A blog only a mother could love...

I realize it has been a very long time since I have graced everyone's eyes with a blog post. Many days down here have run together, making me forget what day it actually is! Regardless, things are still going pretty well. I have VERY long days, I've been having some pretty long nights as well, but mostly I've still been having a lot of fun.

I called home the other day only to hear a lot of complaints that I haven't updated my blog in a long time, then that very day, I found something to update about! I went 'crabbing' the other day! I am not sure if anyone there in cyber space (who reads this blog) has ever been 'crabbing', but I certainly hadn't.

It started with an Asian, a Ginger, some chicken necks and a dream (sounds like the start of a really bad joke if you ask me) Anyway, we went out to the beach, walked into the cove area, tied our chicken necks to the rope we had and cast them out into the beyond! After a little while, we got some bites. Then we took a giant net and GRABBED the beasts at the end of the ropes. We only caught a few, but it was pretty fun. I felt a little bad for the buggers. The most entertaining part was that in the cove, the tide comes in REALLY quickly; suddenly where there was a lot of walking area, we were surrounded by water and it was only getting deeper. With our crabs, our net, and our miscellaneous clothing articles, we had to SWIM back to the beach, over quite rocky terrain. It was awesome. The water down here is already pretty warm and I can't wait for it to be properly 'summer', though it already feels like it most days!


On a separate note!
Happy Mother's Day! Today, I have been thinking of all the wonderful things my mother has done for me in my many years of life and there is really nothing I can write in this blog to thank her for that.

 At work, ironically today, all the women were put on the morning. They asked Chef "Is today Mother's day ? Or Father's day!?" It was pretty hilarious. Chef said he put them in the morning so they could have a fabulous night out. Makes a certain amount of sense I suppose.

Cheers to Moms out there. I have been blessed to be in the presence of so many wonderful women in my life. I do hope that they realize how grateful I am to each and everyone of them.


A little poem to leave you with: -- something my Mom made clear to me from the day I was born

Not flesh of my flesh, Nor bone of my bone,
But still miraculously my own.
Never forget for a single minute,
You didn't grow under my heart - but in it

Heritage is over : cue *golf clap*

I realize it has been a long time since I have posted.. for this, I am extremely sorry.

Heritage has come and gone! And it was QUITE a week! We worked around 40 hours overtime and it seemed as though it would never end.

Picture this: a lovely buffet set up in a beautiful room, servers everywhere, everyone wearing nicely pressed uniforms, Chef stations at the ready. Sounds nice doesn't it? Now, imagine behind the scenes -- around 30 people bustling around a small kitchen, each with his or her own purpose. Insane noise, yelling chefs, timers going off. I found this hilarious. To work a station out on the floor versus the kitchen was such an interesting experience. I could only compare it to a scene from 'My Best Friend's Wedding' when Julia Robers is about to critique the restaurant; the kitchen folk are running around like mad, while there is a beautiful calm in the restaurant.

Each day I worked between 14 - 18 hours.  My days were spent between doing prep and working Chef stations for all the golfers and their family members. As well as people who paid around 1,200$$ per day! They did have nice passes. I worked omelet stations, carving stations, pasta stations ... pretty much any station you can think of. All very exciting. Graeme McDowell, the golfer who won prefers his eggs in egg white omelet  form with all the vegetables, a little cheese, and as little oil as possible. Just incase you find yourself cooking him an omelet any time soon.

I had a lovely surprise in the middle of the week when I got to see my lovely Aunt Ann and Uncle Lorin. We had such a nice day together, the perfect break from an insane week. We went to Quarterdeck (where I work), walked around Sea Pines a bit. I was fortunate enough to be invited to have dinner with them and the friends they were staying with. Despite knowing I had to be up around 5AM.. I stayed with their friends chatting until almost 11PM. I had such a wonderful time.

The week continued on afterwords. To be honest, it seems like quite a blur.

I had the great fortune of meeting some awesome chefs which they had shipped in just for the week. They will continue to be an inspiration for me and hopefully some of them will have become some of my lifelong friends.

I survived Heritage 2013.

Where Less is More...

Literally. This past week I have been at the Quarterdeck working a variety of stations. I was on pantry for a few days, on fryer (which I do not enjoy because it makes my skin quite oily... wonder why) and I helped prep for the 'boat'. There is a boat that the Quarterdeck feeds several times a week. Effrain is the person who preps for the boat almost everyday, generally there are between 60 - 80 passengers  The prep list isn't too intense, but its enough to have quite a bit to do for several hours. Working with Effrain can be a slight struggle. He speaks little English and basically laughs at every question you ask; not to make fun of you, but because he has no idea what you said, so he might as well just laugh. I was making potatoes for mashed potatoes and I had to fill three pans for the potatoes. As I began filling them, some were slightly more filled than others. One pan was overflowing (in my mind) and Effrain came over and said "Less". So I took some potatoes out of that pan and put them in another. Effrain came back again to look and began taking potatoes from the second pan and putting them back in the first. I said "Less?!" he said "Yes!"... I must have looked totally confused and I said "More?" and he responded "Yes!". Okay Effrain. But he's so delightful that you can't even say anything negative about him.

Next week is Heritage week! Dun dun dunnnnnn. I go in at 6AM every day and am working in the "Sky box" ( I will report back as to what the 'sky box' actually is) I'm pretty excited, everyone is bustling around getting ready and they said its like having a huge, extremely busy party all the time! And I am told I might even get to meet Ricky Fowler.. my favorite golfer!

I have been pumping iron all week as well. My gym visits have gotten significantly more intense and I am loving the challenge. Today I got a new PR -- I cleaned around 131 lbs and had 3 attempts at 140 .. no doubt in my mind I will get that next time I get the chance to try. I'm pretty stoked about the gym because I finally feel like my technique is getting more solidified and I am moving along quite nicely if I do say so myself. Hopefully I can sneak over there a couple times next week, if not, I will be squatting at the gym on Hilton Head where I have been going on my off days from Savannah!

Well, another early day tomorrow and then LET HERITAGE BEGIN!

<3

When it Rains.. it Pours.

Now, usually that phrase is reserved for when something bad happen.. bad things continue to happen. In this case, I'm talking about physical rain. Here on Hilton Head Island, when it rains, not only does it pour and storm, but no one goes out of their house. Everyone quickly goes into hiding before they get a raindrop on their little heads.

I have continued to work lunch the past few days and it has been SLOW. The rain keeps anyone from going to restaurants apparently. When it is slow at work, the time seems to just tick by one minute at a time. When it is super busy and you have a station or are helping someone on a station, at least an hour or two will pass without you even realizing it. When its slow, you realize every hour will never come and go and you will be stuck at the Quarterdeck for the rest of your life.

Heritage is quickly approaching. The interns are getting restless. Some people have learned where they will be working for heritage, others haven't (I haven't). We know that it is going to be one of the most intense weeks of our lives. I'm getting excited. Hopefully I'll even sneak a peak at Ricky Fowler!

I had Saturday off. That was wonderful. Got up bright and early and drove to Savannah to see Don. I worked out for a while and then he invited me to come watch a weightlifting competition which he was coaching a few competitors for. This was awesome! They weighed in and then we all went to eat at a chicken and waffles place (which was slightly difficult for Don and me because we are both paleo!) There were four guys who Don was coaching. Two of them were super heavys. When one got out of the car he said "I knew I smelt waffles coming down the road!" Apparently from a mile away he had smelled the waffles. Absolutely hilarious. When he ordered TWO orders of the chicken and waffles plates the server brought them over and said "Who had the second?" and he looked at her, pointed to the table and said "Oh no, that goes right here too". She looked horrified. It was amazing.

One of the guys was about my height and had maybe the biggest back I've ever seen in my life. He had been working out at a gym in Chicago and no one had paid attention to him there. He paid his own way and made it on the MDUSA Weightlifting Team in Charlotte. Where there's a will, there's a way. Don said "How could you ignore that!? He's built perfectly for lifting! If he walked into my gym, I would have nailed his feet to the platform and never let him leave!"

So that's all for now folks. Off to work I go!

Happy Easter to all, and to all a Good Night

First and foremost,  I have to say Happy Birthday Jim McGuirk!! My dad's birthday was on Friday! I would have loved to be there to celebrate with him, but I was with him in spirit! Love you Dad!!


Friday  night, a friend from work invited me to a concert. I had no idea what to expect except he said that his friend knew the band. Well, they were pretty awesome. They had a classic 80's hair band look about them, complete with the lead singer wearing fish nets and booty shorts. It reminded me of Rocky Horror Picture Show, which my friend (who is from India) had no idea about. That was a lot of fun just to be out and try something different!


Work has been crazy as ever. I have been working at the Quarterdeck restaurant still and actually getting a bit better at things over there. Easter was pretty intense. Not only did we have service, but we had a giant Easter brunch from 11-4, there were dishes everywhere, food everywhere, its amazing that everything got pulled together. Some of us were working the line and some were helping the with brunch. I was doing  the pantry station, which essentially means making salads and desserts. The head Chef, who I have gotten to know through working at the Conference Center, was there yesterday expediting the lunch service. He makes sure that all the food is out and going to the right place. Since he's gotten to know me, he knows that I prefer working at the Conference Center and yesterday he said to me "I don't know why you hate it here, you're doing a great job!" That made me feel pretty good. Also, yesterday was my first double. I worked from 11 AM - 11PM. Woah! My legs and feet were hurting pretty badly after that. My roommate and I were laying in our beds with our feet up against the wall to try to stretch them and make them feel better!

I have the day off today. Not only am I going to go work out which I could not be more excited about right now, but I think I will go explore Savannah a little bit. It seems that for us interns, our days off are generally the most dismal days on the island, in terms of weather. Hopefully that will change during the summer! But today its rainy and overcast, not a day for the beach, but definitely a day for some mall shopping in Savannah!

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Well, the post contains good, bad, and ugly. Just so everyone knows. A small disclaimer.

These past few days have been INTENSE! To be honest, I'm not always entirely sure what day it even is anymore.

I was back at the Quarterdeck Restaurant this week, mainly because there aren't any events for me to work. It has not only been, rather difficult to remember everything I learned a few weeks ago, which I then forgot when I was at the Conference Center, but I realized how much people can LEARN in those two weeks. Its a LOT! Luckily I  have my fellow interns around me so I don't have to look like a complete moron every time I don't know where something is or how to do something. Its a bit frustrating, but I realize if anyone came over to the Conference Center, they'd be in the same boat. That gives me a bit of reassurance.

Today I got to work the 'pantry' and also help with an 100 people luncheon. The Pantry is the area of the kitchen that makes all the salads and puts together all the desserts. Its pretty busy but its pretty fun! I liked that today... but man are my dogs barking.

I have also gotten back to CrossFit Savannah this week! That's been pretty awesome and I head there tomorrow as well. While I haven't gotten any new PRs yet (personal records), I know that they aren't far off! Don, the trainer there, has let me know that he thinks my AWESOME TRAINERS AT THE JCC did a great job and I have a really great basis, but now I'm just intensely working on technique so I can get everything down. I'm pretty excited. I sometimes arrive at the gym EXHAUSTED from work, but I always leave energized. Tonight I'm off to CrossFit Hilton Head to do some squats. My roommate and I were walking to the car and she said "Ugh. I can't wait to take a nap" and I said "Ugh. I can't wait to go do squats"... her response was a quick "Are you kidding?"Nope.

The other thing I was going to name this blog was "I am apparently Clark Kent"... my glasses make me a different person to the Mexicans I work with. Most are anti glasses, which has not stopped me from wearing them. But their responses have been rather comical. We have seen them out at a few bars, and literally I've had to reintroduce myself... Clark Kent. What up.

Second Times a Charm!

So the past two days I have worked at 3 events!! Which was crazy. There is a giant conference for people from Georgia Tech and others who are all very smart and seemingly important. I think they are discovering our future or something like that. Terrifying.

So the event last night, I had to carve the same meat that I carved at the first wedding I did. Now, the first time, the meat was everywhere, I was making a mess out of myself and the cutting board and the meat and myself (yes, I said myself twice). THIS time, however. Not only did I get to CARVE the meat ... I got to cook all of it. Four giant tenderloins. MY responsibility for a huge group of people. Was I terrified? Indeed. By some stroke of luck, or perhaps I"m a culinary genius, you decide, I cooked all four perfectly! Even Jim McGuirk would have been in hog heaven. Then, I got to carve my beautiful meat.. and I didn't make a mess. It was a giant win in my book.

During my beautiful meat carving, a lovely older woman came up to me. She reminded me of Grandma Larson, she just started chatting about how long they had been coming to Sea Pines and how beautiful of a job we were doing. She was wonderful.

Today we catered another event for Georgia Tech... To which all the same ol' faces were there. Including my little lady, who again complimented all of us on the job we were doing. I got to work a more active station, I got to cook chicken and vegetables for a souvlaki LIVE. That was very exciting. Despite it being a 2 1/2 hour event... to which my feet were less than happy.

Tomorrow, up super early for ze gym (Yes Tom, ze gym... shooting for 7AM) and then a nice long day of work!

Me being a TOTAL geek.. but look at the hat I have to wear while working events. So weird.

  Literally LOVE catering. I got to make these X240 :) All the same. 

Between A Rock and a Hard Boiled Egg Place

Well, I am sorry that I don't post everyday- -- but sometimes I feel that the day to day is pretty dull.

But, I do have a few things to say about the past few days. I have been working in the conference center, which is mostly Sea Pines catering, this is something I"m really enjoying here, it takes a lot of Garde Manger work. Garde Manger was a subject in school that I loved, so this is cool.

The catering kitchen at Sea Pines does a TON of events all over the resort. The other morning Kaitlyn and I were left to make up the continental breakfast that was scheduled for one of the mornings. The thing about catering is that you have to make giant batches, normally one might make about 6 hard boiled eggs at a time. Oh no, we had to make 4 DOZEN eggs. So our chef told us to steam them in the combination oven. Steam for 5 minutes, allow to sit for 10 minutes in the oven. Okay. Did that. THen, we tried to peel them... nope, not done. So back into the steamer. Tried to peel, nope. We kew that we had 4 dozen eggs and that's a LOT of eggs. We were stuck between a rock and a hard boiled egg place. We didn't want to waste the eggs but we didn't want to serve weird eggs. So we got them boiled ENOUGH. Well, not boiled enough for the South folks. They do not want a soft boiled egg, trust me.

Coming in the next day, we were terrified that the chefs were going to yell at us about But luckily, they saw that we had tried and tried and tried. While they were not pleased, they realized that we spent over an hour on these eggs, which should have only taken a half hour TOPS.

Beyond the eggs, we did a fun event last night. Its so interesting to see the way to pull off all these giant events. I made 420 rolls yesterday. 420!!!!!! That's SO many, can I get an 'Amen' ? Its so fun to see and be involved in this production. Its unreal to watch this food go out. Each canapé looking exactly the same, every tray looking beautiful and put together. There is a way to do everything, there is a place for each individual bite.

Today, another day, a different drama.

Oh- and I joined a gym in Hilton Head so I can go there a few days a week, and continue Savannah a few days a week.

Let's do this people.

A note to Jim McGuirk

Today, I was the fry master! That was... fine. Leaves you feeling pretty nasty on your departure of the kitchen. But my new friend Franklin helped me out which was awesome! For about an hour, I needed his help, but by the end of the day -- I was banging out fried food with the best of those McDonald's employees.

Anyway -- back to the note to my dear father. Today while I was cooking, I heard chef say to my friend Ryan on the line "Just cook it mediumish... when people think they want medium rare, they don't know what they're talking about"...

Immediately I thought, "Well, I hope my dad never comes to eat here"... hah I"m pretty sure when Jim McGuirk orders medium rare, he knows EXACTLY what he is talking about. So, Dad, if you ever happen upon The Quarterdeck ... and if I am in the back cooking... just mention to your server who you are... and that you do in fact, want your burger cooked medium rare.

Happy Birthday Brian!!

I realize I haven't posted anything for a few days, things have been very busy!

First of all. Today is Brian J. McGuirk's 30th birthday. I do wish I was at home celebrating with everyone (mostly going to Al Forno... so jealous) but I am celebrating with him and everyone at Wick Pub in spirit!! Have a Jameson for me! :) 

This past week I have been working in the Conference Center kitchen which does all the catering for the resort and very big parties. So far, its been pretty awesome. Its a different vibe than the other kitchen.

Today Katilyn and I got to work at a wedding!! That was pretty fun. Half way through the day of prepping, we got to go over to the venue and started setting up. I got to work at the carving station and carve up some delicious looking steak. It was a very pretty wedding, on the beach, a little breezy, but all in all really beautiful! The bride was adorable and the flower girl was super cute! I have a feeling Brian and Kristin's wedding will be a little big bigger... seeing as how this wedding was a solid 40 people. 

<3 now to order some delicious food with my roommies <3

The 24th Year.

To say that a lot has changed in the past year would be the understatement of the century! My life has taken an incredibly different and exciting path which I did not exactly expect a year ago from today. I am now pursuing a totally different career and living on an island in South Carolina. What!?


Yesterday, I celebrated my 24th year of living! At first I was a little sad to be away from home, not with familier friends or family, but by the end of the day ... I had a lovely birthday celebration.

Waking up to a slightly sad feeling, I went into work where I didn't think I would have much celebrating to do (of course). My new friend Franklin asked me how my day off was, to which I responded "Great! And today is my birthday!"... He got a huge smile on his face and gave me a hug "Ah! The birthday girl! God bless you!" Later I found out Franklin is from India and I made him promise to teach me some hindi as well as how to make delicious food. He works part time at an Indian restaurant on the island, as well as Sea Pines. Quite the cool dude.

I had a productive day at work. Many wonderful birthday wishes. I ended the day relaxing at home with some of the other interns, eating delicious ice cream cake, and having a few beers. A nice way to spend a birthday.

I am so thankful for everything that happened during my 23rd year. Let's make the 24th just as good!

<3

Thank you for all the birthday wishes. I love each and every one of you (... especially all 3 of you who actually read my blog)

Lemons.

A note about lemons. 

Look down at your hands... no cuts, no visible scrapes. 

Cut a lemon.

THERE ARE A MILLION TINY CUTS ON YOUR HANDS.

Be warned.

A Day of Firsts!

FIRST OF ALL! To all your READERS-- My mother mentioned to me I should probably make a point to tell everyone that the title of my blog is purely something fun. I am not trying to imply at ALL that Rhode Island was hell, I am implying that Hilton Head could be heaven.


Today was the first day on ze job at Sea Pines! I was scheduled from 10 AM - 4 PM

I arrived at 9:45 on the premise of "Being early is on time, being on time is late!" Well, I was almost late.. as I walked around in my chef whites ... desperately looking for an open door! Finally, my friend (new friend) Ryan shows up and helped me find the RIGHT, OPEN door -- which was awesome. And we were BOTH on time!

We got a tour of the kitchen and were immediately sent into the dish pit. Fun way to start eh ? But it was actually a really good thing because we got to know our way around the kitchen better by being able to put all the dishes away, sounds insane, I know, but it was actually awesome. Then we were given a pretty hefty prep list. A fun fact about the kitchen is that the fridge is down a few flights of stairs, so definitely getting in my steps today! We did get to make some beurre blanc sauce, which was fun? But generally it was a very fun day. We learned a lot and it was nice working with someone else and getting to know them.

Once I got out of work (an hour late, mind you) I journeyed to meet DON -- the man who has caused me to have anxiety dreams about forgetting how to lift. Walking into an unfamiliar gym, not being greeted by Robyn or Luke at the door, Andrew not yelling at me, and Tom not standing by my side telling me 'chest up', was a very intimidating process! Where was my lovely JCC!? Walking in, I was greeted by Don and a huge smile, a handshake, and even some other members asking me "Are you Amy!?" That was a nice feeling. The gym was in a hockey rink arena, which was hilarious. Beginning to lift with Don, he assured me that " Tommy did good" and that he was very excited to work with me .... All the anxiety lifted immediately.

Came home. Made Food. Took Shower. Going to bed. Tomorrow is a new day, can't wait for it to begin!

Hilton Head is becoming more and more heavenly by the moment AND its getting warmer!

Just the street that leads me to work. No big deal.

Heaven.

The Journey Begins

Well! I'm here. After 17 1/2 hours in a car with the wonderful Jane McGuirk, a stop to see some friends, we arrived at Hilton Head Island. "I'm so excited!" played as we crossed the bridge; A McGuirk/Hittner tradition according to Mom.. had to uphold that tradition! Very important.

 Since the arrival: Met all the interns, got roommates, set up my room, Mom left, had a mixer, ate lots of delicious food, met a few gingers, journeyed around the island, saw Sea Pines, found out where I'll be working, got lost in Sea Pines, fell into bed.

 Okay, that didn't all happen in one day. Obviously. But it has felt like one very long day since I got down here!

 Today I found out where I will be spending the beginning of my time here. I will be working in "The Quarterdeck" (http://www.seapines.com/dining/the-quarterdeck.aspx) restaurant, which is right where the famous lighthouse lives! Tonight, we dined at Topside, the "casual fine dining" restaurant which is (quite literally) a level above The Quarterdeck. Both restaurants use the same kitchen and as of right now I will be working the AM shift at the Quarterdeck (10-3) and also helping out at another location.

 I'm sorry blog world, I haven't gotten my sea legs (blog legs) back yet.

 I'm sure these posts will be getting better as the time goes on! I do miss my Rhode Islanders, but I am super excited to begin this chapter!