In remembrance of the hot chocolate man
First, I just finished downloading and watching a couple of shows:
Secondly, a story:
When I was in elementary school, around grade two, my mom had a boyfriend I absolutely loved (yes, there were others I didn't). He used to make what was absolutely my favourite drink - hot chocolate with melted marshmallow on top. But he would never tell me how he made it. After they broke up, a year or so later, I was really sad he never showed me how he made them. I've tried different things to duplicate the effect, but never could find the right combination of ingredients.
In undergrad I put a marshmallow on top and heated my hot chocolate up in the microwave, which produced a yummy drink, but had a different taste and consistency than what I remembered. I also tried buying mini marshmallows and pouring hot water over a huge handful of them to get them all melty and gooey, but still the consistency wasn't right. Eventually I gave up, and decided that this would have to be yet another childhood memory that I'd have to dust off once in a while, stare sadly at it, and then quietly put it back on the shelf.
Then last week I found it.
The secret to a yummy cup of hot chocolate with gooey marshmallows on top? Put one giant spoonful of Fluff marshmallow spread into a cup along with hot chocolate mix, and then pour boiling water over top. (Mircowaving won't give it the same consistency.) Give it a few moments, and soon you'll have a huge glob of semi-gooey marshmallow fluff which you can gobble up or let melt into your drink for a richer flavour. Mmmmm.
I wonder what childhood mystery I'll unlock next?
- The Office: I could tell from my flist that this was a stellar episode, and that it was. I loved the crazy Dwight antics with Ryan, but even moreso the fact that Ryan finally stood up for himself. I loved the bar scene (and the egging scene!) where Ryan seemed to decide to join Dwight, or at least humour him. It gives their office relationship a different dynamic than Dwight and Jim's, which is nice. I just love how Ryan is so stone-faced all the time. Makes everything so much more hilarious.
The Jim/Pam conversation was so sweet. And so sad that they finally started to get into their chat, and then their insecurity cut it short. They really need to start long-distance dating. ;)
That said, I really like the "psycho" female at Jim's new work, who obviously has a crush on him. They're very cute, and I can definitely see Jim wising up, dating her, and then New Awkwardness would ensue when he and Pam see each other and he's the one with the significant other this time. That said, I do fear that after a while Pam will go back to Roy. It'll seem better than being single, and she'll forget why she broke up with him in the first place.
I was never really clear on the Michael/Jan relationship until I started watching the season two then DVD this week. Turns out I hadn't seen most of the episodes, though I thought I'd seen a fair many. But now that I'm halfway through, and have seen the episode where Michael "gets to third base" with Jan -- combined with Michael's comment about third base this episode -- I realize that that's ALL that's happened between them. I honestly thought they really had been dating at one point, if briefly. It's more hilarious now that I know every time Michael says things like "Jan, I'm dating someone else now, so I know it will be awkward, but let's try our best", Jan really is just standing there, taking a deep breath, and biting her tongue. Hard.
Pam: "Jan always used to treat Michael like a 10-year-old. Now she's treating him ... like a 5-year-old." Heeee. <3
So on the DVD I'm up to the office "retreat" episode, and it strikes me just how very much Michael needs to control every situation. This is what makes him unbearable to others - the stupid jokes, the random sounds and impersonations - all designed to attract attention to himself. Good or bad, doesn't matter, as long as he's in the spotlight and controlling how things play out. corkdorkdan was telling me last week that he actually hates the character of Dwight because those are the qualities he can't stand in real life.
I find it interesting that Michael is the one who has the tendency to drive me nuts. I find Dwight ridiculous and amusing, but I don't see how anyone could take him seriously (though I see how people can; his personality is just not one that touches on my personal history of reviled co-workers). It's the fact that Michael has the power in the office and, as stupid as he's being, NO ONE can say anything. Or they could, but they probably shouldn't and have to be careful how they do it. Ultimately he's the boss and they just have to nod and smile.
I absolutely hated Michael the first episode I watched (the pilot), but then I learned to enjoy him. He's the one that says all the crap I can't stand ("A lot of the people here don't get trophies very often, like Meridith or Kevin. I mean who's gonna give Kevin an award, Dunkin' Donuts?"), but does it in such a brilliant way that makes him look like an idiot. So then I laugh because I know everyone's laughing with me. I can see how you could be incensed at first, because I sure was. ("Um, let me ask you, is there a term besides 'Mexican' that you prefer? Something less offensive?") My cousin and I watched some episodes in front of my aunt last Christmas, and my aunt was enraged and kept calling it crap. My cousin: "But it's supposed to be offensive!"
- Supernatural: ZOMBIES! I saw a lot of activity about this episode on my flist, and I'm guessing people were psyched that the Monster of the Week was everybody's favourite re-animated corpse. But, man, if you have to nail the bodies in the original caskets to kill each and every zombie, Shaun of the Dead-like situations would be MUCH harder to deal with. Sweet Moses.
Secondly, a story:
When I was in elementary school, around grade two, my mom had a boyfriend I absolutely loved (yes, there were others I didn't). He used to make what was absolutely my favourite drink - hot chocolate with melted marshmallow on top. But he would never tell me how he made it. After they broke up, a year or so later, I was really sad he never showed me how he made them. I've tried different things to duplicate the effect, but never could find the right combination of ingredients.
In undergrad I put a marshmallow on top and heated my hot chocolate up in the microwave, which produced a yummy drink, but had a different taste and consistency than what I remembered. I also tried buying mini marshmallows and pouring hot water over a huge handful of them to get them all melty and gooey, but still the consistency wasn't right. Eventually I gave up, and decided that this would have to be yet another childhood memory that I'd have to dust off once in a while, stare sadly at it, and then quietly put it back on the shelf.
Then last week I found it.
The secret to a yummy cup of hot chocolate with gooey marshmallows on top? Put one giant spoonful of Fluff marshmallow spread into a cup along with hot chocolate mix, and then pour boiling water over top. (Mircowaving won't give it the same consistency.) Give it a few moments, and soon you'll have a huge glob of semi-gooey marshmallow fluff which you can gobble up or let melt into your drink for a richer flavour. Mmmmm.
I wonder what childhood mystery I'll unlock next?