The Post-College Body

I like to consider myself an observant person. I will usually notice subtle changes to your appearance or how you're feeling if I know you well enough. I won't always mention it if you find yourself disagreeing, but trust me ... I know (insert creepy, silent stare). Ahem.

That being said, I am woefully ignorant of my own body and how I feel. Some days I have seemingly limitless energy, and this energy supports a high-octane feeling of well-being. Other days I feel like hell and have to drag my dead-weight body out of bed, my misery only barely dulled by strong coffee. Not only do I usually not figure out that I'm feeling like crap until I have a slip-up, but I always have a hard time identifying why I feel that way. And that goes the other direction too, I usually am blissfully unaware of why I am feeling awesome. This is not a post-college phenomenon. But now that I have more a routine and there's less cheap alcohol in my life, my day-to-day state of being is made more apparent.

I don't think there's always a concrete reason as to why I feel one way or the other. My energy levels can be affected by very minor events (these include Disney songs coming up on shuffle, sharing eye contact with someone pretty [now that I live in Boystown ... very flattering], getting to cut onions, getting to saute onions, coming across the smell of a good taqueria). And the same goes for the negative. So the choice of conclusions before me are either I am very much unaware of myself or that I am so capricious that slicing sulfurous vegetables can jack me up.

Damn.

I mention this because I think physical energy and awareness is now oh-so-important to me succeeding in my career, or anything for that matter. Whereas in college I could eke by on a few hours of drunken sleep because I could sleep it off later, now there is not so much free time to recover. There is not so much leeway to be less than 100%. I could just get myself a poor grade (and I often would) and still graduate. Now I would risk letting down a kitchen full of people, or a dining room full of customers because my mind is hazy. So I've taken to getting my heart rate up at least once a day, exercising and getting regular sleep. I feel this keeps me up and focused so when the chef gives me a laundry list of things to do I can remember them and execute them. Or when I wait tables I can recite the specials in a coherent and tantalizing manner so that the customer can't help but get one of those.

For example, on a slower night when I'm not stuck to my station the chef will have me run his random kitchen errands. He'll start a creative project and then let me finish it, checking in on me here and there to make sure I haven't slipped up.

1) Pork shanks just came in. Experiment. Seasoned flour (dried rosemary, tarragon, salt/pepper), dredge them and saute, brown nicely. Cool off, prepare braising liquid.
2) Veal stock, rosemary, lemon, a little water, mirepoix - bring to simmer and start braising. Middle oven, about 275-300 for a few hours.
3) Find the couscous, warm it up, keep it hot.
4) Sauvignon Blanc poached pears, bring to boil, reduce to simmer for 5 min., off heat.
5) Apricot nectar, reduce by half.
6) Dice strawberries, apples, carrots.
7) New salad tonight, you're doing the mise-en-place: romaine hearts, fresh apple slices, grilled apple, whole grain mustard dressing, candied walnuts
8) Caramelize the pineapple with brown sugar/cinnamon/little cayenne ... I don't care how, just get it brown; broil it, convection oven, I don't fucking care just do it.

And the night will start off something like that. He'll only tell me once, and I can ask him to remind me but he gets pretty annoyed and looks at me like I'm retarded.

I've found when I'm hungover or tired this usually goes very poorly.

So I keep healthy not just to avoid getting fat and staying in shape for ultimate, but so I can perform at a high level. So I don't look like a chump. So I can learn.

And it's had wonderful effects so far. My body runs on a shockingly regular and light amount of sleep (6-7 hours, as opposed to like 9-10 while in school), I feel great, I feel stronger and faster for ultimate, I feel more focused and driven for food. Even though I don't always know why I feel one way or the other, I've generally found sticking to a routine and being a creature of habit has produced more good days than bad. The next step is eating better. Working in a kitchen is obviously conducive to eating a lot, and sometimes unhealthy stuff. We get a family meal around 430 but that's it. So my dinner usually consists of light snacks throughout the night. I work at the apps station a lot so I eat a sort of canape. Focaccia crostini with some antipasti toppings. Sicilian roasted red peppers (garlic, focaccia breadcrumbs, capers, olive oil, red peppers), smoked fontina cheese with pesto and sun-dried tomatoes, a little Italian chicken salad. The goal is to make the whole body more efficient.

I'll have to let you know how it works after the weekend. I feel pumped up for this tournament, my first seriously competitive one since Regionals. I feel I've improved my stamina and can play Sam Kanner-esque defense for a point or two. Perhaps I've gotten better at frisbee since leaving Frisbee House? Let's see. Here we go, NURD!

EP#6