I noticed the other day that my blog titles were not displaying correctly in Internet Explorer. Since I have no experience in XML/HTML coding, and since I wasn't particularly attached to the old blog template, I got a new template, rather than try to repair the old one.
I hope you enjoy the new look!
Monday, February 15, 2010
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Ready for New Year's
Today (1 am, February 14) is the Lunar New Year, the year of the Tiger. I am ready.
This afternoon, I made preparations. I cleaned house, ushering out the old year, and making space for the new. I took out the trash. I shredded papers. I threw out old bedding. I took things out for recycling.
I drove to the recycling bin, to find that it was gone. I wandered confusedly around campus until I found another one. I dropped things off at the Goodwill.
I went to the store. I have everything for New Year's tomorrow--red bean paste and Mochiko for sticky cakes (nian-gao). I bought fish--Pacific cod. I have dumplings. I have cilantro, and five-spice powder.
I vacuumed, and swept, and dusted. I washed all the dishes (and I have no dishwasher). I cleaned the tub, the tile, the doors, the toilet, the sinks. I scrubbed the floor. I filed, put things away.
I showered, washed my hair, put on red pajamas. I turned the vent on in the bathroom, (instead of opening the windows and doors of the apartment), so that the old year could freely exit.
I am eating unbroken ramen noodles--long, for long life. I put on Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger."
I am ready for the New Year.
Happy New Year, everyone! Wealth and Long Life!
This afternoon, I made preparations. I cleaned house, ushering out the old year, and making space for the new. I took out the trash. I shredded papers. I threw out old bedding. I took things out for recycling.
I drove to the recycling bin, to find that it was gone. I wandered confusedly around campus until I found another one. I dropped things off at the Goodwill.
I went to the store. I have everything for New Year's tomorrow--red bean paste and Mochiko for sticky cakes (nian-gao). I bought fish--Pacific cod. I have dumplings. I have cilantro, and five-spice powder.
I vacuumed, and swept, and dusted. I washed all the dishes (and I have no dishwasher). I cleaned the tub, the tile, the doors, the toilet, the sinks. I scrubbed the floor. I filed, put things away.
I showered, washed my hair, put on red pajamas. I turned the vent on in the bathroom, (instead of opening the windows and doors of the apartment), so that the old year could freely exit.
I am eating unbroken ramen noodles--long, for long life. I put on Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger."
I am ready for the New Year.
Happy New Year, everyone! Wealth and Long Life!
Friday, February 5, 2010
January, a review in food
Since this is partly a food blog, I thought I should take another look at January from a gastronomical angle as well.
By January, I was getting sick of food. I had gained 6 pounds in the last two weeks of December, and was starting to feel it.
The New Year Festivities
My husband and I had been invited to a New Year's party at our old college town. We left Metro in the morning, arriving in town shortly after noon. Food for the New Year started with a trip to S___'s Beefmasters, for lunch. The smallest cut of steak they offer is 14 oz, which is their lunch special. In most places, a 14 oz would be considered a large. For me, 4 oz is a meal. Since I didn't want to waste good meat, I ordered a chicken fried steak, instead (which normally uses a poorer cut of meat). It was still huge, but I didn't feel bad leaving half of it on the plate.
I, therefore, arrived at the New Year's party full. It was funny, as we arrived just as a group of party go-ers were leaving to go eat dinner. Even funnier was that they were going to Texas Roadhouse (another steak place), as it was something of a treat for them. It was ironic--in University Town, I live 0.2 miles from a Texas Roadhouse.
While our hotel was newly remodeled and comfortable, it didn't have much in the way of food--it only had a cafe that was open in the day. I was hungry by the time we came back from the party at 9, and could only get some peanuts, which they sold in the lobby.
Breakfast was also only so-so--plastic wrapped danishes and bottles of milk. It was complimentary, however, so I have no complaints. It's my understanding that the hotel will have improvements in this area with its new management. I wouldn't mind staying there again.
As we were leaving the hotel, my husband remembered that we had left a piece of steak from the day before in the in-room mini-fridge. (He had ordered a large steak, and had taken the leftover back to the hotel with us.)
On the way back into Metro, I asked for Italian for lunch. We found Marsala Italian Restaurant, in a small town outside of Metro. It doesn't look like much from the outside, but it's nicer inside, with dark painted walls and skylights. The food was very good. We both finished our entrees, and then ordered another set of entrees to take home.
As I mentioned before, by this time, I was getting tired of food. For our last meal together before returning to University Town, we went to Olive Garden, where I consumed an entire bowl of their salad, and only ordered some pasta as my "main dish", because I needed a little something to accompany the salad.
University Town
Upon returning to University Town, I felt out of sorts. I had to search for my key to open the door to my apartment. And when cooking again, the knife felt strange in my hand, even though I had cooked for Christmas and helped with New Year's Eve dinner.
I was relieved to finally be away from restaurant food, and holiday food. For my first meal in University Town, I pulled my copy of Everyday Cooking with Dr. Dean Ornish--a low-fat vegetarian cookbook--off the shelf. I selected Hoppin' John (a black-eyed peas and rice dish), perfect for New Year's.
That followed with a vegetable pot pie (to which I did add a can of chunk chicken), and cabbage stuffed with lentils and basmati rice. I hadn't been a fan of the cookbook earlier--I had tried two recipes, and only one turned out well--but this time, the recipes have turned out really well. Since then, I've written in the book's margins, and put in sticky notes. The pages are now a little warped from when I've dripped water on them while cooking. In other words, this book is becoming beloved. Since returning to University Town, I've only had one bad recipe from the book--a recipe for collard greens, tomatoes, green peppers, and onions (in my opinion, it should have been just collard greens, and a little onion and garlic)--and all the ingredients have been common, easily found ingredients.
Here's the pot pie. I used puff pastry for the top, and a frozen pie shell for the bottom.
Latke FAIL
My two most recent recipes from Dr. Ornish were a cabbage and beet borscht, and potato pancakes (latkes). I was unprepared for the amount of chopping required for them. It took me three hours(!) to make those two dishes. I was exhausted at the end, and the latkes were a major FAIL.
I made the latke batter, blanching, then hand grating the potatoes, but I took so long, the potatoes turned a muddy brown. I started frying them in a cast iron griddle, with just enough oil to coat the surface of the pan, but the latkes weren't looking anything like they were supposed to look. I had put in liquid egg whites (remember this is low-fat cooking), but they didn't mix with the dough at all, instead forming a watery puddle under the shredded potatoes. In frustration I went to look up latke recipes online. Turns out, the Ornish cookbook left out one important step--squeezing out the potatoes. That was why I had shredded potatoes floating in "soup". I went ahead and poured out all the liquid and squeezed the pototoes--losing both the water and the liquid egg whites--then poured the egg whites back in (this time, half of what the recipe asked). I also added some additional flour and baking powder to get a less watery consistency to my batter. I then used a regular frying pan, poured in oil to a 1/4 inch depth, and dropped in the latke batter. This time, they fried nicely, but with a strange overall color, due to the muddy colored batter.
I put them in between layers of paper towels and left them overnight, to drain the oil.
Next time, I'll try baking them. (425 degrees for 10-15 minutes on one side. Brush with oil, flip, return to oven for another 10-15 min.) I'll also try beating the egg whites until they stiffen.
Weight Loss
Generally, I am oblivious to my weight, and simply eat until I am no longer hungry. But six pounds in two weeks seemed a excessive to me. Upon returning to University Town, I purchased a bathroom scale, and started a food diary at MyFitnessPal.com (I downloaded their iPhone app.).
I really liked MyFitnessPal--it was fun and easy to use. I would recommend it if anyone is looking for a calorie tracker.
I'm not sure how much it helped. I always used the tracker after I ate, so I didn't really make any changes to my diet because I was using it. Also, I found that either I have a faster metabolism than they calculated, or I am not measuring my food correctly--I have lost weight faster than they predicted.
I realized too, after two weeks of eating out, that portion distortion does happen. I was surprised, at first, at how little it looked like I was eating, compared to what I had been eating over the holidays.
I have returned to my pre-vacation weight, which is a relief. I am also feeling much better.
The penny remains.
By January, I was getting sick of food. I had gained 6 pounds in the last two weeks of December, and was starting to feel it.
The New Year Festivities
My husband and I had been invited to a New Year's party at our old college town. We left Metro in the morning, arriving in town shortly after noon. Food for the New Year started with a trip to S___'s Beefmasters, for lunch. The smallest cut of steak they offer is 14 oz, which is their lunch special. In most places, a 14 oz would be considered a large. For me, 4 oz is a meal. Since I didn't want to waste good meat, I ordered a chicken fried steak, instead (which normally uses a poorer cut of meat). It was still huge, but I didn't feel bad leaving half of it on the plate.
I, therefore, arrived at the New Year's party full. It was funny, as we arrived just as a group of party go-ers were leaving to go eat dinner. Even funnier was that they were going to Texas Roadhouse (another steak place), as it was something of a treat for them. It was ironic--in University Town, I live 0.2 miles from a Texas Roadhouse.
While our hotel was newly remodeled and comfortable, it didn't have much in the way of food--it only had a cafe that was open in the day. I was hungry by the time we came back from the party at 9, and could only get some peanuts, which they sold in the lobby.
Breakfast was also only so-so--plastic wrapped danishes and bottles of milk. It was complimentary, however, so I have no complaints. It's my understanding that the hotel will have improvements in this area with its new management. I wouldn't mind staying there again.
As we were leaving the hotel, my husband remembered that we had left a piece of steak from the day before in the in-room mini-fridge. (He had ordered a large steak, and had taken the leftover back to the hotel with us.)
On the way back into Metro, I asked for Italian for lunch. We found Marsala Italian Restaurant, in a small town outside of Metro. It doesn't look like much from the outside, but it's nicer inside, with dark painted walls and skylights. The food was very good. We both finished our entrees, and then ordered another set of entrees to take home.
As I mentioned before, by this time, I was getting tired of food. For our last meal together before returning to University Town, we went to Olive Garden, where I consumed an entire bowl of their salad, and only ordered some pasta as my "main dish", because I needed a little something to accompany the salad.
University Town
Upon returning to University Town, I felt out of sorts. I had to search for my key to open the door to my apartment. And when cooking again, the knife felt strange in my hand, even though I had cooked for Christmas and helped with New Year's Eve dinner.
I was relieved to finally be away from restaurant food, and holiday food. For my first meal in University Town, I pulled my copy of Everyday Cooking with Dr. Dean Ornish--a low-fat vegetarian cookbook--off the shelf. I selected Hoppin' John (a black-eyed peas and rice dish), perfect for New Year's.
That followed with a vegetable pot pie (to which I did add a can of chunk chicken), and cabbage stuffed with lentils and basmati rice. I hadn't been a fan of the cookbook earlier--I had tried two recipes, and only one turned out well--but this time, the recipes have turned out really well. Since then, I've written in the book's margins, and put in sticky notes. The pages are now a little warped from when I've dripped water on them while cooking. In other words, this book is becoming beloved. Since returning to University Town, I've only had one bad recipe from the book--a recipe for collard greens, tomatoes, green peppers, and onions (in my opinion, it should have been just collard greens, and a little onion and garlic)--and all the ingredients have been common, easily found ingredients.
Here's the pot pie. I used puff pastry for the top, and a frozen pie shell for the bottom.
Latke FAIL
My two most recent recipes from Dr. Ornish were a cabbage and beet borscht, and potato pancakes (latkes). I was unprepared for the amount of chopping required for them. It took me three hours(!) to make those two dishes. I was exhausted at the end, and the latkes were a major FAIL.
I made the latke batter, blanching, then hand grating the potatoes, but I took so long, the potatoes turned a muddy brown. I started frying them in a cast iron griddle, with just enough oil to coat the surface of the pan, but the latkes weren't looking anything like they were supposed to look. I had put in liquid egg whites (remember this is low-fat cooking), but they didn't mix with the dough at all, instead forming a watery puddle under the shredded potatoes. In frustration I went to look up latke recipes online. Turns out, the Ornish cookbook left out one important step--squeezing out the potatoes. That was why I had shredded potatoes floating in "soup". I went ahead and poured out all the liquid and squeezed the pototoes--losing both the water and the liquid egg whites--then poured the egg whites back in (this time, half of what the recipe asked). I also added some additional flour and baking powder to get a less watery consistency to my batter. I then used a regular frying pan, poured in oil to a 1/4 inch depth, and dropped in the latke batter. This time, they fried nicely, but with a strange overall color, due to the muddy colored batter.
I put them in between layers of paper towels and left them overnight, to drain the oil.
Next time, I'll try baking them. (425 degrees for 10-15 minutes on one side. Brush with oil, flip, return to oven for another 10-15 min.) I'll also try beating the egg whites until they stiffen.
Weight Loss
Generally, I am oblivious to my weight, and simply eat until I am no longer hungry. But six pounds in two weeks seemed a excessive to me. Upon returning to University Town, I purchased a bathroom scale, and started a food diary at MyFitnessPal.com (I downloaded their iPhone app.).
I really liked MyFitnessPal--it was fun and easy to use. I would recommend it if anyone is looking for a calorie tracker.
I'm not sure how much it helped. I always used the tracker after I ate, so I didn't really make any changes to my diet because I was using it. Also, I found that either I have a faster metabolism than they calculated, or I am not measuring my food correctly--I have lost weight faster than they predicted.
I realized too, after two weeks of eating out, that portion distortion does happen. I was surprised, at first, at how little it looked like I was eating, compared to what I had been eating over the holidays.
I have returned to my pre-vacation weight, which is a relief. I am also feeling much better.
The penny remains.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
January, in review
I'm still pretending December didn't happen--though at some point I suppose it has to materialize--but January is not out of bounds! So, a list of past January events:
The End of Vacation
My husband and I attended a New Year's party, back in the town where we got our undergraduate degrees. We toured the central part of the campus, and got to see some of the renovations (actually, at that point, more like the deconstruction) being done to the student center.
At the party, I met some old friends and acquaintances, and made a new one--a 5-month old black German shepherd. I played Wasabi, and was totally confused by Little Big Planet. I was gifted a replica Assassin's Creed 1 throwing knife (I'll have to sharpen it, and then get a yard with which to practice. Or is it for display?)
The husband and I stayed at an hotel on the historical register. It had been fully remodeled, of course, it was interesting how small it felt. Cozy would be the proper term. We were able to get a suite, which had a large bathroom with a claw-footed tub. Across from the tub, on a shelf mounted above the toilet, was a TV.
I felt old for the first time. (This could be its own post. A confluence of events and realizations.) I don't mean I noticed the difference of years between some then and now. By this I mean I saw a line between who I was, or who I used to be--and who I was now. It wasn't me "growing" older, some continuum, which I normally feel myself on. It felt instead like a break. And I realized that I could no longer act the way I've always acted, because I'm no longer the person I've always (thought) I've been.
I returned to University Town. The flight in was on a puddle hopper. The flight attendant repeated, probably 7 or 8 times (no exaggeration), that all cell phones had to be turned off. "They interfere with radio communications, and the pilot hears a constant clicking in his headset. He cannot hear the instructions from the control tower, and he will turn the plane around."
Once we landed, we were reminded to take everything with us off the plane. "So far today, we have found 12 phones, 6 wallets--full of money--and one divorce decree."
A few days later, I got my eyes checked for new contact lenses. My optometrist was wonderful.
Trip to Washington DC
School started with a bang. The first day, not only did I have class, but I had a conference in DC. It would be my first time in the city.
I went to class, then hurried to the engineering print department to pick up a poster. It wasn't done, but was sitting on the work counter. The person working on the poster had gone to lunch, and was preparing to trim it. I said it didn't need to be trimmed, and took it.
About this time, I stopped in the bathroom, and in unzipping my coat, noticed that the scarf I had been wearing--something knitted by one of my mother-in-law's co-workers--had shed all over me. The fringes that hung from the end of the scarf were now little threads. I was wearing my suit pants, and it was not pretty. I tossed the scarf in the trash on the way out.
I then got in my car and drove to Washington DC for a conference--the meeting of the Transportation Research Board. I did stop for gas, and picked up a sandwich, and a lint-roller.
Since I was going against traffic (I was arriving in the evening at rush hour, while everyone else was leaving), things weren't too bad until I got into the central part of the city. I ended being in the wrong lane, driving past the hotel, but turning around wasn't too bad, and I still arrived before the poster presentation started.
When I got to the poster room, I found I was ill-prepared. I had followed the guidelines I had found online. These instructions were for poster presenters that were actually presenting at the conference--they were to be 4x8 ft, and there would be boards and tacks for us to use. When I arrived, I found that the guidelines were different for us students--the posters were supposed to be 3x4 ft, and mounted. There were only easels available. I talked with the administrator there, and was directed to the hotel's shipping/receiving department. I found some old posterboard there, and the lady (wonderful lady!) working there, helped me to tape pieces of posterboard together so that it would be big enough to mount the poster.
Very few people came to see our posters. Most just walked by. This gave me a chance to speak with some of the other students at the poster session. All the other students there were civil engineers, and I enjoyed talking to them.
Return to School
After the poster session was over, I drove back north through Frederick, MD, where I stayed the night. It was a really nice town. I'd like to go back to visit. I also need to go back to DC and actually tour it. I was back in University Town in time for my evening class.
The next day went surprisingly smoothly. I went to the bookstore for a course packet (actually, a photocopied version of a book serving as the course textbook) and didn't have to wait to check out. I then went to class, and a good meeting with my advisor. I then went to Staples to bind the course packet (which I had bought earlier), and once again, didn't have to wait--they took it bound it, and gave it back immediately. I was so surprised. Normally, I've had to come back in a day or two when asking for materials to be bound.
I felt bad about throwing the scarf away, and since I had a Kohl's gift card, I stopped there. I picked up a scarf (and a pair of gloves) for 60% off. From there I went shopping at both Wal-Mart (using coupons I had printed off online--neato, since I don't get a newspaper) and Sam's Club.
New Stuff
January seems to be the month that I like buy new things. Last year, it was a dozen 5-piece china settings which I justified because 1) I hadn't registered for fine china when I married, 2) by the modern anniversary calendar, the 2nd anniversary is the "China" anniversary, and 3) the particular pattern (Pointe D'esprit by Monique Lhuillier) was 70% off.
This year, the big purchase was a new computer. A Dell Studio, with an Intel i7 quad core processor--definitely more than I need, but definitely nice to have. And like the Dell it replaced, it was a refurb. It's a bad picture---new one is the black one on the right. It's actually quite shiny and not smudgy.
The other new things were smaller--a new pair of trail runners, a new hair dryer, new gloves (I purchased 3 pairs since the last post). And with Christmas money, a new toaster (this one I can justify as a "need" since my old one broke), and a new insulated mug.
It's a Thermos, Element 5, vacuum insulated travel mug (purchased from Amazon) and I absolutely love it. I put tea in at the start of all-nighter, and six hours later I was surprised to find that it was still warm. It definitely does what it's advertised to do. It's my new favorite mug. But that reminds me...I had to buy a new bottle brush to clean it.
The End of Vacation
My husband and I attended a New Year's party, back in the town where we got our undergraduate degrees. We toured the central part of the campus, and got to see some of the renovations (actually, at that point, more like the deconstruction) being done to the student center.
At the party, I met some old friends and acquaintances, and made a new one--a 5-month old black German shepherd. I played Wasabi, and was totally confused by Little Big Planet. I was gifted a replica Assassin's Creed 1 throwing knife (I'll have to sharpen it, and then get a yard with which to practice. Or is it for display?)
The husband and I stayed at an hotel on the historical register. It had been fully remodeled, of course, it was interesting how small it felt. Cozy would be the proper term. We were able to get a suite, which had a large bathroom with a claw-footed tub. Across from the tub, on a shelf mounted above the toilet, was a TV.
I felt old for the first time. (This could be its own post. A confluence of events and realizations.) I don't mean I noticed the difference of years between some then and now. By this I mean I saw a line between who I was, or who I used to be--and who I was now. It wasn't me "growing" older, some continuum, which I normally feel myself on. It felt instead like a break. And I realized that I could no longer act the way I've always acted, because I'm no longer the person I've always (thought) I've been.
I returned to University Town. The flight in was on a puddle hopper. The flight attendant repeated, probably 7 or 8 times (no exaggeration), that all cell phones had to be turned off. "They interfere with radio communications, and the pilot hears a constant clicking in his headset. He cannot hear the instructions from the control tower, and he will turn the plane around."
Once we landed, we were reminded to take everything with us off the plane. "So far today, we have found 12 phones, 6 wallets--full of money--and one divorce decree."
A few days later, I got my eyes checked for new contact lenses. My optometrist was wonderful.
Trip to Washington DC
School started with a bang. The first day, not only did I have class, but I had a conference in DC. It would be my first time in the city.
I went to class, then hurried to the engineering print department to pick up a poster. It wasn't done, but was sitting on the work counter. The person working on the poster had gone to lunch, and was preparing to trim it. I said it didn't need to be trimmed, and took it.
About this time, I stopped in the bathroom, and in unzipping my coat, noticed that the scarf I had been wearing--something knitted by one of my mother-in-law's co-workers--had shed all over me. The fringes that hung from the end of the scarf were now little threads. I was wearing my suit pants, and it was not pretty. I tossed the scarf in the trash on the way out.
I then got in my car and drove to Washington DC for a conference--the meeting of the Transportation Research Board. I did stop for gas, and picked up a sandwich, and a lint-roller.
Since I was going against traffic (I was arriving in the evening at rush hour, while everyone else was leaving), things weren't too bad until I got into the central part of the city. I ended being in the wrong lane, driving past the hotel, but turning around wasn't too bad, and I still arrived before the poster presentation started.
When I got to the poster room, I found I was ill-prepared. I had followed the guidelines I had found online. These instructions were for poster presenters that were actually presenting at the conference--they were to be 4x8 ft, and there would be boards and tacks for us to use. When I arrived, I found that the guidelines were different for us students--the posters were supposed to be 3x4 ft, and mounted. There were only easels available. I talked with the administrator there, and was directed to the hotel's shipping/receiving department. I found some old posterboard there, and the lady (wonderful lady!) working there, helped me to tape pieces of posterboard together so that it would be big enough to mount the poster.
Very few people came to see our posters. Most just walked by. This gave me a chance to speak with some of the other students at the poster session. All the other students there were civil engineers, and I enjoyed talking to them.
Return to School
After the poster session was over, I drove back north through Frederick, MD, where I stayed the night. It was a really nice town. I'd like to go back to visit. I also need to go back to DC and actually tour it. I was back in University Town in time for my evening class.
The next day went surprisingly smoothly. I went to the bookstore for a course packet (actually, a photocopied version of a book serving as the course textbook) and didn't have to wait to check out. I then went to class, and a good meeting with my advisor. I then went to Staples to bind the course packet (which I had bought earlier), and once again, didn't have to wait--they took it bound it, and gave it back immediately. I was so surprised. Normally, I've had to come back in a day or two when asking for materials to be bound.
I felt bad about throwing the scarf away, and since I had a Kohl's gift card, I stopped there. I picked up a scarf (and a pair of gloves) for 60% off. From there I went shopping at both Wal-Mart (using coupons I had printed off online--neato, since I don't get a newspaper) and Sam's Club.
New Stuff
January seems to be the month that I like buy new things. Last year, it was a dozen 5-piece china settings which I justified because 1) I hadn't registered for fine china when I married, 2) by the modern anniversary calendar, the 2nd anniversary is the "China" anniversary, and 3) the particular pattern (Pointe D'esprit by Monique Lhuillier) was 70% off.
This year, the big purchase was a new computer. A Dell Studio, with an Intel i7 quad core processor--definitely more than I need, but definitely nice to have. And like the Dell it replaced, it was a refurb. It's a bad picture---new one is the black one on the right. It's actually quite shiny and not smudgy.
The other new things were smaller--a new pair of trail runners, a new hair dryer, new gloves (I purchased 3 pairs since the last post). And with Christmas money, a new toaster (this one I can justify as a "need" since my old one broke), and a new insulated mug.
It's a Thermos, Element 5, vacuum insulated travel mug (purchased from Amazon) and I absolutely love it. I put tea in at the start of all-nighter, and six hours later I was surprised to find that it was still warm. It definitely does what it's advertised to do. It's my new favorite mug. But that reminds me...I had to buy a new bottle brush to clean it.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
A rant on gloves and Apples
I've had this rant in the back of my head for a while now. In one of my first blog posts, I mentioned in passing that my iPhone and I did not "meet cute." It had to grow on me.
Now, that they've introduced the iPad--and they didn't fix what I consider to be a major flaw in the design--has put in a bad mood. Add to the fact that I've been thinking of gloves recently--they're on sale!, and I have the ingredients necessary for a blog post.
To be blunt: I love gloves. When I was first thinking of starting this blog, asking myself "What should my blog be about?", the first answer was gloves.
There are blogs about clothes, in general. There are blogs about purses, and shoes, and jewelry, about perfume. But as far as I can tell, the only glove blog is the For the Love of Opera Glove blog--which hasn't been updated since 2004. Makeup blogs will have FOTD--face of the day. There are several blogs along the lines of "What I Wore Today" (including, of course, "What I Wore Today"). But what about us glove lovers? Why I can't get a daily fix of some lovely gloves, and how to wear them?
I wear gloves all year. I love going to fairs in the summer wearing white gloves and a straw hat. It feels so respectable. I own as many spring/summer gloves as I do winter/fall ones, and I am looking to increase my spring/summer collection. Each coat I own has it's own pair of gloves. Basically, if I'm leaving the house, I'm wearing gloves.
There are more to gloves than opera gloves, but assuming that it is true, that the most popular gloves out there are opera gloves (which is NOT what I observe in looking around the people I pass by everyday)--that makes Apple's overlooking of this flaw even greater--you can't use the iPhone or iPad while wearing gloves. And stripping--because the way I see it, taking off gloves, especially if you have to peel them off the entire length of your arm, as an opera glove--is not something so casually done, say, on a crowded bus.
So, my iPhone--hated the bugger when I first got it. I picked it up from the post office--and noticed I couldn't use it. It was summer even, and even through my thin summer gloves, it wouldn't read my finger pressure. That was my first impression, and first impressions stay with you. Within half an hour, I was imaging myself "accidentally" dropping it behind the wheel of my car.
I looked up how one was supposed to use an iPhone with gloves. The solutions suggested? Use your nose, or your tongue. My nose doesn't work, for some reason. My tongue does work. But only if I lick it like I MEAN it...no little dainty ice-cream lick, but firm, hard-candy/half-my-tongue-on-the-screen lick.
My thoughts: "I'm sorry, iPhone, but we just met less than an hour ago." I'm not putting out for my phone. I'm not that kind of girl. (Though, I'm pretty sure that anyone who saw me doing that would probably think twice about stealing my phone.) The iPhone had such GREAT choices for using it. The choices are: take off a piece of clothing, or lick me hard.
Other things that bothered me--besides needing to strip in order to use the thing--a dual step to answer the phone (isn't it supposed to be more efficient to use the iPhone?), a really sucky speaker (when alone in the room, I take my calls on speakerphone), and the general elitist attitude of its accessories (everything has to have the designed for iPhone logo on it, or there's no guarantee it will work).
Anyway, I have a stylus for my iPhone now. It's not a good stylus. It doesn't read well at all--but it's the only "official" stylus (the Pogo). I've come to accept that sometimes I need to take off my gloves, but there's still a little resentment underneath. At least, I only need to take off one.
Yes, I've seen the gloves with the little capacitative patches on the fingers. But the most I've seen is on the thumb, the index, and middle fingers. Some people type on the iPhone using the index, middle, and ring fingers. Because some people have small hands. (Random trivia--the tip of my pinky is too small for the iPhone to register.) And no, I don't think gloves without fingertips are very stylish.
Really, I'm not the person that the iPhone was designed for. They had someone else in mind. Not me.
And now comes the iPad. Which has a full size keyboard, which means two hands. Which means one would have to remove both gloves. At least, from what I could tell, they didn't offer an alternate way of input (other than a separate keyboard--which defeats the purpose of the thing if you have to carry around a screen and a keyboard, no? I mean, isn't that a laptop?). So, so, so, stupid. We're not talking some minor tweak to make the operating system go 2 ms faster. I mean, it's a change so that one can actually put in input! How can a thing be interactive if it won't register any inputs? It's freaking fundamental!
Anyway.
The gloves I saw on clearance were leather, elbow length, unlined. I think they'd be so cute with a tank top in summer. My current summer gloves are all 5 button length or shorter.
And for those gardeners out there, looking for a classically styled gloves, instead of the chunky work gloves, I highly recommend Foxgloves brand gloves. They also work really well for going out. For a durable dress-casual gloves (gloves to wear when going to the store) I like the Foxglove Original. For something dressier, there's the Foxglove Elle, that's elbow length.
(The penny remains)
Now, that they've introduced the iPad--and they didn't fix what I consider to be a major flaw in the design--has put in a bad mood. Add to the fact that I've been thinking of gloves recently--they're on sale!, and I have the ingredients necessary for a blog post.
To be blunt: I love gloves. When I was first thinking of starting this blog, asking myself "What should my blog be about?", the first answer was gloves.
There are blogs about clothes, in general. There are blogs about purses, and shoes, and jewelry, about perfume. But as far as I can tell, the only glove blog is the For the Love of Opera Glove blog--which hasn't been updated since 2004. Makeup blogs will have FOTD--face of the day. There are several blogs along the lines of "What I Wore Today" (including, of course, "What I Wore Today"). But what about us glove lovers? Why I can't get a daily fix of some lovely gloves, and how to wear them?
I wear gloves all year. I love going to fairs in the summer wearing white gloves and a straw hat. It feels so respectable. I own as many spring/summer gloves as I do winter/fall ones, and I am looking to increase my spring/summer collection. Each coat I own has it's own pair of gloves. Basically, if I'm leaving the house, I'm wearing gloves.
There are more to gloves than opera gloves, but assuming that it is true, that the most popular gloves out there are opera gloves (which is NOT what I observe in looking around the people I pass by everyday)--that makes Apple's overlooking of this flaw even greater--you can't use the iPhone or iPad while wearing gloves. And stripping--because the way I see it, taking off gloves, especially if you have to peel them off the entire length of your arm, as an opera glove--is not something so casually done, say, on a crowded bus.
So, my iPhone--hated the bugger when I first got it. I picked it up from the post office--and noticed I couldn't use it. It was summer even, and even through my thin summer gloves, it wouldn't read my finger pressure. That was my first impression, and first impressions stay with you. Within half an hour, I was imaging myself "accidentally" dropping it behind the wheel of my car.
I looked up how one was supposed to use an iPhone with gloves. The solutions suggested? Use your nose, or your tongue. My nose doesn't work, for some reason. My tongue does work. But only if I lick it like I MEAN it...no little dainty ice-cream lick, but firm, hard-candy/half-my-tongue-on-the-screen lick.
My thoughts: "I'm sorry, iPhone, but we just met less than an hour ago." I'm not putting out for my phone. I'm not that kind of girl. (Though, I'm pretty sure that anyone who saw me doing that would probably think twice about stealing my phone.) The iPhone had such GREAT choices for using it. The choices are: take off a piece of clothing, or lick me hard.
Other things that bothered me--besides needing to strip in order to use the thing--a dual step to answer the phone (isn't it supposed to be more efficient to use the iPhone?), a really sucky speaker (when alone in the room, I take my calls on speakerphone), and the general elitist attitude of its accessories (everything has to have the designed for iPhone logo on it, or there's no guarantee it will work).
Anyway, I have a stylus for my iPhone now. It's not a good stylus. It doesn't read well at all--but it's the only "official" stylus (the Pogo). I've come to accept that sometimes I need to take off my gloves, but there's still a little resentment underneath. At least, I only need to take off one.
Yes, I've seen the gloves with the little capacitative patches on the fingers. But the most I've seen is on the thumb, the index, and middle fingers. Some people type on the iPhone using the index, middle, and ring fingers. Because some people have small hands. (Random trivia--the tip of my pinky is too small for the iPhone to register.) And no, I don't think gloves without fingertips are very stylish.
Really, I'm not the person that the iPhone was designed for. They had someone else in mind. Not me.
And now comes the iPad. Which has a full size keyboard, which means two hands. Which means one would have to remove both gloves. At least, from what I could tell, they didn't offer an alternate way of input (other than a separate keyboard--which defeats the purpose of the thing if you have to carry around a screen and a keyboard, no? I mean, isn't that a laptop?). So, so, so, stupid. We're not talking some minor tweak to make the operating system go 2 ms faster. I mean, it's a change so that one can actually put in input! How can a thing be interactive if it won't register any inputs? It's freaking fundamental!
Anyway.
The gloves I saw on clearance were leather, elbow length, unlined. I think they'd be so cute with a tank top in summer. My current summer gloves are all 5 button length or shorter.
And for those gardeners out there, looking for a classically styled gloves, instead of the chunky work gloves, I highly recommend Foxgloves brand gloves. They also work really well for going out. For a durable dress-casual gloves (gloves to wear when going to the store) I like the Foxglove Original. For something dressier, there's the Foxglove Elle, that's elbow length.
(The penny remains)
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Stuck
I'm stuck in my own blog.
I've been trying to catch up, writing about my Christmas vacation. It's been a tough process. In the most general sense, I had a wonderful time back in Metro for Christmas break. It was difficult for me to adjust back to being in University Town. I would like to add more detail to it, to make a fuller description of my Christmas break. I've been trying to write: this is what happened, this is how I felt. However, the last two weeks of last year, I lived through one version of events, and my husband lived through another. The facts, we can agree on--we went here, we did this--what those events, meant, however, is up for dispute.
I can write my own interpretation, but reconciling the two interpretations is not so easy. I suppose that since this blog is my forum, I wouldn't be blamed for presenting only my version. But I want the history to be correct!
So for now, Christmas break did not happen.
Forward!
And, although this evening I found the penny knocked from the window sill, I put it back. So, the penny remains.
I've been trying to catch up, writing about my Christmas vacation. It's been a tough process. In the most general sense, I had a wonderful time back in Metro for Christmas break. It was difficult for me to adjust back to being in University Town. I would like to add more detail to it, to make a fuller description of my Christmas break. I've been trying to write: this is what happened, this is how I felt. However, the last two weeks of last year, I lived through one version of events, and my husband lived through another. The facts, we can agree on--we went here, we did this--what those events, meant, however, is up for dispute.
I can write my own interpretation, but reconciling the two interpretations is not so easy. I suppose that since this blog is my forum, I wouldn't be blamed for presenting only my version. But I want the history to be correct!
So for now, Christmas break did not happen.
Forward!
And, although this evening I found the penny knocked from the window sill, I put it back. So, the penny remains.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Return from Holiday
My last post, on December 5, was written at the beginning of the last two week stretch of the semester. I was busy writing--I turned in 5 papers over those two weeks, and writing for "fun" (this blog) seemed to be beside the point. The next two weeks, after the end of the semester, was spent on holiday with my husband in Metro. The lack of posts from those two weeks were inexcusable. However, I did have a wonderful time.
I have, however, returned to University Town. School starts tomorrow, and I will return to my twice weekly updates.
I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday, had good time with family and friends, and returned to work rested. Thanks for bearing with me.
Since last time....
November:
It was Thanksgiving. I made a turkey Wellington--crazy recipe because I'm really frustrated with turkey. It turned out OK. Then I flew home.
Flying home was great! The first leg of the flight offered actual food! Not $7 snack boxes, but free food--a box with wheat crackers, a little wheel of herbed Rondele cheese, and a package of sliced salami. It included a small package of M&Ms, and another small bag of dried fruit. That was before the drink cart came around with pretzels, and we were handed an entire can of soda.
Then, I was in Cleveland Hopkins International for the first time. I remained only in one terminal, but it was nice and airy. I liked how they placed the restrooms in the middle of the hall, with a corrugated metal half-pipe roofs--it made the terminal seem boulevard-ish. The terminal even had an area for young children. I people watched as I waited for my next flight, and it was a pleasant people watching--not staring into a tired crowd moving hurriedly back and forth in a long tunnel, as it can sometimes feel like in an airport.
The second plane was a bit odd. Typically, on such flights, there are two seats on either side of the aisle going all the way back, where it opens to a small area for the flight attendants. This flight, instead of being open in the back, had a back row that was 5 seats across. That is, one person sat in a seat in the "aisle". (I was seated in the last row, but next to the window.)
I was in good spirits when I landed. It was about 6 o'clock, but dark my now. I thought it odd that the car did not unlock when I tried to unlock it with my key fob...and that the light did not come on when I manually unlocked the car...and then that the car didn't start.
After a few frantic phone calls (I didn't have my AAA card, and couldn't reach my husband. I called my in-laws, instead.), I got on the bus to go back to the terminal (there was a shuttle bus between long-term parking, where I was, and the airport terminals). I stopped a couple that was disembarking to ask if they could give my car a jump. They said that they didn't have a jump cable, but I said I did. Only, when I looked in my trunk, turns out I didn't....Back on the bus.
My husband called me when I had arrived back at the terminal--his parents had contacted him, and he had called AAA for a service vehicle to be sent out. My car got jumped, and I was on the way home by 8 o'clock. I drove the 2 hrs home without incident. The first thing the next morning, I was at Sears, getting a new battery put in.
The following week, I made two presentations. That week also had the first day of hunting, and the local schools were all closed. I received an early birthday present--a clock radio docking station for my iPhone! I'm very happy with it. It's display, sound quality, and ability to pick up stations, are all better than my previous clock radio. It looks pretty, too.
There were also strange weather reports. It was 50 degrees and raining here in University Town in the Northeast, but I heard that it snowed back in southern Metro.
Finally, the penny remains.
I have, however, returned to University Town. School starts tomorrow, and I will return to my twice weekly updates.
I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday, had good time with family and friends, and returned to work rested. Thanks for bearing with me.
Since last time....
November:
It was Thanksgiving. I made a turkey Wellington--crazy recipe because I'm really frustrated with turkey. It turned out OK. Then I flew home.
Flying home was great! The first leg of the flight offered actual food! Not $7 snack boxes, but free food--a box with wheat crackers, a little wheel of herbed Rondele cheese, and a package of sliced salami. It included a small package of M&Ms, and another small bag of dried fruit. That was before the drink cart came around with pretzels, and we were handed an entire can of soda.
Then, I was in Cleveland Hopkins International for the first time. I remained only in one terminal, but it was nice and airy. I liked how they placed the restrooms in the middle of the hall, with a corrugated metal half-pipe roofs--it made the terminal seem boulevard-ish. The terminal even had an area for young children. I people watched as I waited for my next flight, and it was a pleasant people watching--not staring into a tired crowd moving hurriedly back and forth in a long tunnel, as it can sometimes feel like in an airport.
The second plane was a bit odd. Typically, on such flights, there are two seats on either side of the aisle going all the way back, where it opens to a small area for the flight attendants. This flight, instead of being open in the back, had a back row that was 5 seats across. That is, one person sat in a seat in the "aisle". (I was seated in the last row, but next to the window.)
I was in good spirits when I landed. It was about 6 o'clock, but dark my now. I thought it odd that the car did not unlock when I tried to unlock it with my key fob...and that the light did not come on when I manually unlocked the car...and then that the car didn't start.
After a few frantic phone calls (I didn't have my AAA card, and couldn't reach my husband. I called my in-laws, instead.), I got on the bus to go back to the terminal (there was a shuttle bus between long-term parking, where I was, and the airport terminals). I stopped a couple that was disembarking to ask if they could give my car a jump. They said that they didn't have a jump cable, but I said I did. Only, when I looked in my trunk, turns out I didn't....Back on the bus.
My husband called me when I had arrived back at the terminal--his parents had contacted him, and he had called AAA for a service vehicle to be sent out. My car got jumped, and I was on the way home by 8 o'clock. I drove the 2 hrs home without incident. The first thing the next morning, I was at Sears, getting a new battery put in.
The following week, I made two presentations. That week also had the first day of hunting, and the local schools were all closed. I received an early birthday present--a clock radio docking station for my iPhone! I'm very happy with it. It's display, sound quality, and ability to pick up stations, are all better than my previous clock radio. It looks pretty, too.
There were also strange weather reports. It was 50 degrees and raining here in University Town in the Northeast, but I heard that it snowed back in southern Metro.
Finally, the penny remains.
