Broken Break?
I've been looking forward to the upcoming holiday break for so long. But as it gets closer, a cluster of business-related issues have emerged that collectively have the capacity to draw my mind away from relaxation during our holiday. Bah! I'm not happy about this situation, but there's nothing I can do about it, short of just pitching in the towel and saying I'm closing up shop. That, though, would bring on its own set of concerns. Crap.
Wishing for Roadtrippery
I'm in the midst (off and on), tonight, of watching a special on PBS about The Mother Road, Route 66. I would soooo love to take 60-90 day road trip around the U.S., taking great care to avoid the interstates and focus exclusively on the blue highways, the back roads that protect at least parts of the country from the physical invasion of urbanity and suburbia and the homogeneity that grips us today. It's hard to find places that haven't been inculcated with modern pop culture, though, thanks in large part to some of the amenities I once thought were fabulous...satellite radio, satellite TV, cable, DSL connections, etc. I guess I still appreciate these modern marvels, but wish I had a secret place that had been innoculated against them, a place to which I could retreat and experience serenity.
Cauliflower Subzi
I made cauliflower subzi, an Indian vegetarian dish with cauliflower (really?) and potatoes, among other things (mostly spices), for dinner tonight. I liked it OK, but it was apparent from the start that I had put the recipe down wrong. It was a monster to cook. I shall have to find out, by looking at the original recipe on Indian Food Rocks, what I did to make it go so badly. I'm proud, though, that I recovered and was able to serve a much soupier, less powerfully flavored dish than I expected to produce.
Italian Club
A friend dropped by the office this afternoon to invite my wife and me to a dinner in early January at the Italian Club in Dallas. A very well-known (to him, at least) chef will be there to prepare a host of Tuscan grilled specialties. The cost per person is absurdly low, which explains to me why they're limping along, financially.
My Goddamn Car
The Bastard is back. Today, he cost me $189 to have his oil changed, air filter changed, and flushing and replenishment of his brake fluid, among other odds and ends. They told me his transmission fluid is old and desperately needs replacing, too, along with other regular maintenance items that are obscenely overpriced. I declined most of that, thinking to myself I may take a high voltage wire from a nearby power pole and connect it to his main computer one night as he sleeps. Ostensibly, he is now ready for a road trip, but his recent tantrum that resulted in a flat tire on a cold and wet day makes me think he may have other little irritants ready and waiting for me. He just went past 162K miles and I failed to ooh and aah over the milestone, which probably pissed him off. If he gives me any more shit, I may just offer him up for adoption, for a modest fee.
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