Frog and Goat

The MIL is in the hospital and things aren’t looking good for her at all. My calm husband is handling things well. He’s waiting for the doctor’s rounds this morning before coming home. He told me not to go to the hospital this morning so I’m doing the only thing I know how to do in times like this…I’m cooking. He has been eating whatever crap is served at hospitals (McDonald’s is in the lower level) and so I’m making a vegetable (mostly our own from last summer), ham and bean soup. It seems weird to be making soup this early in the morning, but there you go. Nutritious, comforting food.

This afternoon my school team and I are presenting our findings to our client–our superfantastic, humongous project will be complete after our presentation. Couldn’t be a worse day but at least I already had the day off to do that and I figure I can re-read my presentation notes while stirring a soup pot and fielding emails and phone calls.

Girls swinging from big rings, nearly naked girls and boys, boys with dreds playing horns–what’s not to like?

When I’m on campus, I frequently walk past a building that used to house a popular bar back in the late 1980s. I went there one summer with some friends from college. The boys picked me up from my parent’s house–I vaguely remember my parents wondering about me going drinking with two boys–and then we went to the Psych-A-Deli. My parents needed not to have worried as the boys were unfailingly polite and well-mannered (they were my friends) and we were all very aware of behaving because safely driving home was really important. I didn’t get out much in high school so I had never been to the bar before that night. The building is a row house and as I remember it had a pretty decent backyard. A friend of my husband tells a story of how he and guy friends pissed under the pool table–I don’t remember if that was inside or outside.

Anyway, we sat inside because it was probably 4000 degrees as it was Richmond in the summer. I remember drinking AmberBock by Michelob. Funny the things you remember. Michelob recommends a tulip-shaped glass to enjoy the beer. I’m sure I drank it out of the bottle.

A couple of weekends ago, I bought a box of Michelob’s Wheat Beer sampler pack. I haven’t really consumed Michelob in years and have been pleasantly surprised by the tastiness of the beer. It’s a good blend of what you know is a BIG beer producer with the indie cred of using hops and more hops. I’m a fan of hops even if I’m slightly allergic. In the name of beer, the outside and certain cats (although oddly I’m not allergic to Simon), I’m OK with allergies. That’s what better living through chemistry means–take a pill and go outside, drink a beer and pet a cat.

I just enjoyed a Dunkel Weiss as I celebrated finishing the last paper I have to write for my master’s. I might add a sentence or two after our client presentation on Thursday, but the paper is essentially done. The beer is also done. So very tasty even straight out of the bottle.

I went out to run an errand at lunch and it is absolutely gorgeous outside. The sky is blue, the trees are green or in full bloom–some of the dogwood are fantastic–and then there are the azaleas and tulips. Spring, in the capital city.

If I were sneakier, I would have kept driving instead of coming back to work. It helps that there are only a handful of people on the floor today. Fridays are ghost town days at work and I’m sure as the warm weather persists it’s only going to get worse. The bonus for me is the quiet and less people wandering around like zombies.

I had my end of graduate program meeting with my advisor last night. It’s always so nice talking to him. We talked about Very Serious Things and digressed more than once–I think I’m the one who introduced Graceland to the conversation. Aside from writing a paper, going to two more classes and giving a client presentation, I’m done…still seems like a lot to do, but in the scheme of things–not so much. 23 days until graduation.

So I had this interview with a company the other day to do some freelance work. I thought things were going well and that I’d booked the job because that’s what they said. Starting out it wasn’t exactly what I wanted to be doing but there were promises to move on up to the deluxe apartment in the sky. Then I got home, got the sample assignment and a note from the owner who said don’t hurry to get the sample done because we have other candidates who are also interested. Mmm, it took me about 45 minutes to get home from the meeting and in that time other candidates popped up? For what amounts to a typing job? Awesome. I completed the project this morning at o’dark 30 (thanks to snoring and high-pitched whistling on someone’s part) and sent it back. I’ve crafted an email that basically says I’m an experienced instructional designer and when you get to that point in the project please keep me in mind but I’m not interested in freelance work if all it entails is typing someone else’s words…where’s the stretch in skills with that work?

In other news, my school team knocked our practice presentation out of the park last night. We received some good feedback on tweaks to our presentation but we’re ready to roll for our formal presentation next week.

Tonight we’re having a little Jamaican feast. I whipped up a jerk marinade this morning for chicken. And, I’ll be making peas and rice to go with the jerk chicken. We had peas and rice when we went to the Bahamas and the dish is similar to red beans and rice. The dish we had in the Bahamas used pigeon peas but today I’m using small red beans because that’s what we have. I guess the biggest difference in peas and rice and red beans and rice are the spices used and the addition of coconut milk. I haven’t figured out the vegetable dish, but the day is long yet.

This week is quite busy with meetings for school–regular class times and then meetings after class. The semester is winding down and that means lots of meetings so I can get my diploma. I’m really hoping we don’t spend hours hashing out things tomorrow night because in all honesty after about 8pm on a school night I’m pretty well toast. I hope our meeting is quick and to the point because I know I’ll just degrade the longer the meeting lasts. So what is billed as stressful will just turn into useless the longer we meet.

Sister not coming. Bummer.

Other bummer: a Nora Roberts book on my desk from my secret pal. When I list items such as these as possible books I’d like:
Lay Bare the Heart: An Autobiography of the Civil Rights Movement by James Farmer, Earth Abides by George R. Stewart and Then We Came to the End: A Novel by Joshua Ferris how do I end up with Nora Roberts?

I didn’t even look at the title. WTF.

I’m annoyed with myself. I’m way too irritated by people lately and I seem to be getting in my own way. I need to take a couple of days off. I think I’ll talk to my supervisor about doing just that. I have to take one day the last week of April for my school presentation but I need one or two next week too. In fact, I should just cash in my sick leave and take off all of May. Tempting but just not practical.

The other night we were getting ready for dinner and I was making some noises, hopping around, etc. Who knows. Anyway, the better-half asked me what was going on and I said I’m being goofy because I can’t do that at work. Seriously, I’ve never worked somewhere that was so serious. Granted we can get off some funny and sarcastic comments but playing? No. When I worked for a buttoned down bank we had more fun. I guess in addition to a host of other things that’s something I’m missing in my work life–a sense of play.

My FL sister is coming this weekend for a whirlwind visit–it’s been 3 years? since she’s been in town. People are going to go wild. It will be good to see her.

Yesterday we went with my sister’s family to Norfolk to visit my brother-in-law’s sister’s family. A good time was had by all and I’m pretty sure no one drooled on their food. We could hear Lil’ Elvis blowing through her penne pasta but if you could get away with doing that, wouldn’t you?

In celebration of being together we sang Happy Birthday to ourselves (it was an un-birthday party) and then enjoyed:

If you look closely, you can tell there are 45.2 million layers of goodness in that cake. My brother-in-law’s sister is a pastry chef in her spare time. Dessert when she’s around is always decadent.

First bothersome thing: When reading food blogs do you hate it when the writer uses the word drool? As in we drooled over the kippers? Unless you are an infant, someone with Parkinson’s or are a victim of a stroke or some other malady, you don’t drool on food. If you actually do this in a restaurant, I will feel free to get up from the table and smack you hard in the back of the head. I promise.

Second bothersome thing: Just got off the phone with my mother who asked me about graduation and if they were invited. Big deep breath and then I said she was but not my father. She got very quiet and I repeated for the upteenth time if he feels it’s OK to not talk to me lo’ these last 7 years then he doesn’t get celebration privileges with me anymore. Yes, it bothers me that he’s such an asshole and it makes me sad sometimes but I’m not putting up with it and especially to celebrate something he hasn’t said boo about in the last 3 years.