Epic Fail.

I could write an entire blog about riding the "L" here in Chicago.  Actually most of my stories happen walking to and from the train.  Yesterday night I was walking home when I saw an animal walk across the road.  I was thinking "that is a GIGANTIC cat!" So I ran up to it to take a picture... yeah not a cat but a raccoon!  I didn't snap the picture in time.  Tonight I was walking home and I saw a similar animal walk out into the road.  I knew exactly what it was... another raccoon! I grabbed my phone and silently ran for it.  The flash is glaring on the animal when I see that it is definitely not a raccoon but a skunk! I didn't even wait for the camera to finish the photo... I saw him lift his ugly behind and I made a run for it back the way I came.  So now I'm stuck between the train and skunk stench which is blocking my way home.  My next brilliant plan is to just make a run through the stench so that I can get home.  Unfortunately my sweatshirt and my hair are now paying the price for that smart move.  As I'm sitting here writing this blog I can smell the skunk butt in my hair.  That's devotion.

So you are probably wondering why I titled this post "Epic Fail".  Well did you forget that I had to make a showpiece on Friday? Probably.  Here is the story of my showpiece.

I worked on the pieces all week and I was feeling like they were decent for just having started.  I made eight leaves, knowing I only had to get three on my piece.  Some of them were ones I made in the beginning of the week, and I only wanted to use them as a last resort.  My biggest concern was that my triangles were too thin, and when the hot sugar glue touched it, it would crumble to pieces.  Bu, I had plenty of spare triangles, so apart from a total disaster it was going to be fine.

We made our center flowers the day before. 

I started on my piece and I was taking my dear sweet time.  We had hours to complete it and being naturally anal, I had to make sure every piece was exactly where I wanted it.  I placed my pressed sugar base, set up my foundational stones and prepared to place my triangles.  Deep breath.... one triangle placed, two triangles, and a third! I was ecstatic, they were firmly in place!  Next comes the leaves, I picked up my favorite one to place it.  "Snap!" The hot sugar made a snapping noise as it attempted to crack my leaf.  I placed it quickly on my piece before it was ruined.  It stayed! Not only did it stay, but it was glued so that you could not see the lower crack.  Here is my show piece at this point. 

I went to go place another leaf, and I selected my next favorite.  Before I could even go to brush it off it snapped in my hands!  I knew that this was a possibility so I decided just to shake it off.  I grabed my next leaf, and begin to dab some hot sugar glue on it... "crack!" The leaf split into two.  URGH! That's two in a row! I grabed the next one.... "crack!" Well now all my least favorite leaves are left.  Whatever, I just had to get some leaves on this piece! "Crack!" .... "Crack!" .... "Crack!"  I'm seriously freaking out at this point.  I only have two ugly leaves left and they HAVE to make it on the piece! I'm handling it as if it is a fossil, so careful.  The sugar glue made it onto the leaf successfully until I placed it on my piece and it snaps into two pieces! I don't have a choice so I hold it in place.  It glues so that it fits together, but you cant still totally see the crack in the leaf.  

I asked my instructor if a cracked leaf still counted and he said it did.  I then went for my last leaf and it snapped before I could even get the glue on.  I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes; but, I'm determined not to cry over a showpiece, especially since our instructor said a million times not to freak out if parts break.  My friend taught me to say this when I feel like I'm going to cry and I don't want to...  "I'm a man, in a man's world, and I don't let my emotions run my life".  I repeated that 18,000 times in my head but I could feel tears starting to brim around my eyes.  So, I decided to suck it up, I was going to fix my last leaf and get it on that good-for-nothing showpiece.  I leaned down to glue the seam and my head bumped my one good leaf.  It snapped off my showpiece, and hit the counter shattering into pieces.  "I'm a man, in a man's worrr..... yeah too late!"  I excused myself to go get a drink of water.  I just made it inside the girl's bathroom when the tears streamed down my face.  I was SO mad! I didn't have any more leaves, and my showpiece was a total mess.

Well I had two options. 1.) Forget cake school, "I'm outta here!" & make a run for it.  2.) Realize it's my first time working with thin powdered sugar pieces and go fix that hunk of sugar.  Well duh I picked option 2.  I went back inside to see what I could do.  I wanted to curl up and die when my instructor came around to look at how we were doing.  But, I fixed the snapped leaf, and I glued it right where my previous leaf had fallen off.  I plugged in as many vines as possible to make up for the lost volume, and I then added my flower.  Done. Unfortunately I had to add so many stems that it looks as if my piece is going to attack you.  Well here is the moment you've all been waiting for... my showpiece.

When it was all over, we had to do our Friday deep clean.  I'm scrubbing the floor in the pantry when my friend Haley goes "Hey Emily what do you want me to do with these extra leaves?"  I was like "huh I don't have any more leaves?"  I had completely forgotten that I had two beautiful leaves on my drying rack in the pantry.  Now isn't that just the cherry on top of a perfect day?  By that point though all I could do is laugh.  One of those laughs where people are like "is she laughing or slowly losing her mind?" haha Well I'm glad it is finally all over, and next week is airbrushing! Hooray.  I'm gonna go now and spend the next few hours washing this smell out of my hair.