Not really. I don’t even really like mashmallows.
I don’t think I have any ill effects from the char siu chicken Wednesday. Here’s hoping.
Thursday I got up at 10 and got to work at 10:30. Of course I wasn’t at my best, but I was pleased to have submitted the stuff I submitted, and I already had it in mind to work late again Thursday night, only hopefully not as late.
Probably a new low for breakfast in this lockdown situation: I had tortilla chips and fresh salsa. With sour cream. I just didn’t have it in me even to heat up a hot dog. And I didn’t need to dig in so much as I needed to nibble, while I did some work-related housekeeping. Not a good look at all!
When I’m really tired and turning in past sunrise, I seldom have it in me even to think about overnight oats. That would have been ideal Thursday morning, just to reach into the fridge and grab it, but the me of four hours prior wasn’t so thoughtful.
I took a nice nap during my lunch break, and again when I sorta punched out early at about 4. I wasn’t hungry for the rest of my day, although I did have one carrot cake Oreo right before my Costco run half an hour before it closed. My first visit there in like six weeks.
I spent money there with the intention of not going back for another six weeks or so. It was a steep bill, but I’m pleased that I didn’t buy much that has to go in the fridge and then right into the trash two weeks from now when it spoils. I’m learning?
When I got home I needed another nap, and then made a stir-fry for a delayed lunch. This was at like midnight. I chopped up the char siu chicken thighs and threw them in the Instant Pot, hit the saute button, and added watercress, tofu, baby bok choi, bean sprouts, the two leftover steamed potatoes, and four scrambled eggs I had to use up. It came out pretty good.
Stir-fries were the first thing I explored when I moved out of my parents’ house and into the off-campus dorm. I’d been cooking since I was a teen, but stir-fries were my way of learning how to work with stuff I didn’t grow up with, like broccoli (my dad hates it) and a mess of Chinese veggies we never had in our house.
I don’t make them much anymore but it’s always a good return when I think of it. Easy, almost foolproof, and you can flavor the leftovers differently each time you get some from the fridge. I made enough to have leftovers for at least three more meals.
That was really lunch-dinner, because I’m not planning to eat again before I turn in, hopefully in a few minutes.
While having my late meal, I worked on one of two proposals I want to get done before the weekend. Took care of one, an engineering thing I just emailed to the development officer. The plan is to do the other Friday. This one is in its ninth or tenth draft, I think (not an intentional exaggeration if it is one), and I’ve been working on it since October. It’s turned into something of a monster.
I have a 9:30 Zoom meeting to talk about the cancer center project, after which I think I get working on another proposal.
As you’d guess, I skipped the walk again. Just really needed to focus on getting this work done. I’ll walk extra this weekend or something.
I saw a photo on Twitter of these packaged marshmallows stuffed with real chocolate. At first a weird idea, but then: what about s’mores? You could just toast a mallow and stick it between graham crackers and ta-da! I saved the photo, then texted it to like seven people with the caption: game changer.
I’d say about half of them responded. Sharon wanted to know where to get them (I don’t know), then sent me a link to a new Haagen-Dasz variety she says I have to try. AJ in San Diego didn’t like the concept, which led to a conversation about s’mores ingredient leftovers. She sent me a photo of a cocktail she prepared from a recipe in the book she’s reviewing, then we traded some thoughts about her in-progress book review.
Sylvia and I traded a mess o’ texts all day and evening. She didn’t like the idea of the marshmallows until she thought about what they might do to Rice Krispies treats, and then reconsidered.
Crush Girl thought the marshmallows looked amazing (she likes to bake, so I’m not surprised), then later we talked a little about these cookies she worked on.
Jennifer’s not one of the people I sent the photo too but we did trade some texts about her visit to the dentist. She’s brave, I said. Although maybe it’s her dentist who’s the brave one.
That about covers it. I didn’t even turn on the TV today except to catch the national news (yikes). I read the news online, of course, but other than that the only real media consumption I’ve had for a couple of days is music. Certain kinds of metal are really good for working late, late at night. This evening it was mostly Winterfylleth (black metal) and now Children of Bodom (melodic death metal).
Friday is supposed to be new music drop day, but I didn’t see anything interesting on the release calendars for the 29th. Bummer. I’m sure I missed something. I’ll check the metal blogs sometime later. Maybe between Zoom meetings. Until then, I think it’s time for bed. I might be able to get to sleep before the sun comes up — it’s just past 4:30.
Connection. You need it? I got it. Hit me up.