My life

is still good; even in cold weather, and even this November!!!!!!!!!!!!

Adulthood and Changes

I've tracked the seasons really closely this year.

What in the world? This has been an exceptional last half a year, for myself and my world. More than other recent Fall seasons, this transition has been the most . . . tracked.

Not harder or easier, just very closely... here. Not far, not somewhere else. I've pushed myself hard; to what end? To what goals? These ambitions are natural in August and September, though from my present perch in November all feels a little different.

I've been an adult this year, despite flounderings and missteps. This was my first college Fall season with adult connotations. I've been here for business - here in NC, at UNCA, with my job as a soccer official - for better and for worse. I've gained things and lost things in the process.

What a season! Without a reason. I'll rhyme tonight because I still've got joy.

November

Means it is time to stay focused on goals until the respite that is Thanksgiving.

Wish me luck!

Many Congratulations

To our next president Barack Obama!!!!!!

I don't quite know how to express what I am feeling, but it is a combination of happiness and catharsis!

It is election day 2008

New York Times says an epic election comes to a close. It's true, and it is good for our country right now

I wanna, I wanna new day

This is odd: the way the world feels framed certain ways. I am not aware of the frames until a while later. And in the meantime everything is so solid and imposing, until a new day.

Pith.

Things are still good: it is good to move things in the right direction, especially in the midst of Fall and its tendency toward stillness.

Keeping it up

Soccer has been good and is about to wind down: regular season for High School, Middle School, and all "youth league" USSF is over.

eatin'

Funny life as a bachelor; the strong desire for home-cooked food, because when you make it yourself it tends to be without tradition and feeling; slopped-together things. Even when home cooking is not good (my mother (who reads the blog) is a solid cook/chef) it is good because of what it is.. the home-cooked elements. Moving on.

I find myself happier when I cook recipes; when I store food properly for eating later, by the portion; when I approach cooking/eating as something special, not something commonplace like browsing the internets.

Bulgur Wheat
1 part, toast in pan with pinch cinnamon about two minutes, add salt and 2 parts water, boil, reduce to simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, remove from heat, wait five minutes.

Rice
Cook both sushi rice and pilaf rice with less water than I used to. Use Kombu when making sushi or Japanese rice.

Winter Squash/Sweet Potatoes
Peel them. Roast even-sized pieces of your liking at 400F. The peeling has led to most pleasure.

Roasted Vegetables
rosemary, 400F, lots of Olive Oil (more than you think and I am usually thrifty with using oil)

Hard-boiled eggs
put the eggs in cold water, bring to boil, turn off heat but leave on the heating elements, wait nine minutes, remove from water and cool - perfect HB eggies.

Buckwheat Pasta (soba)
Boil in salted water to al dente. Rinse, cool, mix sauce of: soy sauce, sugar, mirin, sesame seeds, green onions. Aside: cut green onions, freeze in an old water bottle. Shake green onions out of bottle when fresh green onions are needed. I believe I discovered this amazing shortcut!!

Porridge (general)
oats, brown rice, millet, lentils; mix equal parts, rinse, add 2 cups water per cup of grains and soak at least seven hours, no more than 24 hours, using lemon juice or, uh, a little yogurt or buttermilk. Add salt, three cups of water per cup of grain, bring to boil then simmer about 40 mins.

Porridge (rice/congee)
rinse rice, add hella water, add sake, salt, bring to boil, bring to simmer, cook until thickened, add condiments

Life update

My Aunt Susie passed away - I hope she is up in heaven, there with my grandparents..

What else matters in that light? High school soccer is done; my motorcycle is fixed from the accident I was in about three weeks ago, and insurance business is being decided; school is going so well; I am thinking much of past and future Falls, and the meaning of the seasons

100 Skills Every Man Should Know (Pop. Mechanics Mag)

Automotive

1. Handle a blowout - yes, done it
2. Drive in snow - I am from Michigan, so yes
3. Check trouble codes - no
4. Replace fan belt - no
5. Wax a car - yes, done it
6. Conquer an off-road obstacle - yes?
7. Use a stick welder - no
8. Hitch up a trailer - yes
9. Jump start a car - yes many times

Handling Emergencies

10. Perform the Heimlich - i am currently cpr/first aid certified, so... yes
11. Reverse hypothermia - yes
12. Perform hands-only CPR - same as heimlech
13. Escape a sinking car - no comment?

Home

14. Carve a turkey - yes
15. Use a sewing machine - no
16. Put out a fire - yes
17. Home brew beer - yes, done it
18. Remove bloodstains from fabric - probably
19. Move heavy stuff - yes
20. Grow food - yes, garden 3x
21. Read an electric meter - probably
22. Shovel the right way - Michigan
23. Solder wire - yes, done it
24. Tape drywall - no
25. Split firewood - yes, done it
26. Replace a faucet washer - no
27. Mix concrete - no
28. Paint a straight line - yes
29. Use a French knife - chef's knife? yes
30. Prune bushes and small trees - yes, done it
31. Iron a shirt - no
32. Fix a toilet tank flapper - mayhaps
33. Change a single-pole switch - no
34. Fell a tree - yes, another story for another day
35. Replace a broken windowpane - no
36. Set up a ladder, safely - yes
37. Fix a faucet cartridge - no
38. Sweat copper tubing - no
39. Change a diaper - no
40. Grill with charcoal - yes, done it
41. Sew a button on a shirt - yes, done it with a patch
42. Fold a flag - no

Medical Myths

43. Treat frostbite - not sure
44. Treat a burn - yes, cool not cold water
45. Help a seizure victim - keep head propped?
46. Treat a snakebite - no
47. Remove a tick - knife or flame?

Military Know-How

48. Shine shoes - yes, done it
49. Make a drum-tight bed - yes, but don't do it
50. Drop and give the perfect pushup - yes

Outdoors

51. Run rapids in a canoe - no, but could
52. Hang food in the wild - yes, don eit
53. Skipper a boat - yes, done it
54. Shoot straight - yes
55. Tackle steep drops on a mountain bike - yes, done it
56. Escape a rip current - not sure

Primitive Skills

57. Build a fire in the wilderness - yes, done it
58. Build a shelter - maybe
59. Find potable water - yes, done it

Surviving Extremes

60. Floods - no
61. Tornados - yes
62. Cold - yes
63. Heat - yes
64. Lightning - off the field!

Teach Your Kids

65. Cast a line - yes
66. Lend a hand - wtf
67. Change a tire - yes
68. Throw a spiral - yes
69. Fly a stunt kite - eh
70. Drive a stick shift - honestly, no
71. Parallel park - yes
72. Tie a bowline - no
73. Tie a necktie - yes
74. Whittle - yes
75. Ride a bike - yes

Technology

76. Install a graphics card - certainly could
77. Take the perfect portrait - eh
78. Calibrate HDTV settings - same as #76
79. Shoot a home movie - yes
80. Ditch your hard drive - ...

Master Key Workshop Tools

81. Drill driver - no
82. Grease gun - no
83. Coolant hydrometer - don't know what this is
84. Socket wrench - yes
85. Test light - uh
86. Brick trowel - no
87. Framing hammer - no
88. Wood chisel - yes
89. Spade bit - no
90. Circular saw - yes
91. Sledge hammer - yes
92. Hacksaw - yes
93. Torque wrench - not sure
94. Air wrench - no
95. Infrared thermometer - sure
96. Sand blaster - no
97. Crosscut saw - no
98. Hand plane - no
99. Multimeter - yes
100. Feeler gauges - huh?

ty, Popular mechanics

Fall

I am surviving it