addiction

The Real Housewives of Orange County somehow gets my attention.  And I realized after watching 2 episodes on Tuesday that I'm addicted to Stupid.  I can't help but watch people make fools of themselves. I can't help but think "no waaaay" and "get real" when people take themselves sooo seriously and are ultra vain.

 I even feel kinda bad for some of the ladies.  Except for Jo - she's stupid for trying to fit into a role that just doesn't work - getting engaged to a man 16 years older who wants her to be the mother to his 2 kids.  It's like Bill S. Preston, Esq's dad in Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure - "Hey Missy; I mean 'Mom.'" And honey, you should NOT dress like it's South Beach when your future in-laws come visit.

Bread

Hey,

Ever notice the suggested retail price stickers on various food items at the grocery stores? Maybe it's just me or my grocery experience (Austin, Houston, Dallas, Boston, and now Chicago) but isn't it customary to have your price (the store's price) less than or equal to the suggested price? The Thomas English Muffins were $3.19 - 20 cents more than Thomas' suggested price. Ridiculous.

I hate Rachael Ray. When I see her by or hear her voice, I have to swallow a little bit of vomit - everytime.

Punky Brewster: Don't forget to eat your lima beans.

Here's the Bean from a few weeks ago.









These are some pictures from beneath the Bean. On my last trip to Millenium Park, the Bean wasn't complete and you couldn't walk beneath it. It's cooler than the picture.

No Virgin Mary toast yet, but...

This is a picture of a dirty sock on the floor of my apartment. It's resemblance to the statues on the Easter Islands caught my attention.










The real deal. http://www.unmuseum.org/easteri.htm

I'm going to do it.

So, I put in my order at work to buy an iBook and a 60gig iPod.  I'm antsy.  I want them now.

phillip roth

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/25/books/25roth.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

TV

A dolphin tried to do it with Hank Hill.
Peggy Hill: "You were humped by a dolphin."


We completed all four seasons of Coupling. I can't rave enough about the show. The fourth season wasn't as funny b/c the character Jeff left for the island of Lesbos. But they brought his character back on the last episode - in Steve's dream Jeff came as an old lady with big boobs. This woman had his character down - from his mannerisms to the way he paused during his crazy stories. Sigh, it's done. Now I'll have to buy the set. Even though Coupling had the typical "character has baby" story line, they didn't try to extend the show by having a season with the baby. It's called Coupling. It's funny that they did introduce a new character named Oliver - like cousin Oliver in the Brady Bunch. Anyway, my point is the show ended while it was still good.

fat

http://www.slate.com/id/2139945/entry/0/

Some dude on slate visited the London sewers. There are fat traps....fat traps. FAT traps.

Eww.

tortillas

Thank you to BAM for carrying a six pack of Shiner and an array of Central Market goodies: fat free tortillas, southwestern tortillas, chocolate truffles, and tortilla chips with flax seeds.  How I miss the grocery stores down there.  Sadly, we ate the last of the tortillas yesterday.  Note that BAM's trip took place the last week of March.  To savor every bite of the tortilla, they were stored in the freezer.  <Insert tear here> Alas, they're gone.

Chicago's mex food is bad.  Even the taquerias aren't up to par - even when you're drunk.

For example, me, tollwaywarrior and Jesse sat in the patio of a local mexican joint called Nuevo Mexicana on Clark Street.  The food sucked and for margarita's they salted our glasses with table salt.  How atrocious.  How I wished I could go home and nuke a Central Market tortilla to snuggle with first and then eat.

Again thank you BAM for the little piece of Texas.

Know what you are eating

Knew about this website a few years ago but stumbled across it today.  Good to know what kind of crap you are putting in your body.
http://www.dietfacts.com/fastfood.asp

New nyt.com format SUCKS

I hate the font.  Why didn't they just use Comic Sans or use a crayon to make it tougher on the eyes?  And the layout looks shitty to.  Maybe the other layout is part of Times Select.

Great Dip

For a friend's party last night, I made a dip that will put hair on your chest and could also be used to burn it right off.  I didn't add the mint (b/c I forgot my shopping list), put about .60lb and an extra tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil. The garlic flavor is really over the top if you put more than a clove of garlic like I did.  A clove and a half of garlic adds a whole lotta bite.   It would have been considerate if I also brought a pack of gum for people to freshen their breath.  Maybe that's where the mint comes in. 

Feta cheese whips up into a smooth, creamy spread when blended with olive oil in the food processor. The Greeks like to flavor it with garlic, mint and pickled peppers to make a piquant dip for pita bread. Serve it with radishes and cucumber spears for dipping, too.

1/2 lb. Greek or French feta cheese
3 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
1 Tbs. minced fresh mint or 1 tsp. crumbled
 dried mint
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes, plus more as needed
6 Italian peperoncini (pickled green peppers),
 chopped, plus more as needed



In a food processor, combine the cheese, olive oil, garlic, mint, the 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes and the 6 chopped peperoncini and process until smooth. Taste and add more red pepper flakes or peperoncini, if needed. Transfer to a serving bowl. Makes 1 1/2 cups; serves 4.

Williams-Sonoma Kitchen
http://content1.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/recipedetail.cfm?objectid=F77B62CF-EBB7-4BA4-8F66DF5FBA913322

cranker

Yesterday and today, I hung out with my friend Jesse at an indy bike shop.  She dropped a lot ($800 + tax + helmet + lock + light + other accessories) on a beautiful, sturdy and light bike  - the Jamis Nova (http://www.jamisbikes.com/bikes/05_nova.html).  It's so worth spending the money if you can.  She's commuting to and from work on this thing  so she needs something reliable and strong.

 I really like the biker/sales people at Johnny Sprockets.  They didn't talk down to us girls and didn't make us feel stupid.  We had a really good experience with 2 different sales people. 

Now I'm itchin for a bike.  There are days that I would rather ride leisurely by the lake instead of running.  I originally wanted to spend $250 max on a bike.  Now I think I should invest a little more.  I want to ride around the lake and maybe commute to work.  What should I do?  What kinda bike should I get?  I

dream

Last night I dreamt that I had to pee but couldn't.  One situation involved stage fright.  Another involved no toilets in the unisex bathroom.  So, it made sense that I woke up with the urge to pee.  Aaaah.

 

There's an article in the Chicago Tribune about the Norwalk Virus outbreak.  That's what I had last week.  Oh poo poo.

Remember 7:20PM

In response to my previous post, I was too sick to run. Let me rewind.

Friday night with Coldplay was excellent although short. I wish I had a gig that paid (18,000 x $57) per hour and a half. The light effects and falling yellow balls get 2 thumbs up. They didn't play Shiver or Warning Side or High Speed my favorites. But their tribute to Johnny Cash was lovely. I really would have preferred to see them in a smaller venue. Next time.

After the show, I got really sick at home. First came the runs, then the chills with rigors, and then the 103.7F fever. Since it was my third febrile day, I got kinda nervous. The fever added a haze around things I saw. Very surreal and scared me. What if I had bird flu, or would have a febrile seizure, or was causing irreversible harm to my body by not getting looked at...these thoughts were driving me nuts. I called the ER at Northwestern University Hospital to get their opinion. The nurse told me to come in if I'm really that concerned.

So tollwaywarrior and I went to the ER - always an interesting trip. You can't help but laugh at the people who had their goin out clothes and probably got carried away while wasted in the Gold Coast. Anyway, I got IV fluids and labs done. That shit hurts. Sorry to the poor little kids at work who have to get that done.

So, I didn't run the Shamrock Shuffle. Fuck.

Oh yeah, at 7:20PM, I have to get the laundry.