Triumphant Return

Fret not, my 1-4 loyal blog readers, I haven't abandoned Caitlin in Carolina. I've actually been working for the last week or so, and gainful employment is not conducive to frequent blog posts apparently. Unfortunately, the job was only temporary and is just about over, save for a day or two of work in the future. Fortunately, it was the most frustratingly boring job I have ever had so I don't mind not having to do it anymore. Unfortunately, it was also the highest paying job I've ever had. See how my feelings yo-yo back and forth?

After not writing for well over a week, I find myself forgetting about things that happened that I ordinarily would have mentioned. I plan to write about things, think "Meh", and file them away under "Things to Forget." Basically, I'm bad at blogging. I also hate the word "blog" and the verb "blogging."

Aside from working on a mind numbing database, I went on a picnic with Steven a little over a week ago. I like the olden timey romanticism of picnics but I'm always slightly uneasy when actually doing it. Probably much like riding a penny farthing. You know, or not. This picnic has been in the works since September due to Groupon rescheduling issues followed by winter followed by our own scheduling issues, so it was exciting to finally be able to go.







I suppose the only other note worthy occurrence has been our acquisition of a washer and dryer. However, no one wants to really hear about that, so I leave you with these pictures of Josie wearing some magnets as a necklace.

Unpopular Opinions

Folks, today I am going to be blogging about toilet paper. Please feel free to leave at any point, because I am about to voice my controversial opinion about the over/under debate that rages on. If you had told me as a child that I would one day have a strong opinion about the orientation of a toilet paper roll, well, I'd believe you because I was kind of a dorky kid. Logic would dictate that this is an utterly inconsequential issue, but nearly everyone has an opinion. Some (i.e. me and nearly everyone else I know) verge on maniacal in ours.

I am a strong proponent of the under orientation. I know that I'm in the minority, but I don't care. I'm right, here is why:

Issue #1: Premature tearing
This is arguably the biggest reason why over makes no sense to me. Toilet paper, by nature, is incredibly flimsy. Even if you spring for a cushy brand of 2 ply, that paper needs to be ultra soft in order to flush. Whenever I have used an over oriented roll, I have taken the first sheet and pulled gently to get the 2 or 3 more squares that I require. Every single time, the first square -maybe the first 2 squares if I'm lucky- have torn off due to these flimsy sheets not being able to pull the whole roll around. Every time! This never happens when the roll is under.

Issue #1a: Ease of tearing
The under orientation allows you to quickly and easily tug the roll up and to the side, tearing the paper with the under roll providing counterbalance. Basic momentum, people.

Issue #2: Placement of the new start of the roll
When toilet paper is in the over orientation, it takes nearly half the roll before the new starting point dangles over. This is where all toiler paper diagrams (including the one above) are inaccurate and is something that is never considered when the over people are arguing their point. When the roll is new, the starting point is always at the very top of the roll, unless you make a concerted effort to turn the roll. The vast majority of people can't be bothered to turn toilet paper tearing into the 2 hand job required for letting the paper dangle. This positioning makes no sense and only serves to exacerbate the issue of premature tearing. The paper naturally wants to fall away from the roll in the under orientation. It's gravity!


Unless you are in a hotel where the first sheet folded into a triangle serves as proof that the bathroom has been cleaned, is there even a point to having the roll start in front? Unless you are making those daily triangles, it certainly doesn't look as nice. It just makes it easier for small pets to bat at and ultimately unravel the roll.

Refutations for arguments made by over people:

Statement: "If the paper is printed, it looks better when hung over the top"
Response: You are really buying printed toilet paper? Really? What print do you feel so strongly about that you want to rub it against your nether regions?

Statement: "The paper may touch the wall"
Response: Unless you leave an absurd amount hanging, no it won't. Also, this is your home we are talking about. How filthy are your walls that toilet paper brushing against them is cause for concern?

Statement: "You have to reach so much further to get the paper when it's under"
Response: Bitch are you crazy? Unless your over oriented roll is nearly gone (see above) it's a matter of reaching up or down. Try not to strain yourself.

Statement: "When the roll is under, I pull too hard and unravel a ridiculous amount of toilet paper"
Response: Try to not pull the door off its hinges on the way out, Flex.

I think that is probably enough hot debating for now. Especially when I'm writing this post alone and only working myself into a lather (though I know when Taylor reads this, she will be furious). I am fortunate that Steven truly doesn't care either way, and we don't have a contentious domestic partnership where each one constantly tries to undermine the other by switching the roll. What I'm basically getting at is this: don't come to my house and try to re-orient my roll. And don't expect me to not judge you if you are an over person. The end.

Film Festival - Days 1 & 2

So, as the title of this post suggests, Steven and I wound up attending the River Run Film Festival as we planned. Not only did we go to the two films that we had pre-ordered tickets for, we also saw two additional films on Sunday. And we're seeing one tonight! And on Saturday! Can you tell that I've enjoyed having the film festival in town?

Saturday began in a nearly disastrous fashion. We had planned to see the Animated Shorts in the morning and Meek's Cutoff at night. I stuck the tickets on the refrigerator so that we wouldn't forget them. Animated Shorts at 12:00pm and Meek's Cutoff at 8:30pm. Except that my brain reversed the times a bit. Before we went to bed on Friday, Steven asked what time the Animated Shorts were playing. I said 12:30. We proceeded to sleep late and take our sweet time getting ready. As I leisurely walked to the refrigerator to get the tickets - can't forget those, what a disaster THAT would be! - I realized the mistake I had made. Poor Steven had to rush to get dressed and leave the house with wet hair. When we got to the venue we realized that we couldn't park there and were redirected to the nearby YWCA lot. At this point, I was feeling extremely guilty and was fairly certain that we wouldn't make it to the show on time. And then the magical school bus of hope and wonder appeared, chartered specifically to take patrons directly to the theater. We were saved!

The Animated Shorts were in a tiny, tiny theater and we unfortunately had to sit pretty close to the front. Overall, the shorts were enjoyable and a good mix of funny, sweet, irreverent and melancholy. Here are two of my favorites:





And then there was Esterhazy. Long, depressing, terrible sound, and the only film that has been able to make animated bunnies ugly. Did I mention long? In comparison with the other shorts which ranged from 1 minute to 12 minutes, Esterhazy was 25 unbearable minutes of an unappealing clay bunny's search to find a fat wife set to the backdrop of the Berlin Wall in 1989 Germany. Terrible. Later that night we were able to arrive to see Meek's Cutoff in much less of a hurry. One of the actors from the film was in the audience and did a question and answer session afterward. I would say more about the film, but you didn't really come here to read me review movies that you probably won't see, right? Right.

So Saturday was our day with concrete plans. Although I almost always enjoy them, weekends packed full of plans mentally exhaust me. I am especially bad about locking into plans far in advance. I usually wind up spending the days or weeks leading up to the event in a state of dread. Even if it's something I want to do! What is wrong with me? Anyway, the fates aligned and Steven and I found ourselves at the film festival again on Sunday. I had been trying to win tickets to see a film -any film- through the Facebook pages of various sponsors. Not surprisingly, I didn't win. You see, the only thing I have ever won in my 24 years is a jelly bean counting competition at my local library when I was about 7. I won a frisbee and a box of crayons, in case you were wondering. Long story short, I won 2 tickets to see The Wonder Year through Twitter, doubling my life win tally.

The weather was much better on Sunday, and I was able to appreciate the cool movie area of the UNCSA campus where the films were being shown.




The Wonder Year was a pleasant surprise. Steven and I probably never would have seen it on our own, but I'm really glad we got the tickets. The film's director and 9th Wonder were in attendance and answered a lot of questions afterward. I really love the fact that so many people involved with the films have been to the screenings. Gives audience members that warm "I'm somewhere special" feeling.


After having an absurdly early dinner, we headed back downtown to the free, outdoor screening of Best in Show. We expected it to be much more crowded, seeing as it was free and the weather was nice, but we were able to pick a nice spot on the grass.




Here are Steven and I before the show, trying (and failing) to look at the same place in the same picture:





So there it is; our busy weekend consolidated into one smallish blog post.

Polish Post: OPI Banana Bandanna + Weekend Plans

Despite the fact that the weather is calling for thunderstorms for the next 2-3 days, I wanted my nails to be cheery and bright. I wound up choosing Banana Bandanna (which it turns out IS the correct spelling of that word. The more you know.) by OPI for my fingers and Ahoy! by China Glaze for my toes. While I'm fairly certain that no more than 3 people read this blog and they all have very healthy attitudes toward feet, I'm hesitant to post a picture of my toes on the internet, because, well, you know. The internet has probably led to an amazing boost in the quality of life for those who are a little too into feet. Anyway, here are my nails.


There are several indicators that this was an early polish purchase for me. First, it is an OPI polish. Because OPI polishes run $8-9 per bottle and are almost always lacking in the quality I would expect for that price (China Glaze is about $5 and is invariably much better quality), I tend to pass on OPIs unless the color is outstanding. Second, I have gotten much better at knowing which polishes will or won't be sheer just by looking at the bottle, and I avoid sheer polishes. Still, I chose this polish over the similarly colored China Glaze Lemon Fizz for two reasons:

1. Lemon Fizz reacts in a weird way with my top coat of choice. After a few days, the tips of my nails darken to a pale orange giving an undesired, though not altogether unappealing, ombré effect. Side note, why does spell check refuse to believe ombré is a real word?
2. I'm trying to work through all of my unworn polishes and I'm fairly certain I haven't done a full manicure with this.

I like that this shade is a little warmer than Lemon Fizz but the formula is horrible. It's runny, streaky and takes at least 4 coats to reach opacity. Three coats is pretty much my limit. Overall, I like the color for spring but I don't know how often I'll reach for this polish.

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In other news, the weekend is upon us and Steven and I have exciting plans. The River Run Film Festival is in town for the next week and tonight is the big kick off. Rather than attending that, Steven and I will likely go to Barnes and Noble for Tina Fey's new book and maybe stop at the grocery store. But! We are going to see two things on Saturday. First is a compilation of animated shorts and then later that evening we're seeing Meek's Cutoff. Look at me, immersing myself in local cultural activities.

Our other big plan for the weekend is making pickles. Do you like pickles? I sure do. It's hard not to like a tart, vinegar-y incarnation of one of my favorite vegetables. Steven and I made two jars of pickles last week and we have eaten all of them already. The brine is ridiculously simple to make and discounting the fresh cucumbers, you likely have all the necessary ingredients in your kitchen. The hardest part of the whole thing is the 2 day waiting period in which you are forced to look at your pickles every time you open the refrigerator, knowing you can't eat them yet. Here's how to make approximately 2 jars of pickles:

You will need:
3 cups water
8 tablespoons vinegar (I used cider vinegar)
2 tablespoons kosher salt
Garlic
Dill
Coriander seeds
Pickling cucumbers (I imagine you can also use regular cucumbers, but they will probably need to be cut in half)

Combine the water, vinegar, and salt in a pitcher or bowl, making sure to mix everything well. Slice the cucumbers according to preference. Spears, halves, chips. Do you, baby. Place the cucumbers in the jars with a good amount of garlic, dill and coriander seeds. No specific amount. That's why I like this recipe, it's so free form! Pour some brine into each jar until it is full. Put the lid on the jars (duh) and shake to combine everything. Refrigerate for 2 days before eating. Steven made sure to turn the jars from time to time to compensate for the seasoning falling to the bottom. This may or may not be necessary.

Voila! You have pickles that are tastier than the ones at the grocery store, and they only contain ingredients that you can pronounce.

Nice to meet you

ABCs

Stolen, with love, from Lindsay

A. Age: 24

B. Bed size: Full. Steven had a queen size bed, but my mattress is more comfortable. And I have a cuter bed frame, which counts.

C. Chore you dislike: While I don't particularly like chores, we tend to take care of them right away so they never wind up being too much work. I don't love doing the dishes, but Steven washes them after dinner, which I am appreciative of. We should probably start using our dishwasher. I don't particularly love vacuuming either.

D. Dogs: I've had one great dog, and one nightmarish dog which equals out to indifference. I like them fine, but cats are so much less work and are usually just as fun.

E. Essential start to your day: Water. A big sip as soon as I wake up.

F. Favorite color: A very specific shade of pale turquoise. I'm also really drawn to purple and brown. Yes, brown.

G. Gold or silver: I don't have much of a preference, and it really depends on the piece of jewelry. I just don't like bright yellow gold.

H. Height: 5’4

I. Instruments you play(ed): Nothing, ever. My brother was the family musician and the rest of us never really tried.

J. Job title: Teacher, unemployed.

K. Kids: None. That would mean getting rid of the second bedroom/library/office/puzzle assembling room, which quite frankly, I am not prepared to do.

L. Live: Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Home of Krispy Kreme, Hanes, RJ Reynolds, BB&T and Wachovia. But let's focus on Krispy Kreme.

M. Mom’s name: Marilyn

N. Nicknames: I'm pretty much a first name only kind of person.

O. Overnight hospital stays: None, thankfully

P. Pet peeves: When anyone ends a sentence with "at," as in "Where did you get that at?" or "Where are you at?" Also, "supposably" "fustrating" and "exspecially"

Q. Quote from a movie: My favorite quotes tend to be the ones that feel like a punch to the stomach with how beautiful or true they are. My most repeated quotes tend to be silly and/or inane things that tickled my fancy when viewing the movie.

R. Righty or lefty: Righty.

S. Siblings: Two older brothers. One younger sister.

T. Time you wake up: One of the benefits of being jobless is waking up whenever! Though I almost always wake up when Steven gets up for work. Unless it's the weekend and then we both sleep in until one of us feels guilty for not having fed Josie yet (it's always me)

U. Underwear: Yes.

V. Vegetables you don’t like: Onions. A thousand times onions. Especially chunks of chewy onions. That is pretty much the only vegetable that I don't enjoy. And yet, onion rings are perfectly acceptable.

W. What makes you run late: Nothing. I am perpetually 5 minutes early.

X. X-rays you’ve had: I'm pretty sure I've only had dental x-rays. Oh! And when I went to the hospital Christmas Day 2004 with chest pains.

Y. Yummy food you make: Hopefully Steven would agree that all the food I make is yummy. I just asked Steven and he said his favorite was probably peppers stuffed with quinoa, corn, and feta cheese. I have to agree. I ate the rest of the filling the next day for lunch and it was still amazing cold.

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1 cup quinoa, rinsed well several times
3 T olive oil
1 bunch scallions, including 2 inches of the greens, thinly sliced into rounds
1 jalapeno, finely diced, seeded (seeding and cleaning it makes it infinitely less spicy)
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 cups, more or less, fresh or frozen corn kernels (from 3 ears of corn)
½ pound spinach leaves
½ cup chopped cilantro
¼ lb feta cheese
4 bell peppers

Bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Add ½ teaspoon salt, then quinoa. Give it a stir, cover, and simmer over low until the grains are tender, about 15 minutes. Warm half of the oil in a wide skillet. Add the scallions and chiles, cook over medium heat for about 2 minutes, then add the garlic, cumin, corn and spinach, along with 2 tablespoons of water. When the spinach is wilted, add the cilantro, quinoa, and feta. Toss everything together, taste for salt, and season with pepper. Slice the peppers in half lengthwise without removing the tops or stems, then cut out the membranes and seeds. Simmer them in salted water until tender to the touch of a knife but not overly soft, 4 to 5 minutes, and remove. Fill them with the quinoa and set them in a large baking dish. Preheat the oven to 400. Drizzle the rest of the oil over the peppers and bake the peppers until heated through, 20 to 30 minutes, then switch the heat to broil and brown the tops. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature.


Z. Zoo animal favorites: Otters, owls, anything soft looking

New, but not really improved

We're only 4 days into April and this is already my third post! Will I keep writing here on a regular basis, or will I completely abandon this site for 5 weeks until something important happens and I am prodded into blogging about it? Who knows! That's half my charm: being completely erratic.

The purpose of this post was to brag about spiffing up the design of my blog. Of course, if you're looking at this now then you are already seeing the redesign and have promptly forgotten what it used to look like. This is all very anti climactic for you. I'm sorry. To console you, I have added Complimentary Blog Fish to the side bar. You can watch them, have them follow your mouse and even feed them imaginary fish food by clicking within their tank. Exciting stuff!

Pleasant Surprise

While at the Biltmore Estate last week, Steven and I were somewhat surprised when we were shuffled into a line to have our picture taken. I would expect to see these ambush photographers at theme parks or even someplace like an aquarium (where we had our picture taken in a similar fashion last year) but the Biltmore seemed a little upscale for that. We smiled, took the business card with our photo ID number on it, and forgot about the experience until about an hour ago. We tried to guess at how bad the picture would be, using half open eyes and gnarled lips to estimate our facial expressions, but it turned out to not be so bad. Now if only a digital picture didn't cost $35, maybe I wouldn't have had to steal this screen shot to share with you.

March Madness, or something like that

When it comes to blogging, Taylor has proven to be my greatest resource. It is she who gently nudges me to post when I have not done so in a while. It is also Taylor who will remind me of an event (her recent trip to North Carolina) that is blog worthy. Bless her heart. Unfortunately, I will probably never be known for blogging about things in a timely fashion, and the further I get from her visit, the less I have to write about.

We were fortunate to have really exceptional weather when Taylor was here. One of my favorite things about living in North Carolina is that we get a true spring. Spring and fall have always been my favorite seasons, as they both have lovely transitional temperatures and do beautiful things to the trees. For the last few years I have lamented about the disappearance of "nice" weather. Spring in the northeast consists of temperatures below 55° until mid to late April, followed by alternating 83° and 36° days until June. Fall functions in a similar fashion. Sweltering temperatures until the first freezing day in November. Needless to say, I was happy that the weather was nice enough to provide Taylor a bit of a respite from the unusually snowy and harsh winter.

We tried to provide Taylor with a taste of Winston-Salem, but wound up taking her to two "attractions" and then a bunch of somewhat local stores. But that counts, right? Her first stop after getting off the train in Greensboro was Cook Out, a small, regional fast food chain specializing in burgers that taste like they are fresh off the grill in your backyard. I think she enjoyed her meal, but what's not to like about a place that let's you order a corn dog in lieu of fries? Cook Out was the first of many new foods that Taylor tried. Here is a list of things we forced Taylor to eat while she was here:
1. A blackberry
2. Chicken sausage
3. Olives
4. Goat cheese
5. Pecans
6. Grits
7. A chalupa (not from Taco Bell)

The two legitimate places we took Taylor were the Reynolda House and Pilot Mountain. The Reynolda House is right down the road from our apartment which naturally makes us feel very ritzy and prosperous. We saw a photography exhibit, toured the house and walked about the gardens. It's a particularly pretty (and large) house on a grassy and tree filled property, perfect for relaxing and reading a book. Please note that these are not my pictures, as I did not have the good sense to take any.




The following day we went to Pilot Mountain. I was kind enough to suggest that we not hike to the pinnacle, but instead gaze upon it from one of the paths close to the parking lot. I can't be sure, but I think Taylor was grateful for this.




Taylor and I also made trips to Barnes and Noble, Walmart, Goodwill, Edward McKay (used books and more!), and World Market (more than once). She also enjoyed the culinary stylings of Krispy Kreme, Popcorn Fanatic, La Carreta (where Taylor graciously paid for lunch but then ungraciously forgot to tip), Simply Yummy and The New South Diner (not a diner at all, but a very nice restaurant). Oh, and Brew Nerds. Who can forget Brew Nerds? I think her visit was successful and Steven and I have decided that she is allowed to come back.

Now, if my readers will fast forward roughly 7 days they will find themselves on March 25, the day of my birth. I received some lovely gifts from my parents and sister. Steven gifted me with a Helmer from Ikea for nail polish storage. Its drawers are the perfect height and when completely full can hold roughly 400 polishes. I don't see myself outgrowing this storage solution any time soon. Steven also took me out to a fantastic restaurant. I had the sea bass, he had the rib-eye topped with lobster meat. Um, whose birthday was it? My larger gift was an overnight trip to Asheville with a trip to the Biltmore Estate.

Asheville is one of my favorite cities. It's about 2 hours from Winston-Salem in a very mountainous part of Western North Carolina. Despite the distance to another major city, there is a lot to see and do in Asheville. It's something of a hipster mecca, with an emphasis on locally grown foods and micro brewed beers. There is a big arts scene and lots of cool shops downtown. And of course, the Biltmore House. Unfortunately my birthday was the last day of nice weather we would see for a while. The day after we were hit with nearly a week of rain and chilly temperatures. Fortunately the weather held out long enough for us not to get drenched seeing the house and gardens. There is little to say about the Biltmore House that can't be assumed from pictures. It is huge. Immense. And terribly grand. Picture taking within the house is prohibited so most of the pictures I took are of the gardens and green house. The picture of the Biltmore House under sunny skies is from Google Images. The picture of it looking rainy and ominous is mine.