November 2002 Archives
We had two bizarre falling-while-walking incidents yesterday. Mine was in the morning, while I was walking Homer with Jennifer and Danny. It was pretty cold so I had my hands in my pockets. Somehow I managed to half-step off the sidewalk. It wouldn't have been a big deal, except that my hands were stuck in my pockets and couldn't help me balance. So instead of twisting my ankle I decided to go down and luckily managed to pull my hands out before hitting ground. Beside some minor scrapes on my palms, I'm fine - but now I understand how old people manage to break their hips.
The second and, in my opinion, more spectacular incident happened in the afternoon. Jfer and I went by the Gateway movie theater to see the new Bond flick. Of course it was sold out, so we bought tickets for The Ring and since we had almost an hour to kill decided to walk over to the Mikasa store to buy the Covered Casserole that Jennifer has been lusting after and without which our wedding china just would not be complete. We got a good deal, too - using our gift certificates and their 25% off Thanksgiving sale, we only had to pay $30 or so in cash. Walking back to the car Jennifer, while carrying the bowl, stepped on her shoe lace. Now the casserole was packed in a corrugated cardboard box and might have survived your average graceful fall - but it had no such luck. As Jennifer was going down, she swung the bag with the casserole in a big arc (not unlike what a softball pitcher does) and smashed it full force into the ground where it landed with a loud crunch. Luckily Jennifer only skinned a knee so we were laughing while she was getting up. I gave her a hug and she knocked her head against my chest breaking her eye glasses!
So the $30 casserole dish turned into a very expensive pair of glasses and a pile of broken china. And to all the people who told us we just had to see this week's Friends episode about Monica's wedding china: Thanks A Lot!
Homer tasted blood yesterday - my blood. I was clipping his toe nails, which he does not enjoy at all, and asked Jennifer to do one of his paws, since she had better access. So while I was cradling my pup in my arms, Jfer clipped his nail too close. Homer jerked and while struggling to get free managed to bite me in the bridge of my nose. He was all freaked out, probably more about his bleeding than mine. I'm curious if I'm going to end up with a scar, but it seems to be healing pretty well.
As it turned out, we're staying in Austin for Thanksgiving and having Jfer's dad and stepmom and brother over for turkey. Dianna is bringing four (!) pies with her, so even if the bird does not turn out, we'll have plenty to eat.
I read about brining your turkey in the paper, so that's what I decided to do. Jfer brought home a nice 16lb free-range bird which will, of course, not fit into any of our pots so we decided to soak him in one of our coolers. The cooler, of course, will not fit into the refgrigerator. Luckily the weather is bitterly cold (for Austin, anyway) so I'm leaving the turkey overnight in its solty bath in the back yard - I assume salmonela does not do well when the temperature is in the 30's.
We didn't have any plans and the weather was perfect, so being fresh out of excuses I succumbed to Jennifer's wishes and we spent the weekend building a shed. I actually started on the shed flooring in January, but somehow it did not progress until now.
So on Saturday we prepped the ground - digging a ditch that's going to drain rainwater underneath the shed. We then laid the floor framing and attached the plywood floor panel which fitted like a glove, I'm proud to say. All this does not sound like a lot of work, but it took us most of the day and I felt like an old man - aching back and all sorts of sore muscles.
On Sunday we proceeded with the walls which went up fairly quickly. Putting up the gables was a bit precarious, but once we had the roof braces in, the structure became quite solid. The roof panels were more complicated, but we managed with me on the step ladder doing the tall work.
The most difficult part was screwing in the cover that runs along the top gable. The shed is so close to the house that I barely fit and I had to get on some paving stones, a ladder and a piece of a 4x6 to be able to reach those damn screws. I got to be in this precarious position for quite some time since it took a while for the screws to fit into the holes and for Jennifer to attach the bolts.
We succeeded in the end, and the shed is mostly finished and seems to be withstanding the increasingly windy weather - I checked over lunch and added some more screws. We still have to add the doors and finish all the screws, but that should be a piece of cake.
So while I'm still sore, I'm pretty happy how the shed worked out. I also got to use my pneumatic screw driver which is way cool and much, much faster than an electric one.
We saw this year's Madrigal Dinner last night. I had a hard time filling up our table and we ended up with Doug and Luca, Meredith, Michael and Logan, Kathy, Walter and Hannah and Jfer and I. An altogether nice group where everyone had a good time - Hannah was very good at attracting wenches to the table.
While I enjoyed this year's play, I must say that I liked last year's Madrigal better for a couple of reasons. For one, the script was stronger and I felt that both the actors as well as the singers were better prepared. Also, it was after Thanksgiving, so maybe I was more in the holiday spirit of it all. The main reason, though, is probably because last year we saw a weekend performance which makes quite a difference - the audience is more into it and the cast feels much more comfortable. I need to remember to reserve a weekend table early next year - and hopefully we can join an ex-Madrigal table.
As in last year, I felt a bit wistful while watching the singing from the sidelines. I hope I get to do some caroling in December to make up for it.
The weekends seem so much longer when you spend most of your time away from home. On Saturday we went to San Antonio for me to renew my Green Card. I had earlier filled and printed out the .PDF application but I still needed the three-quarter profile pictures. Kinko's refused to take them since "they all get rejected" and recommended Fox Photo or some such place. So we went by one of those and they said the knew what they were doing and even had the INS list of instructions. They took my pictures and we went off to San Antonio.
It took us a while to find the INS office (it's in a strip mall) but there weren't too many people waiting and we had brought our books with us. Eventually they called my name and the agent looked at my pictures and said they were not right. I could either take my chance and they'd most likely be rejected or I could get them retaken. Since I'd like to avoid another trip to San Antonio I got another set of pictures at the "IMMIGRATION" place right next to the INS office. It's a little business that helps people fill out their applications for, I'm sure, a hefty fee. Their pictures were perfect, however, and not too expensive. So now I should be getting a renewed Green Card within the next six months. BTW, the INS center had none of the security precautions that you now see at most other federal offices - kind of refreshing, really.
On the way back from San Antonio we stopped at the outlet malls in San Marcos. We spent too much time there, but actually bought useful stuff - and thanks to the Lenox store our flatware is now complete. We ended up at Meredith and Michael's to pick up Homer where we enjoyed a pizza and I napped through Frailty before we headed home.
Sunday was way lazy, but we had a blast at our neighborhood post-wedding party and then got to see Greg and Emily's new house. Way, way cool!
Jennifer's birthday went off well. I managed to crawl out of bed after the alarm went off for the first time and brought her the 1-candle miniature carrot cake and her gifts to bed. She had a nice lunch with Elizabeth and liked the flowers she got from me at the office. And at night we went for dinner at Reed's a new place at Gateway where Mezzaluna's used to be. Reeds is quite fancy and the food is great, but it's a bit too pricey for a regular hangout.
Next day, I got to participate in her company's Birthday lunch. Jennifer picked Katz's which serves lots of food. Since most people were also eating dessert, we split a Brownie Boat and by the time we left the restaurant, we were bursting at the seams.
Jennifer wanted Raclette for her birthday, so on Friday we had Elizabeth, Doug and Luciana over for cheese and potatoes. I also baked Jennifer a birthday cake - a yummy sponge cake with fruit filling and whipped cream. So another day and another load of food.
Maybe it's just training for Thanksgiving, but I do hope we won't be keeping this up.
Jennifer is having another 29th birthday today, so make sure you call or email her to wish her a happy one. She apparently likes the gift I got her, so I'm happy, too.
So the bet backfired a little. While Jennifer definitelly did not enjoy the movie more than I "enjoyed" it, we both lost a couple of hours of our lives that we're never ever going to get back again. Needless to say, the movie is even more stupid than you think it might be and it doesn't help that the Alamo shows some of the truly disgusting episodes before the actual movie starts. Although there are some genuinly clever and funy stunts, most of them just make you wince or gag. In retrospect, this is not the kind of movie that you want to combine with dinner. I'm sure it helps if you are lubed with booze or other recreational drugs, but unfortunately that's not my cup of tea and the one sangria that Jennifer had did not seem to help that much, either.
I also find it more than a little disturbing that the movie has been so high in the rankings ever since it released - I would have hoped its demographic was a little smaller than it apparently is (the demographic being perfectly represented by the two "dudes" sitting next to us and thoroughly and loudly enjoying every second of the movie). Of course, we contributed with our visit to the ticket sales, so I should not be saying anything.
While I watched any respect for me drain out of Jennifer's face during the movie, I kept thinking to myself "I'm sure glad I'm not wasting my money on this piece of crap" and "this bet I won is going to cost me..."
As part of my competitive nature, I occasionally wager with Jennifer. I am very careful only to do it when I'm pretty much certain that I know what I'm talking about. Of course, she only accepts a bet when she's pretty sure that I'm wrong - so we don't bet often these days. When we actually do bet (which immediately makes me doubt myself) I always have a hard time coming up with something to bet for. Most of the things I like Jennifer likes as well, but betting for something we both enjoy would miss the point, wouldn't it?
On Saturday I got lucky and won a bet. It had taken me a long time to come up with something that I, but not Jennifer, would possibly enjoy. I did find the perfect thing, though. So tonight, despite trying to weasel out of it, Jennifer is taking me to the Alamo Drafthouse to see jackass the movie. To be honest, I probably would not have bothered to go and see this movie by myself, since the promise is so asinine, it actually might be below my admittedly juvenile appreciation of humor. But what better thing to make Jennifer endure? And I get a dinner out of it, too!
Now I only hope that she doesn't enjoy it more than I...
So I went to the King Arthur Flour bread making class in Round Rock. I arrived late due to slow traffic and the fact that I got lost in Round Rock (I think they are saving money by not marking their streets). Still it was pretty cool. The lady from KA presented making their "Rustic Bread" dough which can be shaped into french breads like the boule and baguettes and then a filled Italian bread whose name escapes me. BTW, a common difference between french and italian breads is that the later usually also contain oil. She had lots of helpful tips and it really helped watching her handle the dough and seeing what it's supposed to look like. The room was packed with a captive audience and there was always a gasp of horror whenever she tossed her perfectly risen demonstration dough in the trash. Oh, and I wasn't the only guy there by far - of course, all the other ones were a bunch of kitchen geeks, too.
One of the reasons I went was to ask about alternate flours I could use for my Swiss and Czech recipes. As it turns out, King Arthur makes about 30 "artisan" flours beside the four or five that they sell at grocery stores. I should be able to mail order the right kinds of flour from them. She also recommended several tools that I'll have to put on my Christmas list. They have an online catalog, although I've found some of the stuff they carry less expensive at other online stores, for example this cool dough board or the HearthKit. Not that I really need these, but I could use a lame (a bread slashing tool) and some other stuff.
Still, I'm going to give their basic bread recipe a try and make some baguettes from scratch. Hey, it only takes about 24 hours to do it right.
I called back again and this time got a person after only about ten minutes. After the usual questions it got escalated (I now have a case number, woo, woo!) and soon enough technician "Mitch" picked up. I think he actually is not working in an overseas call center since he seems to be authorized to send me a new unit. So hopefully in a couple of days I'll be printing again.
It only took 2 and half hours of my time on the phone (which probably reduces my life expectancy by roughly two weeks). It also spoiled Vivaldi's Four Seasons for me forever.
I'm stuck at home listening to awful classical music waiting for a Netgear support person to pick up. My wireless router/print server stopped printing a couple of days before my wedding (just as I desperately needed to print, of course). After we got back from the honeymoon I tried to trouble shoot. I figured it was a hardware problem in the router since both my Mac and XP laptop stopped working at the same time yet I can print to the printer over different means (AppleTalk and direct parallel). Still I reinstalled the drivers and upgraded to the latest firm ware. No luck.
I emailed support detailing my problem and the steps I took to fix it. They replied to try to reinstall drivers and get latest firmware (?!?) and if that didn't help to call their toll free number. I called several times (weekend, evening, after work) and each time the call queue was over 30 minutes long.
This morning I finally got to talk to someone. They walked me through reinstalling the drivers three times, restarting the printer, laptop and router as many times and eventually resetting the router (I'll now get to reconfigure my wireless security - thanks a lot).
Still, no success. It got escalated to a higher tech and I spent another fifteen minutes on the phone listening to musing and being occasionally reminded that my call is important to them and that it may be monitored for quality purposes. Then the call was dropped.
Well, the election results are in and I'm a bit down. The GOP pretty much swept here in Texas, so we'll have another four years of Rick "pretty boy" Perry as governor and six years of John "Bush's lapdog" Cornyn as our new senator. And since the Reps swept the US senate, I guess it's time to pull the ole Vaseline out and start bending over. Jennifer said that another election is only two years away, but I'm thinking that by that time there won't be an economy and we'll be involved in WW III. Well, at least we won't be paying taxes and just building up a big deficit.
Speaking of politics, a Founding Fathers quiz I took produced these results:
Jfer has been delayed several times today and won't arrive until late at night. She did mention on the phone that today is our one month anniversary. How quickly the time flies - or maybe not. It seems like the wedding is already a distant memory and we have yet to get started on the Thank You notes. Still, it looks like she will arrive too late to be wined and dined by me - and I was planning to grill some kielbasas on my newly refurbished grill, too!
Speaking of anniversary, I just looked on BlogTree.com and our wedding journal has had its one year anniversary today, too.
Here's my obligatory plug to not forget to vote today, if you have not yet done so. We make fun of staged elections in places like Cuba or Iraq, but only a fraction of registered (let alone eligible) voters bothers to exercise that right.
Make sure you're one of them.
I took advantage of Jfer being out of town to spend some quality time with my site. I have finally put up the pages required to better support hosting for my friends and family. So, if I know you personally and you are looking for a (new) place for your websites, feel free to take advantage of my hosting services at hosting.nonplus.net.
Since Jennifer is going to New York for a couple of days to see her sister's cabaret, she's making it up at work this weekend. I'm planning to do chores, but luckily the rain is preventing me from going in the back yard. It's dreary and cold and I love it - I even have the heater on for the first time this fall.
I went by Home Depot to buy stuff to refurbish my grill - it's neat that you can easily replace all the rusty parts, so I'll have a brand new burner, igniter and cooling rack.
After HD I picked up my FedEx package with Jennifer's gift. It's amazing that for a few bucks you can send something halfway around the world in a couple of days. So all I need is a card and I should be covered.
