Another week, another handful of dollars!
Thankfully, it's been a short week, with my long weekend thanks to sacrificing last Friday's public holiday. I don't know if it's my increased intake of caffeine, addiction to So You Think You Can Dance, or a pesky game called Super Collapse II on my Gameboy that have been mainly responsible for my struggles getting through the week with enough sleep on board. It might be because I haven't been running or exercising enough, or I've been on the verge of catching whatever minor illness is going around.
I'm just glad I have a few days to get over it all, and start afresh. Don't get me wrong, it's been a good week. Productive in the sense that I've already got some stuff signed off in my work history and competency log, I managed to get through all of last weekend's homework in one piece, and we tackled a highly successful buffet in the Airmen's Mess. I also got most of a taste of what assessment is going to be like, as I took care of a soup, a main course choice, and most of a vegetable side for lunch today! It's actually nowhere near as mad as I thought it would be to juggle, and obviously with some more experience, it should be quite a manageable task.
Earlier on in the week I had a crash course in bulk cookery of stocks, soups, and sauces. Namely some vegetable and brown stocks, a cream of tomato soup, and bechamel sauce. Sounds like pretty basic stuff, but for some reason these tasks took up enough of my time that I couldn't really contribute to the usual lunch fare. Sure, people ended up using the stocks, soup, and sauce that I'd made, but I felt a little disconnected from the usual running of the kitchen. My recipes have been taken out of the old school RAAF basic cookbook, where students had to prepare recipes in quantities for 25 people. Apparently after these vast amounts of food were prepared, most if not all of the food was thrown out. No wonder the cooking school was shut down because of cost issues!
Today I was left to my own devices, with some grilled barramundi fillets, honey sesame carrots, and Mulligatawny soup. I had no idea what Mulligatawny soup was, and thought that it was some kind of joke when it was written up on the taskings board. I had totally forgotten that it actually gets a mention in the Soup Nazi episode of Seinfeld! Fortunately, despite being able to count the number of soups I've made in my life on both hands, the soup turned out well enough to receive compliments from my Sergeant. Win.
In other news, I've been declined my application for a personal loan, but I have received a RAAF loan for a computer. Most of the money has already been spent, thanks to the frightening ease of ordering through Apple's website, so with a little luck I'll be updating this from the comfort of my own room within a week or so. I'll also be able to edit out all the security tags in these posts! With some software I'm getting, I'll hopefully be able to start an online comic, or at least establish some creative webspace again. I can't wait to return to civilian internets!
In the neverending quest to pimp out my room, I picked up a dusty, forgotten and/or unloved DVD player that was sitting on the floor in one of the downstairs box rooms. It was only by chance that I came back through the alternate ground floor doorway, and glanced into the box room at the right time as I was walking past to get to the stairs, and actually spotted this little source of glee. I couldn't help myself; I had to take it and see if it was still in working order. Fortunately I had a sampler DVD of Adult Swim cartoons in the back of a magazine to try, and sure enough, it was all good. Someone probably bought themselves a home theatre system or something, and the hand-me-down technology gods have smiled upon me accordingly.
Contrary to Sunday's plans, I thought of a better way to lash out and treat myself - I'm flying to Melbourne! I'll only be there from the wee hours of Friday until Sunday afternoon, but still. It's immensely indulgent, and I wasn't meant to go back until June, and I should be spending my money on something sensible like computer software or saving towards the Brisbane trip and/or a scooter, but I figure that while I have a chance to sneak back, why not? I can't do too much shopping thankfully, because I have tickets that only give me carry-on luggage. So, intangible treats it is this weekend!
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