(Lack of) Happenings

You may have noticed I haven't posted much lately. This is because there is precious little happening right now in my life worth conveying in print. I'll mention a few things that have been going on, despite their general lack of interestingness.

My job hunt continues, with me trying to decide how far I want to stray from my desired profession of choice out of necessity for making a non-laughable amount of money. Sallie Mae doesn't have a sense of humor (nor a soul for that matter) after all, and that 6-month grace period continues to wind down on me. Various prospects in disparate industries seem to be presenting themselves on a fairly regular basis, but should I stray too far from TV/video or not? hmmm. Taking suggestions...

Went to the Extreme Beerfest a couple weekends back with Benny. We both had an enjoyable time, although I think I preferred the bev selection at the Belgian Beerfest last October. I mean, they've been doing it for a hell of a lot longer than the American breweries represented at the Extreme one, so what do you expect? The average percentage ran somewhere around 7 or 8% this time around, with some reaching as high as 18% (hence the "Extreme" moniker) so we were rather, uhhh.... worse for the wear towards the end of the night and the next morning (for Ben, well into that evening). Still, I love those things and will continue to attend them as they run. The next one is the American Beerfest in June. Tickets are already on sale. Anyone interested?

The dog's been shitting less on the floor (a Good Thing).

I've been cooking a lot lately and I'd say I'm really starting to become rather kitchen-savvy. I think I still have a long way to go, but I've impressed myself on many occasions at this point.

Speaking of good eats; One of my roommates, Joe, is leaving the house come June and the spot will need to be filled. Greg, one of my old NU roomies showed interest in jumping in on the lease, which I think would be great. He's a very agreeable person in general and a (more or less) self-trained gourmet chef in the making who loves to cook for others, which makes him a pretty damn ideal roommate in my eyes. Hoping he'll have the chance to move in, although Liz expressed a desire to have another female in the house, thus leveling out the ratio and providing her with slightly more domestic sanity. I can understand where she's coming from (I know I probably wouldn't want to live with three females), but I think once she meets Greg and experiences his culinary deftness, she might shift her priorities around. I'm not holding my breath, but we shall see.

I'm addicted to yerba mate, the tea like beverage that they drink down in Argentina (and surrounding areas). It's apparently rather good for you (nutrient rich) and provides a much more "red bull" like jolt, thus increasing mental concentration rather than just making you jittery like coffee does. It also is better for your blood pressure and is easier on the kidneys. The Latin food supermarket in my neighborhood sells the stuff for cheap, so I am well supplied as long as I'm in JP. Marliese just picked me up an extra pita y bombilla (gourd and metal straw) en Peru so I can enjoy mate con mis amigos.


And finally... I apparently won a 2-night trip to some Orlando hotel from the radio. It was a promotional thing for some new resorts they just built downtown and the first 50 callers won 2 free nights, tickets to a "show" of some sort, and a couple meals. I never listen to the radio, so I thought this was pretty sweet since my phone was readily available. I called in and they said I won, so they are sending me stuff in the mail. It was aptly pointed out to me by my mother that plane tickets could very well not be covered. The more I think about this point, the more sense it seems to make. I can't recall too well whether or not airfare was ever mentioned at any point, but my shaky memory is telling me it was not. I've yet to receive the details in the mail, so I'll probably know by halfway through the week. I might consider taking the trip even if airfare isn't covered if I can get a deal on a dirt cheap ticket. Those seems to come around pretty often, especially for Orlando.

Well. Time for me to turn off my computer. It's getting too hot in here. I'll keep ya'll posted on developments surrounding all aforementioned aspects of my life.