March 2, 2011

4 Mar

I decided to make myself some guacamole, and I took this picture of the garlic I intended to use. I was going to write an ode to garlic, about how it is such a strange little thing, yet it makes so many things taste so much better. How did humankind look at this thing and figure out what magic it held?!?! Unfortunately, everything went wrong with the guac. I was overzealous about the avocados which were clearly not ripe enough and wouldn’t mush. I doubled the amount of garlic I usually put into guac. In the past couple of months, I’ve been adding an extra clove of garlic to recipes, and it always enhances the flavor. I thought it would be similar with guacamole, but I didn’t think it through. It’s raw garlic! It doesn’t cook down at all. So I had guac with crunchy avocado and way, way, way too much garlic. It burnt my mouth! I kept trying to enjoy it, but I ended up throwing most of it out. I sat on my couch, smelling not so hot, and pouted. Lesson learned!

March 1, 2011

4 Mar

Can you spot the new friend I brought home from Boston? I’ll give you a hint. I put my change in him!

February 28, 2011

4 Mar

It was raining cats and dogs in the city. I walk down 2nd Avenue to work. They are putting in a new subway line, and there is construction along the entire Upper East Side. It has caused rats and roaches to swarm into many apartments and unfortunately my new place of work (although I have yet to see either). But it also created this really great Film Noir fog.

February 27, 2011

4 Mar

My sister! I had such a good weekend with her. It is fun to live close enough to one another that this sort of a visit is possible. We haven’t lived this close in 7 years! She took me to the bus station to say goodbye. I’m excited for her to come back to New York to visit.

February 26, 2011

4 Mar

My sister and I spent most of the day in and around Harvard Square, visiting amazing bookstores and coffeebars. We went out that night and drank lots of beer and whiskey, but it was overall a relaxing day.

February 25, 2011

4 Mar

This is Miles. I went up to Boston for the weekend to spend some time with my sister, but I also ended up spending time with Miles. For years, I have struggled with felinophobia, an intense fear of cats. More and more, though, I have faced my fear and come to realize that perhaps cats aren’t the symbols of Satan that I once thought they were. But I have always been wary. I don’t like them to come near me or to touch me, yet they feel ever-inclined to do so. Their owners often tell me (much to my chagrin) that their cat never likes people, and that I am the first person they’ve ever warmed up to. This has happened to me my whole life. But recently my friend Angie told me she read an article about how cats respect being ignored, and they flock to people that don’t like them. Hence my problem. Somehow, this knowledge has eased my fear of cats considerably. They aren’t taunting me. They actually like me. Anyways, Miles is super soft and laid back. He even snuggled with me on the couch. I felt so happy in this treaty I had apparently signed with my arch-nemesis. Then, I woke up Sunday morning sneezing like crazy, and I didn’t stop until I was back to New York, showered, and away from the cat hair. Oh well, it was nice to have a feline friend while it lasted.

February 24, 2011

4 Mar

I felt lazy and ordered in a burrito, and a large one at that. I paid an extra 50 cents to get jalapenos in the burrito. However, they turned out to be the worst part. I wholeheartedly believe that there should be a clear distinction on menus between jalapenos and pickled jalapenos, because pickled jalapenos are disgusting, and I hate them. Fresh jalapenos? I could eat those for days.

February 23, 2011

4 Mar

Ah, yes. A blurry picture of a broken, ipod USB cable. This was all I had, and my camera just would not focus. I am trying to blame my camera less for my underwhelming pictures, but the fact that I can neither control the focus nor the flash makes it really hard. My camera is a fickle machine.

Anyways, I bought a bunch of new music to listen to on my 20-minute walks to work, but I can’t find my USB for the life of me. I mentioned it to my boss at work, and she gave me hers to take home and use. That’s when I realized I really like her, and one of the reasons I’m enjoying my new job so much is because I am finally under decent management. She’s fun and manages the office well with authority, but also with understanding. It got me thinking of all my past employers when it struck me that the best managers I have had in the past were all women, while the worst were all men. Mind you, this is my 18th job! The women-run workplaces I have experienced are always better staffed and have a more productive environment. I’m just saying, women know how to run things smoothly. I (and most every other woman in this country) would love to see what America would be like with a white house and a congress dominated by women. I honestly believe we’d all be a lot happier.

February 22, 2011

2 Mar

This is across the street from my new place of employment. It’s so charming. I’m also showing off my camera skills by displaying my new gloves in the lower left corner. They’re blue!

February 21, 2011

2 Mar

We ordered in from Tiny Thai….again. This time, it seemed different though. I’m pretty sure they have a new chef or something. In the past, my pad thai with tofu was mediocre with pathetic pieces of tofu. This time, I got the large deep-fried chunks of tofu I’d become so accustomed to in Seattle. It also just tasted better somehow. One of the things I love about Travis is that we always order spring rolls, it isn’t even a question. But this time I got the large order. I love me some spring rolls.