Friday, October 29, 2004

Another gray day...

and I still have the Cagney & Lacey theme stuck in my head.

I'm baking cookies (Lindsay, I'm glad they worked for you! I'll email you soon) and sort of preparing for my first houseguest. Josie will probably meander down 101 and find herself here tomorrow evening. We'll probably go to San Francisco for Halloween. She's never been to the city, so it should be fun. Or incredibly hectic, who knows!

Is anything else happening? No!

But I did get TWO pieces of personal mail today, which must be some kind of non-birthday record. One was a thank-you card from Kevin's sister, which had a very cute picture of her and her new husband on the front. The other was a total surprise Trader Joe's gift card from my mom. My mommy loves me and knows my neverending need for "unique" groceries--oh, I'm such a TJ's tool.

Am I desperate enough yet to get them to hire me? Even temp agencies won't call me back. I don't know.

Thursday, October 28, 2004

Did my civic duty.

THANKS A MILLION to Chris! And also, for the magazines! Silly me, moving right when they're mailing every subscription I have.

Regime change begins at home, wherever you may be.

Wednesday, October 27, 2004

Confessions of a pancake whore.

Though I was never especially fond of pancakes as a kid--they were okay and all; I just preferred a good waffle or french toast--but lately, I've begun to see the power of the versatile breakfast flatbread that we call pancake.

And since I don't tend to keep eggs in the house, I've been making variations of vegan pancakes with varying success. The basic recipe is good enough (with a little vanilla for good measure), but I had to get crafty.

First I tried adding cinnamon and a little bit of chopped walnuts. The cinnamon wasn't very strong, but I still approved.

Today, I was jonesing to attempt a new variety: pumpkin.

So I started from scratch and roasted, then pureed, a pumpkin of unknown variety. It was a volunteer in Kevin's mom's garden. It smelled nice.

Then I followed the basic recipe, substituting 3 Tbsp. of pumpkin for the applesauce. Also, I used soy milk instead of water. I added some cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves and chopped a handful of pecans. The result was a batter that was too thick and didn't cook very well, so I thinned it out with approximately 1/2 c. of water.

The pancakes were not fluffy like a traditional buttermilk type, but they are dense and flavorful. Well, I think I put a little too much spice in it, and taking a big ol' bite of nutmeg is not pleasant.

On a subject unrelated to pancakes, I still don't have my absentee ballot. This sucks. I don't know what to do. Bleh.

But I do have pancakes in my belly. That's just as good as voting for Democrats, right? No? Oh, well.

Tuesday, October 26, 2004

Ad Rant: 21st Century "Real Replacement Parts."

The ad that tries to cast both car insurance and breast enhancement surgery in a positive light.

A man's voice, off-camera, tells an onscreen couple about the insurance company's perk of insisting on "real replacement parts" for damaged vehicles. The woman, a well-endowed, middle-aged woman with bottle blond hair smiles perkily and says, "Ooh, I like that!" The man, wearing a leisure suit and sporting an obvious toupee, leers at his wife and says, "Ehh, I'm not convinced."

The off-camera voice protests that aren't real body parts preferable? The man agrees, in the case of a car. For some things, he explains, fake is just as good. His wife gives a little giggle, and they stare goofily at each other.

Every time I see this ad, I want to yell. Also, for its intended comedy? It totally drags on too long.

In other ad-related commentary, you know you're in California when you hear ads for medicinal marijuana on the radio. Hee.

Monday, October 25, 2004

Bitches du jour:

And you know I've got plenty.

Bush is on my TV. Shut up, Bush.

I still haven't received my absentee ballot. If it doesn't come, I don't know, tomorrow, I might not get to fucking VOTE. And I can't even blame a corrupt electoral system for it. This is freaking me out.

No job prospects. Not even any interesting postings for almost a week. Feeling pretty desperate.

I am so fucking broke, it hurts. Do not want to think about this; will cry.

Kitchen is still a mess. Landlords are insistant upon fixing the problem with Drano and a plunger, which I am halfway certain will not work because the pipe fitting is actually loose. The whole thing is a mess and making me hysterical.

Produce in the fridge from last week is probably going to go bad soon if I can't use my kitchen to actually cook things soon. What a waste. I should at least try to wash some of it in the bathroom and freeze it. That will work for some of it.

Rest of the house is also a mess and it's really wearing on me, but it's so cluttered and huge that I don't even know where to begin, and so do nothing. And it's not my mess! My stuff is all pretty neat! It's Kevin's. And like hell he'll do anything. Guh.

I'm so hungry. Today fucking sucks.

Sunday, October 24, 2004

Nothing much to say.

I feel like writing, but I don't have anything to say but the same old whines. I'm listening to stolen records (Christine's, I forgot to give them back) and pondering my next move.

Wondering, if life is a journey, did I get left on the wayside?

Can I dust myself off and hitch a ride? Keep walking into the unknown? Rummage through the roadside debris for a new metaphor?

I realize the vast majority of what I write here is pretty superficial stuff. If it's not a cursory run-down of what's happening, it's bitching, whining, or ranting about the usual shit, or TV commercials. I haven't got a poetic soul, just a sad and undeserving one, if I've got a soul at all.

I've become disconnected from the intellectual pursuits that gave me any sense of competence, the people who gave me a sense of belonging, and the goals that gave me something to look forward to. And I've resorted to hyperbole and over-dramatic shrieking on more than one occasion. Since I've finished school, my one lifelong pursuit since birth, I've become empty and senseless.

I have to keep telling myself I'll get the hang of life, sooner or later, but who knows? People stagnate and stop growing sometimes, too. Not all movement is forward. Optimism hasn't always served me well.

Every silent moment, filled with the din of media totally unrelated to myself, builds to form something I don't know yet. Will I like the person I am when the movement stops or changes?

And in my searching for a purpose, don't tell me to find God. Don't tell me what I should look for, because sometimes I find things better by wandering than by mission.

That's it. I've got nothing. Back to the headphones.

It looks like someone vomited all over my kitchen.

For the love of god, no one here is even sick. I was trying to dispose of a variety of past-their-prime leftovers in the garbage disposal when I noticed the sickly reddish liquid emanating from below the sink and trickling across the tile floor.

Kevin calmly assessed the situation, asked me for towels, and called the landlord, who naturally isn't home.

I'm just sure they're going to tell me I did some stupid thing I didn't know I wasn't supposed to do with garbage disposals. Stupid goddamn garbage disposals will be the death of me.

This time, I seriously have no idea what I did wrong. There were no bad noises and I don't dump out anything that shouldn't go down the drain, that I know of--it's all soft, mushy, plant-based items. I've fucked up disposals before--causing the sink the overfill after peeling too many potatoes into it and letting the starchy mess expand most recently comes to mind--but this takes the cake.

Plus, it ruined our box of dishwasher detergent and some other useful items. And it looks fucking disgusting. Gah.

Friday, October 22, 2004

Oh, and also!

The Gossip is opening for Jon Spencer Blues Explosion at the Fillmore next month. I am hoping to catch that show with my sister, because... well... Kevin wouldn't care at all, and Margot and I love the Gossip. I enjoy JSBX and I suspect she will, too. We'll dance our butts off.

And Kevin has tickets for the San Jose Wilco show around the same time, so yippie. Wilco in a venue with good sound and seats from which I hope the band is not ant-sized!

I like doing things.

That's why I like having a reason to leave the house.

Lately, I haven't had too many. Besides groceries. But yesterday, I took BART to the city ("it goes under the Bay?") and my sister took care of the rest. She brought me a soda and a falafel and took me to see Team America: World Police, which we naturally enjoyed. She then had an appointment with her personal trainer to jump rope or something, so I wandered up and down Polk St. for awhile before settling down in a boho-style cafe with a pot of herbal tea and a SF Weekly until she was done. Then there was wandering and soup and bread in the basement of Macy's before she got called to work and I got back on the train.

Though I had absolutely zero happening today, I hope tomorrow will be different. We might catch a matinee of I Heart Huckabees, finally, and we might head down to Santa Cruz. Kevin has computers to fix at relatives' homes, and relatives to spend time with, and I'm happy to tag along. I haven't met his grandfather yet, and I like his parents. So, yay.

But that's it. There is really nothing happening, particularly on the job front. It's depressing as hell, but if I think about Doing Stuff and not that I'm Not Doing Shit, I can pretend not to be depressed for awhile.

Wednesday, October 20, 2004

People Who Need to Blog:

Lindsay should blog. Graylan should actually write in his. Chris's Empty Cupboard unfortunately lives up to its name. Lauren should blog from all the glory of her French Catholic boarding house. You know what feature should be added to Team Julie Grant.com? That's right, a blog. You people should be providing me with endless reading material about the ins and outs of your fabulous lives. And don't think that just because I didn't mention you by name, you aren't part of my scolding, missy (or mister). I'm running on empty here, dammit. Give me some rocket fuel.

Also, Goodbye, Lenin! was a fucking lovely film.

Mm. Pizza.

Last night, Kevin brought me an Al Capone from this place. Holy shit yeah good yum.

Now, I need to make blogger not think that my writing portfolio lives in the same place as this blog. Grrrrr.

Tuesday, October 19, 2004

Mock Cock Fights Sell Chicken Sandwiches?

I understood the "subservient chicken" thing, but people in rooster costumes staging faux cock fights in Burger King television spots? What the fuck? I'd like to think I'm not a humorless vegetarian by any means, but when did cockfighting become an acceptable subject for lighthearted commercial humor?

Yes. I changed layouts.

I know this will be difficult for all of you. Mourn the crappy gimp-edited title graphic. But it had to be done, for the sake of comments. Which were very broken.

Also, I am trying this email-a-post feature.

ETA: Holy crap, it worked. That's sorta rad.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies.

This is a modification of the vegan Chocolate Chocolate Chip (with walnuts/pecans) recipe I posted some time ago, but it worked pretty well. I've reduced the sugar and taken out the chocolate chips... mainly because I don't have any chocolate chips.

Oven: 350' F

Mix together in a bowl:
- 1/4 c. flour (I use whole wheat pastry flour)
- 1/4 c. cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda

Add and mix:
- 1/2 c. sugar
- 3/4 c. oats
- few pinches salt

Stir in:
- 1/4 c. water
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract

When it's all coming together, add:
- 1 tbsp. canola oil

Then mash in:
- 1/4 c. crunchy peanut butter (one big scoop; I don't mash it into the measuring cup and try to put it in the bowl from there or anything because that's insane)

Scoop rounded spoonfuls onto a lightly greased cookie sheet and bake about 8-10 min. They will not spread much, so you can put them fairly close together and mash them down a bit (possibly like you would normal PB cookies, with the criscrossed fork pattern) so they're not just crispy ball o' cookie.

Nummeh!

Someone try this with an alternative nut butter and let me know how it is? I am too cheap to buy those things.

Monday, October 18, 2004

Broken.

Okay, so the commenting is fucked for now. I'll try to fix it later. But right now, I'm just going to be sad and broken and wishing this could all be over. Being unemployed sucks, to sum up.

I'll FTP You!@#

Blogger, you old scoundrel. We meet again.

Blogger's crack support team ascertained that it was my use of SFTP over FTP which caused the error. Nevermind that I was using FTP when this problem arose, but hey. It works now, and I can quit posting at LJ. Oh, hooray. But go check for the handful of updates there in case you missed it and you just can't get enough of me, giggle!

One annoying thing of note is that my old commenting system, implemented on my server before Blogger added built-in commenting, has vanished, and with it any comments left in the past year and a half. Grrr. Rather than set that up again, I might as well let Blogger's version take over. At least it seems to support line breaks.

Friday, October 08, 2004

Battling Green Eye Shades?

I have no idea what that means. If anyone can explain it, let me know.

Bush used this phrase during tonight's debate in St. Louis.

I'm offering it up to the powers of the internet.

Wednesday, October 06, 2004

What's Up?

Nothing much here. There's some things on my to-do list, not the least of which is GET A JOB--I have applied for two today that sound like things I'd actually want to do, and I've learned the Fremont Trader Joe's is hiring. Woop-de-shit.

The farmer's market here in Milpitas kicks a little ass. It's twice a week, year-round, and features locally grown produce for a damn song. This is not the U-District market where the all-organic selection is at least as pricey as doing all my shopping at Whole Foods. Granted, there's only one organic stall, but locally grown is still better for the environment than imported. I got a pomegranate for a quarter. Peaches were $0.80 a pound, and I got a ton of other stuff that is beautiful and hopefully I won't ruin with my cooking.

I should've gone to Whole Foods today, though. I might go after rush hour. But now it's four and the roads will make me sad until probably 6 or 7. Besides, Ellen is on.

The drive down provided me with a valuable lesson in lumbar support: namely, that the way I sit in my driver's seat provides none, leaving my shoulders in excruciating pain. They still hurt today. My mom did, however, show me how I can adjust not only the seat back, but the angle of the seat bottom and the steering column, which was amusing, but I'm not sure how helpful it was.

Our overnight stop was in Ashland, Oregon, a lovely town neither of us had made it to before. We didn't see any Shakespeare, but we did have a yummy meal at the Green Leaf Restaurant and enjoy a lot of cable TV. I got my mom into Dead Like Me, for example, so we were both excited to see a new episode after watching the first season on DVD. But she fell asleep halfway through the episode.

And there was a "Behind the Scenes" special on ABC Family after their Gilmore Girls marathon that really sucked. Half of the vapid host's questions of the show's stars revolved around rehashing the major plotlines and themes of the first couple seasons. The only part with any sign of life was when Kelly Bishop and Edward Herrmann were on. We were yelling at the TV for the host's ineptitude and crappy questions. This was not behind any scenes; it wasn't even between the lines.

The night before we left, I hung out with Becky at Denny's, where they apparently routinely run out of vanilla ice cream, rendering nearly everything on the dessert menu unorderable. So I got strawberry ice cream with chocolate syrup on it, which was pretty similar to this.

On Friday, I had dinner with Christine at the Thai-ger Room and met up with Jenny quickly. It was good to see them both, and I wish I'd made plans with more people. But I should be back for Christmas and see more people, not to mention the people who should come to the Bay Area and see me. This means YOU.

I also browsed the University Bookstore and discovered a half-dozen books I want, including Jon Stewart's America: The Book, a book about building furniture with 2x4s, the How It All Vegan cookbook, and some O'Reilly pocket books on a variety of computer things I want to brush up on. Damn this no money thing.

I am going to get my sister to paint the shower curtain. Kevin agreed to a bathmat that has color, so perhaps she can incorporate that. Only make it less kiddie.

Yeah, this is disjointed. I don't have a prevailing theme; this is just what's going on lately. I'm still sorting things out. I'll let you know what's going on when it happens. Promise.

Just make sure you keep me in the loop.

Tuesday, October 05, 2004

Here

Hello.

I'm here. My computer is working. We have a couch that is comfortable, even though it's comfortable in the garage for now. I have a new GSM phone, but the same number. I went to Ikea with Kevin and didn't fight. And I am now very tired.

I will write more later.

Friday, October 01, 2004

'Splosions!

Who doesn't like it when things blow up?

Or big burps?

I give this one a damn 10.

So St. Helens had a hissyfit today, which looked spectacular but is causing virtually no problems.

If it'd happened 24 hours earlier, I would've been driving through Kelso right when it happened. That would've been rad, but the traffic would no doubt suck.

I'm leaving Sunday for California. I know. It's soon. Insane. I need a fucking job, though, and I can't very well fly down every time someone wants to grant me an interview. Which, admittedly, hasn't been very many times so far.

I need to pack some more and clean my bathroom. And probably my room, but that will be harder.

Today I'm supposed to see some people who say they will miss me. Hah, silly people.

I drove a lot yesterday: round-trip to Portland with a stop in Olympia on the way south so I could spend time with my nieces and their parents. They're cute, but Kahnya splashes in the hot tub too much. Puthyda didn't seem to mind me too much. I was in Portland just to see Josie. I saw pictures from Jordan and we talked. It was a good visit. Plus, delicious Ethiopian food was consumed and Presidential debates were watched from strange angles, so it was a good evening.

Kevin checked out a couch on sale for $75 on Craigslist and deemed it adequate, so mom and I can pick it up Monday night. Yay! $75 is much cheaper than the minimum $200 for a less-than-cozy couch from Ikea! We also found a kitchen chopping block island thing that would be cool if I can't move the red-topped counter thing we have up here.

I gave away a couple old j-school books to my brother, who's on his high school newspaper staff now--the very same one where I cut my teeth as Layout Queen--with a bunch of stupid kids with no sense of aesthetics or ability to write decent copy. My brother is a decent writer and takes editing well, so I am encouraging him to be a pain about this stuff so the paper sucks less. But it isn't his passion in life, so who knows how far that'll go.

I wonder if there are journalism camps for kids interested in that area. My brother goes to music camps; my sister went to art camp; I never went to any camp and thought my main options were those academic, university summer programs for high schoolers where you get college credit or something. If there had been a journalism camp, or had I known about it, I probably would've jumped at the chance. Oh, well.

Anyway, leaving Sunday. Sunday, Sunday, Sunday. Wow.