So yesterday I talked about the few weeks of summer break I had before starting my job. And then I realized that I haven’t talked about my job on the blog yet!
Yes. I am employed! I have a salary and benefits and I mostly wear some kind of suit. I am a consultant with a fundraising consulting firm, working exclusively with nonprofits. I spent a week in Chicago in training and orientation. My friend E. gets HUGE thanks for housing me for the week in her apartment. We cooked and both got dressed up and went to work every morning like grownups. I took a bus and train to work each day. It was a fun little flashback to my commutes in Santiago (especially when I took the wrong bus route, but don’t worry, it was fine!).
This was a bonkers avocado pizza E. and I made my first night there. We demolished the whole thing ourselves.
The view from my window on the second day of training. To be clear: they just moved me to a different office because the computer in the first room wasn’t cooperating. So I lucked out!
E. made delicious popsicles, which were the perfect way to cool down at the end of the night.
A view of the Sears Tower and other buildings from the walk into work from the train.
I really loved being in Chicago. I saw a few friends, I got to know my new coworkers, and I was pumped to be back in a big city among all of the noise and people and public transportation. But after just a week, I took a quick day at home, and then headed down to Tulsa, Oklahoma to shadow one of my firm’s projects. I don’t have any pictures from Tulsa. We worked and went out to eat, and I didn’t think to pull my phone out. Things I would have taken pictures of include: the Oral Roberts University campus (it is gold and shiny and 1980’s futuristic), the Arkansas River, the Brookside neighborhood, and the Art Deco downtown.
Then it was the 4th of July. I once again returned home for the weekend, and then I flew down to Amarillo, Texas, for my first assignment.
Yup. I am writing you from my hotel room in the Texas Panhandle. I’ll be here until November. Right now it is hot and dry, but they’re forecasting rain and cooler temps later this week, which gets the locals really excited and happy. Our client has very generously loaned me a pickup truck for my stay. It has provided much entertainment for family, friends, and acquaintances.
Last year, if you’d asked me where I thought I’d be right now, I never would have said in Texas, with a pickup. I would have guessed Chicago or DC or maybe even New York or Santiago. But here I am!
The next four months will be a whirlwind. Work will keep me more than busy Monday through Thursday. So I’m trying to enjoy these next couple of weeks while I try to establish some routines and learn my way around. I live within 10 minutes of a Catholic church, Target, Best Buy, Barnes and Noble, an excellent grocery store, and the mall. I pretty much have everything I need.
And even if I’m here without friends or family, if the past six days are any indication, they’re never far away with text messages, phone calls, and Facebook.
Blah blah blah, now I’m getting sappy. My temporary relocation does mean that I’ll be doing something new on the blog. And so, I introduce: My Hotel Kitchen.
I have a two-burner electric stove top, a microwave, one large and one small saucepan, and one large and one small sauté pan. I also have a very basic assortment of kitchen utensils. Take note: no oven. No cookie sheets. No non-stick pans. I can’t eat out every single day. I just can’t. We did in Tulsa and although every meal was delicious and not fast food, I felt a little gross at the end of the week. Grocery shopping this week was quite exciting, to say the least.
Every week, I’ll be prepping meals and sides for me to take for lunch and heat up for dinner. This week, for example, I made brown rice, a prepackaged quinoa mix, shrimp, and lemon garlic vinaigrette (for an adaptation of this recipe). I also have pasta, jarred tomato sauce, mixed greens, fruit, avocados (porque si hay pan y palta, hay comida), a whole rotisserie chicken, and chicken alfredo from the prepared food section of the grocery store (which is expansive and amazing).
Why am I doing this? It’s healthier. I enjoy it. I’m learning to be resourceful- I can’t cook whatever I want because I don’t have all the tools, and I’m not going to buy them for a four-month stay. I also need to remember that I’m cooking and eating for one person, not an entire family. Cooking is just one of those things that young adults, on their own, have to learn how to do- like pay bills, save money, make new friends, and not stay up too late watching TV or surfing the Internet. You know, grown-up stuff.
If you’d like to follow along on Instagram (@gmtnunez), I’ll be using the hashtag #myhotelkitchen for my meals and meal prep. And you’ll find me back here each week, writing about my cooking adventures (like learning how to use PAM in the absence of Teflon pans) and exploring the Texas Panhandle.
Should you have any great recipe or solo living suggestions, please let me know in the comments!
See you soon! With love,
Gaby
Charlando 