Random Shite #5

British boy band of the '90s, Take That, are reuniting! Robbie Williams will not be joining, but I think I speak on behalf of all Britons when I say it's about time.

I will be getting my wisdom teeth extracted on Monday morning, so I will be away for a few days. Sadly, it will also be a few days away from solid foods as well. I've stocked up the pantry with chicken noodle, tomato, and french onion soups. I would like to get some supplies for some smoothies this weekend.

I'm venturing out to the shops on Sunday. Ikea to return a few things and maybe pick up some small gifts. And possibly to the Asian market to get sushi sets. I'm at work today to avoid the hell that is early bird Black Friday hoardes.

I haven't started Christmas shopping yet, admittedly. And I'm still unsure of what to get for everyone this year. If anyone has good suggestions, I gladly welcome any ideas.

We buckled last night and turned on the heat for the first time this season. With temps getting down to 18 this weekend, no neighbor could possibly help keep our place warm enough. Damn those Canadians with their cold air!

I Like Some Turkey in a Big Brown Shoe

My parents had turkey dinner on Saturday since they are going to visit Jules on Thursday. Mmm...turkey. And this time, mom didn't cook it till it was as dry as sand. She must be getting more practice. I'm always in charge of the mashed potatoes, and then I bring it over and everything else is done.

Mom likes to make other stuff too. Like eggrolls and rice soup and deer stir fry. It's all good, the only thing is making room in my stomach to eat all of it.

All the relatives still treat Joe as a novelty. They think it's fun to tell him to 'try it', referring to any and all foreign foods that he may have not eaten before. But he's a brave guy and will try anything, much to everyone's delight. This time it was organs and shrimp paste. He refused the liver but tried the heart, dipped in the shrimp paste sauce. The stuff is super smelly and pungent, but it does taste pretty good with certain foods. I also gave him some durian fruit, which he had a few bites of and regretted later that evening. He kept burping durian fruit, and that's never something you want to relive after you've eaten.

So those are the crazy things that we have at Thanksgiving. Do you have any wacky foodstuffs at your family table?

Wish List

Dear Santa,

I would really like a laptop and get rid of the huge clunker that is currently occupying space and time in my apartment. And with that, something faster than dial up service would greatly be appreciated.

Some new cardigans would be nice, a lot of my sweaters are shrinking in the arms or shrinking all around. So if you do decide to bring sweaters this year, please check the label and make sure it's NOT dry clean only.

There are a few items that are a hassle to buy throughout the year so if you could stock me up with the following, it would be super sweet:
votive candles
liquor i.e., vodka, rum
toiletries i.e., lotion, body wash, hand soap

As you already know, I like to be organized when you come around every year. So some magazine files or some plastic boxes to keep things neat and tidy are good ideas for around the apartment.

Although I really don't need another MP3 player, I would like a new one since the one I own is already outdated in memory and people would laugh at me if they saw how little it stores. I'm not saying I want an ipod, any good quality MP3 player is fine by me.

I was very dazzled by the My Flat in London purse at the hat shop at the beach and I was good and didn't buy it. So I'm asking you to get me that purse now for Christmas. I think I deserve it. I promise I won't mistreat it if I get it for Christmas.

These are the major things I would like this year, Santa. I know I have a lot more to ask for but I'm pretty confident that my family will get me the other things. I hope to see these items under the tree, I know for a fact I was on the good kid list. Thanks Santa.

Sincerely,
Sophalopalus

Joe & Sophie's 3rd Annual Holiday Party

Food Folks & Fun!
Come celebrate the holidays with friends this season at Joe and Sophie's place.
December 10th at 9pm.
Bring a wrapped gift ($5 max please)
We'll be serving holiday inspired cocktails but feel free to BYOB.

RSVP regrets only.

Those Damn Kids!

Yesterday morning, Joe woke up to discover that 2 valve stem covers were stolen from his car. Not all 4, just 2. Needless to say he got really pissed about it. He hasn't had those for even a month and they already get stolen.

Not only is he ticked off that things were taken but he's really paranoid that someone would pay that much attention to his car that they would even notice he had valve stem covers.

I tend to think someone has it out for him. I mean, two weeks ago someone poured soda all over the side! It seems that food always finds a way onto his vehicle every single year and now this. He thinks some kid on a bike needed some bling so they stole 2, instead of all four.

I'm pretty upset because they were part of his birthday present. Joe ended up calling Pedro to see if there was anything he could do, insurance wise, and suggested filing a police report. We'll see what happens.

It's Not So Much the Carbs as It is the Portions and the Condiments

Somehow I ballooned to 118 lbs., so I’m going to try to eat half of what I’m used to and cut back on the condiments. I think cutting back on condiments alone, I could lose one or two pounds. That probably sounds alarming that I eat with that much ketchup and mustard. Plus, I need to find “exercise in disguise”. I can’t get motivated to run or get on a machine, but fun activities that involve physical movement seem to work. So yesterday Joe dragged me out to help the Codorus Creek Improvement Partnership plant some plants at the creek yesterday for 3 hours. It actually crossed my mind to go out to the clubs on weekends to dance…uh…maybe I should sign up for a dance class instead…

Prussian Blue

Let's pretend that these two girls walk up to you and hand you a pamphlet. What do you think the pamphlet says? Check out this feature from ABC and find out.

Scary shit!

The Seat Manager

Jules: In an effort to give people something to do, the IT department has developed a software program that allows the office employees to reserve their desk space on a day-by-day calendar. Because apparently, sitting in the same cubicle everyday just isn't as well documented as it should be. http://seatmanager/WayneSeats

Me: I’m bummed out that the link doesn’t work for me. I’m dying to see what it looks like. Can you do a screen print and send me a word doc?

Jules: As you can see, seat 1 is currently available for you to sit in.