Yup. You read that right. This is my very first, EVER, blog post.
I know I’m late to the scene, But I’m here now, so lets go!
I guess I should start with a bit about myself and how I ended up here.
My name’s Ted (obviously) and, you guessed it, that’s me up there on the bike.
I’m 37, married, a father of three wonderful girls all of whom I’m sure will end up
being talked about at some time on here.
I was born in Espanola, New Mexico, but have lived most of my life in Maryland.
And while I think New Mexico IS in fact a truly beautiful place, I’ll probably live
in Maryland forever.
I love it here.
May 5th will mark seven years of marriage for me. (I didn’t even realize
It was on “Cinco de Mayo” till my second anniversary…which is hilarious since I’m
of Mexican descent) And today marks my youngest daughter’s 5-month “birthday.” Between
those two events I managed to have two other, gorgeous daughters, so it’s been
a busy seven years.
I’m a cook by trade. Always have been. That’s not to say I’ve never wondered off into
different fields for a time. But somehow I always make it back into a kitchen, whether
tossing pizzas as a teen, or being the Sous Chef at a fine dining restaurant. I’ve done
them both. Which brings me here…
The chef life is a HARD life. Forget what you see on celebrity chef shows. Forget the flashy
clothes, the sports cars, and the romanticism that current media builds. It’s just plain tough.
The hours are intense, the conditions are worse. And the money? Yeah, let’s not even go there.
Substance abuse abounds. Romantic relationships are either non-existent or failing.
Yet, some of us “lifers” love it. I guess we’re a masochistic lot. And a select few even have success!
Try reading Devil in the Kitchen. The memoirs of chef Marco Pierre White. And so, after 20 years
(more or less) in a kitchen I’m taking some “me-time.” Actually, it’s more like FAMILY-time. I’ve earned it.
One thing I never really had is time though. Like, TIME. My days have always been wake, go to work,
try to have whatever kind of a life one can have between the hours of 1am and 3am , sleep about 3.5 hours,
repeat.
As of the first of this year I have time. Actual time. There’s never enough time. But I have time! It’s crazy.
I see my kids (awake) before school. I hear about their daily adventures and discoveries after they return.
I can actually have a conversation with my wife. I even get to see my mom on occasion. One thing that I still haven’t figured out though, is how to get to sleep before 3am! So, I’m taking up blogging.
So this has gone WAYYYYY longer than I thought. I’m not a writer of any sort, never have been. That would be my brother’s area. I’m not quite sure what will become of this blog. Will it become a cooking blog? A home-life blog?
Maybe a how-to blog? (I’m CRAZY-HANDY) Maybe all of the above. But whatever becomes of it. Here it is. I think that I will like this though. Maybe someone else out there will enjoy it too. Advice? Suggestions? Did I talk about anything you can relate to? I’d like to know. I’ll post again from the kitchen table on another sleepless night in the future. And maybe I’ll even have a real topic to discuss!