Annual Post

Evidently posting on here has become an annual event. So here we go: my annual blog post for 2013.

The search for the perfect notebook continues...

The Habana Notebook

Nice to see that I'm consistently inconsistent with blogging. Also nice to see al the new features on blogger. Now if only I could find the motiviation to write something worthwhile.....

Malaise

All is quiet around the apartment this morning. Too quiet, actually. For some reason or another I can'tseem to get going; I feel "blah" overall and am deeply fatigued, despite the solid sleep last night. The usual three cups of coffee have only been of limited benefit and I'm tempted to put on another pot, which I'll probably do in a bit. First up is a brisk walk around the neighborhood to see if that clears out the physical and mental fog plaguing me this morning.....

Recent Events

What an eventful last few days. I returned from Honduras last Thursday and was immediately swept up into the drama that was Hurricane Irene (which included working the weekend), battled a wretched summer cold (from which I'm just now beginning to recover), and today sorted out everything needed for classes which also began this week. At this rate, I'm going to soon need another vacation.

I went to Honduras earlier this month to celebrate my birthday with some friends there.  The main event was a fiesta complete with lots of traditional foods and entertainment provided by a mariachi band that lived up to their reputation of being one of the better ones in the Copan area (partly due to their hotshot accordian player being both present and sober). Friends wanted it to be a memorable occasion and they certainly succeeded. What a wonderful way to spend ones 21st, 30th, 35th, 40th birthday.

Update

Over a year since my last post. Remarkable just how quickly time passes....

At any rate, all is well with me. A few changes have occurred since my last update which I may get around to discussing at some point in the near future....

Completion

I am happy to report that the masters degree is finally finished. All that remains is to deliver the five copies of the thesis to the Registrar first thing Monday morning along with all the associated paper work, the last step which will bring this endeavor to a welcome and satsifying end. This is long overdue. I should have finished it up in 2007 upon completion of my research, but alas became distracted at that time with work and sundry other things and before I knew it, three years had passed before I began to consider seriously the data analysis and writing. Sure, at various points along the way I tinkered with this or that, wrote a paragraph or page here or there....but the serious work didn't begin until May of this year. Despite the distractions and delays, it's a great feeling to have this thing behind me.

Panang Curry

Panang curry(with beef and topped with fresh diced chilies and Kaffir lime leaves) from a few nights ago. Served with steamed rice and lightly wilted watercress (cooked with garlic and tomatoes).

Monday Blurb

Off on sick leave today due to pesky allergies. Something wicked is blooming and I would love to discover what and kill it. I hope too the rain and showers will soon clear the air of whatever nefarious pollen has done me a mischief.

I have given a lot of thought lately as to where I am in life and where I want to be. For quite some time now I haven't been entirely happy with the present state of things and have recently resolved to make some changes for the better. I've explored some options and put a few things in motion so if all goes well, 2010 will be a year of change, of calculated risk in pursuit of greater happiness.

Travel Bug

One would think that having spent a good part of December in Honduras, followed by a long week there in February, the travel bug would be cured for the time being. Unhappily (only from a certain point of view) such is not the case. The urge to travel abroad has returned stronger than ever. I want nothing more than to strap on the hiking sandals, throw on the backpack, and disappear for a while into some little corner of the world. It is there where my soul is the happiest.

Chicken Adobo

Chicken adobo made a couple nights ago. I used a three step cooking method for the chicken (boil, fry, simmer) which left the chicken super tender. Served with sides of bok choy and shitake mushrooms and rice topped with fried garlic.

Dinner: February 25

Stir-fried beef and bok choy in a spicy sauce along with fried rice, into which I added a handful of fresh Thai basil.

Chu Chee Curry

A shot of the chu chee curry I made a couple weeks ago. The fish was cod, which worked very very well. The only substitution I would make would be to sprinkle kaffir lime leaves over the dish when done and not cilantro as pictured here. Cilantro worked, but lime leaves would fit the overall composition just a little better. Happily I found the leaves today during a trip to an Asian market in Virginia Beach...so guess what's on the menu again tonight? :)

Espanol

After several years of it remaining little more than a good idea left unfulfilled, I enrolled in a beginning Spanish course at a local college back in January. While the class has been a bit of work, I am thoroughly enjoying the time; not since the anthropology courses of the distant undergradute years have I taken a class as rewarding and as interesting as this one. I regret waiting three or four years to finally begin the language after deciding I want to learn it, but as they say: better late than never. While I feel as though I am learning a lot, I harbor no delusions about becoming fluent in the near future; that aspect is probaby years away. And that coming to pass only with regular and diligent study and practical use of the language.

Proof

Just proof for the more incredulous that we did receive snow here in Virginia a few weeks ago.

Back

Remarkable how long it has been since my last post. Certainly doesn't seem as though that many months have passed since I last posted the usual nonsense on here.

Back to the Grind

It's back to the grind today after a delightful four day weekend during which I did little other than read, purge some junk from the apartment, visit the parents, and cook. It was nice. Very nice. Calls and/or text messages from work were kept to a minimum (mostly) and those that I did get I generally ingored.

An interesting observation though: usually a little time away from the office restores my energy and enthusiams for it and increases tolerance for all the daily nonsense and pettiness that transpires. But it's a little different this time around. I have no desire, no interest in returning to that wretched place. Tendering my resignation and starting anew somewhere else has a powerful appeal, but it's not realistic at this time, at least not until other employement is secured. Were it not for bills to pay and trips abroad to plan, I would almost risk being unemployed for the short term.

Anyway...off to have more coffee in hopes of fully bracing myself for the terror of the day.

Dinner June 21

Thai style beef and basil along with rice.

Writersblok

On a whim this morning, I headed over to Norfolk Stationery to spend a little time lusting over their broad selection of fountain pens and inks. Almost immediately upon arriving, I noticed on a shelf behind the endcap full of Moleskines, a collection of notebooks unfamiliar to me.

"Whazzat?!?" I said to myself.

Writersblok notebooks they were and, as they seemed a viable alternative to Moleskine, I picked up a pack each of the smaller (pocket sized) and medium soft-cover sizes to try out. As to paper selection I chose the dots, which seems a novel concept for those who like blank pages but have the singular inability to keep the lines straight without some sort of guide sheet placed beneath the page. What's more, the dots are somewhat narrower than the lines found in ruled Moleskine journals which is a Godsend for my miniscule handwriting.

So today I've a new thing with which to experiment. I'll write a review of sorts later today or tomorrow after I've put the Writersblok notebooks through their paces.

Today's Wisdom

Tourists don't know where they've been; travelers don't know where they're going.

-Paul Theroux from The Happy Isles of Oceania