TO YOU:

I know I’m a cry baby. Before I got into the food business, I held a competition once a week at my condo in Downtown San Jose. I would look at the tv guide and find out what the night’s secret ingredient was on Iron Chef (the fantastically dubbed Japanese version, not the American one with the dude from Only the Strong). I’d pick up the secret ingredient as well as complimentary ones and compete alongside the show. I wheeled the 60″ tv into the kitchen and bit into the bell pepper, ready to kick ass. I won 95% of the time. Now, it helps when I also act as the judge. Also, I don’t remember competing sober. I bet that helped too.

My amazing winning percentage and encouragement from friends who sampled my cuisine yielded an ego with supreme confidence when I took over a little deli in Sunnyvale. I mean I knew the five mother sauces, was versed with spices and techniques from France to Korea, and I was fast. I had the trademark calluses from all the blade work I did on my 8 inch Henckel and 7 inch forged shantouku. I quickly learned that serving 120 customers in a lunch and making sure every meal is as equally good (or bad) from first to last customer served, is a painful process. My feet and my back were constantly achy. My hair turned grey. I found out doing something amazing once is easier than doing something great repeatedly.

So, I’ve been told I right good. Seriously, AP classes in language and composition. I’ve been told I’m funny. In the dry sarcastic way, not the your-mother-lied-to-you-about-your-face-looking-normal way. To translate that into meaningful topics that offer a solution to a problem, or at the very least, is stress-relievingly funny is super hard for me to do 3 times a week. That was my goal. 400 to 500 words 3 times a week.

Life happens, I don’t get paid to do this, I have two jobs and I’m focused on staying sober. I knew I was too busy to take blogging seriously but I want to. The more I blog, the more I understand who I am. For the millions reading this blog, I apologize for the minimal content thus far. Blogging is hard work. Even now I’m sixteen words short of 400.

Apple Apple Apple Apple Apple Apple Apple Apple Apple Apple Apple Apple Apple Apple

Mission accomplished.

Michael
Founder/CEO/Dishwasher
michaelmerto.com