I Feel Old, But Not Very Wise

I had the worst nightmare today.
The type of nightmare that feels and seems so real, how could it possibly be a dream?

I woke up to my room completely as it is now.
Everyone's stuff was here and I looked at the door to see Steph and Krissy waving goodbye to me.
I got up to follow, to see where they were going, but once I reached the hallway no one was there.
I got to Roth and Farq and no one was there.
The classes and kitchens were empty.
Everyone was gone.
Steph, Kris, Christian, Morgan, Annelise, Todd, Shannon, Devin, Eric, Chip, Jenn.
Everybody I know was gone.
My family wasn't able to come up.
I was alone.
It was my birthday.

What scares me the most about this dream is that a majority of the people I know will be gone on my birthday.
I've mentioned this before, but for some reason it's finally hitting me.
The majority of the people I know will be gone because either they are going on their externship or they have graduated Associates and are taking a break until they start Bachelors.
I'm not complaining.
Because I love the people around me.
The feeling the nightmare created just freaked me out a bit.
But it's just a reality I have to square with eventually.


But regardless of the dream I had a really good day.
I had an excellent lunch with the pretty ladies and it was the complete opposite of my dream.
Everyone was present and accounted for, which was calming.

I started Skills Development I today.
Which is where I'm learning the basics of stocks, soups, knife cuts, etc.
I can't tell you the joy I felt when I was cutting up onions for mirepoix.
I literally exploded with happiness.
It's lame but I actually haven't cut anything, food/production wise, since June.
Buying something from the store and cutting it is different then doing it in a learning environment.
Trust me.
I felt so comfortable cutting onions.
I felt so comfortable smelling the chicken stock.
I feel extremely geeky typing that.
But it's the truth.
That's why I love culinary.
I was reminded today of that.

Chef Soileau (pronounced Swallow) is my teacher.
He is Cajun.
A graduate of the CIA.
Swears like a sailor.
Super nice guy.
Tough.
Blunt.
And funny.
I like him.
He expects a lot out of us, be he is willing to help us succeed to.

And on top of all that, we don't have written homework in this class.
Instead, we are just expected to study and act like responsible adults.
I am very happy.
It takes off so much stress, I can't even begin to tell you.