| Home, sans bear. |
[Dec. 4th, 2009|08:23 pm] |
There's German-themed Christkindl Market plus craft fair nearby tonight. There's also a late night fest nearby with shops and restaurants giving out samples and having sales. I had planned to go. Instead I'm wearing slippers and flannel and reading Russians because it's 25 outside and snowing. I've had a hard week with a super-busy weekend still on tap. I need my slipper time, which is like Hammer Time, only with more comfortable--albeit just as baggy--pants. The dancing is largely the same.
I have to finish Brothers Karamazov by next Sunday. Got 500 pages left. How hard could it be? A little vodka here, a little vodka there, and blammo: Dostoyevskey novel down. [Insert drunken "going down" joke here.] Unlike Anna Karenina, this novel features nobody--but nobody--wrestling a bear. Or was that War & Peace? Damn Russians, always confusing me. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the next 500 pages will give me a bear physically manhandled in some fashion. I just don't see how it can't happen. I will also accept a bear riding a transportation vehicle, preferably one-wheeled.
I still have an hour to go to that craft fair but.....I'd have to put on socks and walk and stuff. Nope, I'm not going anywhere. |
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| Can it be? |
[Dec. 4th, 2009|09:23 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | ambien, gin, health, work | ] |
| [ | mood |
| | Mmmmmm. Gin. | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Two Man Gentlemen Band: "Fancy Beer" | ] |
Holy shite. I'm one project away from being caught up on the backlog. I've been down to the Final Five (different five at any given time) for months, (in addition to staying on top of current issues and the occasional zombie) and now it's down to One. :::wibble:::
The Plan is to go to bed at a Reasonable Hour tonight. So many temptations out there, WXYC 80's Dance at the Cat's Cradle and 120 Minutes at Flex and but being broke (noooooo!) from helping Gavin out, and having popped an Ambien, I won't be tempted (who am I kidding - I'm terribly tempted) to scoot over to Chapel Hill or out to Raleigh. Still feeling spunky, though, so it might take a gin and tonic to make it stick. But I'm not in the mood for gin. Weird Friday all 'round.
Anyway, a good night's sleep, then It'll be the final push as soon as I can think straight tomorrow. Finish the research, log the notes and fling that steaming bag of poo back in UK's backyard where it belongs. If I get it done on Saturday, I won't have to think about it on Sunday, and China and UK will have it in their inboxes when they come in at 9PM Sunday night / 4AM Monday morning (Beijing's and Bath's respective 9AMs Monday).
Then review the new Botswana contract to make sure that they don't put in something retarded like stipulating that we will provide ORIGINAL (omg!) receipts for every expense (just try getting eleventy-dozen consultants in 42 countries to send you original copies of all of their receipts) or leave out something crucial, like, say the parties addresses, and to whom the invoice should be sent, and how often they're expecting to be invoiced ....Weekly? Monthly?..... Twice a Month?....Quarterly? Anually? Bi-Annually? Whenever We Flipping Feel Like It, because it's not mentioned anywhere? There's more I could tell you about contracts wackiness, but Good God, why?
I'll even bring in the shark vac and tidy up my cube for the UK visit next week. Finally get the billing archives boxed, labeled and shipped the hell out from under my desk. Organize and catalog the billing files. (No physical files since I took over. This is the 21st Century, dammit. All the invoice copies, financial reports, adjustments, contracts, approvals and notes for all of my stuff can be found in a few seconds and I back that stuff up every night, plus it's on Sharepoint.)
Then it's on to the pretties....Put up more shelves and pics and gew-gaws - maybe tack up some fabric...come up with some really interesting decorating ideas for the workspace. Terribly tempted to get a disco ball. I've already got Two Hippity Hops under my desk. A disco ball is the next logical progression. Might even get around to posting some pix of my newly pimped workspace.
Sunday will be devoted entirely to shoveling out my home office. Filing, dumping, giving away, possibly selling some swag. I think my progress on Sunday will dictate what will happen with the next few weeks. Could be painting, could be sewing and ironing. Could be a swap meet and tea with tawdry tales. Have that Christmas card making party I've been babbling about. I has a plan! (That Ambien is great stuff isn't it?)
Did I say that I wasn't in the mood for Gin? Time to murder a quarter lime! |
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| (no subject) |
[Dec. 4th, 2009|07:11 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | tired | ] | Saw more deer this morning.
The deer around here are really very blase about people. Those that I came across in Dayton were more of the "stare at you for a bit, then dash off" variety. These are more "stare at you, decide you're not up to anything, and go about their business" variety. It's a bit weird, to be honest.
Spent my entire afternoon writing copy--the paper needs to be twelve pages, I've technically written ten, but now I've kind of hit a snag of needing more sources and not wanting to go back to the library, since I doubt I'll find any more there. Aigh!
JSTOR, here I come...
I'm just trying to push these damn papers through once and for all. I would ideally like to have them all finished by Tuesday at the latest...we'll see how that goes. |
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| Grouper recipes |
[Dec. 4th, 2009|04:26 pm] |
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I bought a pound of grouper today for dinner tonight. Give me your cooking suggestions! I'd prefer something simple, please. Not looking to get fancy on this cold night. |
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| First Time Poster-Favorite Cultural Dishes?? |
[Dec. 4th, 2009|05:55 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | curious | ] | Hi everyone, this is my first time posting here, though I've been shadowing for quite awhile. Anyways, my Intercultural Communication class is having a potluck tommorow. After much racking my brain regarding my cultural heritage, I decided to go the all-American route and make Buffalo chicken dip, in honor of the birthplace of my dad. The test came out okay...I took a recipe from food network.com and tweeked it. I don't have the measurements now, but it's basically a mix of hot sauce (I used Frank's), bleu cheese and/or ranch dressing, diced chicken (canned if you like, though I find that idea gross), and mozzarella cheese. Really yummy, though not so healthy.
Anyways, what are your favorite dishes that reprsent your culture, American or otherwise? |
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| Crispy Chinese Pork Belly |
[Dec. 4th, 2009|08:17 pm] |
Ok, It is a long and detailed recipe, but actually most of the time is spent leaving it alone in the fridge or oven - so don't be put off! Also because most of the preperation happens the day before it makes a great dinner party dish. But take the fact that I could only get a picture of it after the hoards had descended to be the ultimate argument for why you should go to the fuss of Siu Yuk (Cantonese for Charred Meat) at least once or twice a year.
I have been through about 5 different recipes for this - all with varying sucess, but they etiher gave me succulent pork and nasty crackling, or amazing crackling and raw or dried out pork. This recipe is actually all the best parts for those 5 recipes combined. The real secret though is buying the right bit of pork. You want three even stripes of meat and fat with a good 1cm topping of fat & skin, and you want it to come off a good free range, well bred and well fed Pig.
( Crispy Chinese Pork Belly ) |
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| Help: Watery jam |
[Dec. 4th, 2009|11:20 pm] |
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We tried making jam from a Christine Ferber recipe. The jam tastes great but the problem is, it doesn't seem to set properly. It's still rather watery (the consistency is like semi-set jello). I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions as to how we can save this? |
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| Spicy Lentil Soup |
[Dec. 4th, 2009|06:55 pm] |
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http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=30612.0 http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=30612.msg359660#msg359660 Add to: Recipe Box | Grocery List | Meal Planner
Recipe submitted by ErikaAnne, 12/04/09
Spicy Lentil Soup
Ingredients (use vegan versions):
1 teaspoon vegetable oil 1 onion, diced 1 carrot, sliced 1 stalk celery, sliced 6 cups vegetable broth 1 cup dry lentils 1/2 cup of brown rice (optional) 1/2 teaspoon pepper 1 teaspoon dried thyme 2 bay leaves 1/8 teaspoon (dash) salt cayenne pepper sauce (optional; I use Frank's RedHot) 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Directions:
1. In a large pot, heat vegetable oil. Add and saute onions, carrot, and celery for 3 to 5 minutes, or until onions turn clear.
2. Add the vegetable broth, lentils, rice, pepper, thyme, bay leaves, and salt.
3. Reduce h... |
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| Possible Compaq problem and solution? |
[Dec. 4th, 2009|01:26 pm] |
Now I'm thinking the hard drive's gone bad. Tis consistent with a previous hard drive crash on the Thinkpad and since it has moving parts, it's also subject to vibration, say from a truck driving down the freeway.
This is easy to test. Should be able to snag another drive from Freegeek and install it, just to see. Guess on the old drive I'll try the putting it in the freezer trick (in a freezer bag of course) for an hour or so, then see if it'll cooperate long enough to get all needed data off. |
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| (no subject) |
[Dec. 4th, 2009|05:53 pm] |
I'm new here and new in flickr too. Watch me HERE |
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