Ever had that horrible feeling where you've been avoiding something (because you dislike it) and it comes back to haunt you one day?
Well, it happened to me today. You might recall I don't look forward to working with fondant, so guess what? I had to make pâte à choux petits fours for my practical exam today. I almost started hyperventilating when I opened the envelope and saw that recipe. Oh no!!! Not the fondant again! Arrrrrrghh!!!!!
I practised so many cakes and recipes at home in recent weeks, but I didn't get any of those. I just got one of the two recipes that I was hoping I wouldn't get. Life has a way of doing that to you, I guess. Just to teach you a good lesson.
The whole exam experience was really stressful. I don't even remember how I got through it without collapsing - it was like a nightmare, except this is one where I don't think I'd wake up and say, "Hey, that was just a nightmare. Whew!"
I struggled with a few things during my exam, mostly because my hands were shaking (probably from all the adrenalin pumping in my body) and my mind went blank a couple of times. I think I was on "auto-pilot" some of the time, because I must have been doing something, even if I don't remember what I did. In the end, I managed to present my petits fours (some were not so nice, but others looked ok), which is a minor victory in itself, considering how uncoordinated I felt today.
However, I still have to wait until Thursday to find out if I passed. One whole term of studying and practical effort hinging on one crucial performance (and I didn't even get to work with chocolate today; cocoa powder does not count).
C'est la vie! You win some, you lose some.
