Mmmm....TV....

Do you know how hard it is to try and finish 5 seasons of a show within 3 weeks?  It's really stinkin' hard.  But I want to watch all of Stargate: SG-1 for free on Hulu, and they're taking them down on May 15th!  I'm one week in and I've already watched 1.5 seasons.

Also, there are the 8 or so other currently running TV shows I watch that are getting in the way.  But I'm not addicted.  I swear I'm not addicted...

See, this is why I don't have a blog.

I'm horrible at it.  I seriously forgot I even had a blog for a while.

What have I done, or not done, since the 12th?  Well, let's see...

I've been watching Glee.  I kinda really like Jesse St. James.  A lot.  Screw Finn, he looks like a 12 year old.

I went to dinner at Hickory Grill on Congress with Mary and Kate.  It was quite delicious.  We also decided we like actually hanging out more often, so we're gonna do that on Sundays now.

I've worked quite a bit.

I "played" kickball with my coworkers.  There were two teams: The Seebach Cantatas, captained by one Mr. Chris Seebach, and Milli's Vanillis, captained by Ms. Milli Apelgren.  I was on the Milli's Vanillis and we got slaughtered, 14-1.  We're blaming it on the rain, and the mud, and the drunkeness and apathy probably played a part as well.  Then Crown and Anchor, where they have delicious Woodchuck Pear Ale.  Yum.

Then I went home to Gtown.  Hung out with all members of the family except Trey at various points, not all together.  Got to play with Charlie a lot!  He is just too cute, and growing so much!  I love him!

Then I got sick with a severe allergy reaction on Monday the 19th.  Lots of congestion and coughing and sinus pressure and headaches and tiredness and even small fevers.  I'm still fighting it off, but it seems to be almost completely gone, just a lingering cough.

This week I attended classes and was certified by the American Red Cross in Standard First Aid for all ages, CPR for Infant/Child/Adult, and AED for Child/Adult.  The class was really helpful and only two days long, so it was worth it for the amount of information I received.  Plus, I was required to by work and they paid for it!  So definitely worth it.  Now at work I have to do reviews of it every three months. Soon we'll start training on building evacuations, and then I'll be able to work events completely by myself!

I've been cooking a bit more, but not a lot, since I was super busy the week before and have been sick and sleeping a lot this week.  Everything I've tried has been delicious, including corn-meal-coated&fried fish, breaded chicken, and broiled steak.  And all of these were generally experiments with spices!  So it makes me feel good that they turned out great!

Sunday, Desire closes.  I'm not too sad to see it go.  All the noises from the various video installations were grating on my nerves.  I keep hearing continuous loops of mariachi bands, strings, yodeling, Emmylou Harris, the sound of rubber twisting and cracking, soft piano music, a monotonous reading of India Song, and moaning from the porno.  Yep, definitely won't miss this.  Bring on Matisse as Printmaker!  That one should be nice and quiet.  But I think it's being paired with New Works for the Collection, which might include some contemporary art, which would likely involve video and sound... Le sigh.

Monday I get a haircut at 2:00PM.  I'm going to Urban Betty, which is one of the best rated salons in Austin. If you schedule an appointment with their newest stylist as a student, it's only $30.  And my UTID still says student!  I still like my hair long, but I'm so sick of it, it's become so impossible to manage it.  I think I'm just going to go in there, tell her I don't want it shorter than my jaw, don't want straight-across bangs, and nothing asymmetrical, and then just let her have at it.  We'll see how it goes!

Ok, I'm getting tired of this.

Cooking!

So, here's the update on my latest experiment.  I've taken up cooking the last week and have prepared 3 separate dishes.  I didn't want to try too much my first week.  All recipes I got from allrecipes.com.

Oat Crusted Fish

So this one turned out pretty nice.  I used Tilapia, and the oat-coating turn out really nice, if burnt a little.  I'll probably not cook it as long next time.  Also, all I could really taste was the oats and fish, even though I used salt, pepper, and season salt.  Next time, I'll probably add the seasonings into the oats, instead of putting them on the fish before dipping it in the milk/egg mixture.

Acapulco Chicken

This one was pretty gross.  Well, I guess not gross because I ate it and finished it all, but it wasn't what I was expecting.  Even though I seasoned the chicken exactly as explained in the recipe, it came out tasting bland.  Also, I couldn't find a green bell pepper at Walmart so I substituted red.  And the tomatoes at Walmart were all really poor due to the bad crops this year.  But this dish just tasted like bland chicken and rice, with mushy tomato and bell pepper.  The recipe implied spicyness, but I kept having to add spices after it being cooked just to give it any flavor.  I probably won't make this one again.

Pineapple Steak Stir-Fry

So this one looks the worst of them all, but it actually tasted the best!  I'm a big fan of pineapple though.  I didn't include the vanilla vodka, because I didn't want to buy a whole bottle just for this one recipe, especially if I turns out I didn't like it.  The steak tasted like steak.  I couldn't taste a whole lot of the soy sauce or brown or white sugar.  I let it marinate for 3 hours.  The pineapple paired nicely with the steak, in my opinion.  I suppose this isn't for everyone, but I enjoyed it and will probably make it again!




And yes, I'm eating a salad with every meal.
Next up on my attempt at cooking is a crockpot meal.  This one will be interesting.  I've never used a crockpot before, but it's supposed to be really easy.  We'll see how it goes!
Also, if you've got any recipes you want to share, I'd appreciate them!

Some days

Some days it's so easy to get caught up in the everyday, mundane actions of life. It's so easy and nice to worry about laundry and cooking dinner and paying bills and work.

Other days, big-picture things in life make me nervous, excited, and upset, all at the same time. I miss my family. I miss my siblings and how simple life is when we're all together. I miss my nephew like crazy. I laugh and cry at all the videos and pictures my sister posts, but I feel like I'm missing out on how much he is growing. I miss all the crazy, hyper, neurotic, and grumpy dogs of our family. Yes, every single one. I miss my parents and how comfortable everything is when they are around. How loved I feel being in their presence.

I miss my friends. I miss being able to get the group together much easier. I miss how easy the conversation flowed between all of us. I miss the inside jokes, the belting to Journey, the making up lyrics for Blinded by the Light by Manfred Mann, the camera sneak attacks, the Dr. Horrible quoting, the planning of our next great trip together, the O's Cafe in the Classics Lounge, the midnight movie premiers, hell, even the study sessions for tests, all of it. Just the general understanding and acceptance of each other's character and temperament. All other friendships since then have felt more like acquaintances. Everything feels more forced, awkward.

I miss school. I miss the deadlines for things. I don't miss the sense of impending doom before midterms. I miss the feeling of relief afterwards. I miss sitting in the hallways of Wagner, studying. I miss the feeling of connection in the Classics department, of mingling with and learning from some of the brightest people I've ever known. I miss learning new things everyday. I miss the freedom for exploration that school provides, the ability to try new things, learn a new language, discover a new culture, just for the hell of it. I know I can still do those things, but it's not what my life is about anymore. Trust me, it makes a difference.

Being an adult, out of my own, it's nice. Being independent, self-sufficient, it's something I highly value. But being out on my own has taught me that I don't like to be out on my own. I like to be connected, to be a part of something. I work best, feel most comforted, when I have a task to collaborate on, someone to report to, deadlines to meet. This feeling gives me a pretty clear idea that I want to go back to school. But I'm afraid to limit myself. I want to try so many things, I don't want to spend so much time and money to concentrate on one specific area. But the kicker of it all is that I'm not some brilliant genius that can be great at a lot of different things. So I'm wasting time and money to pursue all these interests that I'm not going to be great at and will probably abandon after awhile.

If I go back to school, do I go to grad school? And if so, for what? Archaeology? History? What do I do with that? Do I get a second bachelors? Is that possible? In what? How about just a Masters? And again, in what? Could I get a graduate degree in something outside of classics, or do I have to start from scratch? If I do go to school again, where? In state, out of state, out of the country? What about jobs that don't require more schooling? What about certification programs, in genealogy, travel agency? Both of those seem really exciting to me.

I seem to make up my mind about one thing and then I start questioning another idea. It's enough to drive me bonkers! I feel pressured, as if I'm wasting the good years of my life because I can't decide what to do. I feel like if I don't make a decision, I'm going to get stuck in the everyday. But then, inevitably, the weekend ends, and I go back to the mundane everyday life, stop thinking about the future for a few more days, and waste even more time.

I apologize...

I've been rather busy for the last week or so, and any down time has been spent with the Nook, so I've been kinda crappy about posting.

I'm starting a new phase in my life. It's the "Amy tries to cook, and still fails miserably, but tries even harder next time, damnit" phase. I kinda want to enjoy food again. So I've gone to the store and bought everything I think I could possibly need to cook. I wish you could buy talent. I'll attempt to keep you updated. I'm starting tomorrow with a simple fish-dish. I'll let ya know.

Sunday was Easter. My brother and I went home for the weekend. I dragged my family to Clash of the Titans. I've seen it three times already. You all should go see it too! Shane enjoyed it; I'm not sure the parents cared. Then we went to church Sunday morning. In true Dickenson fashion, we sat in the back and made fun of the singers. No CCS this time, though. After that I dragged my family to the Texas Spring football game. Apparently this Easter family get together was all about me and what I wanted to do!

About the Spring Game... I'm excited and apprehensive about next year. There are really too many variables. But it seems like there is lots of talent, as usual, and once again, a disappointment about how the season ended to drive them on. All the question marks and doubts about this coming season feel a lot like the 2008 season, and that didn't turn out so bad. Except for the whole being beaten out for a chance at the Nat'l. Title by our arch-rivals by 0.0128 points... All I know for sure is, Gilbert is gonna be awesome. And I might just miss Shipley more than I miss Colt, if that's possible. I just hope things click this year. We at least need another 10-win season! It's the expectation, the bare-minimum allowed, which makes me proud to be a Texas fan!

As far as genealogy research goes, it's still chugging along. I found a bit on my dad's side (FINALLY), but I can't get us out of the states. I've traced it back to my gggggreat-grandpa (father's, father's, mother's, father's, father's, father's father), b. 1797 in GA, who was a Baptist Minister. So my family has been Baptist going on 9 generations. Pretty crazy! And we're 5th-generation Texans through that line and have been in the Wise County area since the late 1870's!

Also found one source that says my ggggggggggggreat-granpa (that's 12, if you're counting), Richard Baker died in Fleet Prison in Kent, England, in 1645/6. I believe that was a debtor's prison. So there's that...

I've really got nothing else at the moment. Other than bills and such boring things.

So, until something interesting happens...Adieu!