Bringing the Drama

so here i am crafting a post to closeout the year with pictures from highlighted days when my sister calls me and says she found me some Kanye glasses. this is the same sister who on the ride to go see FF5 a couple of weeks ago told me she thinks Kanye is a genius. GENIUS! i told her then that if i could find glasses like this that i would get them. i also want a pair of Elton John glasses, but those are very hard to find. the closest i got was a pair i saw in the Newcastle, UK airport, but we were rushing to catch a plane and i didn’t think to buy them. anyway, so my sister comes by the house this afternoon to drop off the glasses. they are fabulous, and i’m surprised you can actually see pretty well out of them. i played Lego Star Wars with them on, and was able to free R2D2 and C-3PO from their hooded goblin bondage.

so here’s the picture. i am off to a NYE party where there will be fireworks and at least one potato gun. goodbye 2008!

Tuesday is my dad’s birthday, so tonight we took him out to dinner. on the way home my parents and i (my sister did not want to go drink coffee and eat beignets) stopped at a Fresh Market. i had never been, but i wanted to go look around. i figured they might have some beers i haven’t seen yet. the produce was nice, but now that i think about it very dimly lit. possibly to accentuate the colors? i did pick up a couple of apples that are as big as a softball. walking through the bakery section i spotted something i have been indirectly on the hunt for since April. uncut bread loaves! i know, i probably should not be as amazed as i am but tonight was the first time i’ve actually seen them in a store. ever since i saw that episode of Good Eats where my friend Alton talks about how much better this kind of bread is for sandwiches (short of making your own), i have been unable to find it. also spotted in this new grocery were banana chips and make your own six pack beer. the beer selection was not nearly as extensive or unique as i thought it would be. i did pick up a few that i have not tried (Stella, Lowenbrau) as well as some old favorites (Dixie, Guinness), but i was a little disappointed with my choices.

earlier today as i was pulling into my driveway, i could see the old lady and her dog out near my backyard. i slowed down and stared at her, and i know she saw me. there was definite eye contact. when i got inside to go throw open the blinds she had already gone inside with her dog. i know she knows i know, and i’m going to keep flinging the poo back in her yard until she keeps her dog in her yard all the time!

i was coming home from the gym, where i had my first encounter with CGG in probably a month or two. he scanned my keychain, but didn’t call me by name. he did say “letting your hair grow out a little bit?” to which i said “it’s been busy lately, i haven’t gotten it cut”, and he finished with “it’s kind of cool.” i’ll take that awkward conversation that only lasts 30 seconds over any of the previous ones.

so on Christmas Eve, i set about to make the big fancy cake. i had gotten home from the Lakers game and made the white chocolate the night before because it was supposed to cool for 4 hours. no way that was going to work the day of, so i made it early. i started on the cake about 10 am.

i didn’t realize until i added it to the bowl that the butter had to be room temperature. i googled on how to go from refrigerated butter to RT quickly, and that worked. once i started mixing the butter and sugar with the eggs, the consistency was cake batter-ish, which was good.

i added the cocoa as instructed and then it started to look like fudge.

i did the whole flour/ice water alternating thing, and i quickly learned to mix the water in with a spoon before taking the mixer to it. otherwise it would splatter. by the end the batter was totally cake batter. i was impressed. it even tasted good, so i knew at least the cake part would come out okay.

i buttered and floured the cake pans, poured the batter between them, and slid them in the oven. once that part was over i went to the ganache. that was probably the easiest stuff to make out of the four parts. i used my blender to chop up the chocolate, and after learning to only chop small amounts at a time, it worked very well. i had done the same for the white chocolate the night before. with the ganache done i was rolling.

the cake was easy, the ganache was easy, the white chocolate had been easy. little did i know how ridiculous the frosting would be.the recipe called for mixing the frosting then immediately applying it to the cake. so i had to wait until the cakes were cooled and cut, then apply the ganache and the white chocolate. when the cakes came out of the oven they looked fabulous. once the cakes were out, i was able to flip them onto the cooling racks by placing the cooling racks over the pans, then flipping the whole thing. it totally worked.

i got out my big serrated knife and cut the first cake. it worked very well, and i placed the first layer on the tray. i applied the ganache. the white chocolate though did end up runny, just like Melanie said it would. i couldn’t find the high quality stuff though, so it was the best i could do. the white chocolate chips just didn’t have the consistency they probably should have for this recipe. i ended up with a lot left over, but i think some of that was factored in also by me maybe not putting enough on. possibly there was too much cream added? i don’t know, but that was one of the things i would change if i made this again.

i had the cakes cut, the ganache and white chocolate added. i even cut around the cake to smooth out the edges, which sort of worked.

now it was time to make the frosting. i whisked together the frosting ingredients, and then set up the bowl over the big pot to heat it up slowly. i learned to also do this for chocolate, which i wish i would have realized when i tried to make Brandi’s chocolate brittle. talk about COMPLETE kitchen failure! ANYWAY, so i’m heating up the frosting and it’s turning white like it should, and i noticed the recipe called for using a stand mixer for the final mixing. i don’t have a stand mixer. it said use the whisk attachment, but i don’t have a whisk attachment for my hand mixer. well, i figured i could still do this, and just mix at a high speed, which is what the recipe said. i start with the mixer and the frosting is just not coming together. it’s too thin. it cools off but it’s still too thin. it looks like it should, just doesn’t have the thickness.

the recipe said to spread it as soon as it cooled, so i did that. the problem with spreading frosting that’s too thin is that it runs off the cake and pools at the bottom. not good. i applied the frosting and had a lot left over. the amount of frosting that ran off the cake though was almost overwhelming. i spent way more time than i should have cleaning the mess up. it was all over the tray, all over the counter, everywhere. i think the frosting was what the lady was talking about when she said making this cake was kind of like a war.

i put the cake in the refrigerator and hoped that would help solidify the frosting. it did, totally. after being in the fridge, the frosting had the thickness it should have. the whole applying the frosting right after it’s cooled is what i would change also. i would have put the frosting in the fridge and let it thicken before putting it on the cake. at least until i get a stand mixer with a whisk attachment.

with the cake tray cleaned up, i brought it to my family’s Christmas Eve party. everyone was asking “you made that” and i said “all of it”. they were in awe. my aunt’s (i have three of them) boyfriend’s grandson (i know, it’s weird), who is in 7th grade, started saying “push him over” until i said “if you do that i will punch you in the face, i’m not even kidding”. that shut him up and everyone laughed, but i think at that point i wasn’t totally joking. since the fridge was full, the cake was going to have to tough it out sitting on the table.

after dinner and presents, it was time for the desserts. i opened the cake container and looked at the cake with the sad frosting. oh well, surely it would taste good.

a couple of my uncles volunteered to get the first pieces. they both liked it. “it’s like a york peppermint patty.” that was kind of the signal for other people to get some. it was a tall cake, which made it pretty fancy. i tasted it and it was really good. the frosting melting off wasn’t as bad, because you could still taste the peppermint enough, and it wasn’t overpowering. the cake was fantastic as was the ganache. the cake was probably drier than a box cake, but that made it seem more gourmet, does that make sense? maybe next time i could make the cakes with the ganache and do something else for frosting. either way, the cake was a moderate success, only because of the frosting crisis.

if not for the frosting, the total time to do the cake might have been 4 hours. it really wasn’t that hard to do. it was fun to make, i just wish the frosting would have worked better. here’s my magazine shot:

after the desserts, my cousin gave my uncle a leg lamp, so it was a pretty good night for him. she couldn’t get the whole ‘fragile’ thing down, which i guess isn’t a big deal, because she doesn’t speak Italian.

last night was the big Hornets/Lakers game, and i was hoping it would go better than the game last month. unfortunately it did not, and the Hornets looked like they badly missed Peja. the thing that bugged me were the amount of Laker fans. a couple of them in my section or nearby just seemed to want to make people mad. i didn’t really care, because the Hornets’ play brought on the score, and the Laker fans’ joy. one guy a few rows in front of me was trying to argue with the Laker fan in front of me, but i knew it wouldn’t work. you can’t argue the game when your team looks like crap. he should have made fun of the guy for wearing an old (#8) Kobe fashion jersey. what guy buys a fashion jersey? it was pathetic. then the guy in the next section over who was humping the railing during the dance contest had a personalized #95 jersey. who wears a personalized Laker jersey? and #95? lame. the Lakers seem to be the only team that brings annoying fans.

the cool part was seeing Kobe’s new low top shoes. i read about them and how he got them developed by request, after thinking since soccer players wear low top shoes, why wouldn’t a basketball player? maybe he’ll start a trend, because they looked sweet. AND the play he made where he had a spin move then came up and under for a dunk was the #1 play last night on Sportscenter. it was just as awesome in person. i used to really not like him, but after the All Star game last year, and the Olympics, i can appreciate his talent, even if i don’t like his team or fans very much.

so a couple of weeks ago, i went to the Honda dealership to get my oil changed. i wait them out until they send me a coupon, and this time it was a $14.95 coupon. anyway, i’m sitting in the waiting area and they had a copy of Bon Appetit magazine. now that i’m totally into this cooking thing, i started reading it. they had some cool stuff in there, and on the cover was this awesome looking cake. i found the page where the recipe was listed and thought i might be able to pull it off. i asked my ’service advisor’ on my way out if i could get a copy of the page, but she just told me to take it. i showed her how on the front it said in blue sharpie “DO NOT REMOVE”, but she said to ignore that. she was endorsing theft! apparently the magazine belonged to the lady acting as the cashier, and she said i could have it, and they both laughed at me making a cake, and told me to bring a piece by when i made it. whatever. so i went home with a free copy of the magazine, with color pictures of the cake.

since the big Hornets/Lakers game is tomorrow, i stopped off at the store on my way home tonight for the ingredients i did not already have. this cake is going to be expensive to make! i couldn’t find a big jug of heavy cream or anything, i had to buy it by the pint. the unsweetened cocoa, there’s more than just 8 oz of the standard container, so i had to buy 3. the peppermint extract, i had to buy organic because they did not have it near all the other extracts. who buys root beer extract? even though the recipe calls for ‘high quality’ white chocolate, i got some Nestle. it’s the exact amount, unlike the bittersweet chips that come in “just not enough for this recipe” size. i was able to find everything and didn’t have to go to another store like in the cheesecake episode. i plan on waking up early Wednesday to make it and have it ready to go for my family’s Christmas Eve gathering. i am hoping it comes out. i have moved up from mixing cake batter with a fork since i actually bought a mixer, but it’s the whole making frosting AND cake from scratch that bothers me.

one of the comments from the recipe page is a little disconcerting:

Although the picture of this cake is beautiful, the preparation for this cake is what I would compare to a war

THEN A WAR IT SHALL BE! i have conquered many things, but layer cake is not one of them. i will make this though, and it will be awesome. there is no turning back. no surrender.

last week at work in addition to the Christmas party at lunch it was also a retirement party for one of the guys in my old department. this guy has been there for YEARS, way longer than i’ve been alive YEARS. i never really worked with him or anything, and i haven’t worked in that department for 3 years, but i knew him and he knew me. i noticed that he also had his wife and daughter there. i thought it was kind of weird, because the daughter looked about my age, and i know i probably would not have wanted to go to my mom’s work retirement party. i couldn’t stay the whole time at the retirement party, so on my way out i wished the guy who retired (GWR) congratulations and went back to my desk. later in the afternoon, i was talking to my friend, Laurin, about how weird that must have been for her. i asked “what’s her story” more because i was wondering why she would be there, nothing more than that. Laurin said the party was a big deal for GWR, so he wanted his family there, which i thought was cool.

the next morning i get to work, and i’m tired from the Hornets/Spurs game the night before, my voice is still pretty shot. i’m walking up to the gate and i see the GWR coming up the sidewalk towards me. as he got closer i asked him “is this the final exit?” he laughed and said no, he has a couple of more days. then he asks me “hey, did i introduce you to my daughter yesterday?” i told him he hadn’t, and he kind of sighed in a regretful “i wish i would have” way. then he says “well, i’ll have to send you her number.” i said “okay” thinking “oh man, really?”

i got to my desk and called Laurin and asked if she had talked to GWR about our conversation. she just laughs and says “well, i may have said something about you asking about her”. [sighs and shakes head] so that afternoon sure enough, i get an email with the daughter’s phone number. i’ve decided i’m probably going to call it, because i figure if i don’t call it, GWR will be disappointed because he knows i have the number. it may end up being the most awkward phone call in the history of the world.

i live out near the walmart, target, and crappy mall. around the holidays, traffic gets INSANE! i’m talking backing up onto the interstate, turn a 2 minute trip to the interstate from my house into 45, people everywhere INSANE. the main problem i’ve seen this year is people not using all the lanes of traffic. there are two lanes to turn into Target, but everyone backs up into the first one. there are two lanes to get off the interstate, but people mainly line up in the first one. you can imagine my hesitation to go out shopping this morning.

i had to get birthday presents for three friends to bring to a party tonight. plus i was also going to Christmas shop for my sister, then stop off at the grocery to get some needed supplies. i’m going to be making the Bobby Flay biscuits again. i’ve been wanting to make them because it’s been a while, and i wanted to alter the recipe and use wheat flour. i also needed to be online to get Ryan Adams tickets at 10 am. the RA Road Trip 2009 is coming together (3 shows right now), but the tour schedule is going to prevent it from being one big road trip. more on that later though.

i left my house about 8:40 and was able to get home about 11:15. i got EVERYTHING done, and it was awesome. Lowe’s had what i needed, then i stopped by my parents’ house and got the tickets (5th row center!), then went to the grocery. the traffic didn’t catch me that bad. i was ‘that guy’ and drove up the emergency lane at my exit because of the people all lining up in one lane to go left, and i have to go right. other people were doing it first! it was peer pressure!

btw, i think one of the funniest things is what the local DOT (i guess) put out for all the holiday traffic. on the overpass going towards the mall are signs that say “Use 2nd Mall Entrance”. the traffic backs up really bad because everyone tries to turn at the first mall entrance, which backs up traffic onto the overpass and inevitably the interstate. i thought it was funny because i’m always in my car yelling at the people to just use the next entrance because there are too many cars at the first one. you’d think people could figure that out on their own. now if they could make a sign like “Use 2nd lane of exit” we’d really have something.

so last night was the big Hornets/Spurs game, and so much would be defined by the end of the night i was not sure i understood the game of basketball anymore. first off, my friend Brandon and i went to the autograph session with the mystery player. we got there at the set time of 6:20, but the mystery player didn’t show till 6:45. so much for a tight pregame schedule like we were told. the mystery player ended up being Sean Marks. i didn’t mind him being the guy. he has kind of a weird shot, but he’s big, and he hustles sometimes and doesn’t play afraid. at least that’s from my observations. i got a picture with him in spite of the “pictures are discouraged” thing.

he kind of looks a little like a New Zealand Dirk, right? i guess it was okay that he didn’t stand up because he’s 13 inches taller than me. a picture is more important to me than an autograph, which he also provided us on these Hornets cards. i can’t read his signature though.

after that we went to the season ticket holder free beer area. it is awesome. i enjoy the ability to think of myself as better than the commoners who are not inside the barricaded area. a couple of guys saw our autograph cards, and asked who the mystery player was. we talked with them a bit, and apparently they’ve gone a couple of times and gotten the same backup C who i’m not a fan of, yuck. hopefully next time there will be a different player, but not the backup C.

we walked inside and grabbed dinner, then went up to our seats. the game was fantastic, probably the best one i’ve been to yet. Chris Paul got the steal record, and when he got his first steal, they didn’t stop the game, but everyone knew what had happened and started cheering. that was cool. the Spurs kept up their stupid “no name guy makes a 3″ crap that they had last year, but then in the 4th quarter the shots stopped falling. David West made 2 3’s (he’s a PF, doesn’t shoot many 3’s), Tyson Chandler hit two FTs (shooting 56% this year), Chris Paul won a jump ball (he’s 6 feet tall), i didn’t know what to think anymore. James Posey’s 3 just brought the house down. last year that stuff didn’t happen, at least in the playoffs in a tight game. the shots wouldn’t fall, stuff would happen, but last night everything fell into place. it was awesome, and the Spurs went home losers. however, it’s only regular season, so i hope they can bring back the magic if and when we meet them in the playoffs again.

last week i got an email from the Hornets that the first 100 people to respond to it got invited to a special pregame autograph session before the game tomorrow night. i responded and was confirmed today. they have not said who the mystery player is going to be, only that pictures were discouraged because of their very busy pregame schedules. the game tomorrow tips off at 8:30, and the autograph session thing is 6:20. only 100 people (maybe 200 since it said ‘and guest’) will be there. if they are being such sticklers about the pregame schedules, it better be someone who plays a lot and not some guy who’s been inactive since the beginning of the season. we shall see. (i hope it’s Peja!) incidentally, the game is against the Spurs, and the memories of game 7 from last year are still fresh in my mind.

i made a chocolate pie to bring to work tomorrow for a Christmas party in my home department (i haven’t worked there in 3 years). i’ve become more involved the past couple of months with them, and wish the lady who i’m technically still management chained to was my boss when i worked there. maybe i would not have become so bitter towards work, and maybe i would have enjoyed my time in that department better.

speaking of work, i got an email about finishing a job application related to one of the jobs i applied to in Birmingham. i figure that’s encouraging, right? i mean, i got a guy’s phone number in the email so i could call him to tell him i was done.

oh, and to bring closure to a post i made a few months ago…..i quit the carpool. too much drama was associated with the current version, so i bowed out last week. it was kind of sad, but the past week of driving myself to work has been awesome. no rushing around in the morning freaking out about being late, being able to listen to what i want in the car, being able to be alone with my thoughts in the mornings. it may not be helping save the planet, but it has been saving my sanity.

lately i’ve noticed something that’s been bothering me. some people do not seem able to go without having a cell phone on them at all times. at the gym, people are sitting on a machine and texting. TEXTING! they aren’t working out, they’re just sitting there wasting everyone’s time so they can send a text. sometimes when i go running in the neighborhood, people are walking AND TEXTING! wouldn’t sometimes going for a walk or a run without a phone be more fun?

my frustration with people on cell phones has been documented from that time the lady with the Bible verse front license plate almost hit me because she was on a phone. if you can’t talk on the phone and also pay attention to the road, then do not use a phone when driving. stop hogging up the left lane on the interstate because you’re lost in conversation!

i hate hate HATE people who let their phones go off in a movie or a concert. you’ll be sitting there during a very dramatic moment in a movie and hear a cell phone ring. seriously, why is someone so careless (or inconsiderate) that they can’t either turn the phone off or at least to vibrate? it honestly took a couple of months for me to not think of my friend Chet in a bad light after the cell phone incident at Nickel Creek.

are the calls that important? can you not take an hour of your life back from technology? are people so addicted that they can’t unplug?

today i saw an article at lunch today that gave numbers on what percentages of people would rather be online than have sex. i don’t know how many of those people are married, but i know people who are married where one person spends an inordinate amount of time on the computer or playing video games. WHY DO THAT? there is a real person in your house who wants to interact with you!

i don’t say any of this to sound better than anyone else. i probably spend more time online than most people when i’m at home. i have no one else to talk to though when i’m home alone. i spend time on facebook or msg boards, but when i have the opportunity to spend time with real people, i do that. when i went to Europe, i went without internet and a cell phone for a week and a half. it made me feel so free! why don’t more people want that feeling, if only for an hour or two? it makes me sad so many people are chained to the matrix. don’t let the machines win!