Practical exams.....DONE!!!

PhhhHEEeeEWwwWWw.........

Finally, IT'S OVER!! My practical exams are finally over and done with! I just can't explain how relieved I am. OMG...I was so freakin' nervous this morning. I just couldn't stop fidgeting around. I couldn't stop talking...couldn't stop moving. I was restless....it was as if I had a worm up my ass. But anyway...everything went exceptionally well today. Needless to say, I passed my exam. It's just the final mark I'm pretty anxious about. I don't wanna just get a pass or merit. I wanna get a distinction. But due to the bureaucracy in the administration of my college, I'm only gonna know about my results 3-4 weeks after my next semester starts, which is some time in February. How late is that?!? I wanna know now, damn it.

Any-who...my exams was "Beef Consomme" and "Rack of Lamb with Parsley Crust". Beef Consomme is like a clear soup...very very clear soup. There's no sediments, impurities or fat like normal Asian soups have. It's really clear...like tea without the tea sediments. Like water, but with color. The trick with this dish is, you gotta use egg whites to clear up the soup. The egg whites will bring all the sediments to the surface and it'll just float up there the rest of the time. And then when it's ready, it has to be strained thru a filter paper to ensure that there're no sediments, fat or whatsoever in the soup. That's how clear the soup has to be. It really is an amazing science. I did pretty okay with this entree. My soup was really really clear, has the right color and flavor, and it's free of fat. So I guess I did pretty good with this dish.

As for the main dish, Rack of Lamb with Parsley Crust, I didn't do so well. I didn't seal the lamb with the crust properly. So there were a couple of bald spots. And I so regret using the damn thermometer to measure the temp, so that I get the right doneness. Blood came out of the part where I stuck my thermometer needle in, and it ruined part of my crust. Damn the thermometer. But other than that, everything was not too bad. Wasn't great either. But I guess it's pretty good for a person who has only cooked professionally for the past 8 weeks. My sauce was really good...had the right texture and flavor. And my meat was cooked medium rare...which was the required doneness. And my garnish of potatoes, carrots and turnips were great.

Now that my practical exams are over, I'm gonna have to start studying for my theory. Well, to be honest, I'm pretty confident with my theory. It's not very difficult when you have no problems with English. For the international students who don't really know English, it would definitely be a problem. And you gotta pass theory to pass the course. So there's no escaping there. But I'm kinda aiming for full marks for my theory...if not, then at least in the 90s. So...wish me luck on that.

Other than exams, there's also one major thing that happened in my life. I finally pulled the plug on my job. I resigned last Thursday...and OMG...I was so relieved after that. I was so lightened up and...believe it or not...so much happier. Well, it really is about time that I quit my job....been there for a year and a half, and it has kinda reached the extent where there's really nothing left to learn. I'm really gonna miss my colleagues though...they're great...they're the only ones I'm gonna miss in that job. But I guess I gotta move on someday...so why not now, especially when management is getting so chaotic. So my last day will be on December 7th. After that, I'll be jobless.....for quite a while. I'm gonna take a break for a while. But as far as money concerns, it's quite a worry. I wouldn't have steady income after I quit my job. But I do have some savings with me...should be sufficient for the time being. That guitar lesson is really killing me...200 bucks every month just goes away like that.

I was thinking of going back to KK this Christmas, since I've quit my job and I have around 6 weeks of holiday. But when I checked the air tickets, it's so damn expensive...and then the exchange rate is so low now...I decided not to. I'll stay here and explore the country a bit, as well as practise my cooking and prepare for my next semester. You might think that I'm a little uptight about this, but trust me, cooking is different from studying in Uni. If you don't practise cooking, you'll forget the skill easily. So this is like a skill that has to be practised everyday. If I go back to KK, I'm pretty sure I'm not gonna cook at home...plus it's really hard to find good ingredients there. And there's no oven at home too. So I was like...forget it...just wait till the new house is built, then I'll go back.

Hmm..what else is there to say? Well...Nickelback's new album, Dark Horse is fuckin' awesome!! Best album ever!! You guys should listen to it. And I guess that's it. I'll put up some photos of my classmates and chefs in the next couple of weeks. So...until then, goodbye!