Sunday, August 23, 2009

Please, just the simple things.

Classes have begun. Summer is gone. So what should one do to bring a little bit of sunshine back? Well, it is just the simple things really. This week for me was a great example of how the simplest of things always can make a dreary law student smile again.

New TV
I am guilty of being a slight television addict. I can always find someting to watch at any time of the day and even with limited channels. But it is the season premieres of the new fall schedule that brings me joy in between textbooks, namely: Mad Men, Top Chef, Project Runway, Southland, House, and The Office. But since I lack cable, my friends from school DVR them for me. Last Thursday night, me and Kat decided to have a ridiculously girlish night that included gin, pizza, and 3 hours of Project Runway. Although watching television is an awfully time-consuming habit, it was fun sipping martinis while agreeing with Tim Gunn's critiques.

Ice Cream on a Warm Summer's Night.
Although my favorite desserts are ones that are best fresh out of the oven, this summer has been so hot and my apartment so lacking in air-conditioning that ice cream is really the only cure. So if I'm craving for something more exotic than the strawberry Haagen-Dazs in my fridge, I'll head over to Scoops for some raspberry balsamic or guinness chocolate ice cream. It makes me almost love the hot weather.

Amoeba Music
Whenever I'm feeling blue, Amoeba always cheers me right up. Lately, I've been in a music funk, so I decided to visit the place and get some new tunes. When I got there, I was happily surprised that Peanut Butter Wolf was performing a DJ set. Just another perk to brighten my day. After walking the aisles for about an hour, I purchased the new Mars Volta, an original issue of Joy Division's Unknown Pleasures, Julian Plenti's self-titled album, two used Fugazi albums, and the new Horrors album on vinyl. I wanted more, but thought that was enough as a pick-me up. So I scurried home and ripped the plastic off of each CD/record and listened to my new purchases for the next 5 hours. Oh, such a happy day.

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

After my last post yesterday, I realized two things. 1. I did not follow Dinette Set etiquette and posted something that was not really food related; and 2. I meant to! I've been meaning to all week, but got sidetracked when I nearly set my (?) new place on fire.
So. To make amends, this evening I have returned to the Dinette Set blog, and I remembered to bring back the casserole dish you left at my house.
I saw a shirt once that said "a french fry is simply a ketchup delivery device." After consuming half a pound of Whole Foods' Fresh Mango Salsa, I feel the same way about tortilla chips. I had first purchased Archer Farms Organic Blue Corn with Flax Seed tortilla chips to accompany a jar of Tostitos salsa, the hottest Target had to offer. Later that week, however when I visited Whole Foods on an empty stomach looking for some dinner (I'd heard they had vegan tamales!), I stopped at the ready-made section by the front door to get some guacamole. When I saw that it was over $6 for half a pound, I said, "screw that" and put it back. My eyes then drifted to a container filled with tiny pieces the color of early morning sunshine, speckled with red and I thought: Bingo.
I was close. It was mango.
My love affair with mango salsa goes back to eating fish tacos at La Salsa at Bella Terra in Huntington Beach. The mango on it's own was good, but when I mixed it with the habanero salsa they had?!?! Oh my goodness, that alone was worth the $7.
I know that traditionally, mango salsa has accompanied fish, but now tortilla chips will have to do.
Quickly, ingredients: Mangos, Pineapple, Onions, Variety Peppers, Cilantro, Lemon, Lime and Red Bell Peppers. It is the perfect combination of sweet and spicy (although I could go a little hotter), with no added sugars or extra crap to make you feel bad after you eat it.
I'm telling you, it's heaven in a 20% post consumer recycled product container, for under 4 bucks.
Sorry I don't have a picture; I ate it all...

Monday, August 3, 2009

Tonight I moved into my sublet apartment, something that, in my younger years, I thought would be incredibly chic and somewhat edgy. Turns out it's kinda strange. Instead of being like a long-term hotel, I've been asked to supply my own bedding, a request which I am more than happy to oblige, except I didn't pack any. I had intended to open up a new bank account anyhow, but it was shifted to the top of my priority list tonight so that I could cash a check and buy some sheets, but by the time I was through at the bank, the thrift store was closed. I wound up at Big Lots, thinking I just need something cheap to get me through the next month, and then I can get what I really want, which is why I started out at the thrift store in the first place.
I found a set. Full size. Microfiber. Tan. Fine. Perfect! I've resolved to buy sheets that are closest to my skin tone so that I sleep better (it's scientifically proven, but leaves me wondering how interracial couples work it out and feeling like albinos are pretty much set when they travel). Big Lots blankets were a mess. The dye lots were off and the fabrics were nowhere near natural feeling and I didn't think I'd be able to sleep if I bought one, so I trekked to Target for an upgrade.
At this point, I felt like I was getting things you'd get if you were decorating a whole apartment, so I had to start thinking about the color scheme for everything! After all, the blankets I got might wind up on the sofa rather than the bed, and since I had to get a towel, I had to plan my bathroom right then and there, in aisle 4 of the housewares section. There were towels on sale, so I had to face even more pressure when it came to choosing exact shades once I got the basic color scheme down.
I wound up sticking with my Big Lots towel, just the one, although I did find two super cozy blankets and a throw pillow. A throw pillow! For a sublet! But it happens that it matches his decor too, so I lucked out. Either that, or I've absorbed some of his taste from my commitment to live in his space.
Once at home, I went to make the bed and found that while my bed at home is a Full, the one in Shenoa's apartment is a Queen, and thus my sheets are too short and I have to return them, which ultimately is fine because they don't feel right, and a closer inspection revealed them to be polyester.
Tomorrow it's back to the thrift store for me because I am not investing in something that I cannot use in the long term. So, tonight, I sleep on my blanket and wake up looking like a waffle cone. Better that than burnt toast, which brings me to the second phase of tonight's adventure!
When I walked in tonight, it was like an oven in here. Or a Kiva, to be a proper New Mexican about it. I knew it had been cool when I first came to check the place out, but having lived for the last 8 years without air conditioning, I had no clue as to how or where to turn it on. When my eyes fell on the thermostat, I thought surely this must be it. Since I only needed it a little bit cool, I turned the thermostat to 74 and went around the corner to start making the bed. Before I got in the bedroom doorway, I noticed another switch, this one much clearer and more familiar. I turned it to "Low cool" and went about my business. As I was tucking in the final bit of blanket, I felt something extremely hot coming from near the outlet I was near. This place is full of antique junk with character, so I thought it was perhaps an old wire or something, but no, it was far too hot for that, and not as localized. Inspecting further, I discovered that I'd turned on the heater and almost burned the place down my first night here.
At least I'm getting all the bugs worked out at once and when I finally do get my own place, I'll be set.