Dull Cutlery, Reconsidered

Totally true things that are totally insane.

noreply@blogger.com (emily) — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 20:57:00 +0000

No, not that I saw the Mountain Goats last night. That's not insane, unless you want to call my love of a band that has brought me friendship, new bands to love, lyrical pleasure, and many happy times "insane."

But this, the threatened "outing" of No on 8 supporters by the Yes on 8 campaign is totally nuts. Oh, it's on now. If California fails to defeat the constitutional gay marriage ban, it might depress me even more than a McCain victory.

And you know the McCain campaign has gotten desperate, too. One of his young volunteers claimed that she'd been beaten up by an Obama supporter, but ended up in jail herself for filing a false police report. Because she made the whole thing up. Way to effing go. Whether this was a solitary act of insanity or a coordinated effort at race-baiting, the Republicans are the only ones looking worse for wear.

Is it just me, or is it funny that it's proud Red Staters who want to bring back "communist" as an insult?

If you care, here's more--gossipy but true--about the place I call work. Valleywag failed, however, to take the bait CFO Blake Jorgensen set out: photoshopped pics of himself in drag. I'm sure he's feeling very hurt right now.

This has totally made the rounds already, but if you hate broccoli and don't read 80,375 blogs already, click to reaffirm your disavowal of delicious little trees.

The last thing is totally true, and totally awesome. The only totally insane thing will come if this guy doesn't become our next president.

And here, just because it's been stuck in my head for weeks:

Yay for seeing the same band over and over again!

noreply@blogger.com (emily) — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 05:40:00 +0000

Yeah, Steve said we had to go see the Mountain Goats. They are playing the Fillmore, so we're hoping the show sold out so we get free posters. Anyway, tomorrow I better have more energy than I've had the rest of the week, because I have some serious rocking out to do! WOO!

The things I can't control.

noreply@blogger.com (emily) — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 01:33:00 +0000

If you pay attention to the horrible economic news, you might've heard that the place I work is having trouble. If you pay attention to me, you know I like working there, and even though (1) it's only been a month and (2) my contract ends at the end of December, I know I'd like to continue working there. But times are scary, and I'm trying to prepare myself for disappointment and another grueling job hunt come January.

The election is coming up, and beyond my little ballot, I have no bearing on its outcome. I've become more of a (admittedly partisan) news junkie than I've ever been, listening to NPR on my from the moment I get up through the commute--two hours total--and watching The Rachel Maddow Show or Countdown when I get home, then The Daily Show and Colbert Report before finally going to sleep. All the news is about the election and the economy.

Speaking of The Daily Show, this had me rolling, then furious:

I may live in a gay state (here's hoping it stays that way) and be voting for someone a Congressdipshit from Minnesota thinks might harbor anti-American sentiments, but I'm an American too. I'm afraid for my career and well-being; everyone I know is in murky financial territory. Am I a Fake American because I'm a feminist? Because I supprot gay marriage? Because I think it's better to improve the lot of the middle class in our consumer-driven economy? Because I'm not buying the bullshit McCain/Palin are trying to sell me as chocolate? Because I live in a diverse, left-leaning city? Because you can't sum up my job, or the jobs of my friends, with meaningless, pandering phrases like "Joe the plumber"?

What makes you a Fake American?

It's still not important.

noreply@blogger.com (emily) — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 04:18:00 +0000

But I did it. Please be my friend! If you're into this sort of thing. And it appears that 75% of everyone is! Hi, 75% of everyone!

This is not at all important.

noreply@blogger.com (emily) — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 05:55:00 +0000

Is there any reason whatsoever I should get a Facebook account?

Soup is good food: autumnal tomato-pepper soup.

noreply@blogger.com (emily) — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 22:57:00 +0000

The weather's starting to cool--brrr, it could get down to the 50s!--and my sinuses are starting to revolt, so today was the day to have tomato soup and grilled cheese for lunch. I made up the following recipe using stuff from our farm share and the garden.

-1 small white onion, diced
-4 cloves garlic, minced
-1 sweet red pepper, diced
-1 green serrano chili with seeds, minced
-a few sprigs of fresh thyme and oregano, minced
-1 28-oz. can diced tomatoes, with liquid
-1 tsp. tamarind paste (provides a nice sourness)
-2 c. water, with or without a little vegetable bouillon
-pinch salt, or to taste

Saute the onion, garlic, pepper, and chili in a little olive oil until soft. Add herbs and stir, then add tomatoes, liquid, tamarind paste, and water. Bring to a boil and let it simmer awhile--at least 15 min. Taste it and decide if you need any salt. Let it simmer a few minutes more, then ladle it into a blender and puree it. Be careful to hold the lid in place because hot liquids in the blender can be...explode-y. Alternately, use an immersion blender if you have one of those (I don't). Taste again and adjust seasoning if necessary, then eat.

My grilled cheese today used a hard aged Irish cheese and a couple slices of heirloom tomato on my standard Bay Bread sprouted multigrain sliced bread (sourdough would probably be better).

It was altogether yummy.

Because I'm tired and uninspired, a post in bullet format.

noreply@blogger.com (emily) — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 04:41:00 +0000

It's great to be working. It would be even greater if it would last. I can only do my best and hope things go my way.
Speaking of, holy fuck, is the economy scary, or what?
I take light rail to work. Yahoo! gives employees a free VTA pass if they want it, and baby, I want it. An hour of walking, riding, and waiting versus 45 minutes of frustration and coprolalia in the car? No contest.
Of course that means I am gone for, like, 11 hours a day. Well, almost: An hour there, eight hours of work, half-hour for lunch, and another hour to get home. Going from spending the day with my BFFs Google Reader and Comcast Digital Cable to applying my brain to learning, working, and interacting with people for 10 straight hours is exhausting. I'm adjusting.
NPR is depressing, but I can't stay away. I like my little iAudio.
If you use the Internet on your phone and you want to see something I am learning to work on, check out oneSearch. You can use it on your regular computer, it will just look silly in a giant browser when it's meant for something smaller than an iPhone screen. It has some cool features and can only improve from here, so it's a pretty interesting thing to work on.
I totally want an iPhone now. Well, some nice smartphone, anyway. I can't afford it yet, but if I get to continue on, I'll work it out. I'm so behind on the blarghs I read, anyhow; it would rule to sit back and squint at the feeds during the commute.
I hate thinking about that. I hate not knowing what's going to happen and I hate that it's largely out of my hands. The only thing I can do is try to be as awesome as I know I can be and hope for the best. Hope makes me practically bipolar.
Go Obama!
No on Prop 8!
Leanne for Project Runway!
I haven't been to a movie in MONTHS. I must remedy that soon. My discount cards are feeling unloved.
The Mountain Goats are playing San Francisco later this month. I don't think I can go, though. Three amazing nights last March should set me for the year, plus I'm still broke. Also, it seems sad to only see one band repeatedly, even if they ARE totally awesome.
I am ready for my close-up today. Too long I've let my self respect stand in my way.

Hey, look, I'm not talking about politics!

noreply@blogger.com (emily) — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 16:59:00 +0000

But I am talking about food.

Yeah, I'm a big ol' published food writer now. Stroke of luck! Thank you, Steve, for the opportunity (and also that freaking awesome photo caption)!

Plus I just got handed a contract search editor job with Yahoo! that should last through the end of the year.

I'm off to Portland tomorrow to visit friends and family I don't get to see often enough, but I'll have to be back to start my JOB. Now I must pack, make coffee, and write up more movie news!

If all the Palin news has got you down, watch some of these.

noreply@blogger.com (emily) — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 16:48:00 +0000

Well, they had me sorta pumped, anyway. I know it seems weird to watch politicians give speeches, but the impetus for getting Obama on the ticket in the first place is the stunning speech he gave four years ago at the DNC. Almost everyone I know remembers that moment and had the same thought: "When do I get to vote for that guy?" It's happening sooner than we thought, and while the luster has diminished some--as political luster is wont to do--I'm still excited to vote for a candidate who is inspiring and history-making. Besides, this time around, seems like everyone else felt the need to step it up, too.

Barack Obama's nomination acceptance speech
Joe Biden's VP nomination acceptance speech
Michelle Obama's day 1 keynote (warning: may cause a girl-crush)
Hillary Clinton's "Vote Obama" speech
Bill Clinton "Vote Obama" speech
Dennis Kucinich gets riled up!
Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer rocks it

Obviously, convention speeches are about celebrating the party and stumping for the candidate, so it is a little higher on style and a little lower on substance, but damn, it's good to feel good about something, you know? Even if it isn't anything certain, even if we're about to face a vicious fight, even if we eventually face defeat. Just once, I'd like to vote in an election that doesn't totally depress me while I'm voting in it.

Keep going!

noreply@blogger.com (emily) — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 16:41:00 +0000

Another fun link about the McCain/Palin ticket: Corpus Callosum's linkfest take, including a charming table of Cheney (status quo) vs. Palin.

I am going to go finally watch Idiocracy now.

Political nonsense.

noreply@blogger.com (emily) — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 17:05:00 +0000

Are you kidding me?

Sarah Palin?

It's not her age or her gender, though I do feel like McCain picked a woman just for the sake of doing so, and that's insulting. It's not that she's an outsider, allowing McCain to claim another victory for "mavericks." It's not that she is a former Miss Alaska or an aggressively nicknamed college basketballer, though I don't know why we're supposed to care. It definitely is her lack of experience, which flies in the face of reason, and her platforms. It's the way they're using basically the same words, the idea of change in D.C., when McCain has been an ardent supporter of Bush most of the time.

I had a PMS-ing week of tearing up to the DNC speeches, especially the feminist stuff, so I felt punched in the crotch when I woke up to the news of McCain's pick.

And stealing Hillary's momentum, or trying to. Fuck you. And especially if you are going to vote GOP because you're upset with the way Hillary was treated BY THE PRESS. There isn't some vast conspiracy to elect Obama, just a groundswell of legitimate supporters. Look at that effing football stadium last night. And yes, Hillary was clearly popular, too, and that doesn't mean she would have been a good pick or even accepted an invitation to be his running mate. You don't have to be a woman to be a feminist, and just because you're a woman doesn't mean you're pro-women. That's the choice we're facing.

EDIT: Because I don't write about politics intelligently, here's a couple links for people who do.

Feministing's take
Slog's take

Why I'm ahead of the curve today, and how that isn't all that impressive.

noreply@blogger.com (emily) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 21:41:00 +0000

It's Monday, and I'm feeling productive. I submitted three of the four tiny little sources of anguishing panic, I sent over a couple Movie Times.com news bites, I made the crucial first phone call to the last potential profile subject (who isn't in today, dammit). It's sad that I didn't have this level of productivity, say, last week, and instead went to bed and woke up every morning with a pit of anxiety nestled in my belly, but I have it today, and that's better than never.

I found the Nature's Miracle (to non-pet owners, that's an animal mess spray cleaner), work gloves, and garden clippers I stashed in a bag somewhere and lost to our wasteland of a garage over the weekend. The rosebush is finally trimmed down after its heavy blooming season. The hibiscus has three blooms open today and it's still going strong. The tomato bush that looked admittedly a little sad when first purchased has gone totally nuts, and if all goes well, we'll end up with a few dozen homegrown sungold cherry tomatoes yet. If this year's gardening experiment goes well, maybe next year I'll line up a handful of tomato plants in big terra cotta pots--I want to drown in the damn things. The thyme is a happy camper, so much so that one of these weeks I'm going to get a little oregano plant from the same place. The serrano pepper plant is growing up well and has lots of flowers. The beautiful bronze fennel isn't a huge as it will one day be, but it looks really nice. It's the first time I've failed to kill all my plants.

Only the manzanita didn't make it--I have no idea why. It has a lot of sun, a raised bed, the crappy soil it supposedly likes, and I gave it only a little water to help it adjust to its new surroundings, but beyond that, left it to show its native plant true colors. It's only showing dry, dead, orange leaves instead. I think we can dig it up and take it back to the nursery for a replacement, but I might wait until September, if they'll permit me. I might've just planted it at a bad time, or it might've been a sad little plant to begin with.

Fear of calling.

noreply@blogger.com (emily) — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 20:56:00 +0000

I feel like some calm, but strong, invisible hand is gently squeezing my trachea and bronchi where they meet, making it hard to feel like I'm breathing as deeply as I should. I think this is what they call asthma. I'm sure it's allergy-related, further agitated by air pollution and anxiety.

Yeah, anxiety: I'm going to interview people for some little writing pieces. I am, of course, terrified of doing so, and my head is adept at making up reasons to put it off. None of them are good reasons, but I'm not good at convincing myself of the superiority of sucking it up. It shouldn't be hard--I just have a few questions to elicit enough for a <150-word, positive profile; it's basically free publicity for these business owners. For a lot of reasons, I can't squirrel out of it, much as my defense mechanism-addled brain wants to. I know this is beyond stupid. I know that once I actually DO it, I'll be glad I did. I just have a very active, phobia-fueled imagination.

Besides which, I absolutely need the money. That ought to be enough to compel me. Stupid phobia.

By the way, the job market? Sucks.

There goes the invisible hand again...

A little thing I'm actually doing...

noreply@blogger.com (emily) — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 22:18:00 +0000

My good friend Steve threw me a freelancing bone last week, so now I am contributing to this movie news page. My name isn't attached to stuff (at the moment; I don't know if that will change), but it's something. And it's kinda fun! Who knew that IMDb internship would ever be useful for anything?

Go check out the site; ad revenue FTW! Well, someone's win, anyway.

Before you forward that funny link...

noreply@blogger.com (emily) — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 23:28:00 +0000

Please, take a moment to see if you're waaaaay behind on your Internet memes.

A fascinating read, really, and easy access to all your old favorite viral videos. I, for one, was happy to see "Gonads and Strife" again.

I may not enjoy the sun, but pretty flowers sure do.

noreply@blogger.com (emily) — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 19:31:00 +0000

hibiscus 'cherie' in bloom
Originally uploaded by emily ca..

Frak, these things are gorgeous. But the blooms are a one-night-only deal, so I'm trying to document each one. What, it's better than steamed up shots of the pasta I'm cooking for lunch, right?

"We're napping. Go away...unless you have treats."

noreply@blogger.com (emily) — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 19:28:00 +0000

sleepy bunnies
Originally uploaded by emily ca..

If only the picture I took of them practically spooning turned out... all you could see was fluffy tail and 'tocks (a la Cute Overload). Funny how they choose places under the furniture where the lighting is poor--clearly they're not camwhore bunnies.

I think I've found the perfect job.

noreply@blogger.com (emily) — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 16:47:00 +0000

Too bad the Craigslist community violated the hiring manager's FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS by flagging it for removal!

Writer-Interviewer Wanted for New Marin NewsPaper (san rafael)

We are introducing to Marin-ites an alternate to the BIAS-LADEN
Independent Journal. We will seek to print the truth about the MYTH of GLOBAL Warming- The PLIGHT of Illegal ALIENS on our Local Culture-Interview
County Officials about the Sanctuary Law that could lead to the tragedy played out recently in GANGSTER-FRIENDLY San Francisco! AND MORE!

We need an enthusiastic female with interview skills that can and will be developed. We also need a devoted male writer with expressive verbal talent.

The only qualification is that you are between 18 and 80 and that you have not been brainwashed with vicious Left-wing propaganda. One of our first stories will be about the rights of those to protest against the left and why it's not considered HATE-FULL to be spit upon and called vulgar names by liberals.

For the LEFTIST STALINIST Hitlarian Type that finds this HATEFULL---
AND would Flag It.....it is YOU who is the HATEFULL One ---
starting with your HATRED for the TRUTH

contact EIC LC
@ [phone redacted] OR E-mail your contact info with a brief description about why you are interested----again! DO NOT VIOLATE MY 1st AMENDMENT AND FLAG!

Two thoughts, after I stop laughing: putting aside the thought that people will flag this because it's purposely inflammatory, stating gender preferences for hiring is kind of illegal. Plus, Craigslist is private, so the first amendment doesn't apply.

The logic (and the spelling) are astonishing.

Save the beef, skip a shower.

noreply@blogger.com (emily) — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 15:51:00 +0000

The vegan boyfriend and I were checking out a new vegetarian restaurant in the lovely Milpitas Square yesterday, one affiliated with the downtown San Jose institution Vegetarian House and the cult-y Supreme Master Ching Hai. You can always tell a Supreme Master restaurant by the ubiquitous flatscreen TV playing only Supreme Master TV, and we are both amused and distracted by its 20-language subtitling and save-the-world rhetoric every time.

I mean, you guys know me: vegetarian for environmental reasons, pretty staunch about it but not to the point of being an asshole. Kevin: basically the same, but with more of an issue with harming animals. (Except insects. Insects can suck it because honey tastes good!) And on that level, we are pretty pro-Supreme Master peeps, with their new "Be Green, Go Veg" campaign. And if not go veg, well, eat veg more often. Y'all know; I don't have to preach.

But really. There's no need to fiddle with funny statistics to make your point.

One of the SMTV stories the other day regarded water consumption and raising cattle. According to a very amusing animated infographic, four Quarter Pounders use the same amount of water to produce as you would use in half a year's showers. Well, we don't eat Quarter Pounders, but we do shower. Every day.

We have to save the ground beef, Kevin said to me. Let's stop taking showers.

People already think we're dirty hippies anyway.

--

P.S. Already can't wait to see what kind of Supreme Master comment spambot I'll attract with this post.

They better not screw this up.

noreply@blogger.com (emily) — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 23:28:00 +0000

Because I've always thought Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs would make an awesome movie.

I dig the disaster movie spoof spin, too.

Who, me, disappear off the face of the Internet?

noreply@blogger.com (emily) — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 19:52:00 +0000

No, never. I never go more than a week without blogging! Horrors.

Moving is a pain in the ass. (Also, I say the word "ass" in apparently inappropriate contexts! And then get called by HR people to be told so! And may miss out on jobs because of it! My potty mouth is getting me in trouble!) Kevin rented a truck last Saturday and together we moved half our stuff. We will be moving the rest of the big stuff this Saturday, only now we'll have a few extra hands. We've also been making car trips daily with our smaller stuff.

I'm basically living at the new house now, but for sleeping and feeding the rabbits. All my clothes, food, and shower items are at the new house, but the bed isn't moving until Saturday. I plan to move the rabbits midday Friday--before packing up my bedroom entirely--and sleeping at the new house on a couch or something. The rabbits have to get set up in an xpen in their space so they don't freak out too much over all the moving furniture. My sister is supposed to come down and help, too. Hopefully I'm not so tired that I get bitchy and she snaps at me.

The shower here (well, my shower--there are three full bathrooms in this crazy house!) is a million times better than what I had at the Campbell house. There, the tub was almost always stopped up and I found no chemical or tool that gave more than a temporary reprieve from giving my feet a filthy bath every morning. The showerhead itself was messed up, with only half the holes releasing water and the pressure being adequate at best. Here, I have a low-flow head (that Kevin wanted to put in my old shower but that head was not removable!) that has amazing pressure. The shower is a stall, not a tub, and its drain works fine. It's the best shower I've had in ages.

But moving is totally killing me. Our Campbell house is a mess and I'm constantly kicking up dust (mixed with hay and rabbit fut, no less) so it's allergy mayhem. Being this stuffed up makes sleep harder, and I get a little sore throat and chapped lip action, so that's awesome. Plus it's been hot and I'm carrying heavy things, which I don't typically do, so I'm sore and feeling icky.

I haven't been able to deal with serious job-hunting tasks all week. I am up for a job at GiggleSugar that sounds rad, and usually I don't name the places I'm going, but it's a blog. Blogs link to blogs, it's a rule. I had a few interviews last week that went somewhat well but I probably won't get those jobs. I randomly get emails from recruiters who find my resume posted somewhere, and while most of those are not jobs I qualify for or want, hell, they can have my resume in their system. I am in pretty dire need of a job.

Speaking of dire needs, we need to get rid of our crappy couch. I am getting no love from the Craigslist free section. C'mon, people, please come take my couch! We bought a pair of new (to us) ones that are comfortable and nice-looking. And huge. I think the seat cushions are almost as large as a twin bed.

I am looking forward to being DONE with moving and maybe having some people over to hang out in the new space. Katamari party, anyone?

Today's menu.

noreply@blogger.com (emily) — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 17:26:00 +0000

In the midst of planning a move (we signed a lease yesterday for a place in East San Jose; it's huge and y'all can come visit!), preparing for TWO interviews early next week, doing a writing sample for another potential job, and dealing with my expired ATM card, today I am making good on a promise to prepare my friend Steve a birthday dinner (a couple weeks late). I came up with a few menu ideas and he chose the Middle Eastern theme, so I'm cooking up a storm, including a number of recipes I've never made before.

We've got:

Hummus -- my own recipe, though it came out a bit thick so I may reprocess it later.
Baba ganoush -- eggplant is roasting now.
Gibneh beyda a supposedly Egyptian dip with feta cheese, yogurt, minced herbs, and lemon juice. If Kevin weren't vegan this would totally go in the regular rotation. I used nonfat Greek-style yogurt and regular-fat feta, but I bet you could use reduced-fat feta and it would still be good.
Fattosh (Lebanese-style mixed green salad with toasted/stale pita)
Vegetarian kibbeh -- typically a Lebanese-style stuffed meatball, my cookbook suggests this bulghur-based nut-stuffed dumpling was devised by hungry Christians for Lent. It was surprisingly easy to make, though like many recipes involving stuffed something, I had at least twice as much filling as necessary. Snackable!
Mudarara, a simple rice and lentils dish with browned onions.
Egyptian-style spinach omelet -- the picture just looks so yummy.
Pitas -- I was going to attempt to make some, since flatbread is usually the only bread I make successfully, but I didn't have time to get yeast and decided to just buy some.
Apricot granita -- Steve isn't doing desserts now (one less person for me to force delicious cookies on!), but maybe a fruit slushie? Whatever, we had a ton of the damn things in our share this week and I think I prefer them frozen.

I may post pictures of things later. When I am too lazy to do all the other shit I need to do right now. Ack.

Sometimes ups outnumber the downs...

noreply@blogger.com (emily) — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 17:51:00 +0000

Does anyone else remember that song from Disney's Robin Hood? I always loved that song. No idea why.

It's been kind of an emotional roller coaster week for me. At its worst, I thought I was never going to find a job, I was going to be homeless, and I was going to lose my boyfriend. At its best, well, I could laugh and enjoy the things I do have and generally look with hope towards the future.

After looking at over a dozen houses, Kevin told me Tuesday afternoon that he wanted to buy a house in Boulder Creek, a place I never, ever want to live. He wanted to buy a house there to live in half the week and rent an apartment near work for the other half, and I could live there but eventually he'd want to be in Boulder Creek full time. I was really upset and failed to convince him through yelling and tears that his logic was an epic fail. He reconsidered on his own, and via an email I sent him saying the same things but, you know, typed, so there wouldn't be screaming and swearing and crying. He agreed that it didn't make sense to buy a house somewhere he couldn't possibly live any time in the foreseeable future, and I think he didn't want to lose me, either.

Of course, this means no Santa Cruz house (boo, that would be fun), but it does mean we can narrow our search to the Silicon Valley area and try to find the best place we can. He doesn't want to buy up here because he doesn't WANT to live here and apparently buying a house is forever to him (I think a place near the light rail would be a halfway decent investment, but I'm the broke girl).

Just as he was making more calls to houses for rent in San Jose, my cell phone started blowing up. Yesterday morning I received THREE CALLS about actual jobs*, only one of which I had specifically applied for (and actually, I think that was with a different magazine than I'd actually sent my resume for). One of them was from a recruiter I met at the seemingly pointless job fair the day before, and the other was a new opening with a company I interviewed with a couple months ago and liked. Guess they liked me, too, or at least my resume was well-placed in the HR person's stack.

Between the sudden reminders that jobs do exist and eventually I will get one, the decision to stay on this side of the hill with Kevin, and the possibility of culinary school, my worldview is turning up.

Now it is shower time (in my incredibly slow-draining shower, one of the two things I will not miss about this lovely house, the other being that the neighborhood is kind of a pain to drive out of), then meeting a friend for lunch, then looking at another probably-mediocre house for rent.

* If you post your phone number on websites like Monster, you might get calls from people who are hiring for a position you are (1) not qualified for, (2) not interested in, and/or (3) not quite able to discern the nature of over the phone due to the thick accent of the caller. (I communicate pretty well with people whose native language isn't English in person, but over the phone it gets muddled. I have a hard time understanding perfectly clear English speakers over the phone, so a heavy accent just makes the situation worse.)

Fast food tries for health food again...and fails.

noreply@blogger.com (emily) — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:46:00 +0000

This time it's Burger King's "healthy" kid's meal with a cup of Kraft mac and cheese and apple slices with caramel sauce. It doesn't take a nutritionist to see what's wrong with this picture.

Sure, I downed gallons of "The Cheesiest" as a kid, forsaking all others (they tasted funny). I recall once throwing a massive fit at a babysitter over some missing ingredient that ruined our entire dinner. I was an awesome kid. And I enjoy fruits and vegetables cut into a julienne for no apparent reason with some kind of dip.

But let's deconstruct. Kraft mac and cheese has about ten billion milligrams of sodium per serving. It's made with butter (or margarine, and I'm sure they're not buying Earth Balance) and milk, it's made with white pasta, and its cheese is the definition of processed food. Any protein is negligible, and there's nary a vegetable in sight. Even I preferred my Kraft adulterated with peas and maybe a cut up hot dog.

Instead, I'd use a whole wheat pasta, or even one made with an alternative flour--quinoa shells aren't bad--and definitely add a vegetable of some kind. Spinach is great, or any greens, as are peas. Diced tomatoes, broccoli--many options exist, depending on how picky the kid is. If you're lazy, you can buy Annie's (the bunny-themed brand) instead and mix their processed cheese product (still high in sodium, to be sure) with plain yogurt instead of milk and butter. The yogurt trick is one of my favorites.

You can, however, make a sauce from scratch--I actually like to make one sometimes with a simple roux (fat and flour wisked together over heat until creamy and browned a little), then garlic, and adding my cheese (whatever's around, really) and some of the pasta's starch-infused cooking liquid to sauce it up. No cream, just cheese.

Another option involves making a vegan "cheesy" sauce with nutritional yeast. There are a few recipes out there (oddly, I prefer the version from Vegan with a Vengeance recipe for fettuccine alfreda) so you can experiment, but the resulting sauces are, to me, a tasty and healthy answer to Kraft's processed, just-add-milk-and-butter powdered cheese product.

The apple slices are fine, though I'd question their quality--most places seem to rely on the Red Delicious, which is the worst apple ever grown. The caramel sauce--eh, surely you can eat a FRUIT without adding more sugar, but hey, even then, couldn't you just dust it with cinnamon or something instead? Maybe the cheese could be served with apples--a few slices of a good, real cheddar goes phenomenally well with a tart apple slice.

Even better would be oven fries. Either regular potatoes, new potatoes, or sweet potatoes, tossed gently with a touch of oil and a pinch of salt and roasted to perfection. Just like french fries, but better. And you can still have a little ketchup, provided it isn't your only other vegetable.

I mean, eat fast food if that's your thing, and you let your kid enjoy fries, but don't pretend like it's going to be a healthy option. You people know this--when are the fast food chains going to own it?

I'm trying!

noreply@blogger.com (emily) — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 00:14:00 +0000

Today I went to a job fair sponsored by Monster. The advertising for it suggested bringing at least 20 resumes.

I showed up at 11. There were a lot of people standing in line to sign in, so I ended up waiting for about 45 minutes to get into the fair itself.

Which had about 12 tables with employers and a bunch of people standing in lines. As I reached the front of the sign-in line, an organizer started telling the still-long line that the employers were getting "overwhelmed" with people, so they were letting people trickle in and she appreciated their patience. She also said to talk to everyone and not assume you knew what they were hiring for, that talking to a bunch of different companies is the point of these things. I agreed. Until I got inside.

Insurance companies, staffing firms, middling tech businesses, and an elementary school district in Arizona--I don't care what they're hiring for, I probably don't want to work in life insurance and I definitely don't want to move to Arizona to teach 7-year-olds. I waited in line for the two staffing/temping agencies and talked to a representative from each for about 30 seconds. I got rid of two resumes and received two business cards with instructions to visit their websites.

All told, I got an hour's practice standing around in uncomfortable dress shoes and something to talk about besides house-hunting when I met up with Jenn for coffee afterwards.

But at least I tried.