rhymes with spoon

Bitch (people, not complaints) quotient this week is at an all time high. Thank goodness I've returned to yoga classes b/c I'm liable to punch a hole in a wall (or in someone's head) soon. Jeff and I recently had an interesting conversation about management styles and we both came to the conclusion that the world is largely run by inept, incapable, overbearing leaders. There are those rare managers that ask you to do something, but they ask it in a way that makes you just wanna do it. Not out of fear, but out of sheer respect. And you do it, in part because you know they didn't ask you to do it simply to make their life easier but because they want you to do it. Well, those folks are rare. And so this week I'm oppressed by bitchy leadership...I'm overrun with work and I have all these people making busy work for me to make their lives a lot easier. Why can't people just admit to making mistakes when they're made? And I also deeply resent having work returned to me with unreasonable demands. I don't turn in anything I can't stand behind...if you want me to do something, make that clear from the outset instead of making up a bunch of new assignments after the fact.

Ok, I'm going to fight with the vending machines now....

Well, where else should one be but at the library on a Saturday morning up to one's eyeballs in Law Review? I think I enjoyed my mid-winter break too much so getting back into the groove of things here has been damn near impossible, all culminating in one of those disastrous days where everything that can go wrong, does and then some. I was stuck at school well past the time the security guard showed up for the night. I was starving by the time I went home, so I bagged on a show I was supposed to go to with a friend, turned the ringer of my cell phone off, and jumped into the kitchen. 1/2 an hour, with the assistance of my beat up frydaddy jr., I had a pipin' hot batch of coconut chicken strips. (Jeff will tell you that despite my food-snobbish ways, I still have room in my heart for some not-so-chic foods.) Oh comfort food! (But it wasn't all unhealthy...I did have a large salad to go with it).

The trip to DC was fantastic and by next week, I may be gainfully employed for the summer. (Keep your fingers crossed.) Jeff and I got to spend a lot of quality time together, which I think we both enjoyed since we've both been working on very insane schedules. And of course, I always enjoy seeing Otis and Shirley, who now recognize me as a regular visitor. (Cute pictures of Otis forthcoming...) Jeff is en route to New Orleans this weekend for family time + Mardi Gras (lucky bastard!), but I'm super-psyched b/c he'll be here next weekend! So I must work extra hard between now and then to ensure we can really enjoy next weekend...especially b/c we probably won't get to see each other again until I return to DC in May. *sigh* I feel like I spend too much of my life getting from one place to the next. I need a teleporter...

A belated Valentines Day to all! I know it's a manufactured ploy of a holiday created by the American greeting card industry to make men everywhere feel guilty and single women dejected. That aside, I try to use over-commercialized to show the special folks in my life that I care without resorting to pre-fab nonsense. (Take that Hallmark!) I spent a few hours in the kitchen last weekend tinkering with champagne and lots of dark chocolate to make champagne brownies. Some spare boxes, an early morning Saturday expedition to the Post Office, and by Monday brownie love was on both coasts. It was fun experiment (and I know the recipients are enjoying the fruits of my labor), but I also learned a few things too:

1. The recipe recommends a 9x9 pan. They mean it. 8x8 proved to be a bit messy and it took a lot longer to bake.
2. Round 2 I halved the recipe, poured it into an 8x8 pan and they turned out perfectly. Yeah, they weren't as tall or dense but they were still fantastically fudgey.
3. Patience is a virtue--wait til these babies are COLD to cut them and use a knife dipped in hot water (and dried) b/t each cut to make nice even cuts. 4. Champagne jelly is alright if you can get it but I found that I could easily use the leftover champagne (after I'd toasted my culinary success with a glass to celebrate) to make a fine glaze myself. 1 cup champagne + 1 1/4 cup sugar + 1/2 tsp. of vinegar. Bring to a boil, cut down the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes until you have a reduced but still fairly runny consistency b/c it will thicken if you let it stand for a bit. Brush on warm brownies and voila!

Contrast my fun weekend with this week. Work, work, work!! (With a small break to start my new yoga class...which I LOVE!)

You know you're at the law school too much when:

1. The security guard asks you if you have a life?
2. The janitor looks at you with pity when he comes by to the empty the garbage cans in the Law Revew office and realizes, "oh, it's you again."
3. I can feel my butt growing roots into the library chairs.
4. When I leave the library, only the die-hard Asian kids are still around.
5. I'm battling the early stages of what I can only assume is muscle atrophy.

Alas, tonight will likely another late night here at the law school as I'm still catching up on some projects and readings. Tomorrow, it's lots of classes and then I hop on a plane to go to DC and continue the job hunt! (Wish me luck!!)

Bourbon glazed baby back ribs (before)
Roasted fingerling potatoes and carrots to accompany










Ribs (after)










Almost Vegan Lasagna
(recipe in earlier post, Solar-powered Hello Kitty looks on hungrily)










Tortellini with Fresh Tomato Sauce and Basil

Well, there are those days you wake up and you realize that "hey, maybe Mom was right about something." Lesson #1--There are a lot of asshats out there and it's a good idea to steer clear of them when possible. Alas, I got a little caught up in the smoke and mirrors. Lesson #2 from the Mom--When you decide you are gonna burn a bridge with someone, douse the thing in 200 gallons of gasoline and torch the m-----******.

Conclusion #1--Chances are if someone rewrote history once, that person will do it again and again. And each retelling that person will sound better and better.

Conclusion #2/Reminder to self--Lord help me if I decide someday to treat someone poorly and a) justify it with money and/or b) justify it with the argument that I could've treated them a lot worse.

Conclusion #3--I have issues with power dynamics and will have to move a long way to address them properly if I don't want to repeat this messy lesson. (i.e. Notwithstanding that other person has *serious* issues, I am at least partly to blame for this excess baggage I'm carrying right now).

Reference to random children's book--I picked up a copy of
Zen Shorts the other day. Lovely, lovely children's book. Anyway, lots of life lessons I could've applied to this situation.

And Woops...broke Lesson #3 from Mom--Never say anything bad about someone else (even if they're unnamed) b/c you never know when it's gonna get back to that person or when you might need that person's help.

Sorry Mom...