A Splendid Weekend

I spent this past weekend in Northampton, MA, at my alma mater - Smith College.

(No, there wasn't snow, but isn't this beautiful?)

It was the first time that I have been back since graduating in May. Seeing some of my friends from school was absolutely wonderful. I have missed them like mad, so it was great to reconnect and relive the good old days of dorm life.

A few highlights of the trip:

After just a few hours of being in Northampton, I dragged everyone to Local Burger. As one of my favorite restaurants in the area, there was no way I was not going to have a burger. The moment I bought my plane ticket, I began craving a cheeseburger like a hormonal pregnant woman. Being the great people they are, we were able to make it and got more food than any of us desired to eat. Since it's Local Burger though, we finished it all.

I was fortunate enough to have been at Smith during one of the infamous shows at the Greenhouse. So we saw lots and lots of mums and all sorts of other plants the garden has.

The weekend was also characterized by a perpetual concern for the state of my cell phone, as I forgot the charger. This concern was immensely amplified, however, when I realized around 2 am on Saturday night that it was missing. As anyone who has lost anything knows, this is one of the worst feelings possible. Fortunately for me, the first place we checked was the lawn. My heart lifted out of my chest when I saw it light up on the lawn as we called it. Crisis averted.

I also the new first years and chilled with my AWESOME friends!

Annnnd the planning has begun for my trip to Europe this spring! Hopefully we'll be visiting Paris and London. It will be over the week of Easter, so maybe we'll see some of the festivities.

 Yay!

Bedtime.

Goal #1: Learn to Cook

My three most notable experiences in the kitchen are as follows.

1996

At the age of 7, while watching my mom make dinner, I was told a tragic story regarding one of the neighbor girls. While attempting to drain boiling water, she spilled the water on her forearm and spent the evening in the hospital treating the burns. A few weeks later I heard another story of a girl who burnt her herself while taking a cake out of the oven. Combined, these two experiences convinced me that cooking was an unnecessary health risk that could be avoided by letting someone else cook.

2009

I moved into a house with four other girls. I was faced with my own kitchen for the first time. I decided that learning to cook would be fun because it would be an excuse to purchase cute kitchen supplies. I christened the kitchen it by purchasing a cupcake pan and a set of mixing bowls. (These supplies were each used once.)

2010

I can still count my experiences in the kitchen on one hand. I have decided, however, that this has gone on for long enough. I am convinced that I need to learn to cook and bake. If I at least make an effort and it turns out everything I touch is terrible, others will no longer expect me to cook and I can return to the simplicity of takeout. On the other hand, if I succeed, I will hopefully have developed a new hobby.

. . . . .

I figure, if I can do chemistry, how hard can cooking be? Essentially they're the same... right? You combine ingredients, somehow they change form, and you end up with a final product that doesn't necessarily resemble what you started with. At this point, the main difference I can see is that in one you are told to never consume what you are working with and the other is all about consumption. I hope this venture doesn't lead to my death.

To further my belief that cooking isn't that difficult, I have convinced myself that if people have been cooking since, well, since people were alive. So, how hard can it possibly be? (Although, it seems to involve much more magic than science.)

To end on a positive note, I think I have potential. I am generally pretty good at following directions and I have a few cookbooks that have seemingly clear directions. Occasionally, I get impatient, forget to purchase key ingredients, or don't have the necessary cookware, and decide to proceed anyway, but most of the time I follow directions. Enough prepping myself though, it is time for my excursion into the kitchen to begin, and important events will be highlighted on this blog.

we'll see how long this lasts

i now have a little blog

we will see how long i can make this last

you may be surprised

credit

who knows