Carrie and I made our own fresh mozzarella today. It was quick and easy, and tasted pretty good. We put it on pizza.
Also, here's to Davy Jones, may he rest in peace: I indirectly owe The Monkees one of the best groups of friends I ever had. I suppose Elizabeth, Katie, Melissa, and I might have bonded over something else, back in junior high, but Davy, Micky, Mike, and Peter were a good way. It makes me wish we were all back in Elizabeth's old house, or in Melissa's, eating Pringles or Twizzler Bites, wearing tie-dye, writing stories.
2.29.2012
2.28.2012
I think I'm just not going to apologize anymore for most of the times I don't write.
Or for the titles that aren't title-capped, or whatever it's really called.
I helped out with youth group last night after something like a six-week hiatus, and the nicest thing was, the kids had actually missed me. I know it sounds low-self-esteemy to have thought that they wouldn't, but it's not like I'd thought they'd be glad that I was gone; I just thought it might not really hit their radar. I'm not one of the Good Shepherd Twenty-Somethings who enchants them (the girls love Jaime, and also Ife's girlfriend Lisa), and most of the time I only really help out with the Bible-study part, not the games. Youth ministry is not precisely my strong point. But they were glad to see me, and that was really nice. I even joined in Capture the Flag last night, which I almost never do, and ran around so much that I wished I'd taken my inhaler. After twenty-four years of no reactive-airway, or whatever it is, and being a person prone to bogus "illness" anyway, I keep thinking that I don't actually have it, that it's just me, but then I don't take my inhaler before running around, and my airways really do react, and suddenly it seems real after all. So. That's inconvenient.
Also, I just have more heart for the youth group after a six-week hiatus. Some things you can't leave or else you'll care even less about getting back to them, but in this case, I really am better for having had the break. Also, of course, it helps to know that the position is temporary (Ife and I have talked for a long time about my phasing out, for one thing), but all the same...I think I can do this for a while longer.
I helped out with youth group last night after something like a six-week hiatus, and the nicest thing was, the kids had actually missed me. I know it sounds low-self-esteemy to have thought that they wouldn't, but it's not like I'd thought they'd be glad that I was gone; I just thought it might not really hit their radar. I'm not one of the Good Shepherd Twenty-Somethings who enchants them (the girls love Jaime, and also Ife's girlfriend Lisa), and most of the time I only really help out with the Bible-study part, not the games. Youth ministry is not precisely my strong point. But they were glad to see me, and that was really nice. I even joined in Capture the Flag last night, which I almost never do, and ran around so much that I wished I'd taken my inhaler. After twenty-four years of no reactive-airway, or whatever it is, and being a person prone to bogus "illness" anyway, I keep thinking that I don't actually have it, that it's just me, but then I don't take my inhaler before running around, and my airways really do react, and suddenly it seems real after all. So. That's inconvenient.
Also, I just have more heart for the youth group after a six-week hiatus. Some things you can't leave or else you'll care even less about getting back to them, but in this case, I really am better for having had the break. Also, of course, it helps to know that the position is temporary (Ife and I have talked for a long time about my phasing out, for one thing), but all the same...I think I can do this for a while longer.
2.25.2012
More on Food
Here is how my cooking sometimes is: last night, making dinner took about two hours, and it was fresh and tasty. But tonight, I kid you not, I made baked beans on toast (for serious - it's a real meal, though it's considered British rather than American) and drank most of a bottled smoothie with it. Prep time: Maybe five or six minutes, at least for the first serving. I had to heat the beans, and I had to toast the toast. And before spooning on the beans, I had spread (because clearly this story wasn't embarrassing enough) leftover bacon grease on most of the toast in lieu of butter, partly because refrigerated bacon grease is always way more spreadable that refrigerated butter, and partly because bacon grease tastes good on toast.
As you can imagine, Carrie hasn't been home for the past two evenings. But she doesn't even like baked beans - which is actually one reason why I made them tonight.
Later, I unexpectedly ate some spaghetti and homemade sauce (Jerry had made it) with Jerry, Tuttle, Tuttle's-girlfriend-Jamie, and Lauren (at the guys' place, not mine). So it turned out to be a sizeable dinner.
Also related to food, tomorrow night Carrie and I are, in fact, going to Tuttle's Oscars party. I know very little about movies, but I usually stay quiet rather than asking lots of questions, so that keeps me on Tuttle's "invitable" list. Granted, usually I'm quiet because my usual strategy at parties is to eat and drink everything I possibly can within the realm of politeness, but it's a system, and it appears to be working. Each guest has been asked to contribute some food or beverage if possible, of course; I think I'll make some no-knead bread and maybe some cinnamon-sugar butter to go along with it.
As you can imagine, Carrie hasn't been home for the past two evenings. But she doesn't even like baked beans - which is actually one reason why I made them tonight.
Later, I unexpectedly ate some spaghetti and homemade sauce (Jerry had made it) with Jerry, Tuttle, Tuttle's-girlfriend-Jamie, and Lauren (at the guys' place, not mine). So it turned out to be a sizeable dinner.
Also related to food, tomorrow night Carrie and I are, in fact, going to Tuttle's Oscars party. I know very little about movies, but I usually stay quiet rather than asking lots of questions, so that keeps me on Tuttle's "invitable" list. Granted, usually I'm quiet because my usual strategy at parties is to eat and drink everything I possibly can within the realm of politeness, but it's a system, and it appears to be working. Each guest has been asked to contribute some food or beverage if possible, of course; I think I'll make some no-knead bread and maybe some cinnamon-sugar butter to go along with it.
2.24.2012
Meatless, Labor-Intensive, and Tasty
Today, after a fairly productive day, I had a sizeable snack, because it was already about 5:30 and I hadn't started dinner yet. Then, to the smooth tones of All Things Considered and Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz (the latter of which I only sort of listened to, I admit), I made Mexican Pepper Casserole, out of my mom's Moosewood Restaurant cookbook (which I borrowed when I was up at my parents' house earlier this week).
It's not a quick meal. Just slicing two cups of onion and maybe two-and-a-half pounds' worth of bell peppers (in a variety of colors) took a long darn time, especially since I decided to get cute at Wegmans this week and buy a bag of mini bell peppers because they were much cheaper by weight than individual peppers, not thinking about what it would take to slice them all. (And, in fact, I didn't - I sliced most of them, but I also dumped some frozen green pepper in there.) I tried seeing whether my mandoline would help, but it didn't really save me any labor, even with the onion, since said onion was so big that it basically had to be quartered before I could get any of it onto the holder.
Besides that, you've got to fry the onions (and some garlic) and then the peppers with some salt and pepper and spices (cumin, coriander, dry mustard), and you've got to shred cheese (unless the kind you want is already in sandwich-style slices), as well as mix plain yogurt (or sour cream - or, in my case, use some of each) and eggs together in a bowl (learn from me: choose a bigger bowl than you think you'll need). By the way, you should also be preheating the oven and spraying a baking dish (Katzen said 10x10, but we have no such thing, so I went for a 9x13, which worked fine).
Eventually, you put the softened fried peppers into the baking dish (actually, I was supposed to mix some flour into them while they were frying, but I forgot; it seems not to've been too big a deal), pour the egg-and-dairy mixture over them, and sprinkle the cheese over the top. Then you bake it for a good forty minutes. You may, as I did, decide to cook some brown rice during this time (and by "cook" I mean "stick it in our rice cooker, push the button down, and go do something else"), but it's not really necessary.
When it comes out, it looks a little like a big quiche or something - eggy stuff in there, cheese on top, some vegetables. Maybe it was that most of the peppers were fresh, or maybe the yogurt lent it some nice flavor, but it was nice - lighter than a quiche would be, and tasty.
I do have another pile of dirty dishes to wash. But I ate the casserole with rice and drank milk, reading all the while, and afterwards made some good hot chocolate. It was a good meal (with plenty left over), and life felt kind to me.
It's not a quick meal. Just slicing two cups of onion and maybe two-and-a-half pounds' worth of bell peppers (in a variety of colors) took a long darn time, especially since I decided to get cute at Wegmans this week and buy a bag of mini bell peppers because they were much cheaper by weight than individual peppers, not thinking about what it would take to slice them all. (And, in fact, I didn't - I sliced most of them, but I also dumped some frozen green pepper in there.) I tried seeing whether my mandoline would help, but it didn't really save me any labor, even with the onion, since said onion was so big that it basically had to be quartered before I could get any of it onto the holder.
Besides that, you've got to fry the onions (and some garlic) and then the peppers with some salt and pepper and spices (cumin, coriander, dry mustard), and you've got to shred cheese (unless the kind you want is already in sandwich-style slices), as well as mix plain yogurt (or sour cream - or, in my case, use some of each) and eggs together in a bowl (learn from me: choose a bigger bowl than you think you'll need). By the way, you should also be preheating the oven and spraying a baking dish (Katzen said 10x10, but we have no such thing, so I went for a 9x13, which worked fine).
Eventually, you put the softened fried peppers into the baking dish (actually, I was supposed to mix some flour into them while they were frying, but I forgot; it seems not to've been too big a deal), pour the egg-and-dairy mixture over them, and sprinkle the cheese over the top. Then you bake it for a good forty minutes. You may, as I did, decide to cook some brown rice during this time (and by "cook" I mean "stick it in our rice cooker, push the button down, and go do something else"), but it's not really necessary.
When it comes out, it looks a little like a big quiche or something - eggy stuff in there, cheese on top, some vegetables. Maybe it was that most of the peppers were fresh, or maybe the yogurt lent it some nice flavor, but it was nice - lighter than a quiche would be, and tasty.
I do have another pile of dirty dishes to wash. But I ate the casserole with rice and drank milk, reading all the while, and afterwards made some good hot chocolate. It was a good meal (with plenty left over), and life felt kind to me.
2.23.2012
In a Hurry
I should still have explained, yesterday, some general stuff about Lent, even if not at much length. But I didn't, and now I suspect that I won't. Though I certainly will if you have questions, even skeptical ones (such as, "You mean you're supposed to feel bad about yourself for forty days?" And, no, not exactly, though I may have made it sound like that).
Today was productive. Also, my car's finished passing its inspection.
Today was productive. Also, my car's finished passing its inspection.
2.22.2012
Christ Jesus Came into the World to Save Sinners...
It's Ash Wednesday, the day when Christians begin Lent, a forty-day period of, among other things, identifying and trying to root out specific sinful patterns of behavior in their lives - by God's grace and with His help.
So here's what I did early this afternoon: I wrote an entry for this blog, detailing why we do Lent and how I personally planned to celebrate it.
In writing it, I knowingly made myself twenty-five minutes late for a Red-Cross-sponsored shopping errand I'd promised to run somebody. We'd agreed on two, but I was absorbed in crafting my entry, and so I let myself be late, since I know her already and I'd figured, more or less correctly, that she wouldn't really care.
But it was still a problem, because Weis ended up being crowded, and I ended up having so many questions about the shopping list that I had to call, and the deli section was crowded, so that part took a long time, and the cheese apparently fell out of my cart and I had to run to get more once I'd already put the other stuff on the checkout belt, and I hadn't bothered to ask about whether it ought to be white or yellow cheese, so I'd gotten the wrong one, and it made me forget the city garbage bags, which you have to ask for at the checkout. Because of all this and another part of the errand, I got to a local Chinese restaurant an hour late to pick up a Chinese food order the lady had put in; had I known there would be one, I would've tried harder to've been on time, though somehow it was still hot by the time I paid for it.
Also, in writing the original blog entry? I neglected two other things I was supposed to be doing today, and now may not be able to at all because of how differently today's schedule has become than how I'd meant for it to be this morning, when I woke up - which was about 6:20, since I'd slept through the time I'd originally meant to use for showering.
Not that every mishap I've just detailed across this whole entry directly reflects my own sinful nature, I know. But enough of it does that I'm pretty sure that what you don't need is a careful and perky explanation of why Christians do Lent. We do Lent because we blow off meeting times because we're busy trying to explain communal efforts towards holiness, and because usually, when we don't read our Bibles or write to/call our significant others or get our cars' emissions tests when we're supposed to, it's for lame reasons instead of good ones.
And possibly also because, even knowing those things, instead of doing something concrete about them in the time we do have, the first thing some of us do instead is write a whole other blog entry about it, before anyone sees the first one. It's all sort of funny, especially because nothing actually terrible followed in consequence, but still...oh, man. And oh, mankind.
So here's what I did early this afternoon: I wrote an entry for this blog, detailing why we do Lent and how I personally planned to celebrate it.
In writing it, I knowingly made myself twenty-five minutes late for a Red-Cross-sponsored shopping errand I'd promised to run somebody. We'd agreed on two, but I was absorbed in crafting my entry, and so I let myself be late, since I know her already and I'd figured, more or less correctly, that she wouldn't really care.
But it was still a problem, because Weis ended up being crowded, and I ended up having so many questions about the shopping list that I had to call, and the deli section was crowded, so that part took a long time, and the cheese apparently fell out of my cart and I had to run to get more once I'd already put the other stuff on the checkout belt, and I hadn't bothered to ask about whether it ought to be white or yellow cheese, so I'd gotten the wrong one, and it made me forget the city garbage bags, which you have to ask for at the checkout. Because of all this and another part of the errand, I got to a local Chinese restaurant an hour late to pick up a Chinese food order the lady had put in; had I known there would be one, I would've tried harder to've been on time, though somehow it was still hot by the time I paid for it.
Also, in writing the original blog entry? I neglected two other things I was supposed to be doing today, and now may not be able to at all because of how differently today's schedule has become than how I'd meant for it to be this morning, when I woke up - which was about 6:20, since I'd slept through the time I'd originally meant to use for showering.
Not that every mishap I've just detailed across this whole entry directly reflects my own sinful nature, I know. But enough of it does that I'm pretty sure that what you don't need is a careful and perky explanation of why Christians do Lent. We do Lent because we blow off meeting times because we're busy trying to explain communal efforts towards holiness, and because usually, when we don't read our Bibles or write to/call our significant others or get our cars' emissions tests when we're supposed to, it's for lame reasons instead of good ones.
And possibly also because, even knowing those things, instead of doing something concrete about them in the time we do have, the first thing some of us do instead is write a whole other blog entry about it, before anyone sees the first one. It's all sort of funny, especially because nothing actually terrible followed in consequence, but still...oh, man. And oh, mankind.
2.21.2012
Shrove Tuesday, or Mardi Gras
I meant to write you a lovely post about coming into church this evening just past the time of the Shrove Tuesday dinner and being greeted by the smell of incense and burned palms (by the way, I generally don't love the smell of incense, and I'm not even sure whether I like the smell of the stuff we burn on significant occasions at church, but either way, I'm glad we do it) and people upstairs and downstairs, doing what they do. It's a great place.
But then I didn't get on the computer for a while because I was having a fun talk with Carrie, and then I read blogs and Facebook and stuff, and almost forgot more than once that I myself still had to blog. So instead you get this: I'm back in Binghamton. Rhode Island was truly very good. My car has been inspected and has mostly passed (after the car's computer resets itself, it'll pass the emissions test and I'll get my for-real sticker instead of temporary count-this-as-passing printouts to show if I ever get pulled over).
And I have to get up at, like, six AM tomorrow, or even earlier if I'm smart, so as to be at church by seven for Ash Wednesday. I should be asleep right now, but a cold has deprived me of sleep deeply enough over the past several days that I could hardly help letting myself catch up on it for twoish hours this afternoon - so tired that I didn't even think to put up my hair, which was still quite damp from a shower, before I fell asleep. So I wasn't quite tired enough for bed by ten tonight, I don't think, though I think I am now. We'll see whether I end up feeling like the embodied consequences of all my sins tomorrow morning, or what.
Blessed Lenten season to you all, and good night.
But then I didn't get on the computer for a while because I was having a fun talk with Carrie, and then I read blogs and Facebook and stuff, and almost forgot more than once that I myself still had to blog. So instead you get this: I'm back in Binghamton. Rhode Island was truly very good. My car has been inspected and has mostly passed (after the car's computer resets itself, it'll pass the emissions test and I'll get my for-real sticker instead of temporary count-this-as-passing printouts to show if I ever get pulled over).
And I have to get up at, like, six AM tomorrow, or even earlier if I'm smart, so as to be at church by seven for Ash Wednesday. I should be asleep right now, but a cold has deprived me of sleep deeply enough over the past several days that I could hardly help letting myself catch up on it for twoish hours this afternoon - so tired that I didn't even think to put up my hair, which was still quite damp from a shower, before I fell asleep. So I wasn't quite tired enough for bed by ten tonight, I don't think, though I think I am now. We'll see whether I end up feeling like the embodied consequences of all my sins tomorrow morning, or what.
Blessed Lenten season to you all, and good night.
2.20.2012
Back, in Brief
I was in Rhode Island over the long weekend, but I'm back in New York now.
Tomorrow I'm getting my car inspected, since I kind of forgot that that was supposed to happen back in January. I'm also looking forward to sleeping in.
This has been your report for tonight.
Tomorrow I'm getting my car inspected, since I kind of forgot that that was supposed to happen back in January. I'm also looking forward to sleeping in.
This has been your report for tonight.
2.16.2012
Returns
Tonight was an evening of returns: the unused (and unopened) birthday napkins to Maines, two unsuitable purchases to Target (in case you were wondering, no, I haven't found it worth it to buy things online, even though I was trying to take advantage of the last day of a sale after normal store hours had ended...though, on the plus side, everything shipped quickly), and my soon-to-be-due library materials. I am now some $34.66-or-so richer (well, until you subtract $8ish worth of Wegmans purchases), though I may soon have to spend much of that on a new hair dryer, unless it's just our upstairs-bathroom outlet being weird again.
Now it is my intention to have a snack and clean the kitchen and downstairs bathroom.
Now it is my intention to have a snack and clean the kitchen and downstairs bathroom.
2.15.2012
Sidebar Addition
Tonight I was given gifts of free food: a beautiful homemade wheat roll from Elisabeth (seriously, who needs butter, or any adornment whatsoever, when the roll itself is just so good? I didn't. I ate it in the car, savoring it) and pieces of pastry/cake/whatever from the Culinary Institute of America. The latter I got from Ife, who had brought them to share with people (actually, one of them I got a piece of even though Carrie, who had received it, had been encouraged not to share it); while visiting his girlfriend (which I believe happened yesterday, but presumably also part of today), they had toured the Institute, so he'd brought back samples. So all this food was unexpected and tasted very good.
Speaking of Elisabeth, I'm adding her new blog to my sidebar. Said blog is called "Sunshine Chronicles," and it will chronicle ten months she spends, with AmeriCorps, in a place that (unlike Binghamton) probably gets a lot of sunshine. Maybe that's the reason for the name. Well, no, more likely it's because she wants to help bring light to a place in darkness (largely metaphorical, that is - poverty, both economic and spiritual). Still, you can tell that it's a title that works on multiple levels.
With that, I'm going to go to bed, because not long after the sun rises tomorrow, I'd like to be up - and rested.
Speaking of Elisabeth, I'm adding her new blog to my sidebar. Said blog is called "Sunshine Chronicles," and it will chronicle ten months she spends, with AmeriCorps, in a place that (unlike Binghamton) probably gets a lot of sunshine. Maybe that's the reason for the name. Well, no, more likely it's because she wants to help bring light to a place in darkness (largely metaphorical, that is - poverty, both economic and spiritual). Still, you can tell that it's a title that works on multiple levels.
With that, I'm going to go to bed, because not long after the sun rises tomorrow, I'd like to be up - and rested.
2.14.2012
Three-and-a-Half Things
1. While cleaning my room (yes, finally!), I discovered - well, rediscovered, really - that I seem to have a house key from the previous house I lived in, and seriously, I have no idea how it got there, because I thought I'd given it to one of my housemates to give back to Mr. R. But I have this vague idea that I may have had two keys towards the end of my lease, or may have ended up with somebody else's, for some reason that escapes me. Maybe this explains why I also have no recollection of ever having gotten my deposit back. Perhaps sometime this week I'll mosey over to the dry-cleaning-and-tailoring business he runs.
2. I believe tonight to have been the first time I've ever actually full-on polished a pair of my own dress shoes with "real" polish (by which I mean the paste-style stuff; using the quick rub-on-and-go version doesn't feel like it counts). Bought a polish brush (marked down to seventy-four cents) and everything. Really, I kind of polished them one-and-a-half times, because I tried to buff them before the polish was even remotely dry, and with a paper towel, so I think I took much or most of said polish off, so then I put some more back on. So...you know. I mean, this not being a rocket-science sort of skill, you'd think I could figure it out, but before I even got as far as trying to polish them, I'd had to look on the internet just to figure out how to get the can open (seriously, the can-opener thing on the side kinda faked me out - I think I mostly just lacked the confidence to keep turning until I heard the lid pop), so you may not want to set your expectations real high on this.
3. I still have two unopened packages of funny themed napkins I bought for Carrie's birthday party(/ies), which took place on Sunday. One of the sets features a skateboarder mid-jump, with the caption, "Extreme Freestyle Happy Birthday." (Or perhaps, because of the way the words are arranged, it's supposed to be two separate ideas - "Extreme Freestyle" and "Happy Birthday" - but...) The other is pirate-ship-themed, but mostly just settles for saying "Happy Birthday" in a piratical-looking font.
3.5. And then, practically defying my power to comment (except to explain that I did not receive this from anybody, but found it more or less through Facebook), there's this:
Happy Valentine's Day to all, and to all a good night.
2. I believe tonight to have been the first time I've ever actually full-on polished a pair of my own dress shoes with "real" polish (by which I mean the paste-style stuff; using the quick rub-on-and-go version doesn't feel like it counts). Bought a polish brush (marked down to seventy-four cents) and everything. Really, I kind of polished them one-and-a-half times, because I tried to buff them before the polish was even remotely dry, and with a paper towel, so I think I took much or most of said polish off, so then I put some more back on. So...you know. I mean, this not being a rocket-science sort of skill, you'd think I could figure it out, but before I even got as far as trying to polish them, I'd had to look on the internet just to figure out how to get the can open (seriously, the can-opener thing on the side kinda faked me out - I think I mostly just lacked the confidence to keep turning until I heard the lid pop), so you may not want to set your expectations real high on this.
3. I still have two unopened packages of funny themed napkins I bought for Carrie's birthday party(/ies), which took place on Sunday. One of the sets features a skateboarder mid-jump, with the caption, "Extreme Freestyle Happy Birthday." (Or perhaps, because of the way the words are arranged, it's supposed to be two separate ideas - "Extreme Freestyle" and "Happy Birthday" - but...) The other is pirate-ship-themed, but mostly just settles for saying "Happy Birthday" in a piratical-looking font.
3.5. And then, practically defying my power to comment (except to explain that I did not receive this from anybody, but found it more or less through Facebook), there's this:
Source: npr.org/valentine
Happy Valentine's Day to all, and to all a good night.
2.13.2012
Regardless, the Early-Evening Soda was Still a Bad Idea
I'm trying to figure out what on earth is making my head ache in the front and the back (which is not the same as its hurting all over). I was going to blame it on caffeine, since I had the equivalent of one-and-a-half Starbucks hot chocolates today (Carrie and I have finally pretty much gotten through the variety pack that was part of what Ife gave us for Christmas - by the way, I don't think I'm allergic to the peppermint kind after all; I think I just had my hands on the hot mug too long, or something lame like that), plus, with Carrie's birthday dinner (chickpea-and-leek soup a la Jamie Oliver, plus some stir-fried asparagus), a glass of cola. But then I did a little internet research and found that even all that is not actually that much caffeine.
Still, it doesn't take much of it to wire me up a little, since I don't drink it every day (or even a majority of days), so here's sort of an adapted version of the conversation I vaguely imagined different parts of my body to be having this evening:
HEAD: Owwww. Seriously?
BRAIN: Woo! Energy! (Maybe a little more than I can handle, actually!) Hey, guys, we have to empty the dishwasher and do the rest of the dishes! Guys! C'mon! Dishes!
MUSCLES: Nnnng. We kind of hurt, and we're tired. Stop bothering us. Can't we sleep?
BRAIN: Um, no! I think we're going to be up for a while.
HEAD: Seriously, we took an ibuprofen like an hour ago, and we just drank water. Isn't there something else we can do to fix this?
BRAIN: I dunno. Hair of the dog? We've got other hot chocolate mix.
HEAD: Are you crazy?
BRAIN: Okay, fine, but guys, the dishes. We can put on Vent du Nord if that'll help.
HEAD AND MUSCLES: Nnnng. Fine.
[Surprisingly, the music and kitchen-cleaning actually happen.]
...Seriously, I'm a little concerned at the extent to which I have to put on music these days as a carrot to make myself do menial tasks. I may or may not have to do it, more mornings than I care to admit, just to get myself to stop reading stories on my NPR app long enough to get myself ready to go through the day.
Which can be a problem if the songs are really good, and ones I don't hear a lot. But that's another story.
Still, it doesn't take much of it to wire me up a little, since I don't drink it every day (or even a majority of days), so here's sort of an adapted version of the conversation I vaguely imagined different parts of my body to be having this evening:
HEAD: Owwww. Seriously?
BRAIN: Woo! Energy! (Maybe a little more than I can handle, actually!) Hey, guys, we have to empty the dishwasher and do the rest of the dishes! Guys! C'mon! Dishes!
MUSCLES: Nnnng. We kind of hurt, and we're tired. Stop bothering us. Can't we sleep?
BRAIN: Um, no! I think we're going to be up for a while.
HEAD: Seriously, we took an ibuprofen like an hour ago, and we just drank water. Isn't there something else we can do to fix this?
BRAIN: I dunno. Hair of the dog? We've got other hot chocolate mix.
HEAD: Are you crazy?
BRAIN: Okay, fine, but guys, the dishes. We can put on Vent du Nord if that'll help.
HEAD AND MUSCLES: Nnnng. Fine.
[Surprisingly, the music and kitchen-cleaning actually happen.]
...Seriously, I'm a little concerned at the extent to which I have to put on music these days as a carrot to make myself do menial tasks. I may or may not have to do it, more mornings than I care to admit, just to get myself to stop reading stories on my NPR app long enough to get myself ready to go through the day.
Which can be a problem if the songs are really good, and ones I don't hear a lot. But that's another story.
2.11.2012
Honey
Two interesting things happened today at the Winter Farmers Market (it should probably be "Farmers' Market," but that's not how it's spelled) when I went there this morning and stopped at the table of the guy selling local honey.
The first was that I ran into two guys from the BU Food Co-op (a sort of alternative grocery store on campus, selling things like organic, vegetarian, and kosher products, as well as fair trade coffee and chocolate), who were tasting the honey. They mentioned to the guy at the table that they were from the Food Co-op, and so I struck up a conversation with them because InterVarsity just bought a bunch of food from them when they (IV) made a bunch of snacks for Love Out Loud, an annual event that focuses on a different charity or cause each year (last year was anti-human-trafficking, particularly the efforts of Not For Sale; this year was charity: water).
One of the guys, as it turned out, was a former student of mine(!), a nice guy (one of what felt like the few nice guys in that uneasily-impressed, testosterone-heavy class - the exact number escapes me, but out of the sixteen students, at least twelve of them were guys) who recognized me faster than I did him; since moving from freshman to senior, he's matured somewhat in the face and has started balding. Gosh, that really was three years ago. I was only twenty-three then - it seems so young now, for a teacher of a college class. (The gradwork I did back then does feel like three years ago, but my classroom experiences don't seem as far away.) Anyway, he was nice, and he asked if I was still at BU and groaned, even as we both kind of laughed, when I mentioned the layoff, and he mentioned a cousin or something who'd just scored a full-time college teaching position, and how hard that'd been for the guy.
Also, I'd mentioned a little earlier in the conversation that (this is true) the from-scratch food that InterVarsity made for Love Out Loud never actually made it to the event, because it got stolen right out of the club office during the lone half-hour the room was unlocked (and it's not an office you can see into from the hall, either). Hillel, he said, had just had something similar happen; apparently there's been a rash of thefts in the student union, something IV hadn't known about.
So that was interesting and kind of nice. It's a little stressful running into most students anytime, but especially when one doesn't look precisely professional; I was glad I was wearing my wool coat, especially to help compensate for my unwashed hair. (I know that some people hear me talk about that coat a surprising amount, but seriously, it may just have been my smartest clothing purchase of 2011. It's still down-to-earth enough an item to not be weird, but I automatically look fifty percent classier when I'm wearing it.)
The other thing was when the guys had moved on and I got to buy some honey myself, which was the main thing I'd come to the market to do. I asked to try the spring blend (actually, not thinking, I'd said "spring mix," which at a farmer's market or suchlike usually refers to a blend of salad lettuces/greens, but whatever), since samples are free and I didn't remember ever coming across such a blend before. Lo! The second I put it in my mouth, my heart gave a leap (or, if it didn't, it should have) - not because it was so good, but because Alfred's honey was immediately vindicated. See, I bought some honey at Kinfolk a few months ago, and it was stuff that Dr. Mayberry's husband had produced, so I was kind of proud of it until I got it home, when Carrie and I found that it had this weird, waxy-minty undertone to it. I knew that Dr. Mayberry's husband's honey often came still in the comb, so I thought maybe there'd been some mistake as it went into the jar - that the comb flavor got in somehow - or that the bees had gotten into some mint somehow, or something. Carrie was polite, but it really tasted kind of funny, and we've kind of been using it only when we had to. And I felt dumb, because I'd talked up Alfred's honey, because it's Alfred's, and therefore I feel in my heart that it's somehow superior to anything the Binghamton region is likely to produce, though I cannot really tell you why or how that would be (except that it's probably cheaper despite being tasty). But it wasn't his fault, because this spring blend tasted just like it. I asked the guy at the table about it (choosing my words carefully), and he'd said, yeah, it was the black locust (pollen, I guess) in it; it'd been really strong that year, and pretty much everyone's honey everywhere had tasted like it. Well! Mystery solved. Satisfied, I bought the summer blend instead, and it tastes much better. And I told Carrie about the whole thing, and she was satisfied on my behalf, and truly excited to have good honey in the house again.
With that, since it's now practically eleven-thirty, I'll leave off the foodie-talk and go clean the bathroom. I'd like to be in bed around midnight so that I can get enough sleep before church tomorrow, but that will mean a much faster cleaning job than I often manage.
The first was that I ran into two guys from the BU Food Co-op (a sort of alternative grocery store on campus, selling things like organic, vegetarian, and kosher products, as well as fair trade coffee and chocolate), who were tasting the honey. They mentioned to the guy at the table that they were from the Food Co-op, and so I struck up a conversation with them because InterVarsity just bought a bunch of food from them when they (IV) made a bunch of snacks for Love Out Loud, an annual event that focuses on a different charity or cause each year (last year was anti-human-trafficking, particularly the efforts of Not For Sale; this year was charity: water).
One of the guys, as it turned out, was a former student of mine(!), a nice guy (one of what felt like the few nice guys in that uneasily-impressed, testosterone-heavy class - the exact number escapes me, but out of the sixteen students, at least twelve of them were guys) who recognized me faster than I did him; since moving from freshman to senior, he's matured somewhat in the face and has started balding. Gosh, that really was three years ago. I was only twenty-three then - it seems so young now, for a teacher of a college class. (The gradwork I did back then does feel like three years ago, but my classroom experiences don't seem as far away.) Anyway, he was nice, and he asked if I was still at BU and groaned, even as we both kind of laughed, when I mentioned the layoff, and he mentioned a cousin or something who'd just scored a full-time college teaching position, and how hard that'd been for the guy.
Also, I'd mentioned a little earlier in the conversation that (this is true) the from-scratch food that InterVarsity made for Love Out Loud never actually made it to the event, because it got stolen right out of the club office during the lone half-hour the room was unlocked (and it's not an office you can see into from the hall, either). Hillel, he said, had just had something similar happen; apparently there's been a rash of thefts in the student union, something IV hadn't known about.
So that was interesting and kind of nice. It's a little stressful running into most students anytime, but especially when one doesn't look precisely professional; I was glad I was wearing my wool coat, especially to help compensate for my unwashed hair. (I know that some people hear me talk about that coat a surprising amount, but seriously, it may just have been my smartest clothing purchase of 2011. It's still down-to-earth enough an item to not be weird, but I automatically look fifty percent classier when I'm wearing it.)
The other thing was when the guys had moved on and I got to buy some honey myself, which was the main thing I'd come to the market to do. I asked to try the spring blend (actually, not thinking, I'd said "spring mix," which at a farmer's market or suchlike usually refers to a blend of salad lettuces/greens, but whatever), since samples are free and I didn't remember ever coming across such a blend before. Lo! The second I put it in my mouth, my heart gave a leap (or, if it didn't, it should have) - not because it was so good, but because Alfred's honey was immediately vindicated. See, I bought some honey at Kinfolk a few months ago, and it was stuff that Dr. Mayberry's husband had produced, so I was kind of proud of it until I got it home, when Carrie and I found that it had this weird, waxy-minty undertone to it. I knew that Dr. Mayberry's husband's honey often came still in the comb, so I thought maybe there'd been some mistake as it went into the jar - that the comb flavor got in somehow - or that the bees had gotten into some mint somehow, or something. Carrie was polite, but it really tasted kind of funny, and we've kind of been using it only when we had to. And I felt dumb, because I'd talked up Alfred's honey, because it's Alfred's, and therefore I feel in my heart that it's somehow superior to anything the Binghamton region is likely to produce, though I cannot really tell you why or how that would be (except that it's probably cheaper despite being tasty). But it wasn't his fault, because this spring blend tasted just like it. I asked the guy at the table about it (choosing my words carefully), and he'd said, yeah, it was the black locust (pollen, I guess) in it; it'd been really strong that year, and pretty much everyone's honey everywhere had tasted like it. Well! Mystery solved. Satisfied, I bought the summer blend instead, and it tastes much better. And I told Carrie about the whole thing, and she was satisfied on my behalf, and truly excited to have good honey in the house again.
With that, since it's now practically eleven-thirty, I'll leave off the foodie-talk and go clean the bathroom. I'd like to be in bed around midnight so that I can get enough sleep before church tomorrow, but that will mean a much faster cleaning job than I often manage.
2.10.2012
Seven Quick Takes Late-Friday: Material-Things Edition
One: I didn't want to mention it at the time (as though anyone shady reads this blog), but I drove a rental car around for a couple of days this week while poor Lightning Blaze was fixed (my door got backed into on New Year's Day, if I never mentioned - the other person's insurance covered everything, including said rental). The car I had was a very new Hyundai Accent, only 414 miles on it, and the guy from Enterprise who checked it over with me and had me sign the stuff (he looked young, college-age) told me that if there was any damage, his boss would kill him(!). "I will be very careful," I said. Accordingly, I drove it around a little nervously. Upsides: good gas mileage and free XM Radio (I mostly listened to "90s on 9," but it was playing "Alt Radio" or whatever when I got it, and it did feel pretty cool to drive down the parkway in a brand-new car, with the dashboard display glowing in the early evening, and with Franz Ferdinand in my ears). Downsides: not as comfortable, handling-wise, as my own car. Plus, I was kind of nervous that I'd do something to it, or that it'd get broken into or something (a friend staying here once appeared to have suffered an attempted car-robbery, but her alarm scared them away). It was nice to borrow a new car, but I don't think I want one.
Two: By the way, here's how Lightning Blaze got its name: longtime readers of this blog will know that my first car, which I drove freshman year, was white and fairly small and kind of sporty, a kind hand-me-down from my dad. APO dubbed that "White Lightning" when we all went to conference together (we decided to have names so we could refer to the vehicles in our caravan: Krystal had already named her green Toyota Tercel "Kermit"; Gabe and Matt, who're Jewish, decided to name the vehicle in which they were traveling "SemitiCar"). Since my next car was the same make, but a different model, a bit bigger, I pulled a Madeleine L'Engle and named it "Lightning the Larger." Then, in late 2010 and early 2011, I drove my brother's old car (same make and model as LtL, but an '06 instead of an '03), but never got to name it: before I thought of a good one, I had the accident that bent the frame and put it permanently out of commission. Then came the car I'm driving now, also an '06 version of the same make and model. I asked H., a kid I was giving a ride to youth group, what he would name it, and he - without knowing what either of the previous named cars had been called, as far as I know - answered, "Lightning Blaze." Right in with the theme! How could you do better? I couldn't think of any way, so Lightning Blaze it was.
Three: So the car rental place's free-pickup service also extended to a free drop-off back at home (since I needed a way to return after bringing back the rental). I took them up on that, but the guy they had drive me home was an old guy who could hardly hear, didn't believe in signaling properly, and didn't even put his seatbelt on until after we'd turned onto the parkway. And then the car's check-engine light came on and it started basically shuddering as we drove, though the dashboard display kept saying "System OK." Somehow, however, I got back. (True to form, I worried for the next couple of hours that my headache, rather than being due to nervousness or the vibration or something else, might be from carbon monoxide poisoning. Then I decided that, since car-related poisoning symptoms are supposed to get better when you leave the car, that wasn't the most likely scenario, given that my head hurt more than ever. So I took a couple of ibuprofen and went to dinner.)
Four: Tonight I supped (sounds refined, doesn't it?) with Aunt Cathy and Jodi at Texas Roadhouse - Jodi was more or less in town for a wine tour with some people, and she and Aunt Cath planned to go to T.R. and eat tonight, so they asked me along (also my parents, but they'd already made plans). It took us a long time to get a table because it was really crowded, but we sat at the bar and got drinks (I had a tasty Sprite) and ate peanuts, so it was fine. Then we proceeded to eat way more food than was good for us, and at a place not known for its concern for healthy alternatives. That said, it definitely tasted good. (Alas, however, that they took the fried catfish off the menu, the stuff in the cornmeal batter! It was so good when I got it back whenever Mom and I went.)
Five: This week I bought some music on iTunes, thanks to my need to get through the adding-machine work. Among it: Dans les Airs, by Le Vent du Nord. I knew most of the songs at least somewhat, thanks to Pandora, but it's nice to own them and so to get to play them whenever I want.
Six: Speaking of Pandora (since I found this there), I'm thinking of also purchasing, sometime, L'Album Blanche, by Les Mononcles (different from Le Vent du Nord, but also Québécois). This isn't as easy as you'd think, though: despite the Pandora tag saying "Buy on iTunes/Amazon," you can't do that. I've found only one way to do it: off what's theoretically the Les Mononcles website, or at least the company that distributes their CDs. It's a pretty old-school webpage, though, so until I went to the main part and saw that it had been, in fact, updated sometime in 2011, I was a little concerned that it was from back in the late 90s or early 00s, and perhaps no longer representing any company that actually existed. Also, unless I want to try to e-mail them a filled-out order form, it looks like I'd have to mail it to Quebec. On the other hand, the CD, if I understand correctly, looks to be only $7 American, which is not too shabby at all. [Later update: Never mind. That was too good to be true. The shipping is $7. The CD is $20. So it looks as though I'm going to have to find some other way to get it.]
Seven: And finally, in yet more Pandora-related news, those of you with a subscription to the radio station should think about taking VistaPrint up on its 250-free-business-cards offer when it comes onto the screen. Someone from InterVarsity-Binghamton actually did it - she made, via said offer, entrance cards for her dorm room: you get it punched every time you visit her, just like a ten-punches-gets-you-one-free card at some coffee shop or something, and visiting her more often gives you certain privileges. I think that's great, and kind of wish I'd thought of it myself. And VistaPrint appears not to have done anything shady, at least not yet. So if you've got a use for some business cards...go for it!
All right - it's after midnight by now, but at least I started it before the day changed over. Cheerio!
Two: By the way, here's how Lightning Blaze got its name: longtime readers of this blog will know that my first car, which I drove freshman year, was white and fairly small and kind of sporty, a kind hand-me-down from my dad. APO dubbed that "White Lightning" when we all went to conference together (we decided to have names so we could refer to the vehicles in our caravan: Krystal had already named her green Toyota Tercel "Kermit"; Gabe and Matt, who're Jewish, decided to name the vehicle in which they were traveling "SemitiCar"). Since my next car was the same make, but a different model, a bit bigger, I pulled a Madeleine L'Engle and named it "Lightning the Larger." Then, in late 2010 and early 2011, I drove my brother's old car (same make and model as LtL, but an '06 instead of an '03), but never got to name it: before I thought of a good one, I had the accident that bent the frame and put it permanently out of commission. Then came the car I'm driving now, also an '06 version of the same make and model. I asked H., a kid I was giving a ride to youth group, what he would name it, and he - without knowing what either of the previous named cars had been called, as far as I know - answered, "Lightning Blaze." Right in with the theme! How could you do better? I couldn't think of any way, so Lightning Blaze it was.
Three: So the car rental place's free-pickup service also extended to a free drop-off back at home (since I needed a way to return after bringing back the rental). I took them up on that, but the guy they had drive me home was an old guy who could hardly hear, didn't believe in signaling properly, and didn't even put his seatbelt on until after we'd turned onto the parkway. And then the car's check-engine light came on and it started basically shuddering as we drove, though the dashboard display kept saying "System OK." Somehow, however, I got back. (True to form, I worried for the next couple of hours that my headache, rather than being due to nervousness or the vibration or something else, might be from carbon monoxide poisoning. Then I decided that, since car-related poisoning symptoms are supposed to get better when you leave the car, that wasn't the most likely scenario, given that my head hurt more than ever. So I took a couple of ibuprofen and went to dinner.)
Four: Tonight I supped (sounds refined, doesn't it?) with Aunt Cathy and Jodi at Texas Roadhouse - Jodi was more or less in town for a wine tour with some people, and she and Aunt Cath planned to go to T.R. and eat tonight, so they asked me along (also my parents, but they'd already made plans). It took us a long time to get a table because it was really crowded, but we sat at the bar and got drinks (I had a tasty Sprite) and ate peanuts, so it was fine. Then we proceeded to eat way more food than was good for us, and at a place not known for its concern for healthy alternatives. That said, it definitely tasted good. (Alas, however, that they took the fried catfish off the menu, the stuff in the cornmeal batter! It was so good when I got it back whenever Mom and I went.)
Five: This week I bought some music on iTunes, thanks to my need to get through the adding-machine work. Among it: Dans les Airs, by Le Vent du Nord. I knew most of the songs at least somewhat, thanks to Pandora, but it's nice to own them and so to get to play them whenever I want.
Six: Speaking of Pandora (since I found this there), I'm thinking of also purchasing, sometime, L'Album Blanche, by Les Mononcles (different from Le Vent du Nord, but also Québécois). This isn't as easy as you'd think, though: despite the Pandora tag saying "Buy on iTunes/Amazon," you can't do that. I've found only one way to do it: off what's theoretically the Les Mononcles website, or at least the company that distributes their CDs. It's a pretty old-school webpage, though, so until I went to the main part and saw that it had been, in fact, updated sometime in 2011, I was a little concerned that it was from back in the late 90s or early 00s, and perhaps no longer representing any company that actually existed. Also, unless I want to try to e-mail them a filled-out order form, it looks like I'd have to mail it to Quebec. On the other hand, the CD, if I understand correctly, looks to be only $7 American, which is not too shabby at all. [Later update: Never mind. That was too good to be true. The shipping is $7. The CD is $20. So it looks as though I'm going to have to find some other way to get it.]
Seven: And finally, in yet more Pandora-related news, those of you with a subscription to the radio station should think about taking VistaPrint up on its 250-free-business-cards offer when it comes onto the screen. Someone from InterVarsity-Binghamton actually did it - she made, via said offer, entrance cards for her dorm room: you get it punched every time you visit her, just like a ten-punches-gets-you-one-free card at some coffee shop or something, and visiting her more often gives you certain privileges. I think that's great, and kind of wish I'd thought of it myself. And VistaPrint appears not to have done anything shady, at least not yet. So if you've got a use for some business cards...go for it!
All right - it's after midnight by now, but at least I started it before the day changed over. Cheerio!
2.09.2012
Tired and Full-Headed
My temp assignment ended after today's work (which I didn't find out until I was already home - nobody seemed to know it except the timekeeper girl), but it was kind of nice to have an early start to the day, and to get out at three-thirty.
I hope new work comes soon, though I also hope it leaves me the chance to get out to Rhode Island for a few days.
I'll try to be more interesting now that I don't have so much work to do.
I hope new work comes soon, though I also hope it leaves me the chance to get out to Rhode Island for a few days.
I'll try to be more interesting now that I don't have so much work to do.
2.08.2012
Quickly
In a couple of ways, the column-adding job may actually be better than the straight-up doc prep. Among the reasons, it's always nice to be appreciated, and the regulars seem genuinely glad that I'm doing it, even if it's so that they don't have to. (I'm not actually sure that that's why...who does usually do that sort of thing? I dunno. But either way.)
Speaking of combined advantages and disadvantages, I've been asked to come in at 7:00 tomorrow morning, rather than the usual 8:30, so while I'll probably get out at 3:30 (which will be nice), I do have to get up around 5:30 in order to do it.
So I'm gonna go to bed in, like, five minutes. Good night.
Speaking of combined advantages and disadvantages, I've been asked to come in at 7:00 tomorrow morning, rather than the usual 8:30, so while I'll probably get out at 3:30 (which will be nice), I do have to get up around 5:30 in order to do it.
So I'm gonna go to bed in, like, five minutes. Good night.
2.07.2012
It's Not Going to be Much of a Blog Tonight, Either
The following things, among others, have happened since Saturday:
-I didn't make anything for the International Feast after all, though I did make bacon crackers for the Super Bowl party I went to.
-The Giants (my dad's favorite team) won the Super Bowl.
-I managed to score an extra couple of days at work past when my assignment would otherwise have ended, thanks to being reasonably quick with an adding machine. On the other hand, my new job is to add columns of figures all day. Like, actually all day: the whole seven hours that I work (as opposed to the two fifteen-minute breaks and the half-hour lunch). It's not ideal, but it is a paycheck, and for that, may I be truly thankful. I'm also allowed to listen to music (via iPod and earphones) while I earn said paycheck.
And yes, I forgot to blog last night. It was a busy night, and I didn't get to bed until about midnight anyway, so I'm not particularly sorry, though I probably should be.
Off to bed soon.
-I didn't make anything for the International Feast after all, though I did make bacon crackers for the Super Bowl party I went to.
-The Giants (my dad's favorite team) won the Super Bowl.
-I managed to score an extra couple of days at work past when my assignment would otherwise have ended, thanks to being reasonably quick with an adding machine. On the other hand, my new job is to add columns of figures all day. Like, actually all day: the whole seven hours that I work (as opposed to the two fifteen-minute breaks and the half-hour lunch). It's not ideal, but it is a paycheck, and for that, may I be truly thankful. I'm also allowed to listen to music (via iPod and earphones) while I earn said paycheck.
And yes, I forgot to blog last night. It was a busy night, and I didn't get to bed until about midnight anyway, so I'm not particularly sorry, though I probably should be.
Off to bed soon.
2.04.2012
International Feast 4.0
I'm pretty sure that tomorrow's International Feast at Good Shepherd is our fourth annual - our first year, I made Moroccan chicken-and-lentils; the next, bara brith; this past year, pelmeni.
This year I was going to keep with the Russian theme and make smetannik (but in pie form, as is sometimes done, rather than cake) because sour cream and raspberry jam sounded so potentially nice as a pie filling. But I've run out of energy, and Carrie and I have run out of eggs. No pie-baking for me tonight, no matter how much raspberry jam I've just bought.
So why not switch the country? Scottish shortbread is much easier, and has the advantages of being eggless, of being something I've made before, and of providing me with an opportunity to actually (as I do so rarely) use the cookie cookbook that Erik gave me for Christmas, my freshman year at Alfred.
That, and cleaning the bathroom, and possibly making some bacon crackers (alas for Joe's cholesterol level! But I want something for the Super Bowl party that tastes good and isn't super labor-intensive), constitute my plans for tonight.
This year I was going to keep with the Russian theme and make smetannik (but in pie form, as is sometimes done, rather than cake) because sour cream and raspberry jam sounded so potentially nice as a pie filling. But I've run out of energy, and Carrie and I have run out of eggs. No pie-baking for me tonight, no matter how much raspberry jam I've just bought.
So why not switch the country? Scottish shortbread is much easier, and has the advantages of being eggless, of being something I've made before, and of providing me with an opportunity to actually (as I do so rarely) use the cookie cookbook that Erik gave me for Christmas, my freshman year at Alfred.
That, and cleaning the bathroom, and possibly making some bacon crackers (alas for Joe's cholesterol level! But I want something for the Super Bowl party that tastes good and isn't super labor-intensive), constitute my plans for tonight.
2.03.2012
::a la that one State Fair carnie:: W-w-w-winnah-winnah-winnahhhhhr!
So most of you probably don't know this, but Carrie is into entering contests on the internet.
Like, not just any contest anywhere. Not creepy ones, or ones you have to pay into. But free ones for cool stuff. She enters the Dream Home sweepstakes, the ones Pioneer Woman runs for expensive kitchen gear, that sort of thing. But the thing you have to know is, there's a part of her that expects to win, every time, regardless of how many times she's lost before.
Now, here's the story: she and I are fans on Facebook of twentyonehundred productions, a department within InterVarsity-USA which makes video clips and cool IV banners (the kind you might hang up on campus wherever you're having a large-group meeting, for example) and suchlike. Every week, they post, to their Facebook page, what they call an "infographic," which is usually something funny (or at least funny-ish) that takes a quick look at a concept related to Christianity and/or pop culture in general, or InterVarsity and/or twentyonehundred life in particular. Two of the infographics I like best, for example (you don't need to belong to Facebook to view them): this (as you may imagine, a Global Project or Global Urban Trek is a short-term missions-type project that takes place outside the country) and (my favorite; the backstory here is that parts of InterVarsity, including our region, are really into Myers-Briggs) this.
So twentyonehundred ran a contest this week: leave a comment on their blog about which infographic from 2011 was your favorite, and be entered in a free-infographic-poster raffle.
Guess who got named one of the winners today.
Nope, trick setup: I was!
Like, not just any contest anywhere. Not creepy ones, or ones you have to pay into. But free ones for cool stuff. She enters the Dream Home sweepstakes, the ones Pioneer Woman runs for expensive kitchen gear, that sort of thing. But the thing you have to know is, there's a part of her that expects to win, every time, regardless of how many times she's lost before.
Now, here's the story: she and I are fans on Facebook of twentyonehundred productions, a department within InterVarsity-USA which makes video clips and cool IV banners (the kind you might hang up on campus wherever you're having a large-group meeting, for example) and suchlike. Every week, they post, to their Facebook page, what they call an "infographic," which is usually something funny (or at least funny-ish) that takes a quick look at a concept related to Christianity and/or pop culture in general, or InterVarsity and/or twentyonehundred life in particular. Two of the infographics I like best, for example (you don't need to belong to Facebook to view them): this (as you may imagine, a Global Project or Global Urban Trek is a short-term missions-type project that takes place outside the country) and (my favorite; the backstory here is that parts of InterVarsity, including our region, are really into Myers-Briggs) this.
So twentyonehundred ran a contest this week: leave a comment on their blog about which infographic from 2011 was your favorite, and be entered in a free-infographic-poster raffle.
Guess who got named one of the winners today.
Nope, trick setup: I was!
2.02.2012
This Resolution Keeps Keeping Me from My Bed
This morning at work was long and hard - we had a big target to meet, and we prepped like crazy, trying to meet it. We didn't. But we get pizza for lunch tomorrow anyway - a reward we didn't expect. Still, hopefully that's the last time I push my break off until past noon. I felt wilted - though it's surprising how quickly some water and dried cherries will clear one's head. I ended up going to lunch after one o'clock.
I keep not being able to work overtime because of evening commitments. This is a slight disadvantage, both inasmuch as I could use the makeup pay because of the time last week we lost when work got cut short and then the next day got canceled, and because I feel like my supervisor likes people slightly better who can do overtime (though I don't think I'm treated much differently or anything). But as it is, I haven't been able to do anything useful all week. Carrie's done all the cooking, and I still have to do my house chores, to say nothing of all the to-dos that only affect me. But it's an advantage in that I don't know how much extracurricular doc-prepping I or my shoulder muscles could really take.
Ife's girlfriend is staying with us again this weekend...and Carrie and I have up to three functions to help cook for (Ife's brunch on Saturday, the church's annual International Feast on Sunday, and then a Super Bowl party in the evening). But I don't really want to spend another Saturday in the kitchen. Really, I don't know if I'll have the energy to be all that social, but that's my tough luck.
I need to go to bed very soon if I'm going to get up a little earlier than usual. I've been a few minutes (only a few - like 8:31 or 8:33 or 8:34 instead of 8:30) late coming in almost every day this week. There don't appear to be any real consequences, but it's a stupid thing to do, especially out of someone whose work quality does not make up for it, so I really ought to get it right tomorrow.
I keep not being able to work overtime because of evening commitments. This is a slight disadvantage, both inasmuch as I could use the makeup pay because of the time last week we lost when work got cut short and then the next day got canceled, and because I feel like my supervisor likes people slightly better who can do overtime (though I don't think I'm treated much differently or anything). But as it is, I haven't been able to do anything useful all week. Carrie's done all the cooking, and I still have to do my house chores, to say nothing of all the to-dos that only affect me. But it's an advantage in that I don't know how much extracurricular doc-prepping I or my shoulder muscles could really take.
Ife's girlfriend is staying with us again this weekend...and Carrie and I have up to three functions to help cook for (Ife's brunch on Saturday, the church's annual International Feast on Sunday, and then a Super Bowl party in the evening). But I don't really want to spend another Saturday in the kitchen. Really, I don't know if I'll have the energy to be all that social, but that's my tough luck.
I need to go to bed very soon if I'm going to get up a little earlier than usual. I've been a few minutes (only a few - like 8:31 or 8:33 or 8:34 instead of 8:30) late coming in almost every day this week. There don't appear to be any real consequences, but it's a stupid thing to do, especially out of someone whose work quality does not make up for it, so I really ought to get it right tomorrow.
2.01.2012
Et Cetera, Followed by Something Walrus-Related
Today was pretty straightforward, though with nicer weather (high forties...maybe fifty or a touch higher? Dunno) than one might expect. Made the acquaintance of another decent guy at work - a full-timer this time. Name of George. He has a cat.
Ate some curry for dinner that Carrie had made last night. She's really done the real cooking this week.
And last night I wrote a haiku about walruses. Their tusks, specifically. I'll explain that one another time.
Ate some curry for dinner that Carrie had made last night. She's really done the real cooking this week.
And last night I wrote a haiku about walruses. Their tusks, specifically. I'll explain that one another time.