I should post more often so these posts aren't so out of the blue. Especially this one, which is essentially a bunch of complaining.
I had to get up early this morning to go to a dentist appointment, my first dentist appointment in an embarrassingly long time. That wouldn't be too bad, if I weren't still somewhat sick with a mysterious sore throat that won't go away and probably unrelated nausea (no, I am not pregnant). So that sucks. But I'm not even the sickest one in the house - the BF has a full-on cold, and my cat has what looks, in human terms, like an epic stomach flu. I'm only partially responsible for the BF's health, and I've been appropriately sympathetic and helpful, but I am responsible for my cat...and the messes he makes. There have been many messes lately.
After the dentist appointment I called the vet and got in within the hour, around which time my head started to throb. The vet gave the poor cat some medicines and some special food and gave me instructions on how to take care of him - and to come back in 48 hours if the violently ill illness continues. I'm worried about him, because I have had terribly bad luck with cats before, and he's a pretty wonderful cat. The vet and animal techs also seemed somehow apprehensive, which makes ME really apprehensive.
After I drove home, again, I drove back to campus to go to job 1, late. Then job 2, by which point the head throb had escalated into full-on epic migraine mode. As I write I am waiting to go to class, because of course this bad day has to be on the one really long day I have in the week. After class I finally get to go home...where the contractor will be working on the cabinets. Loudly.
On top of all of that, I've been anxious about finding a job (yeah, I know, who isn't anxious about jobs now?) and what I'm going to do with myself after graduation. I've also been having a hard time staying friendly with my friends, for a bunch of reasons. I'm so tired so often and I live with the BF away from everyone, but I feel like I am excluding myself or something. I know awesome people around here and I want to do awesome things with them! Though I also want to sleep. And get a job.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Yes Yogurt Moon, I do need to update. Sigh. I liked the "15 things about you and reading," so I am going to do it. Without further ado, here are:
15 Things About Me and Reading
1. Apparently I was one of those kids who came home from school on the first day of first grade angry that they didn't teach me how to read. I don't remember this, but I remember people telling me about it. Now that I read other people's 15 things, I realize I was apparently a slacker for not ALREADY knowing how to read by first grade.
2. I wanted to learn how to read so badly that I actually memorized at least one of my children's books before someone finally taught me. It was some little red book about a bright green worm that I remember best. Also, this makes me wonder why the heck my parents didn't just teach me to read.
3. I used to spend a lot of time in the local public library before I was even able to read. At that point, my family lived within walking distance of the library and we would often walk or ride our bikes there, me on my little pink and white bike with training wheels. One day, I couldn't find my parents after I was done looking for kid's books, so I assumed they had gone home without me. Naturally, I hopped on my bike and scooted off home, prompting some serious parent and librarian panic (and a lot of trouble for me once they found me). This isn't entirely about reading, but the librarians there still remember it and tease me for it.
4. A lot of these stories are actually pre-real-reading: My kindergarten classroom had two huge claw-foot bathtubs, painted in bright red and yellow, with beanbag chairs in the bottom. The reward for finishing your independent tasks was to sit inside a bathtub with a book for the rest of work time. Of course, that was pretty much my life goal that year, and I still remember the sweet success of the few times I managed to sit in the tub.
5. The Boxcar Children was my first love as far as series go, but I eventually got annoyed by their chirpy attitudes. I devoured series when I first started reading, and went through Nancy Drew even though it was a little before my time, and the Baby Sitters' Club even though I didn't like kids even as a kid. I also read a terrible historical Christian detective series about a girl named Mandy who had a fluffy white cat. Good grief. I was desperate.
6. My dad introduced me to The Hobbit in third grade, and it changed my life. I was obsessed with that book, and even made up little tunes to go with the poems in the book. We had a silent reading day in school for a special reading week, and I forgot the book. I was pretty much in tears until the teacher sent me down to the library to look for it, where lo-and-behold, it was.
7. I had a serious reputation as "that girl with the book" through pretty much all of middle school and some of high school. I once was so enthralled by The Hero and the Crown that I read it during the rests in my piece of music in band class. I once caught my science teacher timing me as I read Harry Potter to see how fast I read a page. I also made my sophomore year English teacher flip out because I was reading The Tempest on the first day of school (I was bored; she was thrilled). Those are several stories in one.
8. Another middle school story: in sixth grade we did Accelerated Reader, which I took as a personal challenge. For the first time ever I started reading the classics and dramatically expanded the range of things I would read. I also was the first person ever in the school to get 1,000 points, and the teacher gave me an award at "graduation" which also involved hauling all those books I had read up on stage.
9. I love the size and shape of books, and I always struggle between the price of aesthetically pleasing books and having more money to buy more, cheaper books. This was always a problem at those Scholastic Book fairs, where I wanted everything, plus a bookmark. One year I bought a cute little paperback copy of A Midsummer Night's Dream, which I then carried in my coat pocket all over the place for a long time.
10. I have always had a good example of parents reading, especially my father, who will pick up any book in any genre that looks interesting and slog through it till the end. But, my worst two reading experiences ever were reading The Handmaid's Tail at the same time as my mom, when I was way too young, and reading something by Hemingway at the same time as my dad - we both hated it.
11. The last story made me think of another reading negative - since I get so drawn into books, I often feel the plots and emotions incredibly strongly. I also read so much as a kid that I was always reading beyond my age level. I once got halfway through a YA book when I came across a horribly disturbing description of a rape which left me literally sick, nauseated and trembling, and unable to forget the passage for days. I never finished the book, and even now I struggle to think about it without feeling uncomfortable.
12. I have considered Jane Eyre to be my favorite book from the time that I first read it, but going back to it now makes me realize how amazingly Gothic, in the literary sense, it is. And it also has ridiculous dialog. I still love it though, and should eventually get a copy that is in better shape than my 25 cent used-book store paperback.
13. In college I worked in the special collections of the university library, doing copy-cataloging of the Methodist materials. It was the first time I had gotten to handle any old books, and I really enjoyed the feel and smell of books bound in leather. Unfortunately, they were usually incredibly boring books, and I was always covered in crumbled bits of books.
14. The first time I ever really had a conversation with my boyfriend was at a book party at a friend's apartment. We were to bring and share our favorite books, and he left with my copy of Fahrenheit 451, which I had more or less forced on him in my enthusiasm for both book and boy. I later retrieved it, unread, from his house.
15. I am just now getting seriously back into reading after college, when I read so much for school I didn't have the time or energy to read for fun (liberal arts majors, three of them!). I consider it a little bit of a professional obligation, and I have seriously been enjoying reading frequently. I depend upon my librarian friends for reader's advisory!
8. Another middle school story: in sixth grade we did Accelerated Reader, which I took as a personal challenge. For the first time ever I started reading the classics and dramatically expanded the range of things I would read. I also was the first person ever in the school to get 1,000 points, and the teacher gave me an award at "graduation" which also involved hauling all those books I had read up on stage.
9. I love the size and shape of books, and I always struggle between the price of aesthetically pleasing books and having more money to buy more, cheaper books. This was always a problem at those Scholastic Book fairs, where I wanted everything, plus a bookmark. One year I bought a cute little paperback copy of A Midsummer Night's Dream, which I then carried in my coat pocket all over the place for a long time.
10. I have always had a good example of parents reading, especially my father, who will pick up any book in any genre that looks interesting and slog through it till the end. But, my worst two reading experiences ever were reading The Handmaid's Tail at the same time as my mom, when I was way too young, and reading something by Hemingway at the same time as my dad - we both hated it.
11. The last story made me think of another reading negative - since I get so drawn into books, I often feel the plots and emotions incredibly strongly. I also read so much as a kid that I was always reading beyond my age level. I once got halfway through a YA book when I came across a horribly disturbing description of a rape which left me literally sick, nauseated and trembling, and unable to forget the passage for days. I never finished the book, and even now I struggle to think about it without feeling uncomfortable.
12. I have considered Jane Eyre to be my favorite book from the time that I first read it, but going back to it now makes me realize how amazingly Gothic, in the literary sense, it is. And it also has ridiculous dialog. I still love it though, and should eventually get a copy that is in better shape than my 25 cent used-book store paperback.
13. In college I worked in the special collections of the university library, doing copy-cataloging of the Methodist materials. It was the first time I had gotten to handle any old books, and I really enjoyed the feel and smell of books bound in leather. Unfortunately, they were usually incredibly boring books, and I was always covered in crumbled bits of books.
14. The first time I ever really had a conversation with my boyfriend was at a book party at a friend's apartment. We were to bring and share our favorite books, and he left with my copy of Fahrenheit 451, which I had more or less forced on him in my enthusiasm for both book and boy. I later retrieved it, unread, from his house.
15. I am just now getting seriously back into reading after college, when I read so much for school I didn't have the time or energy to read for fun (liberal arts majors, three of them!). I consider it a little bit of a professional obligation, and I have seriously been enjoying reading frequently. I depend upon my librarian friends for reader's advisory!
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Awww!
The BF, who I know I keep mentioning (I'm no less intolerable about him in real life either, sorry), has been away on travel for work for over a week now, and won't be back until Saturday. At first we thought he would be gone a week and a half. then we thought it would only be a week, and then he called me in the middle of the night one night to tell me he would be gone another week. I was pretty unhappy about that, especially since we had made some plans that he would be missing.
So, I was pleasantly surprised when I came home yesterday to find flowers on the porch. I literally did a double take - I looked at them, closed the door, opened it, and looked at them again to determine they existed and were for me. There was even a note! I was thrilled.
xkcd cake
Back a month or so ago when I still had time to bake things, I made this. It's three out of four panels of an xkcd comic. I sent it to work with the BF and his coworkers chose which xkcd strip to use. It is far from my best work, but it was good practice with both fondant and piping. I got a little impatient near the end, so some parts are sloppy.
I'm turning into a housewife
For our one-year anniversary, the BF thought up an awesome gift he was so sure I wouldn't guess. After he told me he got me the "next level up" version of whatever it was, I knew immediately. He got me a KitchenAid mixer. He apparently spent some serious time researching them, and got me a shiny new professional series standing mixer that matches our kitchen.
Creaming the heck out of some butter and sugar.
This was a definite user error. I wanted to see just how much flour it could handle' I should really have used the splash guard and started it out slowly.
And here is a not-so-great picture of something I made with the mixer - a 12 layer cake! It was tasty.
Creaming the heck out of some butter and sugar.
This was a definite user error. I wanted to see just how much flour it could handle' I should really have used the splash guard and started it out slowly.
And here is a not-so-great picture of something I made with the mixer - a 12 layer cake! It was tasty.
I'm back! And I've moved
Whoops, there was a SERIOUS absence on my part there. I'm back! I will...probably blog more!
The biggest, most possibly life-changing event that has happened in my life lately has been yet another move. I moved for the third time in maybe 13 months, and this time it was a big deal. I moved in with my boyfriend. I spent a heck of a lot of time and thought and angst, condensed into about a week to make the decision, before I made the move. I'm glad I did.
There are tons of things I could say about the whole shebang, but one thing keeps coming to mind...I live in suburbia now! I have not lived in anything resembling a suburb since I was four, and even then it was more of a small-town neighborhood. Where I live now isn't hard-core suburbia for sure, no housing developments named after trees with cul-de-sacs and dead ends and new trees, but the BF still calls it "lovelyland."
And, despite my usual antipathy towards suburbia, I really like where I live! There is one serious reason: I am close to EVERYTHING. Specifically, a Target, a Joanne's Fabrics, two grocery stores, and a good pizza place. I can walk to church if the urge strikes me, even if the walk is long. I'm pretty close to the smaller mall in the area, which has a movie theater. I could use a closer ice cream shop, but this whole region seems to be bad at ice cream shops. I think it's the winters.
Overall, the move was a really good idea.
The biggest, most possibly life-changing event that has happened in my life lately has been yet another move. I moved for the third time in maybe 13 months, and this time it was a big deal. I moved in with my boyfriend. I spent a heck of a lot of time and thought and angst, condensed into about a week to make the decision, before I made the move. I'm glad I did.
There are tons of things I could say about the whole shebang, but one thing keeps coming to mind...I live in suburbia now! I have not lived in anything resembling a suburb since I was four, and even then it was more of a small-town neighborhood. Where I live now isn't hard-core suburbia for sure, no housing developments named after trees with cul-de-sacs and dead ends and new trees, but the BF still calls it "lovelyland."
And, despite my usual antipathy towards suburbia, I really like where I live! There is one serious reason: I am close to EVERYTHING. Specifically, a Target, a Joanne's Fabrics, two grocery stores, and a good pizza place. I can walk to church if the urge strikes me, even if the walk is long. I'm pretty close to the smaller mall in the area, which has a movie theater. I could use a closer ice cream shop, but this whole region seems to be bad at ice cream shops. I think it's the winters.
Overall, the move was a really good idea.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Food in NYC
Food is often my favorite thing to pursue no matter where I go, and it might have been the highlight of my trip to NYC (other than being with the BF and hanging with my friends). Overall, I had some pretty enjoyable food, so I thought I might share what and where I ate. Unfortunately, I suck at pics, and have...none.
John's Pizzeria, Times Square: reasonably priced and very tasty brick-oven pizza in what I think used to be a church. Somehow, they made plain cheese pizza taste complex and interesting.
Haakon's Hall, Morningside Heights: The owner and chef showed up at the door, recognized my friend, and kind of talked us into coming in (he was also very friendly). I had a "Grace's Fallen Souffle" which I think was really a flourless chocolate cake, and was delicous whatever it was. Cute little restaurant, reasonable prices, nice atmosphere.
Mysterious pizza-by-the-slice place in the financial district, gotten on the go with the BF, not really worth talking about.
Magnolia Bakery: As previously noted, overcrowded, full of tourists, overpriced. I might have bought other things if I could have gotten to the counter, but it was so packed I just grabbed some cupcakes from the self-serve area. They definitely were tasty, especially the light buttercream, but I hope the ones kept behind glass are moister - these ones were a little dry.
Mi Floridita, Broadway and 125th: According to online reviews this is supposed to be Cuban, but it calls itself a tapas bar and the food I had there I could have ordered in Spain (it would have been better in Spain, but it's been a while since I had anything close). My fried calamari was especially good, and overall it was great to eat things I had been missing. Sadly, the Flamenco dancers the signs promised never showed up.
Cafe Frida: My girlfriends and I tried to go to the Shake Skack for lunch, but it was packed and we ended up next door instead - luckily! This was an adorable little Mexican place, reasonably priced (except the $11 guacamole) and the food was quite tasty. The service was also very good. I had a quesadilla with chorizo, though I kept enviously eying my friend's omlette (they were still serving brunch).
Shake Shack: After Cafe Frida we headed over for ice cream, and I nearly died of pleasure while eating a "concrete" (flurry) with hot fudge and chocolate truffle cookie dough.
The Hungarian Pastry Shop: I bought the best cream puff of my life here, and also something tasty called a pyramid cake. And something tall and chocolatey and kinda mousse-like, and also tasty. Overall, it's a good thing I don't live nearby or I would be bankrupt and obese.
Lyla's Cafe, Morningside Heights: Little French-American cafe - very cute. I had a "croque madam" which had a sunny-side-up egg on top of a ham sandwich. Since I love eggs, that is a great idea, but the sandwich under it was mediocre. I STILL regret not getting the crepes.
Tom's Restaurant: Famous for being the outside view of the Seinfield diner. I was pretty underimpressed. My pancakes tasted like meat, my bacon was undercooked, and the waitress kept grumping at us in what might have been Yiddish (though I'm not sure I've ever heard Yiddish...she would throw in just enough English that we could get the general idea).
John's Pizzeria, Times Square: reasonably priced and very tasty brick-oven pizza in what I think used to be a church. Somehow, they made plain cheese pizza taste complex and interesting.
Haakon's Hall, Morningside Heights: The owner and chef showed up at the door, recognized my friend, and kind of talked us into coming in (he was also very friendly). I had a "Grace's Fallen Souffle" which I think was really a flourless chocolate cake, and was delicous whatever it was. Cute little restaurant, reasonable prices, nice atmosphere.
Mysterious pizza-by-the-slice place in the financial district, gotten on the go with the BF, not really worth talking about.
Magnolia Bakery: As previously noted, overcrowded, full of tourists, overpriced. I might have bought other things if I could have gotten to the counter, but it was so packed I just grabbed some cupcakes from the self-serve area. They definitely were tasty, especially the light buttercream, but I hope the ones kept behind glass are moister - these ones were a little dry.
Mi Floridita, Broadway and 125th: According to online reviews this is supposed to be Cuban, but it calls itself a tapas bar and the food I had there I could have ordered in Spain (it would have been better in Spain, but it's been a while since I had anything close). My fried calamari was especially good, and overall it was great to eat things I had been missing. Sadly, the Flamenco dancers the signs promised never showed up.
Cafe Frida: My girlfriends and I tried to go to the Shake Skack for lunch, but it was packed and we ended up next door instead - luckily! This was an adorable little Mexican place, reasonably priced (except the $11 guacamole) and the food was quite tasty. The service was also very good. I had a quesadilla with chorizo, though I kept enviously eying my friend's omlette (they were still serving brunch).
Shake Shack: After Cafe Frida we headed over for ice cream, and I nearly died of pleasure while eating a "concrete" (flurry) with hot fudge and chocolate truffle cookie dough.
The Hungarian Pastry Shop: I bought the best cream puff of my life here, and also something tasty called a pyramid cake. And something tall and chocolatey and kinda mousse-like, and also tasty. Overall, it's a good thing I don't live nearby or I would be bankrupt and obese.
Lyla's Cafe, Morningside Heights: Little French-American cafe - very cute. I had a "croque madam" which had a sunny-side-up egg on top of a ham sandwich. Since I love eggs, that is a great idea, but the sandwich under it was mediocre. I STILL regret not getting the crepes.
Tom's Restaurant: Famous for being the outside view of the Seinfield diner. I was pretty underimpressed. My pancakes tasted like meat, my bacon was undercooked, and the waitress kept grumping at us in what might have been Yiddish (though I'm not sure I've ever heard Yiddish...she would throw in just enough English that we could get the general idea).
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