Working on the job....psssh

There are a few perks that come with working in the library, and one of them is being able to pick up and read books while on the job that catch your eye. I spotted this book, The Bacon Cookbook: More than 150 Recipes from Around the World for Everyone's Favorite Food, from my desk and was imediately intrigued. I love bacon, but because of the obvious health concerns-high sodium, cholesterol, and fat-don't eat it too often. However after quickly glancing through the book, I found a few recipes that piqued my interest. This book will definitely make it on my Amazon queue.

There's no place like home.

Dentist, Spa Day, sales tax, motorcycles, heartburn, and family. Not a bad mini-vacation spent at home.

*%#@%!

There's only one thing worse than construction, that is, haphazard construction. The powers that be decided today just for the hell of it (allow me to be unreasonable) to block my one remaining direct route from home to work. Now, my quick route and even quicker route are marked by mounds of dirt and unpaved road, not exactly hospitable conditions for my 4-cylinder car.

So for now until god knows when, I must take an out of the way route which is inefficient, bothersome, and worst of all burns precious gas. Since the lovely folks at my City government decided to leave me such a wonderful present this Saturday afternoon, I would like to repay the favor.

Mac vs. PC

Off the top of my head, I've had 4 PC Computers since high school and each one of them came with enough instruction manuals to put Tolstoy's War and Peace to shame. But fast-forward to today and this is all that came with my Macbook.

Please forgive the photography. The flash washed the writing out and there was not enough natural light.

And this is all that was inside the box:

The one booklet on the left says, "Everything Mac", which is the instruction manual based on the ....For Dummies series, and the booklet on the right says, "Everything else". Everything else is this:

2 OS installation CDs, a licensing booklet and other legal junk, a dust cloth, and 3 "apple" stickers.

My adventures into Macville will be nothing short of interesting.

I have the best family ever!!!!

My birthday was earlier this month and all I expected (and wanted) in the line of gifts was a new set of measuring spoons, and a Drinkwell fountain for my cat. So when I went home yesterday for the first time in a couple of months, I thought those would be the presents awaiting me. But my family once again outdid themselves and got this


and this for me.




I also received a yummy arrangement from Edible Arrangments. In light of all the bounty I received, I wanted to extend another heartfelt thank you to all my family. You guys rock!!!!

By the way, I still got the measuring spoons and fountain. :)

Whistling is for the dogs.

This blog is fast becoming my outlet to let off steam from everyday life with a bit of food and knitting thrown into the mix. And this blog entry is no different. If ain't broke.....

My work day was pretty ordinary except for one glaring incident. While working at my desk a patron whistled, yes whistled, for me to come over and help him with the computer. Since I've been on the job, patrons have caught my attention to ask for help in a variety of ways. Some say, "Excuse me, Miss", "Ma'am, can you help me", "Can you help me". Others just raise their index finger or wave (that really annoys me for reasons I will cover later), and now today, someone whistled for me like I was a dog.

Pissed off does not even to begin to describe my reaction to the rude gesture. I am a woman, human being, and at least in my capacity at work, someone who has a better understanding of computers than the person asking for assistance; and as such I should be treated with respect. I'm not asking for statutes to be built in my honor or parades thrown on my birthday (Ha ha!), but I expect to treated respectfully as any human being would, and my authority to be acknowledged and recognized. It's very simple, you wouldn't whistle for your mother, so don't whistle for me.

If I could look at this from a more objective standpoint, I could possibly admit there might have been a cultural dynamic at work. It was apparent this particular patron was a recent immigrant to the United States. Perhaps he saw nothing wrong with what he did, maybe his actions did not breach his social norms. But for me this just another gesture in a long line of socially unacceptable actions I have to put up with at work.

At first I did not think too much about the a male patron (and it's almost always men), who would raise his finger or dismissively wave his hand. But when these events occur on a daily basis, and when male patrons continually disregard your warnings to curb their conduct, the wonder of the situation ceases to exist, and you see things for how they really are.

I don't answer to you....

On the grand scale of things, I ranked pretty low on the totem pole at work. I do not have the authority to make procedural decisions (or really any other kind of decisions) on my own without prior approval from my immediate supervisor.

I'm more than certain the other employees are aware of this. I have deferred to my supervisor more than once when I am not sure about the correct procedure for any given situation. I've hardly been secretive about my ignorance on work related issues. So why then does my co-worker ask me to go over my supervisor's head, and then cop an attitude for not 1, but 2 days when tell him I'm not sure I can do what he asked without my supervisor's approval?

And the best part is, this particular co-worker is old enough to be my father, and should in theory, be above this kind of childish pettiness of withholding materials, which keeps me from doing my job. One can argue I'm engaging in the same type of childish antics by writing this entry, but I like to think I'm squarely in the adolescent range of petty behavior. :)

On a more positive note, I'm looking forward to trying out a few of the recipes in the new cookbooks I just received. This one is on the top of the list. Doesn't it look yummy?

I long for the days of the Wide World of Sports.

A long time ago, the ABC network used to have this thing called the Wide World of Sports. Every Saturday and Sunday without fail, the viewer could learn about little talked about sports in the US like, ski jumping and louge, or fanactics like myself could follow their favorite gymnasts, ice skaters, and track and field athletes.

The Wide World of Sports has been caput for sometime now, but I miss it terribly, especially when an Olympic year rolls around. Before, you knew what was going on in your favorite sport (Where did Gymnast X place? What is the new "thing" judges are looking for? Who is the new track and field star?). Now, the audience comes in cold and has to fiddle around trying to find information on the athletes. Thank god for the internet.

Anyway, what started this rant was this video posted on the New York Times about a Chinese track and field star. I've heard of him before, but know next to nothing about him thanks to track field only being covered every 4 years to coincide with an Olympics. I don't know what was said during the video, due to my sound restriction at work, but he is definitely an athlete to watch during the games.

Does karma exist?

An incident happened at the bank today where, if I had not spoken up I would have had a windfall of $100 in cash due to a teller's mistake. Of course I went back to the teller and alerted him to his mistake, but if I had remained quiet and went on my way, he most surely would have faced punishment, and I would eventually have to pay my debt, one way or the other.

I'm not necessarily a believer in karma, but I do think people should treat others as they wish to be treated, which means being honest, courteous, and having a regard for others. I don't know if I will have some good fortune befall me in the near future, but I can take heart in knowing I'm a tough nut to crack. Thanks, Mom.

Applying to grad school sucks!

Earlier this week, I received an email from the graduate school I applied to, the University of Corn, telling me they have not yet received my college and graduate school transcripts or my application fee. I could understand them not having my transcipts because I have very little control over what goes on in my former university's end once I put the request in, but I paid the application fee online when I applied! It's not like I could have blown it off and still submitted my application. I called the admissions office and even after explaing my situation and appealing to common sense, the only response I was met with was, "Well our computers don't show any record of the application fee being paid". Ugh, damn computers! I'm at their mercy so I'll pay the blasted fee, again, but I'm not happy about it. Maybe I should write a little note in the memo line of the check to make my displeasure known.

Thank goodness I've already gotten into the University of Cows, or my stress level would be off the charts!

No mention of school just yet.

Since I started this blog, I've struggled with how much of my school exploits I should include. I've decided to make a conscientious effort to include a bit more about it, especially since things are moving along quite nicely, and quicker than I anticipated.

But in the meantime, I made ice cream! Is there not a more perfect food? Ever since I ran off with was given my mother's ice cream maker, I occassionally make ice cream when I find myself in the mood. And today just happened to be one of those days. My favorite ice cream is the cake batter ice cream creation found at Coldstone, but my take on it is just as tasty, and easier on the wallet and ears (Welcome to Coldstone!). So to the appease those you have been asking for it, here is the recipe.

Cake Batter Ice Cream

Ingredients:

1 cup of 2% milk (You can use whole milk if you prefer.)
2 cups of heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon of vanilla
3/4 cup of sugar
2/3 cup of yellow cake mix (I'm partial to Duncan Heinz)
2 eggs (optional, but I wanted a custardy texture)

1 ice cream maker (this is the one I have)

1. In a large sauce pan on low heat, add the milk and whipping cream.
2. Heat the mixture until hot. (Be careful not to bring it to a boil. It is ready when you can wipe the back of spoon, dipped in the mixture clean with your finger.)
3. In a separate bowl, combine the eggs, vanilla, and sugar.
4. Pour half of the heated milk and whipping cream into the bowl containing the eggs, vanilla and sugar. Stir.
5. Pour the contents of the bowl into the sauce pan with the other half of the milk and whipping cream. Stir well on low heat for an additional 5 minutes.
6. Pour the mixture into freezer safe container and then add the cake mix. Stir well.
   
7. Put in freezer for an hour or until the contents are chilled.
8. Following the instructions of your particular ice cream maker, pour the contents of the container into your ice cream maker.
9. Freeze ice cream until it solidifies.
   

   

(I couldn't wait until the ice cream froze completely.)

Note: If you do choose to use eggs, you MUST follow the instructions as followed. However, if choose not to use eggs, you can completely skip the stove portion (Just combine all the ingredients in a bowl and put it in your ice cream maker).

Another day, a year older.

At what age do people loose enthusiasm for their own birthdays?

I don't remember at exactly which age, my birthday became just another day, but I no longer look forward to cake and ice cream, presents, and songs. It's just another day. And to be quite honest, all I really want is peace and contentment.

Since I've found those, I think my birthday list for this year can be marked as completed and cast out with the other remnants of the day. Onward to tomorrow.

When do you know you've lost your mind?

10:15 pm, and you're downloading a completed Wimbledon match from a Russian torrent stream website. However, you cannot speak, read, or write Russian. Yet, this does not deter you because you have a web translator. Welcome to madness.