Labels: awkward, music, useless blog

Very pretty things sold here.

I've been busy. So sue me.



Today's uber-fabulous lyrics provided by Dr. Demento, "Fish Heads".

Labels: art, useless blog, websites

A few days ago, I came across the 1-, 5-, and 10-year plans I had written about two years ago.

It's absolutely amazing how much your life can change in just a few months. The people, the goals, the achievements, all of them have changed, I've accomplished a slew of short-term goals, but so many of my long-term goals were dependent upon other people around me that I'm almost shocked at how few of them I can accomplish without those people in my life. Most of the plans simply require alteration, but I can't help but feel less committed to them as I had hoped to share particular things with particular people; other things seem new and refreshed without the presence of outside influences there. It was such an overwhelming task to write these things all out the first time around but I'm considering writing them over again with my own, personal future in mind. As friends and family leave, move out of, or change around me or my life and new people enter, adjustments can be made to the plan to accommodate, but this plan should focus on what I want my life to be.

It sucks putting it all in writing. There's a pretty high probability that you'll fail at most things, but that little sliver of hope that you'll succeed at one or two will [hopefully] make up for that. Guess I'll find out.


In other news, I had an overnight layover in DC and went to see that 'rents new digs in Vienna, VA. It still amazes me the amount of money that is put into building development and extraordinary building design for projects as simple as condos to bank buildings to the retaining wall around the Ernst & Young building [really nice stone wall... not cheap]. This, in addition to many other reasons, is why I dislike Florida. Images coming soon. Blame the dead battery.



Lyrics provided today by "The Cactus Life" [Balance Problems]

Labels: boredom, change, family, friends, lyrics, useless blog

No real post for tonight, as I spent the day traveling and then a few hours on the rooftop of a parking garage with some friends.

For your enjoyment:




Lyrics: "Are you lightning?" [Nada Surf]

Labels: art, friends, lyrics, music, travel

Happy Father's Day to my Dad, the most wonderful man on earth.

I'd like to thank him for building the home I grew up in
teaching me how to draw bunnies
carrying me on his shoulders
explaining to me mistakes might change the world and if not, they might change one person
loving bubblegum pop music with awful synth sounds
teaching me to love architecture from the top to the foundation and every nut and bolt in between, even if they have fallen out and are laying on the ground
telling me that he was lucky to meet the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with so young; few people get that opportunity and my time will come
for loving my mother and all her quirkiness
for being patient when I don't know how to explain something in words
for letting me learn what I wanted to learn with no restrictions
for cooking breakfast every Sunday
for my nose
my pale skin
my artistic sense
for teaching me to love everyone, even if they do not love in return
to be quiet when enough has been said
and for Paul Simon.



Father and Daughter
[Paul Simon]

If you leap awake
In the mirror of a bad dream
And for a fraction of a second
You can't remember where you are
Just open your window
And follow your memory upstream
To the meadow in the mountain
Where we counted every falling star

I believe the light that shines on you
Will shine on you forever
And though I can't guarantee
There's nothing scary hiding under your bed
I’m gonna stand guard
Like a postcard of a Golden Retriever
And never leave till I leave you
With a sweet dream in your head

I'm gonna watch you shine
Gonna watch you grow
Gonna paint a sign
So you'll always know
As long as one and one is two
There could never be a father
Who loved his daughter more than I love you

Trust your intuition
It's just like going fishing
You cast your line
And hope you'll get a bite
But you don't need to waste your time
Worrying about the market place
Try to help the human race
Struggling to survive its harshest night

I'm gonna watch you shine
Gonna watch you grow
Gonna paint a sign
So you'll always know
As long as one and one is two
There could never be a father
Who loved his daughter more than I love you

I'm gonna watch you shine
Gonna watch you grow
Gonna paint a sign
So you'll always know
As long as one and one is two
There could never be a father
Who loved his daughter more than I love you

Labels: art, family, friends, music, quotes, weekend

In a time where consumers are basically freaking-the-hell-out because they can no longer afford their big waste-y vehicles, can't afford to go on vacation, can't afford to drive across two states to take their kids to see their grandparents, because they continue to use and waste in ways that are unfathomable when looked at from a broader spectrum, I am thanking JetBlue for making me stop caring about any of that.

Life cannot possibly get better than getting Wi-Fi in the sky.



In other news: I'm going to try and title all of my future blogs using song lyrics. This one brought to you by The Receiving End of Sirens, "This Armistice".

Labels: business, change, customer service, development, marketing, travel

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow:

"The heights by great men reached and kept / Were not attained by sudden flight, / But they, while their companions slept, / Were toiling upward in the night."

Henri Frederic Amiel:

"Work while you have the light. You are responsible for the talent that has been entrusted to you."

Labels: jobs, quotes, state of unemployment, useless blog

This was... a lot of fun to make, but VERY time consuming and, overall, a huge pain in the ass. I highly recommend it, try it out once, just for fun, and then never do it again. Thanks to Epicurious.com for this delicious recipe... that I made adjustments to.

Fried Green Tomato BLTs (*starred items I added into my recipe)

2 cups loosely packed fresh basil leaves
1 1/4 cups mayonnaise
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
18 1/8-inch-thick slices pancetta*
(*I HALVED this part of the recipe and it was more than enough.)

18 1/4-inch-thick slices green tomatoes (about 6 tomatoes)
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
3 large eggs, beaten to blend
1 cup olive oil

6 1/4-inch-thick slices red tomatoes (about 2 tomatoes)
6 1/4-inch-thick slices yellow tomatoes (about 2 tomatoes)
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced arugula
*1 thinly sliced avocado, soaked in lemon juice (to prevent browning)
*8 slices lightly toasted 5-grain Italian bread

Preparation

Puree basil, 1/4 cup mayonnaise, lemon juice, and mustard in processor until smooth. Transfer to small bowl; mix in remaining 1 cup mayonnaise and season to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)
Preheat oven to 350°F. Arrange pancetta in single layer on rimmed baking sheet. Cook until pancetta is just crisp, about 15 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Reduce oven temperature to 200°F.

Sprinkle all green tomato slices with salt and pepper. Place 1/2 cup flour in shallow bowl. Mix remaining 1/2 cup flour with cornmeal in another shallow bowl to blend. Working with 1 green tomato slice at a time, coat with flour, then egg, then flour-cornmeal mixture. Transfer to baking sheet. Line second baking sheet with paper towels. Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, fry green tomatoes until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Using slotted spoon, transfer to prepared baking sheet; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Keep warm in oven.

Sprinkle red and yellow tomatoes with salt and pepper. Place 1 fried green tomato slice on top of a slice of lightly toasted bread on each of 6 plates. Spread each with 1 teaspoon basil mayonnaise, then top with 2 tablespoons arugula, 1 slice pancetta, 1 slice red tomato, another fried green tomato, 1 slice yellow tomato, pancetta, and another 2 tablespoons arugula. Spoon 1 teaspoon mayonnaise over arugula, then top with remaining fried green tomatoes. Spoon 1 teaspoon mayonnaise atop green tomato. Add a thin layer of avocado. Finish with remaining pancetta and serve.

Market Tip: Look for green tomatoes at your local farmers' market or a specialty foods store, or order them from Melissa's (800-588-0151; www.melissas.com).

*Pancetta, Italian bacon cured in salt, is available at Italian markets and some specialty food stores and supermarkets.

Fried tomatoes are such a pain to make, but if you have the patience, do it. NOTE: This recipe is HUGE, there were five of us eating and we only ate just over half of what I made, so keep that in mind. You may want to halve the entire recipe, not just the mayo-sauce-stuff. I recommend a light, sunny beer, i.e. Allagash White Ale to go with this sandwich. Cheers!

Labels: failure, family, friends, recipes, snack foods, useless blog

1. The AAA discount.

I booked my one-way ticket from DC to NYC yesterday. The actual price of the ticket was $98.00, but I only paid $88.20 because of my AAA discount. On a last minute fare.

2. The leg room.

Even in coach class, I am stretched out, reclined, have plenty of space for my backpack on the ground in front of me, my luggage overhead... It just doesn't compare to the two square feet made available on a USAirways flight. Thank god.

3. The power adapter.

Every single set of seats in coach class has a 120v power adapter. For those of us still behind in the times with a normal cell phone (sans BlackBerry/iPhone), this works well for people like myself who want to do some writing on the computer instead.

4. The wireless internet.

In existence on some trains, mostly Acela Express at this point, but Amtrak hopes to expand wireless service over time.

5. Security processes.

There are none. They glance at your ticket and you're on your way. No one rifling through your bags, no one fondling you with a metal detector, no air jets detecting you for bomb goodies... You just simply board. the. train.

6. On-time service.

It is now 8:19am. Nine minutes ago, my train departed Union Station, DC on-time, at 8:10am. There is no hold up, no wait time to get other trains out in front of you, no international push on Sunday night, no weather delays, you just go - and the majority of the time, on-time.

7. Timing.

Got to the station this morning at 7:35am. My train, again, was scheduled to depart at 8:10am. I checked in at the kiosk at 7:40am, walked down to my gate, waited for about twenty minutes, and boarded the train. Ah-ma-zing. I didn't have to get up two hours earlier, to wait in line at check-in, to wait in line for security, to wait in line to board. None of that.

8. Total travel time.

It took about 35 minutes to get from Alexandria to Union Station. 20 minutes waiting time, 3 hours and 8 minutes travel time to Penn station. Total travel time into Manhattan, 4 hours 3 minutes, give or take a few. If I had flown from Reagan to LGA, how long would it have taken? About the same amount of time, plus the cost of taxi from LGA, plus waking up three hours earlier to arrive at the airport for the obligatory 'two hours early' for check in (which, I realize, almost no one does anymore). Lame.


It has its imperfections... and yet I still almost prefer it to flying these days. What do you think Amtrak can do to improve its services for you?

Labels: business, customer service, review, travel