what do i want to do with my life?
here's what i've been up to when avoiding that question:
celebrating two birthdays: matt and dave. happy birthday to you both.
celebrated matt's birthday at his place with a yummy dinner: poached salmon, brown rice, cucumber salad, seaweed salad, and chocolate sorbet. after dinner we headed to lala's little nugget. and by nugget, i mean gem - lala's rocks.
celebrated dave's 28th @ the parlor where i had, for the first time evah, a french bread pizza. it rocked my world: onion, tomato, jalapeno, broccoli, gorgonzola, hold the mozzarella.
Ortlieb Classic Backroller Panniers: life-changing. i can now carry a week's worth of groceries without the assistance of a backpack and a complex system of tenuously attached bungey cords.
discovered new music like Beth Orton and Lewis Taylor; rediscovered old music like the Silversun Pickups and Patty Griffin.
two new programming discoveries from netflix: Foyles' War and Battlestar Galactica (the remake).
dealing with some sad news: i won't be running the 3M Half Marathon in January. the stress fracture in my ankle hasn't healed. chin up, monica. i can still ride my bike, and lift waits, and shake my money-maker.
dreamed about London last night and my old job. only i didn't work in St. Alphage House in the City; instead our offices were housed in what seemed to be a very large school. it had an olympic-sized pool, and the hallway walls were lined with large, half-completed line-drawings of very rotund women. like this: 
in the dream, my former office was packed into a small classroom. the space was so tight, that one of my workmates had her office area underneath another workmate's desk. someone in another classroom was arranging a giant circuit board on the floor. he was in the middle of the mess, training someone else how to solder.
i think my job is largely responsible for the circuit boards, which feature in the current course i'm writing.
and speaking of jobs: i've been working a lot lately. that's 8-10 hours a day of distraction right there.
here are some things i've been doing to answer the ominous question about the future: planning a trip to vancouver in late march with tim; resumed the soul-destroying task of cv-writing and job-hunting;
and now that i'm writing it down, i realize that i've been doing more procrastinating than anything else. that's gotta change.
things left to do: decide on my move-date; decide when and for how long and where i'm going in europe for my bike trip this summer; line up a post-trip job.
Friday Dec 8 2005 Menu & Recipies
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Wine: The Other
A blend of Syrah (70%), Petite Sirah (20%), & Cabernet Sauvignon (10%)
Poached Salmon
2 salmon steaks -- about a pound.
2 C H2O
1 C dry white wine (may sub rice vinegar)
1/2 small onion sliced thin
1 stalk celery w/ leaves, chopped
1/2 C chopped parseley sprigs
1 tsp salt
5 peppercorns (or some pepper)
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp dried tarragon
Preparation:
1) put everything but the salmon into a large sauce pan
2) bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer covered 5 mins.
3) add salmon steaks, and enough water to cover
4) bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer covered 12-15 mins.
the time required depends on the thickness of the cut.
the fish will be flaky when done.
5) transfer to dish to drain water. when slightly cooled, remove skin.
6) refrigerate at least 4 hours, and serve cold. Or don't. It's easy to
reheat in a microwave or conventional oven.
Seaweed Salad:
Wakame
Cucumber
Toasted Sesame Seeds
A little sugar
Cucumber & Red Bell Salad
1/2 large cucumber
1 red bell pepper
1 stalk green onion
with:
Asian Salad Dressing:
2 tablespoons whole grain mustard
1 1/2 ounces sesame oil
1-ounce tarragon vinegar
1 tablespoon freshly minced ginger
Dessert: Chocolate sorbet
