Friday, July 3, 2009

Hitting The Road Again...

Linda is working 7-3 tomorrow and then we are hoping to hook up and head out to Lawrenceville, NJ to her brother's place, for their family get together. I have a hefty "to do" list to accomplish tomorrow while she is at work which will keep me busy. We dropped our Xterra off at her sister's house for them to keep till we come around again.

The national diesel pricing has dropped a bit. We filled up yesterday for $2.69 gal. We went back today to an area produce stand to get some more green beans and cucumbers. They had run out of sweet corn yesterday, before we got there, but they had an ample supply today so we got two dozen and processed 18 of them to put in the freezer. Turned the beans and cucumbers into summer style salads so we'll have good eatin' during the week we're in New Jersey for our training.

A friend of ours commented that I talk alot about food in our blog and it's true...I do. Food has had such a prominent role in my life and career that it surely is part of my psyche. I am very passionate about quality food and the people who create great food. For those of you who do not know much about me, I'll give you a quick history lesson. I grew up on a 125 acre dairy farm in Pennsylvania and my summers were spent working in the fields or barn. When not working I frolicked with my younger brother, riding our bicycles, playing or fishing in the stream that ran through our farm. We always had a large garden and when I was about 12, I ran a produce stand on the highway that was about a 1/2 mile from our house. I sold sweet corn (by the dozen and bushel), all kinds of veggies and any types of berries or fruit that my mom had not turned into jelly, pies or put in the freezer. My parents had the wisdom to teach my brother and I about money in that the profit we made from this produce stand was split between my brother and I to use for buying clothes for the upcoming school year. IF we had any money leftover, after buying our clothes, we could use it to buy something special like a bike or some toy we had our eye on. It was hard work and a lot of responsibility but we learned the connection between hard work and reward. We also learned how much a dollar could buy and how to spend it wisely to get the things we needed.

I got my first job when I was 16 and you guessed it....it was in the restaurant business. I went to college, after high school, and received my degree in Food and Hospitality Management. The first 10 years of my career were spent primarily working in bakeries, part of that time was running my own bakery. The second part of my career was spent in a variety of roles with Marriott Corp., Cornell University Dining Services and then at Pennsylvania College of Technology for the last 18 years as Food Service Director. So...yes, I talk about food a lot probably because I think alot about food and the food business.

I never figured myself to be the type of employee to stay and get the "gold watch" so now is the time for new adventures and for learning new skills. That is what is truly wonderful about this lifestyle. Every day we get the chance to re-invent ourselves. Try new things we've always wanted to "dabble" in, develop new skills, make new friends, see different cities and towns and just have a ball. Tomorrow is the start of one of those new adventures for Linda and I....off to a new job. Let the adventure begin !

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