Just when I'm wishing there were a pastry competition that I could enter, there it is.

I walked into the local bake supply shop the other day to pick up some items, and right there at the front of the store is a stack of competition rules and entry forms for a cake design competition hosted at the local culinary school this weekend. I thought about it for a while, got some questions answered, then $25 later I'm entered.

At long last, I'll finally get to see where I stand in the cake decorating world, pitting my skills and experience against scores of other entrants. I don't know how many will be in my skill level division, but I'm sure there will be some pretty stiff competition (unlike a certain other competition I'd entered). I'll post pictures of my design later. But for now you'll have to settle with knowing that it's a springtime theme.

Reading through the competition rules and hints, I'm so much more mindful of the level of perfection my cake will have to achieve in order to win. Fondant has to be absolutely smooth, colors have to go together, the overall design should be sufficiently complex but not busy, etc. They say "less is more", but at the same time I have to do "enough". Hopefully I'll have enough time to complete the design to the level of perfection required. I wouldn't be surprised if I ended up staying up all night Friday finishing it.

I started putting together the tiers for my design. I'm using Styrofoam dummies instead of actual cake. It's quite different but much easier. I also realized that my fondant skills are quite out of practice. But three tries later, I finally got it back. Tomorrow will be stacking the tiers, installing borders, and starting the sugar work. I'm looking forward to working with gum paste again. It's so much fun.

After I get the results from this competition, I'll be sending off my application to the Culinary Institute of America. For some reason, leaving the "Awards" section empty seemed wrong. Hopefully I'll have something to brag about in that box....

(If you want to come see the cake show, e-mail me and I'll let you know the details.)

¶ 2:27 AM 1 comments

I think I'm becoming an extrovert.

Being a manger in the food service industry is very socially demanding. It requires selling products, interfacing with customers and suppliers, handling people, dealing with problems, confrontation. All of these I used to shy away from -- nay, actively avoid. But I don't mind them so much anymore. I also seem to be a tad more vocal, a little bolder, a bit more je ne sais pas. Confident? Assertive? No... what's the word...?

I'm considering attending the Culinary Institute of America, and eventually opening my own bakeshop. The CIA offers bachelors' degrees in baking and bakeshop management. But there are two problems with this idea: 1) it costs $19,000US per year for 3 years, and 2) it's in New York. I'd much rather go to the California campus so I could learn how to surf in my (copious) free time, and I don't deal well with extended periods of cold. As far as money goes, with my current income level (negligible) and my skillset, I should be able to get grants and loans and scholarships.

I'm also trying out this MacOS X Dashboard widget, called DashBlog. It allows me to post to my blog(s) from the Dashboard of my Apple PowerBook G4. I hope it works like I expect it to....


UPDATE: 16 March 2006 23:38: On second thought, I'm not sure I like DashBlog very much. I'll give it another try later.

UPDATE: 16 March 2006 23:40: On third thought, I think it's Blogger having issues. I'll definitely try DashBlog again later. It just seems really convenient.

¶ 11:34 PM 0 comments

Woohoo! I have a new domain over at fire-bottle.net. Nothing special there yet, but I will be updating the look and feel at some point.

Why fire-bottle.net? It's pretty simple, really:

1. In this day and age, where smaller is not always better, sometimes you have to go old-school.


2. A firebottle is computer slang for what, in British-English, is known as a valve, or in American-English, is known as a vacuum tube. (See bullet A.)


3. I like the combination of the phonemes, and the meter of the syllables.


4. My previous web host was slacking majorly from the start, and it was time to review my subscription anyway.


5. And firebottle.net was already taken.

So there it is. In the tradition of my computer-themed web presence, I thought it fitting to select a domain along that vein.

¶ 6:08 PM 0 comments

And that reminds me.... I finally have an invention patent to my name. It was the last thing I did before leaving unnamed technology company. At some point, I get a check for unnamed technology company's First Patent Award, and maybe a wall plaque, but I couldn't care less about the plaque.

¶ 12:50 AM 3 comments

I just got an e-mail invitation to my 10-year high school reunion in June.

I'm still undecided whether I'll go. There aren't a lot of people I really want to see, nor do I really care to see them. The people I want to see I see (or at least talk to) all the time. The only reason I'd go is to catch up with a few people I never see.

I'm sure there are a lot of people who are curious as to my whereabouts. When last they saw me, I was headed off to University to become a filthy rich computer programmer. So much for that. The only reason I'd go is to show them how interesting and exciting my life has been.

A lot of people when last I saw them were headed off to University to study various and sundry subjects. I've heard through the grapevine about some of them, how they changed majors multiple times and eventually graduated, how they got married and settled down, how they graduated but couldn't find a job. The only reason I'd go is to see where people have been and how they ended up there.

¶ 12:23 AM 0 comments

I must be really tired and stressed out. I keep having stressful dreams, waking up to the sound of my own voice about to yell at a figment of my subconcious, panting for dear breath.

In the last month or so, I've had three dreams in which I'm confronting something or someone very very forcefully. I wake up all in a huff, and then I'm stressed out and tired the rest of the day.

I'm starting to think these dreams are important, they mean something. But what? What do they mean?

<yawn/> ...

¶ 2:32 PM 1 comments