I was looking at an old photo album from high school. During my high school years, there is an abundance of photos; however, I am not very prominent in them. My albums have tons of "in action" pictures of others, almost as I was using my horrifically outdated (regular 35mm camera...no frills) as an outsider view into their world. Plenty of photos have my friends in them, but other photos feature people that I was not particularly close to.
In the photos where I am actually shown, I am the epitome of angst. My face is generally facing downward, my shoulders are hunched, and my body is pulled forward. When they make the current videos and public service announcements about bullying, a photo of high school me could be equivalent to the "bullying target." In retrospect, I wonder, why didn't anybody intervene ...somehow?
Besides my awkward body motions, I also wore plentiful amounts of guy clothing...
In the words of a good (current) friend who recently saw some high school photos of me: "Fuck! You look like a dyke...."
Someone needed to tell me that honest statement back in 1998...the dyke "look" was definitely not the intent...
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Monday, November 28, 2011
Karaoke...to help ease a case of the Mondays
I've tried a variety of things to get myself prepped for Monday mornings: drinking copious amounts of caffeine...mixing copious amounts of caffeine with a small dose of caffeine tablets... making sure that I have every possible element of my work day planned or packed away in advance (clothing choice, lunches, gym clothes, etc)...even spastically jumping up and down on a trampoline in hopes of "energizing" myself.
Nothing works. I suck at Mondays. Despite living four miles from work, having an extremely quiet homeroom, and having a well-behaved 1st period class, I still suck at Mondays.
Therefore, if I normally am still wide awake on Sunday night (basically always an occurrence...since year one of teaching I have not even contemplating going to sleep until at least 11:30, i.e. when the old Fox Five reruns of Seinfeld ended).
Last night was goth night @ karaoke. I generally go to karaoke anyway, but took special excitement in walking out of my house at 9:30 on a Sunday night, clad in black and deep red. Garnet hair extensions, black shirt with white and red mermaid design, short skirt, leggings, Doc Martens, and dark makeup composed the entire look. While driving to karaoke, I made certain to stay within the speed limit... I couldn't really envision the scene of being pulled over by a cop and looking how I looked.
So... I went to karaoke... tested out a new song (AC/DC's "You Shook Me All Night Long") and realized my voice is nowhere near whatever Angus Young's "range" is. Secondly, I sang The Donnas' "Take It Off"- they obviously are shitty singers because whenever I sing their songs, I sound good. That's my gauge for assessing singers' talents...if I can karaoke their song and make it sound good, they obviously are horrible.
Got home at 1, shimmied restlessly in the bed for awhile, and then fell asleep. I woke up around 6:20 and, reluctantly, got ready for work. Although I had washed off most of the makeup, some of the dark eyeliner remained on my face... the hilariousness of the fact that leftover goth makeup actually made my "work makeup" look better.
Nothing works. I suck at Mondays. Despite living four miles from work, having an extremely quiet homeroom, and having a well-behaved 1st period class, I still suck at Mondays.
Therefore, if I normally am still wide awake on Sunday night (basically always an occurrence...since year one of teaching I have not even contemplating going to sleep until at least 11:30, i.e. when the old Fox Five reruns of Seinfeld ended).
Last night was goth night @ karaoke. I generally go to karaoke anyway, but took special excitement in walking out of my house at 9:30 on a Sunday night, clad in black and deep red. Garnet hair extensions, black shirt with white and red mermaid design, short skirt, leggings, Doc Martens, and dark makeup composed the entire look. While driving to karaoke, I made certain to stay within the speed limit... I couldn't really envision the scene of being pulled over by a cop and looking how I looked.
So... I went to karaoke... tested out a new song (AC/DC's "You Shook Me All Night Long") and realized my voice is nowhere near whatever Angus Young's "range" is. Secondly, I sang The Donnas' "Take It Off"- they obviously are shitty singers because whenever I sing their songs, I sound good. That's my gauge for assessing singers' talents...if I can karaoke their song and make it sound good, they obviously are horrible.
Got home at 1, shimmied restlessly in the bed for awhile, and then fell asleep. I woke up around 6:20 and, reluctantly, got ready for work. Although I had washed off most of the makeup, some of the dark eyeliner remained on my face... the hilariousness of the fact that leftover goth makeup actually made my "work makeup" look better.
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Damsel in Distress
I exited the gym today and saw quite the scene--- a guy with low-hung cargo shorts and prominent plaid boxers, a girl cozily reclining in the driver's seat, and a dismantled car door.
I'm not the best with situational context clues but after noticing the coy grin on the girl's face and seeing the guy applying something to the door track, I figured out the scene: he was fixing something with the car motors. Since he took off the inside part of the door, I am assuming it had to be something to do with the power locks or windows.
The whole scene was just a bit silly. As he was laboring over the door, she sat (backwards) in the driver's seat, just sitting there and cutely smiling.
This is why I have a car with manual windows and locks. Similar to the parking lot girl, I do not want to pay large amounts of money to have labor done to the power locks and windows. Unlike the parking lot girl, I don't want to have to flirt with some guy to get the work done for free....in the gym parking lot, nonetheless.
I will, however, use cute smiles to help make my way through busy traffic intersections :)
I'm not the best with situational context clues but after noticing the coy grin on the girl's face and seeing the guy applying something to the door track, I figured out the scene: he was fixing something with the car motors. Since he took off the inside part of the door, I am assuming it had to be something to do with the power locks or windows.
The whole scene was just a bit silly. As he was laboring over the door, she sat (backwards) in the driver's seat, just sitting there and cutely smiling.
This is why I have a car with manual windows and locks. Similar to the parking lot girl, I do not want to pay large amounts of money to have labor done to the power locks and windows. Unlike the parking lot girl, I don't want to have to flirt with some guy to get the work done for free....in the gym parking lot, nonetheless.
I will, however, use cute smiles to help make my way through busy traffic intersections :)
Success!
The turkey sat on the counter in its packaging for most of the day. The thought of taking the giblets and neck out of the body cavity was the cause for procrastination.
Around 5pm I finally removed the plastic netting from the outer packaging. I somehow cut my finger in the process. I have this amazing ability to suffer small cuts and abrasions when opening packages, even when I am very cautious. I stuck my hand in the body cavity and , boom, out came the neck. Honestly, I know understand why some people are vegetarians. Normally, I eat chicken breasts... no wings or anything that resemble the animal. The chicken breasts are basically flat pieces of meat. However, while "washing" the turkey, it felt odd... the turkey looks like a turkey (duh).
Next, while using my recipe (courtesy of the "reputable" simplerecipes.com), I put onions and carrots into the body cavity. We didn't have fresh carrots so I figured that defrosted carrots from a Normandy-style blend would work just as well. I had a bunch of herbs from John's mom. Instead of mincing them, I just tossed them in a blender. I'm really horrible at cutting things and, again, generally somehow cut myself. Then, I mixed the herbs with melted butter and put them on the outside of the turkey. We somehow lost our basting brush but, luckily, I have tons of new craft brushes. For once, my lack of crafting (but abundance of supplies) came in handy. I had extra herbs on stems and didn't know what to do with them, so I stuck them in what may have been an inappropriate orifice on the turkey....
Three and a half hours later and the turkey came out of the oven. I was desperately hoping that the turkey would be better than Anna's... to cook one for the first time and have it be better than your mother-in-law's...that would be great.
Alas, the turkey was not as good as Anna's... but it was better than my mother's.... sober mom too...if you look to the left, those "dried" twigs are the herbs that I stuck in the ...orifice.
Around 5pm I finally removed the plastic netting from the outer packaging. I somehow cut my finger in the process. I have this amazing ability to suffer small cuts and abrasions when opening packages, even when I am very cautious. I stuck my hand in the body cavity and , boom, out came the neck. Honestly, I know understand why some people are vegetarians. Normally, I eat chicken breasts... no wings or anything that resemble the animal. The chicken breasts are basically flat pieces of meat. However, while "washing" the turkey, it felt odd... the turkey looks like a turkey (duh).
Next, while using my recipe (courtesy of the "reputable" simplerecipes.com), I put onions and carrots into the body cavity. We didn't have fresh carrots so I figured that defrosted carrots from a Normandy-style blend would work just as well. I had a bunch of herbs from John's mom. Instead of mincing them, I just tossed them in a blender. I'm really horrible at cutting things and, again, generally somehow cut myself. Then, I mixed the herbs with melted butter and put them on the outside of the turkey. We somehow lost our basting brush but, luckily, I have tons of new craft brushes. For once, my lack of crafting (but abundance of supplies) came in handy. I had extra herbs on stems and didn't know what to do with them, so I stuck them in what may have been an inappropriate orifice on the turkey....
Three and a half hours later and the turkey came out of the oven. I was desperately hoping that the turkey would be better than Anna's... to cook one for the first time and have it be better than your mother-in-law's...that would be great.
Alas, the turkey was not as good as Anna's... but it was better than my mother's.... sober mom too...if you look to the left, those "dried" twigs are the herbs that I stuck in the ...orifice.
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Making my first turkey..otherwise known as, if you do not see me at work on Monday, I food poisoned myself
I have an orphan turkey in the fridge. At Kumon Learning Center, a student's parent was trying to get rid of an extra turkey. Just the premise that somebody would have an extra turkey is amusing enough. At first, I said, "Sorry, I can't take it. I just cook omelets and that's about it." Then, I ruminated for a few moments and responded, "Sure, I'll take it."
The turkey has been in the fridge since Monday and now the day of reckoning has arrived---when said turkey is basted and tossed in the oven.
The only challenge is that I have never cooked a turkey before. In fact, I have never cooked anything in the oven, with the exception of cupcakes, yams, fries, and shake-n-bake chicken.
Normally, I have a pretty good attention span, but after viewing the seven steps to make a turkey (online tutorial), I grew annoyed. I am not looking forward to taking the innards out of the turkey... honestly, I consider it a "man's job," much like taking out the trash.
John's at the gym now...think I will play role of sous chef and get the herbs ready...then wait for him to come home and remove the innards...
Seriously, making a turkey can not be that difficult. I recall times from childhood when my mother was drunk and made turkeys. Surely, a sober person can manage to make a turkey....
The turkey has been in the fridge since Monday and now the day of reckoning has arrived---when said turkey is basted and tossed in the oven.
The only challenge is that I have never cooked a turkey before. In fact, I have never cooked anything in the oven, with the exception of cupcakes, yams, fries, and shake-n-bake chicken.
Normally, I have a pretty good attention span, but after viewing the seven steps to make a turkey (online tutorial), I grew annoyed. I am not looking forward to taking the innards out of the turkey... honestly, I consider it a "man's job," much like taking out the trash.
John's at the gym now...think I will play role of sous chef and get the herbs ready...then wait for him to come home and remove the innards...
Seriously, making a turkey can not be that difficult. I recall times from childhood when my mother was drunk and made turkeys. Surely, a sober person can manage to make a turkey....
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