maverick's truth

Since I got a new watch with all kinds of health-helping things (yeah, yeah, I know, you gotta actually do the walking to get the benefits), J and I figured the next step is to try some new recipes. We've actually been talking about trying some new things for a while, since we tend to either not cook, or cook stuff that takes a while -- no real middle ground. So, we went out and bought the Looney Spoons cookbook and are going to try to do 3 new recipes a week -- two which we think sound really good, and one "could be good" or "could be interesting" recipe. Each week, then, I'll post the three new recipes we're trying, and also a recap of how each was. It'll at least keep me posting, as well as keeping us trying new things!

Without further ado, here's the first three things we're planning on trying:

Mandarin Salad: a sort of combo pasta-lettuce salad, which has mandarins, water chestnuts, and a honey + yogurt + dry mustard + poppy seed dressing

Fettucine Alfredo: a standard garlic alfredo which uses light sour cream rather than whipping (or other) cream.

And this week's "could be interesting" one, "Mixed-Up Meatballs": meatballs (ground turkey) which is supposed to have raspberry jam, mustard and horseradish (I know, I know) as a sauce.

Wish us luck!

"On my summer vacation, I did..." Oh wait. Wrong topic. First off, happy May Long to all you Canadians out there. Hopefully most of you are getting a day off from work, school, what-have-you. As for myself, I took Saturday off from coursework and reading, which means I don't get today off. This whole working six days a week thing has some advantages, but there are serious disadvantages too.

But, since I did have Saturday and Sunday off, I managed to give myself enough of a brain-break hopefully to make it through another six-day push. And, as you can see to the left, I now have a spiffy new watch to help me keep on time. My old watch kept having the strap breaking, and rather than spending $10-$20 on a new strap all the time, I should just get a new watch. This was a bit more expensive than what I was looking at spending initially, but it's really good quality -- better than the average buy-at-Walmart Timex ones. I picked it up at Mountain Equipment Co-op, so I got a good deal on it too and you can't complain with their warantee policy. Oh, and did I mention the watch also has a monitoring system for heart-rate, and speed and distance travelled? It's nice to have, since J and I have started walking / jogging 2 nights a week, so this lets me know how far we've gone, what the heart-rate is, and what not. Besides, it just looks cool.

So... I have a watch. What else is new? Not a whole heck of a lot. Kev moved up a week ago, and has been bunking here until he can move into his place at the beginning of June. I'm still doing my research and a course, but (and hold off from calling me crazy for a few moments, while I explain) I'm also working 3 full days a week at the Faculty of Medicine. But, while I'm there, I can do my coursework, and some research, so it basically doesn't add up to much more work for me at all. It means I can't sit on the comfy couch and do my research, but I guess that's alright.

Work is calling, and despite it being a holiday for most of y'all, some things can't wait.

Alrighty.

I finished my last exam (well, paper) 2 weeks ago this past Friday.

Then, as most of you know (because you were there!) I presented a paper at a conference 2 weeks ago in Lethbridge. It was a good experience; lots of interesting papers, and I'm told my presentation went well, too.

Then I came home, took a couple of days off (woohoo... relaxation!). But then my body realized I was relaxing and it took that as its cue to go ahead and get sick.

And I do mean sick. Flat-in-bed-for-two-or-three-days sick. And I still have the remnants, a gosh-darned cough that has made doing much of anything pretty tough. Basically, what that means is I haven't talked to the people I was supposed to talk to, I haven't seen the people I was supposed to see, and while I have done work, I haven't done all the work I was going to, either.

Ah yes, work. Where would I be without you?

This summer, I think, will be a test of my self-discipline, as far as work goes. I've done it once before, doing an independent study and research all in the same summer. But that time, the research wasn't self-directed like this time is. It's a whole 'nother ballgame, doing research for myself as opposed to for someone else.

At this point, research has meant going to the library, and picking up books. Initially, I wondered if there would be enough books for me to get the preliminary information I need. Let's put it this way. In a library, there are rows of bookshelves, and within each shelf, there are sections, about 4 feet wide. I picked up 8-10 books from one section of one row in my first trip to the library. And that was in the area that I didn't think I'd find much (the architecture section). I still haven't ventured back, to visit the art / art history, archaeology and ... oh, the religious studies section yet. Oy.

On top of all those books (most of which I only need a portion, but still!), there's my independant study. Basically, I've worked it out that for the course alone I need to read (comprehend, take notes on, etc.) 75 pages of very dense material per day. On a good day, that's about 2 hours of reading for class work alone. And I read fast. But you can't blow through this stuff.

On top of all of that, one of my other goals for summer was to actually have a life. Still waiting to see how that figures into the plan. Sword-swinging class is still going on, weekly. I'm also still picking up the odd shift at the Faculty of Medicine -- they've had one of their full time people leave on short notice, so I'm filling in a bit over the next couple of weeks. The bookstore looks like a no-go. Oh, and Tay, if you see this, please tell your mom that I'll be in touch about the design work on Monday? *Whew* On the plus side, my independant study only lasts until the end of June, so I will be able to reclaim that time in about 6 weeks.

Wow. 6 weeks? Man, I gotta get to work...