Road works
Well, I was wrong. I'm not losing my job. In fact, I'm starting to realize that Loud will never be able to fire me. Work is....well, work. Last Monday I found myself in the store, receiving an order that Loud had placed while I was away and returning things to the driver faster than she could bring them in from the truck. So I decided to just do the ordering myself. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em - right? I'm trying to think of it less as doing him a favor and more as doing myself a favor. If I do the ordering there will be fewer (if any) returns.
D has been in Armenia for the last week! I can't express how poorly I've been sleeping. Taking care of B and M on my own has been remarkably easy, though I have to confess that I haven't had a decent night of sleep since he left. I guess it's mostly that there's no adult around to tell me to turn off the light and get to sleep [read: seduce me and then drift off to sleep together]. But I've had some interesting experiences: some fun, some just weird. One of the weirder ones was Friday night. One of D's colleagues is getting married in a few weeks and his partner was having a 'hen night' on Friday. This was organized by the secretary of his department. There were eight of us at dinner: the bride to be, myself, the secretary (who had organized the dinner), someone who works in the postgraduate office at the university, a PhD student who sometimes has lunch with the groom, her partner and some other random woman. No one at the table is actually connected directly with the bride; they are all people who know her partner. By my third glass of wine, the whole thing just started getting too weird for me. I mean, I know the bride has friends.
Another weird experience: the man I've written about before (the one I sort of have a little crush on who turned up at my house last year) and I spent the afternoon together yesterday with our respective children. I've never spent this much time together with any man since D and I got married. HIs wife had surgery on her leg and was resting at home. And THEN he invited me and the kids for dinner with him and his family. I just can't figure him out. He's really smart. And interesting. And yet I can't help stereotyping him. For crying out loud, the first time I met him (two years ago) he leaned in and started talking about how his wife was so unhappy and how depressing he finds it! Anyway, we had dinner there and then I took the kids home and put them to bed. And then a while later the doorbell rang. Ok, I know it sounds ridiculous to flatter myself and assume that it was him - but suppose it was??????? I was too freaked out to answer the door. And yes, I know how pathetic I am. *
B is asleep next to me as I type. He's been having a terrible time falling asleep lately, not sure why. Probably thinking too much. I wish there were a way to help him (and if any of you have ideas, please let me know). At some point he started crying and said that maybe I should take him to the doctor.
It seems that the city council has finally decided to create a 'school zone' in our neighborhood! I'm very excited. Speed bumps, road signs indicating a 20 mile an hour speed limit and, best of all, a crosswalk!!! B can't wait to walk to school on his own. Of course I did have to gently explain that M (5) will still need an adult to walk him so B's days of being escorted by a parent aren't over quite yet.
Finally, I invented something superb for dinner tonight (ok, no modesty there - I might be a wuss when it comes to men but I certainly hold my own in the kitchen).
Ingredients
Oil, for the pans
1 block of tofu, sliced in half and then into thin strips
3 large cloves of garlic, crushed
Ground cumin, to taste
1 eggplant, cut into chunks
1 tsp tamarind pulp
1 tsp red curry paste
1 large tomato, diced
Salt and pepper, to taste
Heat the oil in a pan and add the tofu to the pan, frying until nice and crispy.
While the tofu is cooking, dissolve the tamarind pulp in 1/3 cup of boiling water and let sit. Heat some olive oil in a wok. Add garlic and cumin and mix. Then add the eggplant, stirring constantly for five minutes. Strain the tamarind 'water' into the wok and add the curry paste. Throw in the tomato and cook for a few minutes more.
Drain the tofu on paper towels. Season eggplant and remove from heat. Serve over rice with the tofu.
* And in case anyone was weirded out by this - D has no problem with my crushes because he knows they're completely harmless. And that even if I were tempted to do something about them I'm too much of a wuss.