way too fast to an end. I can feel the heaviness setting down on me.
I still have two more weeks of work left and then about another two weeks just hanging out. However, sadness creeps in if I let my mind linger too long on the unavoidable future.
Why do I like San Antonio, TX?
-- I love my job.
-- I have amazing friends.
-- I know my way around this huge city.
-- I enjoy (on most days) fighting with the crazy traffic.
-- The weather is most always comfortable.
Don't get me wrong, I am excited to be back in the great state of WI again. I also am looking forward to being with my family and spending time with them.
My life has seen so many changes and moves that you'd think I was used to them. Nope. I probably never will be!
I am going to take each day as it comes in the next couple weeks and enjoy the remaining time I have in this place I've grown to adore. I will be super sad to leave when the time comes, but I know its just another adventure that I must embark upon.
I still have two more weeks of work left and then about another two weeks just hanging out. However, sadness creeps in if I let my mind linger too long on the unavoidable future.
Why do I like San Antonio, TX?
-- I love my job.
-- I have amazing friends.
-- I know my way around this huge city.
-- I enjoy (on most days) fighting with the crazy traffic.
-- The weather is most always comfortable.
Don't get me wrong, I am excited to be back in the great state of WI again. I also am looking forward to being with my family and spending time with them.
My life has seen so many changes and moves that you'd think I was used to them. Nope. I probably never will be!
I am going to take each day as it comes in the next couple weeks and enjoy the remaining time I have in this place I've grown to adore. I will be super sad to leave when the time comes, but I know its just another adventure that I must embark upon.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Problem Solving Baking
I usually consider myself a great baker. I feel very confident in the kitchen and would say that I can bake or cook just about anything.
Last night I made pumkin bars. I have been thinking about them for a couple weeks and just couldn't wait any longer! I didn't actually have the right size of pan, so I improvised and used one 9 x 13 in pan and made some mini muffins with the rest of the batter. So, in goes my rectangular baker with the first round of pumpkin goodness.
Now, I would almost say I can expertly tell when something is ready to be taken out of the oven. So, when I was satisfied with my bars, I took them from the oven and put the mini muffins in. The muffins were super quick and were out in no time. In the meantime, I hand mixed up some delicious cream cheese frosting and decided to frost the bars. Then I cut into the bars...they were TOTALLY not done in the middle. The center of the pan almost resembled badly set up pumpkin pie.
Needless to say, I was so horrified and disappointed in myself. I couldn't believe I had failed. There was no way that I wanted to throw out an entire pan of bars, but I also knew no one was going to be able to really eat 95% of the pan. So, I put the bars, icing and everything, back into the oven.
I have to say that I was not expecting rave results. However, I eventually brought the bars back out of the oven and they were nearly perfect! I am happy to say that although my usually no fail baking did require some troubleshooting, I ended the evening with tasty pumpkin bars that I am proud to say that I made. Who knew you could re-bake bars that had already been iced!
Last night I made pumkin bars. I have been thinking about them for a couple weeks and just couldn't wait any longer! I didn't actually have the right size of pan, so I improvised and used one 9 x 13 in pan and made some mini muffins with the rest of the batter. So, in goes my rectangular baker with the first round of pumpkin goodness.
Now, I would almost say I can expertly tell when something is ready to be taken out of the oven. So, when I was satisfied with my bars, I took them from the oven and put the mini muffins in. The muffins were super quick and were out in no time. In the meantime, I hand mixed up some delicious cream cheese frosting and decided to frost the bars. Then I cut into the bars...they were TOTALLY not done in the middle. The center of the pan almost resembled badly set up pumpkin pie.
Needless to say, I was so horrified and disappointed in myself. I couldn't believe I had failed. There was no way that I wanted to throw out an entire pan of bars, but I also knew no one was going to be able to really eat 95% of the pan. So, I put the bars, icing and everything, back into the oven.
I have to say that I was not expecting rave results. However, I eventually brought the bars back out of the oven and they were nearly perfect! I am happy to say that although my usually no fail baking did require some troubleshooting, I ended the evening with tasty pumpkin bars that I am proud to say that I made. Who knew you could re-bake bars that had already been iced!
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Happenings at Work
Most always work at Panera is pretty predictable with the usual slow times and the super busy lunch rush. However, this past week we had some minor happenings that really took us for a loop of the regular schedule.
Last week on Wednesday, us morning girls are all at work getting ready for the morning putting up the bakery, setting up the line, or prepping foods in the back. We had just opened the door and I am about to slice some bread, when all of a sudden, everything goes black! We look outside and even the light poles are out!
It just so happened that with all the bad weather that Texas was unexpectedly having in Dallas and Fort Worth, power supplies were running low. Therefore, San Antonio was supposed to have random blackouts in some areas in order to send some power up to the Dallas area. It just so happened that Panera was definitely in the grid that they chose to black out...THREE TIMES!
So from about 6:15 am to 7 am I packaged cookies and baguettes in the dark, we stood around and chatted, and ate some souffles to pass the time. Eventually the lights came on and we were back to work. However, again around 9:40 the power goes out. This outage lasts again for about 45 minutes. We were able to sell things for cash only, but we only had coffee, pastries, or other cold items. It was definitely an experience. We then had one more power outage about 12:15, but that one luckily only lasted for about five minutes. Was totally a super different day at work!
So Wednesday was quite unique, but then Friday came. As many probably heard, we actually got snow down here in southern Texas. It started Thursday night with sleet, freezing rain and ice and overnight the snow came. I knew it wouldn't be the best driving conditions, but I didn't think the quarter inch of snow we received would completely disable the city of San Antonio.
I made it to work fine and on time. I got the bakery ready and waited around for our manager to arrive. Luckily the overnight bakers were still there and helped me get things ready. I slowly put all the pastries out and knew it'd be a slow day. The line opener was stuck out on 1604 and she didn't actually get to work until nearly 11 am. She was scheduled for 5:30! Our manager finally arrived around 7:45 after deciding to walk from where his car was stuck. Two other employees arrived about on time around 7 am.
It was such a super slow morning, but a peaceful one at that. The highways were all completely blocked off and so everyone had to manage on the frontage roads. By 10 am I believe we had made about eighty dollars! It was super interesting how the day went and even more neat to see San Antonio with snow.
Although it was exciting to have some changes to the usual routine of Panera, I think its better if it stays more consistent in the future! I still really enjoy my job and all of my guests and co-workers will be missed once the time comes to head north again.
Last week on Wednesday, us morning girls are all at work getting ready for the morning putting up the bakery, setting up the line, or prepping foods in the back. We had just opened the door and I am about to slice some bread, when all of a sudden, everything goes black! We look outside and even the light poles are out!
It just so happened that with all the bad weather that Texas was unexpectedly having in Dallas and Fort Worth, power supplies were running low. Therefore, San Antonio was supposed to have random blackouts in some areas in order to send some power up to the Dallas area. It just so happened that Panera was definitely in the grid that they chose to black out...THREE TIMES!
So from about 6:15 am to 7 am I packaged cookies and baguettes in the dark, we stood around and chatted, and ate some souffles to pass the time. Eventually the lights came on and we were back to work. However, again around 9:40 the power goes out. This outage lasts again for about 45 minutes. We were able to sell things for cash only, but we only had coffee, pastries, or other cold items. It was definitely an experience. We then had one more power outage about 12:15, but that one luckily only lasted for about five minutes. Was totally a super different day at work!
So Wednesday was quite unique, but then Friday came. As many probably heard, we actually got snow down here in southern Texas. It started Thursday night with sleet, freezing rain and ice and overnight the snow came. I knew it wouldn't be the best driving conditions, but I didn't think the quarter inch of snow we received would completely disable the city of San Antonio.
I made it to work fine and on time. I got the bakery ready and waited around for our manager to arrive. Luckily the overnight bakers were still there and helped me get things ready. I slowly put all the pastries out and knew it'd be a slow day. The line opener was stuck out on 1604 and she didn't actually get to work until nearly 11 am. She was scheduled for 5:30! Our manager finally arrived around 7:45 after deciding to walk from where his car was stuck. Two other employees arrived about on time around 7 am.
It was such a super slow morning, but a peaceful one at that. The highways were all completely blocked off and so everyone had to manage on the frontage roads. By 10 am I believe we had made about eighty dollars! It was super interesting how the day went and even more neat to see San Antonio with snow.
Although it was exciting to have some changes to the usual routine of Panera, I think its better if it stays more consistent in the future! I still really enjoy my job and all of my guests and co-workers will be missed once the time comes to head north again.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)