Cheese: Manchego (Sheep's Milk) Aged 4 months
Origin: La Mancha, Spain
Price: $16.99/ lb

Adrift in the fancy cheese aisle of New Seasons, a young tattooed grocery clerk caught my eye and smiled inquisitively. He must've recognized my hapless expression because he immediately offered his services in cheese identification. Upon further inquisition, I mentioned I had started a cheese blog and was reviewing different cheeses each week. He laughed and asked if I had tried cheese from sheep's milk. He said that it was his favorite. "If you're going to start trying sheep's milk, you have to start with Manchego," he said with confidence.

Manchego is a semi firm cheese made from the milk of Manchego Sheep in the La Mancha region of central Spain (of Don Quixote fame). It's cave aged from 3 to 6 months which determines the robustness of the flavor.

As my new friend Charles was giving me a quick overview of spanish cheeses, another grocery clerk became interested in our jovial discussion. "You have to eat it with quince, it's how the Spanish do it," he interjected. Quince I learned, is a pear like fruit of Asian origin which has a figgy sweetness when made into a paste. "What do you eat Manchego with?" I coyly asked, directing attention back to Charles. "Crackers, bread...?" I trailed off. "Wheat Thins," he quietly admitted. "Wheat Thins? Really?!" I laughed. "My friends make fun of me because of my somewhat white trashy background but I like em," he explained further. "Well, that wouldn't be my first choice but I"ll try anything!" I encouraged. In the end, I purchased both the Quince paste and the Wheat Thins. This is the post modern era after all, the exquisite and the banal can make a happy couple.

Had a most interesting Christmas.

Ben called at 10:45am to tell me he had just passed out while driving and was now going to hospital and would not be able to give me a ride to catch my bus leaving at 11:30am.  Holy Shit!
On a long shot I called my friends ex-boyfriend Danny, one of the only people in Portland I know with a car and amazingly he was willing to leave his christmas breakfast, plow through the 2 feet thick snow pick me up and storm down to the train station by 11:31am.
On the way down, the bus got hung up by two nasty wrecks on I-5 and a police blockage at a convenience store in Salem.  I knew when I saw the cop pull out her shot gun out of the police vehicle, I wasn't in for an ordinary Christmas.

At Eugene, I was supposed to transfer buses but the station was closed and the bus never showed up.  I waited outside in the freezing cold for 3 hours, walking the deserted streets of Eugene, wishing that something would be open so I warm my frozen fingers and toes, feeling utterly miserable.  I was finally saved by old family friends, the Schlewitz's who live in Eugene. 

They took in a frozen wayward traveler, warmed her by the fire and fed her tacos and margaritas.  A fine christmas dinner indeed.

Found these travel tips for surviving London in an old notebook. Not sure if I ever got around to posting them...

***Take Lots of Money

Don't bother getting travelers checks they are more hassle than help.  Take a decent amount of cash to exchange but your best bet is to use your ATM card and withdraw pounds from a local bank.  You will still lose half your spending power due to the exchange rate but banks usually charge less than a private currency exchange.

***Dress Well

When in London, dress as the Londoners do.  This means ditching your jeans and fleece and putting on some dark fitted clothing.   Do not bother wearing a fanny pack or money belt, it's London not Beirut.  Carry your stuff like a respectable urbanite just be mindful of it, especially on the subway.

***Master the Metro

Memorizing the map of the Tube and where the lines go is your best bet in navigating the city properly.  Buy an Oyster Card that can be refilled weekly and have it readily available so people aren't pushing past you while you fumble through your bag.

***Create a Home Base

Find a good local cafe you can frequent and a neigborhood you feel comfortable in.  This will help you feel less alienated and more relaxed.

***Keep a Low Profile

Visit the London Eye and the National Gallery of Art but DO NOT ride a red double decker viewing bus.  Just because they are our closest allies doesn't mean they don't assume most Americans are idiots.  Don't let them make that mistake about you!

i want a hot boy to make out with.

know any?

Attempting to flow with the direction life is sending me.

Asserting my will but also accepting what is.

I was able to negotiate for a layoff at work. They made an 'exception' for me. It seems a strange thing to advocate for your own layoff but it was actually quite empowering.

I'm going to sell my old (dead) car and I'm not planning on replacing it. Driving is convenient but it's also a burden and one that separates us from each other and our environment. I always feel more alive, more engaged with life when I'm riding public transportation or walking through the city on my own.

Largely, I'm not buying material things except art supplies to create with.

I miss David immensely but his choices make my heart hurt and I recognize the need to step back for awhile so he can be clear and I can move on.

Before I leap into something new I'm taking some time to travel and reflect. Heading south to california and east to new mexico. My plans are still taking form but mostly I want to move slowly and intentionally with an open heart. I suppose I'm looking for inspiration and magic and I'm also looking for the strength of independence I once had.

I want to face loneliness and uncertainty, look it straight in the eye and smile.

I'm ready to jump this sinking ship. I'm done with social work. The funding for my position dried up, my job was on the cutting block. Seemed like it was a done deal. I'll get laid off, file for unemployment, get a check, take a road trip.
Now I'm being tethered by policy. Because of seniority bullshit, my choices are either

1. Take an even more social service intensive position I don't want and move a single mom with 3 kids out of her job

or

2. Resign and collect no unemployment

I hear my mother's voice in my head telling me to take whatever they are offering because it means a steady paycheck even though it would make me feel miserable.

I hear my own less practical voice telling me to jump into the void and come what may. Rough economic times or not.

One of my life lessons is to live with intention and passion.

How can I do this and still meet my basic needs? Thats the question isn't it.

I just applied to be a part of the Obama-Biden Administration through their Presidential Appointments Portal.

I don't anticipate hearing anything substantial but it feels good to cast my net far and wide.

Last night I had what I consider to be, the quintessential video store experience. Maybe this has happened to you before?

You wander hopelessly into the local video store on a cold lonely night, don't have anything in particular in mind, you're not even sure you know what genre of film you're looking for. You've got a slightly better idea of what you're not looking for. Choosing a movie is a matter of deduction. It's similar to choosing a restaurant for dinner. You'll say to yourself, "Well I don't want anything too heavy or anything requiring subtitles. Tonight I want mindless entertainment." So you start with the long winding wall of new releases, in the hope that something will jump out. Maybe a movie you missed on the big screen, something you've forgotten about.

Then you start categorizing the new releases to make deduction a bit easier. There are the movies that you know are pure crap like Teen Bloodshed IV or the latest comic book rip off film or anything starring either Eddie Murphy or Nicolas Cage, so you can skip right over those. Then there are the award winning intensely dramatic and gut wrenching films that you never seem to be in the right mood to rent. There are also what I call, the pass over rentals. Movies you consider renting each time you go back to the video store and then pass over them repeatedly, anything Angelina Jolie has starred in comes to mind.

Finally, you spot a seemingly interesting indie film starring maybe Mos Def or Ellen Page. Maybe you read a blurb about it in Wired the week before. The back cover has words like, 'ironic' and 'witty.' You pick it up and this automatically becomes your default movie selection. "Ok if nothing else strikes me, I'll get this one...," you mutter to yourself. You keep wandering the aisles. Maybe you gaze at the picked over employee selection wall and chide yourself for not arriving earlier when they still had Texas Chainsaw Massacre available.

At some point in your wandering, a strange doubt creeps in and you start reconsidering the ironic indie film in your hands. You've been burned by this wolf in sheep's clothing before. In frustration, you put the movie back and now you've reached a sort of quiet desperation that you may never find a suitable movie tonight. In a panic you make your way to the sci-fi/fantasy section. "Maybe I'll just rent City of Lost Children again, it's been awhile." "No, no, calm down, you'll find something new, just think!" you instruct yourself.

You're wandering has come to a halt and you are in serious thought in the middle of the store, hoping to god someone doesn't realize how long you've been standing there. Maybe you consider the directors you like, maybe you send a text msg to a friend for a recommendation. Suddenly, it comes to you in a flash. "I still haven't seen the latest Michel Gondry film, that's bound to be good." Now, you walk with a purpose and a relief washes over you. Just in time because you were starting to feel the walls closing in on you. If you've ever left a video store without choosing a new movie, you know what i'm talking about.

Satisfied with your epiphany, you hastily move to the cashier. After taking so long to decide what to rent you sure feel hurried when you get to the check out line doncha! As the skinny bearded clerk behind the counter rings you up you're in a kind of post-indecision daze. You don't even remember what day he said it was due back. "Phew, that was a close one," you reflect as you leave video in hand.

For as stressful as movie selection can be it's a wonder we all keep going back!

Last night my dreams consisted of sex and sabotage.

I uncovered a murder and then became a target myself.

I was able to distract the villains by my wit and feminine charms.

I made love to a stranger and watched as the world came crashing down.

I'm starting my own meme.

Directions:

Pick out your favorite book. Randomly open to any page and pick a paragraph from that page.

Post it.

Continue on.


"The student-mistress was much younger than Sabina, and the musical composition of her life had scarcely been outlined; she was grateful to Franz for the motifs he gave her to insert. Franz's Grand March was now her creed as well. Music was now her Dionysian intoxication. They often went dancing together. They lived in truth, and nothing they did was secret. They sought out the company of friends, colleagues, students, and strangers, and enjoyed sitting, drinking, and chatting with them. They took frequent trips to the Alps. Franz would bend over, the girl hopped on his back, and off he ran through the meadows, declaiming at the top of his voice a long German poem his mother had taught him as a child. The girl laughed with glee, admiring his legs, shoulders, and lungs as she clasped his neck."

-The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Milan Kundera

when i'm bored, i take pretty pictures. i need more models. clicky to see the rest.

Blue Room

Missed the French film festival last night and instead slept for 13 hrs. Yikes, must've been tired.

This morning, Farmers Market Happiness wherein multiple people raved about my Obama socks.

This afternoon, Portland Art Museum with infinite_wild

This evening, Video Games and New Friends

Tomorrow, Family and Sushi and Swing Dancing

Well at least there is one positive about being newly single.
I'm getting a lot more sleep.

Rufus Sewell.

I met him once at the Chateau Marmot in LA. He was an utter gentleman, charming and sincere.

I love this man!