Weekend 3: I do free labor
Friday night saw myself at the pub with a few classmates and then all of the sudden it was midnight. That hadn’t been the intention but I’m extremely happy to report my stout education continues. In Cork you can be one of three things - a Guinness girlie, a Beamish girlie or a Murphy’s girlie. I seem to be leaning Beamish but please stay tuned for any further progress.
I returned to my old habit of making post-bar grilled cheeses for some of my housemates only this time we were using white yeast bread I had baked myself early that day. Impressive until you learn I also grated the cheese with a microplane and it took approximately 100 minutes. Beauty is pain, etc.
The late night grilled cheese fueled me for a 4:30AM start in the bread shed so that I could continue my quest to be a teacher’s pet. You can go to the breadshed at 6:30 before class any day of the week but on Saturdays it starts extra early so that bread can be baked for the local farmer’s market. I feel I can be vaguely useful given my Vinal experience, which is more helpful I feel at any other point of the week when I have to grovel to my instructors and ask them to remind me for the 14th time where the cooling racks are stored or the difference between a chive flower and society garlic flower.
Anyways we banged out a bunch of sourdough loaves, white yeast bread, baguettes, croissants, and focaccia. Eating focaccia scraps is my new religion, I fear.
Later I went on a run which was mostly an excuse to find the new piglets that Ballymaloe got this week but they wanted nothing to do with me. Luckily the baby cows were amenable to hanging out.
That night I watched a rugby match at a pub (Leinster vs Munster aka Dublin vs Cork) and I was in a crowd of Leinster fans within a pub of Munster fans so I mostly just watched and kept my mouth shut, except of course, when it was open in order to shovel fried shrimp into said mouth.
Sunday was rainy or at least cloudy enough to justify me staying in bed late. Even in my normal life I feel guilty for sleeping in, but here?? When I am meant to be out adventuring and living my Eat, Pray, Love life?? Impossible! I went to Ballymaloe House for lunch and had amazing seafood and a glass of Reisling. I feel so fancy typing that but to be completely honest the best part of lunch was that I walked ~hour each way which meant I finally had an opportunity to listen to some podcasts. My podcast addiction has not been fulfilled even remotely while here - no dog to walk, no car to drive. Not necessarily complaining but I do miss people yapping in my ear for hours a day at 1.5x speed.