Events Past, Present, and Future
Martial Arts
Tae Soo Do class on Thursday was pretty good. Inst. Sirny looked to not be feeling so well (I heard rumors of wisdom tooth extraction), so one of the higher-ranking sashes taught the class. I don't think she's done much full class instruction before; usually one of the higher ranks leads us through the warm-ups and then Inst. Sirny teaches the class. She's a generally nonplussed sort of person with a very dry sense of humor, so her teaching style is entirely different. We spent the class reviewing our long form, our self-defense techniques, and then grappling. My shoulder was fine except when I tried to do cartwheels. I did a lot better in grappling this time around, winning pretty much everything, but I can't feel very good about that as it was mostly because I could throw my weight around and muscle through techniques that I should have finessed more. I out-massed my partners enough that they couldn't force me to find the leverage/technique/angle because it would be the only one that worked, and I'm certainly not good enough to know when I've got it and when I don't. Especially not when I'm rolling around on the ground with another girl, trying to pin her. I also got a catfight-type scratch on my face, which I find humorous.
Uriah & Jumana's Going-Away Potluck
Last night, we went to Uriah and Jumana's going-away party, hosted by friends of theirs that we hadn't met before, which was a little awkward but not too bad as most everybody there was of the old Macalester College crowd, so I knew them all. Also, tasty food (which there most certainly was) would make up for even greater levels of awkwardness. And there was tasty food: cucumber and guacamole sushi rolls; a milk sauce with chicken and pine nuts, on rice; baba ganoush with pita bread; a tangy and overpoweringly delicious savory spread whose name I cannot pronounce and whose main ingredients were olive oil, walnuts, and pomegranate molasses; deep-fried yeast bread drenched in slightly sweet syrup; and various other sweet offerings that I was too full to pay proper attention to. I got to talk a lot with old friends that I've seen too rarely lately (again with the crazy-making schedule) and a little with new acquaintances. I found out that Max and Drew are engaged! They're planning on marrying in September, an announcement I apparently missed because I didn't make it to the last poker tournament. I also got to meet xcorvis's little one, who was a very quiet, polite baby.
I made a double batch of Spicy Baked Potato Wedges, substituting olive oil for butter to make it vegan.
Ingredients:
3/4 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Sugar
1/2 tsp. Paprika
1/2 tsp. Ground dry mustard
1/2 tsp. Garlic powder
4 red potatoes
melted butter (or olive oil)
Heat oven to 425 deg. Mix spices, salt and sugar in small bowl.
Wash potatoes and cut out eyes and scars, but do not peel. Cut potatoes into wedges--small potatoes about six wedges, large ones into about eight.
Grease 13x9 pan or two loaf pans.
Put wedges skin side down in the pan. Drizzle butter over potatoes. Cover with seasoning mixture.
Bake until fork-tender--about 35 minutes if in a dark-colored pan and about another 10-15 minutes in an aluminum or light-colored pan. Taste. Add more salt and garlic powder if you want. (I usually do--using kosher salt for taste)
Now and Next Week
Today I went to Cahoots and got a good bit of work on writing stuff done, despite The Mad Scientist hogging my laptop for several hours while I had nothing to do, which made me exceedingly cranky. Then came home and he wanted to watch basketball game, so I'm working on updating my market lists, looking at pretty Christmas photos, and writing this lj post. Tomorrow I'm working a full day at Job #1, then Monday and Tuesday at Job #2, and probably the rest of the week at Job #1. Then, a blessed vacation. They can't stop me! *knock on wood*
Tae Soo Do class on Thursday was pretty good. Inst. Sirny looked to not be feeling so well (I heard rumors of wisdom tooth extraction), so one of the higher-ranking sashes taught the class. I don't think she's done much full class instruction before; usually one of the higher ranks leads us through the warm-ups and then Inst. Sirny teaches the class. She's a generally nonplussed sort of person with a very dry sense of humor, so her teaching style is entirely different. We spent the class reviewing our long form, our self-defense techniques, and then grappling. My shoulder was fine except when I tried to do cartwheels. I did a lot better in grappling this time around, winning pretty much everything, but I can't feel very good about that as it was mostly because I could throw my weight around and muscle through techniques that I should have finessed more. I out-massed my partners enough that they couldn't force me to find the leverage/technique/angle because it would be the only one that worked, and I'm certainly not good enough to know when I've got it and when I don't. Especially not when I'm rolling around on the ground with another girl, trying to pin her. I also got a catfight-type scratch on my face, which I find humorous.
Uriah & Jumana's Going-Away Potluck
Last night, we went to Uriah and Jumana's going-away party, hosted by friends of theirs that we hadn't met before, which was a little awkward but not too bad as most everybody there was of the old Macalester College crowd, so I knew them all. Also, tasty food (which there most certainly was) would make up for even greater levels of awkwardness. And there was tasty food: cucumber and guacamole sushi rolls; a milk sauce with chicken and pine nuts, on rice; baba ganoush with pita bread; a tangy and overpoweringly delicious savory spread whose name I cannot pronounce and whose main ingredients were olive oil, walnuts, and pomegranate molasses; deep-fried yeast bread drenched in slightly sweet syrup; and various other sweet offerings that I was too full to pay proper attention to. I got to talk a lot with old friends that I've seen too rarely lately (again with the crazy-making schedule) and a little with new acquaintances. I found out that Max and Drew are engaged! They're planning on marrying in September, an announcement I apparently missed because I didn't make it to the last poker tournament. I also got to meet xcorvis's little one, who was a very quiet, polite baby.
I made a double batch of Spicy Baked Potato Wedges, substituting olive oil for butter to make it vegan.
Ingredients:
3/4 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Sugar
1/2 tsp. Paprika
1/2 tsp. Ground dry mustard
1/2 tsp. Garlic powder
4 red potatoes
melted butter (or olive oil)
Heat oven to 425 deg. Mix spices, salt and sugar in small bowl.
Wash potatoes and cut out eyes and scars, but do not peel. Cut potatoes into wedges--small potatoes about six wedges, large ones into about eight.
Grease 13x9 pan or two loaf pans.
Put wedges skin side down in the pan. Drizzle butter over potatoes. Cover with seasoning mixture.
Bake until fork-tender--about 35 minutes if in a dark-colored pan and about another 10-15 minutes in an aluminum or light-colored pan. Taste. Add more salt and garlic powder if you want. (I usually do--using kosher salt for taste)
Now and Next Week
Today I went to Cahoots and got a good bit of work on writing stuff done, despite The Mad Scientist hogging my laptop for several hours while I had nothing to do, which made me exceedingly cranky. Then came home and he wanted to watch basketball game, so I'm working on updating my market lists, looking at pretty Christmas photos, and writing this lj post. Tomorrow I'm working a full day at Job #1, then Monday and Tuesday at Job #2, and probably the rest of the week at Job #1. Then, a blessed vacation. They can't stop me! *knock on wood*