My Journey: Culinary School

About six months after my second marriage was finalized, I attended culinary school. I have been in and out of the restaurant business for most of my working career. I was mainly in the back of the kitchen prepping the food or out on the line cooking. I had decided to go to school to try and either start my own restaurant or get in with a high-end place. While I was going to school, we only had class three times a week. That left a lot of time to be by myself. I was in a new town and state, so no one knew me there. I felt comfortable going to the stores and buying some new clothes for myself. I still was not comfortable wearing "women's" clothes out in public, so they stayed in the camp trailer I was using while I was in school. I had a great time while I was in school, learning new and different ways of cooking. The course I took only lasted 17 weeks, so I was back home living with my parents when I graduated. Living with my parents didn't leave any time for me to dress and feel comfortable in my skin.

A few months after returning home, my mom had a garage sale and wanted to sell my camper. While we were getting ready one day, someone stopped by to check out the camper. My mom was telling them about it, that she had cleaned it, and that she was ready for them to look. I asked her what she had done with all my things that were in there. She told me that the pots were in a tote and that she had thrown out the rest. Well, dang, now I was back to ground zero, and while I was staying with my parents, I couldn't buy any new girl clothes.

While I was at home, I was still trying to be "male." So, I was on different dating sites chatting with women, trying to find someone I could be with. This was not only so I could get out of my parents' house, but I was also very lonely. One would think, "Silly boy, have you not learned your lesson yet." I will eventually learn that lesson, but it was not at that time.