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Heroes Con, here we come!

So it appears that our grand plans to gtfo of GA have been squelched by the shitty economy and lack of jobs. FINE.

We WILL NOT be denied!! ::shakes fist at Universe::

I’ve had to pull out every bit of patience in my being to deal with this. It’s immensely frustrating, yet I’m awash in CALM. WTF is that about? I’m afraid it’s my soul dying and giving up, to be honest. Either that or I’m becoming a Zen motherfucker in my old age. That has yet to be determined.

While the people in Phoenix are pretty cool, there is also an undercurrent of ageism that’s a little unnerving. I hope it’s just this one group we’ve run across (Ad2PHX, I’m looking at YOU) but it’s hard to tell. In any case, there ain’t SHIT in Nick’s fields of expertise (PrePress Manager and/or Macintosh Systems/Network Admin).

So here we sit.

It sucks to be stuck, but on the other hand, it’s not like we’re homeless. Nick’s got a good job (albeit boring as fuck) and I’ve picked up bookkeeping again. I’m trying really hard to think of this time as training time. I’m bugging everyone I know in the restaurant biz to let me come and cut veg in their kitchens. I really need some kitchen training. I want to make this stuck time count for something, dammit. At least I can learn more about running a restaurant and all that.

It was interesting when I was talking to Rob about it, he told me that I already know how to be a kitchen manager. I was surprised by that, but as it turns out, a KM is the numbers person, which I am. Who knew? THIS is why I need training! I need to know this shit!

To assuage our depression at being stuck in ATL for the immediate future, we have decided to go to Heroes Con. No table, of course, but just as attendees. I’m sure it’ll be a grand time and we certainly NEED it. We are heading to Wilmington NC afterwards to ogle the battleship and lay drunk on Wrightsville Beach. DAMN RIGHT.

Money be damned, that’s the plan. :)

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My Checkered Career Path

I’ve done lots of stuff in my 47 years. I’m going to list off all the jobs I’ve had, the approximate time period and any comments about the job. I’m including internships and my rock n roll stuff, too. So, hey, guess this is my CV. Hire me. :)

First Job: Shoney’s waitress. During High School, early 80s.
Quincy’s Steakhouse: line girl
Domino’s Pizza: phones, delivery, pizza maker (Back when it was 30 mins or less!)
Long John Silver’s: Cod girl (aka morning shift prep) First full time job.

Got my first apartment around this time: Sans Souci Apartments approximately 1985.

Went to University of TN for a couple of quarters. Worked as Assistant Master Electrician in the theatre and worked security for concerts at the venue. MUCH FUN!! I lived with a couple of friends in a shitty student house in South Knoxville.

Ran off w/ the Mister Mister tour for a weekend.

Chili’s: waitress (awesome job, had WAY too much fun!)
American Favoritz Cafe: waitress (locally owned restaurant) Continue reading “My Checkered Career Path”

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The Skin Tag Incident

I am plagued with skin tags. I hate those little bastards and they are all over my neck. I use the Tag Away stuff, which works sort of, to get them to dry up and be ready for excision. The first one came off relatively easily. Nick assisted with taking it off. But the one today. ARGH. That little bastard was holding on pretty good so cutting was necessary.

I pass out whenever anything involving needles or cutting is done to me. Yes, I even pass out for tattoos. Nothing I can do about it. So I was prepared to get woozy with this tag.

What I wasn’t prepared for is the hurty and the bleedy! Poor Nick! He’s game enough to offer his services as Tag Remover™, but he wasn’t prepared for the “Monty Python blood gush” as he put it. This one bled like crazy and he was running around trying to figure out what to do. Meanwhile, I’m bleeding everywhere and fighting the wooziness to instruct him how to make a gauze bandage. It was truly comical.

Larry the Llama is having a great day today, I’ll bet.

Bastard.

//end TMI post

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Vegan Creamy Tomato Curry Soup

I do NOT cook vegan dishes normally, but I was trying out a variation on my creamy tomato soup and realised that this recipe is indeed vegan. Of course, I also added heavy cream as a variation and liked that best of all, but you can use 100% coconut milk and get great results. Caution, this soup is SPICY. If you don’t like a lot of spice, cut down the curry paste.

1 large can whole San Marzano tomatoes
Olive oil for sweating veg
3/4 cup mirepoix (carrots, celery, onions diced) Feel free to use frozen.
1 Tbl garlic paste (or 3 cloves minced garlic)
2 Tbl flour (or equivalent if you’re that picky)
1 Tbl red curry paste
1 tsp curry powder
1 or 2 small cans of coconut milk (the heavy creamy kind, not coconut water)
S/P
Sugar or agave

In a 2 qt saucepan, put a few turns of olive oil over med-hi flame and add mirepoix. Cook until the veg is translucent. Lower heat if it starts to brown, you want sweated, not sautéed. Add garlic, flour, curry paste and curry powder. Stir thoroughly. Crush in the SM tomatoes by hand. Stir. Add in one or two cans of coconut milk depending on how creamy you want it. I like it more creamy, so I use two small cans or one soup size can. At this point, cut the heat and use a stick blender to purée the veg. Or you can use a blender. Once the soup is as smooth as you want it, check S/P, add sweetener if it’s too acidic and then turn back on the heat. Bring to gentle boil for a couple of minutes, then simmer for another couple of minutes. Serve with crusty bread!

As I mentioned, I like the soup fine in this form, but if you’re not vegan and want a more creamy taste, add 1/2 cup of heavy cream. The spice of the curry still shines through, but the cream gives a lovely mouthfeel. Mmm!

This recipe yields about 6 cups or so.

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Pressed Pennies!

So my pressed penny collection is pretty old. I’ve been collecting for decades. My first one is from the 50s I think, it was my mother’s. It is dead center and has the Serenity Prayer on it [I’ve always thought it was the Lord’s Prayer! JUST NOW realised it’s the Serenity Prayer. Oops!] – and it’s upside down!

75 Pressed Pennies in my collection so far!

Going clockwise from the top stack of 5: 5 from FL, 1 Carousel something, 1 Torchlake ferry, 1 Am Museum of Nat History, 2 NC Museum of Nat History, big pile from GA [Zoo, Aquarium, Savannah], 2 Vegas, big pile from TN [Zoo, Atomic Museum, Chattanooga], 1 Riverlink ferry, 1 USS New Jersey, 9 San Francisco [Chinatown, etc], 4 Charleston SC [Patriots Point ships], 1 Titanic, 3 Ozark region, 3 Route 66, 2 San Diego, 5 AZ [Air Force museum, Hoover Dam], 6 Detroit.

I have 75 in the collection. THANKS to Sonya for enabling my addiction. :)

I am CRAZY for pressed pennies! If anyone is somewhere and sees a penny machine, please feel free to get me one! I LOVE getting pennies in the mail!