Update

What have I been up to as of late you ask? Well, not a whole lot, but here's a week-in review submitted for your reading pleasure.

• The Dave Matthew's concert was a smashing success, I think. I'm ashamed to say that I paid absolutely no attention to the performance, but had a great time anyway. The traditional tailgating ritual turned into a frat party about a half an hour into it when it was decided that "shotgunning" beers was in order. That was the downfall of the entire night as I see it. But it was complete with gourmet burgers, peeing in the woods and a visit from some random pot-smoking stranger-friends sporting "Dee's Nuts" tee-shirts. Fast-forward about 4 hours to the concert which included $8 beers, a lost pair of shoes and a French-speaking friend and I running through the crowd jumping over people and yelling "It's O.K.! We Speak French."
• I'm preparing myself for a golf outing for work this coming weekend. My foursome includes myself and 3 middle aged women. All of whom play little to no golf. I've been out golfing maybe three times before, none of which would I ever consider elevated my playing ability. Stay tuned for the embarrassing update and pictures.
• I've been on the hunt for a new place to live with no luck in sight. My current living situation is alright, however I'm growing very tired of living under and over someone. Buying is not an option a) because I have no desire for the financial and physical responsibilities b) I am in absolutely no position to cough up any amount of house-buying cash. My search by word of mouth and online has made me feel frustrated and inadequate on a number of levels and am starting to resign myself to signing over another lease for my apartment, at least for one more year.
• I was told today by a 14 year old that I certainly wasn't the type of person to party or have fun and probably find myself sipping tea instead of "really partying". Actually, I think the term "with your pinky up" was included also. I simply agreed in modest humility and neglected to tell the youngster that I had a hard time remembering my name the previous weekend.
• Yesterday evening, in search for something "Mmm Mmm Mmm Toasty" and over priced, I dropped by Quizno's for dinner. When I asked the kid making my sandwich for the "Turkey Bacon Guacamole" sandwich, his only reply was "Gross", and made my meal in silence. Ok, thanks Quizno's kid, my guamalee was, in fact, quite delicious.
• Along with my housing search, I've also been looking (although with an obvious lack of enthusiasm) for graduate programs to obtain a Master's degree. My specifications are a bit specific, as I want/need an intensive summer program, however, the idea of it all stresses me out to the extent that every time I begin to do some research I have to take a permanent break.
• Over the weekend I watched the entire first season of "Big Love" which I really do love. I'm not sure if it's the creepy/well-written story line or the fact that you're guaranteed a graphic sex-scene in every episode, but I'm definitely a fan of the series.
  

Stuff

• This week began my second week in a series of 25 full 5-day weeks at work with no break. As most of the people in the working world go "big fucking deal" , it is to me, and I'm wondering just how it is I plan on staying sane throughout the upcoming weeks. Although I love my job, and recently switched from French to Spanish, I foresee several "mental health days" creeping into my schedule. I hate to complain, since I do get almost three months off a year, but a few long weekends here and there would be nice.

• As I was flipping through the channels this afternoon, I happened upon the Jerry Springer Show which bore the title "Pregnant Gals & Mimes". My first reaction was "how does this show stay on the air?" Then I realized it's because it has shows with titles like "Pregnant Gals & Mimes".
• I've been working through my stack of books that I've taken upon myself to consider required reading. I like to try to consider my self quasi-cultured and somewhat well read (although I'm not at all). I've worked through "Siddhartha" and my biography of Che Guevara, as well as "On the Road" by Jack Kerouac which I picked up back in October almost out of obligation because everywhere I turned it was praised because of it's 50th anniversary release and I'd never even considered reading it. My next endeavors are "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand (recommended to me by Mikey and also, strangely enough, my mother) "Hunger" by Knut Hamsum and "End of the Night" and "Death on the Installment Plan" by Louis-Ferdinand Celine. This reading list will, of course, take me an unreasonable amount of time to finish since I prefer to pick up my copy of "I Am America and So Are You" by Stephen Colbert or The Onion's "Our Big Dumb World". Both of which I personally consider required reading also.
• A big HOLLA to Julia for getting a job before she even graduated from school! Congratulations!
• I enrolled today for beginning Italian classes at my local community college campus. It was a total impulse decision, but I'm completely psyched about it. I've always wanted to learn Italian, and I figured "hey, what the hell". I also am going to sign up for some classes through my district's IU which seem pretty cool. One is the history of music, which includes a trip to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and another about the history of Pittsburgh's South Side which includes a trip to there as well. Should be interesting, I'll keep you posted.
• I saw a bumper sticker on my way home from work today that read "Hunt With Your Kids Not For Them". This puzzled me and made me wonder when exactly Kid Season is and what kind of permit you need for such hunting. This sticker rivals "Charlton Heston is MY President" as favorite bumper sticker ever.
  

There's just a quick run-down of some goings on in my life. Stay tuned for more!

Sandra Lee A'int Got Shit On Me

What I believe to be a result of heavy drinking all weekend and no sleep lowering my immunity, I've seem to come down with the flu in the past two days. Of course, working with little germ factories doesn't help either. So I've been popping the Vitamin C and Zicam in an effort to ward off the sickness. Because it's a super busy time of the semester I'm unable to take any time off this week, so needless to say I've been a miserable bitch at work, which is fun for everyone involved. I actually quoted the great sage Julia today when complaining to one of my colleagues "I can't stop bitching!". I am however feeling a bit better tonight and have regained some of my appetite.

Right before I got sick I made a very delicious pan of Stuffed Shells Florentine, which I had been unable to enjoy until this evening. And let me tell you, they were quite YUM-MO! I'm not quite sure what possessed me to make them, and I'm even more puzzled why I had all the ingredients chilling in my kitchen. I think my mother was a bit baffled also, because when I called her to ask her how to make them (which I do for almost everything I cook because I'm usually pretty clueless) she informed me that Sam's Club has excellent stuffed shells in the freezer section instead of giving the recipe.

In other recipe news, I decided to take Elisabeth's advice, and made an awesome meal last week. It was my spin on chicken Marsala with portabello and porccini mushrooms, aspargus and orecchiette pasta in a wine sauce with chicken. It was quite good, and pretty. And as any good chef will tell you, you eat with your eyes first! So I am trying to learn to cook my own gourmet meals, and not be at the mercy of other for a yum-mo meal.

The stray kitty has not been back. Or, that I have seen I guess I should say, since I did see kitty tracks in the snow on my porch yesterday, but no cat. This elates me, because, although I feel bad for the thing in this cold weather, I would not be able to handle it hanging and meowing at my place all the time.

In Your Head

I've had a lack of interesting bits to share lately. Mostly due to my out of work situation, I've been in a bit of a funk and haven't done much productive. I do however want to share another one of my favorite songs and videos. (Which, I believe will become a regular theme-day on The Peace Train)

"Zombie" by The Cranberries is a hugely powerful and moving song with a great video. Enjoy!

Ummm, Dreby, It's Only Monday.

So yesterday I invited some work friends over for a beer or two and some snacks. About halfway through the Oktoberfest case, I pull out a bottle of ApfelKorn apple schnapps, which I had bought to make spiked apple cider. (The helpful man at liquor store informed me when I bought it that if I bought plum brandy "the girl's panties would fall off faster". Ok, thanks.) When the ApfelKorn came out, my friend who teaches German, just started laughing. Not understanding the laughs as disapproval but encouragement, I proceeded to pass out several rounds of the schnapps then moved to Southern Comfort. By that time everyone was feeling pretty uninhibited and began salsa dancing in my kitchen. But, I guess I had the last laugh, since I found my head in the toilet at 7:30pm. Nice.

Mr. Brightside

As someone who works with people all day everyday, I can appreciate the occasional grumpy mood or sneering look. But when you deal with complete strangers, I feel it only polite to have the facade of a happy person. When an internet repairman showed up at my door this afternoon, instead of a traditional greeting, said "You havin' problems with the internet?". Why yes, you havin' problems with the router cable up your ass? For the rest of the visit in my home, I responded to monosyllabic orders and questions. Why do people, especially when your job requires you to enter stranger's homes, feel the need to express the anger or malaise so visibly?
I read a very interesting article a while back in a Smithsonian magazine titled "What's behind a smile?" which broke the codes of the simple smile and might have changed my mind a bit on the matter. It states that according to research, people who were not happy or uncomfortable were put in a slightly better (although mostly false) mood when they smiled or were around someone who smiled at them. The physical act of smiling isn't exactly what makes people feel better, but it's contagious. I totally agree. I can be the most miserable and pessimistic person when I want to be, but find it almost irresistible to not smile at someone passing me if they flash their teeth first.
Although, sometimes it can feel too cumbersome to act so happy, which is maybe why Mr. Repairman just wasn't havin' it, even though I was trying to kill him with kindness. This article also talks about companies that make their employees constantly smile and be polite. It mentions McDonald's and WalMart amongst others. (However, I have been treated rudely at both establishments on more than one occasion). People can become miserable by pretending to be wonderful. Barbara Held, author of the book Stop Smiling, Start Kvetching says "There's nothing wrong with smiling, I do it. It's the insistence of others that everyone smile, and have a nice day, and look on the bright side, no matter what, that's tyrannical, because it denies the psychological fact that people cope in different ways." What a real statement. Not everyone is having the time of their lives serving you 600 calorie sandwiches and listening to Jibbs. Held talks in the article about a middle aged woman who works in a store she frequents who always asks "how are you". "I give her my standard answer, 'I hate everything'. Because I want people to know that there are other answers besides 'I'm fine.'" says Held. I love this woman. She says that her answer to this woman "I hate everything" actually cheers her up. "I go home and think about it and laugh to myself".
Maybe being a jerk does have it's up side.

Move Over Martha...

I feel as though I've had quite a productive day today, and that's not a feeling I get too often. So, I'm blogging that. This evening, I rearranged my spare room. As you know, I get on a kick, and I won't let it die. I'm pretty pleased with the new arrangement, but I'm sure it will change. I also returned a pair of pants that don't fit, and bought 2 new CDs, which excites me since I haven't bought a new CD since BMG music club. I got "Sliver" by Nirvana which is a collection of demos of all their famous songs, and "OK Computer" by Radiohead which contains their best song in my opinion "Karma Police". Then I made some kick-ass jambalaya with andoullie and chicken, read through some old magazines and then made cookies! I'm such a domestic goddess tonight. And on top of that, today I taught a cool class about Salvador Dali and why you would have to be on drugs to create and do some of the things he did. All in all I feel pretty good about my day, which is good because I have an entire day of meetings to look forward to tomorrow.