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Jbeatty's Journal

jbeatty
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10/20/2007 03:53 #41722

Making no sense
Tonight somebody who holds slightly no significance in my life told me something that will change their life forever. It's not that I think nothing of this person, its that I don't really know her. She is around my age with similar circumstances. 27-28 years old pursuing a bachelors degree in (whatever)... and bang!, Pregnant! This makes me really think about where I am in my life. She is one of the most beautiful women I have ever known, but really what the kicker is not how smart she is, but how charismatic she is. She is one of the most genuine people I have ever met. I am worried sick about what the fuck she is going to do.

The dick who put her in this state is gone. She wants nothing to do with him, and I don't blame her. But how is she going to raise this child by herself?? I think I'm reasonably smart and resourceful, but how the fuck would I handle this? Life comes at you so fast sometimes. She is probably much more capable of raising this child by herself than I give her credit for, but I see how my best friend and his wife (in a stable home) deal with the day-to-day challenges of raising children. How is she going to do this while trying to better herself and get ahead?

jbeatty - 10/20/07 13:52
I agree she probably can handle it. I didn't mean to sound disparaging about it in that regard. Also not to imply that this will ruin her life, but she was set to graduate in May and now that is being put on hold possibly indefinitely. But I digress. I personally never understood the whole fetish with people wanting to touch a pregnant womans belly. I have seen a friend get very uncomfortable when people she barely knew went right in and started groping her without permission.
lauren - 10/20/07 12:29
Indeed I agree with Felly. I don't think that there is anything more valuable to a mother than to have a network of friends to rely on for emotional support as well as taking the baby every now and then so she can relax, just for a night. And also, you might want to remember that she is not her baby...she might not want to talk about her baby all the time or be touched on her belly all the time...listen to her and be there for her.
fellyconnelly - 10/20/07 10:36
many women have done it before, and i betcha she will be okay... she just needs a support system so be the great friend that you are!

10/16/2007 23:41 #41681

I love dogs but...
this is getting ridiculous. My upstairs neighbors decided to leave for a few days and left their two dogs by themselves (well some guy comes to feed and walk them a couple times a day). But I am not exaggerating when I say they have been fucking barking almost non-stop for the last three hours. I'm tempted to hit the ceiling with a broom, but I have a feeling it will only make it worse. So much for sleeping tonight.
james - 10/17/07 13:34
leave a note.

If that fails dip pieces of bacon in draino and slip it under the door.

10/14/2007 17:45 #41650

Sunday Dinner
For the past couple of weeks I have been drooling over Rue Franklin's fall menu. It all sounds so delicious, but considering they aren't open on Sunday and I wanted to cook it myself, I decided to make an Autumn French meal. I was going to do a three course, but I thought that sounded a bit extravagant for just me. Plus I didn't really have the time to make an Apple Galette on top of the other two things I was cooking. I took both of the recipes from Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles Cookbook. Which I highly recommend for anyone who likes classic French Bistro cooking with a bit of unrefined commentary from the writer.

For the first course I made a pot of Onion Soup. This recipe includes lots of onions obviously, port, balsamic vinegar, a heart attack inducing amount of butter, slab bacon (which Wegmans does not have freaking have!), bouquet garni, crouton, and a mound of Gruyere. I find any dish that requires me to use a butane torch is all that much more pleasurable to make. I have a really shitty gas broiler in my dwelling and the torch is necessary to get that nice brown on the cheese.

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Second course was Coquilles St Jacques. Basically this dish is dry scallops, again a ton of butter (this is French food after all), more heavy cream than a human should consume in one sitting, Fumet, shallots, chives and some champagne.

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Both of these dishes are quite simple to make. The hardest part really is getting my crummy equipment to cooperate. It's a real PTA to get that nice brown color on my scallops with a beat up sauté pan and gas range that just doesn't put out the required amount of Btu's for the job.


john - 10/28/07 22:47
I love that cookbook. I haven't made anything out of it in ages, though.

Hmmm... Didn't I make those scallops last Thanksgiving? I'm having a hard time remembering because I was really sick that whole week. That sucked. Hopefully this year will be better. I need to remember to dig out the real cold weather clothes before we fly up...
joshua - 10/16/07 12:58
Damn. I want that cookbook - Bourdain is a hero of mine.
lauren - 10/15/07 11:43
jbeatty who ARE you and why aren't you at MY house on sunday night cooking me dinner!?
imk2 - 10/14/07 23:00
jbeatty, please, pleeeeease invite me over for dinner?????
james - 10/14/07 21:34
calamari rings and okra
tinypliny - 10/14/07 19:59
It looks pretty delicious. You are a true chef. :)

Fake chef that I am, I am sure I would die of guilt eating so much butter. I really envy you, because I often shortchange all my dishes. I bend and hammer recipés so that I can get the butter out. In fact, my kitchen often does not have butter or sugar. In spite of the many exhortations from my mum/dad to cook "true", I wander all along the substitute path and innovate with not-so-great results. But I am good at pretending that all that butter-cutting has resulted in an awesome dinner and ooh and ah over things which have barely a tsp of oil and would taste like crap to normal people. :)

Oh well. Maybe I should change my substituting ways...
jbeatty - 10/14/07 19:48
(e:paul) Thank you! it turned out well.

(e:jim) Sounds like a plan, except for the fact that I live in a shoebox that could only accommodate maybe five people if we crammed in.

(e:james) What does a typical post briss dinner menu consist of?
james - 10/14/07 18:48
Will you cater our dog's briss?
paul - 10/14/07 18:27
Damn, that looks so yummy, fantastico.
jim - 10/14/07 17:55
I think the next (e:strip) dinner will be at your house. You don't mind cooking for 20 people do you?

10/13/2007 12:49 #41626

Sportsmanlike hockey fight
Whoever said fighting in hockey was unsportsmanlike?


john - 10/28/07 22:35
I'm not sure why exactly, but in general the refs don't get involved once gloves are dropped. They kind of hang out until someone falls over then two of them each grab a player. If guys are shoving each other with their gloves on, the refs will separate them.
fellyconnelly - 10/14/07 10:33
ahh that is so cordial!
janelle - 10/13/07 13:16
Ok, why do the refs just circle around and watch? They look like they're officiating a boxing match instead of a hockey game!

10/11/2007 16:08 #41601

College makes me laugh
As a whole college students are smart enough to learn and understand advanced concepts in numerous subjects...

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Apparently we haven't quite figured out how to use a fucking microwave.
john - 10/28/07 22:30
Everyone has their "duh" moments. I started a fire in the microwave once. I walked down the street in the middle of winter to buy a couple slices of pizza, and instead of doing the intelligent thing and eating them there, I carried them home in the cold and then tossed the bag in the microwave, forgetting that the slices were wrapped in foil. The foil sparked and the bag caught on fire. Luckily I was standing there so I could stop the thing, pull the slices out and stick them on a plate before they burned up.
metalpeter - 10/12/07 19:55
I think the reason that sign is there is cause you allways here that so it kinda sounds like an urban legend. I'm sure people have gone to reheat chinesse food or something with a twist tie and not known it metal and sparks fly everywhere or forget and leave a fork on there plate. If the sign is there then something like that must have happened at least a couple times.
janelle - 10/11/07 23:21
They probably had one too many students learn that lesson the hard way.
lauren - 10/11/07 19:31
But but but...I though microwaves were kinda like duct tape, they can fix anything!
james - 10/11/07 18:20
I love that about college.

1) you study the most useless, academic stuff.

2) you are in an environment with people with no real obligations and no supervision.

a real formula for learning the intimate details of cellular biology while simultaneously getting a meth addiction.
carolinian - 10/11/07 17:12
Nor have they figured out that aluminum is a metal.
ladycroft - 10/11/07 16:52
oh oh oh!!! i just bought a new phone here a few weeks ago. as i was trying to find the page on where to load my sim card, i came across the following warning:

"do not dry phone in microwave"