I like to think of myself as a positive person, at least a realistic 85% of the time. I can only count on one hand the people that see me when I'm not having the best of days, when I'm truly in a horrid mood, things are not working in my favor, and I'm not thinking rationally. God Bless the people I work with who see my 15%, and in addition to being my business associates, end up being part psychologist, part some sort of counselor or life coach. What can I say? That's how it goes in business sometimes, and I guess you could say I'm one of the "wound up like an 8 day clock" types who has that passion for my industry and success; and it probably translates to others as some really boisterous B+ off Broadway Musical or theatrical spectacle. The good days are excellent and bad days are just every kind of not awesome imaginable and I'd be lying if I said I was totally tolerable during those lulls. Sometimes I bring it home on my shoulders and my lovely wife takes the brunt of this occasional storm cloud, and God Bless her the most.
I would also be lying if I told you that I'm capable of always having 100% positive subject matter. But here is the good news, I'm going to find some way to turn it back around and make it that way.
For those of you who are fans of FRIENDS, prime time past or like myself, king of the re-runs, I can only think of Alec Baldwin's guest appearance as Phoebe's boyfriend, Parker, who is physically and mentally incapable of being negative or unhappy. It's unnatural, comical, and towards the end of it, a little annoying. After a while all I could think was 'Shut up dude! There is nothing interesting about tail lights or cab rides in traffic!'
If you couldn't tell by now, it's not my favorite week, but I'm writing this, and it's making me feel better. That's got to count for something, right? It's my happy place. Stack it with a late morning or an hour before closing, 'zone out on the couch time' at Snug on the Square. Quite frankly, I need to do this more often because it's therapeutic. At work, I also walk a lap or two around the office complex pond. That works exceptionally well when I face the temptation of regrettable actions or words. I get fresh air, inspiration, and clarity. If your office complex has one of these, grab a bottled water from your office fridge and take a lap. It may do you some good, as I've recently found that it's beneficial for me.
The office pond. If your workplace has one, spend time there.
This brings me to my point and question. You don't have to be a Parker. Most people are not Parker. We will all inevitably have many crappy days and we will experience negative.
So I ask you this. Where is your happy place? That one place where you can decompress, escape the negative, take your mind off a stressful, wretched day, and get clarity and perspective?
I want to hear from you!
-DAN+McKINNEYTX-
Yours Truly, Dan+McKinneyTX @ Elm Fork Shooting Sports
ONE DOOR CLOSES ANOTHER ONE OPENS
Since I started this blog last month, one of the adventures I've been excited about is food. While I can't claim the "foodie blogger" status in the slightest, I can, however, claim that I am more of an "appreciation blogger" when it comes to local, up and coming chefs on the rise with a passion for culinary excellence, and restauranteurs who do good for the community.
The old saying that comes to mind as I write this blog is "when one door closes, another door opens." As McKinney restauranteur Rick Wells closes the doors to Sauce on the Square and neighboring Grotto, in a week, he will reopen those same doors with a brand new and exciting Farm-to-Table concept: Harvest Seasonal Kitchen. Sauce's Andrea Shackelford will take the helm as Executive Chef.
THE CHEF
I sat down with Chef Andrea recently to get in on the excitement of this highly anticipated new restaurant and learn about her journey. Originally from the Houston area, she relocated to Dallas where she graduated from Lake Highlands High School and got her start working in a local bakery. After graduating from SMU in 2007, she worked under the guidance of her mentor, Tim Bevins, at Dallas' own Dragonfly and Craft restaurants for 5 years before emerging on the McKinney culinary scene.
Chef Andrea brings an incredibly refreshing energy to this highly anticipated restaurant, choosing to work with local farms from Texas and Oklahoma as providers of fresh local meats and vegetables, and wild caught seafood from the gulf. This energy spills from her kitchen out into the field where she works with these farmers, building relationships, and getting to know their processes, as well as participate in their adventures. She rolls up her sleeves and farms with them. With this in mind, we're far more likely to see a farm truck pull up at the back door of Harvest than one bearing the name of a larger food distribution company. This deepens the sense of community that anyone with an appreciation for the Farm-to-Table movement can expect to feel.
THE RESTAURANT AND THE FOOD
In addition to the Farm-to-Table element patrons have to look forward to, Harvest will also have a resourceful and Green element to it. The space will be constructed and fitted almost entirely from recycled and repurposed materials from Sauce, and will accommodate 90 guests in the main room, with a private dining area in the former Grotto space, set to accommodate up to 60 guests.
When it comes to the food there is one thing I can really appreciate from Chef Andrea, and that's simplicity. While precise preparation is a culinary standard, she takes the approach of focusing on not overcomplicating the menu, and just focus on making good food. What we have to look forward to is an adaptable seasonal menu consisting of traditional American choices such as Collard Greens, Fried Chicken with corn meal derived from heirloom grains from Waco, Fried Green Tomatoes, and Cajun dishes such as Boudin fritters, as well as common fish selections from the Gulf, one of Chef Andrea's favorites. To top it off we have a flat iron steak option to look forward to and finished off with old school desserts such as a spice cake with a tomato soup base! Before I get too Rolling Stone about it, I'm going to stop there. As someone who likes surprises, I don't want to ruin the fun. I hope to see you next Friday night for the Harvest grand opening.
Before my next feature I just wanted to take a quick recess, and reflect on one of my themes. Family.
Around town, I see all sorts of teamwork going on. There are youth sports teams, high school drill teams, charity teams, street teams for bands, debate teams at school. You see a lot of teambuilding exercises at work. I even see some great teamwork going on between the vendors at the McKinney market. But there is one team that sits at the top for me. Family. I don't often see family be compared as a team; a unit of people working together to function and accomplish all sorts of goals.
I ponder a lot of ideas, and get a lot of my inspiration for blog topics from my own adventures and life events, usually while holding my baby daughter. Yesterday I had to remind myself while she was in need of consolation, this is a team effort. As the man of my house, I have to be there through the best and worst of times and keep my head in the game. I have to be there for my team.
With teambuilding at work, where you're sorting out routine processes, people may be learning how to work together, putting a Band-Aid on some sort of procedural glitch, and create a professional harmony.
With a sports team, like baseball or basketball, it's a group of people working together, each bringing their strong point (position) and the end result is baskets and runs.
At the market, it's a "hey can you make me some change for this 20?" scenario....
But the family team is lifelong. It's not a seasonal thing like a sport, and it's not a 9-5 thing like work. It's loved ones working together to function, or achieve many goals ranging from very simple to very complex and challenging. Obviously this evolves over time as we all get older and our roles change in our loved ones' lives. Children become adults, adults become parents, and parents become grandparents, etc. But even as things evolve over time, family still requires teamwork.
I've found as a new dad, this is something I occasionally have to remind myself when I get off track.
