Monthly Archive for June, 2006

Pin the tattoo on the ESC

Published
by
ESC
on Friday, June 16, 2006
in ask blogland, family and photos
. 25 Comments

Next weekend I go home to the ‘burgh for some good old fashioned wedding planning and bridal showering.

I also, theoretically, if he doesn’t flake out on me again, get a tattoo from my brother. He designed it for me way back, based on my ideas, but the planets have yet to align to allow me to actually get it. I am determined this time, but my brother is in the process of taking over ownership of the shop, so things are a little crazy now. It might be that I miss out again.

The design: a loopy stylized celtic cross, encircled by a ring of DNA. go ahead and laugh, but my brother, who is covered with tattoos of skulls and guns, thought it was cool enough that he might get a similar version tattooed on himself.

I think I know where I want the tattoo. Kev REFUSES to give me any input. He doesn’t even really want to talk about it “GAH! Just DO it wherever, I don’t care!” I think he’s sick of me asking him for his opinion. He has none.

So I will ask the internets! Internets! Where should I get my tattoo? Let’s take a poll!

tattoopick

A: my shoulder

B: my thigh

C: my hip

D: lower back, aka “tramp stamp”

E: Mid back

Notice I have left any “naughty bits” off the list because 1. tattoos on naughty bits are gross, and 2. I’m getting tattooed by my BROTHER people, please try to be less disgusting, mkay?

Also, I have included some places on there that might be visible when I wear my wedding dress. This is a problem - though there is make up that covers tattoos for just such an occasion. I’ll have to think about that one.

If I can figure out how to make this a “sticky” post, I’ll leave it as the top post until next wednesday, which is how long you have to vote. Don’t let me down, internets!

jumpin’ jitters

Published
by
ESC
on Thursday, June 15, 2006
in daily, food, friends and geeking out
. 12 Comments

The previously mentioned N was present at my shower last weekend, and gifted us (errr…me, as I’m the only one who will get use out of it) with a french coffee press and a pound of Starbucks coffee - Brazil Ipanema Bourbon. This is “a rare Brazilian coffee” that is described on the bag as being “nutty & soft.”

*snort* I laugh every time I read that.

So this week has been my introduction to french press coffee.

to quote…

UH

MUH

GUH!

Now, it could just be that the coffee itself is a wonder of wonders, that I am particular fond of all things nutty & soft *snort *. But coffee made this way is DELICIOUS. And WHOA I think that french press extracts EVERY LAST BIT of caffeine from the beans, because after I drink my two cups, I’m pretty much like this for the next two hours:

heyohmygodyouguysIwaspullingoutofmystreetthismorningandtherewasthisI
sweartogodHUGEtractortrailer18wheelerOVERTURNEDblockinghalftheroadand
OHMYGODitwassocoolbutIdontknowifhegothurtthatwouldn’tbecoolbutyeahit
wascoolandIcalledKevinandwaslikeOHMYGODyouhavetocomeoutandseethisCOOL
TRUCKoverturnandtherearepoliceandfiretrucksandblockingtrafficanditwas
coolandheydoesanyoneknowifwehaveanymoreminiprepcolumnsleftandIreally
hopeIgottransformantstopicktodayandheythisisreallygoodcoffeedoesanyone
wantsomecoffeethisisreallygoodcoffeedidImentionaboutthetruckthismorning?

Damn.

Speaking of coffee, if anyone from Boca Java is reading this I SWEAR I am also drinking your coffees which are EXCELLENT so far. It’s just that my kitchen is still not completely my own (the flooring! it never ends!) and my coffee maker is not so easily accessible in the mornings. I think what I’ll do is rough grind some of the beans in the morning and bring them into work to use in my FRENCH PRESS!

ohmygoditmakesthebestcoffeeitisSOGOODOVERTURNED18WHEELERISAWESOME!

thank you so much for…

Published
by
ESC
on Wednesday, June 14, 2006
in family, friends and wedding
. 16 Comments

It’s very weird writing thank you notes for gifts from a bridal shower. It’s not like birthday or christmas gifts, where most of the gifts were delightful surprises. With shower gifts, you’re thanking people for gifts that, with few exceptions, you yourself picked out. And not in a “mom, I’d like a new coat for christmas” kind of picked-out. It’s a “kitchen aid red 9inch round silicone cake pan from target for $12.99″ super specific kind of picked out.

Dear X, Thank you for correctly reading my registry.

Probably not in the etiquette book. So I write my thank you’s:

Dear X,

Thank you so much for X and Y. We will get so much use out of them (not lying, I made sure everything on that registry was useful AND needed).

Thanks again for your thoughtfulness.

Love, ESC

I got through my whole list…and now I’m stuck on my mother. She couldn’t come to this past shower, but she bought me some of the good china from the registry, which she’s keeping in the ‘burgh until after we move, and mailed me a couple of little things so she would be well represented at the shower. I need to send her a thank you note.

And yet…how do I send a thank you note to my mother for just those small things? I feel like when I say thank you to my mom, it has to be so much MORE than that.

Dear Mom,

thank you for EVERYTHING. Thank you for my universe. For making me the person that I am. For putting up with me. For giving me so many gifts. For supporting me emotionally and financially for so many years. For helping me plan this wedding and making it not so overwhelming on me. For knowing who I am, and knowing what I like, and not pushing me to be something I’m not. Thank you for everything. As big a thank you as I can throw out there, thank you. And oh yes, thank you for the china, and the beautiful watch and wristlet. Which are great but are so small in comparison to everything else you’ve given me.

Thank you.

But I will write in my little pink thank you note that I really appreciate her shower gifts, and that I’m looking forward to seeing her and Dad in a couple of weeks.

But she knows. I hope she knows.

how not to steal a sidekick

Published
by
ESC
on Tuesday, June 13, 2006
in aside
. 2 Comments

I’m sure most of you have seen this already - meant to link it days ago. How not to steal a sidekick. The drama is ongoing!

slimey yet satisfying???

Published
by
ESC
on Tuesday, June 13, 2006
in conversations, food, on the teeveeee and rants
. 9 Comments

One of the post-docs in the lab is from Korea, and I am continuously horrified at some of the stuff she has professed to enjoy eating.

I thought maybe I could gross even HER out today.

ESC: Hey, so I was watching this show called “no reservations with anthony bourdain,” where he’s this cynical, alcoholic chef who travels all over the world and eats weird shit…

N: like a reality show?

ESC: kind of, it’s a travel food show, I guess, so last night he went to Korea, and…

N: did he eat the live octopus?

ESC: *blink* …what? How did you KNOW???

N: they ALWAYS do that when people come to Korea. They always have them eat the live octopus.

OK, remind me never to go to Korea. Apparently, there is a visitors octopus clause.

So yeah, they ate chopped up live octopus on the show, that was still WRIGGLING as they dipped it in a red sauce and swallowed it down. N assured me it was delicious, and that SOME people ate the live octopus WHOLE. She also confirmed the part of the show where they ate what was essentially a stir fry made from an organ found near a chicken’s rear parts - basically, chicken butt stir fry. N described it as “chewy but delicious.” N is also the one in the lab who enjoys pupas, so please excuse me if I will just have to take her word for it.

OK, people. You people from other countries? You’re sick. Seriously. Especially the Koreans, apparently.

I totally understand the whole “use the entire animal so that nothing is wasted” philosophy. Very Native American. But you know, I’m pretty sure there were parts of the buffallo that were referred to in their language as something like “and this is the stuff we feed our dogs.”

Because, oh my god, CHICKEN BUTT? It was a tiny piece of “meat,” too. Hardly word the effort of digging it out. THROW THAT SHIT AWAY!

Or at least grind it up into sausage like my ancestors did.