I finally finished The Fifth Head of Cerberus. I must say, I was surprised by the ending. I didn't see it coming until maybe the last 10 pages. Gene Wolf effectively kept me guessing. The best description for the book would be "anthropological science fiction." It's definitely a book about colonization but not in the usual way--hopefully knowing that won't give it away. I don't think it will.
While it's hard to adjust to the shifts, the form was brilliant. Wolf writes three different tales with three different narrative strategies to create one cohesive book. At first the elements seem disjointed and only loosely connected, but everything came together in the end so perfectly. It was genius, and the synthesis of such variance into a whole couldn't be more appropriate of an "anthropological science fiction."
I give it three out of four stars.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Fancy Weekend
So I went to visit Chris this weekend and had a grand time for the following reasons...
Firstly, Friday for dinner we had fish and chips from a bag. Complemented by beer. I love fish and chips.
Saturday morning Chris made me scrambled eggs and toast and then we bundled up and went outside to build a snowman. :) That's my kind of whimsy. By the end of the weekend, no one had knocked down our snow friend or given him inappropriate body parts, so that was a win as well.
Saturday during the day we were just bums and watched cooking shows on TV, and Chris read smart articles, and we talked a lot about food. I got some time in to read more of The Fifth Head of Cerberus too.
Saturday night we went out for uber fancy dinner at The Grey Plume. It's actually a pretty comfortable environment for a restaurant with such high end food, but I wear jeans every day and wanted to wear the awesome yellow heels I just got, so we classed it up. Most importantly, I got to check off one of my life food goals--I ate rabbit.
To make sense of our meal, the Grey Plume does two smaller portioned plates for the meals, so rabbit was my first plate. They prepared it three different ways. The leg was my favorite. It had a hint of lemon zest and they do pureed things with it so you can dip your main item in different purees to get a variety of flavors out of one dish. They served the rabbit with black walnut, strawberry preserves, and parsnip. Oh, and part of the dish was the kidneys. I am proud for having eaten the obvious little rabbit kidneys, which actually tasted good, but which were disconcerting to eat anyway.
Chris's first plate was a butternut squash soup. The Grey Plume puts purees and other food objects in a bowl and then they pour the soup over it so that you again get a sort of food diversity from one bowl of soup. It's kind of like a treasure hunt. The things in his soup included a rubarb puree (which was my favorite complementary flavor), blood oranges, a truffle marshmallow, and a spinach puree.
My second dish was brilliant for the first couple bites, but the flavor was so rich, I felt slightly tortured by the end. It was a chicken roulade with beet puree (the beet puree being the amazing yet overwhelming part). It also had gnocchi, pearl onions, and black radish.
Chris's second plate was sturgeon, which I don't really remember because I only had one bite, and I think the beet just blocked out my sense of taste. The sturgeon was served with black trumpet mushrooms, spaghetti squash, and spaztle.
Then we both splurged on dessert. We talked about sharing dessert because we were both stuffed by this point, but when the waitress described the desserts I was suddenly sold on a dessert we hadn't planned to try, so I surprised Chris by ordering my own. It was a good thing too because he didn't really like my dessert, and I didn't really like his. He had a rum cake with lime sorbet, cola gelatins, and a vanilla tobacco mousse. I had a caramel genoise (spongecake) with parsnip ice cream, pecans, graham cracker crumbs, and a caramel vanilla mouse. Mine was a salty, creamy sweet flavor which completely appealed to my dessert flavor preferences. It was the most amazing dessert.
After dinner we went and saw The Artist. If you know me, you know I like actiony science fiction and fantasy movies. I read for mental stimulation, so I want mindless entertainment from movies, but Chris thought I might like it anyway. I was suspicious I would be bored. Surprisingly, I did like it...a lot. In fact, Chris and I stayed up really ridiculously late speculating on the significance of the film--how it deviated from mainstream film, how it captured old silent film, what it did that was new. It was a brilliant film, and as Chris put it, it gave you time to think, which might be why I liked it more than other deep films. There was plenty of room for me to think, so I didn't have to feel overwhelmed trying to catch everything and process at the same time. The time to think wasn't boring time either, the pace was still quick. I might need to see it again because I have questions and ideas I need to test in rewatching. I loved it.
This morning I was trying to read while Chris was getting his news, but I don't do well with auditory distraction, so I kept watching his news instead of reading. Then I was interrupting his news by commenting and asking questions, but he's pretty tolerant, so he put up with me. For example, I always wonder about the "jobs crisis" because I know it's not really possible to be at 0% unemployment, and I wonder how we compare to other developed countries in unemployment. (Don't get me wrong, it's a concern to me, but I think "crisis" might be a bit overdramatic.) He explained that we're still probably better off than most of Europe (not surprised) and that 5% unemployment would be a healthy rate. It's sort of the natural rate the occurs with recent graduates, people deliberately choosing to change jobs, etc. If we dip below 5% that could actually be problematic--think Japan and how young people are moving away so they have a hard time drawing people into the workforce as others retire.
So that was my weekend. It was full but had a nice amount of down time, and I got a lot of brain time in, which I miss since grad school is over and the circle of deep thinkers has been dispersed across the country.
Firstly, Friday for dinner we had fish and chips from a bag. Complemented by beer. I love fish and chips.
Saturday morning Chris made me scrambled eggs and toast and then we bundled up and went outside to build a snowman. :) That's my kind of whimsy. By the end of the weekend, no one had knocked down our snow friend or given him inappropriate body parts, so that was a win as well.
Saturday during the day we were just bums and watched cooking shows on TV, and Chris read smart articles, and we talked a lot about food. I got some time in to read more of The Fifth Head of Cerberus too.
Saturday night we went out for uber fancy dinner at The Grey Plume. It's actually a pretty comfortable environment for a restaurant with such high end food, but I wear jeans every day and wanted to wear the awesome yellow heels I just got, so we classed it up. Most importantly, I got to check off one of my life food goals--I ate rabbit.
To make sense of our meal, the Grey Plume does two smaller portioned plates for the meals, so rabbit was my first plate. They prepared it three different ways. The leg was my favorite. It had a hint of lemon zest and they do pureed things with it so you can dip your main item in different purees to get a variety of flavors out of one dish. They served the rabbit with black walnut, strawberry preserves, and parsnip. Oh, and part of the dish was the kidneys. I am proud for having eaten the obvious little rabbit kidneys, which actually tasted good, but which were disconcerting to eat anyway.
Chris's first plate was a butternut squash soup. The Grey Plume puts purees and other food objects in a bowl and then they pour the soup over it so that you again get a sort of food diversity from one bowl of soup. It's kind of like a treasure hunt. The things in his soup included a rubarb puree (which was my favorite complementary flavor), blood oranges, a truffle marshmallow, and a spinach puree.
My second dish was brilliant for the first couple bites, but the flavor was so rich, I felt slightly tortured by the end. It was a chicken roulade with beet puree (the beet puree being the amazing yet overwhelming part). It also had gnocchi, pearl onions, and black radish.
Chris's second plate was sturgeon, which I don't really remember because I only had one bite, and I think the beet just blocked out my sense of taste. The sturgeon was served with black trumpet mushrooms, spaghetti squash, and spaztle.
Then we both splurged on dessert. We talked about sharing dessert because we were both stuffed by this point, but when the waitress described the desserts I was suddenly sold on a dessert we hadn't planned to try, so I surprised Chris by ordering my own. It was a good thing too because he didn't really like my dessert, and I didn't really like his. He had a rum cake with lime sorbet, cola gelatins, and a vanilla tobacco mousse. I had a caramel genoise (spongecake) with parsnip ice cream, pecans, graham cracker crumbs, and a caramel vanilla mouse. Mine was a salty, creamy sweet flavor which completely appealed to my dessert flavor preferences. It was the most amazing dessert.
After dinner we went and saw The Artist. If you know me, you know I like actiony science fiction and fantasy movies. I read for mental stimulation, so I want mindless entertainment from movies, but Chris thought I might like it anyway. I was suspicious I would be bored. Surprisingly, I did like it...a lot. In fact, Chris and I stayed up really ridiculously late speculating on the significance of the film--how it deviated from mainstream film, how it captured old silent film, what it did that was new. It was a brilliant film, and as Chris put it, it gave you time to think, which might be why I liked it more than other deep films. There was plenty of room for me to think, so I didn't have to feel overwhelmed trying to catch everything and process at the same time. The time to think wasn't boring time either, the pace was still quick. I might need to see it again because I have questions and ideas I need to test in rewatching. I loved it.
This morning I was trying to read while Chris was getting his news, but I don't do well with auditory distraction, so I kept watching his news instead of reading. Then I was interrupting his news by commenting and asking questions, but he's pretty tolerant, so he put up with me. For example, I always wonder about the "jobs crisis" because I know it's not really possible to be at 0% unemployment, and I wonder how we compare to other developed countries in unemployment. (Don't get me wrong, it's a concern to me, but I think "crisis" might be a bit overdramatic.) He explained that we're still probably better off than most of Europe (not surprised) and that 5% unemployment would be a healthy rate. It's sort of the natural rate the occurs with recent graduates, people deliberately choosing to change jobs, etc. If we dip below 5% that could actually be problematic--think Japan and how young people are moving away so they have a hard time drawing people into the workforce as others retire.
So that was my weekend. It was full but had a nice amount of down time, and I got a lot of brain time in, which I miss since grad school is over and the circle of deep thinkers has been dispersed across the country.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Grownup Financial Organization
So, I figure a good time to assess progress on New Year's resolutions is near the end of the month of January. My major goal for the year is to simplify my life and get rid of some materials things I have stored in the nooks and crannies of my apartment.
I've had a box of stuff to donate packed almost since I moved in, but I've thrown a few more things in as the month progressed--a pair of jeans, a sweater.
Yesterday, I took a serious step towards decluttering. I decided to tackle the chaos of paper materials exploding in my desk. I have a drop desk, so I just close it up, and I can't see any of the mess. It's problematic.
While I was going through the desk, I shredded things I didn't need, made a pile of things to file, and I came across a little brochure that I would have been tempted to toss, but I glanced through it out of curiosity and decided to keep it as an aid in financial recovery post grad school.
It's called "Money Management for the Time-Pressed," and it was put together by the editors of Real Simple and Money. I think it is probably my mom's since she reads Real Simple. Too bad, Mom; this brochure is mine now. Anywho, it has tips on credit, saving for retirement, reducing your bills--lots of useful tidbits and some great tools to help you accomplish financial goals.
One of the little sections was called "Cut the Clutter"--the perfect section to help me with my New Year's resolution and insane desk. It offered advice on what documents you need to keep and how long to keep them. They point out that getting rid of extra schtuff takes a "psychic load off your shoulders." I could definitely use that. So here's what they recommend for what to keep and for how long:
For filing purposes, it might be worthwhile to know that you should also be disaster ready with documents (not just money, insurance, and fire-escape plans). They recommended scanning the following documents onto CDs and keeping one at home and one in a safety deposit box:
So there's my de-cluttering accomplishment for the weekend. I shredded a bunch of files. Maybe next month sometime I will tackle the CD making.
I've had a box of stuff to donate packed almost since I moved in, but I've thrown a few more things in as the month progressed--a pair of jeans, a sweater.
Yesterday, I took a serious step towards decluttering. I decided to tackle the chaos of paper materials exploding in my desk. I have a drop desk, so I just close it up, and I can't see any of the mess. It's problematic.
While I was going through the desk, I shredded things I didn't need, made a pile of things to file, and I came across a little brochure that I would have been tempted to toss, but I glanced through it out of curiosity and decided to keep it as an aid in financial recovery post grad school.
It's called "Money Management for the Time-Pressed," and it was put together by the editors of Real Simple and Money. I think it is probably my mom's since she reads Real Simple. Too bad, Mom; this brochure is mine now. Anywho, it has tips on credit, saving for retirement, reducing your bills--lots of useful tidbits and some great tools to help you accomplish financial goals.
One of the little sections was called "Cut the Clutter"--the perfect section to help me with my New Year's resolution and insane desk. It offered advice on what documents you need to keep and how long to keep them. They point out that getting rid of extra schtuff takes a "psychic load off your shoulders." I could definitely use that. So here's what they recommend for what to keep and for how long:
- Tax returns--forever. I have no idea where my tax returns are from high school, but would they really audit me for the pennies I made in high school?
- Tax backup documents (receipts, W-2s, statements, etc.)--6 years because that's how long the IRS has to audit your returns.
- Year-end investment statements--until 6 years after you sell (this works out okay for me since I am and poor and have no money to invest).
- Pay stubs--until you get your W-2 in January. That's good to know because I had been keeping them for 5 years.
- Receipts for home improvements--until 6 years after you sell the home, for tax purposes. I don't have a home, but I'll try to remember this.
- Receipts for big-ticket puchases--as long as you own the item, for warranty and insurance claims. Note to self for someday when I can finally aspire to getting a gas stove.
For filing purposes, it might be worthwhile to know that you should also be disaster ready with documents (not just money, insurance, and fire-escape plans). They recommended scanning the following documents onto CDs and keeping one at home and one in a safety deposit box:
- Driver's license, passport
- Social Security card
- Health insurance card
- Insurance policies
- Mortgage and other loan papers
- Property deed
- Car title and registration
- Marriage license
- Your will
- Last year's tax return
- Bank and brokerage account numbers
So there's my de-cluttering accomplishment for the weekend. I shredded a bunch of files. Maybe next month sometime I will tackle the CD making.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Body Design
So I've been a bit lame with the workouts. Not horrible, but not as intense as I had hoped for. I didn't work out Friday, Saturday, or Sunday.
Monday, I did go to yoga--I found myself not as nimble as the week before. Tuesday I only did a lame 20-minute Denise Austen video, but better than nothing. Wednesday I had to go to the grocery store, so no workout. On a positive note, I've walked to work every day except yesterday.
And then, tonight...dun, dun, dun. I drove over thinking it would be nice to join the cycling class. Last week when I was touring the facility with my trainer they had a good leisurely class going, and I thought "this is my kind of thing." Then I showed up, and the cycling class was cancelled.
I thought about running or doing the weird impactless running machine they showed me last week, but the machines are so busy and visible, and the track is a bit crowded, so I wandered into the other class that was going at the same time "Body Design."
I think the instructor Brian wanted me to fall over and die. I can't feel my legs, and my butt cheeks are on fire. No joke...we did a bijillion squats. Walking to work tomorrow should be interesting.
Brian badgered me into promising to come back, which I cannot do because I have an appointment with my personal trainer during the class. I think I will go to Brian's cycling class next week so that I can tell him that I'm not wimping out.
Must drink more water.
Monday, I did go to yoga--I found myself not as nimble as the week before. Tuesday I only did a lame 20-minute Denise Austen video, but better than nothing. Wednesday I had to go to the grocery store, so no workout. On a positive note, I've walked to work every day except yesterday.
And then, tonight...dun, dun, dun. I drove over thinking it would be nice to join the cycling class. Last week when I was touring the facility with my trainer they had a good leisurely class going, and I thought "this is my kind of thing." Then I showed up, and the cycling class was cancelled.
I thought about running or doing the weird impactless running machine they showed me last week, but the machines are so busy and visible, and the track is a bit crowded, so I wandered into the other class that was going at the same time "Body Design."
I think the instructor Brian wanted me to fall over and die. I can't feel my legs, and my butt cheeks are on fire. No joke...we did a bijillion squats. Walking to work tomorrow should be interesting.
Brian badgered me into promising to come back, which I cannot do because I have an appointment with my personal trainer during the class. I think I will go to Brian's cycling class next week so that I can tell him that I'm not wimping out.
Must drink more water.
Friday, January 20, 2012
Friday, Friday, Friday!
Oh wait. I don't know anyone in this town, and I have nothing to do. Fortunately, the book I'm reading just got interesting, so I have that. I also have the giant dish of tiramisu in my fridge. Let vegging Friday begin?
Tomorrow I plan to get up and go to the YMCA for another yoga class. Then I want to do some cleaning and laundry because I am just that cool.
On an awesome note, Mariya and Lacey will be here this weekend, and we are going to see the new underworld movie at the IMAX. That's the absolute highlight of this whole next month I think.
I also have the need to go to the library to see if they have the book Take the Cannoli by Sarah Vowell. Christy swears she stole elements of my life for the book. I am interested to see what someone else (Christy) thinks I am like as a character and to see if I see myself the same way. Should be an intriguing self study.
Tomorrow I plan to get up and go to the YMCA for another yoga class. Then I want to do some cleaning and laundry because I am just that cool.
On an awesome note, Mariya and Lacey will be here this weekend, and we are going to see the new underworld movie at the IMAX. That's the absolute highlight of this whole next month I think.
I also have the need to go to the library to see if they have the book Take the Cannoli by Sarah Vowell. Christy swears she stole elements of my life for the book. I am interested to see what someone else (Christy) thinks I am like as a character and to see if I see myself the same way. Should be an intriguing self study.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Personal Trainer
So I met with my personal trainer today (I get 3 total for free with the start of my membership).
We set some goals.
I have never been one to drink as much water as one is supposed to drink. Today we measured my body mass index (BMI), and I guess the machine measures high if you don't drink enough water. So this will be my easy way of bringing down my BMI.
The working out 3-4 times a week will be the easy goal I think. I can do that.
Increasing distance though, blergh. I have no willpower. I wimp out too easily. I want to increase my endurance though, so that is my goal. I will substitute increasing the amount of laps/time I swim for running as well. It's still endurance. I don't care if it's running or swimming.
I also learned the right way to use a rowing machine.
I will be the master of fitness...even though I'm technically taking tonight off. :)
Mmmmmm pasta.
Also, I like this personal trainer girl. She's nice, and it was nice to talk to somebody in person. I am bummed that for her it was work, and there are only three sessions (two left). I need to make some friends.
We set some goals.
- Drink more water.
- Go workout 3-4 times a week.
- Increase the distance I can run without stopping.
I have never been one to drink as much water as one is supposed to drink. Today we measured my body mass index (BMI), and I guess the machine measures high if you don't drink enough water. So this will be my easy way of bringing down my BMI.
The working out 3-4 times a week will be the easy goal I think. I can do that.
Increasing distance though, blergh. I have no willpower. I wimp out too easily. I want to increase my endurance though, so that is my goal. I will substitute increasing the amount of laps/time I swim for running as well. It's still endurance. I don't care if it's running or swimming.
I also learned the right way to use a rowing machine.
I will be the master of fitness...even though I'm technically taking tonight off. :)
Mmmmmm pasta.
Also, I like this personal trainer girl. She's nice, and it was nice to talk to somebody in person. I am bummed that for her it was work, and there are only three sessions (two left). I need to make some friends.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Competative Fitness
So I'm competing for workout time with my friend Molly and with Chris...separately. We tally Sunday evenings to see who wins. I don't think the winner wins anything except maybe superiority, but Chris and I talked about owing eachother elaborately cooked meals. :)
I got 1 hour in at an intense yoga class yesterday. I will be going back for that next Monday. Tonight I was debating between some "Body Design" class and a water fitness class called "Working Down Under." The description of the body design class mentioned weights, so I wasn't too thrilled about that, and the working down under class had no description and is for beginners (because all the evening water fitness classes are for beginners), so again, not so thrilled.
It doesn't matter though because actually getting myself over there turned into me making dinner. So instead, I'm going to go to the only class that will be available later: Zumba. I know, I know, I mock dance classes horribly. I'm sure it's a great workout, but I don't do the dancing thing. I'm tempted to stay home and do a yoga video before bed. Who am I kidding, I will be staying home and doing a yoga video and possibly a Denise Austen cheesy 90s workout video because, well, I love when she says "smile, we're burning fat." If you're laughing at me right now, Denise Austen's madness works--really, it does. I kind of swear by her, even though every video I own came from the dollar store several years back. Yes, I am aware that staying home to do workout videos is not social behavior.
Tomorrow's classes look awful, so I think I will make tomorrow a lap swimming night. Although, I'm also leaning towards a run.
Thursday, I have a personal trainer booked because it was free.
Friday, well maybe a lap swimming night, maybe a yoga video, maybe a run.
Saturday morning, I am for sure getting up to go to yoga because yoga on Monday was so awesome.
Sunday, lap swimming is a definite thing.
Notice how I have all these plans, but I'm already falling short today (Day 2). I am going to lose. :)
I got 1 hour in at an intense yoga class yesterday. I will be going back for that next Monday. Tonight I was debating between some "Body Design" class and a water fitness class called "Working Down Under." The description of the body design class mentioned weights, so I wasn't too thrilled about that, and the working down under class had no description and is for beginners (because all the evening water fitness classes are for beginners), so again, not so thrilled.
It doesn't matter though because actually getting myself over there turned into me making dinner. So instead, I'm going to go to the only class that will be available later: Zumba. I know, I know, I mock dance classes horribly. I'm sure it's a great workout, but I don't do the dancing thing. I'm tempted to stay home and do a yoga video before bed. Who am I kidding, I will be staying home and doing a yoga video and possibly a Denise Austen cheesy 90s workout video because, well, I love when she says "smile, we're burning fat." If you're laughing at me right now, Denise Austen's madness works--really, it does. I kind of swear by her, even though every video I own came from the dollar store several years back. Yes, I am aware that staying home to do workout videos is not social behavior.
Tomorrow's classes look awful, so I think I will make tomorrow a lap swimming night. Although, I'm also leaning towards a run.
Thursday, I have a personal trainer booked because it was free.
Friday, well maybe a lap swimming night, maybe a yoga video, maybe a run.
Saturday morning, I am for sure getting up to go to yoga because yoga on Monday was so awesome.
Sunday, lap swimming is a definite thing.
Notice how I have all these plans, but I'm already falling short today (Day 2). I am going to lose. :)
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