I think I might be a little obsessive/compulsive. For example, I know that have 14 stairs in my house. I asked Matt if he knew how many stairs are in the staircase once, and he just kind of looked at me as if I was crazy.
These last couple of weeks, I was (obsessively/compulsively) looking for a good fare to go to Denver for 4th of July. I checked every day whenever I thought there was a good chance the fare might drop. Finally, I got a good fare, and I saved us about $40. I felt triumphant.
But now, I feel kind of empty. I find myself searching for fares for the exact same flight just to make sure that I got the best fare (I did...so far). I don't know what websites to go to to waste time now, since all the websurfing I had been doing was related to this search. I just click, click, click around airline sites for no reason. Its really very pathetic.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Kulture Klash
So, in an effort to become more "cultured", Matt and I have been to 2 different cultural events at the Kennedy Center this month. But here's the thing...we are very cheap. Of course, those of you who know me are probably thinking, "Laura, you drop $100 at Target on a monthly basis." Which is true. I can't deny that. I love Target. But I also want to be more cultured, so I've been on the lookout for good deals.
Before this month, the last time we went to the Kennedy Center was sometime in college, probably over a decade ago. Matt surprised me on Valentine's Day with an Italian dinner served in his dormroom and then with tickets to a jazz concert at the Kennedy Center. Or so he tells me. I remember the pasta. I don't remember the concert.
A couple of weeks ago, I was flipping through one of the free newspapers and come across this special discount for $20 tickets to the National Symphony Orchestra. Great! We got our tickets, enjoyed the concert, and ran into a friend on a date during intermission. We crashed their date (at his invitation), and told them that the last symphony we had attended was the NSO performing classical music from Bugs Bunny cartoons (which was awesome, by the way). We also mentioned that we had been wanting to go to the opera, since we had never been.
Well, less than a week later, I find half price opera tickets! Apparently, Wagner's the Flying Dutchman is in town. So off we go, back to the Kennedy Center tonight, where we go to sit through a 2 hour opera with no intermission.
It was...interesting. The music was good, the singing was good, the story was interesting, but man, the dialogue was terrible. I'm sure part of that was the fact that we were reading English supertitles and they were singing in German, but after a while you just kind of want it to be over with. I was slightly relieved when the main female character finally threw herself off a cliff.
I guess I will never be a fancy Laura, wearing opera gloves and a monocle. I still prefer my concerts in the outdoors in the summertime. And I think I like my operas with an intermission.
Before this month, the last time we went to the Kennedy Center was sometime in college, probably over a decade ago. Matt surprised me on Valentine's Day with an Italian dinner served in his dormroom and then with tickets to a jazz concert at the Kennedy Center. Or so he tells me. I remember the pasta. I don't remember the concert.
A couple of weeks ago, I was flipping through one of the free newspapers and come across this special discount for $20 tickets to the National Symphony Orchestra. Great! We got our tickets, enjoyed the concert, and ran into a friend on a date during intermission. We crashed their date (at his invitation), and told them that the last symphony we had attended was the NSO performing classical music from Bugs Bunny cartoons (which was awesome, by the way). We also mentioned that we had been wanting to go to the opera, since we had never been.
Well, less than a week later, I find half price opera tickets! Apparently, Wagner's the Flying Dutchman is in town. So off we go, back to the Kennedy Center tonight, where we go to sit through a 2 hour opera with no intermission.
It was...interesting. The music was good, the singing was good, the story was interesting, but man, the dialogue was terrible. I'm sure part of that was the fact that we were reading English supertitles and they were singing in German, but after a while you just kind of want it to be over with. I was slightly relieved when the main female character finally threw herself off a cliff.
I guess I will never be a fancy Laura, wearing opera gloves and a monocle. I still prefer my concerts in the outdoors in the summertime. And I think I like my operas with an intermission.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
¿Como se dice? ¿Como se llama?
I submit for your viewing and listening pleasure, the Amigos de Obama website, which features such instant classics as " ¡Viva Obama!" and "¿Como se dice? ¿Como se llama? (¡Obama! ¡Obama!)".
Friday, February 22, 2008
3 minutes and 21 seconds
What is it about being on hold? I'm trying to call the membership hotline at my sportsclub to speak with a "fitness advisor" to get Matt set up at my gym. They gave me a wait time of 3 minutes and 21 seconds. It has so far been almost 10 minutes. Why do they even bother giving a time estimate like that if there's really no way that they can make it? What makes things even worse is that they keep replaying the same jazz saxaphone song over and over again after they interrupt it to tell me that my call is very important and to continue to stay on hold. Its like a never-ending Michael Bolton/Kenny Loggins/whoever it was that used to play the saxaphone in all those smooth jazz songs of the 80s and 90s.
Update: Its been two hours. I give up.
Update: Its been two hours. I give up.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
For a certain brown-eyed girl
I met Annette my first week at American University. She was a girl from the town of Alamosa, CO who had lived all around the world. Her worldliness attracted me, but her sense of humor and willingness to do good made me want to be friend. We were roommates sophomore year, living on an all-girls floor in one of the residence halls that was populated mostly by the women's rugby team. But she went abroad junior year, and moved off campus when she returned. Matt and I went to a party at the house once, and there were so many people there, and they were charging an entrance fee for beer, which I didn't want to pay because I didn't drink, and Annette really didn't drink either. We kind of drifted apart, and now I'm not even sure if I saw her at our graduation. I moved back to Texas for a year, and then on to California. I don't think we really even emailed during that time, but there were a lot of people that I didn't really keep in contact with.
Despite not really keeping in touch after college, Matt and I were eager to reconnect with Annette and her husband Figaro when we moved back to Washington. We had only met him a few times before, and he seemed like a nice enough guy. We spent Thanksgiving with them at their teeny tiny little apartment, and two Easters together. I remember laughing at her mashed potatoes because there was so much butter in them that they slid right out of the bowl without leaving any bits behind.
We were sad when they moved to Denver to pursue their studies in 2005. But whatever, Denver is a cool place, and we'll make an effort to go visit, right? They visited DC at least twice a year to see family and friends, and we were lucky enough to see them on most of those visits.
Three weeks ago, they stopped by DC and we had dinner with them at one of our neighborhood restaurants. We talked about the normal things that friends do...work, family, general gossip. We hugged them goodbye and said we'd probably see them this summer.
Last week, I found out that Annette had a brain aneurysm, and later died. Her family and friends were in shock. I felt like my heart was breaking. We flew out to Denver just to be together with them. When we came back last night, I looked through my photo albums, trying to find pictures of her. Shockingly, despite knowing Annette for 12 years, I don't have that many. I guess you always regret the pictures that you don't take, but you can at least cherish the ones that you have.
Despite not really keeping in touch after college, Matt and I were eager to reconnect with Annette and her husband Figaro when we moved back to Washington. We had only met him a few times before, and he seemed like a nice enough guy. We spent Thanksgiving with them at their teeny tiny little apartment, and two Easters together. I remember laughing at her mashed potatoes because there was so much butter in them that they slid right out of the bowl without leaving any bits behind.
We were sad when they moved to Denver to pursue their studies in 2005. But whatever, Denver is a cool place, and we'll make an effort to go visit, right? They visited DC at least twice a year to see family and friends, and we were lucky enough to see them on most of those visits.
Three weeks ago, they stopped by DC and we had dinner with them at one of our neighborhood restaurants. We talked about the normal things that friends do...work, family, general gossip. We hugged them goodbye and said we'd probably see them this summer.
Last week, I found out that Annette had a brain aneurysm, and later died. Her family and friends were in shock. I felt like my heart was breaking. We flew out to Denver just to be together with them. When we came back last night, I looked through my photo albums, trying to find pictures of her. Shockingly, despite knowing Annette for 12 years, I don't have that many. I guess you always regret the pictures that you don't take, but you can at least cherish the ones that you have.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
And this is really gross too
The other day, I opened one of seldom used closets and discovered an interesting smell. I couldn't quite figure out where it was coming from, and to be honest, I didn't particularly want to investigate further. I did feel the carpet though to make sure nothing was wet in there. Nope.
Today, I finally decided to do something about the leaky faucet in our bathtub. For the last couple of weeks, the water has been running steadily and I just haven't had time to do anything about it...that is, call the maintenance guys to come take care of it. I remembered that the pipe access to that tub is in the closet where I had discovered the funky smell, and thought to myself "Aha! I may be on to something!" So I called maintenance and left a message, mentioning the funky smell along with the leaky faucet.
After I got off the phone, I decided to move the stuff out of closet so the maintenance guys wouldn't have to deal with that. I picked up a Camelbak backpack that we taking hiking and camping with us...and out tumbled some mysterious food-like substance. I don't really know what it was. There was some brown stuff in bags that perhaps had started to ferment, and there was something that appeared to be a brown dinner role. The last time we went camping was back in August, and I don't remember taking any dinner rolls along with us.
I'm glad I took the time to clean out the closet before the guy gets here, because he probably would have been terribly disgusted. I know I was.
Today, I finally decided to do something about the leaky faucet in our bathtub. For the last couple of weeks, the water has been running steadily and I just haven't had time to do anything about it...that is, call the maintenance guys to come take care of it. I remembered that the pipe access to that tub is in the closet where I had discovered the funky smell, and thought to myself "Aha! I may be on to something!" So I called maintenance and left a message, mentioning the funky smell along with the leaky faucet.
After I got off the phone, I decided to move the stuff out of closet so the maintenance guys wouldn't have to deal with that. I picked up a Camelbak backpack that we taking hiking and camping with us...and out tumbled some mysterious food-like substance. I don't really know what it was. There was some brown stuff in bags that perhaps had started to ferment, and there was something that appeared to be a brown dinner role. The last time we went camping was back in August, and I don't remember taking any dinner rolls along with us.
I'm glad I took the time to clean out the closet before the guy gets here, because he probably would have been terribly disgusted. I know I was.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Sometimes working in the library is a little weird
Last Friday, I helped an obviously inebriated but still friendly older man find a book. He was very grateful, and sat for several hours reading in one seat. After he left, I went to go pick up his book and noticed he had left behind some trash: three packets of pepper and a wrapped orange condom (I say wrapped because some of my colleagues have found used condoms in random places around the building, including under the piano cover). I decided to leave the junk on the table just in case he came back to pick it up. I never saw him come back, but someone else must have noticed the stuff because when I came back, the pepper was still there but the condom was gone.
The guy came back today, obviously not drunk, but still very friendly. I wonder if he thought I had taken his condom.
The guy came back today, obviously not drunk, but still very friendly. I wonder if he thought I had taken his condom.
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Protecting your photos online
An interesting article in today's Washington Post discusses how corporations are taking photos from Flickr for their advertising...and not getting permission from the photographer to use them.
Hey, Isn't That . . .
People Are Doing Double-Takes, And Taking Action, As Web Snapshots Are Nabbed for Commercial Uses
By Monica Hesse
Washington Post Staff Writer
Hey, Isn't That . . .
People Are Doing Double-Takes, And Taking Action, As Web Snapshots Are Nabbed for Commercial Uses
By Monica Hesse
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, January 05, 2008
Happy Belated New Year!
I'm a little late, but so far 2008 has been kind of busy for me. We had our mostly annual "Ribarama" party on New Year's Day, featuring college football bowl games and ribs. Usually, we get our ribs shipped in from "premium" bbq locations, such as Rendezvous (check out that URL), the Salt Lick, and last year for Sausage Fest (held on Super Bowl Sunday), we got our sausage from New Braunfels Smokehouse. This year, we decided to stay local, and ordered our ribs from Urban BBQ in Rockville MD. We did this because most places only ship ribs overnight, and with New Year's Day being on Tuesday, there was no way we'd be able to receive the ribs in a timely manner.
Matt and I knew we were taking a chance by getting local barbecue, and we had never tasted Urban's stuff before. So before Christmas, we went out for some barbecue tasting and made the arduous trek out to Rockville (the traffic is really terrible out there due to major road construction). We got lost, because its in the middle of a very tiny shopping center. I kept hoping to catch a whiff of the meat cooking on the pit, but alas, there didn't seem to be a pit on the premises. We tried three different kinds of meat: the ribs were tender and falling off the bone, the sausage was good, but covered in some weird sauce, and the brisket was kind of dry and not really very flavorful. We decided that the ribs and sausage would make the cut for Ribarama.
Despite the fact that I picked up the meats on New Year's Eve, the food was still delicous the next day (I heated it up in the oven). Matt picked up 2 growlers full of beer, we had tons of food and people kind of staggered in whenever they had gotten over their hangovers.
So now that the holidays are over, its back to healthy eating. Cutting back on cheese, bread, sausage. All that good stuff. My guess is that this may be the last blog I post about food for a while.
Matt and I knew we were taking a chance by getting local barbecue, and we had never tasted Urban's stuff before. So before Christmas, we went out for some barbecue tasting and made the arduous trek out to Rockville (the traffic is really terrible out there due to major road construction). We got lost, because its in the middle of a very tiny shopping center. I kept hoping to catch a whiff of the meat cooking on the pit, but alas, there didn't seem to be a pit on the premises. We tried three different kinds of meat: the ribs were tender and falling off the bone, the sausage was good, but covered in some weird sauce, and the brisket was kind of dry and not really very flavorful. We decided that the ribs and sausage would make the cut for Ribarama.
Despite the fact that I picked up the meats on New Year's Eve, the food was still delicous the next day (I heated it up in the oven). Matt picked up 2 growlers full of beer, we had tons of food and people kind of staggered in whenever they had gotten over their hangovers.
So now that the holidays are over, its back to healthy eating. Cutting back on cheese, bread, sausage. All that good stuff. My guess is that this may be the last blog I post about food for a while.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
Last time I blogged about making cookies and forgetting the key ingredient of baking powder until the very last minute. Surprisingly, they came out pretty good. Baking a pumpkin pie today, I realized as I was pouring the batter into the pie crust that I forgot to add salt. Luckily I was also able to incorporate that in at the last minute, but we'll see how it tastes.
Here's the recipe that I used for oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. I got it off of the back of the Safeway brand Quick Oats. I cut it in half.
2 sticks of butter (.5 lb)
1.5 cups brown sugar, packed
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups Quick Oats
1.5 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
.5 tsp ground nutmeg
.5 tsp salt
1 cup chocolate chips, raisins or chopped nuts
Place racks in upper third of oven and preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl with electric mixer, beat butter, brown sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy, about 1minute.Add eggs and mix until thoroughly incorporated. Add oats, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Mix on low speed until blended. Add chocolate chips, raisins or nuts, and blend on medium speed until incorporated. Drop batter by tablespoons 1.5 in. apart onto greased baking sheets. Bake for 10 to 13 minutes or until golden brown. Cookies will feel soft but will firm up as they cool. Let stand on baking sheets for 2 minutes before transferring to racks to cool. Makes about 45 cookies. Recipe developed by cookbook author Marlene Sorosky Gray.
Here's the recipe that I used for oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. I got it off of the back of the Safeway brand Quick Oats. I cut it in half.
2 sticks of butter (.5 lb)
1.5 cups brown sugar, packed
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups Quick Oats
1.5 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
.5 tsp ground nutmeg
.5 tsp salt
1 cup chocolate chips, raisins or chopped nuts
Place racks in upper third of oven and preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl with electric mixer, beat butter, brown sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy, about 1minute.Add eggs and mix until thoroughly incorporated. Add oats, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Mix on low speed until blended. Add chocolate chips, raisins or nuts, and blend on medium speed until incorporated. Drop batter by tablespoons 1.5 in. apart onto greased baking sheets. Bake for 10 to 13 minutes or until golden brown. Cookies will feel soft but will firm up as they cool. Let stand on baking sheets for 2 minutes before transferring to racks to cool. Makes about 45 cookies. Recipe developed by cookbook author Marlene Sorosky Gray.
Thursday, December 06, 2007
I should really just stick with plain ol' cooking
Its no secret that I like to cook. I enjoy reading recipes, and I enjoy following a recipe to make a really delicious meal. However, I've come to the sad conclusion that I should not be baking, specifically cookies. Oh, sure, I can throw a brownie mix together, or even use the Cake Mix Doctor to pretty up a vanilla cake. But cookies, well let's just say that they require a level of sophisticated recipe reading that apparently I can't master. I keep forgetting to add something rather important, usually baking powder. As a result, my cookies end up to be a chewy, gooey, slightly undercooked, yet delicious mess. Of course they're delicious--they're pretty much sugar and butter (definitely the way to a Matt's heart). But they look awful, and I'm usually too ashamed to share them with the people I was planning to share them with.
For those of you who may not cook or bake, baking requires a certain amount of precision that cooking doesn't necessarily need. With cooking, you can be all like, you know what this needs more of? Garlic! And chop up a bit more garlic, and throw some salt in there, and maybe even if you're crazy about garlic and salt like I am, add some garlic salt. But with baking, if its says 1 tsp of salt, then you really better follow the directions, and not add more or less, because let me tell you, you will know.
Tonight I made oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, and what did I realize that I forgot to add to mix as I was putting it on a cookie sheet? Baking powder, of course. I quickly added all my cookie balls make to the bowl, threw some baking powder in there, and just prayed that it wouldn't turn out too terrible. Actually, they really didn't. I mean, they're a little undercooked on the inside, but nothing too bad. Its not like anybody but Matt and myself are planning on eating a dozen and half cookies. Oops, I mean, 16 cookies. Yeah. 16.
For those of you who may not cook or bake, baking requires a certain amount of precision that cooking doesn't necessarily need. With cooking, you can be all like, you know what this needs more of? Garlic! And chop up a bit more garlic, and throw some salt in there, and maybe even if you're crazy about garlic and salt like I am, add some garlic salt. But with baking, if its says 1 tsp of salt, then you really better follow the directions, and not add more or less, because let me tell you, you will know.
Tonight I made oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, and what did I realize that I forgot to add to mix as I was putting it on a cookie sheet? Baking powder, of course. I quickly added all my cookie balls make to the bowl, threw some baking powder in there, and just prayed that it wouldn't turn out too terrible. Actually, they really didn't. I mean, they're a little undercooked on the inside, but nothing too bad. Its not like anybody but Matt and myself are planning on eating a dozen and half cookies. Oops, I mean, 16 cookies. Yeah. 16.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Friday, November 23, 2007
Marscapone stuffed dates
Saw some fresh dates in the store last week and decided to try this recipe for Thanksgiving. Its adapted from the dish at Komi, where that super hot chef Johnny Monis works.
Marscapone stuffed dates
8 fresh dates
1/4 cup marscapone (actually that will probably be too much)
1/4 cup Good quality extra virgin olive oil
Sea Salt to taste
Preheat oven to 350. Place the marscapone in a small baggie, and cut a small hole in the tip, or using a pastry bag. Using a small paring knife, gently push the pit out of the date. Place the tip of the baggie into the remaining hole and squeeze the cheese into the date. Pour the olive oil over the finished dates. Season with sea salt. Place in the oven for 10-15 minutes.
Pure heaven! Oh, and I just realized that Johnny is making the dates in the picture on the Komi website.
Marscapone stuffed dates
8 fresh dates
1/4 cup marscapone (actually that will probably be too much)
1/4 cup Good quality extra virgin olive oil
Sea Salt to taste
Preheat oven to 350. Place the marscapone in a small baggie, and cut a small hole in the tip, or using a pastry bag. Using a small paring knife, gently push the pit out of the date. Place the tip of the baggie into the remaining hole and squeeze the cheese into the date. Pour the olive oil over the finished dates. Season with sea salt. Place in the oven for 10-15 minutes.
Pure heaven! Oh, and I just realized that Johnny is making the dates in the picture on the Komi website.
500 Mammograms
The Breast Cancer Site is looking for clicks! They are 65 percent towards reaching their goal of funding 500 mammograms for the month of November. If they reach that goal, they will donate an ultrasound machine to a hospital in South Africa. Click daily: http://www.thebreastcancersite.com
Monday, November 19, 2007
Getting ready for Thanksgiving
I've decided to start making a few things early this year for Thanksgiving. It looks like there will only be four of us, and one person is a vegetarian, so there will be lots of meat. I'm thinking of the following menu.
Apps:
Vermont Cheddar (already purchased)
Marscapone-stuffed dates
Candied spiced pecans (will make either Monday or Tuesday night)
Main Course
Turkey (have to defrost)
Mashed potatoes, using cream cheese and sour cream
Stuffing (have to make a veggie option of that too)
Roasted veggies (veggie friend bringing)
Cranberry sauce (already made!)
Homemade wheat rolls (yes, I'm crazy, as I've never made bread before, at least not by hand. I'll probably start the dough on Tuesday)
Gravy
Dessert
Pumpkin pie with homemade whipped cream
Don't you wish you were at my house for Thanksgiving?
Apps:
Vermont Cheddar (already purchased)
Marscapone-stuffed dates
Candied spiced pecans (will make either Monday or Tuesday night)
Main Course
Turkey (have to defrost)
Mashed potatoes, using cream cheese and sour cream
Stuffing (have to make a veggie option of that too)
Roasted veggies (veggie friend bringing)
Cranberry sauce (already made!)
Homemade wheat rolls (yes, I'm crazy, as I've never made bread before, at least not by hand. I'll probably start the dough on Tuesday)
Gravy
Dessert
Pumpkin pie with homemade whipped cream
Don't you wish you were at my house for Thanksgiving?
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Wandering Women (and Matt)
Tonight, I hosted my first ever author talk with Stephanie Elizondo Griest, and I'm pleased to say that it was a success! I contacted her in the spring after I read her book Around the Bloc: My Life in Moscow, Beijing and Cuba. Actually, I have to say that I was surprised that she wrote back to my little fan letter. But it turns out that she was promoting her latest book, "100 Places Every Women Should Go," and agreed to come give a workshop called "Traveling Sola: Tips for Wandering Women."
We had 34 women attend the talk, plus Matt. It was kind of funny because he was the only guy in the room, and some women (and the author) kind of gave him a funny look when he came in, but nobody seemed to mind, and I think he enjoyed it too. He was especially useful when it came time to clean up, too.
Stephanie is a very outgoing speaker, and I would encourage anyone to go see her if she shows up in your town. You can check out her tour schedule at her website http://www.aroundthebloc.com.
Also, speaking of wandering women and Matt, check out my trip journal from my latest trip! We just came back from New Hampshire and Vermont. I've got lots of great pictures too, so just email me if you want to see them.
We had 34 women attend the talk, plus Matt. It was kind of funny because he was the only guy in the room, and some women (and the author) kind of gave him a funny look when he came in, but nobody seemed to mind, and I think he enjoyed it too. He was especially useful when it came time to clean up, too.
Stephanie is a very outgoing speaker, and I would encourage anyone to go see her if she shows up in your town. You can check out her tour schedule at her website http://www.aroundthebloc.com.
Also, speaking of wandering women and Matt, check out my trip journal from my latest trip! We just came back from New Hampshire and Vermont. I've got lots of great pictures too, so just email me if you want to see them.
Monday, October 29, 2007
From Zero to Hero
Its been six months since we bought our Wii, and let me tell you, it has been the most awesomest six months ever. We have been spreading the Wii gospel to anyone that will listen, and have convinced a few people to go out and buy a Wii for themselves. In fact, I think Nintendo probably owes us some money for that.
We are such dorks that back in August, we pre-ordered Guitar Hero III for the Wii, and after church yesterday, we drove over to Best Buy to go pick it up. Despite the usual drama that accompanies a Best Buy trip, we got the Wii home and set it up.
The cool thing about Guitar Hero is that you get to play a "guitar" with buttons instead of strings. You have to hit the "notes" in the sequence they appear on the screen. The notes get more complicated as it goes on and on. And that's pretty much about it. Its really addicting, especially for certain people in the house who played for 3 and a half hours yesterday before I told him that we had to eat dinner. For the Wii, they've incorporated the wireless remote into the guitar, so there's no strings, and you get cool effects like sound coming from the guitar and not just the TV, and vibration when necessary.
I'm not terribly good at the game, but its really fun nonetheless. Unfortunately, I'm going out of town this weekend, so I'm concerned that somebody in the house is going to take advantage of that to beat the game, thus leaving me in the dust.
We are such dorks that back in August, we pre-ordered Guitar Hero III for the Wii, and after church yesterday, we drove over to Best Buy to go pick it up. Despite the usual drama that accompanies a Best Buy trip, we got the Wii home and set it up.
The cool thing about Guitar Hero is that you get to play a "guitar" with buttons instead of strings. You have to hit the "notes" in the sequence they appear on the screen. The notes get more complicated as it goes on and on. And that's pretty much about it. Its really addicting, especially for certain people in the house who played for 3 and a half hours yesterday before I told him that we had to eat dinner. For the Wii, they've incorporated the wireless remote into the guitar, so there's no strings, and you get cool effects like sound coming from the guitar and not just the TV, and vibration when necessary.
I'm not terribly good at the game, but its really fun nonetheless. Unfortunately, I'm going out of town this weekend, so I'm concerned that somebody in the house is going to take advantage of that to beat the game, thus leaving me in the dust.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
The best piece of bass in three counties
When I think about how much I was disgusted by the idea of sushi when I was a kid, I have to wonder why. Sushi is really awesome! My first foray into sushi was in Berkeley with a woman whose mother is from Japan. She knew exactly where to go and what to order. I probably stuck with rolls for the first few times, but it wasn't long before I was eating nigiri (the raw fish). I've never had sushi as good as I've had in Berkeley. It was so fresh and tasty.
Here in DC, there are lots of sushi restaurants as well. There are some really good ones, but lots and lots of really bad ones. Not that the fish itself has gone bad...just lower quality, I guess. I had some sushi the other day, and all of the fish tasted the same. But it was cheap, and that's why we were there.
Today I stumbled upon this online chat in the Washingtonian magazine that gives the ins-and-out of sushi eating, and more importantly, how to get the best pieces of fish from your sushi chef, especially when sitting at the bar. Some of the stuff I knew, some I didn't. For example, did you know that you're not supposed to use chopsticks with nigiri, or rub wood chopsticks together? Also, good chefs find it insulting when you cover your sushi with soy sauce or wasabi because the fish is already supposed to be perfectly seasoned.
I'm also not a big believer in making sushi at home because I think it would be very difficult to find sushi-quality fish at the market, but this chat does talk about ways to make sushi at home.
I guess one of the benefits of eating sushi is that its really low-fat, and great if you're on a diet. Of course, that's assuming you stick with fish, and don't get those really expensive rolls with cream cheese in them.
Hmm, all this talk about sushi is making me hungry for some, but unfortunately the only place around here is one of those carousel sushi places. Some other time, I guess.
Here in DC, there are lots of sushi restaurants as well. There are some really good ones, but lots and lots of really bad ones. Not that the fish itself has gone bad...just lower quality, I guess. I had some sushi the other day, and all of the fish tasted the same. But it was cheap, and that's why we were there.
Today I stumbled upon this online chat in the Washingtonian magazine that gives the ins-and-out of sushi eating, and more importantly, how to get the best pieces of fish from your sushi chef, especially when sitting at the bar. Some of the stuff I knew, some I didn't. For example, did you know that you're not supposed to use chopsticks with nigiri, or rub wood chopsticks together? Also, good chefs find it insulting when you cover your sushi with soy sauce or wasabi because the fish is already supposed to be perfectly seasoned.
I'm also not a big believer in making sushi at home because I think it would be very difficult to find sushi-quality fish at the market, but this chat does talk about ways to make sushi at home.
I guess one of the benefits of eating sushi is that its really low-fat, and great if you're on a diet. Of course, that's assuming you stick with fish, and don't get those really expensive rolls with cream cheese in them.
Hmm, all this talk about sushi is making me hungry for some, but unfortunately the only place around here is one of those carousel sushi places. Some other time, I guess.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
college students today are a bunch of whiny little bitches
One downside of living so close to my college is that I still feel the need to check up on what those crazy kids are up to every now and then, despite the fact that I graduated eight years ago. There are often articles in the Washington Post about American University, and I, of course, feel compelled to read them. For example, this article about a newly renovated dorm that features double beds appeared last month in the paper. My friends and I just shook our heads and lamented how entitled kids today are.
However, my recent foray into Facebook has lead me to become more knowledgeable about the present-day AU, and through Facebook, I learned that students now have fall break, which is basically one day off in the middle of the semester. I'm thinking to myself, "Fall break? WE never had a fall break." We would just sludge our way through the semester, with a holiday for Labor Day and a few days off for Thanksgiving. We always had at least three to four weeks off for the Christmas holidays. Researching the evolution of fall break, I find out that it was instituted as a two-day break in 2000, and later scaled back to one day in 2005.
An opinion piece published in 2005 in the Eagle, the student-run newspaper, argues against scaling back fall break by saying:
Okay, end of rant. I promise I'll post about something more fun later.
However, my recent foray into Facebook has lead me to become more knowledgeable about the present-day AU, and through Facebook, I learned that students now have fall break, which is basically one day off in the middle of the semester. I'm thinking to myself, "Fall break? WE never had a fall break." We would just sludge our way through the semester, with a holiday for Labor Day and a few days off for Thanksgiving. We always had at least three to four weeks off for the Christmas holidays. Researching the evolution of fall break, I find out that it was instituted as a two-day break in 2000, and later scaled back to one day in 2005.
An opinion piece published in 2005 in the Eagle, the student-run newspaper, argues against scaling back fall break by saying:
"Removing rest days for AU students will create dangerous consequences. AU students are special and different from other U.S. college students. At any time, approximately 1,000 AU students work internships, much higher than national percentages. Compiled with part time jobs, studying and extracurricular activities, AU students find themselves working 50 - 60 hours a week to remain successful. Fall Break and study days serve as means for students to recuperate from their busy schedules, explore the District of Columbia and help prepare for midterm and final exams. Without these breaks, students will prepare less for their exams, miss more classes, and underperform in the workplace and classroom."Okay, is it just me, or does anybody else hear how elitist this sounds? AU students, if not all college students, are starting to feel entitled to things like double beds and extra days off. Maybe I, as a government employee, shouldn't really be talking, but hello children, welcome to the real world! You're not going to get random days off in the middle of the semester. Its not like I spent every waking minute of those study days studying either, and my jobs/internships were fun, and often let me do homework at the same time. Stop whining, or else you'll be sorely prepared for what a real job is like.
Okay, end of rant. I promise I'll post about something more fun later.
Monday, October 01, 2007
Whither the video store
You're going to think that we're pretty old fashioned over here, but Matt and I liked going to the video store to pick out a movie. Of course, its very rare that we would go to the video store in the first place...maybe once a month, if that. Between not really watching a whole lot of TV in the first place, and having other plans, and oh, yeah, getting that occassional video out from the library, we just never rented movies enough to subscribe to Netflix or Blockbuster online.
Last spring, however, Blockbuster gave us a pretty damn good reason to not subscribe to their service...they closed their store that was located only a mile away from us. Didn't matter, we thought, there's a much closer independent video store that we would rather go to anyway. Unfortunately, at the beginning on August, we walked into that store, and found out that they had lost their lease and were being forced to close, so they were selling off all of their videos and DVDs as well (all the good stuff had already been bought). So we were forced to go to another video store to rent "The 40 Year Old Virgin ", which, by the way, was the only video we rented the entire summer, I'm pretty sure. This past weekend, we were going to that store to rent a movie, and sure enough, they had a big store closing sign, and they were selling off their collection as well. And once again, we had missed all the good stuff.
So now I have to sign up for Netflix, and I'll probably get the cheapest option, and even though its only $4.99 a month, that's still more that what we would usually pay per month to rent the occassional movie. Its all a scam, I tell ya.
Last spring, however, Blockbuster gave us a pretty damn good reason to not subscribe to their service...they closed their store that was located only a mile away from us. Didn't matter, we thought, there's a much closer independent video store that we would rather go to anyway. Unfortunately, at the beginning on August, we walked into that store, and found out that they had lost their lease and were being forced to close, so they were selling off all of their videos and DVDs as well (all the good stuff had already been bought). So we were forced to go to another video store to rent "The 40 Year Old Virgin ", which, by the way, was the only video we rented the entire summer, I'm pretty sure. This past weekend, we were going to that store to rent a movie, and sure enough, they had a big store closing sign, and they were selling off their collection as well. And once again, we had missed all the good stuff.
So now I have to sign up for Netflix, and I'll probably get the cheapest option, and even though its only $4.99 a month, that's still more that what we would usually pay per month to rent the occassional movie. Its all a scam, I tell ya.
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