A New Visitor

Apparently animals love me. A few days ago a squirrel crawled on my patio fence and was making a lot of noise and looking at me when I was standing by the sliding door. Being weak as usual, I put some peanuts on the fence and he came over and ate them. Then he decided to crawl down into my patio to ask for more treats. I threw a few peanuts on the patio and he didn't run away after grabbing them but instead just sat there and ate them. He kept standing on his back legs asking for more. It got to the point where he was getting a little too bold, and I was afraid that he would scurry into my apartment, so I had to close the door. He sat there for a few minutes, then left.

I don't know what it is about me, but apparently animals love me. Or maybe they just trust me and have some kind of intuition that I won't hurt them. In my other apartment, I had a family of woodpeckers living in my wall. I put up with them for a really long time—even when they were keeping me awake at 3:00 in the morning—and waited for the longest time before I told the apartment complex. I was too afraid that the birds would be destroyed if they knew about them. Fortunately the birds are a protected species and even more fortunately I moved to a first floor apartment and didn't have to worry about them anymore. And then, about a year after getting rid of my bird problem, a kitty showed up on my patio and wanted to be my friend. And now a squirrel wants to be my friend. Fortunately the squirrel hasn't come back.

Now I'm just waiting for a raccoon, skunk, mountain lion, coyote,or bear to show up on my patio...

This and That

I really don't have that much to report right now, but I feel like I need to write something anyway.

Work: In keeping with the tradition of posting how busy I am at work, I'm going to say that I'm still busy at work. This has just been an exceptionally busy summer for some reason. In addition to just having a lot of projects to work on, for some reason I'm working on a lot of big, complicated, and messy projects. So at times one book project feels like three. On the bright side, I should have most of these messy projects finished over the next few weeks. That's not to say that any of the busyness will end, but at least I will be dealing with less problematic projects.

Joey the Cat: In happier news, the neighborhood kitty continues to visit me on a regular basis. He still likes to come by every evening and every morning. I usually just give him a few treats—not a full meal—and I cuddle with him and play with him. Even though I spent a some money on some cute cat toys, he seems to enjoy playing in boxes more than playing with the actual toys. I should have known better, because the cat we had used to be the same way. She didn't care for cat toys, but was happy playing with the rings that go around the spout of a milk bottle.

Even though I enjoy having Joey visit me, I'm trying to build up my willpower and trying to not let him in every time he comes over. I don't want him to get too used to coming and going whenever he wants, because when I go away on vacation he will surely be disappointed when I'm not home. So tonight I tested myself for the first time. He came by tonight around dinner time, and jumped into my patio and meowed at the screen door. I left him outside, and he continued to meow at me while I was eating. It was absolute torture and I was in agony, but eventually he gave up on trying to get inside. He didn't go away completely, though. Instead he decided to sleep on my patio chair and he has been there for the past 30 minutes. Knowing me, I will probably let him in later tonight and cuddle with him for a little while, but hopefully he learns that sometimes he has to stay out...

...and just as I'm typing this he is back at my door meowing sadly, and I'm getting weak...

Corn and Black Bean Salsa

This past Friday was my day to bring in treats for our office food club. My partner for the day wanted to bring in nachos, so I decided to bring in some guacamole and salsas. I brought in some premade salsas, but I also decided to try out a new recipe and make some homemade Corn and Black Bean Salsa. It was the first time I made it, but it turned out to be a success.

Ingredients:
1 can of whole kernel corn, drained
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 small red onion, finely diced
3 green onions, finely sliced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 bunch of cilantro, finely chopped
2 jalapenos, finely chopped (seeds removed if you want to tone down the heat)
3 small tomatoes, seeded and diced
juice from half a lime
salt, pepper, cumin or any other spices to taste

Directions: 1. Toss everything together in a bowl and mix well.

Notes: It's pretty hard to screw up this recipe. Simply taste the salsa and adjust the ingredients or seasonings however you wish. I seeded the jalapenos to tone down the heat because not everyone in the food club likes really spicy food. I think if I were to make this again for myself, I would keep some of the seeds or I would try a different pepper like a Serrano which has a bit more heat to it.

Corn and Black Bean Salsa

Cat Tales

My cat adventures continue. Joey the Cat continues to stop by my apartment for visits. When this whole little affair started out, he would only come by in the evenings. I usually wouldn't see him until 9:00 or 10:00 at night. Eventually he would start to come by in the mornings when I'm having breakfast and getting ready for work. Now, especially on the weekends, he visits during the day.

Because I'm weak, I let him inside for a little while. He usually comes in and meows loudly and asks for food. He is not a starving cat by any means, but I give him a few treats anyway. Sometimes he is really active and just wants to play. In spite of having an assortment of cat toys for him, he seems to like playing in boxes.

Other times, he just wants to hang out and sleep on the couch while I watch TV. I suppose he really just wants some company and wants some attention. Whenever I put him back outside at night, he meows loudly and sadly and scratched at the sliding screen door. It's agonizing and gut wrenching to listen to it, but unfortunately I can't keep him inside my apartment during the night. After all he does have his own home to go to, but I have a feeling he would rather stay with me.

Cat Adventures (continued...still...)

So as to be expected the neighbor cat, Joey, continued to visit me this past week. As has been his pattern, he would stop by in the evening and meow at my patio door. Because I'm weak and a total pushover, I would always let him in for a few hours so that he could have a snack and so that we could cuddle and play for a little while. I would always let him back outside when it was my bedtime, and he would usually jump over the fence and go about his way. For the past few days, though, he has been sticking around again. When I let him back out at night, he would sleep on one of my patio chairs. He did this a few times before, but then he would leave during the night and I wouldn't see him until the next day. Lately he has spent the whole night on my patio. When I woke up, he would still be outside, on the chair, and when he woke up and saw me, he would meow and ask for breakfast. Naturally (because I'm weak) I would give him a few treats, cuddle with him, then send him back outside.

Taking a nap.

Yesterday, I admit, I kept him inside longer than usual. We sat on the couch together and watched a long documentary about ancient Greek history. But eventually I put him back outside, he wandered away for a few hours, but then came back and slept on my patio for the evening. This afternoon, though, I got a call from his parents and they said that they haven't seen him for a few days and they wondered if I saw him. I told them that he was sleeping on my patio, and that I'd meet them outside the building so that the could get the cat. As it turns out we live in the same building, on the same floor, and pretty much right across the hall from each other. I told them that he usually comes by my apartment every night and every morning, and I said that I was fine with him sleeping there at night because I've been worried about him getting snatched up by a coyote or some other animal. In my subtle way I was trying to give them a hint that maybe they should consider keeping him in at night, but they didn't seem phased by it. Oh well. So I just told them that I didn't mind that he visited and that if they ever couldn't find him, they could probably look over my fence and see if he was hanging around. After we chatted, we all went back to our apartments. They didn't take the cat with them, but let him play in the grass outside. Two minutes later, he was back in my patio asking to come in. I really think he wants to move in with me. He has certainly made himself at home...

Really, kitty?

Cat Adventures (continued)

So, my cat adventures got more exciting after the first few days. In the beginning, the cat would come by at night every few nights, but it got to the point when he would come by every night at around 9:00 or 10:00. I would give him some food and water and pet him and play with him for a while. But eventually he would sit in front of the screen door and look out like he wanted to go back outside, so I would let him out before going to bed. I thought he would go back to his own home, but he would come back my apartment throughout the night. He'd wake me up at 2:00 in the morning by meowing in my patio or meowing at and scratching my bedroom windows. I got out of bed to check up on him and I put some food and water on the patio but I left him outside. I was hoping that would be enough to make him happy, but he kept coming back later in the night at 4:00 and 6:00 in the morning. It almost felt like I was taking care of an infant that wanted to eat every few hours!

Sitting on the back of the futon.

It got to the point where the cat was starting to come by more frequently and more consistently, so I was starting to worry that he really was a stray. I finally took him in the house and kept him in the house because I was starting to worry about him being out all night. I was afraid that he might be snatched up by another wild animal, like a coyote, or that he might get into a fight with a raccoon or something. At this point I didn't have a litter box, but the cat would often go to the bathroom in the wood chips that are in my patio, so I filled up a Xerox box lid with some of these wood chips and I put it in the bathroom for him. The next morning I had to go to work to attend a few meetings, so I locked the cat in my bathroom with his litter box and some food and water. I went to my meetings then took the rest of the day off to take care of the cat. I immediately went to the store and bought a real litter box and some kitty litter and rushed home to make sure the cat was OK. The cat was fine and it even looked like he used the makeshift litter box, but I set up the real litter box for him to use.

I kept the cat inside with me for the next few days. Although he would often look out the windows or door like he wanted to go out, he seemed pretty happy to be with me. He would play with me, sit on the couch with me while I was watching TV, or sleep on my bed. Whenever I came home from work, he would come out of my bedroom and meow at me.

Getting comfy on my bed.

I knew I had to take the cat to a vet to be scanned for a microchip, so I made an appointment and took him in for a checkup and to be scanned. It turns out that he did have a microchip and the vet was able to find his owners. His owners actually live in my apartment complex, but they were out of town on business or a vacation and had a pet sitter taking care of the cat. Apparently the sitter didn't realize that the cat had not come home for several days. The cat's owners called me and said that he is an indoor-outdoor cat and he really likes to be outside. Obviously they don't care where their cat is late at night or they just assume that he will be OK. They even said that other people have taken the cat in before, thinking he was a stray, but he doesn't like collars "so what can they do."

I left the cat at the vet's office so that they could board him in their kennels until the owners got back from their trip. The vet was nice enough to not charge me for the visit, because he appreciated the fact that I was a good Samaritan and brought the cat in to be checked out. The owners got back from their trip on Monday, and, not surprisingly, the cat was back on my patio on Wednesday night and he has stopped by to visit just about every night since. Obviously he knows where he can get some extra food and more love.

Getting sleepy...

So, apparently I now have joint custody of this cat. Although the owners probably don't know it (or might not even care about it), the cat obviously wants to adopt me as a second mother. Whenever he comes by, I give him some water and a few treats and I play with him and cuddle him, until he wants to go outside again. Usually when I put him out, he sleeps on one of my patio chairs for a few hours, then disappears until the next night when he comes back again. We'll see how long this keeps up...

Cat Adventures

Over the past few weeks I've had a cat visit me at my apartment. Last Thursday night, I was watching TV and then I started to hear some noises in my patio. I went to the sliding screen door and tried to see what was out there, then I suddenly heard some meowing at the foot of the door. A gray cat with dark stripes was looking up at me and then started to meow loudly. I was shocked and started to panic as if someone has left a basket with a baby outside my door. I immediately texted a friend and asked what I should do. She jokingly said that I should let it in and keep it.

Thinking that it might be a stray, I thought it might be hungry or thirsty. So I put out a little bowl of water and the cat drank a little bit. Then I searched my apartment for some kind of food that I could put out. Unfortunately I didn't have an tuna, but I decided to put out some cheese and a few torn up pieces of turkey deli meat. The cat sniffed the food but didn't eat it. Obviously this cat isn't like the cat I used to have who would steal a piece of fried chicken, pizza, or bacon and eggs right out of your hands. Eventually the cat ate a few pieces of turkey, but he really wanted to come inside my apartment. (I call the cat a he, but I don't really know if it's a boy or a girl.) I stuck my arm out to pet him, and he seemed healthy. He wasn't skinny and it seemed like his coat was in good shape. Unfortunately he didn't have a collar, though. He would sometimes just sit in front of my screen door, sometimes he would just make himself at home and sit in the middle of my patio, and other times he would sit on my patio fence. Eventually I had to go to bed, but I left out the food and water in case he got thirsty or hungry.

The next morning, I looked out on my patio and he wasn't there. But later that afternoon I went to the store and bought a few cans of wet cat food and a small bag of dry kitty treats so that I would be prepared if he came back that night. But he didn't come back. In fact I didn't see him or hear him at all for the past week. But then he came back again last night.

Again, I was watching TV and he showed up at about the same time last week. I was watching the local evening news and then I heard meowing at my screen door again. This time I was prepared. I put some of the wet cat food on a plate and put it on the patio for him. But he wasn't interested in it. He just wanted to come in. So I texted my friend again and asked her what I should do. She suggested that maybe I should just pet him because maybe he just wanted some attention. So I sat down in front of the open screen door and petted him. He seemed happy, and at a point when I was distracted, he jumped inside my apartment. "Oh no, come back" were my exact words to him. He walked in my apartment, looked around at my couch and coffee table, then he trotted through my living room and made his way toward my bathroom and bedroom. He looked toward the bathroom, but then turned into my bedroom and went straight for the bed. He crawled right under my bed. He was close to the edge of the bed, so I was able to drag him out. I picked him up and he was kind of big and fat, so I have a feeling that he's not a stray and not totally neglected.

I put him out on the patio, but I got the dry kitty treats to feed to him, and he really liked those. And, once again, when I was distracted, he jumped in my apartment and went right back to my bedroom. So I had to grab him and carry him back outside.

So, I'm not so sure what to do. It's likely that he belongs to someone in the apartment complex, and maybe he just gets lost on his way home. Or maybe he just wants to visit me. Apparently he likes to visit on Thursday nights. Like I said, he seems to be in good shape and must be taken care of. We'll see if he comes back.

He's super cute, too. I'm trying not to fall in love with him. I managed to take a picture of him when he was in my home. It's a fuzzy picture because he wouldn't sit still, but you can see how cute he is...

Crawling Out of the Quicksand

It has once again been nearly a month since I have last written here. Should I play the broken record again? Work has been especially overwhelming this month because I had about eight books going to press throughout the month. For those of you who are not in publishing and might not know, eight books going to press in one month is a lot. And to make matters worse, it seemed like every project was a mess or more complicated than it should have been. Because each project was mess or really complicated, every step of the process took twice as long as it should have, and unfortunately I had to put in a lot of overtime during the past few weeks. And, no, I don't get paid extra for overtime! Last week was my crunch week, my hell week, when the last of the projects had to be wrapped up and sent off. After several long nights and long weekends and a few tears, I was able to send the last of my books to press. I say "last of my books" but that only refers to the ones going to press. I still have seven other books that I need to work on. Sigh...

Oh well. At least I have a brief moment where I can "slow down" a little bit and catch my breath. Yes, I'm still somewhat busy, but at least I'm not frantic like I have been. I'm even hoping that I can take a few days off this month, just to give myself more time to relax.

Current mood: tired
Current music: iTunes on shuffle. Beth Waters "White Dogs in the Moonlight"
Current drink: Old Chub (beer)

This and That-Extended Weekend Edition

I'm writing today, but I really don't have that much to report. I am currently in the middle of a long weekend, and I'm loving it. Because I have a lot of personal and vacation time that I need to start using up, I decided to take the day off on Friday. And naturally we have Monday off for the Fourth of July. Actually, you could say that I'm getting a five-day weekend out of this, because I also worked from home on Thursday. Even though I worked the whole day and was really productive, it's almost like a vacation day when you work from home. And I'm proud of myself for not checking my work e-mail all weekend!

For the most part, I've been relaxing all weekend. And with all the free time, I've been able to get in a lot of nice, long walks. I suppose you could say that I'm a little crazy, though, because I'm probably one of the few people who spends a day off walking for an hour then lifting weights for another hour. Oh well, I'll admit to being a little crazy. I'm just happy that I'm getting my little fitness routine back on track and I'm happy that I'm getting my muscles back!

Current mood: relaxed
Current music: streaming radio, Y102 FM from Victorville, CA
Current drink: coffee

This and That

Work: I'm sadly starting to sound like a broken record, but it has once again been a long time since I've last written here. As to be expected, I've been busy with work. I've been working on a lot of projects and the majority of them have been messy projects that sap most of my energy. Lately when I've come home, all I want to do is sit on the couch and watch TV. I had my annual review a few weeks ago and all of the comments were positive. My cost of living raise was 2 percent. I'm grateful just to have a job and grateful for any kind of raise, but, still, a small part of me wonders how that 2 percent relates to the actual cost of living these days. It just seems like everything is getting more and more expensive and every dollar is definitely stretched. Two percent, nice as it is, doesn't seem to match the reality of the actual cost of living. Oh well. I just need to look on the bright side and keep reminding myself that I'm lucky just to have a job.

Apartment Hunting: When I found out that my rent is going up, I decided to look around for another possible place to live. I mostly just wanted to keep my options open and see what else might be out there. Unfortunately things didn't turn out so well. I looked at a few apartment complexes, and I just didn't get any of those "warm and happy" feelings when I looked at them. I didn't immediately think "I could see this as my home." My worst experience was at a place I looked at last week. I tried calling the management company, and the lady I spoke to was a little rude and not very helpful. That should have been my first sign, but I decided to make an appointment to see the place anyway. On my way there, I was first stopped by a train at one of the railroad crossings. That should have been my second sign. As I continued on, I was then stopped by major construction on another road. That should have been a third sign. When I finally got to the place, I wasn't impressed with the buildings. They seemed really old and worn down and not very well kept. When I walked into the apartment unit, I was immediately hit with the smell of stale cigarette smoke. The previous tenant must have been a chain smoker because the smell was so awful. It actually started to give me a bit of a headache after a while. The apartment didn't get much direct sunlight, so it was a bit dark. To make matters worse, none of the lights in the apartment were working, so I was pretty much looking at it in the dark. I can't even describe what the bathroom looked like, because it was so pitch black, I didn't see anything. The tub could have been pink for all I know. When I looked out the bedroom window, it pretty much had a view of the parking lot and a garbage dumpster. I pretty much decided that it wasn't an apartment that I would want to live in. So I thanked the guy for his time and got the heck out of there. It was so depressing and demoralizing.

I read in the local newspaper a few weeks ago that this is one of the worst housing/renting markets ever. Because Boulder is such a nice place to live, the rental rates are extremely high. Some people spend over $1,000 to live in a 400-square foot studio apartment. And a lot of one bedroom apartments are well over $1000. At that rate I might as well move back to Southern California! And places that are "cheap," are extremely small and overrun with students or they are total dumps like the place I looked at. Another problem that I've been facing is that there aren't many vacancies. I went to one place that I thought would be both nice and affordable, but the woman I spoke to said that her waiting list was 65 people long. So because it is becoming such a hassle to look for a new place to live, I've decided to stay in my current place for another year. With the help of my family and hopefully with the help of some more freelance jobs, I should be able to make it work for at least a year.

Maybe now that I know how bad things are out there, I can plan a little better if I have to go through this again next year. Or I can just hope that I get a huge 10 percent raise or win the lottery and not have to worry about it. Yeah, I doubt either of those two things will ever happen...

Current mood: a bit deflated, but getting better
Current music: iTunes on shuffle, Beth Waters "Feel the Rain"
Current drink: Fat Tire

Old Faithful

This past week has been a crazy one for me. Now, I'm sure you're all expecting me to talk about how busy things have been at work, and while things have been busy at work, things have been crazy in other ways. Earlier this week while I was watching TV, I heard water dripping in my kitchen. I thought I might have not closed the faucet all the way, but when I checked, it wasn't coming from my faucet. I opened the cabinet under the sink, and the cabinet was flooded with water. Everything under the cabinet was wet, so I had to pull all of that stuff out and had to mop up the water with a towel. I thought that maybe one of the drain pipes was leaking, so I put a bucket and a pot under the pipes. Thinking that was all I needed to do and thinking that it was a minor problem, I continued to watch TV.

Suddenly I heard the sound of rushing water. So I ran into my kitchen, looked under the sink, and saw that water was shooting out of the overflow pipe from the dishwasher. I hardly even use my dishwasher! And the water wasn't just spilling over or gurgling out; it was shooting out of the pipe like a geyser. Being in a bit of a panic and completely unprepared to deal with something like this, I grabbed an empty yogurt cup from the top of the counter and tried to catch the water. That idea was a total failure because the yogurt cup is small and the water was coming fast. So I threw the yogurt cup across the kitchen and dove into another cabinet to grab the largest saucepan I have to catch the water. But the water was still coming too fast, and a 4 quart saucepan was filled in a matter of seconds. So I grabbed another sauce pan, unfortunately a smaller one, and it was also filled within seconds. I was at a bit of a loss at that point, but fortunately the water stopped.

I had to get more towels to mop up the water that once again filled the cabinet. Now that I knew where the water was coming from and now that I was prepared, I got a bucket and put it under the pipes just in case it happened again. Well, it did happen again, and it was almost another disaster. Water started shooting out of the pipe again, and as I was watching it, I noticed that the bucket was filling up fast. I grabbed a measuring cup and started to scoop water from the bucket and pour it into another big cooking pot. My 4 gallon bucket was filled within 30 seconds, and because I wasn't quick enough to catch all of the water, some water still spilled over into the cabinet. And I, once again, had to use more towels to mop up the mess.

I called the maintenance people in my apartment complex, and they came over to look at it. When I explained what was going on, they realized that it was a problem with the main plumbing line and not my apartment. Apparently whenever someone else in the building ran their dishwasher the water backed up and overflowed into my kitchen. The maintenance people called a plumber and he was able to clear out the main line. I'm glad he fixed it, too, because I was getting tired of running to my kitchen whenever I heard the sound of rushing water. Late one evening when I was already in bed, the sprinklers outside turned on, and I sprinted to my kitchen because I thought the pipes were overflowing again.

Everything is fixed, thankfully, and needless to say, it's been an eventful week.

Curve Balls

Once again it has been a long time since I've last written. It will probably come as no surprise that I've been busy with work. And it just feels like I've been busier than usual over the past few weeks. And if I wasn't busy enough with my "real" job, I have also taken on a few additional freelance jobs. The extra money will be good, and the projects are fairly easy, so it was hard to turn down.

In unrelated news, I came home yesterday and found a note on my door from the apartment complex. Unfortunately they are raising my rent next year. A few weeks ago, I overheard someone walking through my building saying "I can't believe how much they are raising the rent." That's never something that you want to hear and initially I was really worried and panicked about it. But I convinced myself to calm down and to just wait to see what they were going to do with me. And apparently they are raising my rent, too. So now I'm worried and panicked again.

If they were raising my rent by $20 or $50, I wouldn't be bothered. But they are raising my rent by $100. Right now my rate is $850, but they always add extra for certain utilities (water, sewer, and trash) and it usually ends up being about $880. Now that the rent is going up to $950, it will probably be about $980 with utilities. I just can't afford to pay nearly $1000 on rent with my salary. If you do the math, my rent is going up by about 10 or 12 percent. Unfortunately my annual cost of living raise at work is only 2 percent. As it is, I highly doubt that 2 percent is even enough to compensate for the cost of gas and groceries these days.

So, over the next few weeks I have to start looking around for a new place to live. My lease is technically up at the end of June, but I have to give my complex 30 day's notice if I'm going to leave. So I have to at least find something by the end of this month. Then I just have to deal with the costs of application fees, deposits, moving expenses, and who knows whatever other expenses I could encounter. I think I'm mostly just really sad to leave this place. It's a nice, roomy apartment, the area is nice, management has been nice. Unfortunately, I suppose, they just need to raise the rent to keep up with the market and their own costs.

Spring...Maybe Not...

Yesterday the weather was absolutely beautiful. It was in the high 70s, sunny, and clear. There was just a little bit of wind, but for the most part it was a gorgeous spring day. With weather like that you'd think that we've successfully made our way out of winter and into spring. But this is Colorado and spring in Colorado means that there can still be a chance for snow. In spite of the high temperatures yesterday, the forecast today was that temperatures would start in the 50s or 60s but would then drop significantly throughout the day and that there would be a chance for rain or snow later tonight. It's a little after noon and it is already raining. At times the rain has turned into graupel, a smaller and softer form of hail. I even heard some thunder.

Even though I was looking forward to the warmer weather, we definitely need the moisture of either rain or snow. The past few months have been extremely dry for us, and while it's nice to not have to drive to work over snow and ice it's just been too dry. We've already had a few brush and wildfires, so we need all the moisture we can get.

I was planning on going out today to do some shopping, but with the weather like this I think it would be nicer to stay home and enjoy it. I have my sliding door open a little bit because I absolutely love the smell of the rain. It's definitely very cozy.

Happy Birthday to Me!

My birthday was a few weeks ago, but because I've been so busy I haven't had a chance to go out to buy my birthday present. I decided to give myself the day off today because I've been working so hard, and I took advantage of the day to do a little shopping for myself...

Reactions

As I might have mentioned in previous blog posts, I read a lot of news online. While I appreciate almost immediate updates and breaking stories, one of the things that has often frustrated me are the reader comments you often find at the bottom of these stories. Some comments are interesting and carefully thought out and generate great discussion. Unfortunately, however, many of the comments aren't that great. People often use the moment to step on their soapbox to push their personal beliefs. And while everyone does that to some extent, others just take it to extreme lengths. These reader comments truly highlight—and not always in the best light—the differences of the world, and usually those differences fall along racial, religious, or political lines.

With the recent earthquakes in Japan, there have been plenty of news stories and plenty of opportunities for soapboxing. Fortunately many of the comments are positive and show compassion for what is happening in Japan. Still, however, there are the comments that continue to divide people along political or religious lines. Democrat vs. republican­. Religious vs. non-religi­ous. Why do we need divisions at a time like this? If anything, a moment like this should serve to remind us that we all share this planet and that we should all respect one another. At the very least we should try to respect one another a little more. Every now and then there should be a time when you are able to put your difference­s aside to look for—or at the very least hope for—something positive in a bad situation, because you never know if you will one day find yourself on the other end of the story and in need of that same compassion and respect.

Delays and Distractions

It has once again been a long time since I've last written here. I'll give you, the reader, three guesses to explain why I haven't been able to write. You probably need only one. Yes, I've once again been really busy with work. I've also taken on another freelance project to make some extra money. The freelance project is just a project management job, meaning I'm just taking a manuscript through the stages of editorial production. It's basically what I do for my "real" job. And the project doesn't need to be finished until July, so I have a comfortable schedule to work with. So that explains the delays in my writing.

Today, however, was all about distractions. The "lesser" of the distractions happened to be another wildfire that broke out in the foothills of Boulder. At about 10:00 this morning, we looked out our office windows and saw huge plumes of smoke rising from the foothills. The smoke was dark brown and in some places it was black. And it seemed like the area of smoke was spreading really fast. Whatever was happening in the hills was made worse by strong, gusty winds we were having all morning. People were evacuated from their homes, but according to the latest news reports, no structures were destroyed. Fortunately, however, it seems like firefighters were able to gain control of the fire fairly quickly. Last reports said that it was 25 percent contained, but at least it wasn't spreading.

My other "bigger" distraction of the day were the earthquakes in Japan. It's always horrible to see a natural disaster in any part of the world, but this one shook (no pun intended) me a little more because one of my best and dearest friends happens to be in Tokyo right now for work. I went about my normal routine this morning. After my shower, I turned on the TV to the news, but then went into the kitchen to start making my breakfast. While I was in the kitchen, in the background I heard that an earthquake hit Japan. I came back into the living room and saw that the earthquake was an 8.9. I almost dropped my cereal! Fortunately I found out that my friend was safe, and I was extremely grateful for that. Still, though, I felt like I was on edge for the rest of the day, and I had a hard time being productive at work. I found myself taking lots of breaks to read the news to see if anything new had happened. I didn't get much work done, but oh well. I guess that makes up for all of the extra hours that I've been working over the past few weeks.

Cooking Adventures - Thai Noodles

At work we have a small Food Club, and each week two coworkers bring in treats for the club. This week, one of my coworkers brought in Thai Noodles. I thought it was so delicious that I asked her for the recipe and made the dish for myself tonight. The recipe is originally from Ina Garten and she calls it Crunchy Noodle Salad. I'll just keep it simple and call it Thai Noodles. I made a few adjustments to the original recipe based on what I like and what I wanted. The original recipe was really heavy on the oil, so I reduced it. The dish was still too oily for me, so I halved the amount of oil in my recipe here. Next time I make it, I might reduce it even more and maybe try a different oil, like olive oil. I think the best thing to do is to just add the oil gradually. The great thing about this dish is that it can be served both warm and cold; I prefer it warm.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup smooth/creamy peanut butter
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon ginger, dried or freshly grated
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1/3 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons sesame oil
1 teaspoon chili paste (Sambal Oelek), or more to taste
1/2 cup vegetable oil, more as needed
3 tablespoons toasted white sesame seeds, divided
1/2 pound spaghetti
1 14-ounce block extra firm tofu, drained, pressed, and diced in cubes
1/2 pound sugar snap peas, ends removed, and cut in pieces
1 large or 2 medium red bell pepper, cored, ribs removed, and diced
4 scallions/green onions, sliced

Directions:
1. For the dressing, combine the peanut butter, garlic, ginger, honey, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, chili paste, and vegetable oil, and 2 tablespoons of the sesame seeds in a medium bowl. Whisk until smooth. Taste, adjust seasoning if necessary, and set aside.

2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

3. While the spaghetti is cooking, saute the tofu in a large skillet on medium heat with a bit of vegetable oil. Cook, tossing occasionally, until the tofu browns.

4. Combine the spaghetti, tofu, sugar snap peas, bell peppers, and scallions in a large bowl. Pour half of the dressing over the spaghetti mixture. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of sesame seeds and toss everything together. Save the remaining dressing to top individual portions.

Down and Out

So far this has been another lazy weekend, more by force than by choice. I slept in a bit yesterday but when I eventually woke up and got out of bed, I realize that I had a terrible headache. I took a shower, made some breakfast, and had some coffee, and hoped that I would start to feel better. My head was still throbbing so I took some migraine-strength Excedrin and crawled back in bed. I managed to sleep a little bit, but it mostly felt nice just to lie down with my eyes closed. I got up later in the evening to eat some toast and to watch a little bit of TV, but then I took a Tylenol PM and went back to bed at about 9:00. I woke up this morning feeling a little bit better. Instead of feeling like I was getting kicked in the head repeatedly, it only felt like someone stabbed a spear into my eyeball. I guess that's a bit of an improvement. I had some breakfast and took some more Excedrin, and my headache is more or less gone. I still feel a bit tired and weak, but at least my head feels better.

This type of thing has always happened to me. Whenever I'm coming off of a stressful week, my body eventually shuts down and I get really bad headaches. I never get sick otherwise—I haven't had a cold or flu in about 10 years—but I do get stress headaches. I got them when I was in school and I still get them now that I'm working. This past week at work had been especially busy and stressful, so I guess I shouldn't be surprise that I got sick this weekend. I'm just sad that it happened this weekend, because this is the first beautiful weekend we've had in a long time. It's sunny and clear, and temperatures are in the 60s. Oh well. I guess the good thing about all of this is that I've been forced to relax this weekend.

Food of the Muse

I just started yet another new blog. Why? Well, just because and why not. You can never have too many blogs, apparently. My new blog, Food of the Muse, will be devoted to all things food, the ambrosia and nectar that make the Muse happy.

Naturally, being the obsessive-compulsive person that I am, I will continue to write food-related posts here, but I'll also post them on my new food blog as well. That might seem kind of stupid, but I guess if you want to look for food-related posts without weeding through all the other mundane posts, the Food of the Muse is the place to go.

Baby, It's Still Cold Outside...

Yesterday our office was closed because of the bad weather. We didn't have a blizzard and we really didn't get much snow. It did get really cold, however. Temperatures were well below zero for most of the day, and with the wind chill it felt like -25 degrees. The local school district closed the schools because of safety concerns, and, because of that, our office was also closed. Even though we have nothing to do with the school district, we have an unusual rule that if the schools are closed, most likely our office will be closed. I'm not going to argue with the logic, because it was really nice to stay in and work from home for the day. Things were still really cold and a bit icy outside, so I was happy to stay inside and off the roads.

All day yesterday, I was checking the school district's website to see if the schools would be closed. I've never been so eager for a school closing since I was a kid! Late in the afternoon, it was finally posted that the schools would be closed. And late last night, it was finally announced that our office was also closed. When I woke up this morning (after sleeping in an extra hour), the temperature was about -11, and the wind chill made things feel like -30. Temperatures, however, are going in the positive direction. We're finally at 5 degrees. Yes, that's still extremely cold, but it's the "warmest" we've been for the past few days. It's sunny and the sky is clear and blue. Temperatures will probably drop below zero again tonight, but it is supposed to warm up to the 30s tomorrow. We might get some more snow tomorrow evening, but they said that the temperatures should stay relatively "warm" for the rest of the week and into the weekend. Even 30 degrees will be a welcome relief after the past few days.

Even though our office has been closed, I've still had some work to do. So it hasn't been all fun and play for the past few days. But fortunately I've been able to take a lot of breaks between spans of work. I've been productive but much more relaxed while working. Most likely the office will be back open tomorrow. I almost feel like I'm coming off a weekend, so I don't feel ready or excited to go back in.