Movinnnnn

Our stuff comes today!!

If you can't figure it out, you can at least cook along the way

As per usual with a half-hearted blog, there will be cooking posts. Actually, cooking is what made me remember this blog in the first place. Several years ago, I made Potato Leek soup in London with two of of my best friends. Because I've spent the last three years in academic insanity, we  haven't had nearly enough chances to speak or visit with each other. Here's hoping that the plus side to being a Grown Up (with a job and all of that nonsense) is that I can spend more time with the people I care about, and not a bloody data set.

In the meantime, Cooking!

Last night I made Greek Style Quinoa Burgers, a-la Martha Stuart, plus a few spice alterations etc.
A-MA-ZING. Seriously, the quinoa/bean/egg/crumbs texture makes this burger taste and feel like you're eating meat. Yummy.

Alternations I made:
- Added 2 gloves of garlic
- Used  herbs de provence seasoning salt instead of plain salt (I'll use more next time)
- I swapped out the carrot for red pepper, since mom doesn't like them, and i don't either really...at       least not in a burger!
- Used matzoh meal instead of dried bread crumbs, because that's what i had
- I used green onions instead of scallions, because apparently the grocery store doesn't DO scallions.
- I had a bit of a love/hate relationship with the yogurt sauce, and in the end added about 2x as much spice/seasoning as they recommended. I'm very pro what we came up with though. Rough ingredient list: lemon zest (instead of juice), minced garlic clove, green onions, salt, pepper.

Tonight was a semi-thrown together potato leek soup,
- Leeks, potatoes, garlic, thyme, herbs de provence salt, heavy cream, and a sprinkle of fresh dill at the end. I think next time I do this, I'm going to double the potatoes involved (instead of just 1 lb), so that I can puree half of them, and still have plenty left over for potato chunks. I'm a big fan of the heavier soup that I got by blending everything, but some more potato texture would be nice.
- Notes for if I'm not making it for a vegetarian: chicken stock instead of vegetable, and add bacon!

For dessert:
Strawberries and freshly whipped cream.


All this cooking has made me think of friends, and how much I miss them. But at least this way, i'm remembering one of my favorite times of us together.

If only I knew where that was.....

Musings and Misery

“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.”- Confucius

Thought maybe I’d give the blogging (ok…whining) thing a try again. Mainly, because I have no projects or goals right now. Right now i’m stuck in limbo, no job, no school, no time frame. The lease on our house took effect today, so…yay house! Problem is we don’t get our stuff for at least another 4-5 days, probably closer to 10. In the meantime, i feel like all there is for me to do is to job search, and be cranky that I have not had *one* positive review, possible interest in an interview or email (bar the inevitable rejections) from any of it. 

Granted, part of this is due to me applying to jobs that i know i don’t even qualify for. Trouble is, when you are overeducated, and have zero work experience, no one wants to hire you anyways. Either someone will have to take a big risk on me, or i’m stuck with jobs that only have an associate’s degree as their pre-requisites….aka, Data Entry. 

I’m not even sure they’d hire me either….. 

Not sure where i’m going with this…other than OMFG, i am stressed, unemployed, and miserable, with too much time on my hands. 

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I know i'm not the only one to feel this way, and I'm very probably due my fair share of said 20s-angst, because I've managed to get this far through my 20s without having to deal with the 'OH GOD, I NEED  A JOB' stress. I don't eel lucky though, i feel like i've made everything harder for myself. Work experience seems to matter more than i thought it would, than i was told it would....just keep your head down and finish your education they said. 

Here I am, nearly 9 years since I left for college, and I'm .......nowhere. 

A-ward Bound, (iPod part 3)

No, my dear, dedicated...two readers. (Hi!), I have not forgotten about the iPod thing. Last week involved all sorts of shenanigans (soon to follow), So now it's time to catch up on the songs.

I started my new volunteering gig last week, a few mornings a week doing office work for a non-profit. It's calm and mindless, and a great time to make big headway on my track list. I started with the A's, since My car and my iPod differ as to how what order the symbols/numbers should be played in. But everyone can get along with regards to alphabetizing. It's pretty finite.

So far, I am still plowing through the As. Starting with  ABC by the Jackson 5 (still awesome) and i'm now up to Always by Blink-182. If there are any song writers out there, please take this moment to absorb that it is time to start coming up with songs that are NOT titled  starting with "All" or "Alone"....the 'Alls' chunk of my playlist is 46 songs, not including duplicates.  I also have 5 or 6 completely different songs that are titled "All I need".  Time to be more creative, kids.

Some highlights from the bunch:

-Acts 1-5 of Much Ado About Nothing by the Royal Shakespeare Company (radio version?). Always a fun listen, and kept me busy for much of my time in the office.
- I may have discovered a little bit of love for Toby Keith
- I seem to have an obscene amount of Bruce Springsteen. I knew this already, but i keep being surprised at the sheer amount of it. Particularly as I was never a huge fan? Not that I object, but just....seriously.

By my count i'm 149 songs in, not counting the symbol/number songs. Which should add another 20-30 or so. At this rate, I'll be done in a few years.

Redirect

I started up on blogging again, but on a different page. This particular blog is heavily associated with my Sister's death, I find, which tends to make me incredibly reluctant to go anywhere near it. Hence, the fresh start. I'm not trying to hide this one, I just want the break.

Current updates posted here: http://curiousvoyage.blogspot.com/

Dusting it off

Okay, i've been bad about this. But i feel like i should do it more. (Sound familiar? Shut up)
Let's start with some photos from my visit to my dad in NJ/NYC this weekend.

First up, we have the base of the GW bridge, from Ross Landing in Fort Lee. On Saturday afternoon we took a minor hike down the palisades and along the waterfront. It's a gorgeous view, albeit not always the best smelling. I'm sure all sorts of money has gone into restoring the area, and for the most part, New Jersey/Fort Lee have done a really good job. Then again, it IS the Hudson, so it's never going to be something I'd consider swimming in. There were,however, hordes of people down at the landing barbecuing, playing football and having extended family reunions. I gather that the Landing is a secret place for the Locals, unless you know where to look, you'd never know it was there, or where the entrance was. It also provided some spectacular views.
Second, we have downtown, as viewed from the NY/NJ Ferry, coming into their main departure point in New York (I forget the name, possibly Port Imperial?) When I did an internship in NYC for a summer, I discovered that this really was the most pleasant way to get into the city. Depending on where you are going, the subway can take up to two hours, and parking is obscenely expensive. The Ferry was a nice, happy medium. Also, during the summer months, it was just a nice pleasant commute (instead of stressing out in rush hour traffic, or having to stand for 9 million stops because all the seats were full. This was also right after I took my first infectious disease course, so I was absolutely convinced I was going to get plague if i touched anything. It made for a rather stressful ride).