Then we stopped at the Korean grocery in the next mall strip over, and the sauces I bought look so good I want to go home and stir up some fry right now. Bright red chili sauces and dark garlicy black bean sauces. I love cooking this stuff.

I also picked up the necessary components for dashi (Japanese bonito-kelp stock); I figure I can make a big batch of it, freeze it, and use it as a liquid in my various Asian-inspired dishes. It should certainly be easier to make than that big pot of chicken stock I cooked up two weeks ago (which tastes fabulous and was well worth the effort). I may also make some turkey stock this weekend since I have the necessary components for that (bones and such).

Which reminds me: I need a cleaver! It's nigh-impossible to cut through bones with my chef knives. What I really need is a nice, sharp chef knife (non-serrated) and a heavy cleaver. That's what my kitchen is missing (but I get by fine with the serrated ones -- they're just not so good for cutting meats).

Seen at the Korean market: a Hello Kitty rice steamer and "Wang gloves". Hehehehehhehe. We're so juvenile sometimes.   >> 3:42:44 PM 
 
 
Spam probably wouldn't bother me so much if the senders just bothered to use better punctuation in the subject headings of their letters. For instance: "COPY DVD'S With YOUR Computer" -- there's no reason for the word (or, to be fair, the acronym) "DVD" to be possessive. It's little things like that, kids, that will allow the Esperantoists of this country to rise up and take over our language!

I am feeling not so energetic today. I tried, I tried, but I failed, I failed. Only 15 minutes of unethusiastic exercise and I was half asleep on the drive into work today.

And to top it off, yesterday was my stepfather's birthday. He's, uh, 32 now I think. No, wait, that's not right. The point is -- I forgot to call. I told myself all day to call, and then I forgot when I got home. Dangit.

I learned last night that garlic presses are just as good with ginger as they are garlic. And I made an interesting chicken stir-fry with Kame black bean sauce which turned out decent.   >> 1:05:14 PM 
 
 

1.17.2002

When the drive to your local Whole Foods is 30 minutes, it just doesn't seem worth it (the drive to the Wild Oats is a slightly more digestable 20). But on the bright side, these are pretty tasty, and you can make a single serving version in less than two minutes.

The almond-based cheese, however, was not worth the cost of admission. I love cheese (dairy products in general make me happy), and low cal cheeses taste like crap. Goat cheese are good, but sometimes you really want a nice, sharp cheddar. And no one makes a good substitute for it. Dangit.

We may or may not make a trip to Soulard Market this weekend. I've lived here five years and I've never gone, so it's about time. Or maybe next weekend.

I slept in today, astounding the roommates, who -- unaware of my alarm's setting -- both attempted to rouse me at separate times (not an easy thing to do when I'm set on sleeping). I think I like doing the exercise on Saturdays better anyway; it means I don't have two days of downtime, and it gives me that extra hour of sleep I so desperately need on Thursdays.

Jeff has a cold, and it's been a while since my last one. A very long while. Since right after my religion's New Year, in fact, if you can believe that. I will continue to try and dodge those cold bullets with my mad Matrix-style action skillz; I've been successful so far, and there's something to be said for having attended four parties and taken six plane flights in four months and not having caught a cold, lemme tell you.

Last night's dinner was Eggplant and Red Pepper Bake (it's entirely serendipitous that last night's Good Eats episode was on eggplant). How to do it? Like this:

One eggplant, medium size
One red bell pepper
One bottle or can of pasta sauce
  Recommended: Muir Glen (glass bottle) or Hunt's (can)
Shredded mozzarella
Linguine pasta, cooked
Breadcrumbs
Two egg whites
Salt, pepper

Drain the water and shake or pat dry the eggplant slices. Dip in egg white, then bread crumbs, and put on cookie sheets sprayed with Pam. Cut the red pepper into thick strips, and pile on the cookie sheet. While you don't want to pile the eggplant on top of each other, it is all right to do this with the peppers since the goal is to soften and cook them, not crisp them. Sprinkle salt and pepper on the red peppers, and put the sheets into a pre-heated 400 degree oven.

After 6-10 minutes, take the sheets out, flip the eggplant and the peppers to their other side, and put back in for another 6-10 minutes. Remove from oven at the end of that time, and turn the temperature down to 350 degrees.

Alternately, if you don't want to spend the time dipping the eggplant you can simply bake it, uncoated, at 400 degrees until soft in the middle. Make sure you season the eggplant if you do it this way, and keep in mind that this will change the flavor of the dish. It'll still be good, however (this is how my Mima cooks her eggplant).

In a casserole dish, put a generous portion of linguine, followed by a layer of the red peppers, then a layer of the eggplant. Top with as much pasta sauce as you like, followed by as much cheese as you like. Put the casserole back in the oven and bake for 5-8 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and sexy.

Comfortably serves one dieting chickie, and two half-starved male roommates.   >> 12:56:56 PM 
 
 

1.16.2002

I am happy to report that Amy's Kitchen Asian Noodle Stir-Fry is, despite its entirely vegetarian, dairy-free, gluten-free nature, pretty damn good for a frozen entree. I am intrigued now by this pleasant surprise, and will certainly endeavor to try some of the other things Amy has to offer.

Tonight I'm taking a trip to Whole Foods because I just learned we have one, and I'm a gourmet shopping junkie. Arrrr.

I also have mastered the ability of importing rasterized graphics into Flash, thanks to this article. Unfortunately, Livemotion doesn't have so convenient a fix for its many export/import problems when it comes to developing Flash or Shockwave graphics, which is most annoying.

Maybe in LM2? I'm not holding my breath.

And for more creamy Flash goodness, check out Orisinal. Yum.   >> 3:01:16 PM 
 
 
Regardless of how bad my old fiction and writing technique are, I still enjoy reading what I wrote three years ago.

I dug down into the lower recesses of my old hard drive last night and entertained myself with ten or twenty chapters of books that were dead before I'd begun writing them.

I'm mired in an ethical dilemma over continuing using the characters that Ron and I developed together. Pick and Rath were really never mine, as much as I love to write about them. That may be why I liked writing about them; but I don't know if I can again for personal and legal reasons. I'd have to actually talk to Ron about that, and I haven't seen sign of him since September.

Regardless, the characters won't be seriously addressed for another three or four years at the least. Myr and Kaiji are my current passions, and probably will be for a while. But it would be a shame to throw away all the character and world development I devoted to the Telos stuff.

Someday, my prrrecious. Someday.

Site5 got their mailing lists working again. I can now slump and stick my tongue out with a sigh. No more slapping the unresponsive FTP server repeatedly and screaming, "Fight! Fight! Fiiiiight!"

And I did my circuit toning today, and my abs said, "Arrrrrrrrgh." Stupid abs.   >> 12:10:50 PM 
 
 

1.15.2002

I write marketing text not because I like to, but because sometimes, I have to.

Writing marketing text is akin to reaching into a bag full of zingy mainstream catch-phrases, spreading them out on the table, and then applying them to as many aspects of your product as possible. I should probably feel all warm and gooey inside because people are confident enough in my talents to say "go write this" and then trust in my grasp of Spinglish to produce a worthy piece on what makes us great, but to me it's just exhausting.

In other words: I have a robust disinterest in the proactive manufacture of comprehensive content that empowers readers with an understanding about the quality of commercial products, technologies, tools, and media.   >> 7:30:37 PM 
 
 
Stodgy old soldiers who smack their apprentices with canes are fun to write. Hee.

Chapter Ten is done, and I'm a respectable way into Chapter Eleven. A new character has decided to introduce himself, and I like him, even if he won't be around for long.

Not that I plan on taking him out, mind you. Even NPCs who are merely bridges to another section need to have depth, and that's how it is with this one. Yeah. That's the ticket. :)

I found some old stuff I wrote a while back and...ugh. I had this entire paragraph of describing a character, and I read it and wondered what I was thinking. Since the writing of that piece (three years ago), I've learned the virtues of avoiding adverbs (can't always) and using show instead of tell...not that you can see that on this website, Dear Reader, but I don't have to make an effort here, if you know what I mean. And I'm not saying you're not worth the effort, but these thoughts are meant to flow freely; there's no reason to frame them in elaborate webs of plot and characterization. That, and first person is always easier to write than third (for me, at least).

Back to the other tangent at hand. Old stuff? Bad. I wrote this long, long, waaaay too long paragraph describing my character from head to toe, and who reads that and takes that sort of stuff seriously anyway? CJ Cherryh threw out some advice once in an article wherein she said you should avoid describing a character as much as possible; hit on a few key points, and leave it to that.

I think she's on to something there. Captain Signy Mallory (from Downbelow Station, which I never read all of, but I read some of) was described in a minimalist fashion, but I can't avoid the impression of a strong, sturdy woman with a young face and silver hair. It is a testimony to the effect of the minimalist approach that I -- who read the first half of the book when I was 14 and never touched it again -- still remember this.

The hard part is knowing what to give to the reader, and what to leave to their imagination. And this is really where the writer must be careful, yes? You don't give enough, and the reader becomes confused. You give too much, and the reader feels trapped, even if he or she doesn't know it. I have made an effort to give Myr a very limited description, and I don't launch into long, drawn out descriptions anymore. Or at least I don't think I do.

Not that it can't be done right. It absolutely can. But I opt for the Zen painter approach -- a few quick, bold strokes, and then let the space fill in the rest.

All this tendency to wax descriptive comes from my gamer side, you know. Oodles of area designing has scarred me for life. That, and in nearly every tabletop campaign there comes a point where the GM turns to you and says, "Okay, describe yourself to the others." And you do. It usually starts like this: "Well, she's got blue eyes and long, red hair...."

Some day I'm just going to have to describe Ivy as a girl with a grin and a glint in her eye, and leave it at that.   >> 1:41:20 AM 
 
 

1.14.2002

What's really, really funny about that video clip, Gryph, is that it's a parody of just about every "boy band" in Japan. Pure genius.

Yatta!   >> 6:06:12 PM 
 
 
Mondays are a bitch. Without fail, the meetings flatten me every time.

But I made good turkey breast last night. I poured on a marinade composed of whisked-together lemon juice, chicken broth, salt, pepper, rosemary, Italian seasoning, and olive oil, and roasted it in a 350 degree oven until done. It was very tasty. The blanched green beans were also good. The potatoes, however, turned out waxy and undesirable. I don't like Russet potatoes. They never cook up right. I'm a Yukon Gold woman, myself.

Many good things today. My friend the Aetherbunny worked on his book (he told me), my friend the Donna had her spiritual birthday, and my friend the Melissa got a great idea for signups into her noggin. And more stuff that I can't talk about, and shouldn't, due to proprietary reasons. The palindrome year looks like it'll be a good one. Stay tuned!   >> 5:53:06 PM 
 
 

1.13.2002

Sold out. Can you believe it? Bah. No Legolas lovin' for me today. Maybe some other day.

My Foreman grill is lost somewhere in the garage, so I went and bought another for $16. I know, Bubba. I should have gotten that other brand's grill, but $16 was about as much as I wanted to expend on the gadget.

The kitchen is becoming known as the Island of Misfit Small Appliances. Well, it's becoming known that by me. We have so many whatzits on the counter, and so many more stacked elsewhere...I'm a kitchen geek, I'm afraid. If it can maim a vegetable or puree a pike eel, I've probably got it.   >> 9:44:15 PM 
 
 
We're going to go see Lord of the Rings in about ten minutes. Mmm. Legolas.

Jeff's character bit the big one last night, but the rest of us survived (more or less) our encounter with the seething hordes of evil. Great fun. My monk didn't get off more than one attack, but at least I absorbed some damage for the other guys.

Jeff is lurking, it must mean it's time to go. Sayonara!   >> 1:16:05 PM 
 
 

1.12.2002

I haven't seen my friend Nagle-Bagel since high school ended, but she wrote me the other day, and I recounted nine years of history to her in twelve paragraphs.

This should be leading into an "I'm feeling old!" comment, but that's not the notion pinging between my brain and heart right now. I feel more like...like I have a past. And that's not the same as feeling old. I feel textured. Woven. I don't know how much more thread the weaver intends to feed into me, but I'm hoping Her spool is really freaking big.

I have no idea who is reading this thing, and why my babbling entertains you, but I'm glad you are here. For what it's worth, I wish you the best, and I hope you enjoy your time here.

Dave liked the curried chicken with rice, yogurt, cashews, and raisins tonight. His was probably better than mine; I used a leetle too much lemon juice on the 1.0 version of the recipe, and it was a bit like sucking on an Oh! Super Lemon! with no sweet center to reward for the sourness. It was still edible -- and still pretty good -- but it's not often you eat a sour dinner.

On the bright side, my teeth are now bleached quite white. Ting!

And speaking of lemons -- please, for the love of god, BUY A LEMON. Not lemon juice in a plastic bottle, a real, honest to Elvis lemon. Nothing else is the same. Please? Thanks.

So here's the recipe, for those of you who want to know. I'm giving you the low-cal version; use more rice and chicken if you want something more substantial, or supplement with a ton of veggies to give it bulk. Even without a lot of rice and meat, this was still a substantial meal that was very satisfying (speaking from experience).

Yogurt Chicken Rice Curry Thing
4 tbs. cooked rice
Yellow curry powder
Half a chicken breast (boneless, skinless)
3/4 c. yellow bell pepper
1/4 c. celery
2 scallions
1 tbs raisins
4 whole cashews
Cooking spray (Pam or something like it)
1/2 c. plain, lowfat yogurt
A little bit of lemon juice

Get a medium-size pan and hit it with your spray. Put it on the stove over medium to medium-high heat and sprinkle as much curry as you like into the pan. When you can smell the curry coming off the pan (it shouldn't be burning, just fragrant -- you want to cook the spices a little) add the chicken. Let it sizzle there a few seconds while you salt and pepper it, and then start stirring it around the pan. You'll do this for about five to six minutes, during which time your chicken will pick up the curry and turn a lovely shade of yellow.

When the chicken is thoroughly cooked (it'll be white on the inside; no pink), reserve it in a bowl (probably the bowl you'll eat this from). Look at your pan. If the stuff crusted to the bottom is black or smells burned, you need to clean the pan, hit it with some Pam, and add some curry to it, letting the spices "cook" a little bit before adding the veggies.

If, however, it doesn't seem to be burned, then just hit it again with some Pam and throw in your veggies.

Either way things go, salt and pepper the veggies to taste.

Cut the top of a lemon off (you want about 1/4 to 1/3 of the lemon) and squeeze the juice from that little piece of lemon into your pan. If you really like sour dishes, add the whole lemon, but I don't advise this. You only need a little lemon to give the flavor you need, so don't go overboard (the yogurt will also add sourness when its time comes).

Stir your happy veggies around and let them get to as soft as you want 'em. Deglaze by adding a little water and scraping the pan clean. You should get an interesting golden-brown sauce that will coat your veggies and make them dance with joy.

Add the chicken and any accumulated chickeny juices back to the pan. Add the rice, raisins, cashews, and yogurt, and stir it all up for about two minutes. When it's warmed through and starting to bubble, put it into a bowl and eat it. (Serves one.)

You may wish to add more raisins -- Ankhka says next time I make this he wants pineapple in his -- and you may even consider adding apples to the veggie stage. It's important that you add salt to the ingredients before the yogurt or rice; once that stuff gets in there, there's no sodium time travel, so make sure you taste and correct your seasonings as you see fit. You may even want to add the cashews at the chicken stage so that they lend more flavor and get a little toasty. Either way, enjoy! It's vaguely Indian, and it's good for you!   >> 1:44:18 AM 
 
 

1.11.2002

And geez, what a goober am I -- happy birthday to my grandmother! Mima is (muffled coughing) years old today! Holy cat!   >> 7:02:39 PM 
 
 
Here, a gift for you: No More Popup Ads!   >> 6:34:03 PM 
 
 
Note to self: Broccoli-Tomato Casserole not so good. It was really lousy, actually. Tonight's dish is going to be Cashew-Raisin Chicken and Rice. Should work.

I really wanted a steak when I got up this morning. My first real effort of self-sabotage since I started watching my calorie intake. I couldn't exercise, because my legs made it clear they'd had enough for a couple days, and I'm not one to argue with legs that speak in such loud tones. I'll get in my toning exercises on Sunday or Saturday and that'll be good.

I enjoy doing lunches with my coworkers, even if we only go to Wendy's. I hadn't sat down and had a meal with Melissa in what seemed a long time, and we talked about lots of fun things that I could tell you, but then I'd have to tickle you.

Poor legs. At least I can stand today without groaning.

I am trying not to drag other people down into my determination. It's not that I'm miserable and love company, it's that I'm doing my usual thing of devouring everything I want to know about the current focus on my attentions (watching what I eat, exercising), which means it's what I'm thinking, which means it's what I'm talking about. I'm attempting to curtail that, but I'm not being too successful. Poor Jeff and Dave.

Doubly poor Jeff and Dave because I am usually the one who cooks for them. And triply so because last night they were dragged into watching Xanadu with me. Someone send them a triple batch of pad thai and a copy of Playboy, stat!   >> 3:07:50 PM 
 
 

1.10.2002

Legs hurt. Busy at work. Get night off to be by myself. Yay me!   >> 3:18:07 PM 
 
 

1.9.2002

WalMart at 1 AM is probably the only time of day that there aren't seething hordes roaming its aisles, looking for god knows what. In my case, I was looking for 3 lb. weights....

Which I found, and used this morning. Oi. OI. All the ancestors on my mother's side say "Oi"! (OOOOOOI!) It stirred up dim memories from high school when my swim team coaches used to make us do toning exercises (crunches, lunges, push ups, etc.) twice a week. Which is what I'm now doing. Funny how life is. :P Weds. and Friday I do the circuit toning, and the rest of the weekdays I do cardio.

And I've decided for the next four months I'm just going to be completely unfun during lunches and dinners and start watching what I eat. The goal is to lose 40 pounds over the next four to five months, and the overall goal is to get me down to 130 lbs. Lucky you, Dear Reader -- you get to come along and watch the ride!

One of the defining moments of my formative years was the day I rear-ended a rental car full of Marines. I don't remember the guy's name, or the kind of car he drove. I do remember the panic and terror and disbelief -- I was sure my parents (always fairly level-headed and open-minded) were going to dig a basement and throw me in.

They didn't, actually. They did make me pay for a lot of the repairs (I not only was flipping burgers at McDonald's at the time, I was also getting money from story sales), but they didn't yell at me. They maintained that calm acceptance as I called them up and babbled about what had happened.

To this day, however, I have at least one dream a week involving having to brake and not being able to. Somewhere in my psyche, I've been branded with a deep-set fear of not being able to stop in time that manifests itself regularly: in sleep, on the road, in my blog.

Times like this I realize how desperately I need to get Greymatter going on this site. I would really love to put a discussion link here right about now.   >> 11:48:31 AM 
 
 

1.7.2002

And as an aside (for those keeping track of such), Kemet.org will officially be four years old as of January 21st, according to my tracking of these sorts of things.

Four years! Can you believe it?   >> 11:56:54 AM 
 
 
As it turns out, I make excellent West African chicken and peanut stew. And I learned tonight that I can make rice without a steamer. Fancy that.

I am one of those crazy people who finds cooking comfortable. I cook because I like to, not because I have to. I love cooking the same way I love writing or reading or drawring or singing. I missed out on the sculpting gene my cousin Shane has, and in its place I have a cooking gene.

From Friday forward, when I realized I was going to have a free and clear weekend, I went all out. Friday night was Meatloaf as God Intended It, last night was chicken chow mein (my only sorta-failure; I used the wrong wine, and it came out way too bland and a little funky-tasting). Saturday afternoon I also made pickles according to the Jones family recipe. Today I made a big pot of chicken stock (for red lentil soup, next Saturday) and what they call "ginger beer" in West Africa, but is actually a non-alcoholic brew of macerated ginger, hot water, lemon, sugar, and cloves. It is a surprising drink. My first response was to really not like it, but once I got past the ginger like a sledgehammer to my tongue, it comes out quite nice. The strong kick of the ginger in the back of the throat is an acquired taste, I think.

The stew, though...oh my stars and garters, the stew. Peanut butter, chicken thighs (skinned), red pepper, garlic, onion, half a habanero, one can chopped tomatoes, turnips, sweet potatoes, and wilted spinach over rice. It was -- it was -- fabulous! Like I knew it would be. A really nice meal, but a lot of effort (alas). I gotta get me some kids so I can have them skin my turnips and potatoes for me. It's a real pain!

And in-between braising my chicken in lucious peanutty goodness, I finally, finally, after a year of working on it on and off, finished the Wehemu (formal letters/essay) section of Kemet.org so that it is now completely updated with the "new" look and feel one of the Shemsu (full congregants) made for it. Converting four years's worth of essays over to a new format wasn't easy, but somehow, I did it. I think listening to "Duel of the Fates" a few zillion times helped (thank you, John Williams).

Next up is getting a whole lot of photo galleries finished, like a promised too damn long ago.

And finishing Part Two, of course.

And making another batch of soap for a CERTAIN SOMEONE WHO SHOULDN'T HAVE!

I will have my vengeance! Arrr!

Oh, and I washed the cat. Washing the cat was a big dilemma I warred with most of my morning. On one hand, the cat was looking fairly gnarly and needed it oh so badly. On the other hand, I really value my life.

However, I am skilled at the art of cat-bathing (I bathe myself every day, after all), so I was smart enough to take down the shower curtain before hauling her in this time. And I wrapped her in a towel and got her wet that way. It works, and she's clean, even if she screamed like bloody murder and did the hurt glares from a safe distance for three hours. She sweetened up as soon as she realized that she had to get in close if she wanted any of the chicken scraps from my stockpot. Anyone who says cats are aloof and remote hasn't tried eating a chicken dinner around one. Heh.

Which of course reminds me of that Dr. Jane song..."Cats Are Not Graceful". And I would agree. Just because we land on our feet doesn't mean we're ballerinas. It just means we're good at covering our ass. :)   >> 1:10:25 AM 
 
 

1.5.2002

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury (and you too, judge), I do hereby testify that Sriracha Rooster Sauce can make anything taste better -- providing, of course, that the consumer of the product likes garlic and chiles, and doesn't mind a healthy kick in the mouth when they bite in.

I bring forth as evidence to my case, The Meatloaf. Hereforth is my version of meatloaf, sure to make my mother roll her eyes and my grandmother gasp in dismay.

Most American cooks know how to make meatloaf. It's pretty simple. One to two pounds of ground beef (or an equal combination of beef, veal, and pork if you deign to be that way), salt and pepper, one egg, chopped garlic and onion, and breadcrumbs. As Ankhka has pointed out, there are nine and sixty ways of constructing tribal meatloaves, and every single one of them is right. Some people add milk. Some people add green pepper. Some people use crackers. Some people use fresh bread. The point is, you want the meat to bind together (eggs, bread), you want it to have flavor (salt and pepper, garlic, onion), and you want it to be, well, meaty. I add sweet Hungarian paprika to mine because I like the word "paprika".

So there you are, you've flexed your joints and stirred together your loaf, and now comes the crucial part. The glaze. Again, the variations are mind boggling. Straight-up ketchup or barbeque sauce in some cases, elaborate forays into alcohol and other combinations in others. I'm more on the course of ketchup -- with a twist. My sauce for this evening was composed of the following:

A healthy squeeze of Sriracha
Several healthy squeezes of ketchup (just shy of 1/2 cup, I'd say)
Juice of one lime
Two loose handfuls of brown sugar
Touch of mustard powder (not a lot)
1/2 can of chopped tomatoes, with juice (Muir Glen brand, in this case)

I dizzied up the ingredients in question while my loaf baked in a shallow pan lined with aluminum foil at 350 degrees for about twenty minutes. Then I pulled it out and proceeded to drape my lovely sauce all over its just-browning surface. Had I been thinking, I would have made my loaf much, much flatter so more of the wonderful sauce could stay on it, but I wasn't. Next time!

Ahhhh, how wonderful it was, my friends. We had to wait a total of an hour and a half for it to cook, but it was worth it. Not spicy in the way that a dish of red curry is spicy, nor spicy in the way kung pao chicken would be spicy, but a sort of peeking-out-the-window-and-batting-her-lashes type of spicy. Tangy, sweet, tomato-goodness. Coupled with garlic mashed potatoes and honey-maple minted carrots...yes, it was excellent.

There were a couple areas for improvement, but for something I pulled mostly out of my head at the last minute, I think I did pretty good.

Tomorrow night I'm not sure what I'll make. I know I'll be preparing some chicken stock through the day, but I don't think the guys will want soup for dinner. I have mushrooms, and I ought to use them. So -- what? We'll see what, that's what!

And so I rest my case. And my head. It's been a long day, and sleep is drawing me by the necktie into bed. Bon soir!

Here's my wisdom for your use, as I learned it when the moose
And the reindeer roared where Paris roars to-night: --
There are nine and sixty ways of constructing tribal lays,
And -- every -- single -- one -- of -- them -- is -- right!
 
Rudyard Kipling

I would!

Day three of my return to exercise finds me achey but otherwise fine. The working out is not really the hard part -- the patience is. There are immediate benefits, but the long-term ones I'm looking for -- improved endurance and flexibility -- are still down the road. I just have to remind myself the only way to get to that point is to keep at it.

Blah!

The mailing lists at kemet.org are a day behind at the least due to something on site5's end. It's disgruntling to see a post you wrote 24 hours ago appear a day later. Grrr. I'm in contact with their tech support, so we'll see if it gets fixed and when.   >> 11:39:46 AM 
 
 

1.2.2002

I love stepping into a cold shower in the morning and watching the water turn into steam when it hits my body.

Instant cooldown, baby!

It's been a while since I last worked out, and I've managed not to gain any weight...but I haven't lost any, either.

Our house needs some serious cleaning. Sigh.   >> 11:44:21 AM 
 
 
End, Part One
Got through to the final chapter in part one today. Now I just have to figure out where I'm going with part two. (What me, outline?)

Very quiet day of catching up on numerous TiVo saves. One episode of Gormenghast (bizarre), two episodes of The Tick (wish it was funnier), and some other scraps.

And we did indeed eat meatless spaghetti, with Dave's contribution of black pepper bread a la breadmaker.

I'm entertaining the notion of hosting a five-course meal type dinner party. I'm still thinking about it. I got some great cookware and cookbooks for Christmas, and I'd like to make a stab at preparing some of the things I read about.

Off to bed. I have a date with Rodney Yee in the morning.   >> 12:25:13 AM 
 
 

1.1.2002

Hurray! New Year! All the stores are closed, though. Bummer. I wanted to buy groceries.

Oh well. Meatless spaghetti dinner for us tonight! Yay!   >> 4:18:41 PM