After much procrastination, brewed some coffee, sat down after son left for school and wrote the checks for the monthly bills.
Funny that sometimes for me, certain tasks brings back memories from the past that I never thought I would recall. In this case, it was when I was at large International Automobile Manufacturer #2, it was lunchtime, and I was sitting at the small table in the lunchroom (had a killer view) with a woman, hired after Large International Automobile Manufacturer 2's widely publicized HR problems.
In its aftermath, this person was hired to take charge of corporate diversity. She was a nice person, at the time studying at a divinity school (that brings back another story), who also would tell you how it is.
So here I was after eating, with the monthly bills spread out and writing the checks for each and grumbling. Recall she looked at me and said I should be thankful I had a job so I could write checks.
Never imagined I'd see the day that I could fully appreciate what she said.
Never have thought much about why in Japanese, 'Ts" sometimes become "D's", "H" can become a "b", etc., but I guess saying Agetofu' would be a bit awkward.
In my never ending challenge to find something to do with the loads of leftovers son & wife create, figured I'd try my hand at using some tofu that's been in the fridge longer than you want to know and made the agedofu. Using that tofu なまwould have definitely been 殺人行為. :-)
I think it came out alright. And just as I had set the stuff out on the table, wife walks in early from work, so it was still hot for her. I wanted to serve it with a warm sauce, but Google yielded scant information on a sauce in which Agedofu is usually (or at least I like to have it) served in.
I also like to order Agedofu when I've gone to Japanese restaurants. I like it as a starter and for me, generally if the Agedofu is good, then I can look forward to a good meal, likewise, it is crap, the remainder of the meal has been a disappointment.
BTW, in the corner of the photo is 奈良付け 漬け (oops!). The dog as she always does, pesters me while I am cooking, and to 'shut her up' so to speak, I threw her a piece, which she ate! A dog that'll eat 奈良付け 漬け(oops, again!) , now folks, that's tres weird..
No, I did not venture out... have no interest in mall to begin with. They are soooo boring for one thing. Mcshopping for McGoods and Christmas shopping is sadly a thing we will not be doing for the second time.
The local news as you'd expect, was saturated this morning with stories, one of which, well..... There was a live broadcast for one of the bigger malls her and the camera crew did a close up, twice on 2 girls, probably high school kids, in a deep sleep, mouths wide open, on some of the seating provided for mall customers.
Now I know someone they know probably spotted them in the broadcast, and they'll probably never hear the end of it.
Is what son still calls it. He got ambitious last night and made these two, and also decided later to get an early start on Thanksgiving.
Had a taste yesterday of the 'joy' many, many people go through each year for the Thanksgiving holidays. For some the travel and congestion (by car or by plane) the carful of squirming 'Aren't we there yet?' kids makes it all worthwhile. And for others, like a Vox neighbor, and myself, going back to one's home has dynamics that make the trip/visit not the Norman Rockwell stereotyped family gathering. And my 'hood' has changed too.... noticed as I was purchasing some cider from what was an orchard- now surrounded by housing, that the employees in the back were Hispanic, and that the neighborhood gas station was now run by a Korean family. No slams, just observations. So you are torn by the societal expectations of having to go home for this holiday, but then know of the letdown that awaits if you do.
But this is moot this year anyway; my mother has been diagnosed with some blood clots in the arteries, not serious I am told, but she was admitted for testing and treatment and doesn't expect to be discharged before Thursday. So, I did my 親孝thing and travelled up to Baltimore, where I grew up, for a visit. Surprised to see how bloated she is. Due I am told to the steroids and other stuff she takes, including stuff to counteract the effects of other stuff she takes. I hope I will never be that pill-dependent when I arrive at that age. By contrast, the mother of a friend, who is only five or so years younger than my mother, seems far less tied to medication; at least I've never heard of such.
But she was in good spirits and appreciated the visit and the flowers I brought along. The trip to Baltimore took twice as long as it should have and going back, I saw I-95 north and the Balto.-Wash Parkway north bound, both parking lots between the two cites and probably beyond. Likewise the outer loop of the Capital Beltway. And today, whew! Brought back memories of how unfun it usually is to drive in Japan
But if nothing else for son, I too will be in the mess today getting provisioned. One trick is to find a turkey small enough for the three of us to eat with little waste. I saw yesterday in the store, turkeys so large I suspect they need to be roasted in a kiln instead of an oven.
Keep the TV in the morning, out of habit I guess, while son readies himself for school and caught a blurb about a woman somewhere in this country, who has a Facebook account, but is unhappy that she cannot track who has viewed her.
???!!! was my reaction. Facebook being what it is, you sign on knowing that what you put out on your own account is pretty open, that's why I post on my account accordingly- and unlike a personal blog, Facebook, to me at least doesn't seem geared to pouring one's heart out. Second, I beleieve personal account settings can be tweaked so that only those who are 'freinds' can view anything you post on one's account, so what the hell is this person's problem then?
I know the professional networking site I am on does allow a user to see who has viewed their own on-line information, but I think that is more for following up on what one might spot as an opportunity rather than snooping
Early Saturday morning, about 3 or 4 fire trucks & an ambulance were nearby, don't know what for, but I'll hear about it later, I'm sure
Saw from the upstairs window that a hose from one truck was laid out and after looking for a bit out that window to see what the fuss was all about, wife announced; もう、ホースをたたんでいるんだ。
たたんでいる？Seemed an odd choice of a verb since I at least associate that verb with folding up and putting away, futons, or clothing, towels, and would think that 巻く as in roll up, or しまう, as in put away might be a better descriptor in this case. Perhaps it's the way fire hoses are stored in the fire trucks, both here and in Japan that gives rise to たたむ to use here rather than まく。
Whatever, I'm not going to argue with her about what words to use and not use in her native language.
Have a neighbor 'round the corner with a nice(r) house, much bigger lot, 2 large yellow labs, whose barking resonates far and wide, and a number of large trees.
Guess yesterday was leaf raking /bagging day for them; here we are supposed to bag leaves in plastic bags (so what about the hundreds of thousands of bags that need to decompose??) and set them out on the curb for collection.
Well after they were finished, and I am sure after the sun had set, someone -not me!, rearranged the trash bags across the street and you can see in the less than perfect pix son took that for some reason, Vox will let me upload, but not post in the body of this entry (this has happened before too!).
Son was beside himself with the humor of it all. Me, perhaps being older can appreciate the humor, but told son this prank could also lead to an accident -like someone not noticing it until the last minute, applying the brakes hard, and losing control of the car. And I'll bet he'd be less than amused were it our home.
Son's part of this exercise was up on the screen when I came down this morning. It's intentional as he wants me to proof it. I am at a loss to explain why, but son has never learned to write. Not writing with style and flourish, but just write period. He's literally a living in the flesh poster child for 'Why Johnny can't write in college'. Not to say I'm a John Dunne, I've noticed slips of mine in this blog from time to time.
But that is not the point, in reading (and proofing) it, I saw there were things he & I both agree on (that he's a people person and no one stays a stranger for long with him) and at least one eye-opener
for me; that he credits lacrosse with allowing him to overcome his social awkwardness and become a more friendly and outward going person.
Whaddya know, I've actually did one thing right.
I am supposed to provide son's guidance counselor with information to the questions shown below so she can form a snapshot of him to provide as a recommendation for the schools son will apply to. Have the feeling of doing someone else's work, but at the same time, she looks after many, many other students.
The more we get into the college admissions process, the more gaming I sense and can't believe colleges, those that require letters of recommendation that is, aren't aware of this, which makes the whole exercise seem pointless.
Have made good headway into this 'homework' and hope to finish up today. The questions posed to me (and parents of other seniors) are:
1. In what areas in the past 2 years, has your student grown intellectually, emotionally & socially? How have those changes defined his character?
2. What do you consider to be his/her most outstanding traits? Please feel free to use anecdotal examples.
3. List 3 adjectives that describe your student and tell why they do?
4. If you were to write your own child's college recommendation, what would you say in the first paragraph that would prompt the reader to continue reading? WRITE THAT PARAGRAPH.
