Posts (page 2)

What do you do when you

a) find you don't want to hang out with a few of your friends
b) disagree deeply about certain topics with a few of your friends
c) find it uncomfortable to be around a few of your friends

Do you say it? Do you just avoid them?

Also, what do you do when people you consider friends don't like each other? Avoid them both?

And people wonder why I don't go out.

What is, or used to be, your SSB (secret single behavior)?
Submitted by Dee.

Okay, first of all, how the hell did this "behavior" earn its own abbreviation/initialism? Is it really so normal in popular culture that it has its own generalized term? I mean geez, it's not like I go around saying I have a secret car habit (SCH) or a special Street Fighter move (SSFM). WTF? Really. Step up the QOTDs people, this is just silly.

And for the record, the only secret single behavior I'll admit to is that I used to have an imaginary boyfriend.

My biological clock is ticking. But I should probably wait another 5 years (and/or until we become fabulously wealthy). I'm getting weird motherhood pangs tho. It's fucking creepy.

I can't imagine how it would feel if I were a drop dead hottie. How do you stop yourself from having a huge ego?

I'm only saying this because I've been complimented only a few times by good looking men, and every time I felt like I was floating on clouds. if you were a model or an actress, would you feel like this all the fucking time? How do they handle it? Does it all become meaningless after awhile?

Egos are weird.

... but not for all. The Bay Area is hopping lately with a lot of job openings, which is understandable due to the influx of Web 2.0-related matters that has everyone launching startups like it's 1999 all over again. So there's this idea that there are a lot of jobs to be had, and that people can afford to be selective about their career paths.

Or maybe not. Brandon is a graphic designer who works mostly with print production, and is not really interested in web work. He'll do it if he has to, but it's not his area of expertise. I also know of a few other people who are in the same boat, and are kind of looking desperately on Craigslist for someone who'll offer them what they want. In any case, it's the booming economy that had us confident that Brandon would be able to find something in his line of work within about 5 months of unemployment.

7 months and counting, it hasn't happened. We're doing okay financially, and we're able to afford perks like the occasional gadget as well as cable and broadband. But if he doesn't get a job by May, I'll probably be looking into selling a few of my things and giving up a few luxuries. If he doesn't get a job by August, we'll be officially in the red.

The guilt hits me every once in awhile especially when I spend 30 bucks on something silly like a USB mixer. I try to excuse it by saying to myself that it isn't really that much money, and Brandon says we're okay enough that we can afford nice things. But it does mean that our half-baked planned trip to Hawaii will probably be cancelled, as well as many other such expensive endeavors. (FYI, this is also why Brandon won't have that many copies of his comic printed for APE -- insufficient funds)

We're at the odd situation right now where we're worried but also not really worried. In that, our patterns haven't changed -- we still rent DVDs and we still pay a monthly fee for World of Warcraft -- but we also have this thing looming over our heads that needs to be resolved in the near future.

So far, Brandon has just been applying to jobs he wants. Like a production artist job or a junior graphic designer job. But when April rolls around, he's going to start applying for jobs he doesn't really want, but that'll make some money -- similar to the job that he quit last year. It would really pain me to see him work at a job he dislikes, but I guess that's the thing that we have to do if it comes to that.

Like I said, we're not poor or struggling or anything. But the time will come when finances will just get a tad bit tighter than usual.

Too bad there's no Print 2.0 resurgence in the Bay Area.

1. Turkey burgers. Can be made under 30 minutes and is yummy. (Be sure to incorporate ricotta cheese into the ground turkey mixture for more moisture).
2. Pasta with a tomato sauce. Yeah I know, pretty standard fare, but it can be really good when done right. Sometimes I cheat with a store-bought sauce (I like the ones from Delallo) but I actually really just like using a can of San Marzano tomatoes, onions, garlic, some seasonings, and maybe a bit of pancetta or bacon. Simple yet good.
   
3. Bak kut teh is this great aromatic Chinese pork soup famous in Malaysia and Singapore that uses this complex blend of herbs and spices as its flavor base. I use it with chicken instead of pork most of the time due to the lower fat and lower price, but it's still great. I just bought the pre-packaged packets of the spice blend over at Malaysianfood.net and I've made three batches so far. Good stuff.
4. Rice mixed with various leftovers. This is the standard catch-all for nights when we're able to stretch our leftovers, and I can sometimes make fried rice with a bit of egg and soy sauce. If I'm feeling naughty I'll grab a can of spam and it'll be spam fried rice. Hey, don't knock it til you've tried it.
5. Adobo (Filipino version). One of my most favorite dishes because it's so gosh-darn easy to make. Soy sauce, vinegar, and meat. That's it. And the resulting dish can often last for days because I usually make a huge batch at once. 

Every once in awhile I make enchiladas or some chicken breast dish, but they usually take a little more preparation than the above (I can be somewhat of a perfectionist when cooking) and I'm usually pretty lazy, so these 5 are my go-to dishes when I just don't feel like having take out again.

(x-posted here):

I’ve made the mistake of recording a solo podcast again. I talk about my night at the Alembic, drop names like Buzz Andersen and Nick Douglas, and spend 20 minutes telling the ENTIRE SHORT STORY of A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. If you don’t want to listen to the short story, just disregard everything after 6 minutes and 37 seconds. Apologies for slip-ups and for talking a little too fast at certain points.

It's late-February. That means it's time for the ol' groundhog to come out of hiding and check out the world. And yes, I just compared myself to a ground-dwelling rodent.

Anyway, this just means I'll be drinking at bars a lot more than I usually do. One of these days I'll be tipsy enough that I'll say something horribly embarrassing. And Nick Douglas will record it and upload it on his vlog. Because I can always trust my friends to humiliate me.

Foolishly, I carry on. Until April, anyway, when I will retreat once again into the virtual world. (IE. When we might start raiding in Karazhan. I am such a slave to WoW, it's ridiculous).

Also, I'm not restricting this to bars and such. I need to start going to museums again. And is there a good movie playing?

Is it weird that I start wanting to go out when the weather turns bad? ... Don't answer that.