A Change in Command

As October folds into November, so too does my life fold into a page of adjustment and change.

The start of this week marked the change of a new kitchen rotation. I am no longer on the morning shift and will be in afternoons for the next month. This means no more waking up at 5:00am but do you think my internal clock knows the difference? Not a chance. I find myself waking up between the hours of 5:45 and 6:30 most days, which to be honest I don't mind. I don't want start going to bed at 12:00am and waking up at 9:30am because it would make going back to morning schedule exceptionally brutal. However lingering so long at home is difficult, I don't want to wake my landlords but staying in bed is impossible. I tip toe downstairs, crocheting and iPod in hand. After breakfast I curl up by the window and work away at my newest crocheting project while listening to soft Christmas music.

November also marks the start to a new season: Christmas! As many of you know my enthusiasm for Christmas starts the minute I wake up on November 1st. On the eve of October 31st, after the last of the trick or treaters have trudged home, carrying their body weight in candy, I sit down at my computer and organize my Christmas playlists so I am prepared for every possible Christmas music scenerio. For example this year I have themes like: Christmas Soft, Christam Rock, Christmas Driving, Christmas Epic, Christmas Funky, Christmas Bedtime, Christmas Dinner Party, Christmas Stories, Christmas Adventures in Odyssey, Christmas Silver Screen, Christmas Favourites, Christmas Tree Sitting and Christmas, Chrristmas, Christmas. Phew! I should be committed. To add to my gaiety it snowed for a whole day this week! Sadly by 10:00am the next morning it was all gone but for those brief delicious 24 hours it smelled like silver and blue, frost and wood fire places, Christmas melodies and golden ribbons. I look forward to the time when the scent of Christmas lingers indefinately.

As I mentioned earlier I am in the afternoon rotation at school. I have also been rotated into a different department: Function. Function Group inlcudes preparing sweet trays, speciality goodies, and other fancy things for various conferences, functions, and groups that are hosted in Holland College. Most functions lean towards the last half of the week leaving Tuesday and Wednesday almost empty of kitchen responsibilty. I was very uncomfortable with this new found freedom and felt like I wasn't pulling my weight in the kitchen even when there was nothing to pull. Shouldn't I be making something? Are you sure I don't have get started on my cheesecake until Wednesday? Can I clean something? What on earth do I do with myself?! Most would take this freedom as a gift and an opportunity to doddle but I did not. I copied out recipes, adjusted measurments and conversions in my notebook and preped the ingredients for the next day. Determined to keep myself busy I flagged a page in my recipe book eager to revisit some favourite recipes and to sharpen my skills when spare time came available.

And how can I forget about that glorious little gift called Daylight Savings? A whole extra hour of sleep that I didn't even have to bargin for. With the sun rising at a more liesurely pace and setting practically at 3:00pm I will be biking to school in daylight and coming home in the dark. A curious turn of events.

Before I sign off for the night and tuck myself into bed, as mentioned before my internal clock needs some adjustment as I still find myself drifting off by 9:30 despite my attempts to push it to 10:00, I would like to share one hilarious and miraculous story with you. This past Thursday, as I arrived at my apartment after a long day of school, I discovered the key to my bike lock was missing. I knew I had it when I unlocked my bike at school which meant it was between my apartment and the college. After searching every pocket on my clothing, my back pack and even the random crevices of my bike I retraced my steps and biked all the way back to school. It wasn't hiding under the bike rack or around the school, it was indeed sitting patiently in the middle of Queen street. Queen street! So like a hobo diving for dropped change I ran into the street between cars grabbed the key and ran back to my bike. I felt like a fool, but a victorious fool.

Yes November is saturated in the unsettling air of change, but like a sea bird I welcome the challenging flight.