Slow day today

I got to practice some more Satie. Now, I love both "Gymnopedie #1" and "Gnossiennes #1." I can't wait to learn the other four!

That's a hell of a caucasian, Jackie

Steve and I were introduced to a beautiful thing last night: a white russian made with vanilla vodka. We also learned to come packing with as many singles as possible to take over the jukebox. I don't even remember all the crappy songs we heard last night, though we did get to play Supertramp, Curtis Mayfield, and Sly and the Family Stone.

I have probably laughed more in the past two days than I have since the new year began.

Oh wow

I had real sushi for the first time tonight. IT WAS SO GOOD! I will put a picture of our order on Facebook and attempt to describe each item.




Soooooooooo gooooooooooodddddddddddd

So here I am...

I'm sitting in Diana's living room watching "Sliding Doors," eating fruit snacks, and hanging out with my god-cat Ralphie. He is the second best cat I've ever known (no one can replace Pickle, my neighbor's cat who was killed by a loose dog). I will post pictures of Ralphie when I get home tomorrow night. He is adorable. At one point this morning he was attempting to catch his tail, which was very cute. I took a video of him attacking the cord on my camera, which I will also post on Facebook.

I am so glad I was able to come here this weekend. Diana is one of my best friends and I miss her a lot. I'm also happy to have two days off work.

By the way, you should be jealous of my dinner from last night - pasta with clam sauce mmmmm

I like-a-da food

Shockingly, I haven't talked about cooking or baking yet. These are two of my favorite things to do, especially when I am making things for other people. I'm not sure if I enjoy one more than the other; some days I'm just in the mood to bake something. I suppose it comes down to the recipes themselves. When I'm cooking, I use the recipe as a guide or I don't use a recipe at all (I only have a few original dishes). I generally don't measure seasonings anymore because I do taste tests at various stages. I'm also getting better at identifying and creating the bold, complex flavors I prefer.

Baking is entirely different. The analogy of cooking as an art and baking as a science is pretty accurate. I very rarely stray from a baking recipe, and if I do it's only with a recipe I have used at least once before. One must have the proper ingredients and ratios to ensure the necessary chemical reactions. Baking obviously appeals to my left-braininess. I don't think I have any original baking recipes, though there are some I would say I do better than others. I am pretty good at cinnamon rolls, pies, and cookies. I definitely need more practice with yeast breads (other than the cinnamon rolls) since I can never get the second rise to work out the way its supposed to. Maybe I should build or buy a proofing box. I guess the simple solution would be to spray the dough with water before and perhaps during its proofing time.

I love to read cookbooks and recipes online for inspiration. My two favorite books are "Saffron Shores: Jewish Cooking of the Southern Mediterannean" (which, sadly, I haven't actually used yet) and the enormous cookbook encyclopedia my grampa gave me. If my memory serves me correctly, it's approximately 1500 pages. It has everything - there's even a chapter devoted to setting up and choosing dishes for buffets! I love the approach of this book, because it often lists a master recipe and then gives variations. I also appreciate the tips and trouble-shooting section in the cake chapter. Even if I were to make something different out of the book each day, I doubt I would ever finish it.

Let me know if you ever want something. I will probably be more than happy to make it for you.

I can't figure it out

All of my time-stamps are three hours behind. I tried fixing this but I guess it didn't work.

It's maddening...

Oh, I just got it!

This will be a week of downs and then ups

Downs:

-I haven't slept well in 3.5 years, but it's been worse recently. I'm so tired I could cry.

-Work is stressful right now. We have a TON to do tomorrow.

-Work is even more stressful because the district manager's boss is coming this week.

Ups:

-I'm going to visit Diana and Charlton in Morgantown and listen to Anthony Bourdain's "Kitchen Confidential" or the great mp3 cd Steve made me while traveling.

-I get to meet my god-kitteh Ralphie.

-Work will be better once this week is over.

-I'm seeing the Divine Performing Arts next Sunday.

I'm apologizing now (I'm really sorry) if I am grouchy or stupid due to lack of sleep. Hopefully, I'll be back to "normal" once I get home from WV.