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Sunday, November 23rd, 2003
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11:19 pm - Kasuf traveled through the Stargate, and . . .
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. . . got a career on earth, it seems. *grins* It may be time to add Alias into the list of shows that need to be intersected and cross-compiled into one grand metareality (along with Twin Peaks, X-Files, Buffy and so on): saw Sha're's father, Kasuf, aka actor Erick Avari as a doctor in a military facility tonight, torturing Sydney Bristow. Eeek, maybe the Goa'uld got to him after all? :)
I can't even begin to write reactions to the Alias episode that aired tonight, just because I'm so relieved that one of the spoilers I read turned out not to be true. I am curious to see what the results of all this will be, however.
I'm just in a silly mood tonight. :) We finished up watching the SG season four DVDs tonight . . . season five won't be released until January 20th, 2004, and that was quite the interesting cliffhanger, darnit.
And apropos of nothing, I now have some Capetown Harvest tea. Normally, I don't care for many of the Republic of Tea's blends, but this one is good, as is their Ginger Peach.
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| Monday, November 10th, 2003
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4:36 pm - Impressions on the 11/9/03 ep of Alias
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| Thursday, November 6th, 2003
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11:33 pm - Nostalgia trip
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I get to go see Duran Duran -- all five of them -- on November 21st. :D
It won't be the same as seeing them in 1983/84 on the Seven and the Ragged Tiger tour, before the original lineup parted ways, but it will be something.
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11:30 pm - Hazardous to the credit card
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Holy smokes! Amazon has added a gourmet food shop to its lineup. I can buy underwear and cheese in the same place. What an amazing world we live in. As if I needed an excuse to spend more money with them.
They have HARNEY products there, for heaven's sakes! They have Dean & Deluca! They don't yet have Vacherin Mont d' Or, but it is mentioned twice in connection with other cheeses, so anything is possible.
*faints*
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| Monday, October 20th, 2003
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3:33 pm - So sleeeeepy . . .
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Stayed up too late last night due to computer system issues earlier in the day that were a real pain to resolve, but seem to have been fixed. Verrrry sleepy today.
Have dental appointment this Saturday the 25th, but they keep bouncing it around during the day, because of changes with their hygienist. Ended up not making it to The Roasted Garlic this past weekend, so we'll have to try for this coming one, methinks.
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| Monday, October 13th, 2003
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9:00 pm - Dying laughing . . .
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I'm sorry, but when did Sloane suddenly become Alias's version of Google? (Thanks to Insilliarus for that analogy, by the way.) Need an answer? Go to Sloane. Need a prediction? Go to Sloane. Can't find decent bars in Savannah? Go to Sloane. Looking for autopsy instruments? Go to Sloane. Checking into the whole Rambaldi theorem? Yeah. Check with Sloane. Really. - From Television Without Pity
I love it. :)
In other news, we are having fun. Yes, fun! And dates! We went out for ice cream at Bruster's tonight, my sweetie and me, and strolled around the little shopping complex, inspecting the newish restaurant The Roasted Garlic and a little market, Katz's, that does breakfast -- hold onto your hats -- until about 2 pm on Saturdays!
And I got a normal on my Pap smear! Yay, reliefness! And we have wedding video to cull and help edit (essentially), and . . . I am just so grateful. I mean, even though I'm still at my shit job, even though we are way behind the curve . . . it's just so good to feel some happiness again. I don't ask for much pleasure. Just the simple act of a small cup of ice cream in the neighborhood with the man I love is priceless beyond reckoning. Being able to get him a little treat here and there again, without so much fear and worry attached to it . . . just not having to shoulder it all by myself . . . we're nowhere near up the mountain, folks, but at least we're not so afraid of falling off it entirely, now.
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1:33 am - Funny reading
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Okay, I am clearly late to the party on this site, but just discovered Television Without Pity. I was laughing out loud at my monitor. Hilariously snarky reviews of many a television show, including Angel, Alias, and more.
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| Monday, September 29th, 2003
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10:40 am - Great news!
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David got a job!
Today is his first day. Yeah, it's a contract position, so not so much on the benefits, but it's so much better than nothing, and hopefully it is contract to full time hire at some point.
It felt so good to see him going off to work; having someplace to go, someplace to be. As for me, assuming that his job goes well in the first month, I plan on quitting mine on 11/3/03. I will need to start getting some resumes out between now and then, so that I am not out of work for long.
I was in shock up through Friday. I just couldn't quite believe it was real, I was so stunned. It has just been so long . . . I openly wept with relief. I am so grateful, so thankful . . . it has been so hard.
Friday night, we went out to a newish (5 months) Greek restaurant called Mythos for dinner, to celebrate. The food was decent, nothing to write home about, but it was amazing to go out spontaneously and not have to worry about how immediately it would impact the checkbook.
In other news, we went to dinner with Meg and Tim to an Italian restaurant called Bambinelli's. Now, she, Mom, and Dad had said they really liked it, but I didn't think it was anything to write home about, and David agreed. I mean, not bad, but run-of-the-mill American Italian fare. Plus, I'm not a fan of marinara sauce or alfredo sauce. I do like pesto, tend to like more northern Italian dishes, and there was none of that to be had there. David and I both had calzones . . . mine was stuffed with garlic, eggplant, and artichoke hearts. Again, reasonably tasty, but nothing impressive. They did have a live piano player, which was nice. However, I didn't tell Meggie any of this -- we are far, far too grateful to them, Tim especially, for waving David's resume around in his office.
Okay, maybe I'm still a little stunned. I mean, I know we're not instantly in good shape or anything -- it will take a while to dig ourselves out of the no-income hole, but at least it is a start.
current mood:  surprised
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| Friday, September 19th, 2003
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12:07 pm - Doesn't sound like it was as bad as Hugo
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11:23 am - Various bits
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Yesterday's 4-year anniversary celebration was very quiet. I gave David the third season boxed DVD set of Babylon 5. We will celebrate a bit more "for real" by going to a modestly nice restaurant, when I am not so tired from work that I cannot enjoy it.
Really wish we could afford to do more to commemorate our 4 year. I looked at pricing for the Lodge at Amicalolla Falls, but it's just really more than we can spend right now. Heck, even the B5 DVDs left me with a bit of sticker shock.
I missed the Neil Gaiman interview on NPR yesterday. Noting it here so that I'll remember to go dig it up and listen to it online.
Haven't heard from Caroline re: the video. :/
David has that job interview with the airline this afternoon. I have hoped and prayed that he would find a job. I have never hoped more than I hope for this one.
Mom found the Hungarian Goulash recipe, the one from the old issue of Food and Wine magazine, gave it to me, and I transcribed it into MasterCook. Hooray! Here it is:
Hungarian Goulash
6 - 8 servings
3 tablespoons of cornstarch (or flour)
2 teaspoons Hungarian sweet paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
2 lbs of stew beef cut into 1 inch cube (rump roast or chuck roast is also fine)
1/4 cup oil
2 medium onions, sliced (yellow)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 10.5 oz can beef broth
1 6 oz can tomato paste
1 teasp. caraway seed
1 cup sour cream at room temperature
1/2 cup red wine for the pot
Combine cornstarch, paprika, salt, pepper, and mustard in a large plastic bag. Shake to mix. Add the beef, and shake to coat well.
Combine oil, onion, and garlic in a presoaked 4 qt clay pot. Then cook onion and garlic on High in microwave until tender, about 4-5 minutes. Then add the meat, and cook on Med High 6 - 8 minutes, stirring at least once. Stir in beef broth, wine, tomato paste, and caraway. Cover and cook on High 6 minutes. Reduce power to 50%, then cook, covered, 45 minutes to an hour. Should be fork tender. Then, stir in the sour cream and serve hot over freshly cooked noodles, (normally green noodles) or if you lack noodles, rice may be used in a pinch.
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| Friday, September 12th, 2003
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2:24 pm - Passings
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Though sad to hear, I was not surprised to hear of Johnny Cash's death, as he'd been ill for some time. However, news of John Ritter's passing was a shock. I thought he was a rather underestimated actor; he was very good in Sling Blade.
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| Wednesday, September 10th, 2003
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9:49 am - Turning of the seasons
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Woke to a cool morning yesterday and today . . . could this be the beginning of fall? If so, the season is arriving a tad earlier than usual here in the South. I love it: it's my favorite time of year. However, my body seemed to detect the change sooner than my conscious mind -- been feeling tired, even though I'd gone to bed at a decent hour. Was hard getting up yesterday and today.
Should've maybe listened to the "more sleep" message this morning: traffic was dreadful. Major accident on I-285, at the exit just before New Northside Drive. I was 30 minutes late for work, that's how backed up it was. I hate Atlanta traffic.
David has a job interview next week with an airline. Please, please, let this be the changing of our fortunes for the better. Not just because he needs a job, but because it sounds like it would be a good fit for him.
Our 4 year anniversary is coming up on the 18th. I have no idea what to do -- there's not much we can afford. I'd like to take us out to a nice dinner, but I just paid off the credit card from our trip to Washington this summer for Scott's wedding. Dang, that was an expensive trip: the airfare was what got us, not the hotel or food.
I could use the money Dad sent, but I was kind of hoping to tuck that into savings. Like Mom always says, it only spends one way. Maybe ... maybe with the overtime I worked last week, we can splurge a tiny bit?
I have e-mailed our wedding videographer, hoping she's going to have our DVD ready -- that would be a good present to ourselves, and it is already long paid for.
Started reading The World of Robert Jordan's the Wheel of Time last night. Bit of a disappointment: I'm halfway through, and it hasn't really told much that readers don't already know, it just organizes the information in a clearer form. The art looks as if it was done by a complete amateur.
Work still sucks. I swear, I had more morons, and I do mean morons, call yesterday. Normally, I'm very sympathetic and respectful with clients -- nobody came into the world knowing about computers, after all, but people who argue with me, fail to listen to my instructions, and try to second-guess when they don't know jack shit about diagnosing the issue really annoy me. And I hate trying to write a journal entry when I'm constantly interrupted . . . not even by work ;) -- not exactly. Stupid chatty tech on the other side of the phone making a lot of small talk.
Despite all my negativity, despite the fact that my wrists are only somewhat better . . . despite all the problems, this season, fall, is always something of a restorative for me. I always feel better in the fall. I even got on the Healthrider last night. I love the weather, love the turning of the leaves. I just wish we lived someplace where weather like this was present most of the year.
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| Tuesday, September 9th, 2003
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11:42 am - I want a nice cup of tea
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I want a cup of tea.
Okay, what I really want is not to have gotten out of bed this morning to come to work. What a bad day this is turning out to be. But I would settle for tea.
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| Thursday, September 4th, 2003
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2:44 pm - Lunch
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I treated myself and went to Quizno's for lunch today. Mmmmm, turkey bacon guacamole on toasted rosemary bread. Delish.
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| Tuesday, September 2nd, 2003
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2:03 pm - Back from a wonderful Labor Day weekend
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Going home this weekend was wonderful: I didn't want to leave. Actually, in the car on the way back to Atlanta, after we'd turned the corner and I couldn't see my Dad waving goodbye anymore, I got a little misty. I miss them so much. I would love to move home to South Carolina; I feel like I have a safety net there, like it's not just me fighting alone day after day.
I just feel like there's nothing left for us in Atlanta anymore; nothing holding us here. I'm sick of this town. Tired of the traffic and stress, tired of the cost of living here. We never see any of our friends because they live across town, so it's not like we'd be losing much of a social life.
Something has got to change, and soon. It's getting very hard to afford our apartment rent each month. I wrote the rent check, and that was a total paycheck gone and then some. I thought of moving to someplace cheaper, but doubt seriously we'd be able to requalify anywhere else because David doesn't currently have an income. :( He really needs to find a "little" job to bring in some money. He's dragged his heels on that too damned long, I tell you, but there's nothing we can do to fix that now, and I hardly have room to talk, given how long it took me to get motivated on finding a job after getting laid off from Premier. Unfortunately, I don't bring in as much income as he does. Nevertheless, you cannot go back: you can only go forward.
However, bucking the trend of the near-constant negativity I seem to be writing of late, let me at least mention what a good time we had this weekend. I hate to say it, but we did not miss Dragon*Con one iota: we may not go back again for the foreseeable future years.
We had a glorious time. We left Atlanta on Saturday around 1:15 pm I'd guesstimate, and drove on to Newberry. We got a little bit of traffic from the Clemson game, but nothing too hindering. It was just as well that I forgot to bring Cabinet of Curiosities for Mom, because she'd already read it, and highly recommends Still Life With Crows and Utopia.
We did a little wine and cheese as a pre-dinner snack: noshed a little on the rosemary bread, as well as a yummy Spanish blue, Cabrales, and another blue. After reading a Wikipedia entry on this while working on this entry, it seems that "Contrary to popular belief, authentic Cabrales is wrapped in aluminum foil, not leaves. Spanish blue cheese wrapped in leaves is either called Valdeon or Picon." However, this cheese, while labeled Cabrales, was definitely wrapped in leaves. Whatever: it was tasty.
I helped Mom run some errands and go to the grocery store, then we fixed an excellent dinner, a boneless pork recipe with olives, almonds, and mushrooms, served over brown rice with asparagus as a side. The recipe is from her old, old Joy of Cooking. I transcribed it, and need to enter into my recipe program to record. That old cookbook . . . it makes me laugh to think about how Meg and I will both want to inherit that. Maybe I can just take a scanner and OCR the relevant recipes at some point, that way we can both enjoy the heirloom.
I miss cooking. I don't do it often, because our kitchen is so unpleasantly small. It was especially fun cooking with Mom again. While she and I worked in the kitchen, David worked on removing the blaster worm from Dad's PC, since my hands haven't been in such great shape.
Sunday's dinner was even better: Dad has this great barbecue recipe book, BBQ USA: 425 Fiery Recipes from All Across America
by Steven Raichlen. In addition to some excellent recipes, it's full of interesting history and profiles on barbecue joints across the US. I had no idea, for example, that the Ford Motor company helped Kingsford charcoal get started.
Anyway, we grilled artichokes for an appetizer, and they were very good, especially for a first attempt. We followed that with grilled London broil, and hash browns as an accompaniment. Before dinner, we had a Rodney Strong Chalk Hill chardonnay. With dinner, we had the Rex Goliath pinot noir (think it's a '99 vintage) that David and I sent home with Dad for them to try, since we've enjoyed it so much. They liked it as well. What was interesting was how the wine changed with the food: we'd just been enjoying it for sipping, but it's delicious with beef: it seems to really brighten the berry notes in the wine.
We got lucky at Food Lion and found that Breyers banana fudge chunk ice cream that David likes, so we had that for dessert. We haven't been able to find it in Atlanta, but Newberry had it; go figure. He's never had Ben & Jerry's Chunky Monkey (hard to believe, but true), so I'm going to get him a pint of that and see if it will do just as well, if not better. Personally, I like it better.
Mom insisted, despite protests, that I needed a new outfit. My parents are too generous, by far: she gave me a delphinium blue Julie Mango ensemble, with pants, a long-sleeved v-neck top and vest, and a new pair of silver earrings that I love. Then, on Monday, they dragged me down to the shoe store and gave me a new pair of black Vaneli shoes and a new purse. I have to confess, I am pretty excited about the new purse: it's been four years since I got a new one.
The front and back yards look fantastic: Dad has done a ton of landscaping work over the past few years, and it is really starting to pay off as the plants and shrubs grow into the space.
Left Dad with a copy of the Fellowship of the Ring CD because I thought he might like "In Dreams," the song with the boy soprano on it.
It's an obvious thing to say, but the best part of the trip was just getting to hang out with and spend some time with my Mom and Dad. I love and miss them, and it had been too long since we'd been home -- since Christmas. I think our schedule got off-kilter because of Meg's wedding. And it's wonderful to see David so comfortable, so relaxed, so playful with them -- he is so cute. :)
You can bet your bottom dollar that as soon as I get that wedding DVD in-hand, we're going home to show it. It's important, more important each day, to spend time with them. Mom was telling me that Marjean Hughes is doing so badly (cancer) that she is wheelchair-bound, and doesn't always recognize her children these days, which breaks my heart. It is the time of life we live in, I know, but it is hard to see the parents of my childhood peer group starting to succumb to illness and death.
Bleh, lunch is over: gotta get back to work. I feel like I write so incoherently, the flow is so disjointed, when I have to bounce back and forth, multitasking between my thought progression and work itself. I hate it, but it's better than not recording the event at all.
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| Friday, August 29th, 2003
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5:31 pm - Notes to self on LiveJournal customization
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I'm trying out a new journal style called Component that is only available to paid users. I still need to tweak it.
To revise the style, go here.
The setup for my previous S1 style:
Page Layout Style
Most Recent Events Punquin Elegant w/ Sidebar
Friends View Punquin Elegant w/ Sidebar
Calendar Punquin Elegant w/ Sidebar
Day View Punquin Elegant w/ Sidebar
Custom Colors
Page background #220244
Page text #BBFFCC
Page link #C1BCFF
Page visited link #CBCBf0
Page active link #FFFFFF
Page emphasized text #BBFFCC
Page title #CC99FF
Weak accent #303050
Text on weak accent #CC99FF
Strong accent #606080
Text on strong accent #C0F0F0
Stronger accent #608060
Text on stronger accent #BBFFCC
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1:54 pm - Visit
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So, we visited with David's friend, Thomas Browne, last night. Theresa Baker was also there. It was nice to see them both, I just wish I'd had more energy to give to the event. I mean, I should be more jazzed about a once-annual visit. We discussed Harry Potter a bit -- I haven't read the latest one, at the time of this writing. It just kind of felt small talky. Probably just me.
Also, Tamarind is not my favorite Thai restaurant: they are significantly overpriced for what you get: I've always disliked their tiny portions. However, it was convenient for our out-of-towner, and I'm not really griping, it's not that I minded exactly, of course you do what's simplest in these circumstances, but I just really hate paying so much for so little. I don't feel it is a good value.
I am so glad I'm not going to Dragon*Con this year. It just . . . I hate saying this, but I just feel like I have a lot of other, better things to be doing with my time.
I have so much to do between now and leaving for South Carolina tomorrow. I need to get my hair cut, need to pay bills, need to wash the car, need to go by the Fresh Market and pick up some olive bread as a little giftie for Mom and Dad, need to put gas in the car, need to deposit my paycheck, need to pack . . . I feel so overwhelmed, and frankly, it really pisses me off. I've been working overtime this week, too, trying to make up a little for the two days I missed at the beginning of the week due to my hand problems.
current mood:  worried
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| Wednesday, August 27th, 2003
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5:10 pm - A step forward
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It took me a long time to admit that I just didn't like my gynecologist. Too long, reallly: it has been several years since my last exam, just because I'd been avoiding seeing her. Immature on my part, I know, but there you are. I have no doubt that she was competent, but she had all the warmth of a jellyfish. I mean, there's professional, and then there's just cold. And believe me, as a high MBTI T, if I say she was cold, we're talking chilly.
Now, finally, after getting a referral from my sister, I braved calling and making an appointment for Sept. 30th with Dr. L. I am rather proud of me. :) Unfortunately, it's at ungodly-o'clock in the morning, but hey, I think with luck that will prevent me from having to miss work time.
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| Monday, August 25th, 2003
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8:17 pm - It was in our DVD player . . .
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So, um, ![[info]](http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/web.archive.org/web/20031210130930im_/http:/=2fstat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) spring_1970 sent the movie Hard Core Logo home with us to watch a while back, and we finally did so. I thought it was going to be funny, in the vein of Spinal Tap. Um, not quite my kind of movie. You can definitely tell Tarantino was involved in the process, given his penchant for putting self-destructive personalities up on the screen.
But, hey, maybe you had to be one of those people who like everything Canadian . . . *winks* :)
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| Thursday, August 21st, 2003
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9:57 am - Intimacy
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My husband is wonderful. This morning, as we were hugging goodbye, with me on my way to work, he tenderly told me "you have been so amazing this last year, the way you've taken care of us." He's worth taking care of. We're worth taking care of . . . our love is worth taking care of, and I love him more than words can adequately express.
I'm excited because I think his birthday present finally arrived in the mail today -- the season 3 box set of the Stargate DVDs. I will give it to him tonight with his birthday card. We did a little celebrating at the beginning of the month, on the 6th, but will do a touch more. :)
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