9.29.2010

Birthday Party!

Me, my mom, my sister & Rashan went out to lunch at a Mexican restaurant, then Krispy Kreme-- YUM!, then dinner at what's supposed to be the best sushi in town.  Why was that sushi terrible?  All the fried stuff was fried too hard and had too much breading.  HORRID.  I also took a look at the reviews after going there and they were like, "Good FOR WINSTON."  Are you serious?  Not good, but good for here???  I'll be saving up my sushi visits for other cities, then.  Greensboro isn't that far.  They've got to have better sushi.  That's just not right.  I was pissed.  I wanted to have a delicious meal, possibly trying a meat I've never had before.  I ended up disappointed. 

I'm sure of my list you want to know what I actually got accomplished or received.

1) Nude or grey pumps (like these)-- No, put my godmother sent me enough money to get both! :)
2) A Giada de Laurentiis cookbook & An Ina Garten cookbook BOTH from Stace! YIPPEE!! :)
3) An awesome meal in a cute, delicious restaurant -- EPIC FAIL
4) A yummy trip to one of the many bakeries or ice cream shops here-- INDEED!  Kernel Kustard absolutely did it for me!
5) A tour of the Krispy Kreme Doughnut Factory (WHICH IS JUST MINUTES FROM MY HOUSE!!!!!)-- Tour is too strong a word.  I stood and watched doughnuts get drenched with glaze. MMMMM.  I'll take it.  Lol.
6) A film.  Ooh!  Got it!  I'm going on a search for the history of the grandfather I never met.
7) To win that awesome & incredibly expensive mattress I entered a contest for!  FAIL. :(  I was really convinced I'd win.  Blech.
8) Find the random items I'm missing from among my things (my silverware, a bag of shoes I haven't been able to find all summer, aluminum foil (see what I mean by random??))-- I didn't find ANY of this stuff.  Scowl.  But Ladynay will be pleased to know I did get some replacement foil.  LOLOL
9) A really sharp knife.  Why?  Ask me no questions, I'll tell you no lies. OMG!!  I won a contest on Therapeutic Musings' blog and she sent me one.  WHY have I ever cooked without this knife??  Cooking is so much more a joy with a good sharp knife!!!
10) Le Creuset wasn't on my list and it's a stretch to call this a birthday gift but since I loved it and we're talking about kitchen stuff, I LOVE this brand and got my first piece the other day.  I salivated, sighed and smiled.  I may have hugged it, too but I'll never tell.  So in love are we two!

Overall, pretty great though I was soooo disappointed in the food.  I have tried to more than make up since then!

9.27.2010

Monday Mindspacing Vol. 67

1) Dooo Yoooou Knooow What Tomorrow Issss? It's my bloggerversary!  The day for me and meeeeeeeeeeeee!!  Tomorrow I have officially been blogging for five years!  Wow!  My life is completely different than it would've been if I wasn't a blogger.  I feel very enriched for this experience.  Yay!!!
2) I hate when I'm talking to someone and they're looking all around and past my head.  Do you have somewhere else to be?  With someone more important?  Please go there.
3) Is anyone else in BettyWhite overkill mode?  Yeah, me too.
4) If a full arm tattoo is called a sleeve, what's a full leg tatt?  Rashan and I decided on a stocking.  Lol
5) I like to throw around the fact that I'm a faculty member.  It makes people straighten up and act right.  You're talking slick?  I say I'm a faculty member and you quickly change your tone.  That's what I thought.
6) I'm at least 4 recipes behind on The Record Dish so expect posts daily or near daily this week between 11 and 11:30 a.m.  Lol.  Oh specificity.
7) I had to wake up at or near the crack of dawn LITERALLY TWO TIMES last week for things I needed to do.  Let's not repeat that this week... or ever.  But I'll settle for not this week.
8) I really like taking trips with people.  I went to a conference a couple of towns over and it was fun to chat with people in the car on the way and make stops on the way back.
9) My trainer is trying to murder me.  I NEED TO BE ABLE TO WALK, SIT AND STAND!!  I'm picky like that.

9.22.2010

Hey! Guess What??

I love teaching!  I'm so excited to learn that!  You know that was one of my goals before 30, right?  Woohoo!!  But I decided to wait until finals to declare it officially.  So this is my unofficial non-announcement non-declaration.  I love watching the little light bulbs of understanding go off in their heads.  I also think it's cool that Stace and I can be educational bookends!  She gets them in kindergarten, I get them junior and senior year of college.  Wheeeeee!!  I'm super busy between teaching, class and down time.  I'm not saying I won't be blogging but I really am thinking about it only in the realm of I guess I should do that... 

Oh yeah!  And I started personal training last Monday.  It's quite awesome!  I'm learning lots of exercises I will use to whip Rashan into shape!  TWOFER!  My proper eating is sporadic.  Have I ever mentioned how much I despise detoxes?  I find them ridiculous in their unrealisticness.  And why are there so many of them?  There's no PERMANENT quick, easy fix.  Sorry to be the one to break that to you. (No I'm not.)

9.20.2010

Monday Mindspacing Vol. 66

1) Can I please get more consecutive hours of sleep?  Please?  Thanks.
2) Please stop including grape or cherry tomatoes in your recipes.  I hate how those things taste.  My tomato pickiness hasn't ended... if you thought it had.
3) Sometimes I just want to lay in my bed and ignore the whole world.  I'm not depressed.  I just do a lot during the week.  So on the weekend?  I'm like, "Bye y'all!!"
4) I stopped saying y'all when I went to Hampton and people were making fun of me.  Foolish New Yorkers.  I think being in NC I'll get my y'all back!!
5) When I comment on your blog minutes after you post it, I PROMISE I'm not stalking you.  You're just on my google reader blog roll... which I check constantly some hours of the day.  Just wanna throw that out there.  Lol.
6) Rashan said sometimes he thinks he has more in common with Stace than with me.  ROTFL!!  At least I know my love and my BFF can get along!  Don't worry, this does not mean the end of us and the start of them.  LOLOL.  Y'all so messy!  Rah & I have complementary personalities.  Both of them are insanely laid back... as am I... LOLOL.  I couldn't even finish that with a straight face.
7) I miss Atlanta. :(

9.19.2010

Movies 2010, Weeks 34 & 35

At this rate I'll never make it to 300 films this year!  Whatev...

September 5-11, 2010
176) Beetle.Queen.Conquers.Tokyo.  Documentary about people in Japan and their love affair with insects, including beetles.  No real story line.  Felt like it meandered to an eventual conclusion.  The director admitted to not liking this 56-minute "tv cut," preferring her 90-minute theatrical version.  Okay... but seeing that makes me wonder how on earth you could pull a 90-minute film out of that material.  Also, how do you make a film you don't even like?  And then show it?  *confused*  2 stars
177) Ahead.of.Time.  Documentary that opened in NY on Friday about a nearly 100-year-old journalist who has covered and/or participated in a ton of amazing events.  She was interesting... but the film tried to cover too much ground making most events feel underplayed and unfulfilling.   There were some great scenes and wonderful moments but the full piece didn't move me like I'd hoped.  I did have a wonderful epiphany during this film so I guess I got something out of it.  3.5 stars

September 12-18, 2010
178) Date Night.  Steve Carrell & Tina Fey star as a boring New Jersey couple who steal someone's reservation and find themselves on the run.  Really funny at times, too ridiculous at times.  3.5 stars
179) The Joneses.  David Duchovny & Demi Moore star in this film about people trying to keep up with them... the Joneses.  But the Joneses have a secret.  Interesting enough concept.  It took 3-7 minutes too long to reveal.  As in they told you just about everything you needed to figure it out, then waited 3-5 minutes, then told you the rest and the pay off wasn't enough.  An okay watch.  3.4 stars
180) Diary of A Wimpy Kid. Amusing kids film about a boy entering middle school and determined to be cool.  3.5 stars
181) I Love You Again. William Powell and Myrna Loy star as a couple divorce-bound because of her boredom.  When he suddenly remembers an exciting, dangerous past, she reconsiders.  Very cute!  4.8 stars

9.17.2010

Another Open Letter

Dear Everyone Who Spoiled Top Chef For Me,

I hate you all.

Love,
Jameil

9.14.2010

Huh?

Were we reading the same blog?  This chick said she wanted a dude to be creative on the first date.  She didn't say she needed relationship advice.  She didn't say she had trouble finding a man.  In fact, she said just the opposite.  She's really busy and she doesn't have time for your lazy foolishness.  And somehow it's turned into a massive debate that places all the marrieds and almost marrieds against the single women.  Whatever!!  When you come on someone's blog like a know-it-all, no matter your position, and rudely tell her how wrong she is and that's exactly why she's single, I'm not going to sit back and let it go down like that.  I'm also not going to continue going back and forth.  You made your position clear and so did I.  Let's move it on along. 

9.13.2010

Monday Mindspacing Vol. 65

1) When you go to stop following people on twitter, the url is twitter.com/friendships/destroy.  ROTFL!!
2) There should be no such thing as a "guiltless salmon burger."  Why would you feel guilty eating that unless it's topped with bacon, ham, mayo and sauteed in a pound of butter?  And then I read the recipes... wow... y'all really do all that...
3) Fashion bloggers, I am beginning to adore you.  I really am.  But I just cannot get with the spot and dot and animal print mixing.  #nomaam Love, Jameil
4) I have a problem with history. It never seems real to me. 1564 seems like such an abstract, fake year.  Really, anything before oh I don't know 1776 seems too long ago to be accurate or real.  (I just picked that year at random, but the 1800s don't seem terribly real either.)  Yes, I know that's problematic, bizarre, and insert your own adjective.
5) I love sorbet.  My closest friend in the program always balks when I want it for dessert.  She's says indignantly, "It's a palate cleanser!" Like that means I should only eat it between courses or something?  Girl, gimme my sorbet!  Lol.
6) My whole life is happening at warp speed right now!  I know all of a sudden I'm going to blink and it's going to be December and everything will be totally different.  Then it will be May and I'll have another degree.  Oh my!  But it's so exciting I don't even want to slow it down!  Woohoo!!!
7) I know people go to grad school because they don't know what else to do... but it's weird when I meet them and they tell me about it.  It's like seeing a unicorn whose mane is dyed crazy colors and has something stuck on its horn.  Yep, just like that.
8) I ate at least 3 vegetarian meals last week.  Sometimes I looked longingly at the thought of meat.  Other times I proudly prepared and/or ordered my meatless wonder!  So proud of myself.
9) Sometimes I love love LOVE blogging!  It would be nothing without the comments.  This is not a cry for comments.  It is a thank you to all the commenters & the people who comment back in their comments.  Those people are the best!  I love having dialogues and creating relationships with strangers!
10) The Record Dish is supposed to be a food, fashion & music (that last one's clearly for Stace) blog so I will be posting my outfits on there along with my recipes (if I ever get back to posting recipes)!  Here's my first outfit blog!
11) Can you make people I'm not that close to stop asking me when I'm getting married?  Please?  Especially since I'm not engaged yet?  I knew I could count on you!  Thanks blog la familia! XOXO
12) A film festival placed me on their email list... We didn't get in... How cruel.
13) Me and Stace would be instantaneously friendless if anyone ever saw the things we wrote about facebook pictures.

9.09.2010

One Day...

... My whole life is going to change and the people closest to me will find out with the rest of you because they never call me back.  The epiphanies haven't stopped coming.

9.08.2010

Bow Bow!

It cracks me UP when the children on facebook I knew as babies at my mom's church are very teenager-y.  One of their favorite phrases is 'bow bow.'  Like you do something amazing or you look great, "Bow!"  If it's really amazing, "Bow! Bow!"  It's some remedial rapper's favorite phrase.  (For the record, I refuse to add anyone under 21 and depending on maturity, some people just get ignored or blocked period but every once in a while I look at their pictures and the confusing nonsensical spellings and misspellings, open-mouthed.  How do you not go crazy looking at all your extra Es and Zs?  Stop trying to make me feel old.)

I walked off campus yesterday feeling more productive than I have in the last two years.  I have a ton of things to do but I feel capable of achieving them.  I would love occasional re-charge times and will probably take them regularly but I feel like an effective teacher as I watch the light bulbs go off in my students' heads and I feel like a good student as I get things accomplished.  It's really cool and exciting to be here!  So bow, bow, kiddos!

9.06.2010

Monday Mindspacing Vol. 64

1) What is a casual running shoe?  Is it a casual shoe or is it a running shoe?  Figure it out, people!  And somebody let me know.
2) FYI for you facebookers: when you do a hashtag a la twitter (i.e. #ihatequotes (TRUE STORY!)), N O O N E is tracking that.  It looks ridiculous.
3) People who post quotes and platitudes, things meant to uplift people just generally make me want to take a plastic spoon and end it all.  That's how much I mean it.  I will take the least likely effective means just to have something, ANYTHING to save me!!
4) Can I just say I hated everything Martha Stewart Weddings sent to me for a straight week?  They really think fall colors mean depressing, dying stuff.  Soooooo ugly.  Dusty oranges and sickly yellows don't scream wedding to me.  Fix that.
5) I saw a 65+-year-old man swinging his feet while sitting on a high table a few weeks ago.  <3 and LOL!
6) ROTFL @ this fb status of the week: "Richmond people do NOT need to dance to GOGO ever .....and I mean ever lookin like drunk babies."
10 minutes later... "I hate richmond ....this [person's] suit jacket has no sleeves ....I feel sick" LOLOL!!
7) I hate when I'm at a function and there's a little bit of beer, wine, whatever in the bottom of a glass and I have to tip my head back to finish it.  You can't not look like a lush/alcoholic like that.
8) Dude... sometimes my bug-killing prowess shocks even me.  I'll be like, how is this possible???  And then I'm around some people now who find killing flies OR EVEN SHOOING THEM OUT OF FOOD cruel and/or pointless.  o_0
9) Why are p.anties identified as pairs?  What makes it a PAIR of p.anties??  Pants, too for that matter.
10) When I tell people Rashan and I met on the internet some of them look at me like I'm gross.  Then they ask for details and I say we met reading each other's blogs and they think it's so romantic.  Er?  I don't get it.  It's still the internet.  If it's crazy, it's just crazy.
11) I've been eating quite well so far this month and I'm very proud! I went to Chickfila and got a salad instead of the french fries I wanted soooo badly!!  I need to limit my fry intake since if I could I would eat them daily... probably several times a day...  My frust (fry lust) is the reason I gave them up for Lent one year.
12) I'm getting old... The other day I was looking in the mirror as I laughed and saw laugh lines around my eyes!!!  HOW AM I OLD ENOUGH TO HAVE THOSE??? 28 you cruel mistress.  At least they're not frown lines! #thelittlethings
13) Why is using hashtags okay on blogger but not fb for me? #idontknow LOL

9.05.2010

Movies 2010, Week 33

August 29- September 4, 2010
170) Peter and Vandy.  Indie film about the life of a couple.  The guy had a horribly annoying personality.  He was a jerk.  The story was also told over multiple flashbacks.  I spent far too much of the time in confusion... which I hate.  Too many unanswered questions and too much fluidity in the story line.  2.9 stars
171) OutFoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism.  Some ridiculous unqualified stats.  How are you going to attack someone's journalistic practices and use some of the same tactics you accuse him of using?  Silly music.  I don't care who the slant is coming from, I don't like slants.  Infuriating on a variety of levels. 3 stars
172) My Best Friend.  Cute French film about a man who realizes he has no friends, then sets out to find a best friend.  I thoroughly enjoyed it.  4.2 stars
173) The Back-up Plan.  Bad.  Bad, bad, bad.  J.Lo is a woman who gets artificially inseminated then meets the man of her dreams.  Insert stereotypical, predictable, overdone and in some cases poorly-acted scenes (ahem, JLo).  2.4 stars
174) The Maid. Chilean film about a maid convinced the family she loves is trying to push her out.  As a result, she goes nuts!  Very engaging.  I enjoyed it a lot, Rashan, not so much.  4 stars
175) The Trials of Darryl Hunt.  Fabulous documentary about the trials of a man wrongly accused of rape and murder and the decades of fighting.  Loved it.  5 stars

9.03.2010

September Goals

This month there were some messes & successes but I feel pretty pleased with the progress I'm making.  I'm soooo excited about all of the great opportunities that have been coming my way since Wake came into the picture.  Life is wonderful.

1) Work on my relationship with God.  I blew the Bible-reading goal out of the water.  I finished Exodus and a few smaller chapters.  I hit 185 chapters on the 12th day or something ridiculous like that.  I promise I don't intentionally set my goal under what I know I can achieve.  My philosophy just shifted.  I was voraciously reading other books and thinking, if I'm reading these like this, why don't I devour the bible as well?  So I started reading 4+ chapters a day around mid-month.  This month I'll budget a little more than 2 chapters per day to add 80 more chapters to my total to get to 335.  I want to finish I Samuel.  That book is pretty awesome.

I did not make it to any churches but I want to go to 2 this month so I'll work on that again this month. 

2) Start my next film.  I worked on a few ideas last month but I want to make a decision about this film and take a definitive step.  I also want to work more on the last one.  Just a few small tweaks.

3) Take the next step in my career.  I got hired at my first job teaching on the collegiate level and so far I love it!!  This month I will network and get some of the many, many training opportunities on campus.  I will also be attending a Broadcast Educators meeting.  So exciting!

4) Try new restaurants.  I did try at least 5 new restaurants in my new city this month.  So incredibly, disappointingly underwhelming.  There aren't really any places I'm really excited to go back to.  You KNOW how depressing that is for me.  :(  This month I want to try 2 or 3 more I guess.  :(  I really started to miss Atlanta as I drove home yesterday.

5) Cook at least 3xs a week, 2 of those new recipes.  I fell off the wagon a bit as I adjusted to my new city but I'm trying to get my mojo back... especially with posting.  I've been terrible with that.  So let's add post again!!

For August I wanted to try at least 2 vegetarian recipes each week.  I really enjoy getting something new out of vegetables and not missing meat in my meals.  Plus some of my vegetarian homies are starting to request it!  I soooo forgot about this part of the goal!  Lol.  But still did pretty well considering meat-free meals used to be anathema to me.  I even had a roasted veg sandwich one day!  It was really good.  I want to keep this one going.

6) Watch more movies.  I said 10 movies would be a miracle.  I watched 12!  IT'S A MIRACLE!! Lol.  This month I will adjust my goal upwards to 15.  LOLOL.  I am such a mess.

7) Workout more.  I was shooting for 3xs a week.  That didn't happen but I'm doing a challenge for September even though I haven't been acknowledged by the organizer.  I'm still doing it.  My goal is 6 pounds this month.  That's really close to how much I want to lose overall.  If I get much smaller than that, people will start asking me if something's wrong.  They always do.  Lol.

8) Statecations.  This month I wanted to go wine tasting... didn't happen.  :(  I really want it to happen this month.  I'll be sad if it doesn't.

9) Contact my grandma once a month.  I was supposed to finally send her a package of my stuff from graduation & screening.... I didn't do that.  But I called her!  And she was sooooo excited!  I think I can actually mail that stuff now!  And the package for my godmom, too!  Lol

9.01.2010

Yo Teach!

Was that a show?  One of you old people like Aretha, Rashan, Liz & 1969.. K. Rock.  One of you give me the answer!  Lololol.  I kid, I kid!  Only about everyone but Rashan being old.  Is that a show?  I know I could look it up but I prefer for my internets to do all my work of that nature.  Hop to it!

My first day was great.  I got some stunned and/or shocked looks when I went through my policies on attendance (mandatory, with final grade penalties after the 2nd unexcused absence) and the weekly current events quiz.  I was very excited to be there.  I gave a news survey and learned some of them are consuming very little news.  That's alright.  That weekly current events quiz will fix that right on up.  You're welcome.  I am preparing them to be able to immediately contribute to a newsroom and excited to be able to see evidence of their learning already!  (More on that in the next paragraph.)  The picture to your left is what I wore on my first day teaching!  Definitely inspired by some of the fashion blogs I've been reading recently which excited me!  I will probably be posting outfits on The Record Dish since it's supposed to be food & fashion.  But really... I make no guarantees since I'm about 3 recipes behind on that blog and really don't feel like catching up.

Preparing for day 2 I felt really stressed because my classes (the ones where I'm a student) were underway and I was trying to be prepared for the the class I'm teaching.  I felt freaked out because I was wondering where I'd get the time to do it all.  Then I walked in with my current events quiz.  I handed them out and groans were heard around the room.  I said, "What? You don't want this?"  Lol.  Take it anyway.  They were not pleased when they saw what was on it.  Things like what is the milestone in Iraq we recently hit (the withdrawal of combat troops), the name of the hurricane in the Atlantic (Earl), the food under recall for E. coli (ground beef, not eggs... eggs are salmonella).  These were the main ones that showed a lack of attention to detail or the news in general.  There was a lot of grumbling but I used the sources I listed in my syllabus and I am sure they will be much more prepared next week!  Here's what I wore day two.  This is another semi-fashion blog inspired outfit.  It was also inspired by my lovely sorority, SGRho.  Stace gave me that shirt a few years ago before I went to my first regional conference.  Awww!  Meeeeeemorieeeees!

And last but not least, my beloved Rashan sent me roses to congratulate me on the start of my collegiate teaching career.  It amuses me to no end that my students call me professor!  HILARITY!!