Hunkering Down

Still here.

The hurricane is moving in, so I'm working the weekend. That will put a crimp on exploring Atlanta's substantial charms, but hey I'm here to work.

At least my hotel is nice - nice gym, nice pool, a kitchen etc. Plus, it is, apparently, a hot spot. Every night when I get home the parking lot is full of Bentleys and Ferraris and the bar is crowded with professional athletes - or at least I assume they are professional athletes because they are GINORMOUS. Lots and lots of very gigantic men with little drinks in their oversized paws and women who would benefit from a proper bra fitting because the cup sizes appear to be too small for them.

I'm in Atlanta

I'm pouting.

You will notice my new, company-mandated disclaimer at the top. Obviously, the only interesting thing to talk about this week is politics, and I cannot. So I'm going to pout. If you want my analysis of her speech last night, email me and I'll send it to you, but remember: the views contained within are simply my personal views and not the views of my employer. I am ostensibly a journalist and have no real personal views. Ever and ever amen.

I watched, despite myself, the new 90210. Horrifying. The female actresses are so painfully thin, they make the women of Gossip Girl look zaftig. Plus they are all kitted out in tank tops and hot pants the whole time so I was forced to look at their chicken arms. Yuck. I made it to the point where the bobblehead with the big teeth got angry/upset/indigestion at the bobblehead with the heroin-addict eyes before I started hoping that some creature from a Guillermo del Toro movie would land on the boy(?i think?) bobblehead and munch on an eyeball. Yucky. And how the HELL did that kid who was so amazing on The Wire drop into this. Fire your agent, kid.

I am headed to SF tomorrow morn to meet up with the inestimable Verna. She is there for some emergency medicine conference, I am there for the burritos. We are having dinner at the Zuni Cafe on Saturday, so I can find out if my roast chicken has reached the heady heights.

Then I soldier on to the Mothership, arriving just before what looks like a major hurricane is supposed to hit the eastern seabord. I will require constant infusions of pep talkery, so please give generously.

Meet The Blueberry

Our new toy!! Our new Smart Car finally came in and I've been making it feel at home. When I drove it around LA this weekend, people waved at me like I was a parade float and came up to me in parking lots to ask about the car. It definitely makes people (and me) smile.

The ride is a bit rougher than I remembered from the test drive, and it has the acceleration of an angry golf cart, but it is better on the hills and has a lot higher clearance than the Prius. Gas mileage is roughly the same (Prius is marginally better). I was too nervous the first few days to take it on the Big Bad LA Highways, but actually it is just fine. Because you sit so high in the car, you can look all the SUV and monster truck drivers in the eye so they can see you much better. I did get it up to 80 on the I-10 last night. Once it gets going, the Blueberry can shift.

Funny that I started out my driving life about 20 years ago with Blue Thunder, a gigantic 1973 Pontiac Catalina given to me by my Grandpa Jack. It was royal blue - almost the exact same color as the Blueberry - with a white leather interior vs. the Blueberry's black leather interior. And Blue Thunder didnt have satellite navigation and an ipod dock.

In other news, Iain looks like he will be back from the desert in mid-September, earlier than we thought, so that's good. I am meeting Verna in SF this weekend, and then I'm off to Hotlanta for 2 weeks for work. I always seem to land in Atlanta during hurricane season. Hopefully the windows on my hotel room wont blow out this time.

Facebook has eaten my creativity

I'm having a hard time budgeting my time around work, Facebook, and blog. I was hoping Facebook would dwindle in popularity like MySpace and I could go back to my nice quiet life. Sigh. More to come....

Laura's Dinner Night: A Review

I’ve been busy since I got back, so haven’t had time to review my vacation for y’all. I’m sure you are on tenterhooks, so here goes.

I started in Sacramento at my sister’s. Laura and her friends have a rotating dinner club where each couple makes dinner for the others on the first Saturday of each month. It’s a great idea, and Laura apparently makes the most of the opportunity everytime her turn comes round. Her past themes have been classic French feast and Greek home cooking, while her friends have gone with Make-Your-own Pizza night and Classic American BBQ (for July 4th, natch). Chuck’s garden and the bountiful Sacramento farmers markets are in almost-full glory, so she chose a “home farm” theme.

The menu:

Cheese plate w figs and black olive tapenade
Chuck’s stuffed zucchini blossoms (from his garden!)
Rachel’s fried green tomatoes
Grilled Flank Steak w Watermelon-chili relish
Zucchini fettucine
Israeli couscous and quinoa “risotto” w roasted vegetables
Peach blueberry & amaretti crisp.

The zucchini blossoms were, of course, a massive hit, as was the flank steak. We probably made way too much of the watermelon relish, but it was great w the steak anyway. A friend of Laura’s brought some really delicious French wines that were a great complement to the spicy steak and the full-flavored accompaniments. I had a ball sous chef-ing for Laura and even if the food had been wack, it was still worth the effort. A very pleasant evening.


Next: Our intrepid heroine heads north to the wilds of Southern Oregon…and finds roasted quail bliss!

I havent forgotten you...

Apologies for delay in posting. I can feel my loyal readers ebbing away. I was out of town and since I have been back I've found myself unusually busy. All that time spent thinking inappropriate thoughts about the US Men's Swim team really steals the hours out of a girl's day. Seriously. I am one very small step away from posting pictures of Jason Lezak and Aaron Peirsol in my locker. If I had a locker. Or whatever. xxoo Jason: Call me.

Anyway.

My birthday festivities: dinner at Chichen Itza with some friends and then, fortified by cochinita pibil, drinks at Mountain Bar. A very enjoyable, if a little random, evening. Chichen Itza is a foodie Mexican place that specializes in Yucatecan cuisine. It was surprisingly good. The restaurant is near MacArthur Park, which meant I was not allowed a birthday cake because -- wait for it -- someone left it out in the rain. I dont think that I can take it. Because it took so long to bake it.

Anyway.

I will have a more full review of my holiday later on, but I leave you with this one pearl of joy....