Something Squirrelly this Way Comes

I did it! I won! Even made the Midnight Howland Time deadline with over an hour to spare! Go Me! My official word count is 50,063 - which means I barely made the requirement but hey, it's more than 50k! And that's what matters :)

We'll ignore the fact that the scenes are out of order, that it's not edited, that it's a really really rough draft and still without a title. Maybe next year I'll write it more cohesively..... Yeah right :)

An article in New Scientist and available for perusing at the Chocolate web site indicates that theobromine may be more effective at treating coughs than traditional remedies. Theobromine: chocolate cough medicine?

The study only compared theobromine's cough claming effect when the stimuli was capsaicin. "Their results confirmed that theobromine does indeed inhibit the capsaicin-induced sensory nerve depolarisation in the vagus nerve." But still, it's yet another reason to not feel guilty when eating or drinking chocolate! :)

You can have a fine time today by exploring new ideas & thinking about long-term goals. Anything that lifts you out of the here & now makes sense. You don't have to be comfortable with all your dreams, a little nervousness about something out of the ordinary is natural. Remember, you are free to fantasize about anything you wish. Following your instincts & not logic will lead you in the right direction now. More horoscopes

Funny, I followed my instinct and stopped at Dunkin Donuts for a Mocha Swirl latte. I should've gone with my head and not stopped. It's waaaay too sweet and a total rip off! DD used to be cheaper than Starbucks, Caribou Coffee, etc. Now they're More expensive! I could've gotten a tall mocha at Starbucks for the same price AND it'd have had More mocha! Oy vey!

Last Tuesday evening my dad flew in (yes, his arms were tired) and Weds afternoon (round about 3) he and I left for our drive to Ohio. There was massive traffic on 495, 270 and 70. There was hazardous roads on 68, 79 and part of 70 (yes, we were on 70 twice).

A car spun out in front of us during the drive through the MD mountains on 68. They didn't end up in the ditch but had we been closer to them, we'd have been involved. Thankfully, as far as we could tell, they didn't hit any of the cars behind us. We didn't stop as we wouldn't have been able to get going again. No clue why they lost control like they did. The road wasn't any icier in that spot.

There were times we weren't sure we'd make it up the incline because our tires would just spin. Lots of icey patches and it was snowing heavily. Nowhere near blizzard conditions, mind you, but bad enough. I am oh so thankful that my dad flew in so he could drive. There is no way I'd have made it to OH if I had been driving. I didn't take over driving duties til OH. Think it was around 10.30 or 11 pm. We arrived at my folks' house about 1.30 am. Just about 10.5 hours on the road.

The drive home was smooth sailing! Worst part was the audio book on cassette. The last tape kept having issues. So we'd have to eject it, bang it about, fast forward it by hand, etc to get it to work. Plus there were a couple of plot issues not resolved. Traffic wasn't bad at all. We somehow managed to miss the rush. Woooh :) Oh yeah, drive back was just over 7 hours - the actual time it should be.

I dropped my dad off at the airport this morning. When I say dropped off I mean we rode the metro together :) Think he arrives back in OH around 9 am.

Random tidbits
- My car passed the 100,000 mile mark somewhere in MD on the way back.
- My cheesecake was a hit, tho my mom thought the raspberry sauce was too tart. I thought it was rather sweet...
- My grandfather was in a car accident. He is fine. His car is probably totaled.
- Nephew did a face plant on the hardwood floors in my folks' entryway. Poor guy has a big bruised, goose egg :(
- JT is still the cutest little guy ever - goose egg notwithstanding.
- I heard Baby Please Come Home whilst shopping at Bath and Body Works on Black Friday (for those of you not in the know, U2 sings it).
- I just heard my supervisor repeatedly refer to bluetooth technology as bluecomb.
- I got two new pairs of shoes! Woooooohoooo!! Early Christmas gifts from my folks.
- I didn't write a word for my NaNo book (which is still without a title) this weekend. I have roughly 9,000 words left before I reach the 50,000 mark.

Raspberry Cheesecake

Filling
1 1/3 cups finely crushed graham crackers
1/3 cup butter, melted (NOT margarine, lard, etc.. BUTTER. unsalted, unsweetened)
3 8-oz packages cream cheese at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 Tbsp all-purpose flower
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
1/4 cup raspberry liqueur or milk
Raspberry sauce (see below)

Extra equipment
- Springform pan - 8 or 9 inch
- Lipped cookie sheet or baking pan for water bath
- Aluminum foil
- Hot (not boiling)water for water bath

Raspberry Sauce
1 10-oz package frozen raspberries, thawed
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tsps cornstarch
1/4 cup raspberry liqueur

Press raspberries through a sieve to remove seeds. In a medium saucepan combine cornstarch and sugar - whisk together to mix, then add sieved raspberries. Cook and stir over medium heat until bubbly and thickened. Reduce heat and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove from heat and cool. It's already a vibrant pinky red but you can add a couple drops of food coloring to increase the red.


1. Make Raspberry Sauce first. When done with sauce, preheat oven to 375.

2. Crust. In medium mixing bowl combine crackers and butter, press and mix together until crackers are evenly coated. Press mixture onto bottom of pan and about an inch up the sides. Wrap bottom of pan in aluminum foil and place on a lipped cookie sheet or cake pan.

3. Filling. In large mixing bowl beat cream cheese to soften and spread it out then add sugar, flour and vanilla. Mix on medium to high speed until combined. Add eggs and yolk. Beat on low until just combined, stir in liqueur.

4. Split your filling in half. Into half of your plain filling add 1/4 cup of the raspberry sauce and mix together.

5. Pour HALF of your PLAIN filling into pan, on top of crust. Spread out. Pour ALL of the Raspberry filling into the pan. Spread evenly.

6. Pour remaining plain filling on top of raspberry filling. Use spatula to swirl the raspberry filling up through the top. Just try not to scrape the crust.

7. Set cookie sheet/baking pan with springform pan onto oven rack, pour hot water into cookie sheet until it comes up sides of springform pan.

8. Bake in oven for 35-40 minutes (8 inch pan) or 45-50 minutes (9 inch pan). If the center appears nearly set when shaken, then you're done.

9. Remove springform pan and place on wire wrack. Cool for 15 minutes. Then take metal spatual and run along edges to loosen crust. Let cool for 30 minutes. Remove sides of pan and cool for 1 hour. Cover and chill for a minimum of 4 hours. Garnish with fresh raspberries and mint. Makes 12-16 servings.


Notes/Suggestions:
- I suggest chocolate graham crackers for the crust.
- Go with the liqueur! The alcohol bakes out.
- I've only ever found 12 oz, just add a touch more sugar to keep it sweeter or not and have it a little tangier.
- Filling can look runny but it thickens up, so don't worry. :)
- Water bath keeps top of cheesecake from cracking and splitting and to even out the heat around the cheesecake. I find that in gas ovens you need a Lot more water. I try to put enough water in to come up to the crust height. I invariably have to add more water.

For those of you who do not know your liqueur flavor brand names, Razzmatazz is a German raspberry liqueur. :)

Music Rising is an initiative developed by U2’s The Edge and legendary producer Bob Ezrin. The goal is to raise funds to replace the lost instruments and accessories of musicians affected by the devastating Gulf Coast hurricanes.
“The devastation wrought by the hurricanes of 2005 to the Gulf Coast region has threatened not only the lives and livelihoods of the region’s residents, but the area’s rich and spirited culture as well,” said The Edge. “Providing replacement instruments through Music Rising will not only help thousands of professional musicians affected by the hurricanes to regain a foothold on their future, but will also ensure that one of the Gulf Coast’s greatest assets, its music, rises again.”

Music Rising Donations
Apply for Music Rising aid

I know I've mentioned Girlyman in Monday's entry about the Dar Williams concert, but I feel the need to mention them again. I love them! They're my new favorite band (sorry Sheep!) Their harmonies are what my elementary, middle and high school music/choir teachers were always striving for. A coworker said that she wasn't sure she liked them because you couldn't always hear their individual voices. Personally, I think that's fantastic. Show's they're a team and not competing with each other. My current favorite song of theirs is Speechless.

You can hear a clippie of it by going here and clicking on the audio link for it (song 3).

Girlyman = Nate Borofsky, Doris Muramatsu, and Ty Greenstein (in order of photos on album cover to left - little star)

Having said all that, I've only listened to their newest album Little Star despite owning their first album Remember Who I am. Maybe this weekend... Although my weekend is pretty jammed pack with watching the new U2 Live from Chicago DVD (2 disk edition, mind you) reading Eleven on Top (newest Janet Evanovich book), going to Sam's Club and sleeping. Oh yeah and more NaNo writing. :)

There are three or four coworkers who invariably have popcorn three or four times a week. Meaning everyday there is at least one bag of popcorn popping away in the microwave. Morning (somtimes before 7), afternoon, doesn't matter. I buckled last week and bought a bag of popcorn kernels. However I managed not to pop any until Tuesday. Here's how I make mine.

In a big pot, put some extra virgin olive oil and a couple three kernels, heat over medium high heat. While you're waiting for them to pop, slice up some butter, sprinkle with dried rosemary and nuke in microwave. Once kernels pop, add rest of kernels (only one layer) and cover. Shake pot continuously over the flame until popping slows. Turn off heat and continue shaking until popping stops. Put in bowl, pour rosemary butter over popcorn, add salt, black pepper and toss/mix.

Soooooo gooooood. :) Much better than anything I've had from a bag or at the theatre.

Just a quick update on the novel for those peeps who are interested. Am over 30,000 words :) there is stalking, mayhem, supernatural occurances, witchcraft and a jail break. Yesiree all in one book :)

I overheard this as I was leaving the metro station on my way to work this morning.

"quote unquote" (complete with the little finger movements)
"Huh?"
"Coming out"
"Coming out of Where?"
"Out of the closet."
"The Closet?!! Why was she in the closet??"
"Gay"
"Ohhh Girrrrrll. That's just NASTY! Sinner for sure!"

I was amused by it all, despite the lack of an open mind. One morning last week, this guy and an army chick were discussing satan on my apartment shuttle bus ride to work. Here are some of the highlights....

"Satan can be really sneaky."
"yeah, he tries to get you."
"I went to church last night, prayed for my soul"
"Oh good. You need to do that because satan can hear what you say"
"yeah"
"But he can't read your mind"
"yeah, true."
"Need to pray so that god can hear you and so that satan knows where
your allegiances are"
"Satan is so sneaky but god is good."
"We need to pray more."
"yeah. we can't let satan have power over us."
"He's wily and powerful but god is there to help you."

It was a tad disturbing how fervent they were. And the way they were
discussing satan's "powers" you'd think that they believed in the supernatural.

This just in! Toenail clipper gave her two weeks notice! Last day is Nov 25.

In all honesty, she doesn't bother me. She bothers everyone else though, so the tension here is palpable. I think it's best for everyone that she's leaving. The new job is one she Really wants, it's in her career field and she's super excited about it (her words, mind you). My other coworkers are just happy that she's going, not that she's going to a job she wants.

**Toenail clipper = 'Debra' = new coworker = trainer for my new job duties

The Dar Williams show tonight was fantastic!!!! She had a band with her (keyboards, electric guitar, bass and drummer) so it was like a rock show. Cool yet not what I was expecting really. She did do three or four numbers just her on the acoustic and Julie Wolf on keyboards. The last time I saw her play, it was just her and her guitar.

Ben Butler was the lead guitarist and man did he have some skills! His excellent butt and chest not withstanding *grin* He changed guitars for every song. It was a tad distracting. Although not nearly as distracting as the blinding reflection from the bassist's bass. He was a weird little man. Had his bass really high and did lots of squinty eyed head bopping but his head never went back, just down.. so he was bobbing at the floor.

Most of the songs were from My Better Self, her newest album. Which was expected. I don't know the songs as well as the ones from her earlier albums. Not that I couldn't sing along with her. :) I thoroughly enjoyed myself and am soooo glad I went. I hope she tours again soon!!!!

Opening group was Girlyman and they were amazing!! Their harmonies and songs were astounding. I bought both their cds. You can hear lots of audio clips on their website. Go! Listen! See them live!

Sorry I didn't post this earlier, I had Friday off as it's a federal holiday (Veteran's Day). So it's after 1.30 Sat morning and despite needing to clean as a friend is driving down tomorrow evening, I'm catching up on blog reading and emails and the like.

Right, the red tape. I'm fairly sure that no matter how I explain this, some people will just be confused and that's okay. The whole situation is so pitifully stupid that you Should be confused!

Some background to maybe help clarify some things. I work for company B who is a subcontractor to Company C who is a contractor to MC (agency of the federal gov't). Yes I use fake names to keep my anonymity and so I won't get my butt sued by any of these companies.

Company C is invoking this "strict communications program". Meaning that my coworkers and I cannot speak with any employee of MC directly. Company C is utterly clueless in what we do. We *need* to speak with MC folks on a daily basis. Several times a day, in fact. But we're now supposed to tell our direct supervisors what we need to talk with the MC employee about, our supervisors will pass this onto our boss who passes this on to Company C's onsite manager who then speaks with the MC employee.

Did I mention that Company C's onsite manager is clueles about what we do? That he will have no idea what we're talking about, let alone what he's supposed to ask the MC peeps. By the time the request gets to him, I'm sure it'll be all screwed up anyway. Oh and he's not even in the building every day. We have a limited time to get this work done and it's late sometimes as it is because the MC peeps take awhile to get back to us - and that's with us talking to them directly! I can only imagine how inefficient this will become. Oy vey Mama!

So that's my rant of the day. At least I have a four day weekend (have Monday off). And I get to see Dar Williams on Monday night with friends. WOOHOOO!! :)

Soooooooooooo the new coworker has some issues. First let me clarify 'new'. She's been with the company for years and years, working on this same task just in a different office on a different floor of the same building. Her desk was moved up next to mine so that she can train me. Hence she's a new coworker to me but not new to the company or my other coworkers.

I've been warned repeatedly by pretty much Everyone (supervisors included) about Debra (not her real name at all, nobody here named Debra). "She's an emotional wreck" "She needs help" "If you find her crying at her desk, it's not unusual" "She acts all nice but she'll rip your head off at a moment's notice" "She yells at people on the phone a lot" and countless other comments along the same lines. I figured they were exaggerating. The way she was described is that she's some bipolar psychopath out to get you.

Sure she's overly chatty, randomly whispers instructions to you, actively listens in on your phone conversations and badmouths one of our supervisors but I wouldn't call that psychotic behavior. Just someone with boundary issues. Then yesterday happened.

She was talking to me about work when her phone rings.
"Excuse me, I have to take this it's my daughter."
"Sure, no problem."

Then she chitchats with her daughter. Then she starts yelling at her daughter. "You always do this! You ruined Christmas last year and now you're waiting to the last minute and you're ruining Thanksgiving!!!! Why do you ALWaYS do this?!! WHY WHY WHY" phone slams down and she hangs her head down, hiding her face.

It's hard to pretend that you didn't hear someone yelling into a phone, especially when they're right next to you, not four feet away. But I do. I don't want to invade her privacy or get involved. I discreetly as possible start to slide my headphones on. She turns to me just as I get them on my head, so I pretend to be adjusting them. What can I say? I don't like to get involved in other people's personal issues unless their my friends. Cowardly? Most assuredly and I'm okay with that. :)

She says my name and I turn to her (this whole time I'd only been seeing her out of the corner of my eye) and slide my headphones off. She finishes what she was saying before - for the life of me I can't remember what as I was trying to cover the horror and pity I'm sure was in my eyes at seeing the tears in hers - and then abruptly gets up and walks out of the room. My other cellmates and I just look at each other, sorta shell shocked.
"What WAS that?" I ask.
"Man, I thought we'd at least get through this week without an explosion." says one
"It's only just beginning." says the other.
"She was crying." I say. "Dang. Guess she is a tad emotional."

Debra comes back later, tears still obvious in her eyes and on her cheeks but she seems all chirpy chatty kathy again, so I don't comment. I know *I* wouldn't want someone to ask me about why I was crying. Things level out. We do some more work, talk tv. She loves Alias and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, so how bad can she be? Sure she says Bono's name wrong (pet peeve and a nightmare of mine - Meeting Bono and saying his name like Sonny Bono. I wake up embarassed and in a cold sweat. Such mortification!) but she does like U2.

Then, later in the afternoon. I hear what sounds like nail clippers. Now my supervisor - the notorious nail clipper, I swear he clips them nearly once a week! - is out today, so it can't be him. Out of the corner of my eye I see Debra bent over at her desk, messing with her feet. NO! I think. It Can't be! She is NOT clipping her toenails at work!!! Surely she's just messing with her shoe straps. Yes, that's it. Metal clasp clanking around. That's what that sound is. Debra swivels in her chair and drops something in the trash. It could be lint I think. Then I see the nail clippers. Holy freaking hell! She was cutting her toenails at her desk!!!

And to think, earlier in the day I had thought, Oh good, she's not wearing hose with her open toed shoes again. I share the horror of the toenail clipping incident with my cellmates when Debra leaves the room to rinse out her lunch dishes. We share our horror and disgust. "There's such a thing as Boundaries!"

Anyway, Debra is still out of the room and my one cellmate returns and informs us that Debra is putting stockings (hose) on in the bathroom. I comment, "Sooo she clipped her nails so that she wouldn't snag them. Why couldn't she have done her pedicure in there too??" Umm yeah, new coworker has some issues.

*boggling as in confusing/unbelievable/shocking not the "game"

Last couple of days have been ones where I just want to bang my head on the wall. Stupid USAirways web site. I was booking a ticket to Ohio for the U2 show in Cleveland and the web page f'd up and told me that it couldn't continue and for me to restart the booking process. I did. Got an email confirmation and apparently now have two seats, under my name, on the same flight. Called web support, told them what happened and after 30+ mins (at least 20 spent on hold) I was informed that I couldn't get a refund, only a credit, and that I had to pay a cancellation fee. EXCUSE ME??? I've put a dispute on the charge with my credit card company so we'll see how it goes.

New coworker randomly whispers stuff or nearly shouts stuff to me instead of talking normally. She also appears to have a problem with turning her desk light on and will stare at it and make faces. Maybe she thinks she'll scare it on? Biggest issue is that she claims to be a "big U2 fan" but she pronounces Bono as Bono (think Sonny Bono) instead of Bono. *slapface*

There's a brand spanking new webpage for any Tyler Florence fans out there. Has photos, bulletin board and videos. I think it's been up for all of three or four days.

Have a farewell lunch for a coworker today. I had wanted to drive today so that I could leave immediately after the lunch but could not find my remote entry car alarm keylobe thingie. I just had it! Was out and about on Monday running errands. Sad thing is I had to spend a good 30 or 45 minutes looking for it on Monday. The lobe is busted where it attaches to a key ring. There's no plastic or metal ring to attach it to anything, I have to carry it separate. Hence all my misplacement issues. Okay, maybe not ALL of the issues. I'm sure the atomic bomb testing zone that I call my apartment might have something to do with it.

I've written just about 4,900 words for my NaNo novel. For those of you counting, yes I'm waaaaaaay behind. Bite me.

So that's my hodge podge entry for the day.

So today the new coworker (my new trainer) is moving to the desk next to me. Possibly. They moved her computer on Friday afternoon and my new supervisor type guy was up and dropped stuff off for her. He said he might be around on Weds or Thurs to install the software on my computer. Yeah, real efficient.

We have Friday off (Veteran's Day) and Weds we're taking a coworker out for a farewell lunch. Obviously he's the smartest of us all, as he found another job and Thursday is his last day. So I figure supervisor guy will come by on Weds when we're all out to lunch. Either that or it'll be next week. He said he was really busy.

"I'm here at 6.30 every morning, if early am works better for you" I told him and he gave me a blank look.
"Nooo that won't be necessary."

I'm not really sure what won't be necessary. Maybe he doesn't roll in until 8 or 9 and the shock that someone shows up at 6.30 temporarily blanked his mind? All in all it should be an 'interesting' week, to say the least.

Thought I'd post a pic of myself. Let those who don't know me, see me. So here I am at the beach.



Aren't yall thrilled now? Mayhap tickled pink? ;) It's my first time doing a self portrait. If yall want to give it a go, here's the link South Park Studio.

Saw this over at Meli's Moonlight and figured, what the heck. It's Friday, I'm staying in, why not waste more time not NaNo writing and post a new blog entry :)

What Monty Python Character Are you?


French Guard
I'm French! Why do think I have this outrageous
accent, you silly king-a?!

Find your inner Python

For the last two days there has been this smell in the entryway of my apartment building. At my building you open this door and you have a foyer type area with the mailboxes, stairs to the laundry room and other apartments, as well as the doors to the eight apartments (four upstairs and four ground level, stairs lead down to two partially below ground apartments - building is on a hill).

I opened this door on Wednesday and nearly gagged at the smell. The best way to describe it is raw peanut butter cookie dough that is rotting and infused with wood smoke. Sweet, smoky and vile all at the same time. I assumed it was one of the neighbors cooking something (it's a variety of ethnicities in my building) or that the one neighbors had put their trash in the hallway before moving it out onto their patio.

Then it ocurred to me that it was probably the laundry room. Someone had overloaded the washing machines a few weeks back and the odor wasn't pleasant. I had no idea that laundry detergent and softener could smell so rank. When I opened my apt door, went inside and took a deep breath to clear my lungs and encountered the same peanut butter dough smokey smell I wanted to cry. Thankfully it wasn't as Strong and it pretty much confirmed that the smell was emanating from the laundry room - or something in a storage room downstairs - as my apt is directly above the laundry area.

Yesterday the odor was still in the hallway but only very, very faintly in my apartment. I did hear someone using the dryers last night so I hope that means the problem is solved. Not just for the smell factor, but because I need to do laundry.

Yesterday I forgot my metro pass, today I forgot my work badge. The little plastic doohicky that lets me get past the guards downstairs, that unlocks doors - like magic! - on my floor. Yeah, it's at home somewhere. I keep it hanging on my doorknob so that I won't forget it. I think maybe I had put it on and then changed my shirt and the badge came off then or maybe I just grabbed it to put on, set it down to pour some apple juice and forgot to pick it back up. *sigh*

Going to the bathroom today is going to be fun. They're outside the 'magic badge opening' doors. I'm not sure how comfortable I am with calling my boss "Could you open the door for me, again?" Fun fun fun.

So this morning I forgot to open the vertical blinds and my plants will get no sun, I nearly fell off of the shuttle bus from my apt to the metro station, I forgot my metro card (plastic, refillable) and had to buy a new (paper, single fill) one. I only had a $20 bill and the most change the machines will give is $5 - all in quarters. And it's not even 7.30 am yet. *sigh*

Did I mention that I have a cold? *cough*hack*sniffle*cough*sneeze*

On the bright side, I've started my novel (haven't posted it anywhere tho). Happy November and NaNoing everyone!

**I've had to edit this baby five or six times because of typos, left out words and forgotten thoughts. As my friend B would say aiieeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Soooo...whatcha think?

1. Terrorist theme
2. Alien theme (outerspace aliens not illegal immigrants)
3. Fantasy theme - witchcraft not otherworldly

Either way it'll be a mystery and people will be murdered.

It's November 1 start of NaNoWriMo and I haven't picked a plot! or worked on characters or determined how many people I'll kill this year. What environmental issue will I include as part of the plot? What major weather element will wreak havoc amongst my fictitious town? oy oy oy!

(Shush Rach!)