So there's not much going on at home tonight. E's at my mum's because it's early out week at school. The parent-teacher conference went a lot better than expected and the teacher said she's doing really well in her Math. We were a little worried because of the problems she was having with her homework etc. but the teacher assured us that her test scores were good.
Anyway, so tonight I go to my mom's to start making the food for Thanksgiving. I have to make the brine for the turkey. My sister's coming by too so it should be a night of lots of making fun of my mom like we always do. I think she secretly likes it...

Here's a look at the new pet that I wanna get. I'll have room as soon as my parents decide to move the ugly wall unit out of my teeny tiny living room.

Well I take back some of what I said about the Slow Foods people...they aren't all bad. They have a good idea, which is to make everyone buy things that are grown locally like veggies from farmer's markets and meats and things from butchershops instead of from supermarkets. The idea makes a lot of sense and results in fresher, better food...but you gotta admit, sometimes it's just easier to run down to Albertson's for a gallon of milk!

Why do these people always have to ruin Thanksgiving?
Well not exactly ruin it, but I was going to go get my turkey and cook it, eat it, and then fall asleep just like everyone else in America and now I have guilt over not buying a 'naturally raised' turkey. The fact that I had planned on brining it,and the article I read in the NYTimes specifically mentioned that as a thing that people have had to resort to in order to make the turkey taste good, makes me an even guiltier suspect!
Oh well, there's always next year...

Wow whatta weekend...ugh
Cleaning is one of my least favorite things to do. There is, however a point at which I can't stand things being messy for a second longer and I reach some kind of critical mass for 'messiness' and I go on a weird cleaning spree. I tend to jump from room to room doing little things here and there and it takes me twice as long to do. So now I can walk on the floor in my bedroom without stubbing my toe on the wardrobe because I have moved it against the wall. I have put away all of the crap laying around on the floor so it doesn't get stepped on and doesn't get any more shoe prints on it. I no longer have a sink overflowing with dirty dishes. There is not piles of who knows what lying everywhere. It doesn't sound like much but just not having to look at all of that every day makes me feel a little lighter. The proverbial weight has been lifted and I have a bounce in my step again....ok I wouldn't go THAT far, but maybe you get the picture.
I also took time out this weekend to play a little Playstation. SSX Tricky is probably the 3rd most addictive game (behind Everquest and The Sims). I still suck however...must improve that...
Today will be a short day for parent teacher conferences...I'm not looking forward to it, but at least it will give me a chance to sit down face to face with her teacher. She's not the easiest kid to deal with but it's definately possible if she's given some extra guidance and redirection.
So, it's another boring day at work today. My co-worker (the one who knows about the spying) told me today that the guy who shares a workspace with me has been "given a talking to". I haven't found out the details of that yet, but that should prove to be interesting enough...
Here's an interesting quote from an article I read today about gay marriages.
"I've known homosexual couples more committed to each other than heterosexuals," Ms. Burns said. "And given the abuses we've heard about recently in the Catholic Church, you can't necessarily say religion should be the final word. Just because something happens in the context of the church doesn't make it more holy."
I thought it was a good slam. These people who are against gay marriages because of their Catholic religious beliefs should take another look at the sick twisted things going on inside their own church before they go telling other people who they can and can't marry.

note to self...don't buy a german shepherd...

"Seven breeds of dog account for 98% of all fatal dog attacks. In order they are: Pit Bull, German Shepherd, Chow, Malamute, Husky, Wolf Hybrids, and the Akita. Mothers-in-Law ranked # 11. "

Behold...the 4 o'clock Friday Fuck up...and what is it today? Interfaces between a major admitting system...of course it's something I have absolutely nothing to do with! GRRRR...this really sucks. Fortunately there is someone here who can maybe help me.

In keeping with all of the Michael Jackson hubbub, I thought I would do a search on his extensive plastic surgery and stumbled across this interesting array of photos. When will someone just put the guy out of his misery?

Actually the whole site is interesting, if not a bit on the sick side...Anomalies Unlimited

Ok, so I go to the bano...coffee kicked in...and all of the stalls were full so I had to go down to use the visitor bathroom down the hall, which is just one commode and one sink. So I go in and lock the door etc. and no sooner did i sit, when someone is trying to come in...noticing the door is locked, they knock and say 'hello?'...not once, but twice! Then a minute later someone else tries the door, sees that it's locked, then knocks and tries again. I mean, ok so they try and it's locked, shouldn't that be a clue that it's IN USE?? Is it really necessary to knock and say hello?? Do we need to have one of those Occupied/Vacant signs on the door??
People are so stupid sometimes....

I thought I would throw in a few more of the things I read to keep from going insane with boredom here at work.

OddTodd
Fametracker
EQ Traders.com I play EQ in spurts...right now I'm on the recoil...
Snowcraft Just in time for winter.
Zod Kneel before ZOD!!

And here's a lovely, thought provoking, get-out-your-hanky type thing that always seems to get fowarded around...right now.

Well the fun never seems to end here at work. Remember yesterday and doing my spy thing? I have been doing more of that today...and found out that the network engineers here have more power than they know what to do with when it comes to seeing who's doing what on the network. They have a plan to confont my un-named co-worker about his 'conversations' he's been having...this should be interesting. I've grown a little tired of reading the filth he talks about with these women so I think I may take a break from it for now.

I found a new gadget that I'm sure will make my cat's lives easier. The Meowlingual! This is definately going on my christmas list...

Ahoy...I've finally changed the colors of my blog to something that doesn't resemble puke. I think it's much nicer now,certainly friendlier on the eyes. =) Still working on the links bit. Hey, if you happen to be reading this bunch of drivel, why not drop me an email? Doesn't have to say anything fancy, just a general hi, how are you, type thing.

One funny thing to add...I originally had 'Ahhh' as the first word of this post, but the spellchecker suggested 'Ahoy'...so Ahoy there maties...

NEWSFLASH
After reading this article from the good old Blogger home page, I decided to take action.
My blog is now 'work safe'. In the unlikely event that anyone ever reads this blog, and you happen to be at your place of employment, there is now a safe way to read on without arousing suspicion with those in authority. =)
So whenever you see this sign

click it to be taken to a 'work safe' location of your choosing! You can tell it to take you to any website you want, or to open an work-related application such as Word or Excel. How brilliant is that? If you want more info, go to Web Fire Escape.

So today's been boring. Not unlike most days at work here. The most excitement I got was doing my spy thing on the guy I share a workspace with. This guy is married but has 'very explicit' chats all day every day with some chick(s) on the MSN chat. I shared this with another co-worker of mine and come to find out he goes into the back server room and talks on the phone a lot too. Not only that but apparently there are several people in search of porn during the overnight hours in our office that have cropped up over the years...including a very Christian, church-going fellow who we all think is a closet gay...NOT that there's anything wrong with that. I am not phobic or anything, but is it wrong to find some kind of satisfaction in knowing that your suspicions about some people were right all along??
So last night I wanted to try something different besides 'plain old chicken' for dinner. My attempt at cooking a fab dinner didn't go too well. Here is what I cooked. I took it from the NYTimes site. (please don't sue me)
Braised Ligurian Chicken

Published: November 19, 2003

Adapted from Jamie Oliver

Time: 40 minutes

2 heaping tablespoons flour
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 4-pound chicken, cut into 8 pieces
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 to 5 fresh rosemary sprigs
6 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
1 1/2 cups white wine
4 anchovy fillets (optional)
1/2 cup calamata olives (with pits)
3 ripe plum tomatoes, halved, seeded and coarsely chopped.

1. In a large bowl, combine flour with salt and pepper to taste. Add chicken pieces and toss until evenly coated.

2. Place a large flameproof casserole dish over medium-high heat, and heat olive oil. Add chicken pieces, and fry until golden underneath, about 5 minutes. Turn chicken, and add rosemary and garlic. Continue to fry until garlic is softened but not colored, about 3 minutes. Add wine. When it comes to a boil, add anchovies, olives and tomatoes.

3. Partly cover pan, and reduce heat to medium low. Simmer until chicken is cooked and tender, and broth is reduced to a rich sauce, 15 to 20 minutes. To serve, discard rosemary sprigs, and season well with salt and pepper to taste. Place a piece or two of chicken on each plate, and top with a spoonful of sauce.

Yield: 4 servings.

(did I mention that I'm a raving Jamie Oliver fan?)

It wasn't terrible, a bit too salty (I think I used too many olives). I actually kind of liked it, but it does no good to take the time and effort to cook something for people who don't like what you're cooking. I am not giving up though! I'm looking forward to cooking my first proper Thanksgiving meal next week. I did it last year but I don't want to count that one because I actually didn't cook the turkey long enough and it wasn't quite done...my bad. This year will be different though!
Here are links to the things I will be preparing for the feast.

Good Eats Roast Turkey Alton Brown seems a bit mad, but has some great ideas to make food better.
Emeril's Hawaiian Vintage Chocolate Pie Ok, I'm not in Hawaii so it's gonna be plain old Nestle's Tollhouse chocolate...deal with it.
Ultimate Caramel Apple Pie I would like to point out that the difficulty of this recipe is listed as EXPERT and I made it last week. Does that make me a cooking expert? (not likely...)

Speaking of Keanu Reeves...

I do a lot of reading of another fellow blog-person's site Matrix Essays. If you frequently find yourself with too much time on your hands to sit and ponder the nuances of sci-fi movies (like me) then you will enjoy reading what this fellow (and others) has to say. Who knew how deep the rabbit hole actually does go?

Keanu Reeves=super generous celebrity?

There's an article that says so at Hello Magazine.com.
(note to self: try to become a member of the crew on the next Keanu Reeves flick...)

Looks like I have a new favorite celebrity. I mean really, how many do you see out there saying that they "have enough money right now to live for the next few centuries"? I wish more of them sounded as down to earth as Keanu Reeves seems to. I also wish that I was 50 pounds lighter...unfortunately some things just don't happen. =)

FACT O' THE DAY

A healthy 150-pound adult would have to eat 606 standard size 5.5 ounce tubes of toothpaste every day for 50 years in order to reach the level of saccharin that caused the rat tumors.

=)

On that note, I thought I would share with you some of the other good reading material I've come accross.

Fark
Mil's Apology Homepage Particularly the 'Things my girlfriend and I have argued about" bit.
Heartless Bitches International

That's just a few of the ones that I read now and again. If you really try (and use Google) you can find suitable reading material about anything.