Food for Thought
What I want to do when faced with all this monotony and frustration is curl up in a ball and cry, or starting punching babies...but as to what I should do, what's best for me, is realize that I have bigger goals in life than being a working stiff for the next 50 years. In my mind I've had a list of life goals to accomplish, and I want to use this blog to keep myself in check and make sure I'm actively working towards those goals. Also, a little public encouragement from others never hurt :) So here I am in all my glory, ready to divulge my hopes, dreams and desires to you all. Hold on, it's going to be a bumpy ride!
About three years ago I started working in a bakery on my college campus. The hours were 4:30am-noon, after which I would go to class until about 6pm and then engage in various sorority activities: making posters, attending meetings and generally, keeping myself from being completely friendless in college. Working at the buttcrack of dawn should have been the worst part of my day, wouldn't you think? But no, I loved waking up and getting to work (well, maybe not the waking up part). My boss would always laugh at me because I often got there 15 minutes early to make myself a 5 shot espresso with a pump of white chocolate. My tasks for the morning were to finish the cheese rolls, pan up the frozen goods for the next day, and sometimes help my boss with baking the challah or making granola bars. I quickly cut down what should have been a 3 hour job to less than 2 hours, and my boss was gracious enough to let me bake WHATEVER I WANTED in the remaining time before I had to go over and work the coffee side. And for me, that was bliss. She would leave me alone, and I would test recipes of all sorts: cupcakes, french macarons, various cakes and anything that looked tasty.
Ultimately, that's how I came to love baking. Early on, I was allowed freedom to do bake what I wanted and see what I did and didn't like, and my boss was kickass and taught me so many of the basics that were necessary to grow. I remember one week my boss went out of town and left me with the task of making a coworkers birthday cake. This was going to be my first on my own cake - I was so nervous! He was a photographer for the school newspaper and definitely had a passion for it, so I made the cake to look like a Nikon camera:
Laughable now, but back then I thought I was the best cake decorator in the world!
Since that first job, I have had such an interest in baking. I spent the next two years reading baking blogs, baking everyday at home and at work, and learning as much I could. About a year into it, I decided that psychology wasn't for me - I really wanted to open a bakery! Now the issue is learning how to run a business successfully in a failing economy, finding a small group of team players to help run it, and something else...OH YEAH, finding the $$$ to do it when you're super duper in debt from college! My dream of opening a bakery is definitely one that is going to take A LOT of hard work, time and money. Kasie, my boss at Bob's Red Mill, worked as a bartender before she opened her business and lived off of her tips while saving her paychecks...for THREE YEARS! She said that most new businesses fail because they don't realize how expensive things really are and run out of money before they start making a profit. It's disheartening to think about, but doesn't deter me at all. I will open a bakery one day, and you can all keep me accountable by watching and commenting on my progress. Go me!
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