"Une Belle Melange"

...French for "a beautiful mess".

I watched this movie some time ago in which there was a restaurant whose cooking assistants had burnt what was going to be beautiful baked apples wrapped in puffed pastry. The frantic head chef called his retired chef friend in a panic to do something about the terrible fix he was in since he had nothing to serve his banquet-full of guests for dessert! So, what did this seasoned chef do but order everyone to peel off the charred black crusts surrounding the apples, which were still moist and aromatic. He quickly made batches of caramelized nuts, chopped up the cooked apples, alternated the apples with the delicious nuts and layers of creme fraiche, and topped it off with nutmeg and chocolate shavings. Voila! "Une Belle Melange" was born!

So, ma' frien's, what does this mean for me? I looked up "melange". Its other meanings range from the benign "medley" to the more violent "melange zone"--"an area of intense folding, faulting, and metamorphic activity between two converging plates." Sacre bleu! If life could be described merging all these definitions, this is what mine is.

I have a few days left at my current temp job and will need another one through the month of November. I am making music with a husband/wife couple of musicians every week. We are planning a fundraising dinner show in mid-November that will be so enjoyable, incorporating jazz, original songs, and innovative instrumentals. We're also planning to record a cd during the second week in December when we're all available and I'm not working. I have to post my apartment and all my furniture on Craig's List in the next few days and be my own salesperson to dispense with it all except for a bench my grandfather made. I have to have a sale and get rid of all my excess stuff after deciding whether each item will benefit me 20 years from now or whether I should ditch it. I'm attending a four-day conference in early December. I'm taking an online course for 11th and 12th-grade curriculum running through November and December, and I'm plowing through a reading list of literature that spans the centuries in further preparation. Oh, and I'm working on my work visa for India. Have I covered it all? Oh!--I'm skyping Bangalore at seven in the morning on weekends to coordinate curriculum and lesson planning with the staff I've yet to meet as they're 10.5 hours ahead of us and halfway around the world.

Alongside all this, even as I make new contacts in India I'm being intentional in my friendships here. After all, what is life without those to share it with, whether long-distance or right in front of you?

And so it goes...

I am very tempted in my weakness to develop a severe case of myopia and view the present as tectonic upheaval, a clash of converging realities with a million things happening at once and my life's "plate" careening toward the not-too-distant future. But that would make my life fit for a drama queen, and I desire not to use such hyperbole.

The funny thing about the current melange is that when I pull my nose out of it and take a step back it's still pretty tasty. I'm doing so many things I enjoy with good people and also looking forward to the time ahead. I do have to get my hands dirty and dig into the mix to create some layers that make sense out of seemingly random ingredients, but it's fun! I feel like God,the Iron Chef, has stepped in and said, "Burnt apples? I meant for this to have a hint of smokiness. It pairs better with the creme. Oh, and while you're at it, please listen up and I'll show you how to turn this mess into something beautiful."

Aah--
Une belle melange.