Joelle said at some point on July 10, 2007 while listening to KSDS Jazz 88.3
I was watching a commercial the other night for paper towels. “New, Improved Clean-up Technology!” a voice boomed as I was taken IMAX-style through the inner-weave of the “most advanced paper towel ever created”.
Seriously? I find it mind-boggling that we have engineers, scientists and such devoting arduous hours developing the most effective paper towel known to mankind. What about… oh, I don’t know… cancer? I mean, really… Why bother investing the almighty dollar in something life-saving when you could carry an anvil in one wet sheet of scientifically-engineered paper towel? Then, of course, rinse and reuse it! Will wonders never cease?!
They’ll spend time creating maxi-pads with dri-weave wings, tampons with fancy braided strings, highfalutin paper towels, anti-bacterial everything — heaven forbid someone’s kid touch a garden-variety germ and develop an immunity or something. My god! The horror of the common cold! — they’ll give us all those things, but spending Big Pharm’s dollar on curing actual diseases… we couldn’t have that.
Really, how much can you do with a paper towel? It’s a paper towel. It’s job is menial and expendable. I’m not dedicated — I’ll buy whatever’s on sale. I’m just going to spill something and rub it on the floor anyway. Does it need to be developed by NASA to get the wine off my tile? As far as I’m concerned it just needs to be wet and available.
Heh. I almost went back and deleted that last line because I really wasn’t going for that, but I just can’t bring myself to do so. 
I’m easily amused. On that note…
Joelle said around mid-morning on July 9, 2007
This weekend flew by in a whirlwind. I was up until the wee hours on Friday night, hell bent on delivering my mock-ups on time and when the client said she loved them, I had no choice but to blow off working this weekend and indulge in a little home renovation.
I’ve lived in this apartment since May but hadn’t really done much with it. I was recovering financially from my move and my trip to London, plus Kathy and I had that whole book thing to worry about. I merely went out to pick up some candles at World Market and the next thing I know, I’m on a wild shopping extravaganza with GFI. World Market, IKEA, back to World Market, Target… it was a spending frenzy, I tell you. But, miraculously, I didn’t spend very much! Everything was either IKEA-cheap or on sale, so I think I did a spectacular job. Among my haul: a new papasan chair and cushion, a new desk, 2 new rugs, a huge palm tree, 2 lamps for the kitchen, 2 lampshades for the living room, a new comforter for the bedroom (so I can finally use the cute duvet set that Taughnee got me forever ago), various candles, um… I feel like I’m missing something. Oh, a new set of curtains and… Oh! A huge pot that my palm tree lives in. It was craziness, but I spent next to nothing, believe it or not.
I can’t decide what my favorite part is. I love my new desk, which is just so awesome, I had to have it. (Highlight: it hides all that cord and plug nonsense that annoys me so much.) But I also really love my living room. It’s gone from feeling really cluttered and kind of “college-y” to being very homey and inviting. I feel very relaxed there and it’s nice to have a distinction between my office and my living room.
It feels like a completely different apartment now. I felt like I was jumping out of my skin before — when you spend all day every day in a place, it needs to feel like a sanctuary, not a cell and when you have a view like I have, it’s hard not to want to run outside and play. (Yeah, yeah, bitch, bitch… hee!) So, I think I’ve created a happy balance.
The next project is my bedroom. I used to have a big blue rug in the living room, but that’s part of what was making the living room seem to cluttered. The rug just didn’t fit — it was too big and not quite the right color. I kept trying to force this giant blue rug to work and it wasn’t, so I moved it into my bedroom at GFI’s suggestion and it looks awesome, especially with my blue sheets.
Finally, I just need to finish my kitchen and bathroom. My dining area desperately needs a table, but the one I wanted at IKEA is gone now (it’s a bold red-orange glasstop round table) that I thought would be fabulous in there. I’m holding out for the new catalog, hoping it will make a reappearance. If it doesn’t, I may just find a second-hand table and paint it. I’ll need another rug for under that so it’s not so chilly on the tile, but I did pick up this snazzy rug for the kitchen floor, though. (Which got ruined when the plumber came on Saturday night and roto-rooted or whatever and, to my dismay, got black grease water all over it. World Market was kind of enough to exchange it for me. They rule!)
I am selling my “old” desk from IKEA, a Galant birch veneer corner desk that’s 63” x 47” and in great condition. If you’re in the area and interested, it’s dismantled and ready for pick-up. You can see my ad on Craigslist here.
GFI introduced me to a Thai food place down the street called Saffron and I am now in love with it. I had this incredible egg noodle dish with seared garlic, chicken and broccoli with this thin jalapeno ‘water’ that you drizzled all over called Pad-See-Ewe. Oh, holy holy… it was so good. I may have to revisit them today. I thought I wasn’t into Thai food very much and clearly, I was wrong.
I have nothing snappy with which to close this entry, so I’ll just say this: May your Monday not suck and your mailman deliver you nothing but checks. That’s the best I’ve got today. 
Joelle said in the early morning on July 5, 2007
To be honest, I’m not hungover in the slightest. I only had half a beer, but I bet all the people on my block that I saw cruising the streets at fireworks time last night with red plastic tumblers sure are. I was going to post one of my pitiful attempts at fireworks photos, but really, I can’t hold a roman candle to these by ktpupp. Absolutely stunning. I wish I had read more about exposure… I’ve got this ISO thing down, but while that seems great in some cases, it sucks in true dark because it makes everything grainy. I’ll figure it all out eventually… by the time I have to buy the camera. Heh.
Last night, I grilled turkey burgers at The Bar (read: my front yard) and watched the fireworks up on the terrace at GFI’s (my upstairs neighbor and friend, for those playing along at home). I have to tell you, these were, by far, the best turkey burgers I’ve ever made. You know how turkey burgers can get really dry? These were so delicious, I’m excited that I have one left in the fridge today. Here’s a quick run-down of the ingredients:
- Roughly 1 pound of extra lean ground turkey (to feed 4 people)
- Palm-full of grill seasoning
- 1 big tablespoon of light sour cream
- 3 strips of crisp cooked bacon (chopped)
- 4 scallions (diced)
- 1 tablespoon of spicy brown mustard
- Several good shakes of Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 1/2 teaspoons of fresh minced garlic
- Salt and fresh cracked pepper (I just went for a couple good turns on the salt and pepper mills)
Moosh it all together with your clean hands and stick it in the fridge for an hour or more. I covered it in plastic wrap right against the meat, then put that in a tupperware, so it kept the moisture it and allowed the flavors to really get into the turkey.
When you pull it out, score it into 4 servings with your hand (a trick I learned from Rachel Ray), make your patties, then stick your thumb in the middle of each one to keep the burgers from bulging in the middle. This way, your burger stays flat and doesn’t get round, like burgers tend to do. (Another tip I learned from Rachel Ray.)
I dragged my electric Cuisinart Griddler out to the porch and after it got super hot, I threw the burgers on to a very satisfying sizzle and smoke result. About 8 to 10 minutes later, I had some hot, hot, perfectly moist, not overdone turkey burgers. They were topped with a thin slice of swiss cheese, lettuce and tomato and devoured by all in under 15 minutes.
GFI made an incredible salsa, too. I was in cilantro and onion heaven. In swear, I felt like I woke up smelling like an onion — I took a shower first thing! Ooo… I think it’s time for salsa and eggs…
I hope everyone had a safe and happy July 4th. Now get your hungover bums back to work!
Joelle said around mid-afternoon on July 2, 2007
Anyone who has read my blog for a long time (and that reminds me, I should really get my archives back up) can tell you that I run into the weirdest people. Not just the weirdest people, but the strangest situations, too. Back in the day, I had a few sourpusses try to say I made it all up and while I am quite descriptive with my writing, anyone who’s ever met me can tell you: this stuff really happens.
Just now, after running to the bank and stopping for some mandarin chicken, I decided to wind down through the backstreets of Mission Hills toward my apartment instead of taking the busier, but more direct route. The homes up here are fairly upscale, albeit older, and the view is nothing short of spectacular. I like that the homes here are unique, not cookie-cutter tract houses and the streets are wide and quiet, like residential neighorhood streets should be. And the gardens some of these people have would blow your mind. I like that I can wave to the neighbors or smile and they’ll smile back. It’s all very neighborly.
Especially today. Today, as I drove down one of my favorite stretches of street, I saw a flatbed parked in front of a house on the left loaded up with giant deer. I mean loaded. up. I slowed down because I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Giant fiberglass deer — like lawn jockeys with ‘roid rage. Giant. Deer. I swear, their asses were as big as my windshield.
So anyway, I raise an eyebrow at that and keep driving. As I near the end of the block where I turn to get to my apartment, I see a young, quasi-muscular guy from the back, carrying a giant buffalo under one arm. Not as big as the deer, but definitely bigger than your average lawn ornament. I can’t help but slow down, turn and look as I went around the corner and I swear to you… I swear to you by all that’s decent and holy, that he dropped the buffalo, threw a leg over it and made the ever-popular two-fingered crotch-lick gesture, followed by a kiss-kiss face.
And here, at almost 34, I thought I was losing my touch.
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