Remember the cute girl, Amixia, whose videos I post? She actually commented on my blog. Go to Post #338. It's weird how the world works sometimes...
Let me just say this: Amixia is really cute, a good guitar player, and an excellent singer. She also makes my pants fit funny.
THAT IS ALL
See you in 2010!
dear chelsea,
tonight i was making dinner and everything about it
tasted so good. it was kind of exhilarating and it made me feel really
creative. and then i started thinking about how i felt like i'd become
such a good cook since i quit smoking. my palate has really changed a
lot this past year, but it wasn't until just recently, this fall i
think, that i really noticed how much. i'm picking up much subtler
flavors than i have in the past decade. it's been been pretty
revelatory and i'm having a lot of fun in the kitchen these days.
anyway, this revelation about my palate was not limited to food. i know that this was going to be our fall of irish whiskey, but what i truly learned about irish whiskey is that i just adore bourbon. prior to this fall i knew i liked whiskey as an ingredient but i couldn't have told you much about the taste of whiskey itself at all other than "this cheap whiskey burns more than this expensiver one." anyway, when i got the single malt irish whiskey i started this with, i was able to hone in on the simplicity of the taste and finish. i was able to identify that it was a clean tasting whiskey, so it made me more keenly aware of the other flavors in the next whiskey i drank. and from there, i sampled all the irishes i could find at wiggy's within my budget. and they were really great and i was able to isolate different elements of the flavor and see which whiskeys shared certain attributes. i had an amazing day when i had some scotch and realized that i could identify the peatiness of it.
and then i had bourbon. and at first it felt kind of cloying after the irish whiskey and all i could taste was how sweet it was. but then i had woodford reserve and realized that i had just been drinking the wrong bourbon all along. so i started trying others and paying attention while tasting and i realized how much more interesting to me bourbon is than irish. i kept feeling this guilt over it like the irish whiskey drinking thing was some firm, real commitment. and only recently did i acknowledge just how ridiculous that is. i re-evaluated this whole list and realized that i'd barely accomplished any of it, but that i'd done all this other, unexpected and amazing stuff. fuck the list, man! there will be no list for winter, just some hopes.
in the television mini series of our lives that the whiskey letters set out to be, i guess i learned some important lessons about myself and the world around me:
i have excellent taste and i prefer bourbon.
xoxo,
emily
p.s. when can we have dinner?
Current Standings
Picklez 141 (5th place, 10 points behind the leader)
BabySteps 132 (8th place but essentially last)
LG 136 (7th place)
Tiny Tanks 142 (3rd place)
12 right. Not too shabby. I haven't had to rely on the Mr. Quarter at all.
Week Fifteen Picks
It's really coming down to the wire here. Unless I do abominably, I should be able to stave off BabySteps. LG would have gained another point if she had picked a winner in the MIA game. Four Upsets this week.
IND @ JAC - The question isn't whether or not IND will rest their starters. The question is what JAC team is going to play and is the JAC 1st string as good as the IND 2nd string. Picklez Pick: IND
DAL @ NO - DAL sucks. There's no getting around it. They have the tools and the talent but not the will. Picklez Pick: NO
NE @ BUF - A suckfest to be sure. I don't think that NE is psyched out enough to lose to BUF. Picklez Pick: NE
ARI @ DET - Last time I checked, DET was still terrible. Picklez Pick: ARI
MIA @ TEN - Upset #1. In a question of "Who wants it more?" the answer is MIA. Picklez Pick: MIA
CLE @ KC - I was just as surprised as everyone else that CLE defeated PIT; however, the trend for PIT is to lay down for crummy teams. In fact, they got the AFC Sucktacular Trifecta (KC, OAK, and CLE). Picklez Pick: KC
HOU @ STL - Upset #2. Screwston is so unpredictable. Suck Louis is predictably sucky. Picklez Pick: HOU ATL @ NYJ - Upset #3. Redman didn't do too badly Sunday. I was pretty pleased with his performance. Sanchez has a habit of getting too cocky and throwing a lot of INTs. I think that the terrible ATL secondary is going to have a banner day. Picklez Pick: ATL
SF @ PHI - Who would have thought San Fransuckso would have beaten ARI? PHI is firing on all cylinders and is looking to pull ahead even further in their division. Picklez Pick: PHI
CHI @ BAL - Wow. Pork Cutlet is one of the worst quarterbacks of all times. Picklez Pick: BAL
OAK @ DEN - Will OAK surprise DEN with a road win? I think not. Picklez Pick: DEN
CIN @ SD - This could be a preview of a playoff game... Picklez Pick: SD
GB @ PIT - Upset #4. The season was over for PIT in their loss to OAK. It died when they lost to CLE. Picklez Pick: GB
TB @ SEA - Nothing I like more than meaningless crappy games. Picklez Pick: SEA
MIN @ CAR - This isn't as much of a "No Brainer" as it appears to be. CAR tends to get underestimated. Picklez Pick: MIN
NYG @ WAS - So if Peypey gets to sit for most of his game on Thursday, the power of Manning! will get charged up considerably for Eli's use on Monday. That's the theory anyway. Picklez Pick: NYG
Mystery Couple Starts "Magical" Chain Reaction
It played like a scene from a holiday movie
-- a mystery couple, who didn’t leave their names or numbers, walked into a
restaurant, finished their meal and then set-off a chain reaction of generosity
that lasted for hours.
That’s just what employees at the Aramingo Diner in Port Richmond said a man and a woman did during their breakfast shift last Saturday morning.
“It was magical. I had tears in my eyes
because it never happened before. I’ve been here for 10 years and I’ve never
seen anything like that,” said Lynn Willard, a waitress.
Willard and other waitresses told NBC Philadelphia that the couple started the chain reaction by paying double: for their own meal and for the tab of another table of diners at the restaurant. There's no evidence that one group of diners knew the others.
“I could not believe it … and it continued
and continued, it was very nice,” said Willard. “They asked us not to say
anything until they left, but we said ‘Merry Christmas, that person picked up
your tab.’”
For the next five hours, dozens of patrons got into that same holiday spirit and paid the favor forward.
The diner’s manager said not one person was
concerned about price of the check -- which averaged between $12-$30.
“It was a surprise to all of us, the girls were even taken aback,” said Linda. “Those who took the check also tipped the waitress. So nobody had to do anything other than pass it on and that’s what they did. They just passed it forward.”
It’s a true holiday story that proves how a small gesture of kindness can create some magic.
Are any of my Voxy neighbors participating in Whiskerino? Two friends from Glasgow are doing it and while I can't grow a beard myself (not that I've really tried), it's fun to watch their daily progress. Plus, they're coming out to Nashville for the big finale and I'm *thinking* of taking a weekend trip! You know I love Voxy meetups, so let me know!
...I'd wear these (and technically they're 4.5" heels).
That's right. You heard me. And you'd oogle my footwear, I'm sure of it. Alas, my walking technique is more refined with much less heel involved. Damn you Gwen Stefani & your cute shoes.
This is a public announcement. I filed my divorce papers today, hired an investigator to find the boss, and will most likely be hiring them to serve the papers.
The whole thing has run me about $300 plus what I have to pay to have the papers served. Shenanigans. I'm sort of irritated about the money, but guess what? I'm more irritated that the Boss has been taking advantage of me all these months. Really and truly, I probably would have given her all the way until December 2010 to get her stuff out if she had just cooperated, but now, she will have until June 30, 2010 (if she shows up to court). I may be able to ask the court for a change to the agreement if she doesn't show. That means on Feb. 4, 2010 everything in the house will be officially mine to throw away.
The thing is that I probably have another 6 months worth of cleaning to do. I don't know. Maybe two full weekends if I pony up the money for a dumpster. It's mainly scraps of paper, fabric and stupid art stuff.
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Over the weekend, BabySteps introduced me to the finer points of tasting and enjoying wine; thus, it's probably needless to say that I didn't like it.
Background
BS told me that 2010 will be the year in which I "man up" and start learning and enjoying the finer things of life. This included becoming more educated in the art of choosing and tasting wine.
For the record, I just started drinking beer maybe a year or two ago. I also enjoy cocktails and mixed drinks when the mood suits me. I have never been a fan of wine. There are only three exceptions to that. First, I find the wine you get at communion in church is pretty tasty. After all, it has been transubstantiated from mere fermented grapes into the very Blood of Christ. Just sayin'. Second, a while back I had some sparkling white wine at the Man Ranch that the Medic had brought over and I found that to be tasty. Lastly, the plum wine that GM smuggled over is pretty good too.
Bottomline, if I am going to drink wine it needs to be sweet. If I'm going to drink hard licquor, it needs to be sweet. I can handle regular beer now, but I prefer the Leinenkugel Berry Weiss. If I can't get that, Guinness. If I absolutely have to drink an American mass marketed beer, I'll take a Bud Lite Lime or a Michelob Ultra.
His name is BabySteps and he's the worst at what he does...
In case you're wondering what that is, it is opening a bottle of wine. Also, for you non-geeks, I'm referring to one of Wolverine's catch phrases. So anyway, instead of using a cork screw BabySteps uses this thing:
Instead of using a traditional cork screw, BabySteps opts for this Wolverine type claw thingy.
0 for 2
In my lifetime, I've seen BabySteps open two bottles of wine with the stupid contraption he shown above, and both times the cork got stuck inside the bottle. The first time this happened, GM wanted to do a toast so we could all start eating and drinking so there's GM holding his glass up and rolling his eyes while BabySteps pushes the cork into the bottle. The second time I've seen him open a bottle of wine was last night. He failed yet again and splashed wine all over himself. FAIL!
Just so there's no hard feelings BabySteps, here's a little video on how it's supposed to be done:
Sorry it's off center. I'm too lazy to adjust the embed code. Hmmm... Doesn't seem too difficult.
At any rate, BabySteps is standing there telling me how corkscrews are for plebians and that true wine aficionados don't use a corkscrew, blah, blah, blah. Then he pushes the cork into the bottle. Then he splashes the wine all over himself.
You can't just drink it
After he pours the glasses, he then proceeds to give me a list of things I have to do before I actually drink the wine so that I can enjoy it. He also goes on to talk about the different types of wine like Merlin, Caberet, and some frenchy sounding stuff. Hey! I don't really care. As far as I'm concerned, he's talking about wizards, Liza Minelli movies, and using surrender language.
So here's what he tells me:
1. Swirl the wine around in the glass and smell it. "You want to get the full boquet!" he says.
2. Look for the "halo". Apparently, if it is a good wine it will have a supernatural glow to it like the aurora borealis or something.
3. Swirl and smell it again. [BabySteps is winking and smiling at me as he does this.]
4. Before sipping the wine, acclimate your mouth and prepare your taste buds to receive the wonderous sensations and texture of the wine by swishing it around in your mouth. "Remember, this isn't mouthwash. Gently wash the wine over your gums and tongue. Let it caress the inside of your mouth with its velvety smoothness." WTF! This is getting gayer by the second.
5. Swallow the wine slowly and not all at once. "This is good wine! It's not to be gulped down like a fruit punch flavored Gatorade."
6. Enjoy the warmth and intricate taste sensations the wine provides in your subsequent sips.
The Verdict
It was gross. It was like trying to swallow room temperature ocean water. I didn't like it. BabySteps accused me of being a "fruit" for liking sweet wine. My arguement to that is he is a fruit for enjoying swallowing warm slighty salty and bitter liquids.
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