pontifications of dr. gonzo

still strong even after so long

2011-01-03T21:42:00.005-06:00

ok so i had to do it... i havent posted in a terribly long time, and i expect to not post, again, for a longer time. but another year has passed. a very, very good year, and it shouldnt pass unnoticed.

in 2010 i did...

...get that fucking promotion!

...get the papers solidified and change my name back

...find a frame for my bed (there is SPACE under my bed!)

...have my scoliosis improve even more

...successfully captain the softball team

...spent quite a few amazing days with my half-sister & her family

...start to re-learn spanish

...bike to the botanic gardens and back

...was a bridesmaid

...explored more areas & tried more restaurants in chicago

...travel to nyc, matawan, richmond, mn, the rockford-area, and camped all over mid-wisconsin

...and i also happened to fall in love with a wonderful, creative, handsome, and admirable friend (and i do believe him to be quite smitten with me, too!)

i didn't...

...have a (bad) hangover on jan 1st!

...completely figure out the long-term career thing (again...)

...read as much as i wanted

...see avatar in the theater. nope. and i'm very ok with that!

...keep up correspondence with far-away friends as well as i'd wished

...get my shoulders/neck fixed

...find the cash to fix up my car so it keeps on truckin'; it still works, but it's a bit of a bucket at the moment

...keep up the finances as well as i'd hoped

...visit the farmers markets enough

but you know what? the positives outweigh the negatives by a lot, this year. i'm not sure what '11 will bring, but i'm very ready for it.

happy new year!

whaddya wanna be when u grows up?

2010-04-30T10:36:00.004-05:00

rhettoric asked me a fabulous question today:

with no regard to talent or training, what five careers would you want?

after some winnie-the-pooh quality think-think-thinking, this is what i came up with:

publisher for an independent literary press
owner of a vineyard & winery (location TBD)
movie star
philanthropist
food critic & cookbook author

when i have daydreams in traffic (or in meetings), they usually revolve around these five activities. i could go all david sedaris on you and hash out some of the better, more eccentrically-detailed dreams, but i think i'll just let them sit here for now. i think i'll just re-visit this post a few times in the next week or so, and keep thinking about what these five dreams mean to me.

time, farmers market, "risotto," and wine

2010-03-27T18:05:00.006-05:00

time's a funny thing. i really thought the last time i wrote on here was about a pizza that i had a month back that was particulary impressive. however, it appears i neglected that entry... and many, many others i should have created in the meantime.

i'm not "rushed" or "busy," per se, but i am well-scheduled and slightly sleep-deprived. this past week i spent more on take-out than i care to admit, and by today (farmer's market day), i absolutely itched for real, homemade, healthy food.

i did schedule time for the bi-monthly, winterized, green city market. i missed the last one due to illness and, consequently, my craving for mushrooms suffered greatly. i know i've talked about it before, but i really do love the farmers markets here. i can't get the variety of goodies in the winter that i splurge on in the summer. but, i adore the fresh criminis & eggs, sampling cheese & butter, trying new meat (bison!) and stocking up on onions & potatoes. today i saw a few fresh little green things... i had hoped for asparagus, but i settled for scallions. wee, little, sweet-smelling scallions. i'm very excited to put them on my eggs for tomorrow's breakfast (along w/ some real, greek feta). but i couldn't wait that long!

there's a tub in my cabinet that holds both white and red quinoa. i haven't opened it in a shamefully long time. turns out quinoa is very shelf-friendly! i figured it would be healthier and more filling to use quinoa as my grain, so i played around with a recipe i was inspired by on epicurious. it's called a quinoa risotto, but they dont tell you to cook it like a risotto. i'm actually not a fan of risottos (too creamy and mooshy when done incorrectly), but i figured using a less-starchy grain would actually appeal to me. i also cooked it like risotto, to cultivate at least a little creaminess.

you can sub almost anything into it. next time i'll add some pinenuts, and possibly feta for the parmesan. i had no white wine (sacrelidge! good thing i work the wine store today and will pick some up for future use), so i used all stock, but you can go halvsies, stock-to-wine.

quinoa risotto

2 cups [chicken] stock (or 1 stock, 1 dry white wine)
1 cup quinoa (i used halfsies red & white), rinsed VERY well
1 cup diced mushrooms (farmers market fresh!)
1/2 cup diced yellow onion
1/4 cup diced fennel
1/4 cup diced celeriac
1 clove garlic, pressed
2 tbsps chopped scallions
1/4 cup parmesan (i used medium-ground, fresh)
1 1/2 tablespoon olive oil (i did 1 tbsp oil and 1/2 tbsp reserved bacon fat for extra flavor)

in a large pot with a lid, saute the onion, mushrooms, fennel, and celeriac in the olive oil for a few minutes, until the onions just turn translucent. add the garlic and salt & pepper to taste. stir to incorporate. add the quinoa to the pot and stir. let the mixture saute further for a few minutes, to toast up the quinoa a bit and mingle the flavors.

add 1 cup of the liquid (if using wine, use that first, to burn off the alcohol). bring to a boil, and turn the heat to low to simmer for 10 min, covered. add the last cup of liquid, bring to a boil and cover to simmer for another 10 min. uncover and stir to be sure quinoa is cooked through (you'll see little curly-cues everywhere).

remove from heat and add in the parmesan, stirring well. serve in bowls, and top with scallions. it makes about 3 - 4 reasonably sized (re: small; quinoa is a hearty grain) bowls .

this dish was easy & quick to cook, made me very, very happy, and kept me reasonably full for the duration of my wine store shift - not a small feat; i have to (oh yes, have to) taste the products for quality and knowledge. this one may become a staple in my regular rotation. i'm not sure if i'm brave enough to fix it for guests, though. we'll see though; if it passes the mom & sister test (kinda like "mikey likes it"), i'm set.

fine in 09

2009-12-23T13:45:00.002-06:00

in my posting for 2008, i rattled off a few things i'd like to do in 09. i didnt revisit that entry until today, when i had an overwhelming urge to create my 09 post. turns out i did a lot of what i wanted, and the more i think about 09, the more i am seriously impressed with all that one little year can bring!

in 2009 i...

...did not

get that damn promotion
or, solve that career issue
get a gratuitously lovely tv
change cars - knock on wood
find a grown-up bed (i found a headboard, but the mattress & boxspring are still on the floor)
read as much as i'd have liked
again, solve all of my emotional and life issues - do we ever?

...did

meet & fall in love with my half sister
acquire a personal computer (thank you rhettoric!)
do bikram approximately 2x/week for the whole year
have my scoliosis improve b/c of diligent bikram & chiro work
co-captain the MGH softball team
get what i think was H1N1
get hospitalized for my reynaud's disease
learn how to do inversions in yoga
find a really good therapist
enjoy the farmer's markets as much as humanly possible
learn to ride my bike confidently in the city
realize how much i love chicago
LOTS of career research
attend two pre-season twins games!
travel to: NYC, denver, the quad cities, minnesota, and ft. meyers

i'm going to have to write a separate entry on the books i read in 2009 - i kinda slacked off and didnt review during the last quarter of the year. but aside from this, i think i had a good one. the positives are very positive, and the negatives are more than do-able/live-able.

if i had to predict what 2010 will bring, i dont think i can do it. too much is in the air right now. will i find myself alone in NYC starting over? perhaps i'll get that promotion and work away like a busy bee, here in chicago. i'd like to embrace the farmer's markets more next year - no more saturday laziness due to hangovers! i definitely need to get back to meet my half-sis's family - the more i learn about them, the more excited i get! but overall, i hope 2010 brings contentment and smiles to all the people in my life. so...

cheers to 2010!

holiday extravaganza 09

2009-12-20T12:19:00.002-06:00

happy holidays! e & i celebrated with a few of our close friends, a little schnapps, and a special visit from santa. here's some of the highlights:

holiday extravaganza 09

fortify

2009-12-14T20:12:00.003-06:00

i'm sitting on the cusp of one full week of being sick. this is not my normal sick. once a year i usually get a head cold of gross proportions - gooey, snotty, phlemy, stuffy - general head cold. it's miserable and annoying but definitely do-able. this year, i found myself with no voice for four full days, which morphed into a nasal passage issue, followed by a cough of epic proportion. admittedly, i'm running myself pretty hard. it's the holidays and there seems to be someone to see, someplace to be, or things to cook and clean every day. yes, i'm prolonging this agony.

but as the adage goes - misery loves company. so my roomie joined in the fun! the two of us had a lovely, snotty and cough-filled cocktail party. in preparation, we cleaned the whole kitchen and swept the entire fridge of it's old contents. so last night, my night to recoup after such a long weekend, i found myself facing the options of: ramen, spreadable cheese, crackers. that's it. somehow, among all the festivities, i neglected to shop for staples! after such a salty (yet, secretly, i love it) meal, tonight needed fortification.

c!!! i need vitamin c! and green things and protein! i stopped at the store on the way home from work and grabbed any veggie that appealed to me. and thusly, i fortified:

1/2 c. chopped brussels sprouts
1/2 c. slivered shallots
1/2 c. chopped mushrooms
1 giant handful of turnip greens, washed and spun dry
1/2 c. eggplant, diced
olive oil
red pepper flakes
splash of chicken stock
glug of milk
salt & pepper

i sauteed the first three ingredients in a pan with olive oil (that had warmed with the red pepper flakes). then i added the greens & eggplant, tossed to integrate, and added the stock, milk, salt & pepper. i set it to a simmer and covered til the eggplant was cooked through - about 5 min.

served over trader joe's harvest grains (israeli couscous w/ quinoa, dried peas, and millet), topped with fresh grated parmesan, this "stir fry" was heavenly.

it was everything i wanted in a meal! it was spicy (turnip greens have a pleasant bite to them, and the red pepper flakes give the whole thing a kick), it was healthy, and it had the feeling of comfort food. fortification, complete! now, hopefully, i will wake up in perfect health, with all my presents wrapped and cards written!

here's to wishful thinking....

brussels sprout win

2009-10-19T20:40:00.005-05:00

i've been fairing well with fresh food lately. i credit, in part, my roommate for gifting gourmet and bon appetite magazines to me last xmas. i tease myself by pouring over recipes and tips (and wine suggestions) over my regular cereal breakfast, making note of the issues i wish to further explore in my kitchen.

also in part, i credit the local farmer's markets. chicagoland has so many options for fresh, local food that it's hard to pick where to go on what day. my fave haunt is the lincoln park market. liz and i started going on a regular basis this past spring, and i continued week after week, using my bike and a large backpack to stuff full of the lovely in-season finds.

i discovered the deliciousness of fresh asparagus then radishes and green onions, mushrooms then tomatoes (purple ones!) and figs and potatoes... all the while, i kept a wary eye on my least favorites: kale, swiss chard, brussels sprouts (basically, anything green).

i previously wrote about conquering my fear of kale (with excellent success and to my great surprise). so, the next veggie i decided to tackle was brussels sprouts. hate 'em, love 'em, there is no in between. i dared myself to find a way to love them, so i tried two recipes from my favorite sites.

one was a simple saute in olive oil. it went alright, but the brussels sprout taste just didnt pop for me. it felt way too subtle, and i couldnt think of anything i wanted pair it with - eat or drink. fail #1.

the next was sauteed in butter with some chicken stock, cream and thyme. this one was much better. i still felt the same way about the green's actual taste, but the accompanying flavors helped it to be palatable. not something i'd serve to guests, though. fail #2.

the next round finds me after bikram with ravenous hunger and in total reliance of immediate ingredients. i have lots of boxed pasta and leftover brussels sprouts... what to do?

5 brussels sprouts, trimmed, halved and cut into shreds
1/2 shallot cut into threads
1 tbsp butter
1/4 c. chicken stock
2 tbsp cream
red pepper flakes to taste

melt butter in a pan on medium heat. add shallots and brussels sprouts, stir to mix. saute for a few min until shallots are soft. add stock and cream, stir to mix, cover pan and let simmer on low for 10 min or until brussels sprouts are softened. add red pepper flakes and stir. serve hot!

while this was all cooking, i put on a pot of water to boil for regular old mac & cheese. i took a good solid portion of the mac & cheese and topped it with the whole mess of brussels sprouts. it was embarrassingly good and i shall make it frequently! brussels sprout win!

foooooood

2009-10-04T16:53:00.003-05:00

i had to shoot up a quick post about the meal i just made. i was aiming for something flavorful and easy to use for lunches this week. what i got was insanely yummy... i ate it too fast to take a good picture, but suffice to say, it was beautiful!

roasted acorn squash with lamb sausage & braised kale

1 acorn squash
1/2 lb kale, roughly chopped
1/2 large onion, minced
spiced lamb sausages, out of casings
olive oil
salt & pepper to taste

preheat oven to 400.

split and scoop out the seeds in the squash and brush the insides with olive oil and sprinkle with salt & pepper. place cut-sides down on an oiled baking sheet and bake for one hour.

in a pot, heat a few tablespoons of olive oil on medium-high heat. add onions and saute until golden brown. add kale and turn until wilted, adding a bit of salt. add about one tablespoon of water, turn down heat to medium-low and cover pot, simmering for about 20 min.

in pan, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat. add sausages and break apart roughly to bite-sized pieces, til cooked through.

add sausages to finished kale, remove from heat.

let squash cool so you can peel off the skin. place a good scoop onto a plate and add another good scoop of the kale/sausage mixture. i'm thinking this would also be the time to add shredded manchego cheese, but i went straight for the fork...

i'm also pretty sure i could make this a whole lot prettier than a mess of stuff on a plate, but frankly, i just dont care when it tastes that good. mmm!!!

what i did on my sunday vacation

2009-10-04T15:17:00.003-05:00

yes, i consider sundays vacation days. days when i wake up late (after a gratuitous 9 hours of delicious sleep), gather treats at the farmer's market and indulge in favorite american pastimes are definitely vacation days.

i *may* have overindulged... i watched the bears gloriously clobber the 2008 lions (yeah, for some reason they came back this week - oh well!) and at the same time was flipping channels between plays to monitor the white sox/tigers and pressing "refresh" on my computer keeping tabs on the twins last shot at AL division glory.

oh hell, it was fun. now i'm roasting an acorn squash so i can make a lovely sausage/squash/kale dish for lunches this week. oh yeah, and mad men tonite! and i didnt even have to take a day off work!

good things to eat

2009-08-30T20:14:00.002-05:00

i've been trying to visit the farmer's market as many times as i can this summer. when there's fresh food staring me in the face, it's easy to find motivation to cook a tasty meal!

From yummy food

heirloom tomatoes with balsamic vinegar and manchego cheese (and rosemary whitefish)

the wicker park market had a huge assortment of different colored heirloom tomatoes that begged for prime plating. i sliced them up thick and drizzled them with balsamic vinegar, a touch of olive oil, sea salt, pepper and basil chiffonade. what i lacked in fresh mozzerella for a true caprese i gained with salty manchego which pulled the tomato tanginess together with the buttery whitefish i fried up.

From yummy food

rosemary whitefish with avocado quinoa salad

the whitefish of choice, flounder. the herb of desire, rosemary. i briefly marinated the fish in olive oil, anchovie paste, garlic and finely chopped rosemary then sauteed it in a hot pan to make a pretty golden brown crust, adding salt & pepper to taste after. light, flakey and no burned garlic!

for the salad i threw together cooked red quinoa, fresh white onion, pine nuts, goat cheese and cherry tomatoes. and the dressing is a riff off the one i've done before from 101 cookbooks.com. pretty much i used the avocado as the fat instead of olive oil (i did put a wee bit in there for a thinner texture), lime juice, salt & pepper. really simple, really nutty-wonderful.

From yummy food

pesto!

start with healthy basil plants. harvest a hunka leaves. chop chop chop. YUM! i actually did this batch by hand - no food processor. no joke.

my pesto is a balance of basil, lightly toasted pine nuts, garlic, parmesan, salt & pepper and olive oil. for real, i used the ulu knife gramma & pop-pop brought back for me from alaska. it's really amazing how well the rocking knife works! yes i chopped for a good 20 minutes to get everything the right consistency (the secret is you add the dry things little by little - olive oil last and separately), but i admit, when i was done, it was gorgeous, flavorful and way prettier than a lump at the bottom of my kitchen-aid.

garden v2.4

2009-08-30T18:20:00.003-05:00

it's time for a long-overdue garden update!

i've got a nice little slide show of pix i've taken in the garden over the last weeks. and here's a general run down of accomplishments:

tomatoes
too many to count! the cherry tomatoes are sweet with a medium-tough skin. they stand up well to omelets, pasta dishes and fair extremely well on their own with a tiny bit of salt. the yellow pears are sweeter with medium skin and are huge stars in caprese and pasta salads for their awesome color and shape.

cucumber
i asked lowriter (my friend of the farm) when i should harvest the cucs and after learning a lot of much-needed awesome cucumber information, she told me of the wisest thing yet - check the tag. hehe... turns out my variety grows to about 4" - 6" and thus far i've had 2 successful fruits and one on the way! it looks like there are many more pre-cucs, but according to lo's awesome knowledge about fertilization, they may not come to fruition (oh, yes, pun intended - been waiting to use that one all summer! muahaha).

herbies
basil = success beyond imagination. i've harvested one amazing crop for mass pesto production (frozen and stored accordingly for colder days). i may sneak out one more medium-sized harvest yet! rosemary - it's beautiful. i've enjoyed watching it sprout out into a cute bush. it's seasoned many piece of chicken or fish! the cilantro went to seed a while back, but not before providing a few small harvests for mealtime.

flowers
well... better luck next year? i say this every year. next year though, i promise to get a hearty variety. marigolds? something that will be hard to maim....

july books

2009-08-17T21:28:00.017-05:00

helloooo readers! are you still out there? i wouldnt blame you if you werent... its been too dern long! the week i usually reserve for recapping lead me on a trip to denver for work. i enjoyed a lot of air conditioned hotel basement time and a wee bit of walking around pretty downtown. and now it's mid-august and i have yet to report that, yes, i actually did read a lot in july!

the graveyard book - neil gaiman
i've enjoyed gaiman's work for adults and kids alike - graphic novels, regular novels and most recently, a movie. this gorgeous hard-bound, illustrated, young adult novel swept me up just the same.

nobody owens was born with a name. a name and a family and a house. but late one night, a man named jack murders baby nobody's family, missing nobody by sleight of quiet and stealth only a curious baby can muster. nobody finds himself in the local, defunct graveyard surrounded by the ancient, ghostly inhabitants. resident mrs. owens (d. 18??) scoops up the child and accepts him into the family of the graveyard. now anonymous, with a new last name, nobody grows up under the protection of the graveyard. but, the man named jack has not forgotten his lost victim. the search continues as nobody grows up, gets to know the secrets of the graveyard and peeks glimpses at the real world outside the tall, stone walls.

gaiman weaves an edgy, eerie and deliciously scary coming-of-age story. juvi-lit may be easier to read, but this more than others demanded my full attention. i ate it up with chills down my back and finished with a relish of satisfaction. this is definitely a highly recommended quick read!

that old cape magic - richard russo

russo spins his magic again with his newest (and possibly shortest) novel. i had the privlidge to nab a galley at BEA this year and hear mr. russo speak about the birth of this story. he wanted to fictionally recount a true short story about sitting at the leftover table at a wedding. you know - the unbalanced table in the back corner by the kitchen that seats the bride's favorite college professor, his wife, a far-removed relative who always sends cash gifts, and that gray-haired guy who's rumored to have won a pulitzer..... the mediator for russo's panel put it aptly: i dont know what sort of wedding would put a pulitzer winner like you at a leftover table, but damn, i'd like to attend that one! ...or something of that nature...

self-deprication being one of russo's strongest pulls, he continued on after a soft chuckle: the story was too full of loose threads - too many details that needed attending to. he wrote a little more. perhaps it'd be a novella. but the character's needs grew and voila.... a complete novel. i definitely enjoyed the bright landscapes and rather normal characters, which, according to his fans, are out of character for his writing style. i agree. however, this was a refreshing bit of story that had as much humor and poignancy as his other works. yes, he left out some of the gorgeous pathos of his acclaimed empire falls and he didnt wax as poetically about his surroundings, but the main character is so identifiable and honestly confused that i cannot help but overlook that it's probably not going to win a pulitzer. this is simply just a good story. its good reading. its enormously entertaining. i alternately rooted for and scolded the protagonist - sometimes out loud (ask the roomie!). if you're looking for a beach read but are sick and tired of twilight pushers, please pick this one up and give it a chance to make you smile.

flawed dogs - berkeley breathed

the master behind the opus cartoons comes out with another children's tail of animal adventure. sam the lion, born a perfect, purebred pup, wiggles his way into the arms of orphan heidy - sent to live on her uncle's "farm" after getting kicked out of boarding school. uncle turns out to be a retired dog breeder who falls in love with sam (almost) as much as heidy. sam becomes the glue that bonds lonely uncle and heidy, until one day when the housekeeper's sure-to-be-champion poodle turns a jealous eye to sam's pure lines and ability to please the household.

to ensure his own success, cassius the poodle plots sam's demise. and breaking hearts, he succeeds, getting sam cast out of the house and into the cold world - tossed from one bad situation to the next, surviving only on the sweet memories of heidy and the clever wits and squiggly size only a dachsund can display so charismatically. we follow sam to the last chance dog pound, now 3-legged, matted and disheveled, surrounded by fellows of the same ilk. can this motley crew help sam return to his beloved heidy and destroy the evil cassius?

another quick, energetic read, flawed dogs gave my imagination a lot to run with. berkeley breathed is a well-known peta supporter and here we find a lot of reasons to adopt shaggy, imperfect dogs. he doesnt bang us over the head with this notion, but i'm still not sure i'd be comfortable letting a youngster at this one. the little dog takes quite a lot of hits along the way, which may be hard to take for more sensitive readers. overall though, a fun romp and lick and chew!

winning is fun!

2009-07-28T11:38:00.004-05:00

may & june books

2009-07-06T07:59:00.002-05:00

cuz again, i'm lazy. or embarrassed. whichever - i only read two books in two months. i blame the weather and my travels (again). driving to and from lo's wedding in el norte, mn gave me plenty of time to get through an audiobook. it also made sure my eyes couldnt focus close-up for a good long time so i indulged in more mad men instead of finishing a tome i was given for my bday. ohhhh i loathe pete campbell!!!! the worm!

island of the sequined love nun - christopher moore
oh how i enjoy the chris moore books. folly, booze, sex and cannibalism. does it get better than that? tucker case stumbled into an easy life as a hopeless geek trapped in a good-looking guy's body. he manages to eff up his job as a private pilot (of a pink lear jet), almost castrate himself and in the process, manage to completely ruin his career. how better to redeem himself than to take a sketchy private piloting job for a mysterious missionary doctor on a barely-inhabited island in the pacific ocean? booze, island women and a brand-new lear 45 to boot!

he realizes things may not be as they seem when he wakes hanging upside-down from a coconut tree with a cannibal drooling at his side; his inept navigator - transvestite and friend of bats, kimi - unconscious beside him. the island of tuck's current fate is inhabited by the shark people - indigenous folk who are just insane enough (from massive amounts of coconut liquor) to survive off catching sharks, by hand, in the shallow reef. a reasonable substitute for cannibalism, no?

tuck is rescued when the tribe's leader has a dream in which their "god" - vincent bennidetti, u.s. air force, deceased bomber pilot tells him where to find the half-drowned man and his navigator. the shark people hand tuck over to the missionary and his hottie donna reed-style wife. after nursing tuck to health, tuck slowly begins to see the farce the "missionary" and his bi-polar sexpot companion are getting away with.

does any of this make sense? good lord of course not! it's chris moore at his best - ridiculous plot twists and turns, lots of alcoholism, sex and bits of psychoanalysis and actual history mingle together to create a riot of a story. i had a ton of fun reading this one on the ny subway system - it's the perfect short-chapter book for quick peeks and long laughs.

the plague of doves - louise erdrich
on the exact opposite end of the spectrum from moore we have erdrich. this was a wonderful rolling, multi-tiered story surrounding the native american town of pluto, nd. erdrich weaves together the generations inhabiting this area. at first each story seems complete and separate, but subtly and slowly the reader is escorted to the next story which has directly influenced the first and will continue to influence those to come.

i really dont want to say more about this book because it was such a pleasant surprise. each person's point of view we focus on is a separate short story. but the way erdrich weaves them together so effortlessly into a complete novel is a gentle, eye-opening, humorous and bittersweet experience. so i wont get into the details, but i will encourage all of my followers to pick this one up - audiobook or paper, it will be a rewarding experience.

garden v 2.3

2009-07-02T07:45:00.000-05:00

garden update! i'm SO much happier with the garden this year than last! lesson #1 learned: watering 101. all of the herbies have thrived with the upgraded potting drainage system. the only one i'm confused about is the purple basil. it's a bit on the weak side and i cant figure out if it's supposed to look like that or if i'm actually doing something wrong.

also to note: i had a great cilantro harvest but didnt realize i should be vigilant about the seed shoots. i think my cilantro is done for the season. if it's true, i'll be potting some mint and thyme in it's place!

From Garden

hanging tomatoes are doing very well too. these are on the west side of the porch and i think i need to raise them for more direct sunlight. if you compare to the east side plants, they are on the scrawny side. i dont think this should make a difference though - see the guy in the pot on the bottom left? he's a cherry tomato and he's doing extremely well (34 blossoms!!) on the same side.

From Garden

here's the east side guys. THRIVING is the main word here. it's been a lot of fun tracking the branches - they stick out everywhere but are still growing "up"! note the cucumber plant at the bottom - he's crawling up my hand-made trellis like a pro! i think i have 10 blossoms on there... tomato and cucumber salad, anyone?!

From Garden

and i had to share this one... the lounge tent at the wedding i attended this past weekend had a bunch of paper lanterns strung up. this very persistent butterfly would not leave the pink ones alone! so pretty!

From Garden

yummers

2009-06-23T12:41:00.002-05:00

here are some recipes i've played with over the last month or so. my kitchen habits tend to be quick, healthy, protein-based and slightly chaotic. meaning, i use what i have in my fridge or garden and figure out a way to make it yum.

health nut hot dogs
serves 2

2 apple-turkey franks (i use ones from trader joe)
mango salsa (i heart whole food's recipe*)
cilantro avocado sauce (leftover from a YUM recipe from heidi swanson at 101 cookbooks.com)
goat cheese to taste
4 pitas

make the cilantro avocado sauce (i used it for a quinoa recipe at the same website the day before - the sauce lasted a total of one week in the fridge).

warm the pitas in a frying pan drizzled with a touch of olive oil, turning to brown both sides evenly.

slice the franks** into 1/4 inch thick medallions and saute gently in the same frying pan for a few minutes, until warmed through.

assemble thusly: place pita on plate, put half of one frank's worth of medallions on pita. sprinkle with goat cheese, mango salsa and cilantro avocado sauce to taste.

*it's much easier to buy from whole foods, and it keeps for at least 3 days in the fridge. but if you're interested, it's simply diced mango, red onion and jalapeno mixed with chopped cilantro and lime juice.

**note: you can also do this hot-dog style and so would warm whole franks. i cut them up which makes one frank provide for two sandwiches.

...

shrimp, bean & avocado salad
serves 4 as a side dish, 2 for main course

1/4 c. uncooked quinoa, rinsed well
scant 1/2 c. water
1 14 oz. can white beans, drained & rinsed
1 medium tomato, seeded and diced
1/2 medium red onion, diced
20 small/medium cooked & peeled shrimp
1 avocado, sliced lengthwise

for vinaigrette:
2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
a few good dashes of Tabasco sauce (i give Chipotle Tabasco quite a few hearty shakes)
sea salt to taste
pepper to taste

cook quinoa: place quinoa and water into pan and set to boil. reduce heat to low and simmer with lid on for 20 min. remove from heat and allow to sit for 5 min with lid still on. fluff with fork. place all quinoa into a strainer and let cool water run over it until room temp*.

while quinoa is cooking, make vinaigrette by whisking together all ingredients to emulsify.

place beans, tomato, onion and shrimp in a large bowl. add cooled quinoa and vinaigrette and toss gently to coat. let stand 15 min before serving. add salt/pepper/Tabasco as needed.

place in nice bowl and top with avocado slices.

*i like to cook a pot of quinoa for the week and store it in the fridge so it can be used re-warmed or at room temp for dishes like this. use aprox. 1/3 c. cooked quinoa for this recipe.

garden v 2.2

2009-05-19T12:46:00.003-05:00

time to plant!

last year's metal buckets needed a revamp. my herbies and tomatoes drowned last year so i poked more and bigger holes:

drill!!

i'll have more pix of the basil, thyme and assorted others at a later post. I chose to put the cucumber plant and one cherry tomato plant (as a social experiment) in the two big planters. they took very well!

pretty sunshine!

and of course, the grand experiment:

i have two bags of upside-down tomatoes hanging from the balcony above mine. they've been anchored down to reduce swinging and twisting and they drain rather well. the other two bags will go on the other side of the balcony. hopefully i'll have enough soil for them!

garden v 2.1

2009-05-11T10:32:00.004-05:00

growy things!

this mom's day us ladies ventured to the local nursery and picked up some really fun greens for show and plant. i got excited about the herbies but i think i may have to go out and get some more. see, my tomato solution this year is to grow them upside down a la yelling guy's ad. this frees up a TON of pot space and will allow me to plant a lot of cilantro and basil - my two staples.

for color, i scored some pre-planted antique violas (one of my favorite flowers!). i went pre-planted because i seem to have issues with flowers. at least this way they start off with a fighting chance.

list of plants thus far:
tomatoes - cherry and yellow pear (i may try for a bigger red like big boy but i'm nervous)
cucumbers - plan is to do these upsideown too
basil & purple basil
cilantro
thyme
rosemary
viola

april books

2009-05-08T07:40:00.000-05:00

forever by pete hamill

this was a christmas present from my good pal e. she's loved this book for quite a few years and thought i may enjoy it too as it contains a subtle element of magical realism. she was right. i needed a really good story-story and this satisfied the craving.

cormac o'connor - half irish half jewish - was born in the ulster area of ireland in the mid-1700's. he arrives in new york in 1741, following the man who killed his parents, seeking revenge and adventure. what he recieves is success, a near-fatal wound and subsequently, the gift of eternal life. the one rule to his eternal life is that he has to stay on the island of manhattan forever.

i enjoyed seeing the changes in manhattan through cormac's patient and time-weary eyes. the author is a successful new yorker himself and lovingly wears away the years, mistakes, corruption and the beauty of the island's history through cormac's life and loves. some of the prose was a bit "too pretty" and saturated in awe but i didnt let that bother me. pretty much, this was the perfect precursor to my annual trip to the big apple.

pedro paramo by juan rulfo
wow.

that's my summary. you can read below, but... suffice to say, no need. just get the book.

i'm belated in my april book posting because of this 124-page novella. it's powerful. it's gorgeous and haunting... it's stayed with me long after i finished reading #1. yep. reading #1. i decided, after getting through it in 3 short sittings, that i should dedicate two or so hours to read it in entirety. twice.

rulfo, a reclusive and renowned mexican author, winds the story of the purgitorial town, comala. juan preciado promises his mother, delores, on her deathbed that he will return to her hometown, comala, and meet his father, pedro paramo. he promises to make paramo own up to all he stole from delores. what he finds is a whole town filled with ghosts whose lives were stolen by the same man. all of the villagers were affected by selfish pedro paramo. one by one, all open their voices from the grave to relay their stories over and over to whomever is listening. a constant of purgatory that pulls juan preciado down (up?) and into the stories that make the town what it remains.

as a lapsed catholic, i found the religion part of this story absolutely facsinating. as a magic realism fan, i found the book enthralling and compelling. as someone who has nightmares after watching horror films, i slept poorly for two nights straight. this is not a warning to others - there is no outward violence or ghostly encounter in the book. everything is so subtle - the true meaning of the word "haunting." it simply stayed with me and took over my imagination.

apparently rulfo took years to finish this story - honing and honing until each word and letter was perfect. the translation i read (the one linked above) is the best english one out there. this make me want to learn spanish. is it possible that this book is better in another language? i'd love to find out.

the bug story.

2009-05-01T10:11:00.003-05:00

note: this was previously published on my facebook account, but since there's a few folks i know who dont have facebook, here ya go!
_____________________________

So last Friday I am driving home in horrible traffic, my sandals off (I love driving barefoot), sunroof open, windows down. Grooving along. I feel a tickle and I look at my foot and see a HORRIBLY LARGE bug with lots of legs and antennae. I freak the eff out and grab my sandal and start whacking at the bug while trying not to drive into the person in front of me. I’m swerving all over my lane and I briefly debate pulling over but don’t want to risk the bug crawling on my foot all half-gooey from my smashing while I make the appropriate stop.

The bug stops moving so I put the sandal down and try to recompose myself to drive carefully again. Every few minutes though, I’m checking the floor to see if it’s still dead. I get off at my exit and look down, finally feeling relaxed, but the effer is ALIVE!!! And it’s crawling toward my still bare foot! I grab the sandal again and start smashing, this time more violently, almost ramming into the highway divider (oops). And after that lashing, I’m SURE it’s dead. I mean, it’s so firmly ground into my carpet I’ll need a shop vac to get it out.

This bug. It’s body is an inch long and a quarter inch wide. Each of it’s 6 legs are an inch long and the antennae are longer. It looks like a ginormous box elder mixed with a bee. I have never seen a bug like this in Illinois. I blame my open sunroof.

Next day, on the way to work, I notice another one of these bugs, curled up dead on the floor of the passenger’s seat. Hm. Interesting.

After work, I’ve done myself a favor and made a massage appointment. I’m in a bit of a rush to get there on time so I don’t open my windows to enjoy the breeze. I hear this… buzzing. And… crackling… and I’m getting that creepy crawly feeling. I look up into my rear view mirror and I can see, sticking to the rear window and seat heads are The Bugs. LOTS OF THEM!! They are crawling out of my TRUNK in rapid succession.

I break into a sweat and immediately tense up… WTF? Seriously? Bugs. Really. Ok… BREATHE… Where are they coming fro…ohhh shiiiiiiit. About a month ago my step boss (he’s not my real boss so he cant tell me what to do!) did me a favor by delivering me some freshly minted firewood straight from his forested abode in Michigan. I can see his face now:

“you’d better store this stuff outside, you know, just in case there’s bugs in there”…

No, I did not remove the wood from my trunk. In the last month, Chicagoland has burst full-force into spring weather, complete with emerging insects. In my car.

I pull into the parking lot of the strip mall where the massage place is, roll down the back window (in case they decide to nicely leave in an orderly fashion), grab my stuff and haul ass into the facility. I immediately turn around and ask my therapist and the cute young receptionists “IS THERE A BUG ON MY BACK!?” and of course…

“ohhh yahhh.. a really BIIG one!”

“GETITOFFGETITOFF! OHMYGOSHGETITOOOOFFF!!”

“Whoa… wait, no I’m sorry! I was joking – there’s nothing on there. You’re ok!”

“ok.. cuz…” I am in full whimper mode now “…cuz there’s a bunch of disgusting huge bugs living in my trunk and they just decided to ambush me on the way over here. I am SO CREEPED OUT!”

My therapist walks over and puts a hand on my shoulder. “It’ll be ok! When you’re done, go across the way to Dominicks and get bug spray. Spray it in the car and leave it be for a half hour or so. Just don’t forget to drive home with the windows down.”

“thaaank you…” I manage. And try my best to put it out of my head for the next hour.

After the appointment, I can finally see the funny side of this – how spastic am I that I almost kill myself while driving because of a bug that has done me no harm other than to simply BUG me. I confidently walk to Dominicks and buy two cans of Raid. One for saturating, one for fogging. I get outside and the rain starts.

Big Sigh. Umbrella up. March forward. I am envisioning opening my trunk and having a swarm of these things come tumbling out. No, no, stop that… Calm… I unlock the door, gingerly look around the interior and see… nothing. I pop the trunk, head to the back and, with the stick end of the umbrella, lift the lid….

Nothing.

I look inside. Nothing. I stand closer, examining the wood. Nothing. Fuckers. So I spray the saturate Raid all over the wood, fog up the rest of the compartment, slam shut the trunk and go to the drivers side again. Still nothing. Open door, fog… fog…. More fog… is that enough? No, needs more fog… shutdoorfast and walk away.

Now I start thinking about heading home, having my engine overheat and the car explode. Shit. What have I done? “Mom? Did I do the right thing?” I ask into my cell. She calms me down further still, no hon, the car will not explode. Just drive with the windows down. “But… it’s pouring.” Another Big Sigh.

After a half hour I venture back to the car, again gingerly checking the driver’s seat to be sure there’s no Big Bug wedged into my steering column or under the brake pedal. I crack the passenger window and declare “I’d rather have a wet car than a buggy car” and head home.

A few miles down the road I look into my rearview mirror… a bug is crawling on the window…

sunday brunch

2009-04-15T13:30:00.005-05:00

sunday brunch with my fave iowans @ the publican

wood fired eggs with harissa, gouda and grilled bread
(i.e. the only food-gasm i've ever had)

gorgeous coffee setting with raw sugar cubes

serenity & steve, enjoying the meal
(not pictured but definitely represented by the amount of coffee consumed: brian)

fun link

2009-04-06T17:04:00.001-05:00

rhett forwarded me this little gem of a video. it's much better with the sound on.

http://czar.es/projects/367:electrabel#page1

march books

2009-04-06T08:02:00.001-05:00

quick! post now! it's already the 6th! ...that's what i'm telling myself today.

march was a catch up month for me. i had quite a few books going in february as a band-aid to my reading depression. it was nice to pick and choose as i went, but it did mean i didnt actually finish any of them...

the watchmen by alan moore, illustrated by dave gibbons
i hustled through this one before the movie premiered so it would be fresh in my mind. the last time i read watchmen was, i think, about 4 years ago. i was encouraged to read it by a few of my comic-loving friends, and i wasnt let down. it actually made me open up my mind to other forms of literature. prior to reading the watchmen, i couldnt grasp the comic genre as literature. in fact, i still have a hard time with it. one main reason is that when i read, i really use my imagination. the actual illustration of a comic is extremely distracting and/or difficult for me to reconcile with the text. i feel forced into seeing what the author wants me to see, as opposed to what i wish to see. on one level, i see this as helpful and insightful and inspired - this is the part that grasps that the watchmen should be on time's top 100 novels list. on another level, it's insulting that i need to be lead to see the story a certain way. to get over this, the way i re-read the watchmen this time was to think of it as watching a movie. i would soon be watching it anyway, so what was the harm?

i finished the book literally an hour before the movie started so i admit, i was nervous about the violence content of the movie. i had to distance myself from the book at times because of it's extreme nature. i'm not a fan of violence (for another post) but i think the movie did a pretty good job of expressing the book's intentions. one big part was left out - there is a comic allegory within the main story which mirrors and layers the plot. it was the most disturbing part of the comic for me (it did a very good job of itself) and i'm happy to note that the movie neglects to include it, but has it as a side story available on dvd. sigh of relief!!]

so, i'm forgetting the review part of my review... i love the watchmen graphic novel and i highly recommend it to anyone whose interest is piqued by politics, city crime issues, adventure, love and friendship. yep, it encompasses it all. the movie, please please please do NOT take your child. in fact, it's "r" rating sticks. i wouldnt want anyone younger than high school age watching. it's just too much violence and blue penis for kids. but, otherwise, i was very satisfied with many aspects of the movie and would recommend it to open minded readers.

practical demonkeeping by christopher moore
my fun book! kenz was sweet and got me the two chris moore books i havent read yet. this being one of them, i devoured it in just a few days time. travis is a 20-year-old stuck taking care of a real, live demon. he's been on the road for 90 years, trying to exert his authority over the moody and impetuous (and human hungry) green thing named catch. concealing catch has proven difficult and has left a bloody trail of missing homeless, theives and random oopsies (like travis' family). travis' goal is to figure out how to cast the demon back to hell.

he finds himself in pine cove, a tiny, calm coastal california town inhabited by laid back but very interesting folk. the plot gets sticky when a tiny man enters the town too - hot on their trail. he's the king of the djinn (yes, as in, genies) and has picked the town authority august brine as the main man to send catch back to the netherworld. as in all good moore books, everyone's lives are twisted together in various subplots that eventually all lead to an extremely bizarre and effed up (yet pleasantly happy) ending.

it's moore's first book, and you can kind of tell. the plot twists are a bit disjointed compared to his later works and it's not as clever of a theme as say, lamb or as effectively "out there" as fluke or dirty job. but i see where he got his fuel for the fiery cascade of books that have followed, and i'm happy to report that as i finished up this one, he released yet another new book!

a lion among men, by gregory maguire
the third in the wicked series. we follow, this time, the story of the cowardly lion from his first memories to almost exactly where the 2nd book left off. he runs into yackle, the oracle/old hag that followed elpheba around in wicked and we also hear her life story - in entirety. this was my audiobook and if it wasnt for the reader's amazing voice and reading quality, i would have stopped listening after disc 2. seriously, that was the whole plot. this one is MUCH more plodding, methodical and almost entirely unnecessary than the 2nd one. i didnt like son of a witch because of how dirty and annoying the main character, elpheba's son leer was but at least it had good plot twists and a mysterious ending that actually made me ok with picking up book #3.

it appears that we'll get a 4th too, as we left the lion in a transitional period and we didnt ever get back to resolve leer's situation. gotta say, at this point, i dont care. after spending january in reading hell, i dont want to inflict more drudgery when i have a whole stack of award-winning books waiting for their time, sitting patiently at the foot of my bed.

the book of secrets, by m.g. vassanji
i borrowed this one from v, and i'm very glad i did! originally i needed something quick to get into before the holidays. turns out this book needs some serious attention. i had to put it down but picked it back up and read it very quickly in march.

the plot is a wonderful twisting of fates and lives through a century of generations in asian-inhabited east africa. we start with the 1913 diary of alfred corbin, englishman and new consul to the town of kikono. he writes about the little town's inhabitants and focuses especially on one beautiful and strange woman, mariamu. through her lineage we work our way up to the man knitting together these stories from threads of "research" - pius fernandes, who is a retired schoolteacher in kenya in the 1980's. his story is linked with corbin's and with mariamu's and her offspring.

i really enjoyed the transitions in this one. since we skip around in history, it would have been easy to get lost, but vassanji weaves his story carefully. i highly recommend this one, and am very glad it explored a part of the world i know nothing about.

on deck for april is a good story i've been plowing through since the 1st. i hope to finish it, but what with bday stuff and friends in town, it may prove difficult to find the extra time. i'll do my best! happy reading!

PEN-15 club

2009-03-13T09:43:00.002-05:00

"ha ha! you have PENIS written on your hand!"

yeah, but not quite... my pal, sara, started a long-lost tradition among a small group of friends. the name, albeit pleasantly raunchy, is a bit of a play on words. about ten of us will gather in april to go over our own short stories. sara resurrected the club from her high school days (i dont believe they would allow such "nonsense" at a place like wheaton... HA). from the invite email, i deduce that we'll be indulging in good food and booze as well as the written word. which leads to my reaction:

FUUUUCK!!!

i havent written anything of merit in... [gulp]... years. i specifically remember sitting down in the living room at marshfield (the third past residence) and creating a piece after my dad passed away. after that, um... nada...

reading my old writing is like an anonymous blow to the back of the head - i had some good lines. do i still have good lines? who was that person who had that turn of phrase? was it me? was it someone else? was i ever able to do more than just a few lines? can i still string things together? my sense of humor has changed - will it change my writing?

...and i'm left without breath and have practically blacked out in front of the computer screen. do i have any of that left in me? i guess i'll find out...

january books: why i have not posted

2009-02-23T10:23:00.004-06:00

yeah, it's a bit of laziness, but mostly it's reader's depression. i finished the twilight series in january and i have not been able to devote serious time to reading since. i'm very annoyed by this predicament and i hope to kick-start my enthusiasm with the two christopher moore books my sis got me for christmas. nothing like a well-formed comedy to dislodge depression!

below are a few spoilers, but really, does it matter?

twilight by stephanie meyer

twilight (dec)
new moon (dec-jan)
eclipse (jan)
breaking dawn (jan)

i snyopsized the first book in the december posting and suffice to say, nothing really evolved in the latter 3 books. first thing first: i understand that this is a juvy-lit book geared to tween girls. now on to the rest:

i was once a tween girl and this would have insulted my intelligence way back yonder. meyer writes like a tween. simple sentences, mostly dialogue, telling not showing. i swear, she had a wheel of euphemisms for lovey-dovey situations and would simply spin it to see which one to refer to when say, discussing edward's bizarre skin or jacob's muscles. it's great that edward's skin glowed like a million diamonds. you dont need to use the same turn of phrase every 5th chapter. it's boring and loses the effect (see demetri's timely example below).

Important Things with Demetri MartinWed 10:30pm / 9:30c

Timing - De Veers Diamonds

Joke of the Day
Stand-Up Comedy

Free Online Games
More Funny Videos

meyer neglects to give bella, our heroine, enough background information on which to base her decisions. the result is that i have no sympathy for her or her "plights." i have no idea why this mousy girl would possibly decide to up and move to a rainy climate. i have no clue why she's referred to as an "old soul" when she's constantly pouting and carrying on like ... (gasp!) a teenager. the plot is decently executed but the characters fall flat on their 2-d tushies. and ironically, the only character meyer flushes out is the one who's fate ends up being the most unbelievable. jacob's history and feelings are laid out nicely with both dialogue, allegory and plot. his issues are nicely tied up with a pretty bow at the end and i'm left feeling empty about this plot "resolution." everyone else's rosey-warm-pretty-pink-with-ruffles endings are just fine by me - they never had enough clout to pull off anthing more emotional than that anyway.
anti-feminist. even though bella is supposed to be an independent woman with her own head, ALL of her actions and thoughts are influenced by and dependant upon one, if not two men at all times. dont call her a strong woman if she's really just a flaccid excuse for a human.
i really wanted to throw each book against a wall many, many times. horrible foreshadowing, extremely melodramatic moodiness that went on for chapters (seriously - she was channeling heathcliff) and pretty gross, rediculous plot twists (even for a vampire book) made me want to just plow through the pages at top speed. NOT, mind you, because i was so thoroughly engaged as i had been with the his dark materials series. no, but because it just needed to be over. done. fin.

i do have other reasons for disliking this series but i'd probably just be bitching. so... yeah. i do not recommend this series; i'm glad i'm done; i'm angry that i'm depressed about reading as a result of this exercise.

hopefully february's list will be a bit more cheerful! only one more week to go!

peeeek!

2009-02-05T11:34:00.003-06:00

"how did you find me!? now i must EAT you!"

can you tell i'm in a sour mood?

2009-02-04T10:40:00.003-06:00

turns out if you park on a main street in chicago overnight where they've posted the 2 inch snow rule, they really do ticket. bastards!!

i figure i could have posted that on my facebook status, but i am choosing not to. see, here i can expound a bit more about my frustration. it's not good enough that i have to keep paying for little tidbits on my aging jetta, but i also have to pay to park when there are zero spots in my neighborhood due to lousy snowplowing. and i find it horribly ironic that i had parking issues because they plowed the plow route but did not plow the side streets. sigh. today i heard on the radio that it costs il taxpayers 300 million dollars a year to pay for our government's corruption. and i think the reporter stipulated that this is in cook county alone.

oh, it's also only 16 above zero today.

2008 and beyond

2009-01-04T21:18:00.002-06:00

i'm not a believer in new year's resolutions but i do enjoy taking a look back at the year and comparing to others... here's a quick run-down for ya, in no particular order.

i...

...did not:

get promoted again
get invited to any of the sales meetings... again
get the upgraded laptop so sorely needed for my job
get the mac i so desperately crave for my personal use
qualify for lasik surgery (eh, i'll have perfect eyesight when i'm mom's age - HAH!)
have a hangover on january 1 for TWO years running
watch nearly enough movie theater movies
read all of 2008's new yorker magazines
find a favorite indie bookstore in chicago
have the urge to bash my head against random bar bathroom stalls
solve all of my emotional or life issues... at all... in fact, i'm sure i've compounded them

...did:

vote for barack obama AND attend the election night rally
moved into a fabulous apartment in the city with an amazing roommate
get a facebook account
find a pretty cool guy to hang around with
read 27 books
read an estimated 70% of 2008's new yorker magazines cover-to-cover
work out regularly
try out and enjoyed regular bikram classes
(and hence) actually lost those 5 lbs!
survive bartending at the atov bistro
consequently: overworked myself
travel to san antonio, los angeles, san diego, twin cities, the dells, madison and davenport
thoroughly enjoyed more than my fair share of a $90 bottle of wine

i'm not quite sure what 2009 will bring... i'd like to start seeing a shrink again - especially now that i feel healthier, so that i have a good perspective of myself as a "happy, healthy individual" when the times of trial inevitably occur. i did want lasiks but the ki-bash was put on that... perhaps i'll nab myself a giant tv or that mac i really want (if i get the mac, do i really NEED the tv!?). i miss spending time with my grandparents, mom and sister. moving back to the city was what i needed for sanity and strength but i really love having my family touchstones so close. the biggest thing i want to accomplish is figuring out what to do with my career. the economy is scary right now and i'm simply thankful for a job, but i'm at a crux with my talent/desire/passion vs. actual wages/clout received. all i can do is be cliche - put my best foot forward and go with the flow....

this year's new year's cheers deserves a dusky, deep red, earthy merlot... here's to 2009!

december books and happy new year!

2009-01-04T20:35:00.006-06:00

2008 was quite the roller coaster of a year for dr g... my reading list is about on par with '07 and the adventure list sure rivals any other year of life. this entry is dedicated to my book bragging rights though, so... onward!

the bad news of this book year is that i didnt quite live up to 2007 in the quantity of books read department. in '07 i managed to plow through 31 books. '08 accomplished 27. that's still more than 2 per month (2.25 to be exact). i attribute this slow down to my subscription to the new yorker, the move back into the city and nothing else. there is simply more for me to do than sit on my arse with a book (even if i'm desperately trying - and failing - to keep up to date on the ny's), and that makes me very happy.

twilight by stephanie meyer

ok... yes, i got totally suckered into this one. about two months ago i noticed a facebook wall-to-wall from CHP's editor and a CHP poet about how editor wanted to read series but was unsure of it's quality. poet came back with a quick comment about how anti-feminist the series is and recommended against reading it. i took no heed of this as i had previously decided not to read the series. that is... until all my gal pals started gushing about it. and i hate to be left out of a good gab session. with my quick reading skills and this series' obviously young audience, i figured i could belt it out all four books in two month's time. i finished twilight and started new moon, but am so absolutely frustrated with new moon that i wasnt able to pick it up enough to have two knocked off in december. yes, this series is incredibly anti-feminist and... after a rather inebriated chat with liz & john, i figured out that it's exactly the type of literature i usually ward off with a (pun intended) crucifix and garlic. victorian romance. AAAHHH!!!!! noooo!! powerless females who's fates are sealed by men who enter and leave the "heroin's" lives at will... women who are utterly naked against the world's cruel (and unnaturally persistant) vices and throes.

plot outline: bella swan moves to the gloomy, small town of forks, washington. all the boys are after her but she's having none of it, choosing instead to brood over her "brave, selfless choice" to leave her sunny phoenix hometown to give her mother alone time with her new hubby. the odd kids - the cullen family - avoid her like the plague; especially the cutest hunk of them all, edward, who seems truly repulsed by her physical presence. antics and misfortunes ensue and ohmygosh... turns out edward and his family are vampires! omg!! and get this - edward is not actually repulsed by bella, he's in LOVE with her! OMG!! can a quiet, introverted 17 year old regular gal survive her blood-thirsty vampire boyfriend???!! read more to find out!

... ok i'm sorry... i really do have to smile at the first book. it was cute and fun to read and quite predictable. i didnt put my finger on the helpless female thing until the 2nd book, but i'll expound on that more later. i heard from a few other folks that this is the least fave of the books so, i'm plugging through with the hope that 3 gets better...

bridget jones's diary by helen fielding

the year would not be complete without my present-wrapping indulgence of bjd audiobook! 3 hours of accented, happy-fun-girly-times is exactly what's needed for wrapping the inevitable oodles of gifts. hoorah!!

and so... thusly ends my 2008 reading year. i raise my glass of champagne to the ever-growing stack of amazingly tempting books that i will read in 2009 - to literature!!

sniff sniff...

2008-12-17T10:45:00.004-06:00

with 162 games per year, i never thought i'd say this but... i miss baseball! last night i caught a few of the "top 100" sports moments in history and i found myself plastered to the screen just to get little tidbits of baseball... a terrific stretch, a gigantic leap towards "safe," hell... even the bloopers were fabulous! who'd have thought? me - starry-eyed over baseball well into post-season...

november books

2008-12-05T09:51:00.003-06:00

i think i need to stop chastising myself for reading less than i wish i read on a regular basis. the pressure is getting to me and instead of cracking a book, i turn on the tv and watch a stupid rerun... i did get through one really great book in november, but for december, i'm taking off the pressure. if i dont read anything, i'll still be at my quota of 2 books per month for a whole year!

anansi boys - neil gaiman

fat charlie is an extremely normal, mostly boring florida-born englishman engaged to the sweet, do-gooding, contrary rosie. after the death of his wiley, sometimes-estranged, extremely embarassing father, fat charlie finds out that he's a half-god. turns out his tricky father was actually anansi the spider (you know, from those jamaican anansi the spider tall tales?). at anansi's funeral, fat charlie finds out about his other half - a long-lost brother, a man named spider. being a nostolgic chap, charlie summons spider as he's told (of course, he thinks it's rubbish, but... well... what could it hurt to ask an 8 legged creature to bring his brother for a visit). spider shows up at his doorstep and promptly overtakes charlie's life.

you see, spider has always known about and has fully embraced his demi-god status. he's beautiful, talented, charming and witty. all the gals love him, and if they arent so first inclined, he can simply make anyone love him. fat charlie is in silent awe about all of these amazing happenings until the tables are turned upon him - spider falls in love with rosie, who is under spider's spell and thinks spider is actually fat charlie. fat charlie's inner discontent turns to rage, and despite spider's best deciving tactics, fat charlie manages to summon the goddess birdwoman to rid his life of spider.

what follows is wonderful chaos. gaiman weaves a nail-biting, fantastical adventure tale about brotherly love, true love, pure revenge and heritage. how will anansi the spider rescue his bloodline and fool his foes from the grave?

i indulged in the audiobook version of this story and i'm extremely happy i did. the reader has a very diverse, sumptuous voice and he catches each character's nuances perfectly. i highly recommend either the book or the audio version to anyone who's looking for a fun, magical realism romp around the norm.

only one i know, but it's quality vs. quantity, right? ;o)

a public reminder for myself from myself

2008-11-21T10:19:00.003-06:00

i want to be the person who solves this problem.

thoughts on yoga and whatnot

2008-11-19T10:00:00.004-06:00

i realize i havent been providing fun or quality posts of late... i'm a bit rusty agian, so i'll start off with some thoughts on my health.

10lees posted about her bikram yoga experiences in the most recent post on her blog and it got me to thinking about my yoga "journey" of late. about four years ago my friend invited me to join her at the y's late-night yoga class. i think i attended a few sessions but none of them really spoke to me as something i'd become passionate about later on. i didnt know how to correctly perform the poses, the breathing was all wrong, and my back still hurt.

after i moved back to chicago, my pal t persuaded me to join him on saturday late-mornings at this studio in lincoln square. again i was by far and away the least graceful person in the room but the instructor completely hooked me. i didnt feel out of place, which remains my biggest standing point for not attending jazzercise. if you dont feel like you fit in, it's difficult to acclimate yourself. (pause in the convo - mom, your classes are extremely welcoming, it's simply a matter of what my body is comfortable doing). anyway... i spent almost a year of my saturday mornings at this studio, in this hour and a half class. i discovered that my body loves bending and twisting and my mind craves the 1.5 hour focus and release. this class helped me find small moments of peace while my dad was ailing and my mind was racing. my only regret about moving to wicker park was the longer drive to the studio - i kept trying to go.

it was almost an addiction. i felt pressure from my body to go to class - saturday mornings i'd wake up early and crave that peace and strength. of course hangovers and trips and general laziness prevented me from going more than a few times, but on sunday night i could always tell that i should have gone. a cramp in my calf or soreness in my back would remind me that i'm not taking the right time to completely relax.

then i moved to the suburbs where i was pleasantly surprised by corporate yoga. i really missed my studio. it kept me going through some hard times, and to be so far away from it was almost unbearable. but my sister showed me how helpful a regular, uber-large gym could be. and then my close friend joined me. together or alternately, we explored the pilates and yoga classes. eventually my friend and i chose monday nights with victor who leads a rather intense hybrid yoga class. he uses mostly hatha and bikram poses (nothing extreme), and throws in a few pilates moves and strength theories. i balanced this out with a pilates class and occasional elliptical runs. my body responded extremely well.

while in the burbs, i tried out hot bikram yoga. it's held in a 104 degree room, and an instructor leads you through the series of poses over an hour and a half. at this juncture in my yoga journey, i was pretty bad at it. i couldnt do any of the poses where back strength was needed and i couldnt quite get a hold of my breathing. so i basically quit after a few classes and kept attending victor's class to gather more strength.

so back to the city i move, and i can only attend victor's class on monday nights. i cant seem to get my butt to the old studio. i have an elliptical and i used it regularly, but my back pain increased to an almost unbearable point. so i tried chiropractic work. i was shocked at how curvy my spine is (it's getting MUCH better) and i went gung-ho into my therapy for it. i think this last one ended up breaking my muscle barrier - all of a sudden i'm excelling in victor's classes. my strength and flexibility is at least 20% more than i had previously. i'm stoked. it feels real good.

but i also feel like i need a change-up. so i found a killer deal at a bikram studio right by my house, and i've gone to quite a few classes. even on day one the experience felt completely different from my suburban try. my breathing was dead on, my hydration was perfect, my poses were accurate (i can even do toe stand pose!).

i know that after my deal is done at this new bikram studio that i wont go nearly as much as i am now. i'll be lucky to get there once a week. but i found a warm respite for the middle of winter - someplace near my house where i can go to be toasty and peaceful, challenged and relaxed. i'm simply content to know that i found something to do for my body that makes me so happy. i'm not sure where my yoga journey will take me next, but i'm looking forward to a whole lifetime of new opportunities. my goal in life - to be bendy at 80!!

the challenge...

2008-11-10T12:14:00.002-06:00

you need to breathe too... and relax into life without limiting or preventing. stretch - breathe - sigh... the future is still unknown, but this challenge is laid down, right here. with any luck, those of us who accept the challenge will survive, and smile, knowing how far we've come.

the unknown.

2008-11-09T13:42:00.005-06:00

its not that i dont want you anymore. in fact, it's the opposite. i have wanted you for so long, and had my heart wrenched in such a difficult position for so long, that i want you more than anything... anyone... but... i'm exhausted. i need my heart to uncurl and open to the world again.

i'm told i'm strong. i'm told i'm proactive and good and kind. but i know what's really there. there are a hundred ways i'd take you back. i have searched for any of them with all my faculties; waited patiently... patiently... i'm not out of patience, but time forces movement.

slowly... i uncurl... the room is too bright and too big. i dont know what anything holds, where anything is going. too many things are up in the air. but that air is fresh, and i gulp it down.

hope is a relative term. hope is so thick in the air right now, it sticks and pads the walls. the little things make me smile. i guard my heart and simultaneously prepare to throw it open. the unknown awaits.

october books

2008-11-03T10:03:00.005-06:00

before i blog about my october books, i must announce that i am officially going to attend the obama rally downtown chicago tomorrow night! a small group of us were lucky enough to snag tickets online last week and we'll be braving the masses and potentially risking our safety to be there when history is made. help make tomorrow the best day of 2008 by going out to VOTE*!

*and when i say "vote," i of course mean for obama!

the club dumas, arturo perez-reverte
this was a fun romp of a book for a lit fiend like me... a few years ago i went through a bunch of dumas works and enjoyed them all. i can see the value of the serial novel in that time frame and i recognize dumas' talent as genius. in the club dumas, perez-reverte takes us through a (i'm being honest here) really nerdy yet action-packed literary thriller/mystery.

the narrator follows lucas corso, an aging rare book hunter with sketchy contacts and methods. corso obtains two cases - one, proove whether a manuscript is an actual chapter from the 3 musketeers, penned by dumas himself. and two, find all three remaining copies of a book of satanic verses and woodcuts. the two stories comingle and we have an infinite number of literary references peppered throughout the plot and characters.

the nerd in me enjoyed the word-play, my competitive spirit enjoyed the action, and my raw humanity definitley enjoyed the more risque interludes. this was a very fun, relatively easy read. there's no need to have read any dumas before embarking here - it's just an added bonus.

eva moves the furniture, margo livesey
10lees presented this lovely book to me for, i think, my bday (there was a massive round of gift catch-up not too long ago - so much fun!!!). i have to shout out to 10 - thank you for the book, i definitely enjoyed it!

eva mcewan's mother dies shortly after childbirth, leaving her widower and his sister to raise little eva in the quiet, pre-war scottish country town outside of glasgow. at six, eva learns that she's followed by a woman and child - ethereal spirits who's intentions are unclear. they alternately help and hinder her socially - they encourage her to get a job, but spoil her attempt as local secretary, "assisting" eva by losing important documents and re-arranging the files. twice they save her from physical harm and twice they thwart her love interests.

the supernatural in this book mingles very well with the reality of eva's and scotland's involvement in WWII. the mystery of eva's companions unfolds as she matures, becomes a nurse and desires a family. this is a very sweet scottish novel that i would recommend to anyone, especially those with a penchant for imagining your character's accents as you read (so much fun!).

november has a few books on deck, but frankly, it's hard to find reading time when the weather is this nice outside! 70 degrees in november??? i'll take it AND a long walk in the forest preserve!

september books and things

2008-10-06T10:35:00.003-05:00

hellloooo fall...

on the first day of october i chatted with a few folks about how their september went; the feedback was unanimous - it was a hard month. what with the economy nose-diving, campaigns in full swing, hurricanes whooshing inland, and the inevitable issues with a new restaurant, i'm gathering that a hard midwest winter, albeit unwelcome for work commutes, will be a welcome change to all this running around. this fall seems to be in a flurry of activity - with each leaf that rescinds the branch, we're pulled in a different direction - whether emotionally or physically. with that last leaf, will we be able to sit back and breathe? or... will we have missed the predicted best colors in a decade? ...will we sit, cold and bankrupt - exhausted and yearning for spring before the first snow has set in?

the melancholy of fall, however contrary to my natural disposition, is my favorite time of year. to be allowed to sit and mull over how fast things have arrived, and what is left to anticipate... to sit and stew over things lost and glow over the new... and my absolute favorite - to create and stir and fuss over pots of applesauce, curries, and chili, to crack pumpkin seeds in my teeth and imbibe mugs of spiked hot cider. this is the season i live for each year!

in september i usually slow down my reading, and this year is no exception. the analogy i'd like to provide, and i realize it's weather-worn, is that of squirrels gorging and hording for the winter. i've amassed quite a list of books-to-read and i'm running around making sure i have time this winter to actually plow through them. in the meantime, i'll recommend one to you:

kitchen by banana yoshimoto
this book contains two shorter fiction pieces which i'll refer to as novellas. both are translated from japanese and are excellent examples of contemporary japanese literature. the longer of the two, titled "kitchen," follows 18-year-old mikage through her coming of age years. an orphan, mikage loses her guardian grandmother and in a twist of fate, turns to live with her grandmother's shopkeep boy's family. she and the boy attend the same school and class but never knew anything about the other until, the boy (yuichi), striken with grief over the loss of his employer, offers up the great white couch in a small apartment he and his mother inhabit. yuichi's mother was once his father, and this small, strange trio grows into a temporary, supportive family. mikage brings her passion for cooking fine cuisine to the table, and through hard work, food and tragedy, pulls herself into a space where love and belonging finally adhere.

the second story, which the author (rightly) considers kitchen's companion piece, "moonlight shadow," is about grief and healing with a dash of serendipity and hope. since this is an extremely short piece, i'm not going to give a plot overview. i will say that it's beautifully written and translated, that it made the world seem a bit smaller and warmer and actually managed to make me weep a bit. i'm a sentimental fool, but this was *not* mitch albom or nicholas sparks.

next month i'm hoping to have a few more titles under wraps, but i'm also hoping to tone down my busy life so i can enjoy each moment and person without worrying about the next task on my agenda. i wish you all luck in finding the little moments to breathe in poplar-scented air and to pause at the colors and please, always enjoy a hot mug of beverage if it's offered.

august books

2008-09-05T08:35:00.000-05:00

august is a very good month for reading. either you've got time to burn at the beach, time to burn at the park, time to burn at the library or, if your job takes a turn for the busy and removes your excessive summer spare time, you have boring long cross-country flights and rush hour commutes.

tolstoy lied - rachel kadish
tracy is an early 30's up-and-coming, un-tenured professor at a reputable new york city college. she's single, set in her ways and content. she rolls up her sleeves and diligently takes the reigns of her academic future without bucking the system. she's smart, feminist and intrigued by the issue of love as a cop-out happy ending and questions the idea that love is necessary for happiness. tolstoy's famous opening line for anna karinina has her contemplating a possible first published work as a secure, tenured prof: "all happy families resemble one another, but each unhappy family is unhappy in it's own way."

is this a lie? can't happiness be obtained and considered unique in it's own right? tracy's theory is the thread that weaves the story of her own life and conquest for tenure and love. she meets a man and they fall immediately and deeply in love. i had high hopes that this novel would stay away from the sex in the city glow/misunderstanding/separation/reconciliation/glow circle that has been the rage for all chick lit of late. for one, kadish's grasp of the english language is beautiful. she chooses her words carefully and challenges the reader's vocabulary. however, i dont believe this is quite clever enough to overcome the pitfalls of almost all chick lit books. Namely, the heroine doubts herself, has a funny ironic fall (literally), enjoys the banal, sexless advice of a male friend and in the end.... i wont spoil it, but suffice to say, it's not a surprise.

this was a fun higher-lit chick book that got me through a plane ride. i enjoyed the language and the academic arguments. the main character's overwhelmingly obvious flaws were prosaic and at times, infuriating. not one i'd put on my best-of lists, but not one i'm disappointed in reading.

when you are engulfed in flames - david sedaris
sedaris' newest collection of short stories again reads like a page in a grandiose, pee-your-pants hilarious memoir. he's reached that half century mark and his writing has matured, even if his sense of humor has not. which is not a fault in any way - in fact, his immature rants about his partner hugh, his obsessive need to be special and his passion to find the unique in the mundane only grow richer. this one got me through the return flight, and as every other sedaris book, article and npr piece, i highly recommend it.

the most striking story is a collection of "diary entries" about how he quit smoking. most of this piece was printed in the new yorker earlier this year. it's in this set of stories that we find the title. it's a simple mistranslation on a sign about how to "stop, drop, and roll" in a particular foreign country. this odd twist of words captures the irony, passion and wit that fits so lovingly into sedaris' repertoire.

unaccustomed earth - jhumpa lahiri
my audiobook for the month was lahiri's newest collection of short stories. the themes surround indian families integrated in the usa. characters are rich with faults and intrigue, and the plot lines are subtle and striking. if you liked her first book, interpreter of maladies, you'll enjoy her second showing. i do like this one better than her novel, the namesake, but i think she needs to stretch her limbs a bit more for future stories. the ethereal glow surrounding each plot can get a bit overdramatic, and while each character's story is unique, it's not quite different enough to make me think twice. i enjoyed the narration immensely - it alternated between a male and female voice, but was uncomplicated. a good one for long car rides to and from work, and for cooking in the kitchen.

garden, pt 8 :: the fruits of labor

2008-09-02T10:07:00.004-05:00

after "toiling" and "pruning," i finally have a "crop" to "harvest"...

:: yellow tomato plants ::

the yellow tomatoes are officially not yellow (more orange) and golfball sized. they have a tougher skin but are very juicy inside and taste absolutely wonderful! i either eat them as a snack or use them to jazz up a meal. my favorite dish so far was simple: perfectly cooked scrambled eggs, half a california avacado w/ cottage cheese and one whole "yellow" tomato. all sprinkled lightly with salt & pepper and nothing more. glorious!

:: red tomato plants ::

i have to admit, i am a bit disappointed in my hybrid reds. they are supposed to be at least baseball-sized, wonderfully fleshy and very tasty. so far, i have 1 out of those 3. next year i shall get the same type of plants but plant them by themselves in a larger pot (larger than what i have the yellows in). they apparently need space and fooood to grow big and yummy. however, they are extremely tasty. since the yellows arrived first, i didnt think my garden could produce richer flavors. but perhaps due to the golfball size, the hybrid reds are ah-maze-ing. no salt needed on these buggers. my favorite meal with reds: gorgonzola mushroom ravioli in sage butter w/ fresh shredded cheese.

:: herbies ::

to date, the herbies have not progressed any further, but they have proven quite helpful in the kitchen. i've made: a lovely simple syrup with local honey and thyme (for cocktails!); amazing hamburgers with thyme, rosemary and goat cheese; and delicate tomato, thyme and goat cheese omelets along with many other dishes that required a kick of fresh basil. i figured this would be my most useful crop, and to date, it is. my plan for the herbies is to attempt to bring them indoors for the winter. not sure if they'll keep, and at the first sign of indoor failure, i pluck, dry and store. next year i'll spread out the herbies a bit more in a good container, and solemnly swear to water at regular intervals - the basil plants have black stems, which i'm told is a result of bad drainage, hence preventing more positive growth.

this has been a fun experiment, and i'm very glad it's producing such wonderful products!

july books, ketchup & mustard

2008-08-04T10:51:00.007-05:00

where in the world did the month of july go?? i spent a lot of time at work, that's for sure... i also got out to michigan twice for fun and blueberries galore... baseball games... wine store shenanegans... bike rides (and tire pops)... and i topped it all off with a glorious gals weekend.

mn was a great time - i havent seen 10 since the wedding and lo since earlier this year, so hanging out with them was like putting on my favorite outfit and jonesing to my favorite cd while eating my favorite foods all at once! lo has a good start on finding that big, white, poofy dress, 10 & i have some new trendy sales-tax-free clothing and my belly is full of mn treats.

the enchantr ess of florence by salman rushdie
during my down time i managed to get through two books by two incredible authors. the first is rushdie - arguably the greatest living writer. his sentences are so well crafted you have to mull your way through his books. i'm frankly jealous of the love and attention each word gets.

i'm feeling lazy and honestly, i'm super busy this week, so i'm copying an amazon.com review: Trying to describe a Salman Rushdie novel is like trying to describe music to someone who has never heard it--you can fumble with a plot summary but you won't be able to convey the wonder of his dazzling prose or the imaginative complexity of his vision. At its heart, The Enchantress of Florence is about the power of story--whether it is the imagined life of a Mughal queen, or the devastating secret held by a silver-tongued Florentine. Make no mistake, it is Rushdie who is the true "enchanter" of this story, conjuring readers into his gilded fairy tale from the very first sentence: "In the day's last light the glowing lake below the palace-city looked like a sea of molten gold." At once bawdy, gorgeous, gory, and hilarious, The Enchantress of Florence is a study in contradiction, highlighted in its barbarian philosopher-king who detests his bloodthirsty heritage even while he carries it out. Full of rich sentences running nearly the length of a page, Rushdie's 10th novel blends fact and fable into a challenging but satisfying read. --Daphne Durham

norwegian wood by haruki murakami
i plowed through the second book in a ridiculously short period of time. after reading an article about how murakami started writing (in an attempt to catch up on my new yorkers) i went immediately to borders and snatched up his first novel, norwegian wood. yes, it's got a lot to do with the beatles song. but its also a moving coming of age story that spans generations and cultures.

37 year old business man toru watanabe narrates his transition into adulthood through his greatest love story. toru's best friend mysteriously chooses to end his life at 17, leaving his girlfriend naoko to mourn with toru - their tentative companionship blooming into a necessary function of life. their love grows from loss but fails to mature when naoko enters a mental health retreat far away from toru's tokyo home. toru's life moves slowly and tentatively forward with naoko at this distance - i cant really say more than this without giving much of the novel away.

it's a wonderfully written translation. the reason i read it so quickly is because, ironically, i was swept up in murakami's short-sentenced, methodical prose. he sets down his characters precisely and with high respect for individuality and choice. and i have to mention that this is the book that launched his international fame. i know most folks would recommend his award-winning the wind up bird chronicle, but i feel that this first novel speaks volumes about who murakami is as a writer.

august predicts to be another busy month, but with a few long plane trips which will allow me to keep elbow deep in good lit. i'm hoping the balance of a faboo book list and travel/conference schedule will keep me from completely hating my busy life.

garden, pt 7 : feed me seymour, FEED ME!

2008-07-23T08:25:00.007-05:00

a tip of the hat to the old adage "the kettle wont boil if you watch it"... i now am the proud "mama" of two nearly ripe tomatoes! as i suspected, the two re-potted monsters are of the yellow variety. After my busy week/weekend and a steady 2-day rainfall which kept me inside and unawares, the little guys popped their color.

the red plants aren't doing bad at all. in fact, i have quite a few little guys struggling to fill out. i'm seeing some roots pop out of the top of the soil. intuition (and imagination) says it rained a bit much and the roots simply needed a breath of air. i am inclined to put some extra soil on top and provide a bit of plant food. any yays/nays or other advice out there?

my prolific herbies maintain their productivity. never failing me, they spread steadily and respond rapidly to my regular trimmings. if i cooked more, i'm sure i'd have an audry issue on my hands...

the last surprise came from my bastard child - the aloe plant. i purchased it about 2 years ago and was told it's very hard to kill an aloe plant. i think i loved the aloe plant a bit too much. in fact, i'm pretty sure i abused it with un-desert-like treatment. circumstances as they were, i thought i killed it last year. unable to admit my defeat, i took it with me through the big moves and finally resigned to leaving it on the porch, unattended. alone in it's ideal environment (hot, day-long sun exposure, with lack of attention and water) the little guy actually started thriving. the green is inching back up the stalks! it's a miracle, folks.

of course, what was the first thing i did when i realized what was happening? i watered it. doh!!

garden, pt 6

2008-07-10T08:34:00.001-05:00

garden update! lookee - i have tomatoes growing! (if only i remembered which type of plant this was....)

june books

2008-07-09T08:07:00.007-05:00

there's nothing quite like a lazy summer day, sitting under a tree reading a book. or, in my case, sitting on a beach chair on a patio, rooftop deck or towel on the beach in the sun - soaking up all that vitamin d my body was deprived of during that ridiculously long winter.

forever in blue: the fourth summer of the sisterhood, by ann brashares
the past few summers i've picked up the habit of snagging my mom and sis's copies of the traveling pants series. when they read, books are left laying around the house in well-lit areas, tempting me to crack the cover and indulge for a few hours. occasionally i get to do just that. the past month allowed me to saunter through the 4th and final book in the series. the four girls survive their first year at college and find themselves spread apart for most of the summer - their main connection is the circulation of the pants.

bridget gets into romantic trouble, tibby gets into romantic trouble, lena gets into romantic trouble and carmen becomes an actress. i must ask why carmen gets the shaft when it comes to boys - she's never the one with a crush or pursuer. perhaps that's why she's my favorite character - at least, she's the one i can identify with the most. i love how the girls fight, apologize, support each other, get into antics and open up in their hearts. a pretty good closer to the series.

the house of the spirits, by isabel allende
book club book! this is the first one for my gal club that i suggested. i had a hankering to read some magical realism, and my coworker sara suggested allende's works. i chose this one because it received much critical acclaim and i wanted a good summer-hot-weather story.

allende weaves the history and politics of an unnamed south american country through the lives and loves of three generations of women: clara the clairvoyant, blanca of perseverance, and alba the bold. The most prominent male influence in all three of their lives is clara's husband, the volatile esteban trueba.

i was completely engrossed in this epic tale of love, innocence, prediction and survival amid an alternating world of beauty and atrocity. i worried about this novel becoming a feminist manifesto(a?), but blanca has two brothers and a lover who play a part in the reconciliation of male/female compassion, strength and resolve.

i must say, this would have lent itself to a killer book club discussion, but alas, schedules conflicted and almost no one finished the tome in time. my pull for rooftop margaritas and enchiladas still brought the gals to the door, but our conversation tended toward the chatty/gossip that a bit of tequila will influence. regardless, it was a fabulous choice and i'm happy to share that here.

r&r

2008-07-07T08:46:00.005-05:00

ahhhhhhh....

that's the sound of someone who just finished a well-needed vacation. mini-breaks can prove to be the panacea for work/life stress - especially when you venture to new places with wonderful folks.

i ventured to the michigan beachy area of glen (and surrounding towns) and had myself a faboo time sharing stories, bonfires on the beach and berries. i learned to kayak (and love it) and ate the best blueberry pancakes i've ever had.

fran & bob were generous hosts, liz's cousin lauren is an absolute peach, and john was a trooper to put up with a weekend of estrogen (bob to the rescue!). here are some pix that only tell a tiny portion of the tale of relaxation therapy:

sigg

2008-07-02T13:56:00.004-05:00

my new favorite material possession:

facebook: why?

2008-06-29T12:24:00.002-05:00

answer: freshman year roomie.

no more justification needed. for those of you directed here from my facebook account, i'm much more apt to update here.

garden, pt 5

2008-06-23T10:49:00.007-05:00

it is with sunburnt shoulders and a happy soul from toiling the earth that i bring you this post! after a lot of hard work and thought, some major edits should be noted:

1. tomato plants

my tomato plants have me worried. they refused to grow UP and started flowering quite early. i worried that they were in too shallow of containers with too poor of soil. so i finally remedied the situation and overhauled all of my pots, starting here. two tomato plants got special tlc and i carefully (oh so gently!) re-potted them into separate containers with a good mix of soil and a bit of fertilizer. the pic here shows romeo pouting demurely on the porch (i was about to leave for work - he's a bit on the needy side). the pix below show one remaining tomato plant with a re-potted flower (it has promising buds) and the other has a new buddy - the new basil plant, which is already strong and healthy.

2. herbies

there is too much thyme. i could make many, many bad puns here but to spare my most loyal of readers (who hear too many bad puns from me on a daily basis) i shall refrain. as a remedy, in my spare time, with a fistful of thyme (oh to hell with it...) i cooked up a simple syrup. simmer 1 cup of water with 1 cup of honey and a bunch of sprigs of thyme for 30 min - 1 hour. strain, cool and use as desired. i created a lovely sunday night cocktail: 2 oz vodka, 1.5 tbsp simple syrup, topped with lemonade.

the rosemary is coming along nicely, but it stopped growing, so my hope is that the new soil enriches the plant's health.

the first basil plant is struggling in the same manner as the rosemary. i tried my darndest to give this one the most new soil. it now has inspiration from the new basil plant in the pot sitting beside it. the best source of inspiration can be jealousy, right!?

banner day with a bit of karmic fall-back

2008-06-19T08:26:00.002-05:00

as i rounded 3rd to home and high-fived my teammate who crossed the plate just before me, i heard quite a few congratulatory remarks coming from our duggout. none though, was any more descriptive of my day than karen's comment:

"go megan! what a great day! you learned stick and you SCORED!!"

i swear, the whole field was in hysterics (at least, my side of the field was in a conniption). what karen meant is that i had a banner day. my boss took our team out for lunch and upon our return volunteered to teach me how to drive a manual car. i've had a great teacher, who in fact, taught me everything i know about manual driving (thanks h!) but his truck never quite liked me. it's a good truck, to be sure, but that horse was not for me to ride. so this time i tried a brand new jetta. and it purred for me! hence, i learned stick.

the score part is easier to figure out... for the first time in 2 years, i managed to run all of the bases (albeit one at a time) and provide a solid stat for my team.

as a topper to the day, for the half of the game i didnt play, i learned how to fill out the box score. it was a lot of fun, and my friend kim was very patient with me.

so what, you ask, is the karmic fall-back? see now, i'm not sure if this is karma or not... but it's definitely the world balancing itself out. i got back home and pawed through my mail to find a bill for 3 unpaid parking tickets from 2006. well now aint that a byotch?

deep, fresh breaths

2008-06-18T09:18:00.003-05:00

last night i had a chill time with some friends. went to my pal tq's new apartment (which is in the area of town with the least amount of parking outside of lincoln park) and brought a bottle of chardonnay to share with fish tacos. the food was fabulous, the weather was pristine, the cubs did a good job (albeit losing - it was close though!) and i had a great time overall.

i'm starting to dig summertime. now that i'm "adjusting" my work schedule, i have some great daylight hours of free time. next order of business is to tune up my bike. it's rather late in the season, i know, but you gotta start somewhere! can anyone recommend a good brand of tire pump for compression tires?

my garden is ok... i'm starting to wonder about the tomato plants and the amount of soil in the pots they reside in... i'll post a pix later on in the week. 2nd order of business is to grab more soil and possibly a starter plant of cilantro. those fish tacos were supreme b/c of the fresh cilantro!

inflexible flex time

2008-06-16T14:53:00.002-05:00

i realize that the majority of the cube working world revolves around an 8-5 schedule with mandatory hour lunches and frustrating sick policies. i, however, work for a company that is marginally more laid back than that. i can enter the office anytime before 10am. as long as i put in my 7 hours (it's a 35 hour work week), i'm good to go.

a few weeks back (coinciding with a huge jump in gas prices) a bunch of us peons proposed the idea of a compressed work week schedule, so we wouldn't have to come into the office on fridays. saves gas and promotes our carpooling.

our company (to our surprise) announced a compressed schedule program last week. we whooped for joy. most sub-peons loved this idea and immediately joined up. i, however, held back. as a regular peon, i have a lot of stupid responsibilities. i would need to check my email on fridays, regardless of day off. i dont get paid enough to check my emails in overtime, mind you, but i'd still have to do it to get paid at all. so i suggested i do a mostly-compressed work week and do a half day from home, answering inane emails.

side note: on a regular friday, i do spend at least 4 hours holed up in my cube, not answering any new requests - i'm simply solving old problems the week did not allow me time to indulge.

unfortunately, the higher ups put the ki-bash on that one this afternoon. no working from home. i simply do not understand this one.

i also noticed some small print in the proposal: you MUST get into work by 8:30am. See now, most folks go "yeah, duh, you'd have to"... i go "no, i really dont" because currently, i stay late. there are nights when i dont leave the office until 7pm. and i do not mind this. i'd rather work late than get here early.

so my overly rebellious mind is completely revolting right now. i do not wish to indulge in the compressed work week. i wish to continue getting into the office at 9am. i wish to continue putting in as much time as i need to get my work done. but i also wish to leave after my work is complete for the week. so i think i will. unless someone talks me down from this stance, i dont see why i cant do it.

feh.

may books: shortie entrie

2008-06-04T10:35:00.003-05:00

only one book consumed in may. i also attempted to catch up with my absurdly large pile of new yorkers, to no avail. somehow, softball season, the advent of cable, bbqs and vacations prevented my usual amount of book reading. even my lunch hours have been usurped by things like design memos and bday lunches. but, i must say, i made my may book count.

the brief wondrous life of oscar wao by junot diaz

my preface to reading this book: this is my advance galley copy, received almost exactly a year ago at the bookexpo america 2007 conference. a lit agent slipped me a copy, patted it's cover and said i'd better read it asap. i started it that very day, and was hooked immediately. however, it got mixed up in the truckload of books i brought home, packed into a box during my move and was stored in a basement for many months before i could unearth it again. during this time, at least 4 of my more literary friends brought up "this great new book i found by junot diaz"... oh how i ITCHED to finish reading that damn galley.

and so, here i be, one year later, finished reading the pulizter prize-winning book. yes, that's right, during it's tenure in my cardboard boxes, it won a pulitzer.

oscar is a first-generation american of dominican decent - and my, my what a decent it is... his family is followed by fuku - a deep rooted curse - which threads its way through the lives of oscar's loved ones, crosses oceans and spans generations. oscar, completely out of place in his heritage, is a doomed literary, rotund, sci-fi/anime/comic/gamer fanboy. his mother, sister, great aunt and "best friend's" stories interweave around oscar's, creating an amazingly elaborate portrait of domincan and dominican-american life.

spanglish is prevalent, which was my personal challenge - i had to stretch my brain back to high school (and reach for that dog-eared pocket translation dictionary) to grasp some of the higher meanings. diaz uses native language and [squeal of delight] footnotes to incorporate dominican history, passion and empathy into the story.

read the damn new york times review or the publishers weekly review for the glorious details, but suffice to say, i really enjoyed diaz's debut. take it for a spin - and dont be afraid of the language!

tiny celebration with a mini blog

2008-05-24T13:52:00.001-05:00

i have cable and internet at home!! i have cable and internet at home! woooo!!!!!

garden, pt 4

2008-05-21T09:15:00.003-05:00

basil update:

after much deliberation over the advice from my commenters and mom, i decided to remove the now definitely dead basil plant. i'm hoping this was a fluke plant, as i already expressed my concern about overcrowding, and a small weed-out will hopefully only help the remaining herbs flourish.

to solidify my decision, i pruned and came up with my first tiny basil crop of the season. it was very yummy in my pesto orzo w/ chicken & parmesan supper:

1/4 c. fresh or frozen pesto (thank you jane!)
1/2 c. packaged orzo, (cook al dente then drain well)
1/2 lb. chicken, cooked (i use salt & pepper and the george forman)
parmesan cheese to taste (i use the shredded kind - a lot of it)
1 - 2 Tbs of olive oil
small handful of fresh basil leaves, chopped well*

toss all together and salt as needed (my fave salt these days is coarse sea salt). I realize that some of my readers are concerned about carbs, and i readily admit that my orzo is regular pasta from trader joe's. i have not been able to find "healthy" orzo. if anyone has, please let me know!! otherwise, you can sub dreamfield's elbow macaroni. oh, and of note - parmesean cheese is one of the "healthier" cheeses out there. rule of thumb is: the harder the cheese, the healthier it is (AND less lactose).

*this is my fresh addition to the meal - it's not necessary, but gives the dish a kick.

garden, pt 3

2008-05-16T10:54:00.004-05:00

the basil is having issues...

does anyone have any idea what's going on here? i googled "wilting basil" and all i get are references to either the soil being too dry or too wet. i know it's wet enough b/c the other herbs are flourishing. but perhaps the drainage on that side is too much/too little? should i remove the sick plant? does it look like part of it may revive? and of course: did i plant them too close to each other?

garden, pt 2

2008-05-13T09:31:00.006-05:00

the garden is blossoming!

it appears that all of my plants have taken to their new surroundings on the porch. i spent an hour on the front walkway pounding nail holes into the metal pots for drainage (it worked!) and arranging my greens into neat rows.

I have four pots of cosmos in yellow, orange and purple.

one long pot of herbs - (left to right) basil, basil, rosemary, thyme. i'm debating whether or not to hang this baby over the ledge.

one tub containing 2 tomato plants and a cosmos (did i overcrowd?). note the little guy hanging out in front - that's 2 more tomato plants that i dont have pots for. i'm debating putting each one in it's own large pot to see if they grow bigger tomatoes due to more growing room.

and another tub with 2 tomato plants and a cosmos.

a few days after the planting, i put some used coffee grounds around each plant. i heard that it adds nitrogen to the soil and can prevent certain bugs. whether or not those bugs exist in the city and feast on porch plants is unknown to me, but i took the precaution nonetheless. plus, i happen to consume a lot of coffee...

the garden, part 1

2008-05-05T11:14:00.003-05:00

i planted a tiny "garden" this year. in previous years, i've simply gone without or borrowed/begged/stolen from relatives and friends. the noble pastime of gardening has never appealed to me before. for one, i do not have a green thumb. i'm currently in the process of killing an aloe plant. an ALOE plant. i cannot figure out what to do with this poor little browning, shriveling plant.

i have a typical viney-green-leafy unkillable office plant in my cube. it's got some giant bare spots on it's "arms" and i'm slightly ashamed of how it wilts after long weekends/weeks w/o watering. but i think i'm due for some diligence. i am gung-ho to learn about this dirty biz. i want something green and flourishing in my house. so i started small:

a few tomato plants - beefeaters and some yellow ones (i need to look at the label again)
2 basil plants
1 thyme plant
1 rosemary plant
6 cosmos (purple and yellow)

as soon as i can, i'll take a picture of my newly potted plants and post it here. my plan is to post regularly about the plants health and productivity. i'll then have a record of what works for apartment gardening and what does not.

wish me luck!

april books

2008-05-05T10:19:00.006-05:00

a little less late for you this month... happy cinqo de mayo!

in april i tried to catch up on my new yorkers, with little visible accomplishment. i have about 4 back issues to go through, including one with a piece by jeffery eugenides (author of middlesex - a previously reviewed book by moi) that i'm rather excited about. with all of this literature delivered fresh to my door every wednesday, it's hard to keep up with my regular reading.

regardless, i have a few picks for april:

the other boleyn girl by phillipa gregory
book club book! over roasted chicken and corned beef w/ root veggies (and wine and vodka), we discussed, hashed and laughed over the story of anne and mary boleyn's relationship with king henry viii. good book club book because it's got a lot of sex in it, some actual romance, some good plot twists, historical costumes and a story we have all heard at one point or another in our lives that is fun to put a spin on. it's NOT a good book club book if you only have a month to read it: it's over 600 pages long. we gave ourselves almost 2 months to complete this tome.

i realize that this book isnt for history buffs - there are a lot of things that are brushed over or simply not addressed (anne boleyn's 6th finger on her one hand). but it was WAY better than the movie. it was very helpful to have eric bana's face in mind when i thought about henry viii, but scarlett johanson was just not the right role for mary boleyn and natalie portman overacted. oh well.

rilla of ingleside by l.m. montgomery
the LAST of the anne series... and quite possibly, a return to the quality storylines that i enjoyed in anne of green gables and anne of avonlea. rilla is anne's youngest and prettiest daughter - she's vain and carefree and enjoys the company of young folk. our plot thread is the great war, which canada enters a helluva lot earlier than the usa. some boys go, some hem & haw, some stay... some come back and some dont. through the war years rilla grows up - raising a war baby, organizing a war wedding and the junior red cross, gaining a love interest and growing into a fine young woman by war's end.

overall, a good ending to a great set of growing up books.

animal, vegetable, miracle by barbara kingsolver
one year in the life of a family who agrees to eat and live as localvores. kingsolver writes the bulk of the nonfiction, memior-style experiment. her husband includes essays that are chock-full of helpful and informative facts and benefits about eating locally grown food. her daughter contributes short nutritionally oriented essays complete with yummy-sounding recipes. the youngest daughter contributes to the book by being a main character as an active food producer: she starts an egg and chicken business (at the age of 8!).

i have to say, i'm inspired. i did plant a tiny garden of my own (of herbs, tomatoes and flowers (this is my experimental garden of which i'll blog more about later). i looked up the farmer's markets in both the city and near my office. i plan on using fresh organics where i can and buying locally when available. i know i wont be anywhere near as diligent as this family. kingsolver and her husband own a plot of land in fertile virginia and were able to grow and care for an extensive garden - producing about 80% of what they consumed for the year. i certainly will NOT be that person who owns chickens in the city. and i dont have the income to always shop at co-ops and whole foods. but animal, vegetable, miracle gave me a fresh, honest perspective on what one actually CAN do to be a greener person, a healthier person, a more-aware person. every little bit helps, and i highly recommend this book.

the text itself is funny and intriguing. kingsolver is an engaging storyteller and the essays are informative without being dry. i listened to this on audiobook, and the family narrates their corresponding parts, which i felt was a nice touch. check out their website for recipes and details and to just plain old GET INSPIRED.

back to "normal"...

2008-04-21T10:27:00.003-05:00

getting back to a sense of normal has been difficult. moving, vacation, excessive work loads, the wine store, warming weather, and cat psychology has kept me too busy to stay on top of things. i feel overloaded and last friday i kinda broke under the pressure. i had to leave work a bit early in order to just SIT and do nothing while my head spun for a while. it wasnt horrible, but i hate that my body had to give out in order for me to allow myself veg time.

"normal" will include more reading time and less tv time. in order to reach this state of normalcy, i will need to skim the new yorker instead of scour it, i will need to not be so exhausted that i "cant lift my book to see it" and i will need to acknowledge that certain shows are actually bad and simply turn off the tube.

"normal" will also include regular work outs - preferably in the morning as the elliptical is in my bedroom. in order to achieve this, i have to start getting up after 8 hours of sleep instead of hitting snooze (who really needs more than 8 hours? i'm fully aware of how self-indulgent this is in this day and age), i will also have to "suck it up wussie" and re-learn cardiovascular health as i've slumped into the wonderfulness that is only pilates/yoga instead of a well-rounded level of activity. my heart misses the action, baby.

"normal" usually contains a goodly amount of cooking time. i think i'm doing alright in this category. thanks to frozen fish from aldi, asparagus season and e's cast iron pan, i've been eating well and cooking from scratch.

what have i been doing instead of being "normal"? i've been having some fun: yesterday was the first of many margaritas on the roof sunday-fundays. my apartment is fully furnished, the POD is gone, the boxes are unpacked and the only thing left to do is organize the spice drawer (any ideas? why is this the hardest drawer to organize?). e and i are actively trying to get elston to not stalk romeo, which is very difficult indeed. and all the while, i'm getting to know my really great, new roomie. oh yeah, and working and working and working...

so hopefully "normal" will slowly come back, one step at a time. until then, i raise a luke-warm margarita in celebration of spring in the city!

good grief!

2008-04-18T10:00:00.003-05:00

i woke up at 4:30am and couldnt figure out why i was awake, so i fell back asleep again... turns out i caught the tail end of a 5.2 magnitude midwestern earthquake! only minor damage was seen close to the point of origin - nothing in the city (although our kitchen faucet is now being really funny - i blame nature entirely). occasionally i remember that there's a fault line in southern il and it can be freaky to think that the ONLY natural disaster that cannot occur in chicago is a hurricane. yikes.

march books... ooops... a bit belated

2008-04-15T09:19:00.003-05:00

yeah, so this is uber late and i apologize to myself (as i seem to be the #1 reader of this blog). self: you suck.

march was a light month due to grand apartment search, trip to martha's vineyard and the big move. again i have some media picks to make you think that i wasnt all fluff and stuff in the mighty month of march.

media pick #1 - flight of the conchords dvd. this may be the best thing to put on your tv before you go out for a night on the town. it's hilarious and self-deprecating and makes you feel like the coolest kid around. "aint no party like my nana's tea party... heyyyy... hooooo!"

media pick #2 - top chef, chicago. unfortunately for me, i'm sans bravo for a few more weeks. this is a shame as i was really getting into the dynamics of the competitors. there are two wily assholes, one pretty boy, an eccentric kiwi and a felix-the-cat creative type, to name just a few... i've no idea who's still competing, but when i left it, tempers were flaring and slop was abundant. all together now: "oooo!!"

media pick #3 - john adams. this is a mini series based on the bio by david mccullough, airing on hbo. i believe there are 6 episodes, as i've been able to see 4 thus far and the constitution had not yet been created, let alone installed adams as prez #2. paul giamatti is a great adams, and laura linney is an even better abigail adams. the pacing is pretty interesting - this whole thing takes place over years, and they stuff it into 6 episodes, which occasionally leads to a bit of confusion (15 year old john quincy adams looks about 10 due to lack of ability to make a 10 year old look 15 w/o changing the actor). but there are a few scenes in each episode that focus entirely on the moment, and completely ignore the mtv camera flash trend - long pans and generous pauses engage the viewer and indulge the plot. i cannot wait to see the last 2 episodes, even though i know how it turns out in the end!

aaand books...

the amber spyglass by philip pullman
the third installment of the "his dark materials" series. this is a brilliant, action-packed, thought-provoking, touching final piece to this amazing puzzle. in effect, you learn what lyra and will have to do by the end of book #2, but you do not know how they will accomplish it. i really dont want to give anything away, so i'll just focus on the "other stuff" as opposed to the plot.

there was a lot more sci-fi/fantasy in this book than in the previous two. i enjoyed it's creativity and even my skeptical mind was able to accept each new piece. pullman's ability to fully integrate the bizzare into reality is pretty neat. he assumes his reader is smart and is not afraid to bust out a complex, unique answer.

i definitely raise an eyebrow about the folks who are boycotting this series, the author and the movies. my rationale is the same as i had for harry potter - this is an entirely fictional series with entirely fictional theology and human make up. sure if you wanted to REALLY analyze this, you can gather that pullman is resistant to organized religion, but he clearly outlines a greater organization of the universe, which can be taken in many different ways. i enjoyed learning about this world and it's counterparts. granted, i wouldnt show this to a small child, but i would have no problem recommending this as young adult reading. overall - a really great series!

rainbow valley by l.m. montgomery
sigh. yeah... another one... although, i will back myself up here and state that my new roomie has read the entire anne series multiple times. it's feel-good, candy reading and i wont back down from having something easy to digest along with my lunch.

this one follow's anne's children in their glorious budding years. it's all innocence and fun with a few mishaps and of course - the obligatory marriage. this one is nothing terribly special but it did occupy my brain with something other than work for 30 min each day.

and that wraps up the books & media for the mighty month of march. paltry, i know, but as i said before, i was hyper-busy. frankly, i'm amazed that i didnt get deathly ill with that flu that was going around not too long ago (knock on wood). my new apartment bodes well for cozy reading (hellooooo fireplace!) and i'm looking forward to enjoying many a lazy sunday doing just that.

verizon's sneaky charges - you CANT avoid them, but CAN be aware of them

2008-04-10T13:26:00.002-05:00

i've had verizon service since 2000 and have been incensed off-and-0n about various contractual iniquities and inconsistencies during the duration of my contract. but, every time i've made a logical complaint to the customer service department, i've received a good response and rectification. this time, i'm really freaking mad with zero appeasement possible.

if you press (accidentally or not) the Get It Now feature, you automatically incur a $1.99 fee. EVERY time you press it - intentionally or no. if you take the feature off your shortcut keys, you reduce the risk of accidental activation, but it still remains in your main menu as a selection. on my phone it is, in fact, main menu item #1. there is no way to remove this feature or hide it or disable it.

i have, on occasion, accidentally pressed "Get It Now" and half a second later (once i realize what i've done) i press "End" and continue on my tapping. apparently this has happened once in march and once in february because each billing cycle included a $1.99 "Data Fee." when i called to have the accidental charges removed they informed me of the asinine contractual agreement in the preceding paragraph which cannot be argued.

for those of you that know me, yes i'm in a state of blind rage right now - hence the detailed blog peppered with elevated diction. i'm on a quest to locate some folks in the verizon chain-of-command to send a complaint letter to. who knows what this will get me. probably nothing. but i'll probably feel a little better about complaining and about warning others about this ridiculous scam. so, dear reader, if you have verizon service, be forewarned (unlike me): dont press the Get It Now button unless you mean it!

ta-dah

2008-03-27T09:06:00.002-05:00

it's official - as of april 1st*, i'll no longer be a suburbanite! of course, on april 1st, i'll be out of town, away on a well-needed vacation, but hey, i'll have a lease!

our new place is in a great neighborhood (we're debating if it's east village, ukie village, noble square or west town - its right on the cusp of all four) in a safe, newish building complete with parking spot, rooftop deck, washer-dryer and a/c. the kitchen has nice appliances and the FIREPLACE is wood-burning. emily's adorable wingback chairs will sit nicely with my blue couch and we'll cross our fingers over hot cocoa (with baileys) that our cats will not kill each other. oh, and then in the summer, over margaritas, you'll come over to sunbathe and grill w/ me, right? there's nothing quite like summer in the city!!

but in the meantime, i'm stuck at work for 8 more hours, plugging away mercilessly at manuscript turnover and answering dumbass emails... and then - away to the ridiculously large house on the coast! hopefully i'll have some pix to post after i get back.

*if you wish to help me move in to my new place - please call asap!

update on apartment search

2008-03-14T09:03:00.002-05:00

just cuz i keep getting questions...

it's not going so well. apparently our price range gives us the gamut of choices, but the higher you go, ironically, the smaller the bedrooms. why is it that people think you can sleep in a shoebox but MUST have a full kitchen? oh, i love a big kitchen, especially if the space is well-organized, but dammit, i have a bed AND a dresser (actually 2, but i can store one, oh yes, i can). a QUEEN bed - a big girl bed! c'mon, who sleeps in twin beds anymore? i'd love to be able to walk into my bedroom and get to the dresser w/o crawling over the bed and scootching it against the door to open the drawers. please.

one of the positives of looking at a bazillion places is that i've seen quite a few neighborhoods. the wicker park triangle area is absolutely amazing. even though i do prefer a quiet street and privacy (and parking), it's hard not to be seduced by the boutiques, small restaurants, gorgeous architecture and constant stream of incredibly interesting passers-by.

the other neighborhood that i hadnt considered until future roomie (e) pointed it out is just to the west of the wicker park triangle, and slightly north. you're still blocks away from amazing boutiques, cafes and bars, but you're nestled into a tree-lined haven of graystones and landscaped gardens. a few blocks south is olivia's market, the cutest corner store you'll ever find. it's stocked with a meat & cheese deli, gourmet snack food section, fresh produce with organic options everywhere. yes, it's still a corner store so you can still grab a bag of chips and a soda with your paper, but you could also splurge and get a fresh danish or snag a free sample of salami.

even though the apartment searching isnt going as smoothly as hoped, i'm now confident that all of the nooks we're looking in are filled with wonderful little surprises that i cannot wait to find.

february books & etc

2008-03-04T10:07:00.004-06:00

miracle of miracles, even with a shortened (or... lengthened?) month i was able to finish a bunch of really great books. i would have finished one more but i am enjoying it too much to rush through the ending. i also managed to finish up season 3 of entourage, keep up to date with project runway and become re-obsessed with lost. did i have a life in february? my check book says no... not only did i read a ton, brush up on current tv and work overtime, i also managed to save beaucoup bucks by hibernating during this frigid month.

since i was such a pill in february, i feel that it's necessary to pad my entry with "& stuff." first on the list is entourage. i got sucked into this little piece of hbo genius last summer by commandeering cable tv and plasma screen from the neighbors. basically, entourage is "sex & the city" for men. there is way more boobidge, way less emotional tug-of-war and WAY hotter people. oh, did i mention jeremy piven? i do so heart jeremy piven... sigh... so i watched the majority of season 4 without backstory. since my big move, i've played catch up using my sister's boyfriend's dvd box set. if you're looking for 26 mins of candy, please please please start this series from episode 1 - it's totally worth it.

"& stuff" #2 is project runway. this is a tv show i got sucked into unwillingly, but i'm grateful for it. this is probably the only reality tv show out there that focuses on quality rather than human antics. yes, antics exist, and depending on the season and the cast, you'll see more or less catfighting, but overall, this is a show about creativity and designer's abilities to create under extreme pressure. season finale tonite!!!! next week: top chef! woo!!

"& stuff" #3 could be lost, but well... arent we all informed on that one? i think everyone who reads my blog also watches lost anyway so... this is futile. suffice to say, i declare that sayid is HOT, locke is a jackass and i still really really want to go to hawaii.

onto books!!

1.) anne of ingleside by l.m. montgomery
yeah... another one... nothing happened in this book but an introduction to anne's children's personalities. seriously, i skimmed the whole thing. i'm beginning to regret my quest.

2.) nature girl by carl hiaasen
audiobook for february at the gym and in the car. i dont know why i havent read more of carl hiaasen's books by this point in my life. he's funny, clever, writes about unique situations in good simple, revealing sentences. ok, i know why - i'm afraid to like any more mass production writers. my weakness, as stated in previous entries, is christopher moore, but moore is no where near as widely published as hiaasen. if i find someone that has 25 books published, ill be tempted to read all 25 of those books, instead of opening myself up to other, different, more challenging writers. so, um... yeah... i really like carl hiaasen. and i must restrain myself from over-indulgence...

nature girl is a fluff book that follows a well-tangled adventure of a few classic nut-jobs around the islands in the everglades. characters include honey santana - loveable mother and certified schizophrenic. her son the well-grounded, loyal 14 year old. her ex-hubby the loyal, loving, former drug smuggler. sammy tigertail the half-seminole-turned-non-fugitive-fugitive. boyd shreave the unsuspecting fuck-moot and his world-weary "travel buddy" euginie fonda ("distant cousin" of the famous fondas). antics antics and more antics.... why i dont like reality tv is beyond me, b/c i sure enjoyed this one. sigh.

3.) disgrace by j.m. coetzee
on the more literary side of the spectrum lays coatzee's booker prize winning novel. actually, he's won 2 booker prizes (collected neither award) and the nobel prize in literature. i had not encountered his work before, but heard his name mentioned here and there. i ran across this book through a few wiki clicks (cant for the life of me remember the progression), and i'm glad i did.

david lurie's affair with one of his college students leaves him jobless, ruined and more-or-less run out of cape town. disgraced, he retreats to his daughter's house in the eastern cape. a tentative relationship at best, lurie's colors as an unsatisfied, carnal, emotionally removed middle-aged man become pronounced compared to his daughter's selfless, humble existence. halfway through the book, three african men attack him and his daughter, leaving them ruined, exposed and disgraced as white "invaders" (not victims) of the small town. lurie's behaviors before the attack were honest expressions of a white, middle-aged twice-divorced bachelor. after the attack, they appear as dirty and vile as the attackers' actions.

i am still thinking about this book and all of it's repercussions and relationships. i wish to read more on the politics and history of this place because it's obvious that coetzee expects his reader to know these things. the fact that i dont does not detract from the story, but it does make me feel shame-faced about my lack of world knowledge. this is a downer of a book, but it's beautifully written and incredibly insightful.

4.) gentlemen of the road by michael chabon
this novella jumped into my hands only because i saw it sitting on the "NEW" shelf at the library. i opened the cover to see what sort of ratings it got (the library is great - they put a piece of paper inside each book with a rating system on it - you put the date you read the book and your rating!) and i saw zero entries. i was in one of my more book-romantic moods (i had been browsing the shelves with a friend, waxing nostalgic for school daze) and became indignant that no one had checked out chabon's newest book. so i checked it out.

written during post-christ time in about the same setting, we follow two men through one of their implied many life adventures. we catch the two in middle age, world-wizened and ready for what comes. the task thrust upon them is to return a prince to the throne as king - a prince who ends up being a princess.

chabon's grasp of the english language is impeccable, but i have to say, i think he went overboard with this one. it's written with flowery, gorgeous words and turns of phrases that i know a few of us are guilty of indulging in occasionally (not to name names)... but chabon uses this language through the entire book. many times i had to re-read not for content but for simple grasp of sentence structure. i cannot imagine this as an audiobook - i'd have to rewind constantly. so, it's not chabon's best work, but it is clever and a great adventure story.

so, after this long entry, you wont see another one for at least 30 more days... until then, i wish you good reading!

good grief...

2008-02-22T14:30:00.002-06:00

this is the manuscript i get to send out today. the stapler is in there for perspective. 46 chapters... yowch!!

the search

2008-02-22T08:03:00.000-06:00

the search for a new apartment has started. prospective roommate e and i have our feelers out in all directions (well, extending no further than armitage, grand, western or ashland...) and the walk-throughs will commence today.

i'm nervous about this. last time i searched for apartments i felt pushed into a choice i couldnt afford. yes, i ended up enjoying my surroundings and was definitely thankful for the move southward, but i still felt uneasy about the situation. this time around, i'm a bit more skeptical than i was a year ago. i really dont wish my hesitance to be a deterrent or obstacle in the process, so i've laid out my concerns flat, and since my future roomie is not a close friend (yet), i feel that we can work together, patiently, to find a very nice place.

some things i learned about my future roomie that make me happy: she likes english muffins, cribbage, wine, frozen pizza, owns an electric tea kettle and listens to wait wait dont tell me every saturday. the funniest thing we have in common is that neither of us like to make phone calls, which means we'll always argue over who calls for take-out. her bday is exactly a month after mine and she reads (almost) as much as i do.

sounds great, right? well... the ultimate test will be settling on an apartment. i really hope that our amicable sentiments will keep us civil and gracious... tall order, i know... wish us luck!

evolution

2008-02-13T22:43:00.004-06:00

there are many things i cannot post about on this blog. this blog started out as a forum for my anonymous rants and thoughts; a safe place for my meditations. it's now a place where friends and family turn for insight into my life. as proud as i am that people care about me that much, its also a detriment to the blog itself. it becomes a difficult trough to fill - i dont want to put sludge in there. i want it filled with healthy things that inspire and encourage growth. i want to fill it with cheap laughs and snippets of wonderment. and of course, the very nature of the blog: a good bitch session or two.

but to be honest, i am tired of creating stuff for everyone else. i'm tired of putting up PG pix and only posting about books and politics (wait, politics?).

i want vent about the betrayals in my life. i want to pound my chest and shed snotty tears on my keyboard and clack out my woes until i feel better. i'm sick of being afraid of what people will think.

the past six months has been difficult and tumultuous, enlightening and relieving. all at once. today was a day where i felt all of those things in a 12 hour time span. i'm exhausted.

i thought i was loved and respected by some, but i'm not. and when i look around corners, i'm finding amazing people i never expected. the former have all but literally crushed me, the latter are helping me keep my sanity.

for lent this year, i decided to stop feeling unnecessary guilt. i realize this is a task too large for a 40 day time span, but the guilt is so widespread that it's rather easy to start. i can literally pick and choose b/c in any one day, there is always some very obvious guilt that i do not need.

today it's guilt over loss. i prolly shouldnt have picked such a big one for a wednesday - its been a long week at work already and i'm only halfway done. so i'll only think about certain losses.

i once had an enviable support unit. this compact group of people who reacted instinctively and supported each other through thick and thin.

...maybe i didnt. maybe it was never there.

regardless, in my head i had it, and now that same group has cut off a limb - a living piece of it's own flesh.

i could dwell on the decaying flesh, but since i'm changing my viewpoint, i choose to see that group as an asexual simple-celled organism. freed, the flesh develops it's own life, limbs and means of animation. it becomes more complex in and of itself than it had been as part of that group.

it's a small shift of the mind, but it's a start.

the foodie in me

2008-02-08T09:38:00.000-06:00

last night i went home craving gnocci... it's safe to say that the dreary gray days, cold, inconsistent weather and being a "carb person" influenced my desire. i've only had gnocci in restaurants as i believe it's a delicacy and should only be attempted by those more experienced than myself. this is, of course, arguable b/c for one, i have friends who have made incredible gnocci (sweet potato gnocci with maple butter..mmm...) and second, i've had really bad gnocci at places like embrace in hinsdale.

on my delayed trip home (thank you potholes), i noticed a trader joe's on ogden in downers grove and so i pulled in. when one is hungry for bizarre foods, one should venture to trader joe's. meandering the aisles, i picked up some nonfat yogurt, brie cheese, mochi, organic coffee, pretzel thins (my new fave snack) and there, in aisle two: gnocci!!! i nearly tripped over myself in excitement, promptly threw a bag into my cart and started planning my meal.

i decided to go simple and use a sage butter with parmesan. a side salad of baby greens, grape tomatoes and balsamic vinaigrette would suffice to round out the meal.

i melted butter in a frying pan over medium heat and added roughly chopped garlic when the butter started foaming (i cut a clove into 6 pieces - i didnt want it to overpower the sage). when the butter started turning brown, i added about 12 finely chopped leaves of sage and swirled the pan a few times. i turned off the heat and let the mixture cool down while the gnocci were boiling.

after removing the gnocci promptly after floating to the top of the pot, i drizzled the butter mixture over the yumminess, added a bit of sea salt and a few good grinds of fresh black pepper and tossed to coat.

i plated the gnocci in a deep bowl and added a bit of fresh parmesans cheese. a nice glass of pillar box red, salad in hand and i was more than ready to eat my "gourmet" meal while pondering the newest episodes of lost and eli stone...

overall rating of: YUM!!

january books

2008-02-05T12:49:00.001-06:00

january is a good month for reading. lots of snowy, cold days with nothing to do but curl up and plow through a book. this january i spent a week traveling for work, which gave me many idle hours that i filled with some pretty good stuff.

the audiobook
long way down, by nick hornby
i've always loved nick hornby's self-effacing characters and how they relate to the world around them. this one follows four english folks of different backgrounds (and yet, all still middle class and white) who by chance meet on top of a building as each are about to jump to his or her death. they agree to meet again, and again, and each new encounter gives us more backstory, more momentum for that jump - but... it never actually happens, in the physical sense. each character has a long way to go to figure him or herself out.

yeah, it's kind of a downer book, and nothing terribly exciting happens. some of the characters are more 3-dimensional than others, and the ending is sort of predictable. not the best hornby book, by far, but if you like his style, you wont be disappointed.

the book club book
eat, pray, love by elizabeth gilbert
yes, yes, i received my mandatory copy of "epl" this past holiday season... in fact, i gave the book to two people, so it's fitting that i, in turn, received it. it also happened to be the book club book for janurary (which got pushed into february b/c of travel). i started reading with skepticism, which is not how i should approach a book - ever.

let me preface by saying that my favorite female author is anne lamott. she's got a fabulous writing style that unabashedly encompasses humility, humor, faith, miracles, trials and... well... honesty. i fell in love with her rosie and crooked little heart fiction books... i ate up her memoirs in operating instructions and plan b... i scrutinized bird by bird and still try to use what i've learned from her in my own writing. anne blurbed "epl" and so i gave it a chance, skeptical as i was.

epl is the story of the author's self-recovery - literally: recovering herself after being lost for many years. she indulges us with her journey through italy... she gently explains her faith and devotion as she meditates in india... and she shares with us her recovered and newfound passions in indonesia. its cute, its smart and it's self-indulgent.... sure that last one is a knock to her writing style, which at times was too flowery and over-explanatory, but i enjoyed her journey and i learned a few things on the way. she's close to anne lamott, but not close enough to move my loyalty.

ironically, tonite is the book club meeting (if it doesnt snow...). i may give an update about how it fairs as a book club book. but i have a good idea that it will fair very well.

the recommendation
the gathering, by anne enright
i checked out the micawber's website before i left on my trip and got a couple of book recommendations. this one was the store's best seller for december, so i checked it out of the library. if you are looking for a different take on "family realization" stories, i would recommend this one. it's a modern-day irish story about a family of 11 children. the main character is one of the middle children and she brings her older brother's dead body back to the family house for his funeral. it's more about her sorting out family truths and bonds and how she's grieving her lost brother (her best sibling) than about the actual journey or funeral.

as a paradox, i had a very hard time deciphering some of the irish phrases (which were either irish words or simply just colloquialisms), but i enjoyed her languid style of writing. we follow the main character's thoughts as if they were actually happening at that moment - disjointed, full of hypotheses and jealousies and seemingly immaterial tangents. so, once i got over the language barrier, i was able to enjoy her prose which is smart and insightful without being all "dr phil." tackle this one with care and patience.

the indulgence
the subtle knife, by philip pullman
2nd in the "his dark materials" series. ok, i know i said that i didnt see the religious undertones in the golden compass, because apparently, they start here. yowsa! this guy is tackling some hard topics!

i really enjoyed this book, and i hear that #3 is even better (i'm next in line at the library). lyra meets will, who comes from our world. they meet in a 3rd world, having escaped from their own for life threatening reasons. i really dont want to give too much away here... its a story about how they find out what they need to do next... what is the next chapter... which could possibly be destroying god or helping to destroy god or perhaps destroying the people who want to destroy god... it's all a bit confusing at this point, but i'm in love with the concept because it's so well written.

and so i've entered february - with grandiose ideals of how many books i can read in one month... so far... so good. we'll see if all of these inadvertent snow days will allow me to curl up and READ as much as i'd love to!

quality trash (my new blog name?)

2008-01-28T11:48:00.000-06:00

this past weekend i walked down some old paths and was lucky enough to stumble on something new in the process. i went to mn for a friend's wedding celebration and took the opportunity to roam my beloved cathedral hill haunt in the blair arcade: nina's coffee shop. directly downstairs used to be an art shop that never looked very busy, but today it houses garrison keillor's new indie bookstore, common good books.

i love a good bookstore - especially a good indie bookstore. they are so much more personable and inviting than borders or b&n. i do have a borders rewards card (which got heavy mileage this christmas) and in the recent past i've spent hours comfortably reading at b&n. but i've been exposed to beautiful places like micawbers and birchbark books and i have yet to find their equivalent in chicago. so with mixed emotions i roamed the meandering aisles at common good books - fingering the gorgeous exposed stone walls, inhaling the reader recommendations sticking out of the shelves... and lamenting that i cannot do this on a daily basis. my old apartment is literally steps from this haven, and my new home is 400 miles away. alas, alack.

each section is marked with a hand-drawn sign that clearly states what you'll find: fiction = fiction, poetry = poetry, regional = regional, the head = psychology and my all-time favorite way to label the newest john grisham:

i wish this new bookstore good luck, and i renew my quest to locate a chicago indie bookstore haven (and wish myself luck...).

one good thing about texas's food...

2008-01-11T21:38:00.000-06:00

... is that there's always plenty left over! tonite we went to rudy's country store and bbq, the self-proclaimed worst bbq in texas: "dont tell us how good it is, just come back again!"

by myself, i consumed a large sausage link (which was smoked in hickory), a large portion of brisket, a huge pork rib and sides of baked beans, potato salad, cole slaw and the best creamed corn i've ever had. please note that i havent had creamed corn in about 20 years, and this was the REAL DEAL - not that canned green giant crap i swallowed at warp speed as a child.

sop up the leftover bbq sauce and cream with a slice of squishy white bread (oh the SINFULNESS of it!!) and i was completely stuffed. we each polished off about this much food with two shiners a piece and still the leftover box was overfloweth.

the whole time we ate family-style at check cloth covered picnic tables using butcher paper for plates and styrofoam cups for bowls. i went through 3 napkins and will surely wake up smelling of glorious wood-chip smoke.

i am only beginning to understand how bizarre my dreams may be tonite if i dont digest enough before passing out...

one good thing about texas, besides the weather...

2008-01-09T22:31:00.000-06:00

i am sorely tempted to continue writing about the weather here. every day brings some new form of pleasant sunniness or windiness or humidity or gorgeous sunset... this may be due to the fact that i have been sludging through the midwest highs and lows for so many years that anything to the contrary is eye-opening. it could also be possible that i'm trapped indoors chatting for dear life with any and all attendees, and that a breath of fresh air is, quite literally, a breath of fresh air. but, i'm going to branch out here for another good thing about texas.

wednesday was the end of confrence 1 and the start of 30 hours of freedom. i napped, worked, worked out and chatted with the sis. then i cabbed it into the city and meandered around the alamo. it's a nice historical point of interest that documents the spot of mass suicide and the end of davy crockett... but it also marks the spot where the americans of mid-1800's decided to stop taking spanish crap from mexico. in my head i thought this would be more of a spot of honor and over-glorification than a sanctuary for a historical truth. but, i'm happy to report, my head was wrong. yes the site was in memoriam to all that died for the cause of freedom, but the whole story was mapped across the entire place - these soldiers would rather have died for their cause than surrender.

i do have a hard time with this concept. for one, i'm a fighter in that if i believe in something, i'll support it til it's no longer there for me to support (and then i'll treasure it's memory)... but i also dont understand literally fighting for that belief. so i kept that in mind as i wandered both sides of the riverwalk.

its a beautiful place - almost european with it's arching walk-ways and old buildings that butt right up to the water's edge. there are numerous places to stop and grab a bite to eat along the way, where you sit outside and peer (up or down, depending on what level you're on) through the palms and live oak leaves and watch as the other tourists do the same as you... it appears to me, from this limited viewpoint, that this is a city for visitors.

later on in the evening, i find that this is partly true. san antonio thrives on commerce from visitors. my author (lifelong resident) tells me this over a bottle of malbec. he had me to his house for cocktails and treated me to a fabulous italian supper at a local secret spot. he, his wife, mother-in-law and i must have made quite the expedition (mom-in-law has an adventure of a time traveling with her sleek walker), but the four of us never lacked for conversation and i had some of the most amazing foccacia, pasta and malbec that i've had in a long time.

so it appears, that besides the weather, one good thing about san antonio is that it houses amazingly friendly people who want you have a good time in their adored city. back at the hotel that night, i fell asleep fast and easy - full of good folks and food.

one good thing about texas... on a tuesday

2008-01-09T11:58:00.001-06:00

you can get a damn good margarita in texas. of course, i live in chicago, so i can get a damn good margarita on any old day... but for the majority of the country, jose cuervo and uber-sweet lime juice is the norm.

last night i went out on a whim on the shuttle that went into the city. it was too dark to really explore the riverwalk (leave that for wednesday), but i did enjoy a few margaritas with some instructors attending the confrence. i chose the "ultimate" as i'm wont to do: sauza with cointreau and grand mariner. salt, on the rocks, please. a couple hours later, a couple drinks later, and i headed back to the hotel tipsy and sated. i didnt realize how tired i was until i set foot in my room. sugar or no sugar, i passed out pretty darn quick.

cheers to free margs on a tuesday in san antonio!

one good thing about texas... encore

2008-01-07T20:51:00.001-06:00

i end day two in san antonio exhausted, hungry and weary - but i did find another good thing about texas.

today i had to give an elevator pitch for our booth. i was not happy about this prospect two weeks ago, when it appeared on my agenda. i was even less happy about it when my boss started concocting a song about mgh that went along to the song "i'm a little teapot" (and yes, she wanted me to enact said song). however, my final pitch was a 30 second sorta clever, sorta prosaic, safe bet. and no, i did not die of embarrassment nor did i flub up my lines. it did, however, create undue stress and prompted me to soak in the outdoor whirlpool at the end of the day.

sitting in the whirlpool i tried to read my latest book club book (it kept getting wet) and i tried to meditate (which is really hard when you're starving) and finally, i just sat there soaking up the hot water and enjoying the breeze. i kept catching whiffs of something that smelled really good. i could tell that it was something in the natural air - not chemical or food or man-made in any way. which brings me to day two's good thing about texas: it smells really great in san antonio.

sort of a mixture of herbs - possibly sage and/or thyme - dirt and wind. i know, wind doesnt have a smell, but the current breeze is coming off of the gulf of mexico. it's very humid air, hangs heavy and can either chill you to the bone in cooler temps or bring a pleasant texture to the already sweet breeze. so there i sat, at peace for the moment.

after the bubble timer went off, it was time to head back to my room and order cheesy food and a bottle of wine. ahhhhhh.... cheers to a day well spent...

one good thing about texas...

2008-01-06T21:09:00.000-06:00

for the next seven days, you'll find me in the lone star state. i'm here to hock our latest wares and "enjoy my time" here. "time" is really the relevant word. i'm required to sit at my booth for hours a day, and also required to perform the usual day-to-day tasks (sans desk), so finding extra time is a bit of a squeeze. we'll see what i can get...

i've never had a hankering to visit texas. perhaps i'd go to austin for the film festival or music festival, but otherwise, i dont have a draw. since plane ticket and accommodations seem to have been thrust upon me, i may as well keep my eyes open for things of note. who knows when i'll be back again?

so, my first installation of "one good thing about texas..." is shiner bock beer. one of my many favorite things about traveling is tasting the local brews. wisconsin has spotted cow (ha - not what you thought i'd say, but it's by far the superior choice), pennsylvania has yuengling, and texas has shiner.

my first taste of shiner was a few months ago at one of the wine store's block parties. we had a full keg of the stuff, and after the event was over, had at least half of a keg of the stuff... and so, i enjoyed myself a lot of shiner bock. it's an amber beer, but lacks the metallic taste of red beers. its smooth and light, but full of taste. not too hoppy (not my favorite characteristic in beer) and definitely drinkable in mass quantities. and here i sit, in the brew's home turf. it's everywhere! say g'bye to calorie counting (and to miller lite - bleh) cuz that's my brew of choice for all events while in the lone star state.

so there you have it. i found one good thing about texas. knock on wood i'll have 7 more in the coming days...

2008-01-03T15:23:00.001-06:00

well, i just took at look at my postings from last january. even though i was over-stressed, i still found the time to post interesting and witty entries from time to time. i even put together a rather extensive overview of 2006. it made me hang my head and purse my lips: i've become a bad blogger.

in 2007, facebook emerged as the main source of connection between my friends, loved ones and co-workers. despite being harangued on a daily basis, i still do not have a facebook account. nor myspace. my defense was always "but i have a blog! if you want to see what i'm up to, just google me!" that worked well a few months ago... but now, oy... i'm a total slacker.

BUT there are many other things that i did and did not do in 2007 that are, in my opinion, pretty interesting.

did not:

buy my own car (it fell into my lap, and i'm very very grateful for it)
find my name in the phone book (and it'll stay that way if i can help it!)
lose that extra 5 lbs
have a hangover on january 1
find my own apartment (yet)
encourage my sister to keep the kitten (but she did anyway...)
buy a new cell phone
save as much moolah as i wished
have second helpings at thanksgiving (except pirogies - but those dont count)
continued to work at the wine store despite hectic scheduling

did:

paid off my credit card!
read 31 books
worked out regularly and indulged in yoga
overworked myself
cried more than usual - but in very healthy ways
read the actual, physical newspaper cover-to-cover at least once a week for about 4 months (and going)
cut down on nasty habits (just found out that grandma & grandpa read my blog so i'm now forever forbidden to indulge my readers upon said habits. thanks mom. sigh.)
go sledding in the fishbowl
get promoted
purchase an adult wardrobe

i've also had quite a few indulgences over the last 5 months:

regular yoga (up to 2 times per week!)
regular work outs in an actual gym (thank you mom!)
monthly massages
mac & cheese w/ hot dogs (twice!!)
made a batch of pirogies w/ gramma (hard work can be 100% rewarding)
treated myself to time off, just because
slept 9 hours a night for a solid week
visited san diego for a purely pleasurable trip to see family
drank amazing wine and sparkling wine - binny's tasting, a.t.o.v and temecula
read books for pure pleasure

#10 may seem a bit... non-indulgent. but in my defense, i'm in two book clubs now. that means i have two books each month to read that are most likely not my choice. that said, what i did read in december was wonderfully indulgent!

book club #1 - no country for old men by cormac mccarthy
little has been said on our book club blog about this book b/c only two of us read it. i picked this one up b/c book club #2 read yiddish policemen's union, which was book club #1's pick a few months ago. i needed to do SOMETHING with my time...

ncfom is about a bag of money. many million dollars of money. moss finds it in a truck in the middle of the texas desert, bloodied and covered in coke - the only survivor of a drug exchange gone wrong (the bag, not moss). moss takes the money and brings it home. bounty hunter chigurh comes looking for the money. sheriff bell comes hunting for both men.

ok, it's really not about a bag of money. but the bag is the motivational force between these characters and their actions/reactions. each man is calculated and methodical, each comes from a different generation. each play with the notion of "chance" or, "free-will."

there are quite a few graphic scenes in this book, and therefore, i'm reluctant to see the movie. i hear it's fabulous, and very close to the book's plot. but the cold-blooded calculated chigurh freaked the bejebus out of me, and the desperation of moss and his wife clung to my heart a little too much. that may make me sensitive, but it does reveal that this is a powerful book. i definitely recommend it.

indulgence book #1 - you suck by christopher moore
the sequal to bloodsucking fiends, after only 20 years!!! well... more like one decade... but it's well worth the wait. moore's witticisms and sharp tongued characters are endearing as ever. tommy wakes up to find that jody has turned him into a vampire and the two newly dead have to figure out how to live together, in the night, with a hunger for blood in sunny san francisco.

moore always has a few characters from other novels that pop up in various stories. this is no exception - a few folks from a dirty job play their rolls nicely. i always recommend moore's books to those with an open, yet dirty mind... highly enjoyable fodder!

indulgence book #2 - the golden compass by philip pullman
after reading four pages of this book i realized that i had, years ago, started this series out of sheer boredom. i became completely engrossed in the book and promptly started searching for it in bookstores everywhere. could not find the fucker anywhere. lo and behold, here it is today - a shiny new movie starring nicole kidman.

immediately the recognized treasure became my heart's desire. i tore through this novel with voracious speed. b/c i have not read the next two books in the series i will not talk about the "plot of atheism" that religious groups everywhere are frowning upon. it does have negative opinions of organized religion, but in this first book, we're simply treated to getting to know our heroine, lyra.

lyra is a spunky girl who apparently has quite a future in store for her. in epic style, we follow lyra through many self realizations that lead her into many sticky situations. i fell in love with lyra - she's exactly the type of little girl i always wanted to be when i was a kid. adventuresome, intuitive, friendly and tenacious... plus, i'd love to have my own little daemon running beside me at all times.

anyway, yes, i recommend this series. and here i sit, with baited breath, awaiting the library to call with a hold for the 2nd book.

indulgence book #3 - bridget jones' diary by helen fielding
yes, i've listened to this audiobook every year in december since i bought it in 2003. is there anything wrong with that? do you care to argue with me? no? good.

and so... i guess this will conclude my uber-long entry for post-2007 wrap up... no resolutions for me, but i do hope that i am able to post more entries in the future. cheers to all!

november books

2007-12-06T17:56:00.001-06:00

books books books! i love books! down to my belly... wait...

you get my point...

#1
the american, by henry james

this was for book club #2 - the ladies lounge. this is my first, real, actual wine/cheese/chocolate book club. i have to say, the meeting was a lot more fun than the book. we paired french food and wine with the book's setting of paris.

mr. newman is a self-made american millionaire vacationing in europe. he uses his deep pockets to comb the lands for all things interesting and beautiful. of course, he encounters the perfect woman. only - her family holds a dark secret, and she cannot be obtained. newman woos the girl, but neglects to get the family's blessing, causing serious familial stress and horrible repercussions. death, nunneries and long journeys ensue. the book is a solid take on class and societal differences across cultures - the rich, forward-thinking american vs. the steadfast, old-monied french. james writes well, but the style created for a methodical plod of pace. after wiki-ing mr. james, i found out that this is one of his significant trademarks: he writes to reflect the mood and pace of the plot.

although i appreciated the writing, and there were a lot of good plot twists to discuss, i dont recommend this for the average wine/cheese/chocolate book club.

#2
anne's house of dreams by l.m. montgomery

the next in the anne series (perhaps i'll get another witty retort from my anonymous reader??). i am glad to be "back" in the "regular" anne world again. the world where anne is not always the savior and bad things do happen (albeit with happy endings).

gilbert and anne move to a fishing village to start their new life together in a little house of dreams. the neighbors are either friendly or in need of a little anne-ish-ness to come 'round. anne and gilbert have baby #1 and continue to grow up.

sweet, short and well-rounded... again, another enjoyable lunchtime read.

#3
the curious incident of the dog in the nighttime by mark haddon

this was my audiobook of the moment. the narrator was clever, and i enjoyed a few long drives and work outs with the plot.

christopher has aspergers syndrome (a form of autism), and is the difficult, methodical writer of this story. he intends to tell a factual tale of how the neighbor's dog was killed and how he was able to solve the crime. what we get is an inside look into this 15 year old's special brain. i have to say, i really want my mom to read this one. she works with a lot of kids with this syndrome, and i'd like to see if she thinks it's an accurate rendition. if it is true to life, i'm amazed and in awe of the beauty of the mind. christopher clearly functions in a different way from the rest of us. he's socially removed and incredibly strict with routine. but he loves fiercely and relates to the world around him in unique and inspiring way.

i definitely recommend this for any readers who are curious about the inner workings of the mind. or, if you like a good mystery! i have to say, the mystery part snuck up on me, and i took a great liking to it.

#4
the end of the affair by graham greene

almost forgot this one! this was book club blog book of november. i think only two of us ended up reading it (maybe more stragglers will pull in), but it was quite an amazing read. its very short, and so well written that i plowed through it in only 4 sittings.

maurice, sarah and henry are in a love triangle with a twist - an "absent" 4th party: god. sarah and henry have a passionless, methodical marriage. maurice and sarah have a passionate, fitful affair. maurice and henry become methocially needy friends. and sarah wrestles with her faith in god, which ultimately leads to the end of her affair and the ultimate betrayal of her marriage. maurice, the jilted lover, is the biased narrator of this unfortunate affair. he cheats and lies his way back into sarah's life, all but too late to say a final goodbye to her.

i enjoyed the sad tale each character provided. greene's writing is amazing: perhaps the best i've seen since i discovered rushdie. i know i'm late in coming to that realization (and it's slightly embarassing as an english major). it also provoked me to look deeply at the faith questions that were brought up. this is, ultimately, a story about love in god - is it fleeting and passionate as an affair, or is it deep and all-encompassing? should it be both? does god even exist? if he does, what do we owe him? what does he owe us? can an athiest become a believer?

it was a great book for a book club blog, but since only one other person entered into these questions with me, i have to say, i'm still yearning for a bit more from it. if you care to discuss, check out the readers anonymous blog, or just comment on here.

i've got quite a few books on deck. i'm trying to put my shelfari page back up on the blog, so you can see what i've got... but right now it's giving me an error message. you'll see it soon enough! what did you read in november???

outsourcing byotches suck.

2007-12-05T08:30:00.000-06:00

this time last year they downsized the media department. they then hired two folks from india to outsource the excess media work. now, i have the wonderful responsibility to hold one of these people's hands through the entire media process for only one of my books. i am not used to this - in fact, i was very happy going about my day w/o any media contact at all (ironic statement, yes, i know). now i'm barraged by at least 1 email a day requiring me to do extra work (not required by my job) in order to keep outsourcing byotch on track. frustration is mounting. and i only have more outsourced books to look forward to.

this year, they've downsized production. i cant wait for this time next year.

help me decide!!

2007-11-27T13:38:00.000-06:00

i need a new phone like, yesterday, and so i stepped into the verizon store to see what they could offer me. i came out with two very different phones to choose from. so, im going to put down my needs and the link for each phone's specs, and maybe i'll get some feedback from readers.

so:

i really want a good solid camera on my phone. the 2.0 mpxl in the standard phones is ok. its nice, and it works. but i'd really love to have a bit more, so i can have pix to post on my blog (of course). camcorder is nice too.
i'd like to keep the phone for the full 2 year contract, so i want something durable.
i want something sleek and light
i dont want to get something that's going to "go out of style" or become outdated too fast

that said, the two phones i'm looking at are the samsung gleam and the samsung flipshot.

good things about the gleam: it's cute, extremely light, very functional, has 2.0 mpxl camera and is shiny-pretty. oh, and it's free.

good things about flipshot: it's high-tech, a bit lighter than my current phone, has 3.0 mpxl camera & camcorder & flip screen for easy use, has a USB cord (this is big), looks like a digital camera when it's flipped, and is black-techie looking.

bad things about gleam: it's rather generic and prozaic. doesnt have the quality of camera that i'd like. it appears that newer phones will upgrade to the 3.0 mpxl real soon.

bad things about flipshot: it's a bit bulkier than i'm used to, more tricks to learn cuz of more features, its possible that it will have bugs, there is a 2 second focus/shutter delay, it's $50 AND i'll most likely have to buy a memory card for it within the next few months.

i'm inclined to nab the flipshot b/c it's brand spankin' new and on sale. where else can i get both a phone and a digital camera for $50?? granted, it's a long way off from the standard 10 mpxl cameras out there, but it's better than nothing!

the practical person that lives in my brain tells me that i should stick with the gleam. it's pretty and shiny and functional, and i wont have problems with it. should i kick this person to the curb???

kitty bronchitis

2007-11-21T09:13:00.001-06:00

did i spell that right?

so kitty (aka "romeo") lost his voice last week. i was more amused than concerned as he's a "talker" and tends to drive everyone nutz with his yowling. little squeeks and raspy halts filtered out at regular intervals, amusing me and definitely NOT intimidating the kitten (yes, you read me right - kitten).

after a few more days humoring his ailment, i noticed that he developed a cough. not one of those awful gut-wrenching, car-start hairball coughs, but actual, legit, "old man-type" wheeze/hacks. yum! a quick trip to the vet revealed kitty bronchitis. during my tday vacation i get to look forward to shoving large tuna-flavored pills down kitty's throat. hopefully this will not result in his subsequent fear and loathing and strategically placed vomit (must remember to check shoes every morning).

and yes, i did indicate that a kitten now lives in the over-stuffed townhouse. sis found her about a month ago and didnt have the heart to take her to the shelter. thusly resides "ella," the hyperactive kitten.

she does serve the purpose of general mediator between the other cats. all of them think she's too cute (or something) to hiss/spit/run away from her. romeo took her under his wing immediately and began giving her washing lessons. unfortunately, she wasnt having any of it. all at once now: "awwwwwwww!"

october books

2007-11-12T10:59:00.001-06:00

yikes... blogging is not going well for me lately. i've been up to my ears in work-stew and topped it off with a glorious week in cali with the relatives (and wine). hopefully the holiday season will allow me more time for the things i love: cooking, reading and blogging!

october was a tough month for reading. i was able to finish up two books, and get a solid start on a third. first on the list is anne of windy poplars. via wikipedia, i found out that this book was actually written years after the anne series was completed. apparently the 3 years anne and gilbert spend apart cultivating their careers were not immediately important to montgomery's readers. the feminist in me indignantly cries "what??!! of course it's important!", but the person who finished the book says "oh, i see why now..."

gilbert spends 3 years getting his medical degree in some western part of canada, and anne obtains a principalship at a high school in a town not terribly far from avonlea. this book sets out to fill in the gap with an exchange of letters and experiences from the two lovers. it's a pretty idea, really. but my biggest complaint is that we NEVER see a letter, or get an excerpt from any correspondence from gilbert! from previous books, we know he's smitten with anne, and i expected a few juicy tidbits here and there (however provincial they had to be).

my second complaint is: in this book, anne can do no wrong. of course she encounters difficulties and large hurtles, but while in previous books the reader was left with a solid feeling of anne's goodness, we are simply TOLD of anne's goodness from the townspeople's constant verbal compliments. how this girl survived three years w/o getting a big head is beyond me. sure the trials are funny, sad, entertaining and creatively solved, but c'mon... can one girl really save the entire town in three years time?

despite my growing sense of cynicism, i will continue with the anne series. it's heartwarming, and great for a quick lunchtime break. i also have faith that montgomery did not spoil her next few books with overly saturated goodness, as they were written directly after the first few.

the second book i read was the big over easy by jasper fforde. it's the first in a series of nursery rhyme themed detective novels, and also our book club pick of the month. it's a cute book, but i dont recommend it for a book club. there's not much to discuss, and the plot changes so much that it's difficult to keep track of via our particular group's methods of communication.

basically, a nice, chummy, family-oriented detective has the crappiest job in the station and he ends up handling the biggest case the town's seen in years. there are playful references to nursery rhymes, and it was fun googling them to remember the exact phraseology. the action that happens is reasonably well written, but grows confusing over the course of the book. i'm not a huge fan of this one, and probably wont continue the series. i'm grateful for the light read, but would like to see where else the book club takes me.

because i joined a new book club, i abandoned northanger abby for a bit and started the american by henry james. this one was a large chunk to chew, and the club didnt meet till early november, so i kept it as my vacation novel. i'll report more on it for november books.

i have a few books on deck: end of the affair, the curious incident of the dog in the nighttime, and guns, germs & steel. we'll see how far i get, and with a heavy work load ahead of me, i'll need lots of luck! happy reading!

September Books

2007-10-03T12:10:00.001-05:00

no, i didnt over-do the reading in september... i just had a lot of short books that i was able to plow through. it was a good month though!

the namesake - jhumpa lahiri
lahiri's first book interpreter of maladies caught my attention years ago. it contains short stories filled with the stories of indian men and women surviving their lives. whether in california or calcutta, lahiri's characters are teased to life through small happenstances or situational ires. the reader finds warmth and encouragement in each character's flaw, falling point, rejoicing moment.

the namesake is lahiri's first full novel. it follows the ganguli family through a generation of regular life. the stream flows, in turn, from calcutta: ashoke's life as a scholar to ashima's sheltered familial home. the couple arrives together in boston where ashoke's life as student and professor link with ashima's hope to raise happy family despite being away from her own. they raise a son, gogol and a daughter and we watch gogol grow up - struggling to be an american while steeped in indian culture. gogol carries the remaining story of love, loss, acceptance and the desire to find peace in oneself.

nothing overtly interesting happens to the ganguli family, but nothing truely mundane does either. the namesake is more of a flushed out short story than it is a full novel. i definitely finished wanting more of her writing, but knowing that i was done with the gangulis - they were no more than a sweet lingering memory i'd carry with me after the book ended.

i'm recommending this one. i'll probably read it again. in fact - i did already read it once. a few years back, i regularly read the new yorker's fiction pieces. in september i read the first few chapters of the namesake with the horrible sensation that i'd already read the book (even though i knew i hadn't). so i glance at the credit page: sure enough, "portions of this story have appeared in slightly different format in the new yorker." hah. go figure.
4/5 stars

do androids dream of electric sheep - philip k. dick
this was the bookclub blog book of the month. i definitely enjoyed it. visit our blog and find out more about our pontifications!
4/5 stars

the devil wears prada - lauren weisberger
yeah yeah... i've read it already. dont knock me.

justification: i wanted to feel better about my job. since my promotion, i've been hella busy. b makes fun of my "real life" schedule, but i must say, i chose an office job for a reason. i like 9-5. i like flex time even more! but now that i'm into 50 hour work weeks (in a normal week - heavy weeks are a lot more) on a salaried pay scale, i'm not as happy as i'd like.

so i like reading about andy's hair-raising boss from hell and her ridiculous errands and perks. it's a bizarre form of comfort to end your day at 7pm and pop in the audiobook and laugh b/c you dont have a job that's nearly that bad (most days...).
2.5/5 stars (i dont like the character inconsistencies)

anne of the island - l.m. montgomery
ahhh, my monthly anne book. i do so love the sweet, eternal optimist. this is a really good one in the series. anne's at redmond for her ba in english. she's got a great group of friends, a bunch of matches to make and true love to find! i did miss some of the green gables "hum-drum" that was in the previous books, but overall, this is my 2nd fav thus far (the first being anne of green gables).
4/5 stars

so, that's it. if you havent noticed already, i'm keeping my "books on deck" on my shelfari below. check it out!

did you read anything worth recommending?

reasons NOT to become distracted while checking your email before bed

2007-10-02T22:16:00.000-05:00

as many of my readers (oh, you're all my friends? damn... that means all of you...) know, i'm reluctant to open an account on facebook or myspace. i have my reasons, but one big one is the time-waster factor. if you have a site that lets you browse around, with endless links, a lot of time tends to pass.

well, i inadvertently found one of those sites today. wikihow is a wikipedia segment with "how to's" listed. at the bottom of each article is a list of other articles you "may be interested in"... of course i'm interested.

i'm definitely interested to know how to survive a fall from a great height, or how to levitate someone or how to be an urban ninja. and just to really kick my new habit up a notch, there's even an article on how to quit facebook.

i do so love to learn.

could you pass the test?

2007-09-28T11:05:00.000-05:00

when entering into citizenship here in our lovely land of promises, immigrants must take a written test to see if their knowledge of the US of A is pristine enough to welcome them into our home.

if you were put to the test, would you pass? note that these are only samples from the 100 question test.

yes, if you're wondering, i did pass. but i let out an embarrassed breath of relief when i read the results! thank goodness i went to good schools, listen to npr and read the papers. but what about my fellow americans? have we all been trained this well? collectively, should we be embarrassed when we take this test because we think we may fail?

plangent

2007-09-12T13:01:00.000-05:00

yep. and i wish i could be louder.

august books

2007-09-04T12:18:00.001-05:00

august was a full month for me - full of travel, reconnecting, work stress, relaxing weekends and the start of my new exercise regimen (running. have not done this since... high school??). i did have time to read, quite a bit actually, thanks to travel. but i only got through two books because i wanted to do them justice.

the first book was harry potter 7. many discussions have flowered from the series finale - lunch hour ponderings with co-workers, after dinner chronology with the in-laws and many, many friend rants, raves and elations via instant message, email and beer-soaked nights. i will venture forth and say that i'm honored to have been a part of this series' place in history. i really do think it will sit up there with lord of the rings and narnia. i know, i'll get a lot of flack about this from some evangelicals, but c'mon - we're in a very secular world, and how much more secularized can you make LOTR than to have orlando bloom play a main character in an overpriced, highly detailed, highly marketed movie trilogy (which i did, admittedly, enjoy immensely).

i savored every harry moment. this may not be a series that i re-read every year, but i'm sure i'll enjoy it numerous times over the years - always hoping to expose a newbie to the world of wizards and giants, harry and voldemort.

the second book i read was michael chabon's brand new work of detective/sci-fi/noir fiction, the yiddish policemen's union. this was the book club book, and it sparked a couple of lively questions. we follow down-and-out detective meyer landsman as he investigates a quiet murder in his jewish town of sitka, alaska. chabon creates an other-world where the jews were hauled off to sitka, israel falls in 1948 and the world has a prickly feeling about it (it did remind me a bit of today's international political feel). a bit of religious fanaticism/mysticism is thrown in, but for the most part, we're dragged head-long into landsman's hunches and vices. we see what he sees, whether through filters of guilt and lonliness or alcohol and instinct... eventually things start to come clear, and the novel wraps up with a few killer twists and a feeling of hope. i definitely recommend this one, but you might want to wait till it arrives in paperback (the hardcover is a bit pricey at $25).

on deck: the new jhumpa lahiri (ok, it's not so new anymore) and do androids dream of electric sheep.

anyone else read anything of merit?

mustard sweater w/ stripes, $14.99 at H&M

2007-08-31T10:24:00.000-05:00

someone complained that i dont update enough, so i figure i should give my "readers" something new...

i hopped on 55 last night with all intentions of taking the 355/88 tollway combo home. then i did the math in my head and figured out that if i kept this up, day and night, i'd spend $40 in tolls per month, just on work travel. ouch. so i passed the 355 entrance and exited at illinois route 53 instead.

there was a bit of construction, but since i left work at an obscenely late hour, this did not factor into my trip. total travel time: 40 min. not bad...

this morning i took the same route to work. i was highly amazed at the lack of traffic in the construction zones (perhaps this is because i take full advantage of my flex hours and enter the building any time after 9 and before 10). total travel time: 40 min.

so i'm thinking this is a fabulous and cheap travel option. i'm sure i'll be proven wrong sooner than later, but for now, i've deluded myself and will go merrily on my way.

... hey, i didnt say i'd be interesting, did i?

really, i'm not interesting right now b/c i'm in the midst of ridiculous work stress. i got a promotion that increased my work load ten-fold. it's a nice pay increase, but i sure could use a regular massage therapist. my day consists of fretting and sorting and cutting and pasting and picking and picking and picking at documents. so my social life, in contrast, is very exciting, even if mundane.

i'm hoping for a relaxing, possibly fun long weekend. cheers to that...

chicago cabbies are whining

2007-07-20T09:42:00.000-05:00

taking my daily romp around the news links, i found this article in the chi-trib. in case you dont feel like getting infuriated yourself, i'll summarize: chicago cabbies are getting stiffed for tips and consequently are working more hours each day. they are attempting to organize themselves to prevent 14 hour work days and promote better tips.

i'm all for organizing. especially if it creates a flock of cabbies that actually care for their customers. it might be just me, but 7 of the 8 last times i've been in cabs, i've: 1. feared for my life 2. almost puked from motion sickness 3. been treated rudely by the driver. my desire to tip after these experiences is greatly lacking.

there have been articles out there on why tipping is good, and why tipping is bad. the socialist part of me thinks service would be altogether better if tipping were banned completely. the capitalist part of me clings for dear life to $5 from the tip bowl after kowtowing to richie rich for 30 min. but please note that last part of the sentence: kowtowing. i may not respect mr. rich for his compensation-sports-vehicle or his derogatory comments about "those less fortunate", but i do believe in providing quality service.

mr. rich may or may not leave me a tip, but i know that i've smiled and helped him to the best of my ability. of course i grumble when i give out $10 of free samples and receive nada in return (or worse yet - no sale). but this job is satisfactory to me because i know i do a good job. does this work ethic not transfer to other cultures? is being a good cabbie really that unrewarding that you wish to provide the shittiest service possible to all humans, no matter how nice they are to you?

i know cabs are notorious for poor service, but this article really did me in. i have a hard time feeling sorry for kahlid's 14 hour day when it's probably a fair assumption that in that 14 hour day, he scared 10 clients shitless. perhaps we're the ones that should unite? i can see the picket signs now: "scared shitless = shitty fare!!", "drive fair, get fare!!"

somehow though... i dont think it'll work...

happy 4th!

2007-07-06T10:43:00.000-05:00

it was a week filled with "fridays" (today being one of them). it was a week of relaxation. and the 4th was a low-key day filled with plenty of lounging, munchies and fruity beverages. we played a little wii, a little poker, read some, watched scrubs and about 9pm, went up to the rooftop. i have to say, i've never seen fireworks from that angle before, and it was fabulous!

i had been hearing fireworks outside since suppertime (why?? you cant see them in the daylight??!), and about 9pm, i got restless and dragged chairs and my friends upstairs to see the action. i was not let down. we were treated to a panoramic view of chicagoland at it's best. every neighborhood, from the far north, to the skyline, to cellular field and all the way into the western suburbs, people were purging their wares en masse.

in the farthest distances, little puffs of color floated as lacey edges. three blocks away, every twenty minutes or so, a mini-finale would explode above our heads and the neighbors would erupt in cheers. and the show surrounding us was relentless, so that at any second, you could turn your head and see a series of rings, or screaming sprays of green, or j-u-ust miss a few white puffs and only hear the BOOM.

this year's display definitley ranks in my top favorite firework moments, and for once, i'm glad that our rental company has shoddy views on things like door locks and building security... happy birthday america.

i rock the casbah

2007-06-16T19:07:00.000-05:00

i am a hardcore bitch. i have the sleuthing skills of sherlock holmes. i could be a middle eastern convenience store owner.

so i'm working at the wine store, sitting here reading anne of avonlea via downloadable book (forgot harry potter at home), munching on some leftover cheese & bread. its been a slow day thus far. don was in, doing his educational talks and sale schmoozing. jim stopped by for a quick glass between trains. cute married couple cooed at each other over rose. then everyone left.

i sit at the register which faces the giant front window. i love to watch the mini-hinsdalian teens strutting around. i find myself gawking at the lack of clothing and pleathora of fake boobs... you get the idea... anyway, this girl and boy walk by once and eyeball the store through the window. when i get underage curious folks i automatically will them to think twice about entering. i threw my mental warning out with a stern "teacherly" look i inherited from my mother (an eyebrow is raised, a grimace at the ends of my mouth - it's been perfected after generations). they continued on.

20 min later i see them pass by again at a brisk pace. they stop and the guy walks in. he's just at 6 ft, really skinny with a very youthful face. he starts talking the sweet talk. the kind of fast, busy, loud talk where you pick out a few phrases you've heard at your parent's parties and throw them with confidence at the clerk. moi. he's moving very fast, checking out the corners of the store: beer in the back (i follow him), french bordeaux in the front (i follow him), checks out the big wall o'expensive yumminess (i follow closely). he calls out a type of wine and claims to have seen it on the shelf last week (i laugh silently to myself, and look it up in the system). it's there. it's $71.99. he "finds it" and walks across the aisle again saying how much his father loves it. he walks back and i see him pick up another bottle of it.

... enter unassuming female customers. now, i can only hope that these ladies forgave my lack of attentiveness. i can only hope that they too saw that my eyes were locked on the squirrely 16 year old holding $140 worth of wine. i apologize ladies! thank you for bearing with me.

he then puts the one bottle back on the shelf (puts it right up front so it looks like a full row - clever boy!) and ducks behind a barrell of zinfandel. stays there for a while, asking inane questions. i respond equally inanely and wait for him to stand up.

when i was 16, howie was our resident klepto. howie stole designer clothing. howie stole tools from the hardware store. howie stole expensive stuff on a regular basis. howie stole food and beverage and the hearts of a few freshman girls. now, i dont credit my next move to my fascination with howie's obsession, but i will say that i'm less ignorant for it.

gawky 16 year old stands up and shifts to his side, barely disguising the $71.99 bottle of wine in his pants and under his shirt.

"could you please put the bottle back?"
"oh yeah! sure!!" puts bottle back on shelf slowly
"i'm going to have to ask you to leave"
he strides silently out the door and nearly knocks his girlfriend over as he runs down the sidewalk.

i wonder why he felt that he could get away with this. do i look stupid or distracted? i mean... there was no one else in there to take away my attention. did he think he fooled me with his fast talk? does the fact that he got caught leave him with a good story for tonite's party? do you think that he'd be able to enjoy the $71.99 bottle of wine? would he end up puking it up? and i still have a nagging feeling that he snagged a bottle of beer from the back... but hey, he did work hard for it, didnt he?

i'm a nervous mother (and i know that cat does not equal kid)

2007-06-14T13:25:00.000-05:00

my cat has recently taken to scaring me half to death. it's fully intentional on his part, and completely involuntary on mine. you see... we have a bit of an "unhealthy" attachment. when we lived alone, we did everything together. he sat in the kitchen with me while i cooked, sat on the toilet when i took showers, slept at the foot of my bed each night and watched hbo reruns with me on the couch.

because of this "nurturing time" in our lives, we know a lot about each other. he knows when i'm planning on going away for a weekend - even if i havent packed my bag yet. i know when he's pissed at me - even if he hasnt puked on my carpet yet. and he knows how to get my attention when he feels ignored.

this is exactly how we started the "scare mommy" game. when we moved into our new abode, we upgraded to a large porch/patio. this makes for excellent curiosity for cats! and we do have a total of 3 cats... we also upgraded to knowing our upstairs neighbors & their two chiuauas. what with our pleathora of people and puppies, poor romeo got lost in the excitement. i no longer was favoring his antics or supporting his "dominant male" lifestyle. so one day, he goes out onto the porch. i'm on the phone, gabbing away, paying no attention to him whatsoever until....

yes... kitty on the 4 inch ledge. outside the safety of the porch (which is 20 feet up). i see him dangling over the side, meowing (howling) at the dogs passing by. my thoughts as my stomach knotted up: dear lord, he's gonna jump! he's gonna break something! he's gonna run away! shitshitshit!

romeo's thoughts: bwahahahahaa! i'm the shit! oh yeah... me... the Shit. yes i am. meow!

h's thoughts on the matter when i told him about our little scare (spoken aloud): "you shoulda pushed him"...

maybe i shoulda... but i didnt... and now we have a little game. romeo goes out on the ledge. i panic. i coax him back off the ledge with promises of petting and loving and tuna. but now that the game has become routine, i think its less of a scare than it is a threat. a "gentle" reminder that romeo is the "dominant male cat" and needs his "edge" in the household. so... i turn a nervous eye away when he squeezes through the bars and dangles over to say hi to the passers-by.

cicadas in the car, a short film, not starring samuel l. jackson

2007-06-08T15:29:00.000-05:00

Newsflash! We had an up close and personal encounter with a cicada as we drove back from lunch! Imagine, if you will, the Volvo resting at a stoplight, windows down, three giggly girls inside, flushed with delight at finding sale items at the Gap and selecting sweets down the street at a chocolatier, and suddenly! Out of thin air! A giant monstrosity of a creature flies right at their faces! Wings beating furiously against the windshield! Giant red eyes bulging! Bzzzzz! Our giggles turn to overly dramatic shrieks as he attempts to break the glass and eat us!!

We survived. Barely. By combining our immense intelligence, wit, strength of character and muscles, and darned good looks to fend off the cicada and trick him into submission. Really. (He's now inside my hood, still staring.)*

*i was in the car for this event, but the writing credit goes to my co-worker, kirsten - the ever vigilant cicada hunter.

BEA 2007 - book nerd, enhanced.

2007-06-07T12:48:00.000-05:00

despite skeptisicm from others, this past weekend i indulged my inner uber nerd. yes ladies and gentlemen, i actually attended a book convention. after much deliberation, i can safely say that book expo america is significantly LESS geeky than a star trek convention, infinitely MORE interesteing than a plastics convention and as expected, MORE buttoned up than a comic book convention.

BEA event director & friend lance fensterman wrangled me into this page turner of an event (oh come on - i couldnt resist!) a few months ago. intrigued by his enthusiasm and promises of a star-studded list of apperances, i agreed to put on my good walking shoes and spend 24+ hours over 3 days in the jacob javits center in midtown manhattan. unknowingly, i also agreed to stand sardine-style in a hot box of miles of aisles of publishers, agents, authors, librarians and enthusiastic professionals.

there were numerous high points to this trip, but i'd prefer to express my feelings in the form of a list:

amazing folks who always go the extra mile: reed expo - lance, steve, diane, marni, nancy, mike, kelly, jen & ed; "locals" - rhett, mindy, johnathan & payel

pub houses & affiliates who never fail to impress me: coffee house press, graywolf press, milkweed editions, algonquin books, source books, independent publishers group

star-studded cast: alan greenspan, stephen colbert, ken burns, lisa see, khaled hosseini, roy blount jr., jennifer egan, john lithgow, tom perrotta, alice sebold, ben karlin, ian mcewan, andrew & elizabeth shue (promoting book version of movie gracie), lynn johnston (for better or for worse), bill amend (foxtrot), gary trudeau (doonsbury), patrick mcdonnell (mutts comic)

bizzare happenings in manhattan: while sipping a beer with mindy, waiting in limbo for a party to start, i noticed a 30-something man carrying a potted palm plant down the street. two beers later i noticed an elderly man leaning entirely too far out his window. said man was apparently naked, or half naked as his large belly covered any evidence of clothing "below the belt". shoes made for walking are not necessarily made for standing in, and vice versa. having the bus not stop to pick you up b/c it's too full, and then beating it to your destination b/c of traffic is mildly exciting and a great distraction method when you're carrying a 30 lb bag.

next year? LA, here i come!

cable-ready and not willing

2007-05-23T15:09:00.001-05:00

do i miss tv? mmm... not really. although, i still dont feel like i'm using my time wisely.

old schedule
5pm leave work
6:15pm get home, put down bag, put on work out clothes
6:15 - 7pm work out in front of TV (or with book, on rare occasions)
-tv watched: seinfeld or bernie mac or simpsons as no cable hook up on porch
7 - 9pm prime time tv & supper
9 - 10pm attempt to read book/clean apartment
10 - 11pm daily show & colbert report
11pm onwards: struggle to choose between bad late night tv, reading and sleeping

new schedule
5pm leave work
5:30pm get home, put down bag, put on sweats, look for roomies upstairs
5:30 - 9pm assortment of cribbage, Wii, long chats & supper
9pm - think about working out/berate self for forgetting to work out
10pm - read in bed or watch old movie (of late - hitchcock films)
11pm onwards: the ultimate question - read or sleep?

so you see, it's really not that different. in fact, those hours between 5:30 and 9 are pretty well lost to me. where do they go? why is it a good idea to watch 6 episodes of heros via computer-hooked-to-tv? why is working late so detrimental to functional after work activities? why is getting up early to excercise so damn hard? is colbert report still funny when you're not watching it?

and today i found out that our work's tech-guy does not watch tv at all - except for WWE. and therin lays our quote of the week: "the WWE is like the circus without wires!".

date night

2007-05-21T13:38:00.000-05:00

... was fabulous. went to a tavolo which happens to be hidden a half block away from our apartment. it's this great duplex that has been renovated, so you cant really tell it's a restaurant unless you know it's there. you walk in the front door, and have to pass through heavy curtains to get into the main dining room, which keeps to the house theme nicely - i felt like i was in someone's dolled up parlor.

we started off the evening with a plate of italian cured meats. after much deliberation (and hearing the specials of the day), we settled on a bottle of italian "pinot negro", which was a beautiful inky purple and light on the toungue. reviews touted the "pillow-like" gnocci, so sucker that i am, i insisted we try it. was not let down: melt in your mouth pasta-goodness (with sage butter). mmm...

my entree was very good - a white fish cooked to delicate flakey perfection, accompanied with new potatoes and a veggie (i honestly cant remember what it was - it was good, but overshadowed). h's entree was by far the best: rack of lamb, done to the pinkiest medium-rare with garlic spinach, which was blanched and had a generous coating of olive oil.

the service was attentive - i never had an empty water glass, the atmosphere was homey and i left fat, happy and a little more than tipsy. yes, i am a spoiled lady!

glamor shots; all the glory of my life w/o the nitty-gritties

2007-05-04T09:25:00.000-05:00

set scene: comfy cozy in bed, under the covers with a good book. low lighting, low hum of traffic coming from shutter-drawn window.
action: reading text - snow flower and the secret fan by lisa see
assumed time frame: 15 - 60 minutes each week night.
actual time frame: three nights in april spent frantically racing through text. only evidence of reading race in book blog where entries only posted morning after reading binge.
thoughts: while this book generated a lot of talk on the blog, i had been putting my efforts into plowing through john irving's latest tome. it's 900 pages of insanity and taking the better part of my reading life hostage. must finish asap.

set scene: after a long day of work, settling down on the couch with a beer and a comic book. tv droning in the background.
action: flipping pages, admiring artwork, getting a bit queasy looking at zombies & reading the walking dead.
assumed time frame: 1 hour
actual time frame: 1 hour
thoughts: i enjoy apocolyptic comics. it was a fast read with pretty decent artwork. complaints: a bit predictable & had that already-been-done-before feel.

set scene: boxes, dust, moldy tupperware and stress in apartment on 36xx marshfield
action: moving to 21xx rice; upgrading life to "adult"; scrubbing windows.
assumed time frame: 2 weeks around moving day to pack up, load up, haul, unpack.
actual time frame: 2 days to pack up, load up, haul... 3 weeks to unpack & "upgrade life".
thoughts: ugh. but our place looks fabulous, and we have more than enough space for visitors of all types. (hint hint)

set scene: a cold, blustery sunday; a warm, toasty apartment. me, bent over a sewing machine.
action: making a purse from scratch!
assumed time frame: all day
actual time frame: all day
thoughts: i will make the strap differently nex time, but overall, i'm in love with the fabric, style and aesthetic of creation. dont ask me to make you one, but if you're lucky, it may happen.

set scene: swank "w" hotel in downtown chicago, right off the lake. beautiful decor, fun company, a case of the sniffles...
action: mini-break w/ b & carrie
assumed time frame: two nights and two days in 32 degree, windy chicago with the onset of flu and zero dollars in wallet.
actual time frame: two nights in a room with fluffy beds, "gourmet" bath products and a huge lcd tv.
thoughts: i wish 10lees & little b could have been there; i wish i hadnt used up all the kleenex in the room on the first night; i wish i could have made a fabulous purchase at banana like carrie did... but i'm happy that b & i were both tired and wanted to soak up the luxury of the room w/o feeling guilt about not "seeing the town" (eff that - we live here!). it was fabulous. set scene: shedd aquarium, downtown chicago; one of the finest first days of spring. participants - me, sarah, little lady #1 & meredith.
action: ooing & ahhing over fishies & water mammals with a cute-as-a-button 1 year old
assumed time frame: a few hours
actual time frame: a few hours
thoughts: its so much more fun to visit places like this with kiddos - they help you remember why everything in this world is amazing.

set scene: a benign drizzly spring day, 8am. coffee in hand, bag on shoulder, back door locked.
action: walking to jetta, unlocking door, stowing work accoutrements, putting key in ignition, turning key, hearing engine go "er-er-er-rrrrrrrr.....pllll". pausing. turning key again - repeat noise. before bursting into tears, calling good friend & co-worker ebeth for ride to work. returning from work, getting car fixed.
assumed time frame: about two days to fix car
actual time frame: 8 days total to: acquire sub-car from loving sis, let rain stop, let jetta dry out, work two jobs, drop jetta at pepboys, pay bucks to fix jetta, return sub-car to loving sis.
thoughts: i hate cars.

"aint got no time on my hands" and other phrases i thought i'd never say

2007-03-24T11:23:00.000-05:00

it's been a long few weeks. extra food has been added to my plate, and i'm struggling to keep a balanced diet. i've never been one to take on more than i can handle. in fact, i've always been accused of slacking more than necessary. it's something i take a bit of pride in. back in college, my favorite prof commented on my GPA (which was 3.2). he said that it was ok for me to be a "B" student. when you're a "B" student, it probably means you can be an "A" student, but have a little too much going on in life to obtain the highest marks. a happy "B" student with "A" capabilities is more than likely an exemplary student: someone who can go out and meet new people at a party, who can enjoy a very late-night convo over coffee, who can philosophize for fun and still manage to attend classes, complete homework and impress professors. i guess the term is "well-rounded individual".

im thankful for my college and post-college experiences. yes, it means i dont have a high paying job, but no, i do not have gaping holes in my social life. this is not to condemn any fellow readers out there who are striving academically or in their careers! please no, i would never do that. in fact, some of my best friends have incredibly successful careers because of a few years of hard work and discipline. and, i'm not condemning my peers in slackerdom - we are worthwhile folk, busy or not. we have amazing minds and talents (and have to tell ourselves this every day).

it's the balance between the folk that tends to falter. i can feel the pressure from my artsy friends for me to be more creative - to publish, to volunteer, to push my artistic limits. i also feel the burn in my cheeks when my "friends with money" invite me to come eat at the newest bistro, or to help purchace beautiful things at the cute boutiques, and i am only able to be a voyeur.

the artsy friends can come across as insincere hipsters - working to accomplish personal goals instead of furthering a cause. the career folk sound materialistic and callous. sometimes i see that happen, but for the most part, it's a sincere focus on what makes that individual happy and satisfied in life. to put my efforts wholly into either of these categories would require a great sacrifice on either of the other horizon.

sometimes this push-me pull-you can really get me down. at it's greatest inflation is when i actually see how much i "slack" in life. how many hours have i "wasted" boozing it up with loved ones, exercising inside instead of outside, working a mindless job solely for it's benefits? this begs the question: am i bettering my person with these activities?

at the end of the day, my answer is usually an emphatic YES. lately it's been more and more difficult to arrive at this conclusion. too many things get in the way - things that force my attention forward or backward instead of settling down where i am at that moment. i am not striving for a big wallet (that would definitely make my ass look huge), or my name in lights (i'm publicly shy)... i am striving for a full heart, to be a positive influence, to smile as many real smiles as possible and to receive copious hugs filled with real love.

am i being kitschy? idealistic? rediculous? frankly, i dont really care, as long as at the end of the day, my nurse friend, my writer husband and my corporate self can sit down with a glass of wine and have a truely wonderful time of it.

oh, the fun of Yum

2007-03-16T14:42:00.000-05:00

february books

2007-03-02T11:29:00.000-06:00

the voracious reading is back!! it's terribly exciting, and a great indicator that previous months i had been watching too much tv... this month i only indulged in episodes of 6 feet under while elliptisizing (the best way to keep me on the damn thing for 50 min at a pop), lost either on wednesday nights or lunchtime on thursdays (an excellent way to spend your lunchbreak, thank you abc.com), and occasional daily shows & colbert reports. i would also like to thank h & o for helping me return to status of voracious reader. by playing hours and hours of madden on the wii, they heartily encouraged me to look away from the tv and bury my nose in a book.

book #1
remains of the day by kazuo ishiguro

bookclub book o'the month. i discussed my deep feelings for this on the bookclub blog, and i dont really wish to rehash them here. long time butler stevens obtains permission from his new boss to take a small road trip. steven's goes to visit a former head housemaid, and on the way reminices about the famous household they organized together. comprised of memories and ruminations on a life lived in the service of others, this is a book for english fans. let me clarify - people who enjoy fiction that takes place in england, and has all of the linguistics and restraints that define mid-20th century england. not my bag of beans, but it was well written.

book #2
bloodsucking fiends by christopher moore

i needed a break from the stuffy english literature above, so my balance book (i usually read 2 books at the same time, and rotate as needed) was a comedy. if you havent guessed, i'm a huge moore fan. his sharp observations and wit are fresh & unique. i love his wry outlook on life, his beta male (& female) characters and his outlandish plots. red-headed jody is unexpectedly turned into a vampire while returning home from work on in san franciso. needing a daytime ally, she recruits tommy, our beta male and night grocery store clerk. tommy & jody encounter many a trial attempting to figure out jody's "condition", and by the end of the book, you may be a bit frustrated... the book abruptly ends, and has been one of moore's fan's greatest struggles. over a decade later, moore gives us his sequel: you suck. i'm terribly excited about it, and i'm sure i'll run straight to borders to snatch it up - just... not at night...

book #3
anne of green gables by l.m. montgomery

audiobook. yes, i have listened to this one before. but it's anne of green gables!! how many times have my female readers out there seen/read/listened to anne's stories?? for my male readers: this is a fun coming-of-age story about orphan anne shirley entering the prince edward island home of sister & brother marilla and matthew cuthbert. she's got spunk, she's got smarts and she's got more than enough imagination share with everyone she meets in the town of avonlea. such a great heartwarmer for listening to on long, cold drives home from work.

book #4
as i lay dying by william faulkner

i'm still deconstructing this one in my head, so i cant say much about it yet. written in local dialect, the reader is carried into the novel as a direct observer to the bundren family's saga. addie bundren, mother & wife, passes on, and we follow the family as they attempt to bury her in her home town. this is a very striking work. i definitely enjoyed it, and i keep coming back and lingering over the characters. faulkner is touted as one of the greatest american writers, and thus far, i'm in agreement.

all in all, a solid month! on deck is some fluff, another book about death, and a little sci-fi.

five months later

2007-02-22T18:38:00.000-06:00

A few months ago my father ~~passed~~ ~~passed away~~ died. I’m not all better yet, or have even shed enough tears. But he definitely died. He’s not around, and frankly, I’m still at odds about it.

6 Feet Under is being syndicated on Bravo, and privately I have been against this from the start. In fact, I was against the show before the first season was finished on HBO. I did not want to get sucked into another TV show. A TV show that was on premium (re: ridiculously priced) cable. It’s a show about death, life, a dysfunctional family. Stolen body parts, drugs, abuse and their repercussion: Death. Hard-hitting entanglement. Right? Who needs that. Life is already hard.

Yeah, eventually… I watched it. All of it. I binged with On Demand and purged the tears and hoots in a blank room. And it only took three months.

…

A few weeks after my dad died, the show re-premiered on Bravo at 9pm CST. A bunch of us were sagged out in front of the TV, a bit booze-ridden and tired. I don’t know where the channel changer was, but my butt was sort of rooted to the chair.

It’s a green lawn chair with a polar fleece blanket on it (covered in cat hair of course – all the better to show off with my black pants). Still college furniture. I’m married. I’m grown up. But I live like a kid. I’m happy with this on most days. The illusion of immaturity helps balance the bigger things. Actually, I know that’s why we’re all here… the relief of gratuitous wine and gluttonous TV. Community sleepovers to stave off the aloneness.

I remember this episode. It’s the first one… I was watching this in the old apartment. Wine… bald couch… alone… wow that hooked me.

So I kept watching… later… further. It’s a 2 hour premier, without the vulgarity, with commercials. But I’m remembering everything they’re missing. Each tiny edit leaves a gaping hole. I need to walk away. Go to bed. But it’s useless. I’m hooked. Drunk, rooted. Dead to the rest of the world.

So it’s in my face. Nathaniel Fischer dies, a beat after I’ve sucked my breath into my heart with realization. Brenda gives Nate the superficial world, and walks away, indifferent, while I mirror her smirk. First impressions are worth gold. Claire strikes an empty fist of words into the air – blindly flinging her invisibility as I disappear from the room: me and the TV.

I hate to admit when TV is good. but watching that first episode again was like opening an old, weathered book. Peeling back old layers of memory to the vibrant living skin underneath. Shed the callous and see what’s underneath. Are you ready for it? Don’t go too far or you’ll have a raw spot. Only one episode at a time. Face death boldly, but with respect. It becomes a part of life.