Shoe Leather

Happy President's Day. Having the holiday off, I volunteered to make dinner for a nice lady who just had her knee replaced. I always make chicken pot-pie, it's easy, and I can't really make anything else. This time, I decided to mix it up, try something new. Pot Roast. I called my mom, looked in a cook-book, and checked on-line.

Feeling confindent, I purchased the very first chuck-roast of my life, browned it and had it in the oven by 1PM, projected finish time, 3PM. I added vegetables at 2PM, checked on it at 2:30PM and started to worry just a bit. Not boiling, not even generating steam, roast hard as a rock. Called my mother.

It is now 4PM, just transferred everything to a pot on the stove. The roast is akin to the above mentioned footwear. It so happens this nice lady has a sister who lives with her. She has Down Syndrome and no teeth. Tenderizing mallet instead of utensils? Might be prudent. Olive Garden, anyone?

Sending Back Food

So I went out to dinner with some friends last night and asked for my steak  medium-rare, I want red stuff to run out when I cut into it. Well, it arrived not even remotely pink, blech.
"Send it back!" was the consensus. "And ask for a bowl of soup!"

I always thought sending food back was an invitation for the cook to spit in my food. 

The second steak arrived, slightly pink. I did not send it back. Surely sending it back a second time invites who knows what other desecration of my food?

Another time, a friend asked the waitress for a recommendation. The food came, she didn't like it, and sent it back! Apparently this is all perfectly acceptable?

Stretch Jeans and the Japanese Body Type

Who invented jeans containing spandex anyway? On the tube-shaped, Japanese body type, once the spandex has stretched a little, what do you suppose keeps the stretchy jeans from sliding down the tube? That's right, nothing.

Lemons vs Apples

Turns out the new laptop is a total lemon--broken DVD drive, still having start-up issues. They're sending me a new one. They're suggestion, not mine. I was all for the tech coming to my house with new parts.

In the meantime, thinking it was fixed, I downloaded Microsoft Office. All for naught once I send the defective computer back. Dell doesn't want to install Office on the new computer for free, I think they should--or send the tech to my house to fix the computer. That's $100 bucks we're talking about! Still haggling over that. So my $600 laptop will cost me $700 (if I've lost the argument) plus a trip to western Utah, 1 week of irritation/frustration, and 2hrs on the phone. Grrr!

Next time I will try Apple.

Disappearing Gum

I spit a piece of gum in the trash this morning but didn't ever see it hit. I kind of looked around on the floor but didn't search very hard because it was a gross public restroom.  Found it tonight inside the shirt I was wearing.

New Job

I begin to suspect being salaried is just a means to pay one less for more hours worked...

Hisashiburi

Here at the end of a crazy, busy week I'll make a short little post.

The week before Christmas I interviewed, was offered and accepted a job. I was also overcome with guilt over giving notice at one of my other jobs, so agreed to continue to work 1-2 half-days per week through the month of January. Somehow those have turned into 11 hour days and I will soon be dead (already neurotic).


Meanwhile, finally fed up with my ancient, virus-laden, slower-than-molasses computer, I decided to purchase a laptop while I try to decide whether an Apple is worth the price. Is it? I could buy like three PCs for the price of one Apple.

Projected date of delivery was Jan 25, so much to my dismay (following my delight at discovering I was the recipient of a Heart Attack--thank you, friends) I discovered three notices from Fed Ex on my front door stating no more delivery attempts would be made. Who uses the front door when there's a garage?? I leave and return in the dark! Curses!


Of course today is the slushiest, sleeting-est day Utah has seen in months. I rushed out of work at 3:35 trying to make it to the Fed Ex warehouse before 4 PM. Does it drive anyone else crazy to follow a vehicle which you canno't see around? Are they going slow because there are cars ahead of them, or are they just putting along to make me insane?


It's 3:57 PM and I'm driving in some industrial no-man's land--who knew there was a 5600 West?--hoping to find Fed Ex, which I did. After circling a warehouse the length of a city block, I finally found an entrance for people, as opposed to trucks, and got my package.

Trying to open the laptop, I realized I am impaired.  Seriously, I was ready to call someone for help. The little Dell logo, I thought perhaps it should face the user when opening the laptop. So I pushed, pulled and pried, trying to open it from the hinged end. Nice. Apparently that little button is not a release switch, but rather turns the screen on and off. It took me not a short amount of time to open the computer and bring life to the screen. Power on, power off; power on, power off. Why is the screen still black? Why is there a button like that??