It's amazing the skills you can reach adulthood without.

I'm finally learning how to butcher a chicken before cooking. I think I did a pretty good job with this one, and I only used two knives -- a boning knife and a paring knife. And I think I could have done the whole thing with just the paring knife. I'm starting to understand how chickens are put together, and therefore, how to take them apart.

The trick is to see if you can disassemble a chicken without actually cutting through any bones, and as little cartilage as possible. It's actually rather fun. Kind of like a puzzle.

I doubt I'll ever get good enough to have the SPEED of a professional chef, but I may, eventually, be able to get the chicken butchered that NEATLY. It'll just take me ten times as long. But, for a home cook, that's not too bad.

An observation about cooking.

It seems that the amount of enjoyment people take in my food is inversely proportional to the amount of effort I put into it.

Actually, that makes sense. The things which are easiest for me to make are the things which I've mastered.