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Am still alive. Send tea*.
Made it through Week Three of Fellowship. Am going to say 'yes' to both environmental-law projects I've been having meetings about. Have been dealing with some events stuff -- the spadework of my job -- and attending lots of student orgs' first-meeting-of-the-school-year meetings and introducing myself. In retrospect, I'm grateful that it's taken so long to get the Executive Office of Energy & Environmental Affairs on the phone, because I needed the time to settle in to the how-to of the events stuff.
Am going to a conference at the beginning of October on fostering pro bono commitment in law schools. Have even more shelf space in my hobbit hole office, because now there's a second bookcase in there, this one on top of my file cabinet. I'm not sure I need both, but I don't think I can get away with just the two shelves that the new bookcase has. I have stacks of paper for each center, and stacks for each subproject under the CLSR (Center for Law and Social Responsibility, the biggest center), and I can't file them because there are things I need to do. So I need the space to lay them out.
The flowers finally died (lasted over two weeks! way to go, flowers!), and I'm considering bringing the vase home and swapping it out with an asian-themed ceramic one I have here. Also, old soap almost used up, means I get to go through the stash![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
shakal sent me, and pick the next new bar. It's the little pleasures in life.
I had a shoe emergency on Saturday last as I was running to catch the T, to go to Payless to buy shoes. The heel came off the little halfboots I was wearing at the time -- those are my day-to-day shoes, and then I put on my heels at work. I was *planning* on shopping for heels, but naturally my interest broadened once my HEEL CAME OFF MY BOOT AS I WAS RUNNING. Honestly, I have no idea how I didn't sprain my ankle. It seems I turned it just a tiny bit, but not really.
So, I go to Payless, and they're not open. But they don't tell you that, they just have a sign up saying "sorry computer out of order" (actually, it might have said "sorry computer not working"). The customer service rep on the other side of the door astonished me with her complete lack of caring about anything other than the cellphone conversation she was having, never once GETTING OFF THE PHONE as I first asked if I could pay cash (no), pointed at my mutilated shoe and asked for the next closest shoe store (says something unintelligible, refuses to amplify, and WALKS AWAY AND IGNORES ME - FUCKING HIDES when I indicate I can't hear what she's saying, and try to get her to gesture which way down the street I should go).
Christ. 45 seconds of investment in actually doing your job well, by writing a sign saying "closed due to computer outage", and then writing a note to a desperate customer outside your door to tell her the TJ Maxx is 2 blocks down Harvard in the other direction, is that actually too much to fucking ask? Payless would have made a friend for life. But she couldn't be arsed.
So I found TJ Maxx and perused their sucky selection, finding a pair of OK loafer-type shoes to replace my half boots. Naturalizers, but just not me, and STILL NO PUMPS FOR WORK. FUCK. So I limp through the week wearing one of two pairs: the nice but worn-out slingbacks I bought in Galway in '05, and the slightly-too-high, slightly-too-tight-on-my-left-foot shoes I bought at, you guessed it, Payless, last summer. Which, if I have my way, will be the last time I've shopped at Payless, ever.
So, I went shoe shopping at some expensive-looking place called the Tannery near Copley Square on Thursday, and I found something that might work for work (law is a conservative profession, and I want very classic ladies pumps) if it were in a 35 (EU/UK sizing) but they didn't have that size, and another pair that was a classic ladies pump that was just a little too tight on the left foot. So, I'll come back in a week when they've got new inventory in, and see if there's some smaller sizes for me, and the prices are steep in comparison to Payless ($60-$150 rather than $15-$30), but it's clear you're getting serious quality, and they have their own buy-one-get-one-half-off deal. So, it seems worth it. (I've tried Zappos.com or whatever that online shoe thing is, and nothing ever seems to fit.)
And then I walked another block to Marshall's and found a pair of Liz Claiborne black pumps for $30 and called it a day. After wearing them Friday, they're the tiniest bit too big, so I'm going to get those padding thingys that you can put in the heel of your shoe.
Mucho excitement, so I had to share. Mucho fucking pissed off at a culture that can't be bothered to do anything nice for anyone.
On to the fun part! I made salted lemons, and salted limes, this morning! From my previous post of recipes, I washed, air-dried, cut but not completely through, stuffed with salt, and layered with salt in those blue glass jars I have that I used for beans (the beans are now in a bag, next to the rest of all my beans, in the cupboard). The different recipes don't care what kind of salt you use, one I read said sea salt, one kosher salt, one rock salt. I used sea salt.
I did one jar of 10 lemons (you squish them down, the goal is to have the level of lemon juice enough to cover them when you're done), and the smaller jar of 8 limes. This is used in more than just Moroccan cooking, as the recipe's in my Encyclopedia of Asian Cooking, and it'll take about 3-4 weeks, total, for them to be ready for use. And, according to these recipes, you can just keep re-using the salty juice with future batches.
I ate one lime, fresh, after adding some of its juice to the lemon jar. God, it was good.
I need to get vinegar so I can make pickled ginger, and maybe pickle some cucumber or other veggies. I've always loved pickled stuff, and it's really fun to do it on my own. I want to try making my own kimchi and curtido now that cabbage is arriving in bulk at the farmer's market.
The salted chili peppers are interesting -- I was sloppy and used too many the first time I used them.
Be sure to rinse foods preserved with salt before using in your recipe.
And, woot woot! I found habaneros at the farmer's market and picked up a small bag of them. I'm thinking of pickling them, and a bunch of jalapenos. I also like another spicy pepper that I've found at the market that's just advertised as a "long pepper" -- I don't know what it is, but I think it's hotter than jalapeno. I want to stock up on all of these before they go away.
[*] Decaf mostly, I'm afraid. I'm a big fan of the Yogi Tea brand, especially the licorice, orange spice, ginger, or bedtime teas, but NOT the African Redbush Chai. If anyone's a fan of the latter and wants to work a trade, let me know.
Made it through Week Three of Fellowship. Am going to say 'yes' to both environmental-law projects I've been having meetings about. Have been dealing with some events stuff -- the spadework of my job -- and attending lots of student orgs' first-meeting-of-the-school-year meetings and introducing myself. In retrospect, I'm grateful that it's taken so long to get the Executive Office of Energy & Environmental Affairs on the phone, because I needed the time to settle in to the how-to of the events stuff.
Am going to a conference at the beginning of October on fostering pro bono commitment in law schools. Have even more shelf space in my hobbit hole office, because now there's a second bookcase in there, this one on top of my file cabinet. I'm not sure I need both, but I don't think I can get away with just the two shelves that the new bookcase has. I have stacks of paper for each center, and stacks for each subproject under the CLSR (Center for Law and Social Responsibility, the biggest center), and I can't file them because there are things I need to do. So I need the space to lay them out.
The flowers finally died (lasted over two weeks! way to go, flowers!), and I'm considering bringing the vase home and swapping it out with an asian-themed ceramic one I have here. Also, old soap almost used up, means I get to go through the stash
shakal sent me, and pick the next new bar. It's the little pleasures in life.I had a shoe emergency on Saturday last as I was running to catch the T, to go to Payless to buy shoes. The heel came off the little halfboots I was wearing at the time -- those are my day-to-day shoes, and then I put on my heels at work. I was *planning* on shopping for heels, but naturally my interest broadened once my HEEL CAME OFF MY BOOT AS I WAS RUNNING. Honestly, I have no idea how I didn't sprain my ankle. It seems I turned it just a tiny bit, but not really.
So, I go to Payless, and they're not open. But they don't tell you that, they just have a sign up saying "sorry computer out of order" (actually, it might have said "sorry computer not working"). The customer service rep on the other side of the door astonished me with her complete lack of caring about anything other than the cellphone conversation she was having, never once GETTING OFF THE PHONE as I first asked if I could pay cash (no), pointed at my mutilated shoe and asked for the next closest shoe store (says something unintelligible, refuses to amplify, and WALKS AWAY AND IGNORES ME - FUCKING HIDES when I indicate I can't hear what she's saying, and try to get her to gesture which way down the street I should go).
Christ. 45 seconds of investment in actually doing your job well, by writing a sign saying "closed due to computer outage", and then writing a note to a desperate customer outside your door to tell her the TJ Maxx is 2 blocks down Harvard in the other direction, is that actually too much to fucking ask? Payless would have made a friend for life. But she couldn't be arsed.
So I found TJ Maxx and perused their sucky selection, finding a pair of OK loafer-type shoes to replace my half boots. Naturalizers, but just not me, and STILL NO PUMPS FOR WORK. FUCK. So I limp through the week wearing one of two pairs: the nice but worn-out slingbacks I bought in Galway in '05, and the slightly-too-high, slightly-too-tight-on-my-left-foot shoes I bought at, you guessed it, Payless, last summer. Which, if I have my way, will be the last time I've shopped at Payless, ever.
So, I went shoe shopping at some expensive-looking place called the Tannery near Copley Square on Thursday, and I found something that might work for work (law is a conservative profession, and I want very classic ladies pumps) if it were in a 35 (EU/UK sizing) but they didn't have that size, and another pair that was a classic ladies pump that was just a little too tight on the left foot. So, I'll come back in a week when they've got new inventory in, and see if there's some smaller sizes for me, and the prices are steep in comparison to Payless ($60-$150 rather than $15-$30), but it's clear you're getting serious quality, and they have their own buy-one-get-one-half-off deal. So, it seems worth it. (I've tried Zappos.com or whatever that online shoe thing is, and nothing ever seems to fit.)
And then I walked another block to Marshall's and found a pair of Liz Claiborne black pumps for $30 and called it a day. After wearing them Friday, they're the tiniest bit too big, so I'm going to get those padding thingys that you can put in the heel of your shoe.
Mucho excitement, so I had to share. Mucho fucking pissed off at a culture that can't be bothered to do anything nice for anyone.
On to the fun part! I made salted lemons, and salted limes, this morning! From my previous post of recipes, I washed, air-dried, cut but not completely through, stuffed with salt, and layered with salt in those blue glass jars I have that I used for beans (the beans are now in a bag, next to the rest of all my beans, in the cupboard). The different recipes don't care what kind of salt you use, one I read said sea salt, one kosher salt, one rock salt. I used sea salt.
I did one jar of 10 lemons (you squish them down, the goal is to have the level of lemon juice enough to cover them when you're done), and the smaller jar of 8 limes. This is used in more than just Moroccan cooking, as the recipe's in my Encyclopedia of Asian Cooking, and it'll take about 3-4 weeks, total, for them to be ready for use. And, according to these recipes, you can just keep re-using the salty juice with future batches.
I ate one lime, fresh, after adding some of its juice to the lemon jar. God, it was good.
I need to get vinegar so I can make pickled ginger, and maybe pickle some cucumber or other veggies. I've always loved pickled stuff, and it's really fun to do it on my own. I want to try making my own kimchi and curtido now that cabbage is arriving in bulk at the farmer's market.
The salted chili peppers are interesting -- I was sloppy and used too many the first time I used them.
Be sure to rinse foods preserved with salt before using in your recipe.
And, woot woot! I found habaneros at the farmer's market and picked up a small bag of them. I'm thinking of pickling them, and a bunch of jalapenos. I also like another spicy pepper that I've found at the market that's just advertised as a "long pepper" -- I don't know what it is, but I think it's hotter than jalapeno. I want to stock up on all of these before they go away.
[*] Decaf mostly, I'm afraid. I'm a big fan of the Yogi Tea brand, especially the licorice, orange spice, ginger, or bedtime teas, but NOT the African Redbush Chai. If anyone's a fan of the latter and wants to work a trade, let me know.