I had a therapist once tell me that if there's a story you find yourself telling over and over, there's something in that story that you need from it. I was reminded of this as I was telling a story today. One I've told many times, to many people, for many years.
And I think I finally got what I needed out of it, which is the understanding that it's a story that will always be important to me because it's what helped make me who I am, and that's totally OK.
That's vague, and I intend it to be. The what truly doesn't matter - the fact that I've come to the why makes the difference.
Anyway - enough mystery blogging, yes?
Work is... slow. Painfully slow. But right now, specifically for trainers - there's just not enough work to go around. They moved one trainer over into writing code/reports for the product we acquired. There's still not a lot of work, even down a trainer.
As much as it sucks, I also love it because, frankly, it's mid-March and I've had to leave the comforts of my home once for work. And that means I can clean my house, I can pet my dog any time I want, and I can cook.
Tonight, I played the time-honored game "What Can I Do With Chicken?" I have done Mexican, Asian (several countries) and Italian recently. Barbecue wasn't an option...I was stuck. I asked my friend Jim, he suggested baked with spinach and feta. Bingo.
As I drove home, I came up with a plan. I stopped for feta, some lemons and olives.
I ended up with this:
Ok - so the chicken part was excellent - tender, flavorful, juicy. The spinach is on the bottom of this dish, and that was a mistake. It took on a suuuuuuper lemony flavor - and not in a good way. Next time, I'd do everything the same, except instead of the spinach on the bottom I'd steam it separately. And not shown but there was feta to put on the chicken.
I'm happy with it. Sure, the spinach was a miss, but - it's a new way to make chicken. Thanks, Jim!
To that end, the diet is going well. I still want Easter candy. Not physically, so much as emotionally. I walked past Krispy Kreme doughnuts this morning without a second glance. But part of me wants to shove a Little Debbie in my mouth and feel my brain light up from the sugar. Sigh.
But - I know the decisions I'm making are good. They're smart. But sometimes, I look in the mirror and I think, "Shit, this is going to take time AND I'm going to have to do it, basically, forever." Anyway - Pity, Party of One - your table is ready.
Meanwhile, I'm kind of getting used to Spring Forward. I didn't sleep well last night - woke up a handful of times and had a time falling back asleep. It happens. But come 6:45 this morning, my body was not ready.
Tomorrow, I need to go get my picture taken to get my passport renewed. It's hard to believe that it's been ten years. I've only used it twice in that time - this next decade, maybe we'll travel some more. That sounds funny, because in the last five years, I've traveled extensively. It's been almost exclusively domestic. One trip to Oakville, Ontario, Canada. Which was excellent.
Sadly, my chance at a trip to Montreal this year - well, not happening. The Caterpillar Safety Conference is there this year - and I love, love, love Montreal. LOVE. It's a gorgeous town. I went for a week when I was twenty, and it was magnificent. But, they decided there wasn't enough return on investment - we've lost about half of our CAT customers. I had to break it to one of them the other day - he called, I think just because he was bored - he had a question, but it was kind of a nothingburger question. For the 45 minutes that followed we talked Montreal, my travel schedule, his travel schedule. His new black belt in Judo, my new kitchen. His grandson, Mom's new boyfriend. He's one of those guys I'll always answer the phone for. He's a little bit of a ego trip, but he's fundamentally decent, and he's funny.
So, no Montreal this year, which is a bummer. It's not even the city that bums me out - I'll miss my friends. This is the first time in six years, and that's a shame. That's a lot of relationships I'll miss out on.
But truth be told, I don't know where my next trip will be, or when. I believe it's going to be Ohio (shocking) - and at this point, April is pretty well a no-go. It'll be May at the soonest. I think.
Holy shit, I'm boring.
I won't waste any more letters tonight.
ae
And I think I finally got what I needed out of it, which is the understanding that it's a story that will always be important to me because it's what helped make me who I am, and that's totally OK.
That's vague, and I intend it to be. The what truly doesn't matter - the fact that I've come to the why makes the difference.
Anyway - enough mystery blogging, yes?
Work is... slow. Painfully slow. But right now, specifically for trainers - there's just not enough work to go around. They moved one trainer over into writing code/reports for the product we acquired. There's still not a lot of work, even down a trainer.
As much as it sucks, I also love it because, frankly, it's mid-March and I've had to leave the comforts of my home once for work. And that means I can clean my house, I can pet my dog any time I want, and I can cook.
Tonight, I played the time-honored game "What Can I Do With Chicken?" I have done Mexican, Asian (several countries) and Italian recently. Barbecue wasn't an option...I was stuck. I asked my friend Jim, he suggested baked with spinach and feta. Bingo.
As I drove home, I came up with a plan. I stopped for feta, some lemons and olives.
I ended up with this:
 |
| Salty, lemony, chickeny perfection. |
Ok - so the chicken part was excellent - tender, flavorful, juicy. The spinach is on the bottom of this dish, and that was a mistake. It took on a suuuuuuper lemony flavor - and not in a good way. Next time, I'd do everything the same, except instead of the spinach on the bottom I'd steam it separately. And not shown but there was feta to put on the chicken.
I'm happy with it. Sure, the spinach was a miss, but - it's a new way to make chicken. Thanks, Jim!
To that end, the diet is going well. I still want Easter candy. Not physically, so much as emotionally. I walked past Krispy Kreme doughnuts this morning without a second glance. But part of me wants to shove a Little Debbie in my mouth and feel my brain light up from the sugar. Sigh.
But - I know the decisions I'm making are good. They're smart. But sometimes, I look in the mirror and I think, "Shit, this is going to take time AND I'm going to have to do it, basically, forever." Anyway - Pity, Party of One - your table is ready.
Meanwhile, I'm kind of getting used to Spring Forward. I didn't sleep well last night - woke up a handful of times and had a time falling back asleep. It happens. But come 6:45 this morning, my body was not ready.
Tomorrow, I need to go get my picture taken to get my passport renewed. It's hard to believe that it's been ten years. I've only used it twice in that time - this next decade, maybe we'll travel some more. That sounds funny, because in the last five years, I've traveled extensively. It's been almost exclusively domestic. One trip to Oakville, Ontario, Canada. Which was excellent.
Sadly, my chance at a trip to Montreal this year - well, not happening. The Caterpillar Safety Conference is there this year - and I love, love, love Montreal. LOVE. It's a gorgeous town. I went for a week when I was twenty, and it was magnificent. But, they decided there wasn't enough return on investment - we've lost about half of our CAT customers. I had to break it to one of them the other day - he called, I think just because he was bored - he had a question, but it was kind of a nothingburger question. For the 45 minutes that followed we talked Montreal, my travel schedule, his travel schedule. His new black belt in Judo, my new kitchen. His grandson, Mom's new boyfriend. He's one of those guys I'll always answer the phone for. He's a little bit of a ego trip, but he's fundamentally decent, and he's funny.
So, no Montreal this year, which is a bummer. It's not even the city that bums me out - I'll miss my friends. This is the first time in six years, and that's a shame. That's a lot of relationships I'll miss out on.
But truth be told, I don't know where my next trip will be, or when. I believe it's going to be Ohio (shocking) - and at this point, April is pretty well a no-go. It'll be May at the soonest. I think.
Holy shit, I'm boring.
I won't waste any more letters tonight.
ae
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