Landlocked Blues

So today I deactivated my Facebook account. Gosh, the internet sure is boring without checking updates and chatting with peoples. It is certainly for the best, though, as I wasted a lot of time mulling around and seeing what everyone was up to. I will definitely be paying more attention in class now; I had developed a pretty bad habit of bringing my laptop to class for legitimate reasons like accessing online course content but would just end up distracted instead. I got several peoples' contact information before closing the account down, though not as many as I would have liked. Still, I let everyone know and gave them a week or so to get back to me...I didn't want to make a huge fuss about it. Although, I suppose announcing it on Facebook itself and then having a post about it here constitutes a fairly decent fuss...

I still don't think anyone reads my blog, but that is fine. Unlike Facebook, I'm not making my posts here intending for them to be seen by people. This is much more focused on me, an outlet and place to put things for myself. I'll probably start posting regularly now, too!

Improv

You Know Not the Power of VacBot

Revenge of VacBot

Two Houses, Both Alike in Dignity

The time has finally come to finish out our house. Starting this week, we'll begin working with a home remodel pro to put in a loft bedroom, stairs, and the finish on our front dining room. It has been about ten years in the making, and I am so excited for it to finally be nearing completion. I will probably be moving into the upstairs loft, which will feature a 1/2 bathroom, lots of closet space, and a small living area. We are also going to 'loft out' the dining room, so it will have a really high ceiling. The stairs will simply climb up to the loft, rather than going through a hole in the ceiling up to a second floor. Pretty cool.

Also going on this weekend is a two-day birthday project at my best friends' house. I have been exceptionally lucky over the past couple of years and have made some of the best friends of my whole life. They are a married couple my age that live right in my neighborhood who, between the two of them, share almost all of my interests. It is his birthday on Saturday, and his big gift from everyone is putting in a garden plot. The plan is to build two 16' x 4' planter boxes, about 2' high, in the far corner of their large and oddly triangular backyard.

Unfortunately, we won't really be able to work on each others' projects, at least not this weekend. However we have been working together on the planning, and will certainly all share in the enjoyment of the finished product. AWESOME!

Cooking Dinner

I am cooking this tonight:

Coquilles St. Jacques a la Provencale

Ingredients
1 ½ pounds scallops (or shrimp) washed
1 ¼ C yellow onions minced (I used white, it was what I had)
6 buttered scallop shells or porcelain or pyrex shell (I skipped this part entirely)
5 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon shallot or green onions minced
1 clove garlic minced
salt and pepper
1 c flour sifted
2/3 c dry white wine (mine wasn't terribly dry, but it worked great)
1 ½ bay leaf
1/8 tsp. thyme
1 ¼ C swiss cheese grated ( Ihad to use Provolone.)


Instructions
Cook yellow onions slowly in 1 T butter in a small sauce pan for 5 minutes, until tender and translucent but not browned. Stir in the shallots or onions, and garlic, and cook slowly for 1 minute more. Set aside.


Dry the scallops (or shrimp) and cut into ¼ inch pieces. Sprinkle with salt and pepper just before cooking, then roll in flour, and shake off excess flour.
Saute the scallops (or shrimp) quickly in very hot butter and oil for 2 minutes to brown them slightly.


Pour the wine into the skillet with the scallops. Add the herbs and the cooked onion mixture. Cover the skillet and simmer for 5 minutes. Then uncover, and if necessary boil down the sauce rapidly for a minute until it is lightly thickened. Correct seasoning, and discard bay leaf.


Spoon the scallops and sauce into the shells. Sprinkle with cheese and dot with 2 T butter cut into pieces. Just before serving, run under a moderately hot broiler for 3 to 4 minutes to heat through, and brown the cheese slightly.

Oh Well

Goldman Sachs called me this morning to inform me that I would be unable to "continue the interview process". I asked if they could tell what influenced their decision, to which they replied "we don't provide any feedback."

So...yeaaah....