dishes gah!

when normal people cook, they think about how the food they make is going to taste etc.. when i cook, i think about the number of utensils are getting used up, cos it means having to wash dishes, many of them. in case you haven't deciphered already, i hate washing dishes. more than any other household chore, nothing invokes my ire and lassitude as much as doing the dishes does.

i always think of getting paper plates and plastic forks and spoons, but usually common sense and other people prevail.. so here i am again, looking at the kitchen sink ruefully, with it full of pots and pans, plates and plenty of cutlery. can't wait for someone to come and do the dishes for me i guess..

NB: don't suggest getting a dishwasher, the gf does not like being called that!

a meal to give thanks

celebrated Thanksgiving at a colleague's on Thursday evening.. and then decided i might as well cook the 20lb. turkey that Pepsi were so good to give to each staff member! so this was the planned menu:

it did end up taking a good 3-4 hours to cook entirely.. but when we sat down to eat we were quite ravenous, and had much to give thanks about too

the last year between Thanksgiving periods has been good, and thanks must be given to numerous sources: all the wonderful people i have met, some memorable experiences and some not so sweet memories, but learning from them nonetheless.. and then there was successfully graduating from grad school, and getting the job i am in.. moving bed and baggage out of Buffalo and starting a whole new life.. here's to a great year ahead to all, and many more things to give thanks for!

he scoooooores!!

ahh, finally something that should help the cold bleak winter pass by more easily.. i got Digital Cable with all it's 300 channels to go with the kick-ass, self-built and hopefully-working home theater you see here..

and of course, the one package i had to get was the NHL Center Ice, so that i can watch yet another league-dominating and ice-sweeping season for my beloved Buffalo Sabres..

there are still sixty-odd games left, and then the inevitable playoffs too.. there's a certain joy in laying back blazed on the comfy couch, floating in my cloud and watching the Sabres whiz up and down the ice kickin' ass.

oh yeah, this is how i chill out on weekends :-)

on the job humor

there are some things i hear at work which i just take as a matter of fact way because of the settings.. but when you take them out of context, then it's just plain hilarious and it's a real challenge to keep myself from bursting out!!

like this time i was discussing disciplinary issues with the assistant production manager about one of her staff members..
Her: "I have to push the team, even give an oral if need be, and you should do the same"
Me: (almost sniggering to self) "Yes definitely!"
of course, we were discussing an oral warning as opposed to a written one

or when you hear me in the morning saying..
Me: "End CIP, run flush and start Line 4 on half Splashes for six thousand, run color label on old Krones and fighter-pack through Kayat with registered film, 42-stack on a GMA pallet then changeover to Hicone shell on the Hartness, both on the 920"
it's nothing to be jaw-dropped about, it's just informing someone about the day's start up schedule

i like factory lingo and atmosphere, it's very relaxing to work in an atmosphere where your boss says to you "The damned Kister discharge shit the bed last night.." and you reply "That's fucked up!" and no one bats an eyelid!

November Rain

November is here, and the rain is still here.. which is good cos if it's still raining then it means it's not snowing!

still talking about November Rain.. the boys from Guns n' Roses are touring again. lemme correct that - Axl and his new boys that is.. somehow without Slash and Duff McKagan and Izzy Stradlin and Steve Adler it's not just the same GnR for me. so i don't care how well the new unit plays the old songs, this is one tour i am not gonna go for..

which is sad, cos when i was 8, the only music i knew was Michael Jackson & The Eagles, and a sprinkling of other lounge tunes.. i remember being fascinated by a band i had only heard of, called Guns n' Roses! the name absolutely got me.. and then i got my hands on a ripped cassette which opened with 'Used To Love Her' and 'You're Crazy' and i was hooked! i needed more and more rock after that, turning into the grunge and metal nut that i am now.. Gn'R was a gateway drug for me, as i can imagine they were for many many people.

back to this new avatar of Gn'R.. hey, if i wanna hear the old classics i might as well watch a cover band.. and the new songs off 'Chinese Democracy'? sheer and utter garbage.. don't even waste your money buying the stuff!

NB: did you know Slash is actually called Saul Hudson?! read his bio

Question 1

it's State Election day.. i don't really care who is standing for anything today cos they're all as bad as the next one. the thing that is interesting to me is the voting on the state laws, in particular Question 1 for Massachussets -

"Today, consumers in 34 states can buy wine at grocery stores. But in Massachusetts, a 72-year-old law prevents most grocery stores from selling wine."

a vote 'Yes' today will change that - sounds good to me! honestly, i don't get the hullabaloo though.. i get some pretty good wines, including italian and australian wines at the gas station a block away. actually, with the liquor store right across the road, i don't care much what the decision is. right now i choose my wine after i have picked up groceries to see what will go with what - if i can do that at the grocery store it saves me an extra trip.. so yeah, i'm all for it. if you're a Mass resident, vote 'Yes' on Question 1 today!

POSTSCRIPT - damned voters rejected the Question today.. gah! see details

simply effing awesome!

**EDIT - got my hands on some pics from the show.. so re-posted this blog**

i can die happy now, cos i have seen everything. no wait a minute, still haven't had a romp with naked blonde twins, so i can't die just yet. but yes, "simply effing awesome" - there is no other way of describing the concert.. after the Tool debacle a month ago i was worried about expecting too much and all that, but i should have known that my favorite band would not, could not let me down.. and they didn't either. it was a small club and we had awesome position in the crowd, dead center in the floor section, barely ten feet away from the stage

Hurt started the show off on the right foot, playing a short but tight set. this band only has one album out but shows all the promise of being around for a while.. they play awesome live, and should have a great sophomore album, both prerequisites for rock longevity

then the lights went out, and 'Whale & Wasp' was on the sound system.. four shadows shuffled on stage, and in a burst of light Alice In Chains ground out the first notes of 'Again'.. oh yeah! life-changing moment and tears in my eyes and all that! forget the couple of drinks i had downed, forget the work stress and everything else in my life.. this was just me and my favorite band. and i fell in love with grunge all over again.

they played everything, every song of theirs that i know and love. and i was truly happy. there were times i was counting in my head what songs they hadn't played yet and they would launch into them with such reckless abandon that i was all hoarse after an hour, and my neck hurt from all the headbanging the next hour!

even minus Layne (R.I.P.), the band still puts on one helluva rock show. the new vocalist Will has tried to learn from Layne, and at no time tried to usurp the memory of the legend. Sean and Mike were as good as ever.. but the real star was Jerry Cantrell. Jerry is a fuckin' God. long hair flowing and quirky smile on his lips, he dove headfirst into all the melodies and gave his voice full throttle when he sang.. no wonder the crowd broke into chants of "Jerry Jerry" ever so often!

Layne was sorely missed though, and the video tribute to him at the end of the first set was really touching. they opened the encore playing an acoustic set and with all the lighters flicked on, it was like being at the MTV Unplugged show all over again!

they never missed a beat, never played a note wrong, and seamlessly moved from acoustic to full-on electric guitars.. without which grunge is just not grunge.

later i read that a lot of people had similar experiences to mine.. which only serves to make the show more special, to go with my concert t-shirt! they ended up playing an unbelievable 2 hours and 40 minutes, who does that any more?! they also were recording the show live for use in their concert DVD.. so fully expect to see me on it.. in my black 'Dirt' tshirt, fist saying 'rock on' and roaring along with the band!!