Mishaps and other haps

There is some kind of fascination with Jonathan Coulton in this household right now. It’s not really something that you can or even really want to escape. It makes you want to maybe hug a Code Monkey. Or maybe I am talking about me.

It has been a good day, even though I didn’t make it to that yoga class that I really intended to attend when I saw the announcement a week and a half ago.

PhysOrg and I had brunch at Marigold Kitchen, which I would rave about more if I had been there more than twice. I think that is going to change when the weather is warmer and we are downtown more often on the weekends for the Farmers’ Market. It’s a busy, close-quarters place on a Saturday morning and it took a while to get our meal today, but the food is excellent and it’s really worth it when you have a leisurely morning/early afternoon. If you don’t know what to eat, order the French Toast or the Breakfast Sandwich. If you like yogurt, order the yogurt with honey, fruit, and nuts.

We dropped by Best Buy to look for a Wii (relentless quest- don’t ask), which we did not find, but I bought DVD versions of Flushed Away and The Dark Crystal. I also saw (but did not buy) the 25th anniversary edition of The Last Unicorn, if any of you are fans of that movie (I watched it, along with the Unico movies, an *uncountable* number of times when I was elementary school age).

Then we headed to the airport to meet Onlyunjeu, but his plane had arrived early and he was already hanging out with his mom, girlfriend, sister, and nephew. We dropped by and visited for a while. PhysOrg had a game scheduled (which was cancelled only after he showed up) and I had some shopping to do this evening, so we headed home before dark.

Oh, the time change happens this weekend Don’t forget! Hey, at least we will have more light in the evening!

Between turbo baking and turbo mopping last night, I flipped over to the Food Network and paused a few minutes to see what Emeril was doing. Have you ever listened to that man? He’s obviously a talented chef and has a well-defined style and flair for demonstration, but sometimes he starts talking about something and he absolutely trails off and doesn’t finish his thought. I’ve noticed this a couple of times now.

You can’t go too wrong with cheesecake you find in the hallway on your way back to your desk (wait, what?!). Ah, too late now. I am digesting it.

Much to my horror, I just discovered that my baking pans are disintegrating onto the food that I bake in them. This sort of thing can really ruin lunch (unless you happen to find cheesecake on the way back to your desk). As this is no good, I will have to go shopping this weekend. Oh no! I might have to buy another piece or two of Emile Henry bakeware! I hate life!

And some woman at work is saving Girl Scout cookies for me. Could it get any worse?!

::looks out the window::

Why, yes. It’s bright and sunny.

1) Choosing your battles wisely. People say this a lot, but it’s a really important skill to develop. You have to know when you will compromise and when you absolutely won’t. You will be tested.

2) Nobody at all, on this earth, wants to hear absolutely everything you have to say. This is particularly true if you are complaining. Cut yourself short. Go with sparseness, rather than detail. You will seem SO MUCH SMARTER. You can fill in the details later if the occasion calls for it. Journal it, if you need to get it all out. Don’t blog it, though. That’s a conversation.

EDIT: I’m having a happy week.

Happy things: Two hours of “The Closer” (last night), homemade muffins, taco night, windshield washer fluid, Russian Blues and Egyptian Maus, random cleaning that’s not over yet, kisses and hugs, being very productive

We break them off. They grow back. That’s icicles for you.

The past weekend was spent pretty happily and calmly. The snow finally wrapped up Friday night. I stayed in most of Saturday, but did leave with Gruntac and PhysOrg in the evening to visit the Goddess’ place (my old pad) and play Arkham Horror and Euchre. We played one average-length game of Arkham (I managed to get devoured twice in the last few rounds of the game) and then decided to switch over to cards since it was getting late. My experience learning how to play Euchre was halting, tumultuous, and confused, but I was gaining some momentum by 2 AM, when we finished our second match. Really, if I have the chance to play a few more times I probably won’t be a horrible partner.

The Egyptian game ran on Sunday afternoon. I’m enjoying my character and the whole experience so far. Maybe it seems particularly fresh because we haven’t actually gamed much in a while. We also have a good group for it. We’re missing a few people who would add even more to it, but life goes on.

Shopping happened on Sunday, so I am back in the kitchen this week. One of the benefits of cooking more during the week is that I end up with random leftovers to take to work for lunch. As much as I appreciate the convenience of Amy’s Kitchen burritos, I was getting a little bored with my lunchbox options. I am still burned-out on sandwiches after all those years of public school.

Gruntac may be heading out for Chicago and better job prospects this week.

Slippery, tractionless streets were the norm on the way home today. Oh, City of Madison, you could do a better job of salting or sanding the hills in town when freezing rain and slush are in the forecast. I had errands to run so I drove through town and did my shopping on University Avenue. Driving up the big hill on Midvale (as I finally headed home) was tricky. A couple of cars had gotten stuck just before me, one called a tow truck, and traffic was backed up for several minutes. People were turning around and driving the wrong way back to a break in the median where they could turn around.

I played it cool, drove extra slow, made it up the hill without having to shift gears, and arrived home with my stash of stuff, including ingredients for pancakes and tacos, a couple of bottles of wine* to muse over as the weekend continues, and a lot of new tea (much of which will end up in my desk drawer at work so that I have a variety to choose from there).

But the roads were becoming very messy during the last leg of my journey home today and I suspect they will be bad at least part of the day tomorrow as the snowy mix is supposed to continue overnight and into Saturday morning. It will probably be another good morning to sleep in and make a nice, slow weekend breakfast at home.

*I pick out wines pretty randomly, sometimes by myself by looking at ratings and descriptions and sometimes by talking with a store employee about what I like and what they have in stock that is affordable and good. PhysOrg and I both like red wines, so that is what I usually buy, although I have had some white wines that I thought were pretty wonderful as well.

Happy Birthday to You

Happy Birthday to You

Happy Birthday dear Sist0r

Happy Birthday to You

It’s March 1st, which means that my least favorite part of the year is over.

No offense to fans of January and February, but in my opinion they are the most dismal, bleak months of the year. There are New Year’s Resolutions and taxes to be done and a bunch of kind-of-boring government holidays and the ever-controversial Valentine’s Day … and it snows. Snow makes everything messy and white and kind of dirty and drippy. When it’s not snowing, the weather tends to be sunny and bitterly cold. So really, it takes some work to make January and February enjoyable months.

This morning it was snowing again, but it was more of the slushy kind of snow that turns into sleet or rain as you drive through it. We get a lot of this in March and even into April, but it disappears more quickly as the weather warms up.

I think what I am looking forward to the most is motivation to be out of the house more. When it’s cold and snowy, I just want to get home as soon as possible, hole up there, and stay put. Longer days and warmer weather are invitations to spend more time outside and out in the world doing things, working on projects, spending some time away from the winter cave … or at least cleaning it and airing it out a bit.