02.29.08
Lower standards = higher satisfaction.
I need a new watch. Mine stopped working. I could just get a new battery for it, but the watch band is also cruddy and needs replacing. A new battery and a new band would be the same price as buying a new watch. Yes, in fact, it IS a cheap watch, what of it? And yet, on the Timex website, I can’t find the exact watch I want. So I will just buy a new battery and watchband after all. For the record, I don’t need a new watch the way I neeeeed an iPod nano. I like my watch just fine, and it’s a cheap little thing. It’s just a cost thing, whichever method is cheaper so that I get what I want, that’s what I’ll do. And, by the way, the price of the particular watch I’m wearing has gone up 33% since the last time I bought one. That’s how old it is.
In completely unrelated news, it looks like Matt Damon will be starring in a fourth Bourne movie! Yay! I totally love the Bourne movies. I’m pretty sure that I wrote a post after watching the last one about how I didn’t really believe that they wouldn’t do a fourth, considering how much money they could make. But I am too lazy to find it right now. At any rate, I’m terribly, terribly pleased.
I’ve been thinking a lot about my own vocabulary these days. It’s not nearly as diverse and facile as it used to be. Not to be all superior or anything (although I CLEARLY am) but for the past ten years, which is when I graduated from undergraduate, I’ve consciously and continuously dumbed down my vocabulary. I started doing it because people would either not understand what I was saying, or they would think I was a snob. And I’m not a snob, I just happen to have a way with words. I don’t have a way with numbers, science or any type of philosophy, so I am well aware of the boundaries of my own personal talents. My problem now is that without constant use that particular talent appears to be slipping, much to my own consternation. Is it my fault for associating with stammering retards? Possibly. Could I have killed off the vocabulary-related brain cells during the drunken bout of debauchery that constituted my 20s? It’s highly likely. Am I just getting older? Yeah, but that can’t be the only factor. All I know is that often these days I lament my former glib-tongued savant days. Ratbasket, talky! Ratbasket, no talky!
I’ve been incredibly lazy about running this week. First Tuesday I had to work late, which cut into my gym time, then Wednesday and Thursday I was completely unmotivated so my mileage was low. This means that I have to make up for it all with a long run today. Won’t have time tomorrow morning to do it, so it’s gotta be today. If only I had been more motivated this week I could have done an easy three mile run this afternoon and been fine. This just supports the theory that long runs are best not put off until the end of the week. Do ‘em early, and get ‘em over with. Hmph.
Dice and I are leaving tomorrow for a 36 hour jaunt to Birmingham, AL. Just to get out of dodge. Need a short change of scenery. Need to look at some new things. Need a peaceful night in a king-sized bed in a hotel. Need a new dining experience. Need to not spend asstons of money just for all of these things. Thus: Birmingham.
Tonight the Handitards are going to try out the new Stella Trattoria on Memorial, recently opened by the same folks who own Osteria 832 and Doc Chey. Loving Osteria as I do, I have high hopes for this place. Firstly, being owned by seasoned restauranteurs makes me believe that they will have fewer of those newly-opened-restaurant issues. Secondly, the location is much closer to my house, and far, far removed from Virginia-Highlands, so even if it’s only half as good as Osteria I’ll still go there just to avoid the Va-Hi crowds. Thus, lower standards make for better a better chance of satisfaction.
That’s all I got. Have a nice weekend, y’all!
02.28.08
If only laziness paid off EVERY day.
Sometimes laziness pays off. This morning I woke up got up and I was just too lazy to make my usual veggie wrap. Having a cafe with a decent salad bar in my office building has definitely had an adverse affect on my morning discipline. When I got to work, however, I discovered the remnants of a meeting my office had had the night before, and instead of the usual chips and cookies the leftovers consisted of chopped veggies and pita squares. So I got a free lunch out of my own laziness.
Do you ever notice a slight weight gain after taking vitamins? I have a pretty well-balanced diet, but I like to take a multi-vitamin once a week or so just to make sure I cover all the bases (of course, I do take a calcium more often, as all women should). The day afterwards I’m almost always up at least a pound. I mean, it’s not like it’s steroids or anything, so what gives? Do they put sodium in them there pills?
Definitely have the travel itch today. Am wishing it was time for another trek somewhere far away and exciting. I’ll have to settle for Birmingham, Alabama instead. Anyone ever been there? Neither Dice nor I have ever been to Alabama, so it shall be unchartered territory for both of us when we go this weekend. Truthfully I wish we were spending the weekend in New York instead, but considering Birmingham is loads cheaper and only a two-hour drive versus a good five-hour travel time to NY all told, I’m fine with settling. Also, I do like to see new places, I’m excited to check out the Civil Rights Institute where all sorts o’ history happened, and in true competitive style I’d like to be able to add another state to my list.
I forgot to mention that I finished Bleak House by Charles Dickens a week or two ago. I enjoyed it so much more than I had expected it to. Although it has been my experience reading Dickens that his novels are dark and end badly, this one, despite the name, was more comic — well, more black comic, if that’s a genre — and ended happily. For most of the characters, that is. I am glad that I finally got around to it, and was well-pleased. If anyone is looking for a Dickens book that isn’t a book to slit your wrists by, this is it. Now, I am focused solely on Romola by George Eliot. I had been sort of reading them both, by which I mean mostly reading Bleak House and thinking about reading Romola. Romola is set in 15th century Florence, in the heart of the Italian Renaissance and immediately after the death of the famous de Medici cultural and political leader. So far, it’s a quaint story made more interesting by the relative ages of the time in which it is set, to the time in which Eliot wrote, to the present when I am reading it. I shall present my reactions when I get further into it.
02.27.08
Lunch and death.
Truthfully not much to talk about today. Had a hard day at work yesterday which precluded any sort of musings on any other topic. Then I had to work late so I didn’t get much of a run in. Such is life!
Today Dice and I went to the faculty/staff dining room for lunch. Except for the fact that it’s really cold out, with biting wind, it was fine. I had a delicious plate of green beans with garlic, and zucchini, yellow squash and onions. And a roll. Delightful, and somewhat healthy. Also, they refurbished the dining room and it’s quite pretty: new chairs, new floor which was laminate but still looked nice, and a new carpet.
William F. Buckley, Jr. has died, finally. I met him once when I worked at Cornell. It was about a nine years ago and he was about 40 pounds lighter than his recent photo and very polite. RIP, Bill. I’m glad you aren’t still around to spew racist, parochial bigotry via eloquently written newspaper columns.
02.26.08
Nothing can save me from myself. Not even dollar tacos.
So, I am (mostly) recovered from the spate of self-loathing I invariably feel every Monday. My refined goal, which includes curtailing the food and drink festival that every weekend has become, is really to instill some self-control so that I don’t over-indulge to the extent that I end up feeling guilty/sick/fat/generally self-loathing afterwards. The goal is, in reality, happiness. The question is to what extent over-indulgence makes me happy. Sometimes, hell yeah, it makes me happy. And other times, well, it wasn’t really necessary. So walking the line between the two extremes will be key.
Last night I went running with my neighborhood running group again. We had a record high number of people attending, seven people who actually live in the neighborhood and three people who are friends of people who live in the neighborhood. It was perfect because about three people were slow, three people were fast, and the rest of us were in the middle. 3/4 of the Handitards were in attendance, and we pushed on for another couple miles after the group had finished its prescribed four. The reasons why it’s good for me are because it’s a change from my usual treadmill, it challenges me to keep up with the faster people, and it gets in a good 6.5 mile run on Monday to start off the week. Several of the group went to Blue Frog for dollar tacos afterwards, and if it weren’t for the aforementioned weekend self-control/necessary detox issues I would have joined them. See? A little self-control on Sunday would have allowed me to enjoy dollar tacos with other sweaty runners. I blame it on Dice.
First game of spring training is tomorrow! Braves take on the Bulldogs tomorrow at 1:05 pm, and the Red Sox will play the Eagles on Thursday. Can you imagine being on a college or university baseball team and getting the chance to play against a major league team? I would get pine tar in my hair I’d be so excited. You can watch the games live at mlb.com should you happen to be so obsessed. I will be that obsessed later in the season when I need to watch Red Sox and have no other option. Yay for tecknowlogy!
02.25.08
Ever more progession towards old age and obesity.
Oy. Yet another weekend has succeeded in making me fat, tired and generally self-hating. Good times! They were, actually, good times, starting with beer club on Friday night which was quite pleasant. It wasn’t too smoky at all, our waitress was snappy and smart, and there was a good group of people. A very successful beer club outing, in my opinion. We would have stayed longer if it weren’t illegal and ill-advised to drink and drive.
Saturday morning I got up and ran 10 miles with Ray. It was a good route, we ran over to Turner Stadium and back around Grant Park. It was a little colder than I would have liked (lower 40s, I think) but it was fine. That’s the longest I’ve run in quite a while so I was pleased to feel that I’m getting my distance back up and that my knee felt fine afterwards. It also wiped me out for the rest of the day so I spent a lot of time napping and/or watching TV. Saturday evening we went to The Thinking Man for our F1 pre-season get-together which was also pleasant although I expected it to be a little crazier than it was. Which is fine, I didn’t want it to be crazier, I was just expecting it. We were home, sitting on the couch in our pajamas by 9:30 pm.
Sunday we managed to go grocery shopping and then clean the house a bit. Went over to the other half of the Handitards for a while to visit with Bubba and Miss Bonnie who had come to spend a couple of days. It’s always nice to see them, partly just because I like them so much, but also because they are a slice of Ithaca that feels so refreshing. After that we went to Graveyard for wings again. Dice is totally obsessed with wings now, and although I personally have had better wings than they have at Graveyard, they certainly are good enough for walking distance. We filled up (too much) and rolled ourselves home where we watched the Oscar red carpet pre-show and then went to bed.
So basically I’m going to just avoid the scale this week. I think avoidance is the correct response. If I don’t know how fat I am, I can’t feel bad about myself. And yet again, the work week is another chance for me to clean myself out from all the toxins, bad foods and extra calories I consume over the weekend. My next personal goal is to cut down on the amount of crap I eat during the weekend. It’s difficult, though, because if left alone Dice would eat nothing but candy and soda the entire weekend. Heh.
02.22.08
Weekend forecast.
Boo boop de boop. Yay for Friday! Oh, the anticipation of the weekend! It’s almost too much!
Aaaand I’m over it.
We had a lovely dinner last night with the Canadians at Sage. I’ve been wanting to try Sage for a couple of years, but Dice always dragged his feet because he has a couple colleagues who went there and gave bad reviews. But I always like to judge for myself. So we went last night and had a pretty good time. Now here’s the thing: I am a sucker for pasta. I will almost always order pasta if it’s on the menu, and I will eat almost any kind of mediocre pasta and think it’s great. I’m not picky about pasta although I do love well-made pasta dishes. It’s like a siren call to me. However, a lot of restaurants (around here, at least) put a token pasta dish on the menu, but really their specialties lie elsewhere. I can spot this a mile away, know better, and yet still order the pasta. I have to get out of this mind-set, because not only have I been having some really awful pasta dishes, but I’m also missing out on what could be delightful and creative meals.
All that said, I ordered the fettucine alla vodka last night, and may I be the first to warn you against this dish. It was so lousy I didn’t even finish half of it, and that’s really bad! On the other hand, my other dinner companions ordered meaty dishes that they seemed pleased with. The female half of the Canadians ordered the meatloaf which she said was tasty, and both the guys ordered some kind of steak on special. The salad I started off with, which was a field greens salad with feta, walnuts and dried cranberries, was fantastic. Also their beer list was limited at best, but their wine list was not only adequate but varied and obviously well-thought-out, a satisfying list; they also had ports and sherries, which you don’t see on every menu (yet).
Anywho. We’re going to beer club tonight at the James Joyce. Link-clickers, do not be fooled by that inviting website. Yeah, it’s not so much inspired by the great author whom I did an extensive research paper on in undergrad, nor is it an American spawn of your stereotypical Irish pub. It’s more inspired by heavy drinking and tater tots. Owned by the same people who own Brewhouse in L5P, which means good beer, lousy wine, extensive bar food menu that comes out tasty and timely. With many items that are vegetarian. It’s a good menu. Their patio is really where they stand out, though, and since it’s too cold and rainy to sit on the patio it might not make for a super fun time. But we’ll see. Tomorrow we are going to the Thinking Man for our Formula 1 group pre-season get-together. Alert readers will remember how I feel about their grilled cheese sandwich. Also Bubba and Miss Bonnie are supposed to come this weekend, not last weekend as I surmised last Friday. So lots of stuff happening in TEOTH-land this weekend!
02.21.08
Or maybe I’m just odd, period.
Am I the only one who’s feeling like February is just dragging on forever? Ironically the shortest month of the year, even if it IS leap year. I remember when I was a little kid how big of a deal the leap year was, I always knew when the next one would occur and felt sorry for those kids who’s birthday fell on 29 February. Now, and for the past 12-15 years, I couldn’t even tell you if this year was a leap year. I seriously don’t think I even noticed the last couple of leap years at all. Does that mean I’m getting old?
Don’t answer that.
So, oh my cheeseness. I watched the season finale of Prison Break last night. I have mixed feelings about it but they are mostly positive. Dice thought the whole thing got old several episodes ago, although that might have more to do with the fact that I sit there and marvel at just how pretty Wentworth is throughout each episode. I mean, it’s empirical fact. Anyway, it was a little rushed at the end, which was the only thing that displeased me. It’s possible they didn’t mean for the season to end so abruptly. On the other hand, there’s a feasible new plot for next season which does two very important things: it keeps Jodi Lyn O’Keefe on the show, and allows the Michael Schofield character to come back strong. I do really like the Susan B. Anthony/Gretchen character, especially if she really did behead Dr. Sara because that is cold, man. And this season Michael was more on the defensive, which felt weak and annoying. During the first season he had everything all planned out and under control, which was an aspect that made the action more exciting. I would welcome more of that, and would say that revenge would be a concept he could really sink his teeth into. Whistler and Mahone working together could be some fantastic baddie action considering the Mahone character is almost equal to the Michael Schofield character in terms of intuition. And finally, Sucre stuck in Sona means another prison break is on the way, thus ensuring superficial fans that the title stays true to the show. I myself don’t require a prison break every season since I am well aware that TV shows evolve, and the fact that the plot evolved out of a prison break is enough for me. And in any case they now have two separate breaks under their belt.
I really don’t like following training schedules for races. I just don’t like being told what to do. It can be an impediment when you are training for a half marathon. I’m just ornery.
It feels like there is some pregnancy wave going on. So many women I know, or know through other people, are either pregnant now or have recently had babies. I even have three nieces and nephews. Is it just that I’m going through that time of life when people in my circle and thus, supposedly, near my age are ready for it? Hard to tell. I do love my wee nieces and itty bitty nephew. I hope to be to them what my Aunt Sandy was to me (um, but without the constant needling). But I’m finding it odd that almost every woman within my sphere is going through it. (For the record, neither myself nor Ray are “going through it,” just in case loyal readers are wondering. Obviously, no one wonders about me in this regard. Heh.) It’s just the circle of life, I suppose, made all the more odd because it doesn’t happen to me. Although to be fair it’s been my experience that even when life events occur to me I still find them odd.
It’s raining today. Yay.
02.20.08
What? I AM a celestial body. Shut it.
I’ve really been getting into the new HBO show called In Treatment. It’s a half hour show on five nights a week, and each show is one therapy session. Gabriel Byrne plays the therapist (I believe he is a psychologist, but I’m not positive) and a cast of people play his patients, among them Blair Underwood and Embeth Davidtz; Dianne Wiest plays the therapist’s therapist. I’ve never been in therapy myself, and perhaps if I had I wouldn’t find the show so fascinating. The interplay between the patient and doctor on two levels, the upper level where both say and do things that are patently false, and yet belie the true emotions going on underneath in the lower level, is mesmerizing. The actors all do a fantastic job on their facial expressions, you can so obviously tell what each person is thinking, and yet almost none of them (therapist included) actually say what they are thinking. Melissa George plays a young, messed up woman who admits that she’s in love with Gabriel Byrne’s character in the first episode, and in each subsequent episode with her you can see her trying to get him to break down, and in turn you can see him fighting back the urge to break down. It’s a good watch.
Speaking of TV, it looks like the first week of April is going to be like a mini-premiere week, when many of the shows that went on hiatus due to the writer’s strike will start airing new episodes again. Although I’m not super pleased to have to wait another 5-6 weeks, the payback is that the regular season will be stretched into June, and then start the regular fall season at the regular time. I don’t mind summer too much because I’m a baseball fanatic, but five months is a long summer break.
I didn’t comment on the fact that Fidel Castro stepped down as el presidente of Cuba yesterday because, well, why? But it occurred to me that all along, we all thought that when Castro was booted out of office, that it would be a revolution, or at the very least, a major upheaval, and then suddenly Cuba would be free of the commie pinko bastards. Certainly that’s how it was presented to me as a student learning about it, and I know for a fact that older generations who lived through the Bay of Pigs thought this way as well. Yet here we are, Castro is an old, ailing decrepit handing over power to his younger brother. So nothing will change, and yet, after 50 years, everything will change. It’s just so anti-climactic. So it appears as though change will occur gradually? Or, status quo will continue until the younger brother, himself 76 years old, dies off? Either way, it’s a far cry from what I’ve been expecting regarding the fall of Communism in Cuba. Elian Gonzalez much?
So, there’s a total eclipse of the moon tonight, it’s supposed to occur sometime around 10:15 pm. Folks, if you are awake and somewhat coherent at that time, cast your eyes upward and enjoy. It’s amusing that in the days surrounding an eclipse I get a lot of Google traffic from people looking for information on eclipses. If you stumbled upon this blog while looking for info on tonight’s moon eclipse, welcome! I have nothing to tell you about the eclipse other than the fact that the earth will act as a luminary projecting an orange hue onto the moon throughout the eclipse, which I think is interesting. Otherwise, this blog is mostly cheesetastic and has nothing to do with celestial bodies. Except my own.
02.19.08
Odds ‘n’ ends.
I need to buy a new winter coat. The one I’ve been wearing is not warm by any stretch of the imagination, which means when it’s cold out I end up wearing eight layers. Basically, when we go out to eat, Dice orders another beer while I stand there putting on my layers, and by the time I’m done, his beer is gone and we leave. I don’t know how I survived three winters in upstate New York in that coat. I did wear the heck out of my long underwear. Anyway, now is the ideal time to buy a new winter coat, because the sales are unbelievable. I’ve got my eye on a $400 three-quarter length wool coat that’s selling for $189. The only size left is just large enough so that it might fit okay, or it might be voluminous. Quandary!
Went running with my neighborhood running group last night. So much fun, and such a nice chance to run outside on a weekday evening. I don’t mind the treadmill or the gym, but it’s good to change the scenery once a week. And it’s different from running around the neighborhood by myself on the weekend, too.
It’s in the 60s and sunny here this week. Have I mentioned how fantastic spring is here in the South? Yes, yes I have. It’s fantastic. Although NPR reports this morning that we are already 3 inches behind in rainfall just for 2008, it doesn’t change the fact that it’s 19 February and solidly into spring. At home it would still be snowing.
New food product alert: lately I’ve become addicted to a salsa brand called Salsa Y’all. Hee! First of all, the name is hilarious. But really the product itself is the best salsa I’ve ever had in my life, with the exception of some I’ve made myself. Personally I think salsa should really be pico de gallo, which is basically chopped tomatoes, onions, jalapenos and some cilantro and absolutely nothing else. Every mass marketed salsa brand is pureed to some extent, and some are marinara sauce with a couple peppers thrown in. Salsa Y’all is just chopped veggies and nothing else. I’ve been putting it on my wraps for lunch, adding in some extra chopped bell peppers and onions (you can never have too many onions) and a crapload of spinach, and the thing is wicked tasty.
Dice and I have settled on Birmingham, AL for our road trip. I had a grad student who got a job a UAB, Birmingham, after she got her degree, I wonder if she’s still there? Yes, I just checked, and she certainly is. At any rate, I’m researching interesting things to do in Birmingham, along the lines of the New York Times travel series “36 hours in [insert travel destination here].” There’s a restaurant I read about that has French cuisine fused with Southern cooking, which is just intriguing enough to warrant a 2.5 hour road trip all on its own. If anyone’s in the mood for some Southern comfort food tinged with French influences (really, they aren’t that dissimilar) you should go to the Highlands Bar & Grill. Otherwise, of course we have to go to the Civil Rights Institute and perhaps walk around the university campus. Anyone ever been to Birmingham, and have good ideas?
02.18.08
More gastro-news from a very biased blogger.
Well, the good news is, I did spread the love this weekend. The bad news is, it mostly spread to my thighs. All the more incentive to run, I guess. Right?
Friday night Dice and I went to The Glenwood for dinner for the first time in a couple of months. I don’t know why we’ve been ignoring it; or rather, I should say, I had forgotten why we had been ignoring it, so we went anyway and had a decent dinner. I remembered the reason why we had been ignoring it when my eyes started to water from the wall of smoke that replaces every gasp of air in that place. I mean, it’s seriously smoky in there all the time. It makes me think there must be some HVAC issues that they need to repair. The food there just isn’t good enough for me to overlook the unbreathable air. That said, though, I totally LOVE their fries. They are delicious.
Saturday morning Dice went off to work, and the rest of the Handitards went out to run an Atlanta Track Club 5K which was at the GA Perimeter campus sort of behind South DeKalb Mall. What a fantastic run it was, too! Not only was the weather perfect, but the course was easy and flat, through some pretty woods and such. There were somewhere between 200-300 people there which was oh, about 200-300 more people than I had expected to show up. It was a good cross-section of seasoned, fast runners and slower runners, and even some powerwalkers. Plus, the best news was that Ray WON her age group! WINNING! She totally rocked it, and we are all really proud of her. It’s too bad I did not bring the camera.
After the race we went to the Thumb’s Up diner in East Point. Alert citizens may have heard that the Avondale Estates location closed because the owner sold the building they leased. They are on the lookout for a new location in Decatur, but in the meantime your only alternative to the Edgewood (aka The Longest Wait in the Universe) location is East Point. And it was fab! We waited less than 10 minutes and then we had a frickin’ delicious breakfast. Here are Ray and Michael savoring the deliciousness:
After which I went home and crashed on the couch for some serious coma time. Sometime around 6:30 Dice came home and I was still on the couch. We went to cheese dip for dinner after some discussion about going elsewhere. Why do we make the pretense of discussing it? I should mention here that cheese dip is still and continues to be terrific. The staff there remember us, know our drink and cheese dip orders, and take really good care of us. The food is always consistently good. Even though there are now a couple other mexican places in the village, I will stay true to my beloved cheese dip. For so many reasons besides the staff and food. It’s also such a great low-key place to hang out. We can go there on a weekend afternoon and hang out for hours, sipping margaritas and filling up on dip. Good times.
Dice makes a margarita-fueled rant at cheese dip while a dead cow skull looks over his shoulder:
Sunday we had every intention of going shopping and it just never worked. The weather turned foul and rainy, which convinced us to stay home. Eventually the call of food became too powerful to keep us home, so we went out to Six Feet Under for dinner. I gotta tell you, I can see why it’s a good neighborhood restaurant (it’s not our neighborhood, but it has that welcoming feel) but the food there just isn’t as spectacular as its loyal customers would make it out to be. I had the crab cake po’ boy, and they were some of the worst crab cakes I’ve ever had. Yes, I am a picky seafood eater having grown up in New England so I would take any comment from me regarding crab cakes with a grain of salt. In all seriousness, they weren’t unedible, but they were more like pureed crab than what crab cakes are supposed to be. They also offer homemade potato chips which I think are just awful. Too dry, too hard to eat. I always order the hush puppies instead, which are delightful and perfectly done. I’m not one of those people who demand perfect food at every meal from every restaurant, which is why Six Feet Under continues to get my business, but I have not been impressed with their food from day one, when I made the mistake of ordering the steamed clams (which I will never do in ATL again so long as I live here). Another thing that makes them a great hangout spot, though, is that they have a really extensive beer list. Dice had ample choice and chose a couple different ones. He was impressed.
And now it’s President’s Day and everyone has the day off work except me. To be fair, Dice only has today off because he worked Saturday, so today is his discretionary day. But that’s how it feels. I don’t really mind being at work, though, it’s not manual labor, obviously. And it keeps me on my schedule. Considering how loose I am on the weekends these days if I didn’t have my office job to keep me disciplined I’d be 300 pounds and drunk all the time. That might be fun for me, but not so much for those around me. Although, you never know.
