lj-mood: anxious
It's been a few weeks, I suppose I should update. (Does anyone actually read this thing?) We've got a signed deal on the house. It'll be a lot of work and expense getting it into shape. Hopefully we can start soon.
I miss Emily, she's been so busy that we haven't really gotten a chance to talk much. It sucks for both of us that her schedule is that crowded, but I guess that's the way school goes - I don't know if I could do school again. Fortunately, I get to see her and the show she's been working on this weekend. (And I think things will let up a little bit for her, schedule-wise.)
Finally made Lamb Vindaloo last weekend, after owning the domain name for years. :) It turned out fairly well, but was too sweet. (I switched recipes in the middle of it, I think I may keep the tamarind, but use a lot less next time.) The original recipe called for marinating the meat, the one I ended up with just used it as-is (and browned it). So I skipped the browning, and used the marinade in place of similar ingredients. It was good, but the sweetness kinda reminded me of Koresht Fesenjan. I'll have leftovers later this week. I like the idea of making up more vindaloo and freezing it, to be used as the mood strikes me. Also, while frying the onions, I was reminded that I wanted to try my hand at french onion soup sometime.
April 18, 2005
March 30, 2005
Easter
Last Sunday, we got together at Dan and Carmen's place for easter. I made my chile verde and some guacamole. We went with a mexican theme because I'd already gotten the ingredients. Dan made some chicken fajitas and mexican rice. The chile verde went over really well. I don't have my recipes up on my server at the moment, so I'll just put it here for your reading enjoyment:
Roast the chilis in a broiler or over an open flame, put in a paper bag for 5 minutes or so, peel, seed, and slice into inch long strips. Prep all the ingredients. Put some oil in a dutch oven. Coat the meat in flour (mix in some salt and pepper) and brown in the oven and set aside. (Work in batches.) Cook the onions and garlic. (At least get the onions translucent, doesn't hurt to brown them a little.) Add the tomatoes, tomatillos, and chilis. Add the meat. Add chicken broth to cover. Put a lid on the pan and simmer for about 2 hours. Uncover, reduce to desired consistency, and adjust seasonings. (Add salt and pepper to taste, I like a good dose of black pepper in this dish.)
Serve with tortillas, mexican rice, and beans. (Make little tacos with the tortillas, or just eat it with a fork.) This should taste even better the second day, if you save some and reheat it.
- 1.5-2lbs stewing pork, cut into 1/2"-1" cubes
- 1 onion, thinly sliced into little half-circles, chopped, or whatever.
- 2 cloves of garlic, finely diced
- 5-6 tomatillos, diced
- 1 tomato, seeded and diced
- 5 Fresh anaheim chiles
- 1 jalapeno (if you want some more spice)
- 2 cups of chicken broth/stock
- flour, salt, pepper
Roast the chilis in a broiler or over an open flame, put in a paper bag for 5 minutes or so, peel, seed, and slice into inch long strips. Prep all the ingredients. Put some oil in a dutch oven. Coat the meat in flour (mix in some salt and pepper) and brown in the oven and set aside. (Work in batches.) Cook the onions and garlic. (At least get the onions translucent, doesn't hurt to brown them a little.) Add the tomatoes, tomatillos, and chilis. Add the meat. Add chicken broth to cover. Put a lid on the pan and simmer for about 2 hours. Uncover, reduce to desired consistency, and adjust seasonings. (Add salt and pepper to taste, I like a good dose of black pepper in this dish.)
Serve with tortillas, mexican rice, and beans. (Make little tacos with the tortillas, or just eat it with a fork.) This should taste even better the second day, if you save some and reheat it.
March 24, 2005
New York
I'm back from our New York vacation. I had a good time, but it was a bit cold and windy, and it seemed to be a bit busy/hectic. On sunday, we got to see one of my friends (Rich Kaszeta) and a few of Emily's friends, who were quite fun to hang out with. We saw five shows: Avenue Q, Phantom, Wicked, Spamalot, and Altar Boyz. Emily showed me here old hang outs, and we went to a few museums and stores. (The Met, Radio & TV museum, and the MOMA.)
The city was interesting. The subway system is much more extensive than BART, neither as nice nor as smooth, though. I also noticed that the pedestrians behave a bit differently. (They don't have the entitlement that the pedestrians in SF have, but everything seems to run more smoothly because of it.) The city seemed rather hectic - there wern't a lot of places or opportunities to sit and relax. Maybe that was just our schedule and the weather, though. I also noticed that it was much harder to find decent beer than in San Francisco. In the end, I much prefer San Francisco.
Dan, Carmen, and I put a bid in on a house today, , we'll see if the seller accepts our terms. It's quite charming, and in a good location, but needs some work done on it. The picture makes it look a little small, because it's wedge (flatiron?) shaped, but it has two 2 bdrm, 1 bath units in it for a total of 2820 square feet.
The city was interesting. The subway system is much more extensive than BART, neither as nice nor as smooth, though. I also noticed that the pedestrians behave a bit differently. (They don't have the entitlement that the pedestrians in SF have, but everything seems to run more smoothly because of it.) The city seemed rather hectic - there wern't a lot of places or opportunities to sit and relax. Maybe that was just our schedule and the weather, though. I also noticed that it was much harder to find decent beer than in San Francisco. In the end, I much prefer San Francisco.
Dan, Carmen, and I put a bid in on a house today, , we'll see if the seller accepts our terms. It's quite charming, and in a good location, but needs some work done on it. The picture makes it look a little small, because it's wedge (flatiron?) shaped, but it has two 2 bdrm, 1 bath units in it for a total of 2820 square feet.
February 26, 2005
Houseless
lj-mood: relaxed
I sold my house yesterday. Or, at least, I signed and returned the paperwork. It should close on monday. Amazing how easy it was - sign some papers, drop them in the mail, wait for the deposit in my bank account.
This weekend I'm in SF alone - Emily is visiting her sister in Salt Lake City. I could have used the time to go looking for furniture or explore the city, but I've settled for staying home and organizing stuff. So, I did the dishes this morning, then my new passport arrived, I had lunch, hung out with Dan for a little bit, unpacked some boxes, throwing out lots of old junk I've collected, and played with the computer a bit. (Also cleaning up old junk.)
I sold my house yesterday. Or, at least, I signed and returned the paperwork. It should close on monday. Amazing how easy it was - sign some papers, drop them in the mail, wait for the deposit in my bank account.
This weekend I'm in SF alone - Emily is visiting her sister in Salt Lake City. I could have used the time to go looking for furniture or explore the city, but I've settled for staying home and organizing stuff. So, I did the dishes this morning, then my new passport arrived, I had lunch, hung out with Dan for a little bit, unpacked some boxes, throwing out lots of old junk I've collected, and played with the computer a bit. (Also cleaning up old junk.)
February 21, 2005
Hoppy Thoughts
Emily visited again last weekend. Despite the constant rainfall, we had a good time. This was our weekend to hang out with other people more; but between cancellations, rain, and time constraints, it ended up being a weekend together. We went out to eat, watched movies in my apartment, and listened to the rain fall. We did take a brief trip downtown, to print her boarding pass and see my work, but we still haven't seen much of San Francisco.
It's been tough only seeing each other for a couple of days at a time - and only one full day. Perhaps it makes the time together intense, but it also feels a bit rushed. I look forward to some more relaxed time together in New York. She won't be able to make it to SF again for a while, but perhaps she'll find a summer position in the area so we can explore the city and its surrounds together.
In other news, I applied for a new passport last week, so I'll have another picture id while I'm replacing my driver's license. (It's hard to survive without one in this age.) Also, I'm currently cooking for my first time in the new place. I'm making Rogan Josh. I managed to get some lamb from the grocery market, so I'm making it in the proper manner this time.
It's been tough only seeing each other for a couple of days at a time - and only one full day. Perhaps it makes the time together intense, but it also feels a bit rushed. I look forward to some more relaxed time together in New York. She won't be able to make it to SF again for a while, but perhaps she'll find a summer position in the area so we can explore the city and its surrounds together.
In other news, I applied for a new passport last week, so I'll have another picture id while I'm replacing my driver's license. (It's hard to survive without one in this age.) Also, I'm currently cooking for my first time in the new place. I'm making Rogan Josh. I managed to get some lamb from the grocery market, so I'm making it in the proper manner this time.
February 15, 2005
Birthday
lj-mood: chipper
I keep thinking I've updated my journal, but it appears to have been two weeks. Today is my birthday. I'm now 32 years old. It seems like just yesterday that seemed like a really old age. I celebrated my birthday last sunday with Emily, Dan, and Carmen. We had lunch at the Slanted Door, a vietnamese place that serves small-plate dishes, and then went back to Dan's place for some cake and presents. (Dan and Carmen surprised me with a nice cake from Citizen Cake.) We had a good time, but we had to cut it a little short to get Emily back to the airport.
Last weekend Emily visited, it was her first time in SF. The weather was decent. I showed her my neighborhood, noe valley, and the inner sunset. And we went to Twin Peaks and Golden Gate Park. We had dinner at Zuni and filled the rest of the time talking and watching movies. On sunday, as I mentioned, we celebrated my birthday at the Slanted Door, saw the new ferry building, and hung out at Dan's place.
During the previous week, I finished unpacking. I still have to organize the kitchen and pick up some furniture for the kitchen, but it's basically done. I'm not cooking yet, for lack of counter space, but I'll start again soon.
And the weekend before that I visited Emily in Phoenix. We had a great time, it went much better than the first visit to Phoenix. (No cars broken into or anything.) We had dinner at a fondue place on saturday, hung out in the Tempe area, saw some movies, and I joined her when she was practicing the piano.
On the downside, I found out today that CA will take up to 60 days to give me a driver's license and will take my old one from me. So I'd have no photo id for two months. It's difficult to survive without one, so I will do an expedited renewal of my passport before taking care of the car stuff.
I keep thinking I've updated my journal, but it appears to have been two weeks. Today is my birthday. I'm now 32 years old. It seems like just yesterday that seemed like a really old age. I celebrated my birthday last sunday with Emily, Dan, and Carmen. We had lunch at the Slanted Door, a vietnamese place that serves small-plate dishes, and then went back to Dan's place for some cake and presents. (Dan and Carmen surprised me with a nice cake from Citizen Cake.) We had a good time, but we had to cut it a little short to get Emily back to the airport.
Last weekend Emily visited, it was her first time in SF. The weather was decent. I showed her my neighborhood, noe valley, and the inner sunset. And we went to Twin Peaks and Golden Gate Park. We had dinner at Zuni and filled the rest of the time talking and watching movies. On sunday, as I mentioned, we celebrated my birthday at the Slanted Door, saw the new ferry building, and hung out at Dan's place.
During the previous week, I finished unpacking. I still have to organize the kitchen and pick up some furniture for the kitchen, but it's basically done. I'm not cooking yet, for lack of counter space, but I'll start again soon.
And the weekend before that I visited Emily in Phoenix. We had a great time, it went much better than the first visit to Phoenix. (No cars broken into or anything.) We had dinner at a fondue place on saturday, hung out in the Tempe area, saw some movies, and I joined her when she was practicing the piano.
On the downside, I found out today that CA will take up to 60 days to give me a driver's license and will take my old one from me. So I'd have no photo id for two months. It's difficult to survive without one, so I will do an expedited renewal of my passport before taking care of the car stuff.
February 02, 2005
Almost there
lj-music: birds and street sounds
I'm mostly moved in now. It's been interesting. My stuff arrives any time now, hopefully it's in good shape. After that I will need a couple pieces of furniture, and I'll have to figure out how to fit everything in here. This is my big chance to simplify my life. :)
I don't know how I feel about this. Still getting used to feeling like this is my place, I still have an unrooted feeling. I also don't know about parking. It seems ok for now, but I'm not as used to parallel parking as I was. If necessary, I'll get a garage. The place feels small, and a little run down. I'm going to need to make some counter space in the kitchen, maybe the table will suffice; otherwise, I'll get some kind of side tables. I've eyed a few in the past, but avoided them because I had too much space in the last place.
I've started the DSL process, we'll see how long it takes. I'm guessing 10-15 business days - with the phone company being the longest part. In the meanwhile, I have a dialup connection and work.
Work has begun. I've spent some time setting up my machines the last couple of days and got the software that I'll be working on installed yesterday. I've got to learn a lot of new systems (Zope, Z4I, etc), which may take some spare time. Along with moving details (unpacking, decorating) and Emily, I'll be a busy guy. But that'll help pass the time between weekends. (For me at least.)
My weekends are pretty much booked up, so I'll get stuff done during the week. My life is fairly exciting at the moment, and it's good for me to shake things up a bit.
I'm mostly moved in now. It's been interesting. My stuff arrives any time now, hopefully it's in good shape. After that I will need a couple pieces of furniture, and I'll have to figure out how to fit everything in here. This is my big chance to simplify my life. :)
I don't know how I feel about this. Still getting used to feeling like this is my place, I still have an unrooted feeling. I also don't know about parking. It seems ok for now, but I'm not as used to parallel parking as I was. If necessary, I'll get a garage. The place feels small, and a little run down. I'm going to need to make some counter space in the kitchen, maybe the table will suffice; otherwise, I'll get some kind of side tables. I've eyed a few in the past, but avoided them because I had too much space in the last place.
I've started the DSL process, we'll see how long it takes. I'm guessing 10-15 business days - with the phone company being the longest part. In the meanwhile, I have a dialup connection and work.
Work has begun. I've spent some time setting up my machines the last couple of days and got the software that I'll be working on installed yesterday. I've got to learn a lot of new systems (Zope, Z4I, etc), which may take some spare time. Along with moving details (unpacking, decorating) and Emily, I'll be a busy guy. But that'll help pass the time between weekends. (For me at least.)
My weekends are pretty much booked up, so I'll get stuff done during the week. My life is fairly exciting at the moment, and it's good for me to shake things up a bit.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
