pure nerds

i'm 60% nerd, 26% geek and 47% dork, which they categorize as "pure nerd." but i think it's really not much of anything, or non-commital, which i feel is more accurate of myself. but i'll take pure nerd because it makes me sound smart. chris is also a pure nerd, weighing in at 82%. that means he's really smart.

chris's parents

thanks everyone for your emails regarding chris's
family and the recent disaster in mississippi and new
orleans. as of right now chris's family has sustained
minimal damage. his parents had some trees and limbs
fall which hit the fence surrounding the dog yard and
their house; some shingles also blew off the roof and
some lights on their back porch were broken. they have
had no power for the past few days and it's hot, so
you know how that goes. some friends from the coast
have been staying at their place until they can go
home (if they have a home to return to). so whetever
damage the reids face is nothing in comparison to what
their friends will see when they go home.

the grandmothers are ok as well and i think they got
power back yesterday. the family closer to the coast
are also fine. we're still trying to get in touch w/
friends in mississippi and new orleans, but we expect
it'll be a long while before we hear from them.

thanks again for your thoughts and prayers. this is
all so crazy. chris's parents said that the shelters
in vicksburg are all full and that some of the casinos
have started letting people sleep in their hallways
and lobbies. i know that there are a lot of stories in
the media of looting in N.O. and stuff, but i really
feel that, just like during 9/11, there are more
untold stories of heroism and kind-heartedness during
this rough time.

clownie

IMG_0926,
originally uploaded by Waldie's World.

boy, it feels like it's getting longer and longer between blogs these days. sorry, blog readers! what with life going every which-way at once and chris using the computer a lot for schoolwork...well, you know the story.

but! thanks to my generous sister, hopefully this problem will be slightly resolved. she's given us her "old" laptop! i use quotes because certainly it's a bit out of date, but as far as us charity-cases go, it's golden.

i spent the weekend in philadelphia and delaware to pay my respects to my stepmom's father, alex pashalis, a generous and kind man who passed away suddenly last week. despite the morbidity which drew me up there, i enjoyed playing with my nieces, one of whom is pictured here in what was a hilarious bonding session between me, my older niece and clownie (as i am now calling her).

this week was jam-packed with stuff, but by some sort of grace, the 2-part class i was taking tuesday and thursday nights was cancelled. this has allowed me to write what you see here and do the dishes which were slowly seeping out into the surrounding rooms (and developing mold).

done, done and not quite done

i submitted my peace corps application today. i would say it's officially done but they immediately emailed me more forms to fill out. i've heard that this is pretty much the process right up until we leave the country, so i'll try not to get my hopes up when i submit these next round of forms.

i had a good chuckle at work today, thanks to fuzzy. the picture of the hedgehog was cute, but the picture of the baby otter just totally cracked me up. so thanks for that. and anytime i need a laugh in the future i'm going to try and resort to the mantra "Baby hedgehogs are the new baby otters (which, you'll remember, are the new kittens)."

paula and i are taking a walk tonight and then we will read together.
theresa and zoltan visit tomorrow night and we will go to hear bluegrass.
chris and i will go to charleston on friday night and i will get ready for my early, early flight to philly on saturday morning. there's always stuff to do isn't there? these stuffs are good though.

innocence

innocence,
originally uploaded by Waldie's World.

is this picture not just the most precious thing in the world? there's just something so sweet about it, i had to share.

so you might be wondering what's been going on, since i've not blogged in a while? well, a whole lot and not so much all at the same time. mostly chris and i have started working on our peace corps applications. with any luck we'll have them submitted tonight! they've taken a lot of time and have been sapping all of my desires to be on the computer more than is absolutely necessary.

peace corps is just the beginning of the apps. we'll apply for a couple at least one, probably 2, more. in light of all this i'm staying at my job until we leave (hopefully in 9-12 months). staying at my job sucks because there's so much junk going on but i won't bore you with the details.

4 more tomatoes on the way in my little potted plant. they're beautiful. and so was the weather last night and this morning!

and i'm still rereading harry potter 5. have been reading it since like a month ago. the pressure's on though b/c i have someone waiting for it. maybe i'll finish that by the weekend. that is, if i'm not working on more applications.

good eats!

dag, we just had one of the best dinners we've eaten in a really long time! and i'm not trying to boost myself up as any great cook. my friend, michelle, had emailed a recipe for thai noodles a long time ago and i never got around to cooking it. i've been bored with food lately so i was looking through my recipes for ideas and ran across the recipe and decided to try it. boy howdy, it was goood (so good it needed an extra o). so i've pasted the recipe below for anyone who might be intersted in trying it. it's very easy to make.

Thai-Style Noodles W/ Peanut Basil Sauce

Servings: 4

1 c. fresh snow pea pods
1 9 oz pkg. Refrigerated fettuccine
3/4 c. coconut milk
1/2 c. crunchy peanut butter
1/2 c. vegetable broth
3 TBL soy sauce
2 TBL lime juice
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp sugar
3/4 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp dried crushed red pepper
1 c. bean sprouts, divided
1 c. firmly packed Thai basil leaves, shredded (i used just regular ol' basil)
1/4 c. dry roasted peanuts, chopped
red pepper flakes, peanuts, lime wedges

Trim snow peas and cut in half diagonally.

Bring water to a boil in a large heavy saucepan; add snow peas, and cook 45 seconds. Drain. Plunge into ice water to stop the cooking process. Drain and set aside.

Cook pasta according to package directions.

Whisk together coconut milk and next 8 ingredients in a large saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, whisking occasionally, about 5 minutes or until mixture is thoroughly heated.

Add snow peas, hot cooked pasta, 3/4 c. bean sprouts, and 3/4 c. basil. Toss and place on a serving platter.

Sprinkle w/ remaining 1/4 c. bean sprouts, remaining 1/4 c. basil and 1/4 c. peanuts. Service w/ assorted condiments.

food and friends

generally a good weekend so far and one more day to go. spent friday night making some kick ass pesto with homegrown organic basil. and made a first attempt at edamame, which turned out really yummy. (imagine boiled peanuts only w/ soybeans instead.) saturday morning i had a nice chunk of time reading (harry potter. i'm reading backwards in the series from 6-1 again) and sipping coffee in bed. then, a few hours at the pool, which was hot but really relaxing. last night i babysat w/ some good friends, more like hanging out w/ the girls than babysitting. today is church and then going to a friend's house to see pictures of her 2 years teaching in tanzania, which should fit right in w/ chris and my recently resurfaced frenzied conversations about going abroad. it's been a good balance of relaxing time and friend time. good stuff.

apologies

for those of you that are daily blog-checkers like myself, i'm sorry i've dissappointed you for the past week with no posts. i feel guilty. but i haven't really had anything that's inspired me to post over the past week (the tomato was that exciting i guess (it was delicious by the way)). i was just checking other people's blogs and going "dag, why don't they post!?" then i couldn't remember the last time i'd posted; so i looked at my blog and realized it's been a week! lame.

hot tomato

I HAVE A TOMATO! on my tomato bush that is. i've never successfully harvested an actual tomato of my own. i've tried, but nothing has ever flowered and turned into an actual edible fruit. i'm so proud! there are 3 tomatoes at this point, 1 is ripe, 1 will be ripe in a few days and the last is just a toddler-sized tomato. i'd have taken a picture but our camera is on loan for the weekend. so you'll have to use your imagination to conjure up its sumptuousity.

grandad and his melons

grandad and his melons,
originally uploaded by Waldie's World.

sorry i haven't posted in a while. i looked at my blog today to see if there was any recent activity (why?) and realized that i had left the last blog with such negativity. sorry to leave that up for so long.

so what's been going on? well, chris is back. woohooo! yippeee! yip yippeeeeee!

we went to my maternal grandfather's family reunion this weekend in western pennsylvania. hadn't been to one since before i met chris. it was a great time. i even won at bingo for the first time in my life. five whole bucks, which i subsequently blew at texas holdum (is that how you spell that?). but i held my own fairly well considering it was my first go at the game. i even had fun (despite my family bickering about the rules and how cut throat everyone else was being). all in all it was a good weekend.

now we're back to the hum-drum of everyday life. and that sounds really good to me for a change.

sad news on the job front

well folks, i didn't get the job. found out today. i was told that they hired someone who had a "skill set that was better than" mine, whatever that means. it is suspected that they hired someone with a phd. how could i compete with that? more importantly, why would someone with a phd interview for a job at that level!? i mean, it would've been a step up for me, but it's defenitely a step down for someone with that level of education. i truly feel that that's an indication of our current economic state of affairs. we have so many overly educated people with not enough jobs, especially in the social service industry, and we're all just struggling for a job, let alone a job that we're educated and qualified (or overqualifiied) for. so anyways, that's all i can say on that. i'm disappointed but as they say, whenever God closes one door, he opens a window.

waiting

still haven't heard about the job. they told me on friday that they'd like to have a decision about it by "next monday." i should have asked for more specifics because that could mean the monday that just past yesterday or the monday that has not yet come. so now i'm just waiting. not so patiently i may add.

as for the bronchitis: i went to the DR (a different DR) yesterday and he said he didn't think it was bronchitis. he used some fancy word for post-nasal drip because of allergies to something and gave me 2 more prescriptions. "take these and call me in 2-3 weeks if it doesn't get any better." gee thanks! science is just a guessing game anyway. he doesn't really know what's wrong with me. they just want to fill me up with chemicals and crap and hope something hits the right button to make it go away. well i'll let you know in 2-3 weeks if science works out in my favor this time.

between home and hogwarts

i've been at home resting my bronchitis for most of the past 2 days. went in for the morning on both thursday and friday but each day my supervisor's talked me into taking the rest of the day off. i didn't really look forward to sitting home for a bunch of days by myself. but harry, hermione, and ron have kept me due company, not to mention my real-life friends who are sweet enough (or weird enough) to want to hang out with a coughing whiner (or wiener, whatever).

i did go to my interview on friday. i thought i did as well as i could have done. i don't know who i'm up against but if i don't get it, then there's nothing i could have done to get it, if that makes sense.

careful moves

as it turns out i have bronchitis. or so the doctor at doctor's care assessed after seeing me for all of 3 1/2 minutes. $50 for 3 1/2 minutes and 10 shiny white horse-tablets. i guess that's a fair trade-off. i was trying to wait to see my regular doctor for $15, but couldn't wait until monday. 5 nights of pontentially good sleep is well worth the extra $35, i think. that is, if it is indeed bronchitis and the horse-pills work.

oh, and, i have an interview friday. i'm not nervous about the interview itself, but rather about telling my supervisor that i've applied for this job. it's a good thing to do and in all cases the most advantagous politically, being that i would still share offices with my potentially former bosses if i do get the new job. but i'm not looking forward to their reactions. keep your fingers crossed for me. yikes!

unproductivity

this is the first time i'm blogging while at work. ooooh, what a rebel. it's just been "one of those days," starting with the internet going down from about 10:30 till 2:30 when i finally said, screw this crap and came to the main office. i came here to be productive, really. but no one is here so i'm basically just killing time so i can clock in the required 7.5 hours/day. what a pain. sorry i'm being so negative. just venting.

nice people are nice

it was pouring rain when i went to drop my movie in the drive-thu drop off at our library. eventhough it's a drive-thru, you still have to get out of your car to put your item in the box. i was waiting for the little old woman in front of me to deposit her items and drive away before i got out so i wouldn't have to stand in the rain. she got out of her car, deposited her items, walked around her car and approached my window, where she offered to put my movie in the slot since she was already out of her car and wet. it was such a generous offer i couldn't refuse. how nice is that?!

pride and prejudice

dude! the pride and prejudice mini-series by A&E is awsome! how did i not know about this before? i have never read the book (i will now) but, i blushingly admit, i am a fan of those sappy-type period dramas. i think, though, that even if you're not a fan of those type of stories this is a great movie! an epic 5+ hours long, plan your whole day to watch it straight through! (p.s. colin firth is easy on the eyes.)

home alone

so i'm back at home in columbia. it's very good to be home again, though after 2 days i've still not unpacked my bags. chris is at his parents' for the next 3 weeks, so i find myself very much home alone.

it's odd to be "on my own again," even if it is only temporary. having him away for a day or 2 or even a week does not bother me, but i find 3 weeks alone to be very daunting. so i'm taking it day by day so as not to get too sad.

and to help me get through my days i’ve borrowed 10 movies from the library (and have already watched 1). and i’m lining up projects and plans to keep myself occupied as much as possible. the big test, will i go back to the gym? if i go back to the gym you know i’m really lonely! we shall see.

new links

so you may have noticed that i've added two new links to the right of my site. one is to robin's blog, she's a friend from americorps, who i was fortunate enough to see for one night in boston. i hadn't "seen" her since my wedding 2 years ago (i use quotes because i saw her but didn't really talk to her since i was doing the whole getting married thing). the other link is for a college friend, theresa, who i also saw in boston and she and her husband, zoltan, so kindly put me up for a few days (right on the brink of theresa's big trip to japan for some smarty pants neuroscience conference.

i'm a tv junkie!

i'm back in ny after my trip to boston and new hampshire. i visited a friend in nh who 21 days ago delivered her first baby. i'll post pictures of the beautify baby dara brown when i get back to mom's house and have the ability to download.

but in the meantime, i'm hanging out at a friend's apartment in "the city." i'm so tired from visiting people and go, go, going that i can't stop watching tv. i think i'm a tv junkie in the making! yesterday i easily readopted my old addiction to the food network and today i've discovered the discovery channel. i watched a show on sharks because chris isn't around and now i'm watching the designer guys, or something like that.

i'll probably go through withdrawl again when i go home where there's no tv. but that's okay because my addiction is better off curtailed. otherwise i'd get nothing done.