Oblivious much?

Current mood: little shaky...

I was attempting to bake last night and the stupid batter would not de-lumpify. I was stirring and stirring (while watching Heroes, so I really didn't notice exactly how much time was passing by until the end), but the mix refused to smooth out. Finally, I noticed that the lumps were rather uniform in size and shape and I looked at the mix description a little more closely - yep, triple chocolate cake has chips in the mix...

Argh. Stupid batter, huh?

Triple-chocolate cupcakes with pick cream-cheese icing? Luscious!

And a baby shower for a little girl? Like pink exploded.

This is going to be by far the worst sugar day of the year.

Survival of the fittest

Current mood: chagrined and alarmed and pleased

So, instead of a dramatic "I hate you," "Well, I hate you more!" goodbye scene with the parents that we had last time, it was an even more GULP!!-inducing, "Wow, everything we need is here, including you (aw). Is that townhouse across the way for sale?"

Yikes! Really can't win.

Next time, no fun for you!!!!

The land of passive agriva

Seriously s*cks. If you don't tell me what I did wrong, or that I'm annoying you, or that you hate me in general, how exactly am I supposed to know? Not a mind reader. Strap a pair on and tell me how you feel! I don't care how fragile and tired you are - if you're going to chew me out for a whole week's worth of pent-up aggression, at least do me the courtesy of being specific. Telling me that I s*ck is not particularly productive...

Wretched, wonderful food

This has been the most mixed bag food weekend of my entire life, skewing significantly to the negative. My stomach is sad, but it was bound to happen after all this time, right? Friday night, we tried to find a supposedly high-quality Chinese/sushi buffet. We thought we were at the right location but it was most assuredly NOT. Greasy platefuls of "Eh [shrug], we may as well eat," later, we were VERY sorry. Worst Chinese ever, and since I already separate out real Chinese food from Americanized Chinese food, it was pretty bad. We didn't actually get sick, but we were extremely uncomfortable afterwards...

The next night we tried to get actual sushi. In theory, not so much of a high-risk venture. In actuality, however, it's pretty terrible when you're hungry, can see food, and they just won't give it to you. We were sitting across from the sushi chef and saw him scrutinize our order, scrunch up his face, and decide to work on the orders of every table in the place that sat down after us. An hour and a half later, with several flagging downs of the waiter and the manager, no one could help us. Apparently, sushi chefs are part of an autonomous collective and cannot be controlled when they run amok. (Bah, angry!!!) So we attempted to get food at some random Mexican place down the street, which was also a mistake. One plate of bean burritos returned to the kitchen and a sizzler plate of stringy beef and tomatoes (hey, I was starving at this point) later, seriously bad things were starting to happen in the stomach arena and I was sick for the rest of the night. Bleah.

Well, we weren't smart enough to listen to karma (though we did leave the bad-luck shirt at home), so we tried for three times a charm at the Melting Pot. Now, sometimes I'm a bit of a food snob about chains, but I have nothing against chains that offer something unique and do their shtick well; plus there's the huge bonus of corporate and national consistency, which is very appealing after the miseries suffered at the hands of the independents. And, I have to say, I've got nothing on the Melting Pot exact deep sense of gratitude and satisfaction. Not only did they give us perfectly good food and LOTS of it (oh boy, that flaming turtle is a dessert of beauty), but the service and environs were quite pleasant and the evening ticked by with flawless predictability. As they say in Mastercardland, PRICELESS.

Stressed

Current mood: need to sleep

I seem to be stressed - haven't gotten to sleep before 5 AM in more days than is strictly necessary, that is, more than 1. I'm not sure why. I often travel, and I often travel back to back weeks, but this time, the to-do list just seems extra daunting and I'm much more worried than usual that I forgot to do/get/bring something. Maybe the homing instinct is starting to kick in. I hope not, because work expects to get quite a few more years of travel out of me, and I'm just starting to get to go to the better places. I'm soooo tired of going to Sacramento...

Please be October the 14th

Current mood: ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!

So I can stop being afraid of my god-d*mned TV. That stupid The Grudge trailer plays constantly, comes on with no warning (there should really be a warning before they're allowed to play that sh*t on TV) and scares the cr*p out of me. Every so often I have to shriek/close my eyes/turn away from the screen, which interrupts the not-afraid flow of the evening. I'm still having nightmares from The Ring (when The Ring II commercials were playing on TV, I was having the same problem, but those commercials did not run for NEARLY as long as this set) and am really tired of freaky little children beasties trying to crawl out of my television to get me. GO AWAY! I am NOT kidding. Stupid Friday the 13th. Whose idea was it to make up another creepy holiday, anyway?

Is it really morning?

Today during my morning beauty ritual, I tried to moisturize my eye. Gah, I hate the sunshiny AM.

And ow.

RTC vs. RTS

So, in a smackdown, which Ray's would win? While I've only been to both restaurants exactly one time, I have to say that I want to lick Michael Landrum's, um...steak...up and down. Seriously. The man knows his meat. He even has the approval of my New York sister (one bite of filet, eyes rolling back in head, that is the best meat I've ever had...) beginner food snob! I've had the lamb, eggplant cake (you don't understand, this was crispy/chunky/chewy awesomeness), the NY strip, spiced cashews, cress salad, bellini, olive puffs, key lime pie, Malbec, duck fat parsnip spread, deviled eggs filled with steak tartare, hot chocolate, filet, Caesar salad, mashed potatoes, milk chocolate mousse, broccoli, brandied mushrooms, the chateaubriand, syrah, and the spinach. While all of these things are well and very, very good, the essential ingredient in each meal was and shall always be, the steak. And since I can get the steak in Arlington without the suffering that is the Beltway at rush hour, cough, I mean, all times of the day, I think I have to opt out of RTC. I think it's entirely possible that I'll be lured back for the Maryland-specific tidbits and desserts!, but for now I think I'll settle (HA!) for the original RTS.

What the...?

Current mood: eyeballs glued to the talking picture box

Holy moly, when did TV get good again? I swear, I am NBC's b*tch!! I thought, when Alias and TWW ended and the WB died, since I don't watch 24 in real time, that I would be free from the tyranny of network TV. And, while House and those Desperate Housewives haven't really fired my interest this season, I am helpless like a puppy at the onslaught of thoughtful and blatantly shock- and suspense-ful dramedies. Both episodes of Heroes have had me jumping up and down in antici...............................pation and squealing at the glorious goriness. If it stays good like this, I'll be hopelessly addicted, which will slightly piss me off, because I really don't handle cliff-hanger serials very well when I can't get the whole season at once. And, while Heroes is kind of a weird lead-in, I definitely stay for Studio 60's own merits. I loves me some non-Josh Bradley Whitford, and Matt Perry isn't exactly a slouch, either! Now, all I need on Mondays are new episodes of Medium, and I'll have a full-night NBC sweep! Friday Night Lights is probably the finest non-movie TV I've ever seen, which is going to be a serious problem, because it conflicts with Gilmore Girls, which is so not sucking this season. Meanwhile, the Lostarama continues, and then all of a sudden it's Thursday again. I'm still amused by Grey's Anatomy, but the real winners that night are Ugly Betty (fresh! new! heartwarming!) and ER. I was THISCLOSE to giving up on ER and watched it out of sheer habit last season, but the old warhorse has gotten a new wind and has recaptured my interest. Plus, if I'm not careful, I think I could totally get sucked into the alterna-Buffyverse of Veronica Mars. Seriously, I'm going to put in some major couch time this year.

And I thought that I would have nothing to watch when I got rid of cable! Perhaps it's time to break down and get a recording device...thingy so I won't be chained to my TV all year...

I need curry

Current mood: experimental

I've been experimenting with red curry paste. Some time ago, I realized that most restaurants use canned coconut milk and commercial pastes to concoct their delightful curries; if I were to break down and buy said items, I too could create lovely curries in the privacy of my own home at a fraction of the cost. Of course, that would mean having to admit to myself that I crave something as fat-laden as coconut milk. Ice cream, chocolate, butter, candy - these things I have no problem buying, but coconut milk? Fat food of the devil! (I feel the same way about avocadoes.) Annnnnnyway...things that I have learned about the art of making my Very Own Curry:

- curry paste + coconut milk does NOT = red curry (there's, like, 10 other things that need to go into the mixture, so said my taste buds)
- for the love of pete, stop wearing white clothes to cook red things!!!!!!!
- thai holy basil (or, Holy! Thai! Basil!) is NOT the same as regular or Italian basil
- fish sauce = nasty smelling!!! (as in, what is wrong with this stuff and why would I ever put it in, on, or near food?)
- oh yeah, eggplant shrinks exponentially when you cook it, so we'll be needing a bit more of that
- sigh, food at home never tastes like restaurant food, and I am almost positive that's it's merely a function of (acceptable-in-front-of-my-eyes) butter content

Other than that, the experiments have been very successful, except for having generated a need for severe gym time, as I have been consuming hitherto-unforeseen quantities of the devil's milk.

The Breakfast Club's big brother

In college, there was this 80s band called The Breakfast Club that played the frat house circuit on a ~monthly basis. Despite the fact that their sets, hair, and pirate costumes (sweat stains and all, ew...) never changed, their party was always the biggest of the night. Other houses wouldn't even book "good" bands that night, because there just wasn't much point in trying to compete. Girls and guys alike, dressed up (80s attire) and dressed down (typical yuppie attire), squeezed in close (nauseatingly close) to pump fists in the air, headbang, jump around, and walk like an Egyptian. While I had as much fun as everyone else begging Eileen to just come on, already (that sounds dirty. I hope the song isn't dirty. Wait, it isn't, right?), I always wondered if we were the only generation of 80s-obsessed kids keeping the flame alive (eternal), and if the craziness (seriously, the clothes? my eyes! my eyes!) would die down once we were too old to, er, rock.

Turns out, not so much. The Legwarmers have a ridiculous following, and have taken to always playing two shows in a row, because the first one kept selling out. And while I thought that 2 consecutive shows would make it easier to get tix, silly me, both nights were out! I can understand why - the crowd runs older, but these folks are determined, if for one night only, to show that they haven't lost all their juice quite yet. Oh the headbands - and the hair! Sideways ponytails as far as the eye can see! Scream-singing! Leggings! Fist pumping! The cell-phone-waving to the ballads (cell phones are the new lighters)! Tacky prom dresses! And do not forget, and make sure to watch out for, the scissor kicks!!! Quite a scene...and to top it all off, the band has got its numbers down pat and are very good at reproducing the sound and the energy of the originals. When they played the Run DMC version of Walk This Way, I thought I'd died and gone to dance heaven. Today, my feet hurt, my neck hurts, I have a raging headache (thanks, 4 P's for the cider) and my arm feels oddly disjointed...as if I'd been throwing something (my fist!) all night...