Last day of August, 2010. I have to say SOMETHING!

Yesterday I was boiling water to make pasta and there was a spatula resting nearby pan. The plastic handle was touching the pot I was boiling. I smelled something funny but didn’t realize it until the handle was a melted crook.

This is a holiday to honor cervesas, tequilas, and margaritas right? For a while I used to think it was Mexico’s independence day. I recently learned it’s about the Mexican’s defeat of the French in the Battle of Pueblo in 1862. Mucho mucho anos ago. So we’re celebrating a war! Salud!

I’m going to a farmer’s market after work today. Not to celebrate 5 Mayo but because now that it’s May, most all farmer’s markets have begun!
(Update: Skipped Farmers Market – metro skipped that stop due to overcrowding so I took that as a sign to go home and watch Spongebob instead.)

My new favorite pastime is watching old cartoons. Ever since my friend came over with her two boys and they shared this Boomerang channel with me, I’ve been recording the Smurfs, Jetsons, and the Powerpuff Girls. Every morning before work and every evening after work, I watch an episode or two. And they’re still good cartoons. They stand the test of time for me. Though newer, the Powerpuff Girls and Spongebob Squarepants are also good and I imagine 20 years from now, they’ll still be good.

One thing that struck me as I watched the Jetsons for the first time in a long time, is they use a laugh track. It’s so unusual for a toon to have that and I can’t believe I never even noticed it as a kid. I must’ve been very engrossed in the show or maybe I laughed too loud at all the right times and covered up the laugh track. It’s very back-in-the-days.

Scooby Doo is also a fun one to watch too. The chase scenes and the midnight sandwich scenes are my favorite parts.

I hope eventually they can bring back Highlander, He-Man, Voltron, She-Ra, and Thundercats.

Are there still after school cartoons on local network television these days?

This year, I got generic Zyrtec instead of Claritin because last year, Claritin barely worked. I think our bodies get used to one drug if we keep using it so it’s good to switch it up. I definitely sneeze less but my eyeballs are still so itchy and they feel swollen. Ugh, I’ve already blown through a box of tissues. How did this happen?!? I was never like this up until college.

I know I’ve talked about this to a few people, the idea of breeding either Marco or Gina. The idea’s been rolling around in my head for at least a couple of months. I’ve been looking for a suitable mate and I think I may have finally found her. A chinchilla posted for adoption on craigslist. She’s about 3 years old and the owner is moving and doesn’t want to take her along. This weekend, she’s going to come home and meet Marco. Hopefully, they get along. Baby chinchillas are so cute and I wouldn’t mind having a few more because they’re so easy to keep. I’ll probably only keep one kit though so let me know if you’d like the other. They usually come in pairs.

I am so glad today is the last day of March. The long hours everyday has me worn down to a nub. April’s a bit unpredictable too but I’m hoping by May, things will be a bit calmer. Lately, I’ve been so tired, I’m cranky and grumpy. I haven’t had much time for the gym or to go outside and enjoy the nice weather. I’m so jealous, seeing other people enjoying it. Tourists on the metro are coming in droves to enjoy the Cherry Blossoms. Well, at least someone gets to admire them. I won’t have time until probably mid-April when they’ll be going or gone. I need a three day weekend to just be outside. The office is suffocating me!

Note to self: In the future, before any holiday meal, wear sweatpants. Last night, I was invited to a Passover dinner where I seriously ate myself silly, to the point where I turned down dessert at the end. Chocolate covered matzas, brownies, macaroons! I was muffin topping though and could barely breathe. We started with wine, matza, horseradish and haroset which is a mixture of chopped apples, nuts, cinnamon, and sugar.

There was also sweet cooked carrots and potato kugel. Gefilte fish, which I didn’t like the first time I tried it years ago, but this time with the horseradish, I liked it a lot. Hence the need for stretchy pants.

I also tried matza ball soup for the first time. It has an interesting texture which I enjoyed. A bit like stuffing, but it doesn’t crumble in the soup. Somehow it manages to stay together as you’re eating it. The brisket I started on Sunday turned out well, though maybe on the salty side. That’s what happens when you quadruple the amount of salt the recipe called for. I just didn’t think 3/4 teaspoon of salt was enough for 3.8 pounds of brisket. Next time, maybe a couple tablespoons of salt will be enough – depending on the size of the meat. Though it will be a while before I eat bovine again. I’ve had cow four times in four days now and it’s getting to be a bit too much moo. I could go for some more of that matza ball soup again though.

Today is the vernal equinox! This weekend is much much warmer (close to 80 degrees!!) and today is particularly sunny. I think working in cubicles gives me a false sense that the days are dim and dreary. Now I know it’s just our working conditions that are dim and dreary. Today, with windows to enjoy the full on sunshine, I figured out why the orchid’s leaves look like they’ve been fried crispy.

It’s always the fine print that gets ya.

The windowsill is full on baking sunlight in the mornings. I moved it away and applied soothing aloe and sunblock on those poor crispy leaves.

Look, here’s another sign of spring. The chinchillas are hot and molting.

This weekend, I saw mounds of dirty snow in a park, right next to some people playing tennis in shorts and t-shirts. It was sunny and probably in the mid-50s. I walked about outside with only a light jacket. It felt cool but what a nice feeling to be out in the sun. Then, I spotted some bulbs poking through the earth. Could it be? Spring is coming!? Or is March coming in like a lamb and going out like a lion?

It’s funny I thought I’d have more free time after I was done with school but I don’t feel it. I can’t believe we’re already into the third month of 2010! Part of it is moving out, having to do chores (which is time and labor intensive!) and another part is this new job which has longer hours than the last job. With my current schedule, school wouldn’t be impossible, but it’d definitely be a bit more challenging. Then again, if I really look honestly at how I spend my weekends, I do putz around a lot. Aside from cooking, which I resumed due to interest and necessity, I’ve mostly been enjoying my free time, relaxing, watching TV (I find 16 and Pregnant very intriguing.), and playing with the chinchillas. Lately, I’ve picked up reading for pleasure again. Before starting school, 2007, I was in the middle of reading The Memory Keeper’s Daughter. I finally finished it on the Metro to and from work. Then I read The Tipping Point and Freakonomics. Then Confessions of a Shopaholic (Excellent!! But it made me impulsively purchase a face product at the Lancome counter for free makeup which only a year ago I said I wasn’t going to do! And buy a pair of boots, but they’re cute and on sale!), and now I’ve started Catch-22 (It’s bizarre and somewhat frustrating). I don’t know what’s next on my hobby list, but it feels good to slowly pick things up where I left off when my personal time was put on pause for school. Maybe the next hobby I reinstate will be… knitting? Maybe!