It's the end of the term as we know it
and I feel fine
Well well well, I’m baaaaaaaack! Did you miss me? Apologies for no newsletter last week but I was tired. I have nothing more of an excuse to offer than that. But now I am rested up and ready to yap again so, to quote the inimitable Jack Armstrong, HELLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
God, so many things can happen in a couple weeks. Last time we talked, none of us knew who Luigi Mangione was, and now look at us. Interestingly enough, I had been having a conversation with one of my young coworkers a couple weeks back about the postal strike and labour and whatnot, and I told her that while I do believe all labour is skilled labour, the least skilled labour I have ever encountered in my many years of working is a CEO, or anyone in the “c-suite” as they like to call it. Just unimaginative, largely incompetent people who are obsessed with the “shareholders” and “the board” and “increasing profit” by any means necessary. It’s all rather bleak, that the people who care the least about their fellow man are somehow in charge of resource distribution, which they basically refuse to do because capitalism begets hoarding (which is what the show Hoarders should have actually been about, but I DIGRESS). So, maybe there was something in the air: a wee sprinkling of class consciousness, a little dollop of revolutionary spirit, communist Jesus, etc.
Speaking of labour…this week was the final week at my work placement! Time flies!! That 7 weeks really just blew by, but I had a very enjoyable time and learned a lot and met a lot of really nice people, 10/10. I wish I took more pictures but to be fair to me, I was working. It was super interesting to work in a restaurant of that scale and to have a whole pastry team to work with. I loved learning from all the other cooks, most of whom had so much experience and good knowledge to share, all while being patient with me as I was figuring stuff out. It was cool to work for my friend also because she was a great boss and is really really skilled and people respect the hell out of her and I feel like, it’s so rare to see your friends in that setting, that it was super cool to come in and see her killing it. It kind of made me want to job shadow my other friends at their jobs. I’m very nosy.
Baking right now is basically like, COOKIES!!!! If you’re not making cookies are you even at work????? At Moonmilk, we make and sell gingerbread house kits and we also have a Christmas cookie box, plus we have the cookies that we always have on the menu so, it’s big time cookie hours at the moment. I have made so much gingerbread dough, I could make a gingerbread small sized city. But, it’s fun to make and eat cookies so I can’t really complain.
I also participated in a cookie exchange with several friends which means I made lots of cookies in my spare time recently as well. I decided to make a lot of one kind of cookie that I could keep in the freezer as a slice and bake situation, and I had made a delicious cookie at school last term that fit the bill, so I already had a good recipe. The cookie is a spiced orange shortbread, in an icebox style, so I made the dough, portioned it out, rolled them into even logs and rolled them in coarse sugar and then they live in the freezer until it’s time to bake. This was a good plan because now I have so many rolls of cookie dough in my freezer and I can slice and bake them at my convenience. Way to be proactive Lauren. The fun thing about making the cookies is that I candied orange peel for the first time, which was very fun and satisfying:
I can’t believe that in January I start my final term of school. Only 15 more weeks! And then I graduate!! My third adult graduation, I do feel blessed by that honestly. As someone who loves school it’s been a pleasure to be able to do it at this point in my life when I know what I know and my experiences are much broader. Plus, this term we get to take a whole course on cheese and beverage pairing so, that rips. And of course, you will all be along for the ride with me, and many thanks to everyone for reading this lil newsletter, I know I say it all the time, but I appreciate everyone and anyone reading this.
I think this might be my last newsletter for the year, but I am making a croquembouche for new years so I’ll likely document that and write about it, as it is my first attempt at one. Pray for me.
Happy Holidays feels like the wrong thing to say as we continue to watch Israel expand its genocidal army from Palestine to Lebanon to Syria. I feel a deep sickness and shame over experiencing holiday joy, there is a cognitive dissonance that is hard to hold. Maybe you feel that way too, so I just wanted to express that here, as it has been weighing heavy on me.
I will end it here with this meringue snowman who I feel encapsulates the general vibe:
Bye!!