state of the merde
Sep. 13th, 2006 12:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mountain_laureli realized this morning that it's been a really long time since i posted anything substantive about how things are going, so i thought i'd try to catch up.
overall, i have to say i'm doing reasonably well. i've been spending a lot of time socializing -- i think it's been good for me to just be thrown into the shark tank, rather than trying to ease into it slowly. i like most everyone i've met here. people are friendly and even strangers will actually strike up conversations, which i'm liking a lot. i've had a few down days, but for the most part my mood's been pretty steady.
i've yet to see any live music, but i have sampled the delights of downtown. Lovejoy's own microbrews were a bit limp-wristed for my taste, but then i didn't try the espresso stout, since i didn't need the caffeine and i don't actually like stout. i had some amazing coffee at some place![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
mongo42 can tell you the name of. we strolled over to the state capital, which is really quite nice, although i'm told the lady statue on top is really ugly up close. i've eaten at Trudy's, Chuy's, Las Manitas, a bunch of Chinese buffets, some generic Mexican chain place with mediocre salsa, and, god help me, the Golden Corral. i really like Chuy's. and Trudy's, but Chuy's has better drinks and you can serve yourself chips and queso out of the trunk of a '57 Chevy.
travel and feasting. who does not like that?
i've had BBQ only once (dammit), at Pok-E-Joe's. which was very good, i admit, but in my experience the very best BBQ does not come from chain restaurants, even if they're beloved local chains. it comes from falling-down shacks by the side of the road, or better yet, from barrels towed behind trucks on the side of the road. thus i am determined to make a pilgrimage a couple of hours north so that i may experience the, er, experience of No Teeth BBQ, motto "You don't need teeth to eat our meat." how can this possibly be bad? i just knowhaineux is gnashing his teeth and rending his garments with sheer envy right now.
the temperature topped 100 degrees every day for the first month i was here. now that it's cooled down to the high 80s and low 90s, i'm really enjoying the mornings and evenings. the humidity here feels like home to me. breezes feel softer. the air doesn't smell of leaf mold like it did in Maryland, but almost everywhere i go i can smell green chile sauce cooking, which has its own charms. and can i just say that since i got here, i haven't eaten a red chile sauce once? i am completely sold on tomatillos and hatch chiles. food of the gods, people. heavenly ambrosia.
speaking of heavenly ambrosia, i'll be making my fabled buffalo chili soon, because Central Market has ground bison for only $4.99/lb. it's almost enough to make me get religion, this market. they have stuff i never even saw in California. (although fresh herbs are still hard to come by, so i'm trying to grow a few in pots.) the first time i went there, we picked up a jar of fig and walnut butter. let me tell you, a dab of that and a smear of goat cheese on a slice of baguette is worth doing a happy little dance over.
to make up for the dearth of the herbs i favor, they have a cheese department that makes me all swoony, and a wide selection of organic free trade coffee, and a wine selection that made me want to fall to my knees and praise jesus, or at least their wine buyer. i'll admit, though, that their baguettes don't quite do it for me (although the organic one is a little better). now, i really love me a good baguette. thus i must go a-questing, my friends, for the perfect Parisian style baguette -- that crisp, yet chewy crust! that firm, yet tender interior! long and skinny, so that a slice is just two-bite size, perfect for a dollop of chevre, or for soaking up the last of the sauce from a delicious chicken niçoise!
um, yeah. i've been cooking again. it's like a sickness. but so far, everything i've made has been a hit, even the impromptu baked chicken i threw together the other night. the three of us ate the whole chicken, except for the wings, which i froze for making soup. i'll have to get some backs as well -- they're not good for anything but soup, although my dad adored them fried the way my mom did it. (the secret is to marinate the chicken in milk and tabasco for at least an hour before you bread it, and always fry in cast iron pans. shhh, don't tell!)
so. i'm making new friends, i'm getting out and about at least a little bit, i'm cooking, and i've gotten at least the one job interview. depression being what it is, i can't manage to generate any enthusiasm over it, and i don't really feel good (except for occasional moments, each of which i treasure like the rarest of jewels), but i'm objectively aware that things are going well. my life doesn't suck. and i think i'm going to like it here.
overall, i have to say i'm doing reasonably well. i've been spending a lot of time socializing -- i think it's been good for me to just be thrown into the shark tank, rather than trying to ease into it slowly. i like most everyone i've met here. people are friendly and even strangers will actually strike up conversations, which i'm liking a lot. i've had a few down days, but for the most part my mood's been pretty steady.
i've yet to see any live music, but i have sampled the delights of downtown. Lovejoy's own microbrews were a bit limp-wristed for my taste, but then i didn't try the espresso stout, since i didn't need the caffeine and i don't actually like stout. i had some amazing coffee at some place
mongo42 can tell you the name of. we strolled over to the state capital, which is really quite nice, although i'm told the lady statue on top is really ugly up close. i've eaten at Trudy's, Chuy's, Las Manitas, a bunch of Chinese buffets, some generic Mexican chain place with mediocre salsa, and, god help me, the Golden Corral. i really like Chuy's. and Trudy's, but Chuy's has better drinks and you can serve yourself chips and queso out of the trunk of a '57 Chevy.travel and feasting. who does not like that?
i've had BBQ only once (dammit), at Pok-E-Joe's. which was very good, i admit, but in my experience the very best BBQ does not come from chain restaurants, even if they're beloved local chains. it comes from falling-down shacks by the side of the road, or better yet, from barrels towed behind trucks on the side of the road. thus i am determined to make a pilgrimage a couple of hours north so that i may experience the, er, experience of No Teeth BBQ, motto "You don't need teeth to eat our meat." how can this possibly be bad? i just know
haineux is gnashing his teeth and rending his garments with sheer envy right now.the temperature topped 100 degrees every day for the first month i was here. now that it's cooled down to the high 80s and low 90s, i'm really enjoying the mornings and evenings. the humidity here feels like home to me. breezes feel softer. the air doesn't smell of leaf mold like it did in Maryland, but almost everywhere i go i can smell green chile sauce cooking, which has its own charms. and can i just say that since i got here, i haven't eaten a red chile sauce once? i am completely sold on tomatillos and hatch chiles. food of the gods, people. heavenly ambrosia.
speaking of heavenly ambrosia, i'll be making my fabled buffalo chili soon, because Central Market has ground bison for only $4.99/lb. it's almost enough to make me get religion, this market. they have stuff i never even saw in California. (although fresh herbs are still hard to come by, so i'm trying to grow a few in pots.) the first time i went there, we picked up a jar of fig and walnut butter. let me tell you, a dab of that and a smear of goat cheese on a slice of baguette is worth doing a happy little dance over.
to make up for the dearth of the herbs i favor, they have a cheese department that makes me all swoony, and a wide selection of organic free trade coffee, and a wine selection that made me want to fall to my knees and praise jesus, or at least their wine buyer. i'll admit, though, that their baguettes don't quite do it for me (although the organic one is a little better). now, i really love me a good baguette. thus i must go a-questing, my friends, for the perfect Parisian style baguette -- that crisp, yet chewy crust! that firm, yet tender interior! long and skinny, so that a slice is just two-bite size, perfect for a dollop of chevre, or for soaking up the last of the sauce from a delicious chicken niçoise!
um, yeah. i've been cooking again. it's like a sickness. but so far, everything i've made has been a hit, even the impromptu baked chicken i threw together the other night. the three of us ate the whole chicken, except for the wings, which i froze for making soup. i'll have to get some backs as well -- they're not good for anything but soup, although my dad adored them fried the way my mom did it. (the secret is to marinate the chicken in milk and tabasco for at least an hour before you bread it, and always fry in cast iron pans. shhh, don't tell!)
so. i'm making new friends, i'm getting out and about at least a little bit, i'm cooking, and i've gotten at least the one job interview. depression being what it is, i can't manage to generate any enthusiasm over it, and i don't really feel good (except for occasional moments, each of which i treasure like the rarest of jewels), but i'm objectively aware that things are going well. my life doesn't suck. and i think i'm going to like it here.
