Craigslist

I posted a bunch of stuff (again) to Craigslist because I really need some furniture gone. Because people keep getting murdered & I keep getting bombarded with spam from people who say "Your thank you for this item. Should now sell please call me." I have added this to my posts:

"Please include "HAM SANDWICH" in the subject line when you email me because I keep getting bombarded with spam."

Now, I have 5 emails sitting in my inbox that say Ham Sandwich. It's really, really entertaining.

(In other news, I hope I don't get murdered.)

This makes me so happy.

New Year's Resolutions 2012

Can I do any of these? Well, I'll try.

1. Drink more water.
2. Take one photo per day with my iPhone. More if I use a real camera.
3. Go to the gym that I pay for. Once a week, twice a month, four times a week, doesn't matter. Just go.
4. Blog more. 
5. Don't let work dictate my creative outlets.
6. Stop the negativity! I promise I'm not going all The Secret & crap on you (because I think that's hogwash) but I don't have to get sucked into the negative thought process so often. All it does is make me feel icky. I don't wanna feel icky.
7. Accept me for me. This will not be a 2012 goal - it will be a life goal. Just a clarification.
8. Accept that some days, sitting on the couch is really all I've got in me.
9. Figure out the next step.

Homemade Sushi!

My brothers & dad have started a tradition - they have sushi for dinner then watch some sort of zombie/horror movie or a movie & its remake. Earlier this week, my mom & I were asked to join as a send off for my brother who was going back to Oregon.

Honored, I accepted, given that my sushi experience is limited & my tastes have only been for Ahi. I was only allowed to join if I ate halibut. Raw halibut. I agreed.

Instead of heading out for sushi, we made it at home! It was such a cool experience and much harder than I expected. We did SIMPLE rolls - seaweed, fish and rice. I made a poke salad but other than that, there was nothing else but fish & rice.

For Christmas, I gave one of my brothers a sushi set - sushi rice, sushi rice vinegar, wasabi, pickled ginger and two rolling mats. He got a fancy-dancy, super-super sharp knife from his girlfriend for Christmas, so besides the fact that we didn't have avocado or cucumber, we were ready to rock n' roll. (Get it? Roll? Ha.)

Honestly, we did a killer job. The fish was fresh (ahi, halibut & salmon), the rice was uber sticky, and the Sapporo was cold. The key to rolling is to make sure your hands are always wet - seriously, that rice is SO sticky - move slowly but deliberately, and slice with a purpose.

1. Lay out seaweed on rolling mat
2. Add a thin but solid layer of sticky rice (sushi rice with some sushi rice vinegar on it), leaving one 1/2 inch edge free of rice
3. Add your fish (avocado, cucumber, etc) in the middle of the rice
4. Roll the seaweed over the rice & fish
5. Continue rolling until you get to the free end. The water and rice will allow it to stick to itself. Make sure you don't roll the mat into the sushi roll. It's easy to do.
6. Slice the roll into 1" pieces with an extremely sharp knife. Start at the bottom of the blade and, applying barely any pressure, slice towards you. You should be able to get through the roll in one slice but if not, repeat.
7. Dip in soy sauce (mixed with wasabi if you're not a baby like me) and enjoy!

It's not a cheap dinner per se - each fish was about $25/lb. There were seven of us, we had 3 lbs of fish and 1 lb of shrimp tempura so when all was said and done, it was probably about $125 (not including the Sapporo of course) which is not too bad for seven people!

More than anything, it was a fun experience with my family and I highly recommend it!

Business Idea #74384242

I need to start a gym where the classes aren't classes at all. They're in those little rooms with the wood floors but there's just awesome music playing & you just go in there and dance for as long as you want. I'm pretty sure this would work. I HATE the gym but I love to shake it like a Polaroid picture so why not put both together and have a dance gym. Not Zumba or Jazzercise, just like a club but everyone is in gym clothes. You know you'd kill for this when at real clubs you're wearing shoes you can't even walk in, let alone dance in. At my gym, you'll be in tennies! And if you get sweaty, that's ok! It's the point! No need to worry about lookin' good because you're just there to work out.

I think I'd call it Dance-Off. Only $29 a month, no contract or sign up fee. 

I was also thinking that this gym would have Wiis & Kinects all over and you could just play those too. But no just sitting there. If Just Dance is on, you have to get up and move. If you're playing tennis, you have to get up and play. If you're playing Rock Band, you have to rock out as if you're really on tour. Boxing is always up & ready to go. How fun would this gym be!

Sad Day in My Career

Dear Mr. Microsoft Mouse,

You're approximately 8 years old so I should have assumed that your days were numbered. I didn't though, so today is a sad realization that we must part ways.

You came to me back in 2003 when I asked my company to get me a mouse with a scrolly wheel. Bonus: you also came with a side button which I could click, and you would take me back a page on the internet. Clearly ahead of your time. We spent the next three years at that company, coding, project managing, marketing & communicating all the day long.





When I left that company and moved on to the next, you were by my side the whole way. We set up shop together at a new desk, with new people & new projects. Almost five years later, we're still together, but today is the day I must say goodbye.




Your silver coating has worn off, your feet are worn down and your wheel is almost bare, but every day your light shines bright, preparing me for the day. You have started clicking on things that I didn't click on and for that, you must go. It has been an incredible journey, one that I will cherish for the rest of my career.


Please don't be offended if I choose a mouse that has a big red ball or more bells & whistles than you have. It's just how it is, and it doesn't mean I love you less. I will really miss you, little silver Microsoft mouse.









Until we meet again,
Your proud owner.

What? I have a blog?

Yeah. It's been a while. My job consists of writing all day and thinking about writing anytime I'm not writing. By the time I get home, the last thing I want to do is write here. But it's been too long. I was just reading an interesting blog and on the list of things never to say to single people, this was by far my favorite:

5. Please don’t assume that we’ll sleep on the couch. It’s Christmas or Thanksgiving and there are a dozen people staying at the same house, and yeah, we get it. You need the bed more than we do (go ahead and rub it in). If you ask us, we’ll let you have it. But don’t just assume. It’s humiliating.

I couldn't have said it any better. I actually didn't realize until now that what I have felt in the past was humiliation. That's exactly what it is. Hm. Thank you, Modern Reject bloggers.

The rest of the list has some gems too. I guess I'm just hitting my breaking point on being single, hence reading blogs & articles like this. I'm tired of this area, tired of the attitudes, tired of my routine, ready for a change. I'm not a huge fan of the saying "something's gotta give" (it just reminds me of that movie with Diane Keaton) but it really hits home right now...

Fakebook

There are so many - SO many - people who are really good at marketing themselves on the interwebs. They appear to have perfect lives in the perfect house, the perfect hobbies, perfect kids, perfect spouses. The content people post out there rides a fine line between "I'm perfect! Lookatme!" and "My life sucks. Lookatme!" I'm not sure which is worse...fake optimism or negative nelly. Really, it's this image that sums it up:

You know who you are.

Just a Saturday.

I'm sitting here, watching The Office, trying to get some (un)important online shopping done. I considered working on my website, but honestly, I just really haven't felt up to it. That's a big project! In other news, my dishwasher is in the process of being installed! The baby dishwasher that I bought months ago, the one that's been sitting in my kitchen, watching me wash dishes by hand, laughing at me. I can't believe it's about to be installed...truly a dream come true.

I'm still trying to figure out life. Part of me feels like I'm wasting time. Part of me feels like I should enjoy my weekends and time off not doing much because I need the rest. Not sure if I'm having a third-life crisis or what, but what the heck am I doing with my life? Should I start joining MeetUps and do a ton of new things? Should I go gung ho with my photography and get myself set up to really consider opening a studio in the future? Should I take it easy and relax, enjoying the sights? I just don't know! I guess I'm just ready for the next episode.

Why isn't Jim Halpert real? I heart him.

Ohmygoodnessthehumidity.

"Tonight will drop to 75. Tomorrow it'll hit 101," said the woman on the radio, "with a heat index of 114." Wwwhhhhaaaaaatttttt!!!!!!!!! Haaaaaaaaaaa.......

I've experienced humidity lotsa times in my life but ohmygoodness it's hot in Virginia. This heat wave is no joke. During my 1.5 hour drive from Richmond to Charlottesville, I was trying to think of ways to describe this type of humidity...

-I'm sitting on a plastic-covered 60s couch and a sweaty sumo wrestle settles in on my lap.
-I'm pretty sure you could really actually cut the air and serve it up for dessert.
-Wrapping up in a soaked wool blanket on the hottest day of summer.
-Every one of your friends aims their hair dryers at you. While you're in a sauna.

If I think of any more while I'm here, I'll be sure to share. If I haven't yet melted, that is.

Whatta Thursday.

After two delays in Sacto, one delay in Hotlanta and a marathon Tarmac sitting of at least an hour with no lights or AC, I'm finally sitting at the gate in Virginia. Man this plane is stuffy. Things I've noticed:
-When you stop worrying about missing connections or who is going to sit next to you on the plane, traveling isn't that bad. Yeah sure the delays aren't cool but really, what am I gonna do about it? Sit back, relax & enjoy my flight. That's what I'm gonna do about it.
-Children have an amazing ability to giggle about nothing for hours. Truly giggle. Crack each other up about nada. I miss that. When was the last time you really had a hearty, belly, tears in your eyes, can't catch your breath laugh? It's been a while for me for sure.
-I'm hot. Temperature-wise.
-The guy behind me has the same voice and accent as my uncle. Now wouldn't that be weird.
-I'm about to get my rental car and drive almost 2 hours. Not an ideal plan I had.
-Southern boys are cute.