Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, commited citizens can change
the world; indeed it is the only thing that
ever has.
the world; indeed it is the only thing that
ever has.
Margaret Mead
Monday, November 03, 2008
"my love is like a black cloud full of rain that's always right up there above you" See America Right - From 'Tallahassee" by The Mountain Goats
I'm thinking that Tallahassee may be in my top ten favourite albums of all time. Like most the music that I truly really love, my appreciation for this band was hard won. They went from "that weird band that Edward likes" to "holy shit, this stuff is genius". It really appeals to my unlovable side. Also, I've been watching season 3 of Dexter and that always sort of makes me think about how I have a lot of fake emotions. I'm sure we all do it, even Nathan, nicest guy in the world does it. Sometimes I wonder if a lot of the nicest people in the world are faking it. I know I do a lot. Sometimes I congratulate myself a little for not being a nosy person when a little personal tidbit about someone falls into my lap and I don't go grousing for more information, but the fact is that I just don't care. It's not even that I don't like gossip. I love gossip, especially when hilariously delivered, I just don't really care about peoples' personal little lives, unless I really care about the people. And frankly, there aren't really that many people I care about.
I think a lot about love. Well more particularly romantic love. If someone were to chart eras in my romantic life it would go: non-existant > naively cautious > full blown romantic abandon > full blown unromantic and somewhat spiteful abandon > overly cautious. Just someday I'd like to let my guard completely down, but that's probably not going to happen. Nathan encourages me to open up completely to him, but he's got emotions. And my feelings can be pretty ruthless. I feel like it's a pretty slippery slope from sharing my deepest feelings to sharing every little thing that comes into my head, regardless of whether or not it burns a little hole in someone else's heart. There's only a couple of people that I've ever really opened up to and that's Steph, who's just as hard as me, and Keith, who has this ability to not pass judgment even if he can't empathize. I wish that Nathan was hard enough to understand me, or at least was able to distance himself enough from me to just listen and not take it personally. But that's not possible. I couldn't even do that for him if he asked me.
Listening to this music is very therapeutic. It sort of says "You can love someone and still be really fucked up inside. You can make it work. It's still love." I don't doubt that we can make it work. Somehow despite how messed up I feel sometimes, our relationship never feels like work to me. I never feel like I'm handling anything big, like the weight of the world is on my shoulders. It's just us. It's just life. And for the most part, life is just... great.
I'm thinking that Tallahassee may be in my top ten favourite albums of all time. Like most the music that I truly really love, my appreciation for this band was hard won. They went from "that weird band that Edward likes" to "holy shit, this stuff is genius". It really appeals to my unlovable side. Also, I've been watching season 3 of Dexter and that always sort of makes me think about how I have a lot of fake emotions. I'm sure we all do it, even Nathan, nicest guy in the world does it. Sometimes I wonder if a lot of the nicest people in the world are faking it. I know I do a lot. Sometimes I congratulate myself a little for not being a nosy person when a little personal tidbit about someone falls into my lap and I don't go grousing for more information, but the fact is that I just don't care. It's not even that I don't like gossip. I love gossip, especially when hilariously delivered, I just don't really care about peoples' personal little lives, unless I really care about the people. And frankly, there aren't really that many people I care about.
I think a lot about love. Well more particularly romantic love. If someone were to chart eras in my romantic life it would go: non-existant > naively cautious > full blown romantic abandon > full blown unromantic and somewhat spiteful abandon > overly cautious. Just someday I'd like to let my guard completely down, but that's probably not going to happen. Nathan encourages me to open up completely to him, but he's got emotions. And my feelings can be pretty ruthless. I feel like it's a pretty slippery slope from sharing my deepest feelings to sharing every little thing that comes into my head, regardless of whether or not it burns a little hole in someone else's heart. There's only a couple of people that I've ever really opened up to and that's Steph, who's just as hard as me, and Keith, who has this ability to not pass judgment even if he can't empathize. I wish that Nathan was hard enough to understand me, or at least was able to distance himself enough from me to just listen and not take it personally. But that's not possible. I couldn't even do that for him if he asked me.
Listening to this music is very therapeutic. It sort of says "You can love someone and still be really fucked up inside. You can make it work. It's still love." I don't doubt that we can make it work. Somehow despite how messed up I feel sometimes, our relationship never feels like work to me. I never feel like I'm handling anything big, like the weight of the world is on my shoulders. It's just us. It's just life. And for the most part, life is just... great.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
pork pork pork pork pork
So my foray into making peameal bacon was a resounding and deliciously salty success! I still need to tweak the recipe, since the bacon was ridiculously salty before I leached some of it out by soaking it, and there are spots inside where it is a little grey, instead of a lively pink.
But it's still good, and so far, hasn't given me food poisoning. Even my very picky brother approved!
Maybe when I do my next batch, I will post the recipe, since it's ridiculously easy to make, and it's a lot cheaper than buying it premade. It's about $5 for 5 slices in the grocery store, but $10 for 5 pounds (if you can get pork loin on sale, which I always can in little Portugal)
Anyway, it's time for me to go to bed, even though it's only 10pm. I've been very sleep deprived for hte past couple of nights. I just couldn't fall asleep. My boss caught my nodding off in a meeting today. Lucky she's cool, and only made fun of me instead of reprimanding me.
So I must go and check on the pork shoulder I have braising in the slow cooker (yay!) and take out the garbage (boo). I wonder if all this pork is bad for me. There must be some reason why a good 1/3 of the world isn't allowed to eat it. But maybe I'm immune to its effects because I'm Chinese, the way Swedes are immune to lactose. I guess time (and my artery/clog ratio) will tell.
So my foray into making peameal bacon was a resounding and deliciously salty success! I still need to tweak the recipe, since the bacon was ridiculously salty before I leached some of it out by soaking it, and there are spots inside where it is a little grey, instead of a lively pink.
But it's still good, and so far, hasn't given me food poisoning. Even my very picky brother approved!
Maybe when I do my next batch, I will post the recipe, since it's ridiculously easy to make, and it's a lot cheaper than buying it premade. It's about $5 for 5 slices in the grocery store, but $10 for 5 pounds (if you can get pork loin on sale, which I always can in little Portugal)
Anyway, it's time for me to go to bed, even though it's only 10pm. I've been very sleep deprived for hte past couple of nights. I just couldn't fall asleep. My boss caught my nodding off in a meeting today. Lucky she's cool, and only made fun of me instead of reprimanding me.
So I must go and check on the pork shoulder I have braising in the slow cooker (yay!) and take out the garbage (boo). I wonder if all this pork is bad for me. There must be some reason why a good 1/3 of the world isn't allowed to eat it. But maybe I'm immune to its effects because I'm Chinese, the way Swedes are immune to lactose. I guess time (and my artery/clog ratio) will tell.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Reading Steph's blog reminded me that I was totally planning on transcribing my journal from China three years ago. That obviously didn't happen, and never will since it's all embarrassingly personal upon review.
So here are just some quotes that I wrote down, which sum up the trip quite nicely.
Larry: Hey Elain, can you get my bags for me? I don't want to walk.
Elaine: Did you just say 'I don't want to walk'?!
Larry: Oh did I? I meant to say 'I'm taking off my contact lenses"
Larry: So everyone's supposed to eat 4 buns...
Elaine: 3.
Larry: Oh, my blain's rotting. I couldn't even say "brain" right.
Tom: Do you [Canadians] have those rape alarms? They're so annoying!
Everyone else: [incredulous silence]
Matt: Do you have ID? They'll want ot make sure you're not Thai prostitutes.
Jakob: This book will never break! Even if the sun crashes into the Earth, this book will STILL BE THERE!
Tom: I'm eating a steak, but I'm thinking of pussy.
Steph: Me and my domestic abuse face are going out to the parking lot so people can stop staring at me.
Steph: Try to have fun with your family. They're only doing what's best for... them. And you. But mostly them.
Good times, good times. This is what I gleaned from the journal:
- it was a lot more boring than I remember
- there were a lot of really interesting things I forgot
- I am a terrible writer who should never punish people with my writing again. But I still will.
Today I had two important choices. a) make cornbread muffins that me and my coworkers could enjoy. b) make chocolate chip cookies, which Nathan will enjoy. I decided to go with the cookies based on this important x-factor. I have been bragging about this great cookie recipe I have for the past 6 or so years to him, and he's already lamented a few times that I never make chocolate chip cookies for him, even though I talk about it all the time. Which is really cruel. What's the matter with me? Sometimes I find myself resisting the urge to do little things that I know will make him happy. I wonder if it's part of that chip on my shoulder I developed where I kind of want to keep people at arms' length emotionally (as if cookies will somehow seal the deal). Or maybe I feel like I don't have ot win him over anymore? Who knows. Either way, it's kind of shitty and requires further contemplation.
So here are just some quotes that I wrote down, which sum up the trip quite nicely.
Larry: Hey Elain, can you get my bags for me? I don't want to walk.
Elaine: Did you just say 'I don't want to walk'?!
Larry: Oh did I? I meant to say 'I'm taking off my contact lenses"
Larry: So everyone's supposed to eat 4 buns...
Elaine: 3.
Larry: Oh, my blain's rotting. I couldn't even say "brain" right.
Tom: Do you [Canadians] have those rape alarms? They're so annoying!
Everyone else: [incredulous silence]
Matt: Do you have ID? They'll want ot make sure you're not Thai prostitutes.
Jakob: This book will never break! Even if the sun crashes into the Earth, this book will STILL BE THERE!
Tom: I'm eating a steak, but I'm thinking of pussy.
Steph: Me and my domestic abuse face are going out to the parking lot so people can stop staring at me.
Steph: Try to have fun with your family. They're only doing what's best for... them. And you. But mostly them.
Good times, good times. This is what I gleaned from the journal:
- it was a lot more boring than I remember
- there were a lot of really interesting things I forgot
- I am a terrible writer who should never punish people with my writing again. But I still will.
Today I had two important choices. a) make cornbread muffins that me and my coworkers could enjoy. b) make chocolate chip cookies, which Nathan will enjoy. I decided to go with the cookies based on this important x-factor. I have been bragging about this great cookie recipe I have for the past 6 or so years to him, and he's already lamented a few times that I never make chocolate chip cookies for him, even though I talk about it all the time. Which is really cruel. What's the matter with me? Sometimes I find myself resisting the urge to do little things that I know will make him happy. I wonder if it's part of that chip on my shoulder I developed where I kind of want to keep people at arms' length emotionally (as if cookies will somehow seal the deal). Or maybe I feel like I don't have ot win him over anymore? Who knows. Either way, it's kind of shitty and requires further contemplation.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
I am tired.
High: my doctor's office tried to bill me for not showing up to an appointment that I tried to cancel twice over the phone. I argued with the office manager that I had left two separate messages to reschedule that were never returned. I eventually wore her down, as she would have to find my message on the machine. I offered to help her since I knew exactly what time and day I called, but she said it wasn't worth the $30. Go me!
Low: We lost at dodgeball. Which isn't too bad since we were one person short and it was a close game. The thing that sucked about it was that the opposing team had this one guy who was a total psychopath, who would yell at all his teammates and at us. Weird. Case in point, Amir totally smoked one girl right in the face. And this guy throws HARD. So she walked out of the room to compose herself (and probably have a cry... i know I would). The crazy guy walked past her and started hollering "Why did the game stop? What's going on?!?!? LET'S PLAY AWERAW AW;JTNAWR;JKH;!!!!!!"
We think that maybe he was a coke head. I went up to the captain after and told him that he needs to tell his friend to calm down. Basically, this guy was a dick. Not cool.
I'm really happy this week will be over soon. My boss has been away, so that means no new work for me. That means sitting on my ass for 8 hours, pretending to work. Which sounds pretty sweet, but it's not. I like my job. I like working. A lot. And I also don't like having to hide what I'm doing every time someone walks by. I'm sure they don't care, but I don't want to be in peoples' heads as a lazy jerk.
Halloween is on a Friday. I'm taking that day off, which sucks because my department is organizing a halloween day, with a pumpkin carving contest (ahh fuck!!!) a potluck (ahh super fuck!!) and... something else I don't care about or remember. But it's a great way to get to know everyone and have a good time. And I'm coo coo for pot lucks! Oh well. I'll just have to wait for the department holiday party.
Anyway, it's time to go to bed and do it all over again. Night!
High: my doctor's office tried to bill me for not showing up to an appointment that I tried to cancel twice over the phone. I argued with the office manager that I had left two separate messages to reschedule that were never returned. I eventually wore her down, as she would have to find my message on the machine. I offered to help her since I knew exactly what time and day I called, but she said it wasn't worth the $30. Go me!
Low: We lost at dodgeball. Which isn't too bad since we were one person short and it was a close game. The thing that sucked about it was that the opposing team had this one guy who was a total psychopath, who would yell at all his teammates and at us. Weird. Case in point, Amir totally smoked one girl right in the face. And this guy throws HARD. So she walked out of the room to compose herself (and probably have a cry... i know I would). The crazy guy walked past her and started hollering "Why did the game stop? What's going on?!?!? LET'S PLAY AWERAW AW;JTNAWR;JKH;!!!!!!"
We think that maybe he was a coke head. I went up to the captain after and told him that he needs to tell his friend to calm down. Basically, this guy was a dick. Not cool.
I'm really happy this week will be over soon. My boss has been away, so that means no new work for me. That means sitting on my ass for 8 hours, pretending to work. Which sounds pretty sweet, but it's not. I like my job. I like working. A lot. And I also don't like having to hide what I'm doing every time someone walks by. I'm sure they don't care, but I don't want to be in peoples' heads as a lazy jerk.
Halloween is on a Friday. I'm taking that day off, which sucks because my department is organizing a halloween day, with a pumpkin carving contest (ahh fuck!!!) a potluck (ahh super fuck!!) and... something else I don't care about or remember. But it's a great way to get to know everyone and have a good time. And I'm coo coo for pot lucks! Oh well. I'll just have to wait for the department holiday party.
Anyway, it's time to go to bed and do it all over again. Night!
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
Right now I'm rocking out grooving to Dance Mix USA 1993, which I downloaded for our dodgeball game tomorrow. It's very awesome.
Music is funny. Once in a while, I'll hear some crappy pop ballad from the mix 80s and think "who the hell actually like this?". Then I'll hear a crappy pop ballad from now and think "hmm... well this isn't so bad.. even with the synthesizer." I think my taste for music is going down the drain. I am becoming a non-discerning adult.
So I have a new carpool partner. So far, it's all good. She is very good with being on time (when I pick her up, she's always at the door waiting) and so far we've been talking the entire way there and back. This isn't say too much, I've hated people after being able to have hours and hours of conversation before. We're stuck in a car with each other for 2 hours a day. Luckily, we seem to have a lot in common, and a lot NOT in common, so the conversation flows really well. In fact, I quite look forward to our rides together. I also look forward to cutting my car costs in half.
Lately I've been really obsessed with fashion, which is sort of a problem since I just bought a car and should really not be buying anything. Although, I have been buying things from Value village (a blazer for $10, dry cleaning included) and a pair of rockport work shoes (badly needed, $30) and a pair of brown knee high boots iwth a 2 inch heel (badly coveted, $30 at the Rockport outlet store.. rock!). In fact, I finagled a discount for the boots, because they were the last ones there and had some flaws on them due to some insensitive shoe tryer-oners. Not that getting a discount from young straight men is all that difficult. I don't think that they are easily swayed by my womanly ways... it's just that I'm a lot more comfortable wheeling and dealing with a young guy than with a lady. They're less intimidating.
I bought some elements for my Halloween costume at Value Village for really cheap, which saves both money and time (I was going to sew it all myself). Without revealing what the costume will be, I must mention that I bought a hot pink satin cumberbund/sash. It fits perfectly with the costume and is so wacky, but I've been thinking about incorporating it into my normal wardrobe. I think it would really add some pop to my usual white collar shirt, dark grey skirt outfit I wear a little too often at work. Every time I second guess wacky clothing ideas, I have to remind myself that I am an artistic person, and thus bound by law to dress a little eccentric. I want to take a trip to Chinatown at some point for some neat Hong Kong fashions to wear under my new conservative, one button velour blazer, and with the skirt I am making... a knee length, high waisted a-line skirt made from charcoal wool (the kind they make suits out of, not sweaters). I am really really excited about this one... so far it's looking pretty good despite my lack of sewing pattern and dress form. My sewing skills aren't so fantastic, either. I wonder if there's some kind of class I can take that won't cost me a million dollars...
right now I'm munching on some dark chocolate (the german kind.. mmm) as a completely uninformed way to keep away my allergies. I've been sneezing and blowing my nose all day, I need the comfort of a rich snack from the land of chocolate. It's not working, but it's taking away a lot of the rage, although, it could also be the Crystal Waters.
Music is funny. Once in a while, I'll hear some crappy pop ballad from the mix 80s and think "who the hell actually like this?". Then I'll hear a crappy pop ballad from now and think "hmm... well this isn't so bad.. even with the synthesizer." I think my taste for music is going down the drain. I am becoming a non-discerning adult.
So I have a new carpool partner. So far, it's all good. She is very good with being on time (when I pick her up, she's always at the door waiting) and so far we've been talking the entire way there and back. This isn't say too much, I've hated people after being able to have hours and hours of conversation before. We're stuck in a car with each other for 2 hours a day. Luckily, we seem to have a lot in common, and a lot NOT in common, so the conversation flows really well. In fact, I quite look forward to our rides together. I also look forward to cutting my car costs in half.
Lately I've been really obsessed with fashion, which is sort of a problem since I just bought a car and should really not be buying anything. Although, I have been buying things from Value village (a blazer for $10, dry cleaning included) and a pair of rockport work shoes (badly needed, $30) and a pair of brown knee high boots iwth a 2 inch heel (badly coveted, $30 at the Rockport outlet store.. rock!). In fact, I finagled a discount for the boots, because they were the last ones there and had some flaws on them due to some insensitive shoe tryer-oners. Not that getting a discount from young straight men is all that difficult. I don't think that they are easily swayed by my womanly ways... it's just that I'm a lot more comfortable wheeling and dealing with a young guy than with a lady. They're less intimidating.
I bought some elements for my Halloween costume at Value Village for really cheap, which saves both money and time (I was going to sew it all myself). Without revealing what the costume will be, I must mention that I bought a hot pink satin cumberbund/sash. It fits perfectly with the costume and is so wacky, but I've been thinking about incorporating it into my normal wardrobe. I think it would really add some pop to my usual white collar shirt, dark grey skirt outfit I wear a little too often at work. Every time I second guess wacky clothing ideas, I have to remind myself that I am an artistic person, and thus bound by law to dress a little eccentric. I want to take a trip to Chinatown at some point for some neat Hong Kong fashions to wear under my new conservative, one button velour blazer, and with the skirt I am making... a knee length, high waisted a-line skirt made from charcoal wool (the kind they make suits out of, not sweaters). I am really really excited about this one... so far it's looking pretty good despite my lack of sewing pattern and dress form. My sewing skills aren't so fantastic, either. I wonder if there's some kind of class I can take that won't cost me a million dollars...
right now I'm munching on some dark chocolate (the german kind.. mmm) as a completely uninformed way to keep away my allergies. I've been sneezing and blowing my nose all day, I need the comfort of a rich snack from the land of chocolate. It's not working, but it's taking away a lot of the rage, although, it could also be the Crystal Waters.
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Stolen from Veer, the company I would like to work for someday
One day at a time, don't touch me
Seeing this makes me really think I could get a tattoo someday. I love type. It is spectacularly awesome, and I always knew that if I were to get a tattoo, it would be something textual. I'm always thinking about what I would get. A tattoo has to have meaning that is personal, but also easily understood (because if it was truly really really personal, why the hell would you broadcast it to the world? Wait, maybe I shouldn't say that since I have a very personal blog on the internet.) Nathan and my motto for our life together is "one day at a time". This doesn't mean that we have a lot of problems. Basically, it means that we are overly cautious people, who don't quite understand how we happened to get in such a great relationship, and are basically waiting for the other shoe to drop. Hmm, kind of sad, actually. But that's OUR motto. Not MY motto. I don't really take things one day at a time. I like spontaneity, I like planning for the future and looking at the past.
I thought about what really defines me as a person, what is something that is very strong and present in my life. I realize that one thing that really colours my every day life is the fact that I do not like to be touched. Not by people I know, especially not by casual acquaintances, and certainly not by people I don't know. Somehow, I got it in my head that touching people is terrible, awkward, and terribly awkward. I'm just not GOOD at it (you may have noticed my propensity to wave wildly at people in lieu of hugging them.) But I know that's not acceptable in life, so I try really really hard to be okay with it. I know other people like hugs, hugs mean a lot to other people. I get that. i get the whole psychological and emotional aspect of it. I just don't like doing it. I also don't particularly like saying peoples' names or looking in peoples' eyes (this may be related). But so far, I've gotten really good at faking it, so it's really not a big deal. It's kind of like being allergic to dairy. It's an inconvenience, but one I can deal with. I guess I just don't like being close to people. Which makes me feel bad.
Funny thing, though. I have no problem touching people I'm in relationships with. In fact, I really like the whole snuggly affection thing. Hm weird.
Anyway, it's probably not a good idea to have that as a tattoo, because then you have to explain it to everyone and look like a big standoffish freak all the time. Which is not me. I'm very friendly, really. Just... don't touch me.
Friday, October 03, 2008
Sad but true
This is, pretty much, my life right now.
And this, should I decide to have children, is my greatest fear.
The music part. Seriously.
This is, pretty much, my life right now.
And this, should I decide to have children, is my greatest fear.
The music part. Seriously.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Why is everything open only 9-5, monday to friday? what is up with that? like I have time to go to the pharmacy between work, commuting to work, and then sleeping in on saturdays becuase my week is so hectic. LIKE I HAVE THE TIME. But nooo. I need to get the life goal sustaining pill next week at the latest, next Saturday. It's my fault, but it really annoys me that I either have to get up at an ungodly hour on my days off, or I have to take a sick day at work to get anything done.
This fucking life.
I bet traffic and just.. everything would be more efficient if everything was open all the time and people worked in shifts. there are a lot of nocturnal people out there, and I'm sure some of them want to be accountants, pharmacists and doctors. How about even keeping stuff open until 9pm? 9-9, 2 shifts per day and every gets to work a reasonably short shift. And lead more productive lives. And take care of their own children instead of having to rely on day cares all the time. baaahh
So much to do... I need to work on my halloween costume today. I'm not going to say what it is.. it's a secret. Unless I've already told you. I think it's going to rock. But i have so much shit to do today, it's maddening.
whiney whiney whine. I'm whining so much becuase my stomach hurts. and somehow i'm too lazy to make myself some peppermint tea, which would probaly make me feel better in no time. But such is life, being a lazy ass.
This fucking life.
I bet traffic and just.. everything would be more efficient if everything was open all the time and people worked in shifts. there are a lot of nocturnal people out there, and I'm sure some of them want to be accountants, pharmacists and doctors. How about even keeping stuff open until 9pm? 9-9, 2 shifts per day and every gets to work a reasonably short shift. And lead more productive lives. And take care of their own children instead of having to rely on day cares all the time. baaahh
So much to do... I need to work on my halloween costume today. I'm not going to say what it is.. it's a secret. Unless I've already told you. I think it's going to rock. But i have so much shit to do today, it's maddening.
whiney whiney whine. I'm whining so much becuase my stomach hurts. and somehow i'm too lazy to make myself some peppermint tea, which would probaly make me feel better in no time. But such is life, being a lazy ass.
Friday, September 26, 2008
I do not feel like going out tonight. Last night I went to my friend's going away party.. he's moving to Vancouver so I'll make sure to send him Steph and Rese's way. He's a really nice guy, and makes friends easily.
He was GOING to go to New York and get his Visa (his dad is an american) but that takes a long time and he has a lady friend in Vancouver.
Anyway, the going away party was an absolute blast, with everybody cooking and drinking... his friends' deck was HUGE and the greatest deck I've ever seen... the previous owner had built some nice fences, benches and lighting in there.. it was heaven. turns out all of Jay's friends are also super cool, so I stayed a lot longer htan I should have and drank a lot more than I really should have. Despite this, I still remembered EVERYONE'S name. It's been my personal mission lately to remember the names of every single person I meet, if only for the time I am in their presence. I'm hoping that it carries over to the future. I'm finding that making a concerted, mental effort is enough, I just say Hi and repeat their name over and over in my head and stare at their faces for as long as I can without seeming like a weirdo. One of Jay's friends did a great thing when he introduced himself. He said "Hi, my name is Christian, and my favourite animal is a dolphin." So I started saying "Hi, my name is Elaine, and I spent about an hour with my shirt inside out at this party." Somehow, some fruit punch or something had gotten onto my new, awesome silk shirt (my new favourite shirt ever that i got for a steal in Montreal) and I had to take it off in the bathroom and scrub it. Then, because the owners of the house are about 6'2" and 6'5", I couldn't see myself in their mirror, because it was over my head. Seriously, I coudn't see in the mirror AT ALL. It was very bizarre. Even when I stood on the bathtub, all I could see was my face (which was helpful).
So we had some really great conversation last night, I was very happy to notice that nobody disappeared after I mentioned Nathan. I suppose that all the guys have grown up, or are taken as well so they don't feel like talking to a non-single girl is a waste of time. One guy, Steve, was huge into anime and sci-fi, so we had an awesome conversation about that. It's really really rare that i get to geek out with someone, so that was really cool for me.
It's funny, I really didn't want to go because I wouldn't know anyone there except Jay, but he sort of begged me, and I had a great time. I always have this nervousness about going into things el solo, I'm always worried that i'll act like an ass, or I won't fit in, and there will be no backup plan. Nathan says that I'm so happy and talkative, and I've been in customer service so long, that i'm pretty much MADE for this type of situation and I should stop worrying about it. I think he's right.
Anyway, so the reason I'm going out is that Nathan is always really down about how we don't go out much anymore, and how he feels like coming home right after work Friday nights is a waste of time. So I'm going to drag my sorry ass out there, drink some water, or coke (which someone makes the hangover manageable) and try not to fall asleep. I already napped until 9pm as soon as I got home, so I SHOULD be okay.
Tomorrow I should be going to the clothing show with Darlene, which I'm really looking forward to. She has a keen eye for fit and fashion, and enjoys shopping without being a total weirdo about it. She's my new girl things buddy.. jewelry shopping.. clothes shopping.. brunches.. Yayyy girl things!
Anyway, interesting note... apparently English is the only language in which the word "I" is capitalized. No other language capitalizes the personal pronoun.
He was GOING to go to New York and get his Visa (his dad is an american) but that takes a long time and he has a lady friend in Vancouver.
Anyway, the going away party was an absolute blast, with everybody cooking and drinking... his friends' deck was HUGE and the greatest deck I've ever seen... the previous owner had built some nice fences, benches and lighting in there.. it was heaven. turns out all of Jay's friends are also super cool, so I stayed a lot longer htan I should have and drank a lot more than I really should have. Despite this, I still remembered EVERYONE'S name. It's been my personal mission lately to remember the names of every single person I meet, if only for the time I am in their presence. I'm hoping that it carries over to the future. I'm finding that making a concerted, mental effort is enough, I just say Hi and repeat their name over and over in my head and stare at their faces for as long as I can without seeming like a weirdo. One of Jay's friends did a great thing when he introduced himself. He said "Hi, my name is Christian, and my favourite animal is a dolphin." So I started saying "Hi, my name is Elaine, and I spent about an hour with my shirt inside out at this party." Somehow, some fruit punch or something had gotten onto my new, awesome silk shirt (my new favourite shirt ever that i got for a steal in Montreal) and I had to take it off in the bathroom and scrub it. Then, because the owners of the house are about 6'2" and 6'5", I couldn't see myself in their mirror, because it was over my head. Seriously, I coudn't see in the mirror AT ALL. It was very bizarre. Even when I stood on the bathtub, all I could see was my face (which was helpful).
So we had some really great conversation last night, I was very happy to notice that nobody disappeared after I mentioned Nathan. I suppose that all the guys have grown up, or are taken as well so they don't feel like talking to a non-single girl is a waste of time. One guy, Steve, was huge into anime and sci-fi, so we had an awesome conversation about that. It's really really rare that i get to geek out with someone, so that was really cool for me.
It's funny, I really didn't want to go because I wouldn't know anyone there except Jay, but he sort of begged me, and I had a great time. I always have this nervousness about going into things el solo, I'm always worried that i'll act like an ass, or I won't fit in, and there will be no backup plan. Nathan says that I'm so happy and talkative, and I've been in customer service so long, that i'm pretty much MADE for this type of situation and I should stop worrying about it. I think he's right.
Anyway, so the reason I'm going out is that Nathan is always really down about how we don't go out much anymore, and how he feels like coming home right after work Friday nights is a waste of time. So I'm going to drag my sorry ass out there, drink some water, or coke (which someone makes the hangover manageable) and try not to fall asleep. I already napped until 9pm as soon as I got home, so I SHOULD be okay.
Tomorrow I should be going to the clothing show with Darlene, which I'm really looking forward to. She has a keen eye for fit and fashion, and enjoys shopping without being a total weirdo about it. She's my new girl things buddy.. jewelry shopping.. clothes shopping.. brunches.. Yayyy girl things!
Anyway, interesting note... apparently English is the only language in which the word "I" is capitalized. No other language capitalizes the personal pronoun.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Wasting time before the Heroes Premier
At dodgeball, we are compiling the most awesome 90s alternative collection of all time. At the moment I am listening to my first idea, the most awesome 90s dance collection of all time. Indeed, everybody dance now.
Things have been pretty good lately. I'm settling in quite well at my job with The Man, although I don't know if the company is really The Man, because part of the company is considered non-profit. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop, for my optimism and (so far) love of the company to be shattered by the knowledge that the electricity in the building is produced by hundreds of slaves turning big wheels under the building or something, but so far, the company seems very earnest about being socially responsible (all the cutlery/plates in the cafeteria are recyclable, and there are recycling bins and organics bins everywhere) and seems to treat us very well. Of course, my idea of "treating us very well" is giving me a free lunch on a semi-regular basis, so it's really not that hard. Unless I get fired, or the people in my department change drastically, or if they refuse to continue to raise my pay, then I may just stay at this company for a long time. So far the car insurance rate is worth it, and they are going to start doing this home/car insurance thing where you save even more money... just in time for us buying a house in the next.. 5 years or so.
Lately, my mom and I have been talking a lot about Nathan and I getting married. Nathan and I have also been talking a lot about us getting married. Basically, pre-planning before Nathan books the hot air balloon ride over Lake Superior while the sun sets and proposes to me. Everyone's getting married, so it's hard not to think of how I will do our wedding. Church weddings are out, since our family is not registered with a church, and I'm pretty sure I will burst into flames if I ever step foot in one again. Nathan likes the idea of an outdoor wedding, which sounds like it could be pretty cool, particularly if we keep the wedding part small. Like really, who out of all my parents' 200 friends actually want to see us get married? they're just there for the party. Frankly, I might just be there for hte party. And the food. I've been inspired by Rese's awesome pre-wedding pics on her website to have a photographer take only candid shots, and maybe some nice staged ones like she has... all dynamic and stuff. None of that sitting on the lawn with the hands nicely on the lap thing. Really, who are those for?
Anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself.
Relationship update: everything is awesome. We don't argue and I'm pretty sure none of us is bottling up any anger. We do bicker about the dishes and the mysterious disappearance of the forks in the house, but other than that, everything is good. It might have something to do with the fact that we only see each other one weekends and about 30 minutes a day before I fall asleep.
oops, heroes is coming on!! see you later!
At dodgeball, we are compiling the most awesome 90s alternative collection of all time. At the moment I am listening to my first idea, the most awesome 90s dance collection of all time. Indeed, everybody dance now.
Things have been pretty good lately. I'm settling in quite well at my job with The Man, although I don't know if the company is really The Man, because part of the company is considered non-profit. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop, for my optimism and (so far) love of the company to be shattered by the knowledge that the electricity in the building is produced by hundreds of slaves turning big wheels under the building or something, but so far, the company seems very earnest about being socially responsible (all the cutlery/plates in the cafeteria are recyclable, and there are recycling bins and organics bins everywhere) and seems to treat us very well. Of course, my idea of "treating us very well" is giving me a free lunch on a semi-regular basis, so it's really not that hard. Unless I get fired, or the people in my department change drastically, or if they refuse to continue to raise my pay, then I may just stay at this company for a long time. So far the car insurance rate is worth it, and they are going to start doing this home/car insurance thing where you save even more money... just in time for us buying a house in the next.. 5 years or so.
Lately, my mom and I have been talking a lot about Nathan and I getting married. Nathan and I have also been talking a lot about us getting married. Basically, pre-planning before Nathan books the hot air balloon ride over Lake Superior while the sun sets and proposes to me. Everyone's getting married, so it's hard not to think of how I will do our wedding. Church weddings are out, since our family is not registered with a church, and I'm pretty sure I will burst into flames if I ever step foot in one again. Nathan likes the idea of an outdoor wedding, which sounds like it could be pretty cool, particularly if we keep the wedding part small. Like really, who out of all my parents' 200 friends actually want to see us get married? they're just there for the party. Frankly, I might just be there for hte party. And the food. I've been inspired by Rese's awesome pre-wedding pics on her website to have a photographer take only candid shots, and maybe some nice staged ones like she has... all dynamic and stuff. None of that sitting on the lawn with the hands nicely on the lap thing. Really, who are those for?
Anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself.
Relationship update: everything is awesome. We don't argue and I'm pretty sure none of us is bottling up any anger. We do bicker about the dishes and the mysterious disappearance of the forks in the house, but other than that, everything is good. It might have something to do with the fact that we only see each other one weekends and about 30 minutes a day before I fall asleep.
oops, heroes is coming on!! see you later!
Sunday, September 07, 2008
I am that jerk
After two weeks of tireless searching and stress, I finally found a new car for myself. The old car finally died, a week after being told it needed $400 worth of repairs, the brakes and steering suddenly went out on me. Luckily, I was on the CNE grounds so I was able to coast into a parking lot somewhat easily. Since the car isn't worth $1000 (estimated by myself) in repairs, I decided to write it off and search for a new one. I resolved to spend more than $1200 on it this time.
For some reason, my parents pressured me to get a brand new car, and the only car that I had any chance of making the payments on would be a Kia or a Chevy. Note, if I went this route, I would still be paying $600 a month for this car, including payments, gas and insurance. That's a ridiculous chunk of my income, so I scrapped that.
Instead, Paul and I searched high and low for some old cars and settled on... da da da dah... a 1996 Mercedes-Benz C220. Yes, I realize that it is one year older than my last car and has about the same amount of mileage on it, but this car was built by zee Germans, making it ridiculously reliable, safe and awesome. I've been driving it for about two weeks and I'm still astounded by how far I can go on one tank. Bonus, it has a cassette player so I can still listen to my ipod.
Best thing about this car... it's AFFORDABLE. I is way under what I budgeted myself for the next car, so even if I have to do some repairs here or there, I am still ahead somewhat. Also, it has rekindled my love of driving... on the highway it's an absolute DREAM. (it's like a regular car in the city).
So that's pretty awesome. It just needs a good detailing job (previous owner was a smoker) and I'm pretty much set. I am now that jerk.
After two weeks of tireless searching and stress, I finally found a new car for myself. The old car finally died, a week after being told it needed $400 worth of repairs, the brakes and steering suddenly went out on me. Luckily, I was on the CNE grounds so I was able to coast into a parking lot somewhat easily. Since the car isn't worth $1000 (estimated by myself) in repairs, I decided to write it off and search for a new one. I resolved to spend more than $1200 on it this time.
For some reason, my parents pressured me to get a brand new car, and the only car that I had any chance of making the payments on would be a Kia or a Chevy. Note, if I went this route, I would still be paying $600 a month for this car, including payments, gas and insurance. That's a ridiculous chunk of my income, so I scrapped that.
Instead, Paul and I searched high and low for some old cars and settled on... da da da dah... a 1996 Mercedes-Benz C220. Yes, I realize that it is one year older than my last car and has about the same amount of mileage on it, but this car was built by zee Germans, making it ridiculously reliable, safe and awesome. I've been driving it for about two weeks and I'm still astounded by how far I can go on one tank. Bonus, it has a cassette player so I can still listen to my ipod.
Best thing about this car... it's AFFORDABLE. I is way under what I budgeted myself for the next car, so even if I have to do some repairs here or there, I am still ahead somewhat. Also, it has rekindled my love of driving... on the highway it's an absolute DREAM. (it's like a regular car in the city).
So that's pretty awesome. It just needs a good detailing job (previous owner was a smoker) and I'm pretty much set. I am now that jerk.
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Best summer ever
I made three resolutions at the beginning of the summer:
a) I would do whatever it takes to have at least one huge, uncontrollable laugh a day
b) I would do one thing every week that I have never done before
c) This would be the best summer ever. As will next summer. And every summer until the day I die.
So far, I'm doing great. Maybe I should have written everything down, because I don't remember everything I've done this summer (part of the best summer ever), but I do know that it has been a rousing success so far. Thanks to web comics, podcasts, fark.com and my seriously hilarious friends, I do have a huge laugh every day (I listed the non-social ones first because most of the week is spent at work, away from my hilarious friends). I've also done a lot of things I've never done before, such as attempting to wakeboard, having a lapdance (a very VERY awkward one in Montreal), and just recently, floating down a river with about 50 other people, drunk.
So far, we've spent almost every weekend out of the city, which is kind of weird considering gas is super expensive. Every weekend has had something going on (folk festival, camping, wedding, Montreal trip, stag and doe) that couldn't, or wouldn't be avoided. It's been pretty super awesome. This may be why my car is dying a quick, terrible death. Anyhoo...
This past weekend was spent in Haliburton, on Eagle Lake, which is about 3 hours north east of the city, an hour's drive east from Gravenhurst, down a small 2 lane highway, which we were warned by signage was the stomping grounds of the startled, leaping deer, the windshield-crushing, angry moose and even more terrifying, the slow but relentlessly bloodthirsty zombie. Since Nathan finishes work close to midnight, and because I HATE driving in traffic, we started driving close to 12:30am on Friday night with Brett, William, Ryan and Meghan.
Here are some highlights of the trip:
Before picking Meghan and Nathan up, the four of us went to the Musket, an amazing German restaurant in Etobicoke for a pre-weekend meatfest. Together, we shared about 5 pounds of pork cooked as schnitzel, pork chop, smoked pork chop, bbq pork hox, 2 types of weiners, and one lone steak. This was accompanied by a big green salad (my request) and a ton of sauerkraut and potatoes. Now that William and Ryan have moved to the circle of friends that I can call just to hang out, I have people with which to have large, disgusting dinners with. (to be fair, the food itself was really really delicious. Just the portions were disgusting). We joked that with the amount of meat we ate, we avoided having to crap in the woods all weekend.
While waiting for Meghan in Chinatown, we witnessed a tall Asian girl stop on the sidewalk to force feed a hot dog to her friend, an Asian girl who was about a foot shorter than her (adult). The shorter girl was standing there, taking it like a baby bird with her hands at her sides, while the taller one just kind of crammed the hot dog in her mouth from above. It was at once highly disconcerting and super hilarious.
While driving through rural and spooky Ontario in the dead of night, everyone wouldn't stop talking about zombies, which was really scary but also kind of cool. We figured that since we were away from the city, we were less likely to succumb to a zombie invasion, as opposed to the Caribana partiers.
Upon arrival, we discovered that we would be sleeping in a trailer on the property, about 100 yards from the house. The trailer slept 6 and had running water and electricity. This was much better than sleeping in a tent, and Meghan remarked "This isn't camping, this is slumming". We stayed up until 4am almost every night drinking and woke up at about 9am every day for breakfast (except Nathan, who slept in until noon).
Our host, Corina, has some friends that are in a band or something. We sat around the fire Saturday night listening to them sing country songs, songs they wrote for their wives, and songs they made up on the spot to make fun of people and their predicaments (Nathan's inability to start a fire, for instance). I was also delighted that many people had a southern accent, which will now forever be referred to as a country accent, which like ebonics, does not depend on a region, but a culture and taste for music.
Together, we drank about twelve 24s of beer, a bottle and a magnum of wine, a bottle of gin, a bottle of vodka and 12 strongbows. For the river tubing trip, I made myself 2 litres of sangria in a pop bottle and secured it in a "baby's first flotation device" tube and tied it to my river tube. This led to the drink being called "baby" and me referring to myself in the third person in a fat, trailer trash voice as "momma" all weekend.
About 50 friends and neighbours floated down an awesome river, which was pretty fast because of the recent rains. The whole trip took about 2.5 hours and included a lot of drinking, a lot of laughing, singing and people flipping over in their tubes.
Because of my silly behaviour, we kind of created a catchphrase of "L'ambiance!" based on the name of the magnum of wine I made the sangria with. So every time someone said something stupid or particularly witty, it was always followed with "L'ambiance!". Like "Man, this sun is making me feel like a grey seal on the hood of a black Camaro... L'ambiance!"
My homemade hot sauce is apparently so hot, that William choked on it and sprayed his breakfast out of his nose. I may have also destroyed a lot of peoples' taste buds.
Sunday night was spend with me serenading people by the fire with someone's guitar. To my surprise, people were actually really enjoying it and now my fingers are calloused and sore. It was really cool to hear my voice echoing off trees and the lake, and to sing songs that I love to sing and play, as opposed to karaoke songs. One of my favourites is a goth/punk song that Nathan and I enjoy, that I sort of acousticized. The chorus is "I've got a big fat fucking bone to pick with you my darling. In case you haven't heard I'm sick, and tired of trying. I wish you would take my radio to bathe with you, plugged in and ready to fall." This is very hilarious to me when sung as a campfire song alongside the Garth Brooks and Jann Arden.
Monday afternoon was spent at a nearby friend's house (not our friends, our hosts'). She lives right on the river (as everyone does). At the bottom of her backyard was small deck with a bunch of chairs and two small pools dug out of the rocks in the river. Turns out that people just hang there and sort of unconsciously pull rocks out from the bottom, and eventually the current just fills the bottom with soft sand. We sat there for hours, listening to the river and talking.
So that was my weekend. It was awesome hanging out with friends, especially Brett, who has been in the arctic for the last 6 months and will be there for another year and a half, then off to med school somewhere in the world. Nathan had a great time as well, despite hanging out with my friends. He was pretty apprehensive with hanging out with a bunch of gay guys, but it turns out that they all like the same things: conversation and beer. So whoo! Next weekend is Nathan's friends' wedding in Orillia. I think I'm going to have to take October for my liver and stomach to heal and go back to their normal size.
I made three resolutions at the beginning of the summer:
a) I would do whatever it takes to have at least one huge, uncontrollable laugh a day
b) I would do one thing every week that I have never done before
c) This would be the best summer ever. As will next summer. And every summer until the day I die.
So far, I'm doing great. Maybe I should have written everything down, because I don't remember everything I've done this summer (part of the best summer ever), but I do know that it has been a rousing success so far. Thanks to web comics, podcasts, fark.com and my seriously hilarious friends, I do have a huge laugh every day (I listed the non-social ones first because most of the week is spent at work, away from my hilarious friends). I've also done a lot of things I've never done before, such as attempting to wakeboard, having a lapdance (a very VERY awkward one in Montreal), and just recently, floating down a river with about 50 other people, drunk.
So far, we've spent almost every weekend out of the city, which is kind of weird considering gas is super expensive. Every weekend has had something going on (folk festival, camping, wedding, Montreal trip, stag and doe) that couldn't, or wouldn't be avoided. It's been pretty super awesome. This may be why my car is dying a quick, terrible death. Anyhoo...
This past weekend was spent in Haliburton, on Eagle Lake, which is about 3 hours north east of the city, an hour's drive east from Gravenhurst, down a small 2 lane highway, which we were warned by signage was the stomping grounds of the startled, leaping deer, the windshield-crushing, angry moose and even more terrifying, the slow but relentlessly bloodthirsty zombie. Since Nathan finishes work close to midnight, and because I HATE driving in traffic, we started driving close to 12:30am on Friday night with Brett, William, Ryan and Meghan.
Here are some highlights of the trip:
Before picking Meghan and Nathan up, the four of us went to the Musket, an amazing German restaurant in Etobicoke for a pre-weekend meatfest. Together, we shared about 5 pounds of pork cooked as schnitzel, pork chop, smoked pork chop, bbq pork hox, 2 types of weiners, and one lone steak. This was accompanied by a big green salad (my request) and a ton of sauerkraut and potatoes. Now that William and Ryan have moved to the circle of friends that I can call just to hang out, I have people with which to have large, disgusting dinners with. (to be fair, the food itself was really really delicious. Just the portions were disgusting). We joked that with the amount of meat we ate, we avoided having to crap in the woods all weekend.
While waiting for Meghan in Chinatown, we witnessed a tall Asian girl stop on the sidewalk to force feed a hot dog to her friend, an Asian girl who was about a foot shorter than her (adult). The shorter girl was standing there, taking it like a baby bird with her hands at her sides, while the taller one just kind of crammed the hot dog in her mouth from above. It was at once highly disconcerting and super hilarious.
While driving through rural and spooky Ontario in the dead of night, everyone wouldn't stop talking about zombies, which was really scary but also kind of cool. We figured that since we were away from the city, we were less likely to succumb to a zombie invasion, as opposed to the Caribana partiers.
Upon arrival, we discovered that we would be sleeping in a trailer on the property, about 100 yards from the house. The trailer slept 6 and had running water and electricity. This was much better than sleeping in a tent, and Meghan remarked "This isn't camping, this is slumming". We stayed up until 4am almost every night drinking and woke up at about 9am every day for breakfast (except Nathan, who slept in until noon).
Our host, Corina, has some friends that are in a band or something. We sat around the fire Saturday night listening to them sing country songs, songs they wrote for their wives, and songs they made up on the spot to make fun of people and their predicaments (Nathan's inability to start a fire, for instance). I was also delighted that many people had a southern accent, which will now forever be referred to as a country accent, which like ebonics, does not depend on a region, but a culture and taste for music.
Together, we drank about twelve 24s of beer, a bottle and a magnum of wine, a bottle of gin, a bottle of vodka and 12 strongbows. For the river tubing trip, I made myself 2 litres of sangria in a pop bottle and secured it in a "baby's first flotation device" tube and tied it to my river tube. This led to the drink being called "baby" and me referring to myself in the third person in a fat, trailer trash voice as "momma" all weekend.
About 50 friends and neighbours floated down an awesome river, which was pretty fast because of the recent rains. The whole trip took about 2.5 hours and included a lot of drinking, a lot of laughing, singing and people flipping over in their tubes.
Because of my silly behaviour, we kind of created a catchphrase of "L'ambiance!" based on the name of the magnum of wine I made the sangria with. So every time someone said something stupid or particularly witty, it was always followed with "L'ambiance!". Like "Man, this sun is making me feel like a grey seal on the hood of a black Camaro... L'ambiance!"
My homemade hot sauce is apparently so hot, that William choked on it and sprayed his breakfast out of his nose. I may have also destroyed a lot of peoples' taste buds.
Sunday night was spend with me serenading people by the fire with someone's guitar. To my surprise, people were actually really enjoying it and now my fingers are calloused and sore. It was really cool to hear my voice echoing off trees and the lake, and to sing songs that I love to sing and play, as opposed to karaoke songs. One of my favourites is a goth/punk song that Nathan and I enjoy, that I sort of acousticized. The chorus is "I've got a big fat fucking bone to pick with you my darling. In case you haven't heard I'm sick, and tired of trying. I wish you would take my radio to bathe with you, plugged in and ready to fall." This is very hilarious to me when sung as a campfire song alongside the Garth Brooks and Jann Arden.
Monday afternoon was spent at a nearby friend's house (not our friends, our hosts'). She lives right on the river (as everyone does). At the bottom of her backyard was small deck with a bunch of chairs and two small pools dug out of the rocks in the river. Turns out that people just hang there and sort of unconsciously pull rocks out from the bottom, and eventually the current just fills the bottom with soft sand. We sat there for hours, listening to the river and talking.
So that was my weekend. It was awesome hanging out with friends, especially Brett, who has been in the arctic for the last 6 months and will be there for another year and a half, then off to med school somewhere in the world. Nathan had a great time as well, despite hanging out with my friends. He was pretty apprehensive with hanging out with a bunch of gay guys, but it turns out that they all like the same things: conversation and beer. So whoo! Next weekend is Nathan's friends' wedding in Orillia. I think I'm going to have to take October for my liver and stomach to heal and go back to their normal size.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
On the drive home yesterday, there was a person selling all sorts of large flags out of his van on the corner of the street (it's Euro cup, you know). Aside from the flags, he also had these big mural type things, including a big, what i can only imagine to be hooked-rug mural of Scarface, with a big "Scarface" crocheted on it.
It occurred to me that I could never ever be friends with anyone who owned this, or any other type of Scarface poster. There's something about the psychology of a person who idolizes
1. a fictional character to the point of putting a poster up in his home
2. a fictional character who's claim to fame is a hair trigger temper and propensity to kill people.
3. Al Pacino.
It's usually someone in his teens or early twenties who more than likely only wears wife beaters and baseball caps turned slightly to the side. Someone that does the finger-gun thing at you and says "pop! pop! pop!" all the time.
It's my understanding that if you're not actually a real gangster at 25, you're probably never going to be one and you should really stop trying to act like one. Sort of like if you want to be a concert pianist or a gold medal diver. You gotta start young.
And don't get me started on the hooked-rug part of it. It's hard to be hardcore when your wall hanging looks like it was made by grandma.
It occurred to me that I could never ever be friends with anyone who owned this, or any other type of Scarface poster. There's something about the psychology of a person who idolizes
1. a fictional character to the point of putting a poster up in his home
2. a fictional character who's claim to fame is a hair trigger temper and propensity to kill people.
3. Al Pacino.
It's usually someone in his teens or early twenties who more than likely only wears wife beaters and baseball caps turned slightly to the side. Someone that does the finger-gun thing at you and says "pop! pop! pop!" all the time.
It's my understanding that if you're not actually a real gangster at 25, you're probably never going to be one and you should really stop trying to act like one. Sort of like if you want to be a concert pianist or a gold medal diver. You gotta start young.
And don't get me started on the hooked-rug part of it. It's hard to be hardcore when your wall hanging looks like it was made by grandma.
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
POTATO SALAD!
You have to say it super loud and excited.
Lately I'm finding that sometimes, simple is best. I modified my mom's potato salad recipe by taking out some stuff and putting other stuff in.
I'm writing a lot about food lately because cooking destresses me, whereas talking about stress doesn't work as well.
Ingredients
4 medium sized red skinned potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
1 granny smith apple
3/4 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped finely
1/2 cup red onion chopped super fine
1/2 tbsp dijon mustard
3 tbsp or so mayo
I know, I'm actually putting precise measurements. But go with your own taste.
Boil the potatoes until you can stick a fork through somewhat easily. Try not to let them get mushy. Drain and put back in the pot to cook off the rest of the water (turn off the stove, though)
while this is going on, peel and chop up the apple into small cubes and mix everything together immediately. Don't let the apple sit out or it will turn brown and gross.
When the potatoes have cooled, mix it together.
You can eat it right away, it's actually pretty good when it's warm.
That's it! Serves about 6 as a side dish.
POTATO SALAD!
You have to say it super loud and excited.
Lately I'm finding that sometimes, simple is best. I modified my mom's potato salad recipe by taking out some stuff and putting other stuff in.
I'm writing a lot about food lately because cooking destresses me, whereas talking about stress doesn't work as well.
Ingredients
4 medium sized red skinned potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
1 granny smith apple
3/4 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped finely
1/2 cup red onion chopped super fine
1/2 tbsp dijon mustard
3 tbsp or so mayo
I know, I'm actually putting precise measurements. But go with your own taste.
Boil the potatoes until you can stick a fork through somewhat easily. Try not to let them get mushy. Drain and put back in the pot to cook off the rest of the water (turn off the stove, though)
while this is going on, peel and chop up the apple into small cubes and mix everything together immediately. Don't let the apple sit out or it will turn brown and gross.
When the potatoes have cooled, mix it together.
You can eat it right away, it's actually pretty good when it's warm.
That's it! Serves about 6 as a side dish.
POTATO SALAD!
Monday, June 02, 2008
A salad with which to win friends with
Asparagus season is here, this is a nice salad for that.
Ingredients
Asparagus (chopped into 1 inch pieces and grilled or cook in any other way)
Grapefruit (cut into pieces and skinned)
greens of some sort
chopped ripe tomatoes
dressing
1 lemon
oil of some sort
dijon mustard
honey
mix this together and adjust to taste. I used the juice of the whole lemon, about 2 tbsp of oil, 1/2 tsp of dijon and 1/5 tsp of honey, give or take. It's easiest to put it in a jar with a tight lid and shake it.
Put it all together. tasty tasty!
Asparagus season is here, this is a nice salad for that.
Ingredients
Asparagus (chopped into 1 inch pieces and grilled or cook in any other way)
Grapefruit (cut into pieces and skinned)
greens of some sort
chopped ripe tomatoes
dressing
1 lemon
oil of some sort
dijon mustard
honey
mix this together and adjust to taste. I used the juice of the whole lemon, about 2 tbsp of oil, 1/2 tsp of dijon and 1/5 tsp of honey, give or take. It's easiest to put it in a jar with a tight lid and shake it.
Put it all together. tasty tasty!