Category Archives: Random rant

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The truth doesn\’t set you free…

Whomever came up with that statement should really get a kick in the face!  Honesty doesn\’t always get you everywhere or anywhere for that matter.  You see I\’ve been in this crappy culinary industry for 16 years now,  and have gained enough expertise through the years teamed up with a partial education to really truly call myself a Chef.  I\’m quite PROUD of that, no reason why I SHOULDN\’T be either if you ask me.  Thankfully all the hard work in the past has paid off and for the past few years I\’ve managed to snag some pretty high end job titles and the responsibly that come along with it.  GO ME!    However after the soon to be loss of my current job and sending out well over 40 cv\’s to places that were hiring (below my skill level mind you but with decent enough pay to cover my expenses and still have a  life) with very few phone calls in return I was starting to wonder.

But you see, after oodles of utter & EPIC frustration, something dawned on me after being told on numerous occasion that I was \”over qualified\” but thanks for applying anyway that it was necessary to lie on my CV about my qualifications read dumb them the hell down!  Very few places are hiring actual Chef\’s/sous Chef\’s and if they are chances are I\’m not qualified enough since I don\’t have my red seal nor do I plan on getting it even though i am more then eligible and have been for years or not ethnic enough with the added required languages of God knows what aside from the usual English/French.  So instead of saying I was the executive anything most of my job titles save for the exception of 1 sous Chef position because it was just too recent and I know that he would have said as much if called upon for a reference.   I simply replaced all my I worked my ass off for job titles to \”cook\” and well what do you know, all of a sudden I\’m not so \”over qualified\” anymore.

So last night after occasionally returning to a particular \”help wanted section\” online and refreshing the page I put my sneaky ninja stalker skills to good use and nabbed myself a job interview this evening.  So I went and I had a much better feeling about this place then the one in Lasalle & that pointless interview I had in CDN as well.  It just seems more my deal so I talked to the executive Chef and I have a job trial on Thursday.  I LOVE the concept of this place, its not an actual \”restaurant\” per say.  You can \”eat in\” but their main focus is on gourmet take out & delivery and I\’d be rocking the grill & saute which are the more \”coveted\” sections on a line since those are the ones that actually require some real skill as opposed to working any other one.

Which is slightly amusing since I was talking to Mat yesterday about my interview in CDN and how I was gravely insulted that A: It was a garde manger position and B the starting wage was $9.10/hour (I mean seriously are you kidding me?).  So I jokingly said there\’s no way in hell that I\’m going to be a glorified salad bitch for so little money and it really is the lowest rank on an actual line and usually the lowest paid job.  When Mat turned around and said hey, that\’s my position at my restaurant.  *Open mouth, insert foot* good thing I have small feet and a big mouth apparently!  Thankfully Mat has a sense of humor (and laughed all the while defending his position) and well in my own personal defense he\’s only been doing this for 4 years and I\’ve been doing it for 16 so I feel slightly entitled to be a \”title snob\” of sorts.

I don\’t know what the deal is with that place in Lasalle other then they have proven to be terribly un-professional for one thing and the line up they have (staff wise) is HORRENDOUS!  I\’ve never seen so many things occur in my 2 hours of cooling my heels waiting for Domenic\’s ass to show up(which he never did) then I think I have ever, with the exception of that one place that I worked at in the village briefly…  By briefly I mean I stayed for an hour and I quit.  So I\’m not getting my hopes up but I actually kind of hope that I get this job that I had the interview at tonight, it just felt right and I like that!  Not only that, a few of the guys that work there are HOT!  Not that I would personally involve myself with anyone at work ever as a rule but hey, nothing wrong with some awesome eye candy to help pass the time 😉

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Debunking myths, rumours & other asst\’ stuff…

So last night I stayed up a little later then usual because I was having the most random, although interesting conversation with Mike on the phone.  Which may I add (should he happen to read this) his roommate & I won a \”bet\” about the weather.  Would it snow before or after Halloween, we both said before (has to stick & stay white on the ground according to him) and well sure enough its fucking snowing!  Welcome to your first winter in Mtl Mike, your in a for a treat (Toronto ain\’t go nufin on this place!) 😉

Anyway then as I\’m about to go to bed, I get a text message at 12:07am out of nowhere that said:  \”I need you to tell me more about the HSV  thing its freaking me out\”.  HSV (Herpes simplex virus) should only raise cause for ANY type of alarm IF its

HSV-2 which is genital herpes (that sounds like a ton of fun! relationship killer) whereas

HSV-1 isn\’t so bad because its nothing more then a cold sore *ahem*

So yeah said person (they know who they are and yes they do on occasion read my blog so no need to name names) apparently isn\’t talking to me anymore because of a fucking cold sore I had two months ago.   Except said person needs to grow a pair and actually say so, I don\’t go away that easily…  But yeah OK saying you have herpes is a hell of a lot more damming/cryptic/nasty whatever then saying you have a cold sore but guess what ladies & gentleman chances are that you have the virus too and don\’t even know it! Its as common as a cold and easily spread and more often then not people come in contact with it in their infancy.  However its So flipping minor, well at least hsv-1 is, that there\’s no legitimate reason to get your panties in a knot over it.

So yes while you can in theory get genital herpes from HSV-1 its STILL only the HSV-1 strain, NOT HSV-2 which is FAR more damming then HSV-1.  Its pretty simple, you have a cold sore/fever blister outbreak, keep your lips to yourself!  My Doctor & both my dentists told me that the only way HSV-1 can spread is *IF* you actually have an open cold sore, HSV-2 well again that\’s a whole other story.  I honestly couldn\’t imagine what on earth I would do if I ended up with this (its a tad graphic) all over my genitals *shudder*!  Christ I have a fit if I have razor burn, never mind anything else!

Thankfully, on the rare occasions I actually have a cold sore( I almost never get them, I\’ve only actually ever had 3); I get uber paranoid about bacteria (well I already am, hate germs) but I kick the precautions up an extra 100 notches to make damn sure that the cold sore stays in the microscopic section of my lip and NO WHERE ELSE.    Not only that, I see my obgyn every 6 months and even though my sex life is non exsistant and has been for a while I still get my blood work done every 3 months just because I\’m paranoid cautious, aside from the fact that I have to get regular stuff checked anyway (sugar levels & blah blah blah) because of that incident in the summer of my blood pressure being sky high & what not.   So I figure if your siphoning blood out of me anyway, might as well cover all the bases and thank God I am STD free and I WILL stay that way too!

So I think that\’s just really a total cop out…  This \”incident\” occured 2 months ago and its only creeping you out now?  WTF?  Makes no sense to me, other then the one comment that they made in conjunction with me possibly being dissapointed (with what I STILL have NO idea).  Well I have some semblance of a clue I suppose based solely on an assumption due to a comment they made once a while ago.  I got news for them however, I have ways of finding things out (sneaky stalker ninja Steph) and they\’re NO where near as hideous as they may think they are.  My opinion actually such as it is, not that it matters now anyway couldn\’t be MORE opposite but whatever…  Ah sometimes I DO love the internet 😉

I am also not the only one who thinks this whole situation is ridiculous either( not only that but I expected a little more from them and thought they were smarter then that)…  Whilst gabbing gossiping/venting with a few friends on MSN, this was the \’jist of it:
C i lack words in danish, Spanish, Swedish AND English to describe how low that is lol
D: He wont talk to you because of THAT? wtf?
Steph says:
I know! OHHHH I\”M SO pissed!
C says:you should be..
Steph says: Thanks! Glad someone agrees with me!
C says:that\’s just incredible lame lol i cant believe he ignores you because of some cold sores..
Steph: I\’ve only had one in the past 5 years, likely due to the extreme stress of Jason dying, the time before that was about a month before I moved here and the time before that I was like 11
C says: damn >.<

So that being said, went on another job interview after work today.  Jason the actual manager was off somewhere so I was talking to the sous Chef and that was well \”interesting\” to say the least.  Bottom line for me on that Bistro job? Its an insult to my qualifications/bank account and my all around personal integrity as a whole.  So came home and applied for a few more that I know I\’m not over qualified for (for a change!) and I need to call Dominic as well sometime soon to see about doing a trial run in his kitchen.  It was such a  sketchy interview though!  Not only that, a lot of time has passed between Saturday and today so I have my doubts but ain\’t going to know squat unless you try.  So try I shall…  I\’m running out of time here though.  My rent ain\’t going to wait or anything else for that matter!

On a final note, my lovely friend and I have a long running inside joke about heels & fancy drinks 😉  So while doing a shoot, she was the first person I thought of (with someone else a close second) when I seen this image (well one of them anyway).

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I have a plan…

I like plans, I like knowing that I and I alone hold some semblance of control over *my* life and no one else.  So after the most epic meltdown that I think I have ever had which Ian bared the burnt of that via  a telephone conversation last night after making the mistake of asking me how my day was lol.  So my boss is being a twat and I have officially reached my breaking point!  I\’ve been talking about going back to school for years now to pursue something else but that takes time and money that I don\’t necessarily have.  Especially time!  Being in the culinary industry is a total time whore!  No its not impossible to maintain a job and go to school, I\’ve done it.  However its so un-predictable it makes time management a tad difficult on occasion.

Enter this beautiful thing that technology permits called e-learning!  Lasalle college offers a year long program in multimedia techniques which is online and the tuition fees aren\’t outrageously high either so that\’s a plus!  I have little interest in some aspects of the program, but meh why not?  Won\’t kill me to learn something new which is somewhat in retrospect to what I was after anyway.  I\’m also going to be taking a crash course in web design.  I have background knowledge  in it anyway and seeing as how my code skills could use some work anyway might as well.  Jason and I had discussed that prior to his untimely death and well I figure there\’s no better time then the present.  I put it off for several reasons, one of them being he was my personal coding genius.

I already have a copy of the entire macromedia dreamweaver suite (which is included with said class) and associated programs but maybe I\’ll actually learn how to actually use it lol.  Because their tutorials well they\’re shit…  I also lack the patience to sit there and figure it out on my own.  nothing like have a grossly over-priced piece of paper to add to my current collection that say YAY I know how to use it! 😉  Originally it was more so for my own personal benefit with Jason\’s & company\’s joint ventures but I figure since he\’s gone now and even though James did agree to come on board (thank God!) it would be to my own personal benefit to actually know 100% how everything works so that I need not rely on anyone/anything else…

So in order to achieve this I have to continue to whore myself out to the industry that I really am growing to despise and don\’t exactly enjoy anymore regardless of where I work I now have a goal in mind and that if anything gives me the motivation to tolerate this a little bit longer (I hope!) knowing that in the end something bigger and better will be there at the end.  Again I can hope right?  So we\’ll see what happens, in any case my website will benefit from it in the end (I think).

So I have a job interview tomorrow evening for a sous Chef position which is more *my* deal, and well its more stable since its in an upscale retirement home as opposed to a restaurant environment so if anything its consistent as opposed to being in an alternative culinary environment where your hours are dictated by the amount of customers you have in a day.   I need more stability in my life when it comes to my finances because well I have a tattoo habit to support.  Also decided that since my knee issue has improved sans surgery I\’m going back to the gym.  I miss kick boxing, people may say that its violent blah blah blah but really aside from having and I quote \” good old fashioned angry sex to make me feel better\” which is always fun, I need an outlet for the reams of anger I seem to be experiencing lately and well I like it.   Not only that my sex life is well not even in exsistance :p

So maybe I\’ll start shopping for hot pink hello kitty boxing gloves ha ha!

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And i\’m done…

Its official, I HAVE reached my breaking point as of right now!  I mean seriously, I just want to curl up into the fetal position in a padded room and scream!  I\’ve been saying for years now that I need HAVE to not be a Chef anymore…  After today the more I think about it, the more it needs to happen.  My boss has some serious issues with communication, I mean really.  Its one thing to rag on me for something I DIDN\’T do or have the audacity to say to me I told you that earlier when in fact it WAS my co-worker, NOT her in a snotty ass bitchy tone.  That, I can\’t handle that!  There\’s no damn way I can take her, this industry and the reams of BS that come with it!

I\’m pretty sure that I\’m going to unjustly get fired from my job because my boss refuses to acknowledge when she\’s wrong or when she\’s convinced in *her* mind that I didn\’t do something or her new favorite pastime, writing me up for something that she told me ONE time to do and I forgot or it wasn\’t done when SHE wanted it done without taking into consideration what I need to get done in the morning with only ONE hour to get it done.  So yes please pile more work onto my ass because you assume that I don\’t manage my time properly or something…

No I\’m not perfect and contrary to her belief, I AM mature enough, responsible enough to in fact take responsibility for my OWN ACTIONS!  She however can\’t…  Tells ME that *I* don\’t communicate enough but when anyone attempts to, she doesn\’t fucking listen and argues with you to the point that you want to stab yourself in the face due to extreme frustration!  I don\’t give a damn if your the one who signs my cheques, if you don\’t provide me with the necessary tools to do my job I can\’t make it happen!  I am not a mind reader either, I posses numerous gifts but that\’s NOT one of them!

That being said I applied for a bunch of jobs yesterday…  Got a few phone calls back today but there\’s only one that interests me at the moment.  One of them didn\’t even bother to leave me a voicemail, oh well c\’est la vie…  I\’ll see what happens, because I need to get out of this industry right now.