Mother Nature is a fickle creature, as is Old Man Winter. The two together are like a constantly bickering old married couple. Yesterday we about drowned here. It rained all day and then the winds started. There are branches everywhere and the low area in the front yard is a lake.
Today there is a breeze and the sun is shining fit to bust. I’m not complaining, but I’m a bit bewildered by all the sudden changes. Tuesday: 60 degrees and sunny. Wednesday: rainy, cold and raw Today: sunny, some wind and cold (but not like before).
I want to knock their heads together and say, “figure it out already! This isn’t March, the traditional crazy weather month, people!” but I was taught not to talk to atmospheric conditions or mythological creatures.
I can’t decided which is worse…the Happy Meal pizza or the knitted bacon. 
taxi, I am right there witcha about reviews. My new enthusiastic team leader who is an ex Disnoid is doing my review on Tuesday. He’s asked me to comment on things like what I don’t like about my job and what I’d rather be doing. On paper?? As if!!
Asking the [del]unwashed[/del] teeming millions for advice? That’s like the old asshole/opinion saw.
It’s supposed to be 82 degrees Murkin today but I am currently wearing my sweater and rubbing my hands that are turning blue. This should come as no surprise considering this building but, srsly, dude…
Off to get some coffee.
Tupug
blurf.
Went out on a dopefest last night. It was fun.
Have not knit or been on Ravelry since Monday, if I weren’t so busy and tired I would probably have withdrawls.
Manager at work wants to put off my impending lay-off for another week. I wonder how long this thing can possibly drag out. I mean, another week is another paycheck, but dragging this out on and on doesn’t seem the best thing for me mentally… Besides, I was looking forward to a few days off…after that I’d be going crazy nuts, but a few days of alone during the day time would be good. I’m totally with you all on the alone time thing.
:eek: to all of the TMI. The MMP should come with a warning sometimes.
Tired. I can haz more sleep? Please? This going out three work nights in one week is for the youngun’s…I am old. LOL
The knitted bacon is disturbing.
Hope Mr. Lissar feels better soon! And that **Nat **doesn’t get sick.
I’m going straight for tooting my own horn all the way. There’s a small pool of bonus money that the board just approved (We didn’t make the revenue minimum needed to get the bonuses related to that, but since we did less badly than all the other companies out there in our type of business, the board thought we should be rewarded a little bit.) so I want to make sure I get at least a little of the little pool of money. Maybe enough for dinner out. At Burger King.
But actually my review’s going ok. It’s figuring out what to say about Manager and Boss. I really like them both and don’t really have any complaints about them. So I’m having a hard time with questions like “What are his/her 2-3 greatest development opportunities?” and “What would you like to see more/less of from him/her?” I don’t know. Just keep on leaving me alone to do my job and supporting me when dealing with other groups and I’ll be happy. That’s it. But it won’t look like I put sufficient thought into it if I don’t come up with something.
Maybe I should go with something completely offbeat and irrelevant. Like “Manager should be better about making sure there are sufficient pens for the team” or some such nonsense. Really. I have probably the nicest, easiest-going manager ever. She helps when I have questions but then backs off and lets me do my job the rest of the time. We have weekly meetings so I always know what I’m supposed to be working on and where I stand. If I work late, she tells me to come in late sometime later in the week. Even though we’re short-staffed, when I want/need to take time off, she makes it work. Bah! I don’t want to make it sound like utopia, but I really like what I do and I really like the people I work for. Without digging deep into the BS, I can’t come up with “areas for improvement” but I’m afraid that’ll sound like brown nosing.
[/venting]
Back to trying to come up with something that sounds reasonable.
Packing, checking in work to the database, gotta meeting at 10—
::zooooooooooooooooooooommmmm::
Evening all! TGIT! Got my bonus letter today! w00t!!! The money should be in my account come Sunday, then much debt destruction and furniture shopping will ensue, followed by some more sedate saving!
taxi, fingers crossed you find the right answers to those silly questions and they give you a handsome chunk of the bonus pool!
LiLi, here’s hoping Teh Sick is soon banished from the Lissar household!
The weather here is still really crappy - the dust is supposed to clear by Sunday at the latest, but on the drive home this afternoon, I thought I could see a hint of blue in the sky, so maybe tomorrow will be better! I hope so, 'cause my sinuses are really starting to get upset about the invasion of fine particles into my nasal passages!
Forgot to mention - it’s Mr Rebo’s and my 5th anniversary today! He’s cooking dinner! We’ll go out tomorrow night.
taxi, can haz your boss, pls? That sounds like a perfect arrangement.
I’m still trying to figure out New Boss Guy. On the plus side, he seems to trust me to get my work done with minimal supervision and doesn’t micromanage… but then again, he doesn’t manage at all. I sometimes go days without even talking to him because he’s not around, he’s insanely vague about what’s on the project plan beyond the current task, and he skips out on meetings and leaves me to deal with questions that he hasn’t given me answers to and decisions I’m not equipped to make. It’s frustrating.
Congrats on the anniversary, Rebo! And so close to Valentine’s Day… how roooooomaaaaantic. 
I just filed my mileage expenses. Holy Hanna, that’s a nice chunk o’ cash back in my pocket… it’s like putting on a spring jacket and finding a $20 bill you forgot in the pocket. Free money!
Congrats.
I think blurf is the right word for today. I don’t think I managed to sleep more than 20 minutes straight last night. I kept imagining more branches coming through more windows. I even contemplated cleaning out a closet and sleeping on the floor, since that’s the only place in my house that doesn’t have a window.
I hate wind!
Blurf. Read, too much to really respond to, appropriate hugs and boos around for the last few days.
taxi, my boss is a lot like that, though I think I work a lot more with mine than you do with yours. She is teh awesome. I feel very lucky to have landed my job – overall, it’s pretty good, and she and my coworkers make up for everything else.
blurf.
I have a headache that will not go away. I am two aleve and two advil into the attempt. I don’t know what to try next. More advil? I am also feeling very hot. I have been warned that this is the begining of teh sick which is going around my office and building. Ugh. I do not want teh sick. Okthxbye. This also seems like a loooong running sick (manager is on day 6) and I have a very important interview next week…ugh.
Yuck. Developing a cold. Not going to class today. Don’t have class tomorrow.
I haz a blurf too–BLURF!! It is a big blurf and it is sitting on my brain. Ow.
Get better, all you sickies! splooshes large galvanized bucket full of overly garlicked chicken soup into the MMP There, that oughta do it!
{{{jsgoddess}}} How you holding up, sweetie? Aside from killer branch paranoia, that is…
Gratz, Rebo! Give each other a sloppy cheek smooch from me!
Mmmm, free money–can haz free moniez? Plz? Kthxbai!
Taxi, how about “Manager is woefully deficient in supplying culinary, confectionary and pastry related inducements to staff to increase morale, productivity and waistlines. Recommend immediate Krispy Kreme infusion to support and enhance overall office job satisfaction.” Because really, who couldn’t use another donut?
Knitted bacon is disturbing on so many levels, but it’s such a stoner thing to do I have no choice but to applaud it. Antinomy, it can be painful…
Himself finally got around to stringing Cat-6 over to the media box so it’s now running on a hardwired gigabit NIC to the gigabit router. Streaming has never been so smoooooooth! I don’t really approve of wireless connections on a desktop–they never really connect as well as laptops do. Too much interference from the box itself, I suspect.
Yawn. Must correct caffeine deficiency–laterz!
Right. I just bought twenty pounds of potatoes.
I need recipes. I’m going to make and freeze broccoli cheddar potato soup, stuffed baked potatoes, and maybe some curry. I need more preferably freezable recipes.
C’mon, people!
LiLi, I find potatoes take on a weird texture if they’re frozen whole, so I’d suggest sticking to stuff that’s made from smashed NOTs… so soup and stuffed spuds are probably good, but curry might be questionable.
Other random ideas:
- shepherd’s pie
- baked NOT soup with lots of bacon and cheddar
- potato bread/buns (I have a good recipe by James Beard at home, which I can send if you don’t have one)
- scalloped potatoes (probably not freezer-friendly, but still yummy)
In other news, I went for a walk at lunch and managed not to get blown right off my feet. Yay me. However, I am most peeved because the last piece of quiche got snatched up by the guy ahead of me in line, and I really really wanted quiche today… so I guess I’ll have to make some for dinner.
SmartyPants, I love it when you talk geeky. That’s hot.
Is it paranoia if they really ARE out to get me? 
I’m doing okay. Better than I expected. Well, until the foliage started persecuting me!
Ooh, potato buns. I don’t eat much bread, but I loves me some potato buns.
HAH! Great minds think alike. I actually did put “More baked goods” under the “What would you like to see more/less of from Manager in the future?” because Boss has been joking that Manager and I need to have a bake off. Where he’s the judge of course. (The review for Manager will go to Boss so it’s not like HR’s going to see my smartass response.) Your answer uses a little more HR-type speak, though, so I might have to borrow it.
Not freezable, but have you tried MagicEyes’ Tibetan Curry Potatoes, LiLi? They are teh awesomest! They aren’t on the Mumpers’ blog! :eek: Oh, the horror.
Here’s the recipe:
Tibetian Curry Potatoes
1/2 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns
1 2-inch long piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely minced
3 or 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely minced
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp cayenne (or other fiery pepper)
1 tsp salt
4 Tbsp (1/2 stick) clarified butter (see note)
6 medium Yukon Gold or Red Bliss potatoes, peeled
2 Tbsp soy sauce
Garnish:
1 scallion, including the green part, trimmed and minced
Several sprigs of fresh cilantro, minced
Boil the peeled potatoes for 15 minutes, then cut into cubes.
Heat the peppercorns in a small, ungreased skillet over medium heat until they begin to darken and release their aroma. Turn them into a small mortar or onto a chopping board and pulverize to a coarse powder.
Mix the pepper powder, ginger, garlic, turmeric, cayenne and salt together to form a paste. Heat the clarified butter in a large skillet and blend in the spices. Cook and stir for a few minutes, to let the butter become fully seasoned. Meanwhile, toss the potato cubes in the soy sauce until it has all been absorbed.
Add the potatoes to the skillet and turn up the heat to medium high. Cook until the potatoes have a crunchy brown coating on the outside and a meltingly soft interior. Use a spatula to turn them constantly so that they brown on all sides, about 10 to 15 minutes.
Add the minced scallion and cilantro and cook for a minute to allow the garnish to wilt and cling to the potatoes.
NOTE: To make clarifed butter, put the butter in a heatproof measuring cup and set it on the rack in a preheated warm oven. When the butter has melted and the solids have separated out, remove the measuring cup from the oven and carefully pour off the clear liquid into the skillet. Discard the solids.
Makes 4 servings
GT, please add to the blog but under MagicEye’s name. I don’t want to take credit for something that’s not mine!
I can has sumthin udder dan bad newz? Plz?
I’m back from the back doctor. He’s advising surgery. It would be microdiskotomy and probably outpatient at least, but still, it’s making holes in my skin and sticking sharp metal things inside. The chunk of disk that’s squished out and pressing on nerves isn’t going to go away on its own, so someone needs to reach in and nip it out. If the MRI images are life-size, there’s about a 3/8" diameter chunk to take out.
On the plus side, I looked up the guy he referred me to, and this doc appears to be the one that all back doctors in San Francisco go to if they need surgery on themselves. He’s head of this and chair of that, and has published a handful of neurosurgery textbooks, so he apparently knows his stuff.
But still, it’s like I’m being followed by a rain cloud
oh, gotti, I’m sorry. That sucks.
I haven’t tried the Tibetan Potatoes, taxi, but I’ve got all the ingredients except for fresh ginger. Might do it tomorrow. Today I’ve got ten potatoes baking, a sponge cake, two coffee cakes, and I’m going to make soup for dinner.
You know (not a complaint) when we’re all home, it’s amazing how much messier everything gets and stays. I’ve been tidying, and it’s still messy.
That reminds me. Going to scrub the litter box because my idiot cats can’t aim. Envy me.
That sucks. On the plus side, I think that’s the surgery my brother-in-law had and he recovered completely. And he’s a terrible patient, so it’s not because he did everything right.