So here are the relevant details: I'm signed up to begin school at the California Culinary Academy on November 13th. It's not like I was struck by lightning, exactly, but the decision was both sudden and obvious. David is reeling a bit but it can take him a while to integrate change, plus this'll definitely impact our lifestyle and our finances in unforeseen ways. I'm confident that he will be totally supportive once our dinner menu starts to evolve, and the budget pieces all come together.

It's been twenty seven years since I graduated from college. This time, I'll be wearing sensible close-toed shoes and carrrying an instant-read thermometer in my apron pocket. I'm used to lots of expensive books on the syllabus (Professional Cooking and Professional Baking at $130 and $114, respectively -- right up there with Shakespeare: The Complete Works), but it's a thrill to find "9" offset spatula" and "waiter's corkscrew" on the list of required supplies.

Mid-November is quite a ways off, though. I've done all the necessary school-related stuff -- lots of paperwork, FAFSA application, site tour -- the only thing left is a uniform fitting. Best to do that after our upcoming trip to Tuscany. Who knows what affect the pasta and gelato will have? Hopefully it'll be balanced out by plenty of walking.

For work, I'm heading to Athens tomorrow, where my client, a trade organization, will be holding its quarterly meeting. Then it's a short hop from Athens to Rome, where I'll meet David and our friends Steve and Marilyn for two weeks in a rented Cortona farmhouse. We're planning to sleep, eat, sit in the sun, sight-see, art-look, shop, and drink wine. No itinerary. When I get back, I'm hoping to transition into a part-time job with my current employer -- otherwise, I'll be looking for some new work that will fit in with my school schedule. Writing, cooking, eating, reading: it's the New Me (just like the Old Me, only different.)