My auto insurance rocks!

Not only did they work quickly to expedite my claim, my filing the claim will not make my premium go up because I wasn't at fault. At least, that's what the nice lady at my insurance agent's office told me. I get a rental car too, which is good since I have a 25-30 minute commute to work each way.

So now I have to find someplace to DO the work!

He Has a Name

More from the young man mentioned on February 22nd. His name is Derrick Ashong, BTW.

I was in Queens this weekend. The gf and I got up early yesterday and went into Manhattan to her favorite store, Macy's at Herald Square (That's the one on 34th street). We had a blast, and even got me a purse I've been looking at for 6 months- on sale, no less.

And she wasn't even frustrated while shopping with me, the kid who isn't a huge fan.

So, it was a good trip.

Until we got back to Queens and saw that someone had hit Marianne (my car). HARD. The passenger side front panel is dented in so far I was concerned that the wheel well was damaged. It drives ok and I made it back Upstate with no problems, but now I have to get my car fixed.

And NO, the person who hit my car did not leave a note.

Boo Hiss

I'm annoyed. I mean, really annoyed.

Last Saturday morning the gf and I were on separate websites to get tickets for The Last Play at Shea, scheduled for July 16th (a Wednesday). Not exactly the easiest time for me to go downstate to Shea Stadium, you know? BUT, we were excited about the show and happy to have gotten tickets.

Then, I found out that another show was added . The added show is on Friday, July 18th so now we have tickets for the Next to the Last Play at Shea.

So guess what did we did this past Saturday morning? Yep, try for tickets to the Friday show. And not only couldn't we score tickets, we couldn't even get to the site or an operator.

So, we'll go to the Wednesday night show, but just for the record, I think it stinks that they added a show on a better day (and later) than the original show.
Couldn't the original show have been on Friday night, then the added show on Wednesday?

Surely Shea Stadium and Billy Joel knew they were going to add a show. How could the first show NOT sell out? He always sells out in NYC, and for Pete's Sake, it's the LAST SHOW before Shea is shut down.

My friend Jocelyn sent me the link to this video.

A young man at a Barrack Obama rally is being interviewed on his views. I guess the interviewer is fairly aggressive, which is what made Jocelyn forward the link to me.

And so I pass it on:

President's Day

I was listening to NPR this evening as I was cooking, and heard this quiz in tribute to today being President's Day. I got half of them right. Can you beat me?

Who was the first US President...

1. to visit a foreign country?
2. to visit the West Coast?
3. born West of the Mississippi River?
4. born in a hospital?
5. who was a bachelor? (not a widower, a bachelor)
6. who was divorced?
7. to resign?
8. to die while in office?
9. to wear pants regularly (as opposed to wearing knee breeches)?
10. to own a radio?


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And I just saw this on the NPR website. I found it oddly amusing.


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Oh, you want the answers to the quiz? Click here.

Surviving Lent

It is possible to smile so much your face gets sore. I realized last week at work. One of the folks I work with nearly laughed their head off when I told them what my goal for Lent is. The response was, "You'll never make it!"

Not exactly encouraging, huh?

Well, it's been nearly a week, and so far, so good.

Pig Uterus, Anyone?

On Colvin Avenue in Albany is the Asian grocery store (called "Asian Grocery") I like. It's where I get nori and rice for sushi, the ginger drink I often have with breakfast, and inexpensive veggies.

On my last visit, I ventured past the tanks of live fish (and lobsters and turtles) to the fresh meat. Lots of pork, including fresh neck bones. Since I've only been able to find frozen ones here, I was thrilled. Southerner that I am, what's a pot of black-eyed peas without neck bones?

Tonight I actually bought some. Yippee! I also looked at some of the other offerings. No chitterlings but they did have pork stomachs (hog maws) whole ducks, chicken feet, pork hearts (2 to a pack) and packages of pig uterus.

I've eaten (and enjoyed) my fair share of porcine large intestines, but the uterus? Oh my. And can I tell you it was white and gelatinous looking? It looked, well, "springy."

So curious was I about pig uterus that I did an on-line search and found this. Scroll down to "Number 1 Scariest Food to be had at Ranch 99." It had me laughing out loud.

Happy Valentine's Day

Recipes

I received BiblioDiva's recipes in the mail yesterday. The idea was that the loser of the wager would send 20 recipes to the winner. Recipes that the winner would likely enjoy. So, what'd she send? More than 20 recipes, for starters, including a couple for biscuits, several for desserts (including a few chocolate chip cookies and a pound cake), and a few main dishes.

The most memorable, however, are from the same cookbook, Better Homes and Gardens Junior Cook Book for Beginning Cooks of All Ages (published before I was born, I'm sure).



Recipe #1: According to the cookbook, "Individual meat loaves made with ground beef are shaped around wooden skewers and called Everyday Drumsticks. The whole family will enjoy this new and different mealtime idea."




Recipe #2: Here's the list of ingredients for Strawberry Pineapple Freeze.

1-10oz package frozen strawberries, thawed
1-8.75oz can crushed pineapple
1 cup strawberry-flavored yogurt
0.25 cup sifted powdered sugar
3 pineapple rings
lettuce

And here's the photo:


Yes, folks, it seems that BiblioDiva really is trying to kill chubby little me. Miniature meat loaves on sticks? And where's the cool whip for the strawberry pineapple thingy? And do I really have to cut it into wedges like that and serve it on iceberg lettuce?

Next time you're in metroDC, call BiblioDiva and ask her to cook you a meal...

Have you ever been a part of something small you were quite proud of? So small that it won't change most lives around you, but still big enough that you think "Woo Hoo!"

I think that about having helped get an amazing group of my college classmates to want to be class officers for the next 5 years. We will celebrate our 20th anniversary in May and these women will usher us to our 25th reunion. A small thing in the big scheme of things but honestly, these are amazing women!

I'm soooo excited.

We went to Mount Holyoke, incidentally-

The gf bought me a Giants SuperBowl t-shirt. Complete with team roster on the back. Only not so complete since Jeremy Shockey isn't listed.

I know he's been out most of the season with a broken leg, but he broke his leg during a game!

Does this mean he didn't get a ring? That he's not coming back next season?

What's going on??!

"Clean" Glasses

Last weekend when I was in Boston, I stayed at the lovely Seaport Hotel.

However, I didn't use the glasses in the bathroom because my friend Gwen had sent me this clip and I couldn't get it out of mind.

Ash Wednesday

I think of the 40 days of Lent as a time to be reflective and repentant as way of preparing for Easter, the holiest day in the Christian calendar. For me, it's a time that, in some small way, parallels the 40 days Jesus spent wandering in the wildness being tempted by Satan.

Lots of people "give up" something as a means of sacrifice during Lent. Because I didn't grow up doing that, I've often tried to "take something on," usually something that will require more of me than I usually give.

Today is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, and I haven't decided what to take on. Certainly, I could be more "chipper" at work and nicer to folks I don't particularly care for, but I think I want to reach higher this year.

So here's what I've decided:
I want to be able to go to bed each evening knowing that I've lived a good day- that I've strived, honestly and sincerely, to be a better person than I've ever been.

Personally, it's not practical to think about being "the best person I can be" because that'll set me up to feel like a failure for 40 days, especially since I'm not even sure I know what my "best" is. But I do know when I've done "better" than before, which means that I'll have a means of self-reflective and evaluation.

I want to wake up on Easter morning knowing that I've spent this time constantly striving to be a better person, with the intent that it'll put me closer to the person G*d intended me to be.

Odds and Ends

I just got home. I left work early since my schedule bombed out. "All is not lost," I thought. "I can go vote." Imagine my surprise when I wasn't listed in the official books, and I had to vote by affidavit, on paper. The poll volunteers were very nice and quite helpful, but still, I wanted to use the machine! I got to use it in 2006. I even have my little post card from the Voting Commissioners verifying my registration.

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I spent this past weekend in Boston at the Yankee Dental Congress, one of the largest dental conventions in the US. And lest you think I was there with only 30 or 40 other folks, here's an article BiblioDiva sent me about it.

Can you imagine? 28,000 dentists all in one place?

It was a blast!

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SuperBowl Champs!

Once again, my Jeremy Shockey jersey and I propelled our NY Giants to a win. And this time, it was the ultimate win. Despite the nay-sayers. 17-14.

And BiblioDiva owes me 20 recipes. So remember darling, I don't like raspberries (in any form!), and I'm not a big dairy eater so no recipes full of heavy cream, cheese and the like.

Go Giants!

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Oh, and today, my UNC women beat Duke at home: 93-76. Woo-hoo!