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July 3rd, 2009

10:03 pm - meals cajun shrimp, rice and red beans, swiss chard with canadian bacon (both from the same farm!). the chard with bacon was good, but not as good as the kale with mushrooms, which i made again tonight along with a salad of lettuce, roasted beets, radishes, strawberries, toasted almonds, herbed goat cheese and raspberry viniagrette. olaugh is crazy for dark leafy greens now. Current Mood: relaxed

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July 1st, 2009

01:39 pm - summer plans if it ever stops raining. boating on jamaica pond bike to allandale farm ferry to provincetown trip to walden pond trip to maine and possibly vermont trip to new york we got bikes last weekend! mine is this one. Current Mood: hungry

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June 30th, 2009

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12:00 am - two culinary highlights of the weekend on saturday we ventured over to the speed's hot dog cart. despite being located in an obscure industrial park in an unglamorous neighborhood, speed's has achieved a fair amount of foodie fame, including being named the nation's best hot dog by the wall street journal. speed is an 80-year-old man who marinates the enormous dogs in apple cider and brown sugar, grills them, then tops them with homemade mustard, bbq sauce, onions, relish and special sauce (sweetened with plums?). sunday night i made pork chops and kale with mushrooms. one thing i didn't realize was that my enormous bunch of kale would cook down into almost nothing. now i feel more confident about our ability to consume our greens. Current Mood: sleepy

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June 27th, 2009

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June 22nd, 2009

01:07 pm - the HO was fun

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June 10th, 2009

01:22 pm - still to do - install shelves in laundry room - seal granite counters - hang up pictures - get our marriage license from the city clerk - find a landscaper to remove the bushes our neighbors straight-up called ugly - find a housecleaner - finish a freelancing assignment i said i would do months ago - install ceiling fan before it gets hot - clean (or firebomb) basement - get a massachusetts drivers license (i've been here for three years) - drop off unwanted clothes for consignment - pick up the dinnerware for our wedding - pick wedding music - get john's suit - get a haircut - get new glasses - get bikes i am in hell. Current Mood: in hell

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June 6th, 2009

09:51 am - conflict i've just found out that the MATCH school's graduation is on the friday of the HO. it never occurred to me there could be a conflict. last year it was on a tuesday. i've really been looking forward to the HO, probably the last tournament i'll play before labor day. it would kill me to miss kangarau's directorial debut and seeing all the friends who will be there. i've also been looking forward to this graduation for two years. graduation is a hard-won prize for MATCH kids, many of whom are the first in their families to go to college. this year my two favorite kids, the ones i tutored every day for a year as sophomores, will graduate. at last year's one of them ran up to me and gave me a huge hug and shrieked "you're coming to mine, right?" i don't know what to do. Current Mood: sad

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May 27th, 2009

03:16 pm - sushi quest laugh if you want, but sometimes when i'm down i look at google image searches for sushi to make myself feel better. googling chirashi is how i found maeda, which happens to be in simsbury, ct, 11 miles from the hartford open. they do authentic tokyo-style sushi and, judging from the website, really seem to care about sushi as a craft. it looks slightly pricier than the average sushi experience, but reviews are excellent. kangarau, have you eaten here? who wants to go??

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May 3rd, 2009

08:16 am - imsomnia and belated rauhaus report the internet is so quiet in the morning. extremely uncharacteristically i have been up since 5 am. srsly this has not happened in years. thanks to everyone and especially kangarau and key_lime_guy for our fabulous housewarming gifts last weekend! we got coffee, tea, cookbooks, mugs and the cutest plush monkey and dog baskets. it was fun to play scrabble again, which we haven't had much time for. terry outdid herself with delicious crispy duck, spanakopita, and of course, the best bulgogi there is (extra garlic for monkey, please). the funniest part of the night was when noodle climbed down on the champion goldfishbw's shoulder and boldly swiped a mouthful of bulgogi from his plate. i can't wait to see whether she grows into a sedate and indifferent older cat. Current Mood: peaceful

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April 22nd, 2009

02:16 pm - travel plans i've just learned i'm going to new york on monday for work. on sunday after visiting the kang raus i'll take the train down from hartford, stay the night in new york and catch the acela home monday evening. my appointment is in long island city (where i have never been in my life and actually had to locate on a map), so i will likely get a hotel in midtown. if you would like to play scrabble and/or eat with me in new york sunday night, do let me know. i am also being sent to oakland sometime in june. i should start planning my meals now. Current Mood: blah

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April 21st, 2009

08:11 pm - well, that was fun no matter how ill-prepared i am, i can never seem to let go of the hope that i'll somehow have a huge tournament. well, it definitely didn't happen, but it was wonderful to play everyone. i haven't been focused on scrabble at all and found myself more uncertain on the words than i've ever been. i probably burned up four or five minutes in each game wondering if things were good. like i played VIBRISSA but missed SECTILE. i also kept challenging erroneously because i was paranoid my opponents were trying to take advantage of me (guess i've seen too many drbing games). i could have won a couple more if i weren't a re-re, but i'll take my seven wins. the excitement this time was all about hebdomad (a tremendous run, and i helped!) and lordiceman (boooring, let someone new win it for once). thanks to all my opponents for the good games, and hopefully some year i'll do it again. ( 29 for me, 29 for them ) Current Mood: peaceful

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April 10th, 2009

12:52 pm - coffee 911 i have never been able to consistently make a good, full-bodied cup of coffee. i read all about how to make coffee on the internets. i start with a clean coffeemaker (standard electric drip). i measure carefully using 2 tablespoons of coffee for 6 ounces of water. i buy good beans, grind them before brewing and keep them in a dark cool dry place for not very long. the one thing i don't do is use filtered/spring water. we don't have a filtration device, and i'm kind of stubborn about the belief that tap water is perfectly good, though i would be willing to change if it truly makes a difference. i suspect that's not the problem though. typically my coffee turns out watery and more like the coffee from the machine at work than the cups you get in good coffeeshops. assistance, please. also, somebody should take the can-am cup from us. i think we've had it for half the year now. if you'd like to get it at BAT, speak up. it's really freaking heavy. Current Mood: hungry

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April 8th, 2009

06:51 pm - no fun i have been busy for the last month. buying/moving into the house took a lot of time and physical and mental energy, and now i am busier at work than i have ever been (at this job). lately i have been working until 7 or 8 (such as today) and my commute is longer now, so i get home late and then wake up tired and sore, then repeat. poor olaugh has been working even later. although our new appliances are now installed, i have not yet managed to cook a meal in the new house, instead taking out every night from the spanish place down the street. the weekends have not been restful as we spend them trying to extricate ourselves from chaos. i didn't anticipate that moving into our own place would involve much more work than prior moves, on account of dozens of homeowner things like getting your own garbage cans and fire extinguisher. it would be far worse if mthgeek had not kindly come last sunday to take us shopping and perform various handyman tasks, such as attaching the tp roll so we can roll toilet paper. we have unpacked some of the house but mostly through the strategy of concentrating the mess into two upstairs rooms. meanwhile our wedding has completely fallen by the wayside, so if you ever get an invitation you'll know we got our act together at least somewhat and it's still on. i have played one game of scrabble in the last three weeks (against scrabblek8), i have not studied in months, and i am traveling directly from a work conference on capitol hill to the westford regency, so don't anyone pick me for your roto team, as if you were going to anyway. i could probably keep control of my life if i were less lazy and didn't fall victim to procrastinatory diversions so much and were generally a better person. i wish i could just sit around and do nothing for like a month. Current Mood: stressed

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April 3rd, 2009

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March 30th, 2009

05:54 pm - we haz house i am too exhausted to say much about it. it's a good house. tim wilkinson is doing work on it and his "scrabble player rate" is a wonderful thing. i am paranoid about our steam boiler bursting and make john go check on it whenever i hear a weird noise. we have no internet yet so word twist buddies please have mercy. everyone come over soon kthxbye. Current Mood: exhausted

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March 25th, 2009

08:36 pm - memories that stick my sophomore year in college i had a class in which the subject of FGM came up. in the midst of my (mostly female) classmates castigating the practice, one (white) guy pushed back and said this was the perfect example of american intolerance of cultural practices we don't understand. it wasn't just that his seeming defense of FGM was repugnant, but his smug and dismissive attitude toward his classmates for their perceived inability to shift cultural contexts. the discussion degenerated into several women in the class stammering inarticulate, rage-filled rebuttals while our (female) professor stepped back and let it all play out. every time FGM comes up i inexplicably think of this guy. he's ten years older now, so i wonder if he still feels the same, or if he now recognizes the common trope of oppression masked as "cultural tradition" or the idea that tolerance doesn't necessitate a complete lack of value judgments. Current Mood: unsettled

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11:32 am - pretension when i was younger i lived life trying to push back against my shortcomings. there were a lot of them. as a teenager i kept up with band and drama though i have no talent for music or acting. in college i went to all the parties and clubs when there were times i would have been happier reading a book. i was a good reporter in some ways, but it was a career that forced me to step outside my comfort zone every day. this wasn't exactly a conscious lifestyle choice. it was just what i did based on the person i thought i should be, and it was exhausting. at some unidentifiable point in my adulthood, i stopped doing everything i didn't want to do and trying to be someone i'm not. this shift probably evolved as a result of increased self awareness and acceptance, the much broader range of choices available in the adult world, and the fragmentation of modern culture that basically allows us to isolate ourselves from anything we choose. sometimes i'll think, "damn, that's cool, i wish i could..." then forget about it five minutes later. i'm not sure whether this is a good or bad thing. clearly it's a fine thing to accept yourself and not be fighting your nature all the time. fwiw, i am much happier and more successful than i was as a kid. but it's probably also good to challenge yourself and push your boundaries, which i hardly ever do anymore. Current Mood: thoughtful

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March 19th, 2009

09:03 pm - moving fail we're moving in nine days and we have no boxes. fail. the closing is a week from today. the part of my brain that takes care of stuff must have thought it was in two weeks. at least i remembered to book a mover. i just went to the basement and there were a bunch of huge boxes there from our last move, but now i remember giving all the little, book-sized ones to a nice lady on freecycle. hopefully john's officemate will give him a ride to uhaul tomorrow. other things to do: * change of address - post office, bank, credit cards, utilities * prepare our taxes so we can file for our $8000 as soon as we close * buy our appliances, plumber stuff Current Mood: anxious

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March 18th, 2009

06:12 pm - BAT and collins annoyingly, i need to be in dc april 17 to present at a conference for work. i can schedule my flight back to manchester or boston. the thing ends at 1:30, so i would be aiming to land around 5. anyone else arriving then and want to share a ride to westford? i will probably pick my airport depending on whom i can coordinate with. also, olaugh and i are going to malaysia (and beyond) for our WSC honeymoon extravaganza! the question is whether i want to try to play in the tournament. it would be super awesome and i'll be there anyway, but i would need to qualify, and i would also feel some guilt about potentially taking the spot of someone serious about collins competition. i have nothing against collins and it seems fun, but i am confused enough about scrabble that pushing the envelope seems unnecessary. anyway, the qualifier is apparently going to be at the arden cup this year. we were actually planning to skip arden since it's so soon after moving and closely bookends other tournaments we plan to attend. but now we might go, and i'm afraid what will happen is that the entire time i'll wish i was playing regular arden cup, while struggling through 20 bizarro games and coming in last and ending up not qualifying anyway. i wish i could just win the bat and have a rating of 2 million and not have to go to the qualifier.

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