I'm about to go do some laundry

<< Construction on the way to the Clark building, Liberty Avenue. It's amazing how workers downtown do their jobs around all the constant human traffic, building little tunnels like this underneath elaborate webs of scaffolding.

Everything is awesome. I rarely have a rushed, groggy morning these days; I get to wake up at 8:30, hit the shower, tie my neckerchief, and head to the Clark building for tasty cereal and coffee. The kitchen kicks ass. Today was the chef's salad again, but it was the practical (hands-on test). Your table has 25 minutes to prepare the mise-en-place, get everything cleaned and sanitized again, and sweep the floors. We finished with seven minutes to spare today, with everything lined out on sheet trays: batonnet of carrot, blanched chives, roasted halved cherry tomatoes, kalamatta olives, channeled English cucumbers, julienned bell pepper, crepes, ham, turkey, cheddar, swiss, and all our greens ready to go. After that, Chef Clink sent everyone out of the kitchen and brought in a table at a time to take the test. The second stage, the salad preparation, should take no more than ten minutes. I finished in six with my plate chilling in the cooler, and was graded at a 98 (a little too much radicchio, though I'd use that much if it were my restaurant since I love bitter greens).

In other news, Mt.Washington is really cool. When you're at the point, it's the big hill on the South side of the Allegheny, and Ashley and I rode the T to Station Square last night to get there. Once you're on the south side, you can take the Incline, a big diagonal elevator, up the hill. It's crazy and kind of unnerving at first, since you can look out the southern window and see the giant cable pulling you slowly up the side of Pittsburgh's unique geography, but the view of the city from the top of the hill is nothing less than incredible.

More on Monday, since I'll be leaving today at five to chill in Monroeville.