leafing through

Went to SE DC for a little baseball watching this past weekend. I have a bit more of a clue about baseball than football which isn’t saying very much, but there ya have it. Watched until the top of the 7th inning (see, I learned jargon!) and then left early with my friend because we’re fairweather fans. 1. The metro, the crowds. 2. It started raining. 3. Baseball doesn’t fascinate me all that much. The highlight of the game was when some guy stole a base. And a pitcher got a guy who was trying to steal. That was pretty exciting. Oh wait no, this was the highlight:

And watching the fans try to get a wave going (it sorta’ did).

And people watching. Some dude couldn’t keep off his stupid Blackberry.

And heckling the other team. I stopped though because it seemed to be backfiring.

And commenting about various other people and goings on.

So I had this blah job-application-inducing day at work, on a Friday no less. The crappiest part was not having time for lunch and I was hungry. So I decided to go to Trader Joes because that seems to make me feel better for some reason. And then it just hopped into my cart.

What are they feeding these orchids?? It followed me home.

It starts sometime in October. Their flower branches start off looking almost like roots.
October 21, 2007 – The stem bud is on the left.

February 25, 2008 – Growth seems so painstakingly slow. You can carefully adjust the flower stem while it’s malleable. However, it’s also very delicate and snaps easily.

You can see on the left is a casualty of over handling. Sorry plant! A new flower stem grew on the right to replace it.

March 4, 2008 – The rest of the time is just watching the buds get bigger and bigger.

April 6, 2008 – By April, they start blooming. They’ll continue to slowly open up all summer long. By the time some are still in their last stages of blooming, others will have started the process all over again.

Maybe I’ll do a year round 1 photo per month deal next time.

Do you sometimes ever get the weird feeling that you’re really a clueless dolt?  I’m feeling that way today.  I can’t believe I’m employed!  Geez, it’s amazing how little I know and yet I can get by with that.  I think most days I’m making stuff up as I go, talking like I know, even though, surprise!  I haven’t the foggiest!  Hehe.  Don’t tell my boss and my future bosses.  This idiot would like to keep on working. 

Next topic (now there’s a nice segue) – I’m going on four weeks with no coffee.  Wasn’t trying to quit, just didn’t feel like having it.  So yeah, I got 3 years worth of filters then up and stopped drinking the stuff.  My coffee habit just gave me the middle finger.  It’s the 80 degree weather.  Beautiful.  

Next topic (this is scary, now you kinda’ know how my brain jumps from one thing to the other) – I lost the NCAA basketball pool.  Bugger that, I hate basketball.  Next year, *shake fist* I’ll show ’em! 

It’s still make up. I’ve been watching too much America’s Next Top Model.

Let’s talk about brushes today. How can this new obsession fully blossom without the right equipment? Yet I didn’t want to spend a lot on fancy schmancy sets. C’mon, I use thigh cream as a foundation primer. So I heard that paint brushes make excellent substitutes for makeup brushes. I would’ve never guessed, but thinking about it, it makes sense.

Got these at a crafts store today. After this craze passes, these brushes serve a dual purpose as actual paint brushes. Yes!

I went grocery shopping on Sunday. At the seafood department, there is a tank of live tilapia you can get freshly killed and cleaned. Just as an aside, I have pet fish, but I’m a fish-eater too. I understand some people wouldn’t want their pet’s kin eaten, but I’m not a vegetarian (because I am weak-willed and full of excuses about how good flesh tastes) so I’m the last one to cast any stones. So this lady orders a fish and I see the staff net it with barely any struggle. Then the fish cleaner starts scaling the fish. It’s alive. I’m such a spoiled ignoramus on this front, but it’s frightening to watch because I just keep imagining getting skinned alive. The guy finishes in about a minute, the whole process of scaling, gutting, cleaning, and bagging. It’s quick, but I wonder if it felt like an eternity for the fish. And I’ve read those stupid articles saying fish don’t feel pain. Any animal with a central nervous system to some degree feels pain. It’s a basic survival instinct. I’ve seen my fish flinch when they suffer a wound or are sick. They feel pain. Being the busy body I am, I ask the fish cleaner’s colleague about their fish cleaning methods. I wasn’t mean or angry or anything. Sort of just an inquiry. She nodded like she never thought of it and grimaced at the thought. Maybe a quick stab with a knife to break the spine would be the quickest way to kill it. I don’t know. I’m by no means criticizing the poor fish cleaning guy.  He’s good at his job and quick.  They’re all nice folks there.  And doing it day in and day out, it’s so easy to just not even give it a second thought.  That’s probably what I need to do. Stop thinking about it.  Ironically, this follows my fish recipe entry.  That’s the kind of sense I make.

Not exactly sure what this is called, but this blog calls it furikake and who am I to argue? It’s pan dried fish. You can eat it with rice, rice porridge, or just for fun. The recipe in that link uses salmon with the skin, which works fine, but you can use any fish. It’s easier if you choose a fillet without skin so you don’t have to handle it as much.

This stuff takes a while to make, and you have to cook it over low heat, stirring frequently to help it dry out.

I started at 11. There’s soy sauce, a little bit of oil, water, and rice wine.

Cover the pan and let it cook thoroughly.

Add sugar, pepper, five spice, and chicken bouillon. Break it up…

and start moving it around.

Finished at 1:30. Once the fish stops sticking to the bottom of the pan, you know it’s ready.

This stuff is great and keeps pretty well because it’s so dry. Store it in the fridge and eat it as is (room temperature). It can last up to a week but this batch will be gone in less time than that.

I have not written anything for a few days because I’ve been busy trying to straighten out the stuff going on at home. Coupled with this cold I’ve been trying to shake for almost 2 weeks and you see me, just like this: Sloth-like – Besides the blog-slacking, I haven’t been to the gym in over two weeks. And slow-minded – coworkers are talking to a blank stare.

Oh right, the title says 2 things. What was I gonna say?? This isn’t one of the two things, but I just wanted to say that the sun thing and the time change thing? Wow what a difference. Also, the burglary made me appreciate the stuff they didn’t take. Just a few minutes ago, I was all bummed out about losing my Metro card. Turns out they left it in my purse. Yay!

Ok seriously, let’s get on with the 2 things. This is the third attempt. One, not having any credit card is hard these days. This, coming from someone who’s not much of a credit card user. Not having it though, royal pain in the rear. Plus, I feel weird without that just-in-case emergency backup. Two, went to Costco today to get my tires rotated, and saw the weirdest product. Kobe beef jerky. Not that I know much about jerky, but Kobe? Seems like a waste of perfectly good meat. Maybe it’s not really Kobe beef? Ok, that’s enough thinking for today. I couldn’t even segue properly. Sorry you had to read this brain poop.

What with all this crazy stuff going on, I decided I need to get away for a bit.  I haven’t taken a vacation in over a year and have always wanted to visit Hawaii.  So I finally got my ticket last night.  It’s one of those package deals too so I get to visit more than one island.  Can’t wait to try all their fancy fruits and dishes.  Aloha mi amigos!