Days I've been living in Pittsburgh: 16
Inches of snow on the ground: < 2
Interviews scheduled: 1
Yesterday was fairly productive. Remember that massive pile of boxes in my bedroom and the office that needed to be sorted? It's now a manageable pile of boxes. It would probably be a nonexistent pile of boxes if I hadn't been distracted by the following treasures:
- $82 in cash. When I traveled to Russia this summer, I distributed the $500 I brought in several hiding places in case something got lost or stolen. One of these places? The cloth bag that held my outlet converter thingy. I really could have used the money when I got back to the States... but I could really really use the money right now.
- The first three pages of a short story I wrote in 8th grade. We were supposed to write a story about clones. The Disney movie about Atlantis had just come out. I wrote ten pages (typed) about a race of clones who were enslaved on Atlantis by evil world leaders. After all, Atlantis was replete with gold and other valuable resources. The biggest tragedy is that I only have those three pages. I could be published by now.
- My old creative writing journals. I miss Mrs. Tremper. She was awesome.
- The thank you cards some of my campers wrote for me. You know it's a good summer when half of them say, "Thanks for gluing yourself to a ceramic squirrel." Anytime kids. Anytime.
There was more... oh boy, was there more. But I'd rather retain some shred of dignity here. The important thing is, my room and the office are starting to take shape. I even hung some photos! Maybe by the time we have our first human house guest (Keri's dog Gatsby is staying with us for now, and the boyfriend is visiting in a few weeks) things will be settled.
When I started this blog, I really didn't expect to chronicle my attempts at cooking. However, the unemployed must find something to occupy their time, and today I chose baking. Thus far I have finished a batch of Nanny Tilton's fruit cookies and a batch of Family Circle's cocoa oatmeal jumbos. There's also a sweet potato pound cake in the oven that I have high hopes for.
Okay, I abandoned writing for a while. The first batch of mini pound cakes just came out of the oven. Nanny Tilton, you are an amazing woman. They are delicious.
Anyway. The real point of this post was to inform you, and anyone scanning the blogosphere for Julie Powell copyright infringements, that these posts are not standard operating procedure around here. In fact, I've been hiring a ghostwriter for the past week, so it's not even me writing and you can't sue me at all. But do yourself a favor and try this recipe:
Nanny Tilton's (née
Gatzman) Fruit Cookies
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 cups flour
1 cup crushed pineapple (Note: My mom always blots off the excess pineapple juice when she makes these cookies. Personally, I use a slotted spoon to make sure the pineapple isn't sopping, but I think a little juice in the cookie mix is good.)
1/2 cup chopped maraschino cherries (They will inevitably dye your fingers)
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 tsp vanilla
Combine the shortening and sugar and beat until fluffy. Add in the eggs and vanilla. Sift dry ingredients and add to mixture alternately with pineapple. Add other fruits and mix well. Rounded spoonfuls on a tray. I baked them at 350 for 15 to 20 minutes. You want the bottoms to be a golden brown color. Enjoy! Just don't share with the masses. Or the Russians.
Days in Pittsburgh: 7
Inches of snow: 6
Wine glasses broken: 2
Days until Keri stops letting me wash dishes: TBD, but I'm guessing 3
Glasses of wine consumed: ...well, that's enough tallying
Sorry to those of you who have been waiting with bated breath to discover the fate of my roasted chicken. It turned out beautifully. I picked it apart and so far we've used remnants in bolognese sauce and some sort of Indian sauce. Tonight's menu? Chicken pot pie. Although it looks like I'll be dining solo.
The essentials have been unpacked for most of the week, but my room and the office are still a disaster. How is this possible? I find that although I don't own a lot, most of what I own is junk I don't feel like sorting through. I muster up the energy and enthusiasm for two seconds, and then I'm back to washing dishes or looking up recipes or wishing I had done enough to justify a nap. Tomorrow I decided to get into the holiday spirit, bust out the family recipe book, and make some cookies. Perhaps while things are in the oven I can sort through boxes some more. Are you laughing? Yeah, me too.
Sometime during roadrunning I noticed that Hulu posted episodes from Bewitched. When I was younger, I completely adored reruns of that show, so I decided to watch a few episodes to reminisce. The major difference between watching Bewitched when you're an eight-year-old who still believes that she could have some latent magical powers and watching Bewitched when you're a 22-year-old college graduate with a degree in psychology and a minor in sociology? Well, let's just say that eight-year-old me didn't subject a rather understanding boyfriend to the list of reasons Samantha is suffocating in suburbia. I mean, here is a woman with the world at her fingertips (more accurately, at her nostrils), and she abandons everything because she marries a mortal advertising executive whose idea of connubial felicity does not involve levitating pot roasts or a spontaneously materializing mother-in-law. It's not even that she stops using her magic to satisfy her every whim; Samantha refused to use her powers for even the most mundane chores. Sure, I understand the desire to satisfy her partner, but Samantha abandoned a large part of her identity to assimilate to Morning Glory Circle. Thus, my innocent wish to watch a couple of episodes dissolved quickly into an anthropological study of a season and a half of a retro television series so I could appreciate the portrayal of the Standard North American Family (or, as sociologists call them, SNAFs). Sorry, darling.
Why do I bring all this up? Today I had an overwhelming desire to watch another episode of Bewitched. Not to critique Samantha's suburban lifestyle, but to relate to it. Every day this week Keri has gone off to work while I have stayed at home. A lot of time has been dedicated to applications and resumes, but a lot more has been straightening the house and waiting eagerly for Keri to return so I'm no longer bored and lonely. (I swear this isn't as pathetic as it sounds...) Even though there's a lot to do with the house, I like thinking of projects to keep me busy. I decided to make a roasted chicken for tonight's dinner. If you know me, you know that I cannot cook. At all. So I googled (I kid you not) "roasted chicken recipes for idiots," and I decided to make this, but instead of celery I stuffed the chicken with carrots, mushrooms, potato, and onion. But this is what we wound up eating for dinner. The chicken was undercooked by 50 degrees after the hour and fifteen minutes in the oven. After another hour, it was still undercooked. I was... hurt? Is that the right word? The job search has been frustrating lately, and I finally got contacted by two potential employers today. If the chicken had gone according to plan, I would have been on top of the world. Because even if I'm not as financially soluble right now as I'd like to be, at least it would have been a small contribution to the house. And it would have been something that I did correctly, even if it is just a (totally delicious) chicken. Because as feminist (or whatever) as I am, someday I want to be able to cook a stupid chicken. And maybe bake some cookies, too, while I'm at it. And definitely do it while holding down a job that I love.
In case you were wondering, Keri and I left the chicken in the oven for another hour while we went to Aladdin's. When we came back, it was cooked beautifully. The tiny slivers we ate were moist and wonderful, but I cannot say anything for sure until we carve the sucker (I named it Friedrich) tomorrow night for dinner. And, I must do a shameless plug for Aladdin's now: I am almost okay with totally screwing up the chicken, because the Aladdin's Lamb Roll was amazing.
So in my post-assembly haze on Sunday, I forgot to mention the most exciting part of my day. It wasn't the (eventual) successful assembly of Swedish furniture, or the fact that the back of my bedroom door is covered in chalkboard paint, or the tortilla soup I had at Max & Erma's (although it was really good soup). Are you dying of suspense? I know I am! On the way home from Ikea/Max & Erma's, we were behind an orange car. At first all I could do was wonder why someone would choose burnt orange for a car, but then I noticed the license plate. You guessed it! It was a 9999! Thank you, Pittsburgh, for that fabulous welcome. I tried to take pictures with my phone, but it was dark so you can only see indistinct red lights. Oh well. At least I have a witness.
Yesterday I canvassed local retail establishments to see who was hiring. As expected, I got a lot of, "We're done for the season, but check back in January because we never know how things will work out after the holidays." Awesome. So only five applications wound up going out. Keri did cheer me up by taking me on a fabulous date to the Bangkok Balcony, which is a pretty awesome Thai place within walking distance of our house. (I explored the neighborhood yesterday, and it's difficult to list something that isn't within walking distance of our house. Don't even get me started on the amazing library.)
Today I decided to focus on unpacking my room. Thanks to the Avett Brothers, it's going smoothly thus far. I have high hopes for an awesome bedroom when everything is done. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to clean the house and make a casserole before Keri gets back from work. She gets upset if I'm not waiting by the door with a martini in hand.
Okay, clearly I lied in yesterday's post. Of course I quoted the Jefferson's theme song. I'm human. I'm weak. Who are you to judge?
Days left until Pittsburgh: 0
Applications sent out today: 0 (In all fairness, I've been a little busy.)
I was nervous this morning when Keri called to tell me there was an ice storm in Pittsburgh and we wouldn't want to arrive until later in the day. Fortunately we only hit fog and rain, which were annoying but not terrible. And it wasn't even that cold! All in all, move in went way smoother than I was imagining.
We went to Ikea to purchase a dresser (thanks for the early Christmas present, Mom and Dad!)... which wound up being a dresser, a lamp, curtains, and some glasses. Close enough. And somewhere around 9:30 we finished the epic two-hour battle with furniture assembly. Ikea, your furniture is lovely, and I've gotten some very solid pieces from you... but it's a pain in the ass to assemble, FYI. So far my bed is made, my bedside table is set up, and one window is curtained. Join me tomorrow as I try to get the rest of my life in order! And maybe find a job.
Days left in office: 0
Days left until Pittsburgh: < 1
Applications sent out today: 3
I'm sitting in a dark, empty room right now because all of my worldly possessions are packed into the van, truck, or trailer. Unfortunately lamp = worldly possession.
My last day in the office was pretty painless; I had enough to do to keep me occupied, but I was never so busy that I was annoyed for being swamped on my last day. I interviewed two very quiet kids, but they were both really sweet and I just wound up rambling on. They were laughing, which either means I was entertaining or idiotic. Or possibly a combination of the two. But one of the kids was interested in psychology, so he definitely got an earful. And the office closed an hour early for the college's staff Christmas party. The least enjoyable part of the day was actually leaving. Goodbyes are bad enough under normal circumstances, but when you're saying them to people you don't necessarily know or like well, then they're just awkward. Many people who spent their days ignoring me completely felt the need to make long speeches wishing me luck. I appreciate the sentiment, but I appreciate brevity even more.
So tomorrow we head out bright and early to the City of Champions. (I don't think I'm supposed to point out the irony of that title considering the Steeler's current record... residential allegiance or something.) If I wind up moving back "south" for the winter, please don't judge me.
