While I was out...

I suppose I should have expected that I would not have been able to live-up to my expectations to have posted at least one entry while on my whirlwind three-and-a-half week tour of the United States. Still, I am disappointed in myself for not writing just once. I barely even wrote in my personal journal. And I find that when I procrastinate [or avoid prioritizing] my written reflections, I tend to forget the pithy phrasings and descriptive language to which I sometimes dedicate hours of internal editing.

Alas! I have forgotten some of the whimsical and some of the refined observations on America and my American interactions that all seemed strangely familiar.

Flatirons, CO

No More Apologies

I have come to realize that I cannot post nearly as often as I would like--nor can I post with the creativity I would prefer. This will be my last apology for being M.I.A.: I am sorry. (Speaking of which, you should check out the new M.I.A. video for "Born Free" knowing that it will be quite violent.) This post should serve as a brief update on my life.

I have spent much of the past month studying so that I can now operate up-to-par with Zingerman's Roadhouse standards. Grueling and challenging at times, the process has ultimately been rewarding. I am all the more knowledgeable about food (production to plate) and enlightened by the organization's philosophy about people, community, and service. I am still loving my job, and I am looking forward to the coming months that are the Roadhouse's busy season--the other night a drunken and proud father of a recent grad insisted on telling me quite the animated joke and then confessing he would stop drinking Johnny Walker Black.

I recently soaked in a few rays while repotting C's and my cucumbers, pimento peppers, and zebra tomatoes.

Recently, I have been observing C and others go through the graduation process and have thus been brought face-to-face with one of those moments when events facilitate reflection on time passed. A flash to me last year would yield an image of a zealous and confident young man ready to start a summer job in service at a popular local business, planting a garden, enjoying the company of friends in an Ann Arbor summer, and secure in a future with the Peace Corps. If I have learned anything in the past year (which has been difficult, to put it mildly), I have learned to be humble about what I do have and to recognize how fleeting what I have can be. I appreciate my position in life, right now, and I do all I can to live contemporaneously with joy in that appreciation.

Still, the fact that I have come full-circle (in a way, when considering the similarities between my basic life description then and my basic life description now) has brought me to some questions that I have not yet been able to put into words for others. My language seems to fail to capture these reflective and thought-provoking circumspections.

Soon, I will begin learning some basic Mandarin. I have made it a goal to begin calligraphy as a hobby come August.

Otherwise, some recent intakes...
Movies I Have Seen Recently and Recommend: "Revolver"
Book Recently Finished: "No One Writes to the Colonel" by Marquez
Book Recently Began: "Steppenwolf" by Hesse
Music on my Mind: The xx, Groove Spoon, RJD2's "The Colossus," Caribou's "Swim," The Twelves remixes, The Glitch Mob

FINALLY!

Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to say that after 257 applications (I have a list) of one sort or another since this time last year that I have found employment!!!

Here.

"Really good American food." That's right.

Not only do I feel total relief that someone out there thinks I am capable of working for them, I am inundated with feelings of validation that it is a renowned employer and organization. Zingerman's has a reputation for excellence in product, service, and management. They value every aspect of their organization, and I am proud and privileged to be a part of that.

I look forward to good food, engaging conversations on good food, encouraging environments to foster good food [service], new friends formed around good food, etc.

Basically, I need to start studying so I can fit in with a group of people who have an encyclopedic knowledge of food. I am excited. Fin.