Ravings of a Textual Deviant

Not This Time

Li — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 02:00:13 +0000

I did not get hired at the gym where I auditioned at the end of last month.

And I don’t care…for the best possible reason. It was such a great experience that the result just doesn’t seem relevant. It was probably the most fun I have ever had attempting to obtain employment. Which reminds me, I still need to acquire a pair of cycle shorts so that I can start taking spinning classes. I don’t even care which instructor they hired for spinning; they were all fun to work with.

Furthermore, I’m getting enough interest in private classes that it’s not as if I won’t have enough students. By the end of next month, I’ll probably be teaching 3-4 times a week. And I am handing out business cards left and right—I’ve been using temporary cards because I haven’t managed to get a new batch of my permanent cards made up, and I am starting to run low on the temps.

So, definitely no complaints, especially as a full-time day job is a necessity right now. And there’s always next time.

So Far, So Good, So OMG!

Li — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:08:40 +0000

I started January with my now-intermediate private yoga class up in Zionsville, and one new student. Then, a couple of weeks ago, I picked up another new student. After I finished making arrangements on the phone in the locker room at my gym for my third new student of the year, the nice lady changing next to me asked if I taught private yoga classes, and did I have a card (I did!). And I had an audition to teach at my gym last Sunday. I expect to hear back next week about whether I go on to Round 2. If I do, that’s another 1-2 classes a week.

I am thinking that teaching more yoga/doing more yoga was definitely a good decision. Now, I just need to convince my triceps, lats and intercostal muscles (muscles between my ribs are sore! WTF???) that it’s a good decision.

But wait. There’s more.

Round about the time I left my job, Spouse started taking private cases. He’d been worried about where he was going to find clients (oddly enough, that thought never crossed my mind regarding yoga, but I digress).

It turns out that at least so far, he doesn’t need to worry about it either. He’s got three cases already; the Interstate Divorce, the Improper Lien, and the Unpaid Wedding Vendor. Potential case number four, Whole-Can-of-Crazy Custody Dispute, is a definite possibility.

So here we are trying to get all of this incorporated into our lives and our file retention strategy, when Spouse gets the opportunity for a scholarship to a 40-hour program for mediator certification training…less than 48 hours before it starts. On the first business day after his most recent opportunity to sit the bench pro tem.

Of course he said yes. The only downside? It is 8 AM to 7 PM (ish) for five consecutive days, including this coming weekend. And he’s been going into the office before and after.

So, wow, lots and lots of good stuff. Tiring good stuff, but very good indeed. I think it’s going to be an amazing year.

Today’s Irony Supplement

Li — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 21:39:55 +0000

I was working on a document and I told the word processing program to find “government” and replace it with “work”.

Lunch Plans

Li — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 02:41:14 +0000

After all the necessary back-and-forth involved in making lunch plans with someone I haven’t seen in far too long…

Me: I will be there. But not with bells on.

Her: How about some tinsel?

Me: Only if it goes with my shoes.

Her: I have faith in your ability to accessorize.

Not Dead Yet

Li — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 00:33:03 +0000

But sick as the proverbial dog. Head cold with lots of ambition has colonized entire respiratory system. Lots of ick and fatigue has ensued. Will write more when coughing less.

ETA: Spouse also has the ick. And all the handkerchiefs except one are in the wash for the second time this week.

Potsticker Soup

Li — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 22:14:14 +0000

I promised this recipe to my awesome massage therapist (if you’re local to the Indy area and need a good massage therapist, let me know—this lady must’ve been on the honor role at massage therapy school), and it only seemed fair to share it with the rest of the Reading Public. As usual, my quantities are kind of sketchy, and I bought my ingredients at Trader Joe’s, so you may have to get creative about substituting…but I have faith in you.

1 package frozen potstickers, any kind, no need to thaw
3-4 C chicken, or vegetable broth
1 package shredded cabbage
1 package broccoli slaw mix (or shredded carrots)
8-12 ounces of the protein of your choice (chicken, shrimp, tofu, etc.)
Rice noodles or bean thread noodles
Thai fish sauce
Crushed garlic
Ginger powder
Toasted sesame oil

Pour the chicken broth into a large pot and bring it to a low boil. Drop in your potstickers (carefully, with minimal splashing), and let the heat come back up, stirring occasionally. Stir in as much fish sauce, garlic and ginger as you like; it’s very much a matter of personal taste. When the broth is seasoned to your exacting specifications, add in a couple of handfuls each of the shredded cabbage and slaw mix/carrots. Stir for a bit. If your protein is already cooked, add it and the noodles together. If not, let the protein cook about halfway, then add noodles. Stir in the toasted sesame oil right before you remove the soup from the pot.

Personally, I have never made it with beef and beef broth, but I can’t think of a reason it wouldn’t work. Also, feel free to play around with the vegetables. I’ve used a combination of green onions, broccoli, frozen chopped spinach, edamame, shredded carrots, and asparagus with excellent results. On various occasions, I’ve also added shallots or mushrooms, depending on mood and what was to hand at the time. Last night, I added some powdered saffron at the same time as the garlic to excellent effect.

Protected: If/Then

Li — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 20:00:51 +0000

Neither Created nor Destroyed

Li — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 22:19:10 +0000

I wish I had bothered to study the rules of physics. Or magic. Or, preferably, both.

I was minding my own business in the palace garden, when a frog hopped up to me and spoke.

I’m no genius, but like every princess, I thought I knew what that meant. So, yes, I kissed the frog, and yes, just as advertised, he turned into a handsome prince. Better yet, an unmarried, handsome prince. Everything a princess hopes for.

Correction: almost everything.

You can imagine my dismay at his lack of charm when I woke on a lily pad this morning.

Alone.

Sherlock Holmes (The Movie)

Li — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 03:59:37 +0000

Despite myself, I seem to find that I am enjoying Robert Downey Jr.’s recent work. Sherlock Holmes is a good example.

Don’t get me wrong, the film is definitely outside the Conan-Doyle canon, but it’s not so far out as to be unrecognizable, and I thought that the premise was sound. If you’re a Holmes purist, skip it, because you will be annoyed beyond the telling of it. If you’re a bit more tolerant of a diversion, you’ll probably conclude that Jude Law is too young for a strict interpretation of Dr. Watson, and not unreasonably, but he’s perfect for the way that the character is written in the film. Any actress playing Irene Adler would have a lot to live up to, and Rachel McAdams is sufficient, if not brilliant, in the role. I do wish we’d seen more of Moriarty, but the production company is obviously saving him up for a sequel. In fact, the Moriarty plotline is decidedly secondary, and I wish we’d gotten a little bit more of it.

Admittedly, I’m biased, as I am an unabashed fan of steampunk and there’s a good taste of it in the film. But the action sequences are excellent, the plot moves at a good pace, and the characters are engaging. If only League of Extraordinary Gentlemen had been half as good, it wouldn’t have sucked. Guy Ritchie’s directing style is distinctive, and the parallels to Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels were understated, but not unnoticed. For example, casting; I’m sure I’ve seen the French-speaking thug in at least one other Guy Ritchie film—and he was a great supporting character in this one.

This film is unlikely to win awards, and has the distinct disadvantage of direct competition from Dances with Aliens Avatar. Unlike the competition, it has more than special effects to hold the viewer’s interest.

Mark Your Calendars

Li — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 03:23:40 +0000

It seems that the Wii favors intuitive thinkers, of which I am one. Spouse, not quite so much. As a result, I have outscored him in Wii tennis, Wii golf, and Wii bowling. He’s ahead in Wii baseball by a single game score of 1-0; both of us are better at pitching than hitting. We have not tried the boxing; there are certain things that married couples ought not to do together, and this is on my list.

I expect that as soon as Spouse figures out the mechanics, I will very shortly be losing to his outstanding reflexes and analytical skills. Fortunately, I am not terribly attached to results beyond the fact that we’re moving more (Wii tennis is a great warm-up) and interacting more (we figured out how to play as a doubles team against the machine).