a few more years shall roll

since my brother jonand his wife emily didn’t make it up for thanksgiving, i’m going to visit them in asheville this weekend. of course, in the course of 48 hours, we are trying to fit in dinner with a group, an andrew peterson concert, an arts studio tour near Asheville, which my mom’s cousin’s husband is a part of, an auction, church, and hang out time.

should be fun, if exhausting. methinks my drive back from the airport on Sunday evening will not be so fun. that’s what i get for saving money by flying out of DC!

when i go visit my other brother in florida next month, i plan to 1. fly from philly, 2. stay longer, and 3, go fishing.

Now thank we all our God, with heart and hands and voices,
Who wondrous things has done, in Whom this world rejoices;
Who from our mothers’ arms has blessed us on our way
With countless gifts of love, and still is ours today.

O may this bounteous God through all our life be near us,
With ever joyful hearts and blessèd peace to cheer us;
And keep us in His grace, and guide us when perplexed;
And free us from all ills, in this world and the next!

All praise and thanks to God the Father now be given;
The Son and Him Who reigns with Them in highest Heaven;
The one eternal God, Whom earth and Heaven adore;
For thus it was, is now, and shall be evermore.

Here’s a link to an interview with Andrew Peterson. It’s good stuff.

it’s been a long time since i read a good biography. i ate them up when i was a kid. seriously, i read a biography of mary, queen of scots from my school library at least ten times. one of my favorites was abigail adams. the more i read about her, the more i wanted to know her.

throughout high school and college, biographies didn’t really make the reading list for classes, but as an english major, history minor, i was always interested in the lives of authors and poets as i was reading their work. hence my concentration in “american literature and society,” i suppose. since college, most biographies i’ve read have been of church fathers, reformers, preachers, missionaries (i strongly recommend the story of Ann Judson’s life My Heart in His Hands).

At the library last week, while I was picking up some videos (This is Spinal Tap (my first ever viewing!), X-men, and Clueless), I grabbed a copy of John Adams by David McCullough. I’m trying to read it slowly, usually on my bus rides to and from work. McCullough writes really well, using lots of personal correspondence between John and Abigail, which is fascinating. Their love and respect for each other is a true model. I haven’t even gotten to the Declariation of Independence yet, but I’m really enjoying this in-depth portrait of the man and his times.

shoot–i did the no caps to caps switch again, didn’t i?

i do think about bringing my lunch to work for the purpose of saving some cash over the long haul. occasionally i bring leftovers from the night before (if i’ve actually had time to cook a real meal!). but the real reason i don’t bring lunch is because of the food trucks. the campus has a huge range of food trucks serving everything from classic hoagies and cheesesteaks to vegeterian wraps to korean noodles. they are cheap and fast and fresh and give me a range of choices that i don’t always have time to cook for myself and bring to work.

some of my favorites:
the chicken gyro from the Greek Lady truck. in fact, i just had this for lunch today (which made me think of writing this entry in the first place). the chicken is freshly cooked, wrapped ina grilled pita, smothered with yummy tzasiki sauce, lettuce, red onions, tomatoes, and (suprisingly good) a few french fries.

the turkey hoagie from the Greek Lady original truck. not to be cofused with the large truck a few blocks away run by members of Olga’s family, the original GL truck is where i often stop for a morning cup of coffee (just cream, chris?) and a soft pretzel (regular mustard). Olga and her husband Chris are indeed from Greece and they make the best hoagies around. besides the regular lettuce and tomatoe, she has hot and sweet peppers, pickles, spices, olive oil and vinegar. yum.

chicken cheeseteak from Khan’s Hot Dog Cart. it’s really the only thing i ever order from these guys who are from pakistan and are so friendly. i always get a chicken, with grilled onions, salt, pepper and ketchup. they actually miss me when i don’t stop by for a while!

bacon egg and cheese on a long roll from Bui’s Lunch truck. it’s just goodness. fills me up for the whole day really.

magic meatballs with brown rice from the Magic Carpet Vegetarian truck. i discovered this truck my senior year in college. i moved back to philly three years later and the woman actually remembered me!! i don’t get to this cart often, but the vegetarian meatballs are shockingly good. i always feel healthy when i eat them, even though they probably are not healthy.

Vegetarian Platter from Rami’s Middle Eastern seriously, when i had family or friends visit me in college, we went here for lunch rather than out to eat. Rami is the nicest truck owner around campus, and his vegetarian platter is baba ghanouj, hummus, 3 falafel balls, green salad, tabouli salad, and a pita (or two if you want). his truck is a bit of a hike from my office, but i’m never disappointed. plus, last time i ordered baklava for dessert, he said “No I can’t give you something sweet. you are already too sweet.” i talked him into it anyway.

sweet potato burrito from mexicali. 3.00 goodness. mashed sweet potatoes, spicy black beans, a little cheese, and fresh homeade salsa.

chicken noodle soup from nameless truck. the $1 cure for what ails ya. lo mein noodles, fresh vegetables, a tiny bit of chicken, and hot broth.

there are more, but these are my go-to meals. all under $5. come visit!

since i received voicemails from bill clinton, hillary clinton, barbara bush, rudy guiliani, p. diddy, the sierra club, and the green party this week, i decided i should go ahead and vote. seriously, do they really think a recorded message has an impact on getting me to the polls? i guess they couldn’t do it if they didn’t have some research that showed it had an impact, but i am not a fan of telemarketer calls and getting one from a politician is double the insult.

i did walk two blocks to vote before i caught the bus this morning. i have to say, it feels really good to pushthe vote button and know that i’m a tiny part of the democratic process.