Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Ricky Nelson Mandela's first snow at my house




He finally got a name. The boys were originally named Nelson and Millhouse by ARL but I wasn't too sure about those until Millhouse got sick and Nelson's true personality came out. Millhouse was tormented by Nelson and was too sick to defend himself. This was really awful to watch one morning when I put down some wet food and Millhouse nibbled a bit before getting hissed at and smacked with paws with still uncut claws. Didn't move an inch. Two dishes - sounds simple and logical but no matter what dish Millhouse went to, Nelson would attack. I did grab him and held him on my lap with the second dish but he really was intent on going after his brother. Millhouse's condition didn't improve and I finally got him back to ARL. Nelson, meanwhile, was becoming friendlier and nicer and I was feeling guilty about sticking him with this name. So ended up with Ricky Nelson (because he's so cute as you can see in the side by side comparison) Mandela (because I'm trying to convince him that he is a peace loving cat).








Manhattan #1




Technically not #1 for 2009 but we are going to cheat and begin commemorating our drinks both out and in. This one was made by Robert at the downstairs bar at Marliave on 12/29/08. It was made with Old Overholt and had a nice dark, marinated cherry in it. They have some very nice glasses at this place; this martini glass is stemmed and has the lip. The men next to us had square, heavy looking glasses and I'm guessing they were drinking scotch, whiskey, or bourbon straight up.


The martini was made with Bombay (not Sapphire) which you don't always find in bars but is the preferred gin of both my drinking companion and me.




Meatball sliders with sauce and cheese (almost giving it a pizza flavor) come three to a plate and were quite tasty. The roll was toasted but still soft.

Friday, December 19, 2008

Disappointment #1

OK, technically not #1 since I wanted Hillary to be president (There, I said it. I'm sick and tired of feeling ashamed of it and refuse to be any longer) but that's another matter entirely. Open any newspaper to read about Obama's pick of Rick Warren to give the invocation at his inauguration. Salon.com's coverage, as usual, is very good.

From Mike Madden's piece: "Obama and Warren have often used each other to demonstrate that they'll be willing to listen to people they disagree with -- and yes, also to let everyone know that they'll be willing to anger their friends. This isn't one of those political controversies that pop up out of nowhere without warning; whether they want to admit it or not, it seems Obama's advisors brought on this fight with his own supporters knowing full well what was coming."

It's up to Mr. Obama if he wants to listen to people he disagrees with and up to the rest of us if we chose not to. All I seem to hear right now is the slap in the face so many people just got.

Vitale was "engaged in no classically criminal wrongdoing"

Now there's a ringing endorsement if I ever heard one. And it's from his attorney!

Read the full story here:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2008/12/19/dimasi_ally_indicted_in_lobbying_case/

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Interview me

That Damn Ex Pat sent me this:

Here are the rules:
1. Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me."
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. I get to pick the questions.
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

And here are her questions and my answers:

You are a new blogger. Introduce yourself to me in five sentences or less.

Am I introducing myself to impress or so you get to know me (two very different things)? I like run on sentences and parenthetical comments so I can go on for days and days (but for purposes of this exercise, I’ll play it straight). I am over educated and under employed. I bought my first home last year; OK, it's a condo but still .... I love manhattans and hats. So if you don’t count the opening question, this is my fifth and grammatically correct sentence (and that should tell you something too).


If you could go back would you change anything about your life? Explain.

There is really only one thing in my life that I truly regret and wish I could go back and do differently. Sure, there are moments when I wish I hadn’t quit this or that job (but then look at all the good things that happened because I did) and there are lots of moments when I wish I hadn’t left California (case in point, we are going to get 10-12 inches of snow in Boston tomorrow but I like living in a city and am not ready to give up my public transportation just yet). So here goes. I was dating this guy named Brian and, to put it delicately, there were performance issues. We had more or less stopped seeing each other for maybe six months and out of the blue, I get a call from him at work one afternoon. The usual chit chat ensues and he wants to see me. Sure. What I didn’t mention was that I was moving the next week (new phone number – those were the days before cell phones and your phone number changed if you moved to a different city) and I was quitting my job that week (another new phone number). Thing is, I liked this guy and feel badly about what I did to this day. And thanks so much for reminding me; I haven’t thought about him for a while.


What is the one thing you love the most about yourself?

Tenacity

What is the one thing you like the least about yourself.

I was going to say impertience but I think of that as a good quality so I'll say impatience.

If you had to eat just one type of food for the rest of your life what would it be?

Italian

Did you know...

That you have to take pictures of food when it is cold. Otherwise you end up with this whitish blob in your pictures. It's called steam.

Pictures later. I've got to avoid another of those unnecessary Admin Team meetings so am going to lunch early, er, or was that to an appointment. No, wait, I have to wash my hair.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Soup, mmm (part 2)

Here's what I'm cooking - pasta fagioli. I usually make this with cannellini beans but this time I tried it with kidney beans. I either didn't use enough beans or used to much of everything else because the ratios seemed wrong. I want at least one bean in every spoonful. But nothing to be done about it - I'm not soaking more beans overnight and adding them; that just wouldn't work. And the tomatoes - ehh - not the greatest. Still the soup was good. I had doubts about my stock this go round because it seemed a little cloudy but it seemed fine. One picture is of soup, one is of soup with cheese and cookbook (OK, sorry, I bought a camera, I started a blog. What did you think was going to happen?) - James McNair's Soup. He has a whole series - soup, fish, pizza, pasta, chicken, more. The recipes I've tried are fantastic; some are way over the top ingredients wise (for me anyway). The photography by Patricia Brabent is fantastic. She makes you want to cook and eat everything.




A minor victory

I got two cats in the bed last night. 18, Gordo, Whitey, Decker (on the right) - I still haven't landed on a name but those are some of the possibilities - lets me pick him up so I carry him to the bed while I read the newspaper. He jumps down pretty quickly but then climbs up all by himself and stays somewhere in the vicinity of my knees. 19, Flaco, The Skinny One, Black - the other one - stands at the door to the bedroom and assesses the situation and goes under the bed. I'm up and down a couple of times and 18 stays put. Eventually 19 must have gone back to their box because when I peak in there, there he is. And I'm able to grab him. I take him to bed and put him right next to his brother so he can see that nothing has happened to him. Right off the bed he goes. Five minutes or so pass and he jumps up all on his own too. Keeps a steady eye on me. Stays mostly down at the end but eventually moves up to bite his brother's tail. I'm able to get in an out of bed a few times without causing him to flee. They eventually both exit and I go to sleep, feeling like I've accomplished something.



Monday, December 15, 2008

I'm not your mother, and, no, you can't take a shower in my house either (now with photos)

There was a call on Friday night from Unit 2 of my 3- unit condo building which I let go into voicemail. Already had a manhattan and was in no mood for any of his antics. He says there is flooding in the basement and he has no hot water. I seemed to have some so let it go. By the time I went down there on Saturday morning it was at least 6 inches deep.

















I left a page for my plumber (his voice mail is full so I don't think this is a good omen for prompt service).

I was going to wait until 9 am to return the call from last night and at 901 am the phone is ringing. He has no hot water, the basement is flooded.

OK, this is the same as any other condo expense. You need to get an estimate for repair and present it to everyone to vote on.

I have no hot water.

I repeat, this is the same as any other condo expense. You need to get an estimate for repair and present it to everyone to vote on. I left a message for my plumber but don't know when I'll hear back. You should call someone too.

He has a plumber, I know, because this Fall he converted from oil to gas heat.

There is the long pause on his end like he really expects me to just start taking care of this and I'm not going to.

I call unit 1 and ask if he's spoken to Michael. I start to tell her what transpired in our conversation.

Oh, he's on the other line, let me call you back, she says.

No, we aren't finished with our conversation. I tell her I got the distinct impression that he expected me to just handle this and he needs to step up. I am not anyone's mother.

I'm sure he didn't mean that.

Well, that's the impression I got.

I hear from my plumber about an hour later and he says he can be here in 20 minutes which in plumber time can be anywhere to 40 minutes to the next day.

So I call them both. Michael has called his plumber. OK, then we'll have two estimates.

Steve, my plumber, gets there around 1030 - sorry, Steve, that wasn't 20 minutes. I keep my mouth shut of course. Not only do I have this inexplicable crush on him - he's kind of a hippie guy, reminds me of Neil Young, but also it's only been 40 minutes instead of 4 hours. He is hauling the pump in and is ready to go. I feel really stupid saying that I need to get approval and we need to discuss price but that is the cross I bear. It will be a couple of hundred dollars to pump the water out and then he can assess the rest of the damage.

I call Kate (Unit 1) and she meets me at the downstairs door. I tell her what the estimate is and she OKs it. I get Michael on the phone and he OKs it. OK to Steve.

I go downstairs and get Kate to co-sign the check with no amount filled in. I have no intention of sitting home all day so call Michael and tell him that I'll leave the check by his door with Steve's phone number so he can follow up with him.

Again with the "I haven't had hot water since Friday. I haven't bathed since Friday." Yeah, dude, too much information.

So what's my plan? Just to pop into Filene's Basement and take some pictures at the Skating Pond on the Common, and get some imported Parmesan at Sessa's in Davis Square.

I got two cute pairs of slippers at Filene's. Beige and light blue suede like booties for $7.50 each. Every thing in Filene's is an extra 25% but I am being good and only buying the slippers. Head over to the skating. I don't think my pictures came out too good. Not sure why they look so dark, it was a bright sunny, albeit cold day.




Maybe the ones of the squirrels who are coming up to people and eating out of their hands. No, I couldn't get any of those. but here's a very fat one. I was about one foot away from him.





Helen and I have been trading voicemails. I call her first thing on Saturday morning when I discover I have no hot water to line up going over to her house on Sunday night to take a shower if necessary. See, that's how you do it. Call a friend, call your ex-wife, call someone - not your single female neighbor.

So by the time I get to Davis Square, Helen and I finally connect. I tell her I'm going to McKinnon's and Sessa's. Does she want to meet for coffee or something? We decide to meet at Mr. Crepe in 30 minutes.

I go to McKinnon's first because I think the lines are going to be pretty long. Not really, there are people in the - and most of them are blocking my way no matter which way I turn - but it's not bad. I try to remember the pasta fagioli recipe. Since I'm going to Sessa's I might as well get beans and make soup too. Sessa's also has chicken, basil and sun-dried tomato sausages. Made those on Sunday and yummy.

Mr. Crepe's is very crowded so I grab a table and Helen comes in about10 minutes later. I go up to order and am standing there for, no, I'm not exaggerating, 5 minutes and neither of the girls behind the counter even acknowledge that I'm standing there. I move up to the other side of the counter. Nothing. Back to the original place. Nothing. Finally the guy in the kitchen comes out and asks if I've been helped.

No, I haven't. I order a chai latte. Someone gets in line behind me and he waits on them too. I tell Helen she should get up there.

Several more people get in line. They call my drink order out. Ehhh. Somewhat un-chai like. Not the rich creamy consistency or the spicy flavor that I used to get from the previous incarnation of this place, the Someday Cafe.

So I get home and the envelope for the plumber with the signed check is on the porch. I open it to see what we ended up spending and the amount is not filled in yet.

There's another message from Michael. Wait, let me guess. You haven't had hot water since Friday. He went out at 2 pm. Is the plumber coming back?

I don't know. Why don't you call him? No, he's going to call his plumber. I haven't had hot water, blah, blah, blah.

OK, fine, but you have to get approval for expenditure.

And one from Kate complaining about books she left in the basement being damaged.

Uh, wait a minute, you knew about water damage when it first happened last spring, you mentioned the books then and didn't move them. Tough luck.

Then I get a a call from Michael. He got a call from his plumber, he came over and my plumber was already there working.

So I go down and my pilot is lit and Michael's water heater needs to be replaced because he could either spend hours trying to fix the mechanism or just get a new one and install it. The water heater is still under warranty so we won't have that expense. I make the round of calls again to get the OK on the $180 to replace the water heater. Michael OK's it and I leave a message for Kate saying we have the votes and will proceed unless she strenuously objects early on Sunday morning when Steve said he would come back to do the work.

Sunday, I go out around 1030. Michael runs out. Yeah, you guessed it. He has no hot water. When's the plumber coming back.

I don't know. Why don't you call him? I left the check right there, and point. His number's inside.

11 am - I get off the train and there's a message from Kate. Your plumber's here. Thanks for all the messages. Yes, it was my fault leaving the books down there. Thanks for the offer to help move them.

I did that without taking a breathe between the sentence that ended with you assumed the responsibility and please let me know if you need help.

Hot Diggity! I got me a follower

Check her out:

http://thatdamnexpat.blogspot.com/

Got me to thinking

Here's a link to the Globe's story on the top quotes of the year:

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/12/14/palins_russia_quote_tops_list_of_memorables/

Of course "I can see Russia from my house" is one of my favorites from this year. But this is probably my favorite:


With the stroke of a pen, we, mere citizens, become We the People.
Jill Lepore, Rock Paper, Scissors, The New Yorker, 10/13/08

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Look what I got last night

There's another one in my house that looks exactly like this too. He's a little skinnier. I got them from Animal Rescue League Boston. I will foster them for 4-5 weeks. They are 5 week old boys born to a feral mother in my 'hood. They are very skittish still (especially the elusive one) but they are eating well.


There's a tradition in my house whenever I get a new foster cat (these two kittens are numbers 18 and 19). Here's the photo of that.


Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Monday, December 1, 2008

How tacky is this? or I can do anything as long as I know when it ends (Part II)

The secretary from Hell has her cell phone number as the RSVP number for her baby shower. This is the woman who invited to to said shower 4 days after she met me...and I don't have to go into how tacky that is, do I? Because you know I'll be glad too.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Henrietta’s Kitchen – Opentable.com’s Appetite Stimulus Package

I met two friends for dinner at Henrietta’s Kitchen on Friday night. DC1 was there when I arrived. We check in and tell the hostess that we are still waiting for DC2. I like this new trend that I have encountered the last few times I’ve gone out where they ask if you want to wait or be seated right away. Friendly waiter brought menus and water. The entire regular menu is available for opentable.com’s Appetite Stimulus Package.

I order a martini. They have regular Bombay. DC1 gets a glass of wine and DC2 gets a Jim Beam with Diet Coke. My drink is very good, very dry with a twist. My appetizer was the crab cake (it was presented as a crab cake with corn chowder on the appetizer section of the menu but it came with the side that was listed with the crab cake entrée. A cole slaw of some kind and a lot of tartar sauce. It was OK, nothing too special. The spinach salad that Helen and Gayle got looked much better. Very large, nice amount of bacon and a light vinaigrette dressing. DC2 and I got the duck and DC1 got the salmon. The duck was probably the winner of the night. A breast and a leg, nicely cooked and plenty to take home. I got Yukon Gold mashed potatoes as my side. Also plenty to take home. Desserts were the biggest disappointment of the night. I got the apple and blueberry pie. The blueberry and apple were fine but the crust was kind of hard, not flakey. I didn’t take any of that home. DC2 was disappointed with her chocolate bread pudding but DC1 was happy with her tart. The cappuchino was good but not very hot.

Overall, the food had more disappointments than I would have liked. Service was quite good except at the end of the night when we had to wait more than a few minutes for change.

Friday, November 21, 2008

Uh, could I get a look at that map?

From today's Globe article about odor threatening Dorchester condo plan (http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2008/11/21/odor_threat_jeopardizes_dorchester_condo_plan/):

In one Corcoran Jennison model, Lannan, the company's odor-control specialist, suggested that the stench on the worst days could stretch across South Boston and Dorchester. He delineated the smelliest areas on a map with three circles: red, yellow, and green.

"Inside the red, it would be like a bathroom you'd go into and want to leave," he said. "Inside the yellow, it would be like a bathroom you'd go into and probably continue to do what you needed to do, but you'd want to get out of there as soon as possible. And in the green, it would be like a bathroom."

You have to love the analogy.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Soup, mmm


This is what I cooked last night. It's from Real Simple.


It's a rich, creamy (with no cream) soup. Make the croutons too. It only takes 15 minutes and really enhancing the taste experience.


Butternut Squash Soup with Sage and Parmesan Croutons

1 3-pound butternut squash—peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch cubes (5 to 6 cups)


3 tablespoons olive oil


3 teaspoons kosher salt


Pinch of freshly ground black pepper


1 tablespoon butter


1 large yellow onion, diced (about 1 ½ cups)


3 stalks of celery, chopped (about 1 ½ cups)


1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage (about 6 large leaves)


6 cups chicken broth


1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan


Sage and Parmesan Croutons


Preheat oven to 400° F. In a large bowl, toss the squash with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, 2 teaspoons of the salt, and the pepper. Place the squash on a rimmed baking sheet and roast in oven for 15 minutes. Turn the cubes over and continue roasting for 15 minutes or until they are caramelized; set aside.


In a Dutch oven or a large stockpot, heat the butter and the remaining oil over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, and sage and sauté, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are translucent and tender, 10 minutes. Add the squash, broth, and the remaining salt and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 30 minutes or until the liquid is flavorful. Remove from heat.


Using a blender or a food processor, blend the soup in batches until smooth. Return to the pot and keep warm.


Top with Sage and Parmesan Croutons and the grated Parmesan

Yield: Makes 6 to 8 servings

NUTRITION PER SERVINGCALORIES 298(51% from fat); FAT 17g (sat 4g); CHOLESTEROL 11mg; CALCIUM 201mg; CARBOHYDRATE 31g; SODIUM 1226mg; PROTEIN 8mg; FIBER 5g; IRON 2mg

Sage and Parmesan Croutons

3 ounces rustic white bread (about 3 thick slices), tom into 24 1-inch pieces


1 large clove garlic, minced (about 2 teaspoons)


1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage (about 6 large leaves)


3 tablespoons olive oil


1/2 teaspoon salt


2 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan


Preheat oven to 375° F. Toss all the ingredients together in a mixing bowl to coat. Spread the bread evenly on a baking sheet and toast in oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until crisp and golden brown.

NUTRITION PER SERVINGCALORIES 108(63% from fat); FAT 8g (sat 1g); CHOLESTEROL 1mg; CALCIUM 33mg; CARBOHYDRATE 8g; SODIUM 306mg; PROTEIN 2mg; FIBER 0g; IRON 0mg

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

I can do anything as long as I know when it ends

It ends on January 30. That’s only 13 weeks, 65 work days, 520 hours…seconds? No, I haven’t gone that far…yet.

The it in this case is my current work assignment. I’ve been a contractor/temp providing all sorts of administrative services for, can this be true? - 18 years. Some of the jobs have been interesting – Leslie University (as a temp I got to fire a full time employee who reported to me) and Cowen (crazy hard work as the assistant to the conference planner and trips to NYC, Scottsdale and San Francisco). Some of the jobs are little do-nothing things – Testa Hurwitz right before they disbanded their partnership; any and all Fidelity jobs – places where you sit for 7-8 hours with absolutely nothing to do that is related to the business.

I can read salon.com, chowhound.com, boston.com, and any other .coms for only so long. Same with playing solitaire, looking for dates, shopping Zappos.com. I even ran someone’s campaign for a city government office at a Fidelity job once. Anyone mentions any little bit of trivia or wonders about something in a passing conversation, I’ll research it if I find it even remotely interesting. Yes, you do have to rsvp to showers and you should send a gift if you’re not going. Pumpkin cheese cake recipes with or without baking – got ‘em. Pumpkin cheese cake recipe with ginger snap and graham cracker crust – got those too.

Current job is a good example of the do nothing type of job. It’s a small pharmaceutical company where I am covering a maternity leave. It started at the beginning of October and will end on January 30. Administratively, this place is run like…OK, I think I just have to say it; it doesn’t appear to be run by anyone. No non-technical staff person wants to admit that they are responsible for anything; they can’t answer a straight question; they ignore emails. Worse, they provide answers to questions that you didn’t ask. They pass the buck (usually to someone else who does the same). I do give them credit for raising the ability to dodge questions to an art form.

I have to reconcile the corporate Amex card in their expense system. My email to another secretary, D, who charged a breakfast:

“I think this breakfast charge was for company X’s meeting on 10/30. Can I just list the company name on the expense report or do I need names of attendees? Thanks.”

D’s reply:

“It was a breakfast for Employee Z, Business Development.

Let me know if you need anything more.”

She closes with a smiley face. A freaking smiley face. OK, that’s annoying in and of itself but could you answer the question? Just list company name or attendees’ names?

I’m doing an expense report for one of my bosses.

Email from the A, CEO’s secretary, when I inquire what the mileage reimbursement is:

“I’m not sure that we actually reimburse mileage per se.”

Oy!

I’ve got to get some printing done for a corporate communications piece. I’m told C works with the printer.

Email to C:

“Hi C. Is this something printer could do? Please send the contact info so I can inquire.”

Thanks.”

C’s reply:

“I actually don’t know. I only order the business cards.”

My reply:

“So can I have the contact so I can inquire? Thanks. “

C also later informed me that she orders the first page of company letterhead but not the second.

Seriously, I couldn’t make that one up.

But this is coverage for a maternity leave. It ends. Secretary not coming back? It surprised me that so many of them don’t come back. They all insist they are when they’re interviewing and training you. They have to so they can collect their disability checks. Not my problem, I agreed to cover the maternity leave only.

So January 30 is what keeps me from running, screaming from the building.

Monday, November 17, 2008

Quick Survey

Do we not know that we aren't supposed to walk on railroad tracks?

Friday, November 14, 2008

Beach Girl

My image is Beach Girl, a giclee by Linda Swanson. She is a Laguna Beach artist and you can visit her here:

http://www.lindaswansonart.com/default.asp

I bought the print at the Laguna Beach Sawdust Festival when I was on vacation this year.