Friday's Post:
I am at my Parent's home.
I'm bored, drunk and awake and there is an ancient springer spanial gently snoring to my left. . .
I warn you this post will be long. Possibly painful. It is likely there will be grammatical errors and allusions to the National Debt and argyle. . . For those who may read no further: Tell me about your odd Thanksgiving day experience, what made your holiday different from every other OWFLer? and of course: WFL?
(and now to the verbose post)
Welcome to the day of sloth.
Congratulations for making it this far.
I know.
It's been a hard week.
I am truly proud of you.
It all started with that damn Monday. A day that specializes in grabbing you by the gonads and dragging you back from your weekend bliss and into the perpetual drudgery that seems the definition of selling your soul (I won't argue with those of you that think you love your job—argument just doesn't look good on me (I'm a spring)).
Then came that Tuesday, another blindingly painful series of hours echoing with the phrase “It's my Thursday, ha-yuck” and the inner-child-kicking reminder you haven't even made it half way through your abbreviated week.
Ahh, then that Wednesday: the day taunting you with it's proximity to that luscious sweet spot of the eleventh month.
Ahh, then that Wednesday: “The Biggest Drinking Day of the Year” (or so I've heard, I've been Googling up and down trying to find out if there is any truth in this (as counter-intuitive as it may be) but other than a few statements from those unworthy of my bibliography, I haven't found any verification).
Then, with no time or dignity to spare: Thanksgiving.Yes, you've proved you are ready for the Gastrointestinal Games: having spent between five and twelve hours eating on this most holy of holidays. You drank whatever was placed in front of you, regardless of your proximity to the hot stove and boiling potatoes. You smiled politely, even when a well meaning relative implied that you have yet to do anything productive with your life.
Hell, you had seconds.
Well, congratulations OWFLers. Take this day and raise a proud middle finger to those who will spend their waking hours fighting barbarous crowds in Bed, Bath and Beyond for that deeply-discounted-turbo-limited-edition-cheese-grater. Raise your other to those cleaning out gutters, mopping floors and generally being productive. Then, with all the self-righteous authority you can muster, sit the f*ck down. This is your day to enjoy that extra ass-padding you've somehow acquired in the last twenty-four—don't do anything productive, enjoy that organic cushion and enjoy it with pride.Now that you've been given a day without responsibility, tell me what made your Thanksgiving your own. Anything shocking occur when your girlfriend came home to your parents for the first time? (Really, you should have known they would call her a whore). Did anyone have their first significant other Thanksgiving (away from parents or in-laws)? (HA! You didn't know it was the neck at first either!) What surprised you culinarily on this traditional meal?
More succinctly, what made your yesterday different than every other OWFLer's?
i'd like to get some socks with silly interlocking diamonds
and of course:
WFL?
(Bonus points if you do not eat leftovers. . .)
50 comments:
Good post, too bad noone is at work right now. I should have given you my posting date.
The weirdest thing was having tender smoked turkey, mashed potatoes, green bean cassarole, and an amazing "pumpkin roll" which was akin to a carrot cake (with cream cheese icing) but with pumkin all rolled up pastry-like. Remebering we are in the heart of Africa and in a compound with many people from Britain, France, Russia, and Africa.
The coffee was the local "coffee powder" which is strong as a hammer, sweet as a local lady, and black as the darkest depression of Trent Reznour. (that last bit was mine ... the quote I stole was much lamer)
We had a huge run-soaked cuban stoggie after dinner standing around talking and to be honest even with all that amazing food and comraderie, there was a tender ache in my heart for my home and my love.
So, Thanksgiving was a good but alien one. It was nice to bond and share a singularly American tradition with people from all over the Earth. They seemed to enjoy it even more than the American ex-pats.
M, if you're living your life how you want to ... you are doing the correct thing. Don't let anyone tell you what to do ... but don't have a Doris Herbig moment.
So chin-up, most likely life has way too many interesting and "rewarding" experiences for you to deal with in the future.
M I think you deserve to have this post continue on through Monday when everyone gets back to work, so I am hereby offering you my day (I'll pick one up in the new Decemeber schedule). Do we have a deal?
In fact don't answer that, I'm switching the schedule so it reflects your continued posting.
Now I have to go drive the family around various shopping hells.
Happy Leftover Day!
Oh, diz, work isn't the only banality that leads me to lengthy or frequent or numerous posts. If the "family" I get paid to put up with isn't available, I can always rely on the family that's even harder to separate myself from. Further, as long as this is going to be a relatively quiet day here on the blog, I'll go ahead and try to up our word count a bit.
Thanks for keeping the faith, m.
The things that make my Thanksgiving unlike yours are numerous, at least in the specifics.
1 - I showed up at the airport about an hour and a half before my flight. When I checked in, they bumped me to a flight that was an hour earlier than the one I had booked. Then, the new flight arrived at O'Hare 30 minutes ahead of schedule. Result: far from running in to the expected Thanksgiving travel clusterfuck, I actually got to my destination an hour and a half earlier than I had expected. And that with no complications.
2 - As mentioned earlier this week, it was my lot to pick both my mother and a friend up at the airport. My friend was scheduled to arrive about an hour after my mom, which was going to spread out the family schedule just a little further than ideal. Lo and behold! the friend was ALSO bumped to an earlier flight which then arrived 50 minutes ahead of schedule! And all of this at O'Hare. (Needless to say, I am waiting for the other travel karma shoe to drop. I expect I will be delayed here until Thursday or so next week.)
3 - While waiting for my mom to show up, the friend asks me about the book I was reading, Trash by Dorothy Allison. I explain that it is a series of stories by an angry lesbian who grew up on the bottom-end of the socio-economic spectrum in ruralish South Carolina. "The stories are about dysfunctional families and full of trailer parks, substance abuse, domestic violence, incest, rape, death, and various crueleties to animals and humans. You know, your standard Southern Grotesque updated for the 21st century. Happy Thanksgiving." This comment is recalled to mind when I realize that I am going to eat Thanksgiving dinner at my aunt's house with 13 people (ranging in age from 1.5 to 87 years) and a yellow lab (aged 15.5 years) on its deathbed (literally) in the living room. Fortunately, the stories of veterinary energy healing, Native American shamanic chanting, and tuning-fork therapy didn't come to light until well after dinner.
4 - At 1230PM on Thanksgiving Day, I finally stand up to find a double old-fashioned glass to replace the coffee cup I had been using to gradually (although not TOO gradually) empty the bottle of Jim Beam sitting in front of me. About an ounce of it went in to the Kentucky Derby Tartelettes that wound up on the dessert table. The rest of the missing 500 mL went in to me, most of that well before dinner. Shortly before dinner, I realized that I had not seen anyone else touch that bottle all day. Moments after that, I poured myself a glass of water but not before answering "dropping a deuce, grandma," to my grandmother's question of "where were you?" although, to be fair, that was mostly only because my brother's mother-in-law was in the room. As she beat a hasty retreat to more civilized family conversation, I decided to switch to beer until after dinner. Wise choice.
Obviously, there were numerous other ups and downs to the day, but those are the only ones that are even arguably entertaining for anyone outside of the family. And, they're mine - ALL MINE!
Back to lunchish topics, I am happy to report, although I was not able to actuate kikidee's recommendation of that joint out west the other day (but many thanks for the suggestion - two days in a row!), I have already knocked down a Portillo's jumbo dog (w/ everything) and a couple of slices of Lou Malnatti's pizza. Those items, in conjunction with the dipped Italian beef sandwich, leave me just one breaded steak away from clearning my Chicago dining matrix (and, of course, opening the door for repeats).
For lunch today, I think I am not having leftovers because I am capitalizing on a little unstructured time to get away from the family for a while. There is a distinct possibility that I will track down that breaded steak (ooh, or maybe a proper pork chop sandwich).
God damn! I love eating in this town.
Doris Herbig, Diz? Very, very nice reference - but her name was Delores Herbig. ("as in, 'her big brown eyes!'")
Jo, I love you and I'm sure your family is wonderful, but I lose a bit of respect for people who shop today. TheBestFriend's family has done gone shopping - as a unit, no less - on every Black Friday since I've known her. And every year I think, for such smart people, why are you so silly? I can think of nothing in the world that could drag me to a shopping sort of place today. (though, I may hit the grocery, but I figure that should be empty what with most people feasting on leftovers)
By the way, if you're in DC tonight, meet us at Angles for a wee, tiny bday celebration por moi!
Oh, also - I need a little OWFL help from anyone checking in today and tomorrow: the theme for Sunday's tailgate is "seafood." WTF? Why couldn't it be "Thanksgiving" like it was last year for this game? Anyway, I need to come up with something seafood themed that will serve 20 or so people, that isn't too expensive for my unemployed ass, and isn't gumbo/jambalaya b/c my friend is making that. Any and all suggestions are welcome, and begged for.
Thanks!
As I mentioned on yesterday's lonely post - I woke up at 10:30, talked to my dad for a minute, went to the gym, came home, ate one sandwich over the course of the day, watched a Miami Ink marathon, took a nap, watched XXX: State of the Union, painted my nails, talked to Lady A, enjoyed some codeine, watched Conan. I swore I was going to make popcorn, toast and jelly beans, but I didn't have bread or jelly beans. Oh, well.
ht, really? Seafood at a tailgate? Is it a proper tailgate in a parking lot and all?
If you're really looking to expand your spectrum of possibilities, you can always make an argument for "oh, shit! I thought the theme was C food. Care for a chicken canape?"
Yeah, I don't know, EQ. It's in a parking lot and it's a freakin' Ravens game. Oh, and it starts at 9:30 in the morning. Who the eff wants fish at that hour. I'm thinking of bringing Pepperidge Farm Goldfish, Oyster Crackers, and some Swedish Fish and calling it a day.
But funny you should mention the letter "C" as I've just drafted a blog of my own over yonder and will be posting in about 15 or so minutes (I know - you can't wait) on that very subject.
Spooky.
No need to be surly, Jo. I'm just sayin' - I don't get the shopping today. I don't understand parading either, but that's just me.
Hmm. The only thing you can hope, then, is that some overachieving Maryland bastard has the cojones to build the infrastructure for proper crab cakes (which fit both them renderings we've discussed so far).
And, shorty, yes. My heart goes out to you.
Lady A and I saw a package of like, 72,000 fishsticks for 4.95 at the Giant the other day. While it doesn't start with "C" (though, those are made of "Cod product" mostly) it is a low cost alternative to my dilemma.
I love Maryland, but only Marylanders would think "seafood" is an appropriate theme for a tailgate.
Sheesh.
no bonus points for me... turkey, stuffing, garlic mashed potatoes on toast for lunch.
seafood for 20? fake crab, cream cheese, sour cream, spinich and dried vegetable soup mix... mix them all and then chill them in a fridge for an hour or so... spread it on huge tortillas, roll them up tight and cut them in to one inch sections.. refridgerate them for another hour or so... very good.
so ever since i hit post i've been trying to figure out what would differentiate my holiday from yours. ugh. so little. white middle class family, two kids and a sleepy dog sit around eating turkey and the standard sides. curt conversation abounds and forced smiles reflect on each face. Each family member attempts to drink themselves into sociability.
sounds like a hallmark special.
so now i am here, waiting for an appropriate time of departure with the Saved By the Bell Island Special playing in the background and watching my sister's demon spawn of a puggle face hump my poor 14 year old springer.
how many others got to watch face humping? huh?
Nothing says Thanksgiving like face-humping.
Oh, and FL I had sweet potato and lentil soup and two small slices of some uppity (but tasty) roasted vegetable pizza.
What has two thumbs and gets bonus lunch points today?
EQue - considering how little I've been drinking of late, I'm concerned about your predictions for maintaining vertical integrity.
FYI for those of you coming tonight - I probably won't be there until after 8:30 or so. Y'all of course are welcome to get there whenever you'd like and settle in with a few pitchers. I made a last minute hair appt, and she can't fit me in until 7:15 or so.
I really hope I wake up though, otherwise I'll be down for the count early. Of course, I am getting pretty damn old...
Coffee cake for breakfast.
Leftover turkey and stuffing for lunch.
More leftovers plus honey baked ham, and three other new dished for Thanksgiving Part 2 tonight.
Spent 2 hrs at Best Buy comparing HDTV's and widescreen computer monitors.
Average weekend crowd.
To anyone in the market for a big tv, Best Buy is selling Sony Bravia 40 inchers for about $800 off. Last day of the sale is tomorrow.
Unless it's a very late night I doubt I can make it to Angles.
Happy early birthday HT.
Happy B-day HT. RoEsq's is in 3 days as well. I won't be around and she will be studying. It is a shame you two couldn't be in the same city to hang. Both of you are Sag and I know LC would make it a trio. Oh well, I guess the point everyone needs their friends when they start getting older and the family we were born with sometimes starts to dissolve or matter less to us than the relationships we form.
Today was beef curry on white rice with a hallowed out cucumber and a greek salad with avacado placed in the middle of it (salad boat).
Good stuff.
HT happy happy!
Alas, I won't be in the neighborhood for Angles tonight. Happy birthday anyway, ht. I'll be sure to pour one out for you somewhere TBD on the near north side.
Testing...
Yeah, back in the saddle!
In keeping with the sense of the post, I should add that my Thanksgiving may also have been unique in the fact that my Thanksgiving-themed trip just ended about 15 minutes ago when I got back from the airport. That's right. This morning, I had a flight from O'Hare to National for breakfast. (Apparently, I wasn't the only one with that idea. I dropped my mom off yesterday at noon or so, and she pretty much walked from the curb to the gate. It was a little busier at 6AM today, but alles gute.)
For lunch, I am going to have something that I pick up on my way in to the office. That is, of course, after I take a shower and put on some deodorant for the first time since my travel D.O. went all gone three days ago. (Yeah, I know they have drug stores in the Greater Chicagoland Area. I'm in a phase of "seeing how far I can push things.")
PS - Glad to see the blog back up. I was on the verge of joining in the anonymity-breaking e-mail free-for-all. Now I know my secret is safe...
So I guess there's really no new post for today? Just the continuation of Friday's? Um. I can't say I've done much to make Thanksgiving mine. Although I'd love it to be all mine & not have my older brother around for once. But my little brother would have to be there. That would be cool.
Diz, I feel you with the weirdness that is Thanksgiving abroad. In Bermuda we didn't even get the day off! WTF?!? So we'd usually get together on Saturday. It was annoying knowing that none of your state-side friends were working while you were in the office. Dammit! But we did get the queen's birthday off...
One of the TGivings I was in Budapest, was spent at some dude's apt. His name was Michael Jordan, and his Hungarian g/f tried to make a traditional turkey. As this is not normal Hungarian cooking, the turkey ended up being pink, so we threw it away and ate sides. There was this woman there though, I don't remember anything about her except she made the most delicious, boozy rum cake I've ever had. She kept injecting it with more rum all night, and the whole thing was soaked. It was delicious.
ugh, at home b/c i'm not feeling to good. just ate leftovers again for the fifth time...and i have to say, i am still loving it. this years feast was so delicious. my sis and i cooked enough for an army. the hits of the evening were my homemade cranberry sauce, wild mushroom leek stuffing, and the double layered pumpkin cheesecake. we just ate and slept and watched tv for 5 straight days. now that's what i call a glutton-filled holiday.
oh, and how can i forget making it to ht's bday only to witness a dance-off. i thought that shit only happened in hollywood between the likes of britney and justin. but i see that it can even happen in angles. EQ and anyone else who weren't there missed out on A LOT.
i think im going to go back to sleep now.
turkey really is the perfect food. i don't know exactly what the difference is between this and chicken but i know that after this many day's of chicken based meals i would have definitely given up on the fish of the land...
turkey? no quitters here. i made a turkey before i left for my parents home, ate it for all meals for that Sunday, Monday, Tuesday.. then went to my parents place having a single meal of teriyaki tilapia and then ate turkey exclusively on that Thursday and Friday... i get back to nj and what do i eat? more turkey! i finally broke down today because the cafeteria downstairs doesn't happen to be serving turkey today (who would have thought?)...
some of the various incarnations of this fantastic fowl included:
Turkey soup
Bowl of Thanksgiving (take all thanksgiving leftovers and mix in equal proportions)
cold turkey on toast
Turkey Chili
Hot Turkey sandwiches
Turkey and rice.
and my favorite: Buffalo Turkey Pizza.
I think i'm going to see what i can make with turkey puree tonight... i think i should be able to use it like canned tuna.
oh yeah.. and the turkey diet buster today was a cuban sandwich and soggy fries...
m, i think you made HT just puke a little in her mouth.
i gave most of my leftovers to misschibi as she is poorer than i and will appreciate it much more.
i am going to eat a piece of double layered pumpkin cheesecake and take a nap. yeah, that sounds about right.
Mmm. My lunch was good. Leftover chicken pesto pizza from Faccia Luna. Yum. It was even better than last night with all the flavour melding & whatnot.
M, you're like Forrest Gump's shrimp friend, but for turkey.
That dance-off was fucking hysterical. It was just like Hollywood . . . except with bad dancing & fucking-up of pool games. Seriously, dude. Do NOT fuck with my pool game with frat boys.
Damn it! I always miss the dance-offs.
Made it to work without stopping for lunch. Thus far, lunch has been a fistful of hummus on some Mediterranean crackers that were sitting on top of the refrigerator. Also, a little gruyere that I bought last week. I didn't expect to find so much stuff in the fridge.
Expecting a second lunch some time in the next hour and a half or so. (Silently wish it were a breaded steak sandwich with hella mozzarella.)
Thank god it wasn't a Pants-Off Dance-Off. That (non-Miss Chibi) chick was scary!
Man, it's already intimidating enough to come in to a day full of comments late and to have to go back and read what everybody's said, but to come in late on a continued post from like 3 days ago, it's over whelming.
I am now temping at the Brookings Institution and I have responsibilities and stuff to keep me busy. SO I don't have to stock soft drinks anymore and my project lunch meyham practice of shaking up pop must be shelved... for now. I'll have to figure out a new project for this place, once I figure out what they do and to which side of the aisle they lean.
Lunch today was a #1 with coke, for here. I read National Geographic.
Oh and HT, I sent you that email about there being an 85% chance of me being in town on Friday, and if I was in town a 90% chance that I'd be all up at Angles. Turns out I wasn't calculating a parental visit that usurped my time that evening. I hope you had a good night and you are adjusting well to your new age.
No worries, Sunshine. And, Brookings leans left. In some cases, more than leans. They're like the Think Tank Nemesis of the joint where I've been interviewing.
Ah ha. then I hope you get the jobby job and we can spar over policy analysis.
God, DC is a nerdy town.
I'd challenge you to a think tank dance off, MS, but I don't think it can compare to what we saw Friday night.
I have never seen Pants Off Dance Off. My life is not complete. Sigh! I never watched Full House, but I'm amazed she's the only kid on that show with a meth habit . . . so far. Then the one twin had anorexia. What other problems befell the child stars of that horrid show? Didn't Kirk Cameron's sister star in it? And didn't she go all christian & get married at like 19 or something?
Hello all, this likely (hopefully) be the last post before I am finally out of Africa. We had to take another flight in the Helo out to the rig in the Ocean again to rig up two more containers. We are done .. weary .. bu done. I find myself missing RoEsq's b-day today. If you can, please drop her a happy b-day email to rochelle.rance@gmail.com. She will be tickled that you do.
As for myself, I am bone-tired and weary. This has been a tough one both mentally and physically. So, we are headed out on the whirrly bird (or flying vibrator turd). I hope to get on a plane in the evening (11pm) and get to Charles DeGualle sometime around 2:20am.
So, what should I eat tomorrow before the long trek home?
BTW, we missed lunch today the bastards! We were kept at the airport until the President flew out (from 10am till 1pm).
ARRGGGHHHH!!!!!
Don't know about the little sister, but Kirk definitely chose to follow The Way of the Master.
God bless lunch.
Hey, lt, you could always make your own Pants Off Dance Off. If you need some tips, drop me a line. (Speaking of which, are you the author of a vaguely threatening text message I got this weekend?)
I'm starting to itch for second lunch.
Just wanted to say a quick hi! I just finished training for the day and my new boss already went home...soooo...now I'm not sure what to do. Anyways...today has been great, basic introduction really, but everyone seems really nice and REALLY into recycling and not eating veal.
Lunch was at a little italian joint close by. Rigatoni with a mascarpone sherry cream sauce, mushrooms, scallops, sausage and shrimp...it was excellent. And the the dark chocolate mousse pie I had for dessert was even better. Needless to say I almost fell asleep the second part of training.
No, however, I was the author of a full-on threatening text message.
I want my 80's tape back, thief!
I saw that mentioned during kirk's "guest appearance" in Drawn Together... i couldn't believe it was real, let alone mentioned during said show.
I got the Donnie Darko album this last week and it is absolutely amazing.. did i already tell you? ugh.. i cannot remember.
Hey, I tried to take the "are you a good person?" 'ultimate' quiz on that way of the master site & nothing came up. Just a box. I guess it's a fruitless quiz for me?
HT, don't tell me you're going to work for Heritage! Please say it isn't true!!
Congrats on the first day Lady A!
lt, sorry to hear you couldn't take the quiz. It walks you through the Ten Commandments to see how many of them you've broken.
Let me skip you ahead to the answer: "No, you're not."
I love the way they make you realize it.
And, I had an epiphany when they got to that one about stealing. Apparently, Kirk Cameron doesn't buy that old line about "borrowing."
Kirk Cameron was the Christian. His sister, Candace, played DJ Tanner (DJ being short for Donna Jo). She married a Russian hockey player (something Bure, as she now goes by Candace Cameron Bure) and they pooped out like, 87 kids.
No one else on that show was fucked up, I don't think. I heard Saget saying that the girl who played Kimmie is just a normal suburban housewife now. Not sure about the twins that played Jesse and Becky's kids...
(I watch Full House 4-5 times a day - I need a job.)
Diz - Heritage isn't really a think tank. They're more of a "Do you want research that proves your crazy Right Wing opinion is fact based? Sweet, we can do that for you!" Anyway, no - Brookings is left of center, like the place I'm interviewing is Left of Center. And, I'm purposely not naming here, as I'm actually hoping to work there.
I want to fly on a helicopter...
http://movies.msn.com/movies/dvd/food?GT1=7701
Pavel Bure
Man, that article makes me want to go home & pig out. Snarf. Must . . . wait . . . until . . . Saturday! Speaking of which - are there are any DC (or going-to-be-in-DC-this-weekend) OWFLers I left off my evite for this weekend? Let me know. Unless you don't want to come. :-(
Thank you, E-Que!
My day is better - I'm really trying to make a conscious effort to hate less, but you know, I can't help it if there are so many hate-worthy folks in the world!
I'll even say something positive about Rachel Ray - she makes really "Yum-O" stuff. Also, I heard her hubby was a huge perv who paid a hooker to spit on him. Oddly, I sort of relate to that. (dating a huge perv)
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