I made chili tonight. My base was one can of diced tomatoes, a can of pinto beans, and a can of kidney beans. Threw in some diced green peppers and onions I cut up Monday night but didn't use. Browned some ground beef, tossed that in. Seasoned with chili powder, cumin, fresh garlic, brown sugar, cinnamon, red pepper flakes. To taste, of course. I didn't use enough chili powder for it to get to be a really deep red color, so it was orange. And the kidney beans became overcooked and deflated into leathery, concave globs. But it tasted good with fresh cilantro and cheese as a garnish. Leftovers for lunch tomorrow.
Last weekend Katie and I went to visit my folks and for her to see what my childhood was like. My mom was quick to bring out the embarrassing photos. On Saturday Katie rode around with me and my dad like we would normally do on Saturday mornings. Much to Katie's delight, we rode the four-wheeler after that like the redneck couple we pretended we were. After getting Katie's jeans sufficiently muddy, we went riding with my dad again and ended up at Fort Donelson. They've improved the movie since the last time I sat through it, at least ten years ago. In the evening we spent time with my mom and grandmother. We ate at an Italian restaurant. My grandmother tried to wow Katie with a $2 bill, which didn't work, but Katie accepted the money gleefully anyway. Katie and I spent that night at the lake house that my dad's friend owns. It was mega romantic. Sunday my parents and we went to Murray to eat the daily special Homestyle Chicken at Cracker Barrel. Katie had never been to Kentucky before. We were supposed to buy a postcard as a memento but I just realized we forgot.
I tried to watch the news after work today, but it was nothing but AIG this, AIG that. I bored of it quickly and watched Reno 911 instead.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Thursday, March 12, 2009
smokey bones
Katie's over tonight. Earlier we made eggplant parmesan and pasta. The oil in which we fried the eggplant started to burn as we finished, making the apartment smell like a grease pit, complete with hazy atmosphere. The meal was fantastic but the odor is getting on my nerves. Katie's watching her show, Bones, which has returned with new episodes after some hiatus. Personally I find the show disgusting. Hence, the blog.
Last weekend she and I drove to Crossville for the annual Music City license plate meet. Katie had not yet been exposed to my tin addiction. She was a good sport about it and was a good companion (and merchandise holder). I didn't escape the teasing, though. All in all, I got some good plates, but I didn't splurge because I'll be attending another meet next month. Anyway, after leaving Crossville just before noon, we took a little detour back through Chattanooga. Spent some time walking around downtown and also ate awesome pizza at Lupi's. It was a fun day.
Was the snowstorm before or after my last post? I can't remember. I think it was more recent. Anyway, Huntsville got a dusting. An hour to our north, and especially three hours to the west, southern Tennessee got slammed. A foot of snow just north of Memphis! What panic must have ensued! What a bummer that we missed out. I would have put up with the panic if only we'd gotten a few inches. It was especially nice, both here and there, that the snow was gone within 24 hours, before it got nasty, thanks to an impressive warm-up. Gotta love these Southern winters.
Last weekend she and I drove to Crossville for the annual Music City license plate meet. Katie had not yet been exposed to my tin addiction. She was a good sport about it and was a good companion (and merchandise holder). I didn't escape the teasing, though. All in all, I got some good plates, but I didn't splurge because I'll be attending another meet next month. Anyway, after leaving Crossville just before noon, we took a little detour back through Chattanooga. Spent some time walking around downtown and also ate awesome pizza at Lupi's. It was a fun day.
Was the snowstorm before or after my last post? I can't remember. I think it was more recent. Anyway, Huntsville got a dusting. An hour to our north, and especially three hours to the west, southern Tennessee got slammed. A foot of snow just north of Memphis! What panic must have ensued! What a bummer that we missed out. I would have put up with the panic if only we'd gotten a few inches. It was especially nice, both here and there, that the snow was gone within 24 hours, before it got nasty, thanks to an impressive warm-up. Gotta love these Southern winters.
Friday, February 27, 2009
see previous title
A bug that was going around the office firmly planted itself in my bloodstream last night after I got home from work. It's kind of like the trial version of the flu. I have the headache, body aches and fever, but no respiratory or gastrointestinal distress. I can breathe completely normally. It basically hurts to move--I wouldn't be able to post this if I hadn't taken Tylenol a couple of hours ago and loaded up on hot tea and soup to melt away the fever chill.
I'm catching up on a lot of daytime TV, much of which I haven't seen since I was unemployed from September to mid-November 2007. I watched The Price Is Right this morning (in HD :). Drew Carey has improved as host since the last time I saw the show, but he's still struggling to fill Bob Barker's shoes. I guess that would be hard for anyone, though. I also watched an old episode of Family Feud, from the Richard Dawson era, on the Game Show Network. Dawson forced a 15-year-old-ish contestant to talk to an attractive young female page who sat on set writing the "strike" answers down on a cue card as a reference for contestants. The page was waving her face when the camera turned on her as if she was embarrassed, and the 15-year-old was obviously terrified. Nonetheless, Dawson gently forced them to shake hands and speak to each other, all on camera, just before going to commercial. The embarrassment captured by videotape three decades ago is still powerful enough to make me shield my face in sympathetic embarrassment for these two poor folks.
Katie's arriving tomorrow for another, ahem, extended visit. I'm excited! I just hope that she doesn't catch what I have. She's said she's going to be my nurse. Tomorrow I may venture out to purchase some surgical masks for one of us to wear, since it seems to be relatively contagious. I guess if they don't work I just get to be nurse sometime next week. (I mean, what am I talking about? Crossing my fingers!) At any rate, Chris and I were supposed to go out for a celebratory beer tonight but now that's obviously going to be canceled.
TV is getting lame. I think it's time for a movie.
I'm catching up on a lot of daytime TV, much of which I haven't seen since I was unemployed from September to mid-November 2007. I watched The Price Is Right this morning (in HD :). Drew Carey has improved as host since the last time I saw the show, but he's still struggling to fill Bob Barker's shoes. I guess that would be hard for anyone, though. I also watched an old episode of Family Feud, from the Richard Dawson era, on the Game Show Network. Dawson forced a 15-year-old-ish contestant to talk to an attractive young female page who sat on set writing the "strike" answers down on a cue card as a reference for contestants. The page was waving her face when the camera turned on her as if she was embarrassed, and the 15-year-old was obviously terrified. Nonetheless, Dawson gently forced them to shake hands and speak to each other, all on camera, just before going to commercial. The embarrassment captured by videotape three decades ago is still powerful enough to make me shield my face in sympathetic embarrassment for these two poor folks.
Katie's arriving tomorrow for another, ahem, extended visit. I'm excited! I just hope that she doesn't catch what I have. She's said she's going to be my nurse. Tomorrow I may venture out to purchase some surgical masks for one of us to wear, since it seems to be relatively contagious. I guess if they don't work I just get to be nurse sometime next week. (I mean, what am I talking about? Crossing my fingers!) At any rate, Chris and I were supposed to go out for a celebratory beer tonight but now that's obviously going to be canceled.
TV is getting lame. I think it's time for a movie.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
flu season
Earlier this month my computer, yes, my computer, showed symptoms of a virus. I am not sure how or when I actually got it. I was cleaning house and decided to listen to music on iTunes to make the task more pleasant. As Windows finished loading a virus warning popped up--a Trojan horse, the name of which I can't remember. Almost immediately my browser started going to apparently random commercial websites. I did a virus scan, which found several infected files and said it cleaned them. Things were acting seemingly normally thereafter, but I remain skeptical of the security of the system. I haven't logged into anything requiring a password of any kind for fear a keylogger or other malicious program is still running. As time allows, I will wipe the partition and reinstall the OS anew. If money allows I may buy Vista instead of replacing XP. Probably not, though.
Note that I am now relying entirely on my Linux partition, which I normally use for all the important things anyway. I really only use Windows for iTunes and for watching Netflix movies on demand. What's funny is that just a few weeks ago someone asked me to recommend virus protection software, and also what I used. I told them about AVG Free, but all I could say about it was that I had it installed. At that point I'd never had, or even been warned about, a virus on any of the computers I've ever owned, regardless of the type of protection I used. So I couldn't say how well AVG actually worked. I was quite impressed when it seemingly intercepted the virus. However, when Katie was visiting last week for Valentine's, one day while I was at work she said she tried to use Windows and it showed the odd behavior I'd seen before the virus. I have not booted it myself since to see, but this means I either got the virus again or AVG didn't find everything it should've. I can't say for sure whether I can rely on AVG anymore, but I will definitely give the complete system scan another whirl.
Ah, yes, Katie dropped in last Wednesday night to spend the weekend with me. We had a wonderful time. Wined and dined her. Last Thursday we went to the Chef's Table for an enormous, exquisite meal. We ordered the Dinner for Two, which was three tapas and any four items selected from various salads, soups, sides, and desserts. Great atmosphere, great service, great food (except for the risotto we ordered as a side). Watched some movies, showed her around town. It was really a test run for when we move in together, as we have already discussed and planned. Everything went well, just like we expected.
This weekend I am going to do my taxes and make up some time owed to my employer consumed by a handful of unexpectedly long lunch excursions--see previous post.
Note that I am now relying entirely on my Linux partition, which I normally use for all the important things anyway. I really only use Windows for iTunes and for watching Netflix movies on demand. What's funny is that just a few weeks ago someone asked me to recommend virus protection software, and also what I used. I told them about AVG Free, but all I could say about it was that I had it installed. At that point I'd never had, or even been warned about, a virus on any of the computers I've ever owned, regardless of the type of protection I used. So I couldn't say how well AVG actually worked. I was quite impressed when it seemingly intercepted the virus. However, when Katie was visiting last week for Valentine's, one day while I was at work she said she tried to use Windows and it showed the odd behavior I'd seen before the virus. I have not booted it myself since to see, but this means I either got the virus again or AVG didn't find everything it should've. I can't say for sure whether I can rely on AVG anymore, but I will definitely give the complete system scan another whirl.
Ah, yes, Katie dropped in last Wednesday night to spend the weekend with me. We had a wonderful time. Wined and dined her. Last Thursday we went to the Chef's Table for an enormous, exquisite meal. We ordered the Dinner for Two, which was three tapas and any four items selected from various salads, soups, sides, and desserts. Great atmosphere, great service, great food (except for the risotto we ordered as a side). Watched some movies, showed her around town. It was really a test run for when we move in together, as we have already discussed and planned. Everything went well, just like we expected.
This weekend I am going to do my taxes and make up some time owed to my employer consumed by a handful of unexpectedly long lunch excursions--see previous post.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
40D
Today, my boss, "Bob D," turned forty. Dan and I had the idea of taking him out to lunch to celebrate. We proposed the idea to him yesterday afternoon and he liked it, and when we started throwing out suggestions as to where to go, we settled on Buffalo Wild Wings. There's one basically around the corner from work, and we chose it partly because we thought it would be quick. Rather than keep it a private affair, we decided to open up the fun to everyone who works directly under Bob. This is, in effect, a third of the company. We sent out an e-mail invite to everyone and in the end 17 people came. This turned out to be overload for the lightly patronized, understaffed restaurant. We'd expected to be back in less than an hour--past experiences at this particular BWW have been fast, albeit with a smaller party. It actually took an hour and 50 minutes. We were pretty frustrated but there was nothing we could do. Looks like they would have been quicker and more eager to get us rolling since there were more at our table than all of the other tables combined. At least I did get to work 20 minutes earlier than usual today, so I only have to make up a half hour some other day.
It's been almost 2 weeks since I last posted. I've been very busy with Katie. On the phone, at least. I got my cell phone bill today and was impressed with the numerical proof of how much we enjoy each other: We talked the vast, vast majority of the 1208 minutes (20+ hours) I spent on the phone between December 27 and January 26. If I had to guess I would say maybe an hour of that is everyone else combined. And this is not counting the hours and hours we've talked on my land line.
My mom came for a couple of days last weekend. One of the days we drove to Tuscaloosa so she could meet Katie. It was an experience. We ate and ate and shopped and ate and drove around looking for the Arboretum, which evidently no longer exists (my mom and I wandered to Tuscaloosa once while I was living in Starkville and accidentally discovered an arboretum). Instead, we found an art museum, way out in the boonies, of all places. My mom wanted us to go in with her but we preferred to stay in the car and talk. We may go back ourselves, though, since we're becoming quite familiar with Tuscaloosa, spending weekend after weekend there. Honestly, we're sickening of the city, but we're going to keep meeting there because it is convenient. (Ole Miss sucks.)
At any rate, Mom approves.
It's been almost 2 weeks since I last posted. I've been very busy with Katie. On the phone, at least. I got my cell phone bill today and was impressed with the numerical proof of how much we enjoy each other: We talked the vast, vast majority of the 1208 minutes (20+ hours) I spent on the phone between December 27 and January 26. If I had to guess I would say maybe an hour of that is everyone else combined. And this is not counting the hours and hours we've talked on my land line.
My mom came for a couple of days last weekend. One of the days we drove to Tuscaloosa so she could meet Katie. It was an experience. We ate and ate and shopped and ate and drove around looking for the Arboretum, which evidently no longer exists (my mom and I wandered to Tuscaloosa once while I was living in Starkville and accidentally discovered an arboretum). Instead, we found an art museum, way out in the boonies, of all places. My mom wanted us to go in with her but we preferred to stay in the car and talk. We may go back ourselves, though, since we're becoming quite familiar with Tuscaloosa, spending weekend after weekend there. Honestly, we're sickening of the city, but we're going to keep meeting there because it is convenient. (Ole Miss sucks.)
At any rate, Mom approves.
Friday, January 23, 2009
greener pastures
As I drove by an apartment complex in my neighborhood yesterday I noticed its surrounding yard was an unnaturally bright green--the color of lime Jell-O. Quickly, a strong odor somewhere between gasoline and mothballs filtered in through my air vents. Evidently the green stuff is either fertilizer or a type of pest control. It makes the place look pretty ridiculous, especially since the application was spotty and there are areas where the natural dead winter color of the grass is still obvious visible. Plus, I would not be surprised if the chemical fumes are in fact putting the residents at a not-insignificant risk of harm.
I bought a new TV stand Tuesday night. Spent two hours Wednesday night putting it together. I bought it at Wal-Mart and was surprised to discover it was made in U.S.A. (Even weirder: the next most expensive model, which I also considered buying, was made in Denmark.) Ironically, perhaps, the quality of the components is lacking. Several screw holes were drilled slightly off-center and there was a mistake in the directions. But now that it's together it does look nice and provide more storage under the TV. Normally one has to worry about build-it-yourself particle-board furniture warping and sagging over time under stress, but I'm not so worried about this one, since the stand weighs over twice as much as the LCD panel it supports.
The long work week is over! And now the long lazy Friday night has begun! I think I might watch some TV, cook some supper. Probably going out for a beer with Chris later and talking to Katie after she gets off work at 11:00. Tomorrow, cleaning this joint like mad and also sorting out the piles of clutter which have accumulated over the past two months.
I bought a new TV stand Tuesday night. Spent two hours Wednesday night putting it together. I bought it at Wal-Mart and was surprised to discover it was made in U.S.A. (Even weirder: the next most expensive model, which I also considered buying, was made in Denmark.) Ironically, perhaps, the quality of the components is lacking. Several screw holes were drilled slightly off-center and there was a mistake in the directions. But now that it's together it does look nice and provide more storage under the TV. Normally one has to worry about build-it-yourself particle-board furniture warping and sagging over time under stress, but I'm not so worried about this one, since the stand weighs over twice as much as the LCD panel it supports.
The long work week is over! And now the long lazy Friday night has begun! I think I might watch some TV, cook some supper. Probably going out for a beer with Chris later and talking to Katie after she gets off work at 11:00. Tomorrow, cleaning this joint like mad and also sorting out the piles of clutter which have accumulated over the past two months.
Monday, January 19, 2009
circle of friends
Two weekends. 1,500 miles.
Weekend before last I spent with Katie. I left immediately after work Friday and got to her place around 11:00. That was okay because she was at work until 11:30. Being hungry and without food of any kind, we went to Wal-Mart. I did not realize how late it was getting by the time we were going back to her apartment and so when I committed to cooking pasta and saw it was 12:30, I regretted not just getting something microwaveable like she did. Nonetheless, we decided to split the pasta; I forged on and we ate around 1:00. We pretty much went straight to bed, but stayed up until 5:00 talking--yes, talking. Bonding, really. We woke up at about 10 but again lounged around until after noon. We did want to get out and do some things, including get her some new fish, and we did manage to do that for a while before returning to lounge some more and listen to music. As you can tell by now, we were having a great time just being with each other for the sake of being with each other. We did go out again later to her favorite bar, primarily so she could introduce me to her friend Mari. We didn't stay very late. We went back and watched Tropic Thunder. We stayed up well past midnight, but obviously not nearly as late as before since we were pretty exhausted. The next day was similarly lazy; we ordered a pizza and stayed in bed most of the day, but as my departure time approached we did decide to cram in a little sightseeing; she showed me where she worked and all her usual hangouts.
As if that wasn't enough traveling, I took this past Friday off and spent the weekend with friends in St Louis. I left immediately after work Thursday, arriving in hard-frozen St Louis at 12:30. I stayed at Mike/Frank/Brandon/Greg's place. We stayed up until 3:00 catching up and also watching Frank play Grand Theft Auto. Part of the reason we stayed up was because we excitedly waited to see if temps could hit 0°F, and in some cases beyond, before we succumbed to exhaustion--yes, we are geeks. The next day, we fulfilled earlier plans to celebrate Pete's birthday (which I mentioned at the end of the last post) belatedly. Pete is a Little Caesar's fiend, and so everyone at SLU went in together to throw a miniature pizza party for him. I joined in. The students and I split 9 pizzas and Crazy Bread. I chatted with my old chums and professors. In the evening we all went to Trailhead in St Charles for b-e-e-r and delicious food. Some of the group returned with us to the apartment to play Wii. I talked to Katie instead. By the time I hung up the phone, the Wii tournament had finished and we played Cranium instead. I was given the task of acting out the word "bridge," which I expected to be impossible. However, when I stepped over the game board in one giant step, Mike said meekly, "Bridge?" It was probably the biggest triumph in the history of charades. Or maybe not. Anyway, our team lost. I think. I can't remember.
Saturday, Stephen and Sarah arrived. We all went to lunch together at Culpeppers just like old times. Then, Stephen, Sarah and I went and checked into the hotel room Stephen had gotten. We changed clothes and then rode out to St Peters for a retirement party for one of the NWS guys. The valet mistakenly brought my car instead of Stephen's, and we were in too big of a hurry to bother with swapping them out, so make the aforementioned 1,500 miles 1,560 instead--I just remembered that part. At any rate, good times and good food were had by all at the party. After that, we returned downtown to hang out with the others at Morgan Street Brewery. More b-e-e-r. S & S & I were going to go to brunch the next day, but decided to sleep in instead. I left there, drove back for a brief stopover and meal with my folks, picked up my cat, and drove home.
Weekend before last I spent with Katie. I left immediately after work Friday and got to her place around 11:00. That was okay because she was at work until 11:30. Being hungry and without food of any kind, we went to Wal-Mart. I did not realize how late it was getting by the time we were going back to her apartment and so when I committed to cooking pasta and saw it was 12:30, I regretted not just getting something microwaveable like she did. Nonetheless, we decided to split the pasta; I forged on and we ate around 1:00. We pretty much went straight to bed, but stayed up until 5:00 talking--yes, talking. Bonding, really. We woke up at about 10 but again lounged around until after noon. We did want to get out and do some things, including get her some new fish, and we did manage to do that for a while before returning to lounge some more and listen to music. As you can tell by now, we were having a great time just being with each other for the sake of being with each other. We did go out again later to her favorite bar, primarily so she could introduce me to her friend Mari. We didn't stay very late. We went back and watched Tropic Thunder. We stayed up well past midnight, but obviously not nearly as late as before since we were pretty exhausted. The next day was similarly lazy; we ordered a pizza and stayed in bed most of the day, but as my departure time approached we did decide to cram in a little sightseeing; she showed me where she worked and all her usual hangouts.
As if that wasn't enough traveling, I took this past Friday off and spent the weekend with friends in St Louis. I left immediately after work Thursday, arriving in hard-frozen St Louis at 12:30. I stayed at Mike/Frank/Brandon/Greg's place. We stayed up until 3:00 catching up and also watching Frank play Grand Theft Auto. Part of the reason we stayed up was because we excitedly waited to see if temps could hit 0°F, and in some cases beyond, before we succumbed to exhaustion--yes, we are geeks. The next day, we fulfilled earlier plans to celebrate Pete's birthday (which I mentioned at the end of the last post) belatedly. Pete is a Little Caesar's fiend, and so everyone at SLU went in together to throw a miniature pizza party for him. I joined in. The students and I split 9 pizzas and Crazy Bread. I chatted with my old chums and professors. In the evening we all went to Trailhead in St Charles for b-e-e-r and delicious food. Some of the group returned with us to the apartment to play Wii. I talked to Katie instead. By the time I hung up the phone, the Wii tournament had finished and we played Cranium instead. I was given the task of acting out the word "bridge," which I expected to be impossible. However, when I stepped over the game board in one giant step, Mike said meekly, "Bridge?" It was probably the biggest triumph in the history of charades. Or maybe not. Anyway, our team lost. I think. I can't remember.
Saturday, Stephen and Sarah arrived. We all went to lunch together at Culpeppers just like old times. Then, Stephen, Sarah and I went and checked into the hotel room Stephen had gotten. We changed clothes and then rode out to St Peters for a retirement party for one of the NWS guys. The valet mistakenly brought my car instead of Stephen's, and we were in too big of a hurry to bother with swapping them out, so make the aforementioned 1,500 miles 1,560 instead--I just remembered that part. At any rate, good times and good food were had by all at the party. After that, we returned downtown to hang out with the others at Morgan Street Brewery. More b-e-e-r. S & S & I were going to go to brunch the next day, but decided to sleep in instead. I left there, drove back for a brief stopover and meal with my folks, picked up my cat, and drove home.
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