8 Items or Less, Please

I don't know if any of you have been to Superstore since they started renovating. I just popped in today and was saddened to see they have changed some of the signage. I specifically went to the far end just to get a giggle over their health food aisle because one of the signs used to read "Glutton Free". Now its back to just plain ol' "Gluten Free". Guess those celiacs are allowed to eat as much as they want again.

Late

I hate being late.
It gives me a sick feeling in my stomach, and I get all panicky...its vaguely the same feeling I get when I drink coffee, which would be why I don't drink it anymore!
Yesterday I started my orientation at Overlander. I'd never been there before, but it looked very straight-forward on google map. I even gave myself 10 more minutes than I thought I'd need to get there.
Well guess what, I'm absolutely horrendous with getting lost. As in I can get lost between point A and point B on a straight road. I found Overlander no problem. And then I promptly walked right past the main entrance by accident, and began wandering the grounds thinking, "Where the heck am I?" and "Why is this so hard to find?".
I ended up walking straight into one of the living room areas at the back of the facility, turning on my heel and walking right back out, and then ending up at a completely different building. I thought the sign said Overlander Administration, but apparently that was for something else. I went to some kind of Ministry of such-and-such building, and was completely surprised when my friend Steve opened the door for me. Apparently he works there or is training or something...I was very confused. He said he saw my car (probably saw me wandering around like a dweeb, too) and pointed me in the right direction. Which was basically right beside where I parked.
To get to the point, I was late for my first day of orientation, and the worried anxious feeling has not gone away yet. I keep getting little panicky lurches, and frantically searching for the nearest clock to make sure I'm not late again today!

And now I bid you a fond farewell until later this week. I am beginning a work marathon starting at 11. I go straight from work to my cleaning job, then home to sleep for not-enough-hours, then getting up at 5am to work at Overlander again. Then cleaning again at 6pm. Then working at 6am. Fun times!

Hopefully it will go by fast.

Week End

Well, my 60+ hr workweek is over at last!
It actually went by really fast...I didn't even have time to think. Just eat, sleep, and work. Sometimes I had to cut back on the first two :P
This week will be a little less hectic, since tomorrow is free minus a couple hours cleaning in the evening, and I'm only scheduled to work four days (so far) at my new job. Then payday!!! Which will hopefully make it all worthwhile.

Ps. Let it be known that my mom's cat, Buddy, is a freakish animal with a weird obsession with crinkly plastic. I hate it. I just discovered that he pulled out a bunch of wrappers and tags and stuff from my garbage and dragged it all over my floor. UGH. Going to bed now. I'm too tired to deal with him, or even write a blog post that makes any sense. Goodnight.

Day 5 and Counting

Well, my first week at my new job is almost over! I actually have been scheduled to come in tomorrow at noon, as well. Day 6! Its been a while since I've worked so much, but I have to say so far I am enjoying it. There are nice things about working part-time, but I was pretty sick of looking for things to occupy myself with, and feeling like I was wasting precious $-making time these past few months. Soooo...its good to be busy.

It has been a big workload with continuing my part-time cleaning job on top of this new job, and I'm beginning to feel like I don't have time to keep up with LIFE...so I don't know how long I'm going to last as far as that goes.

My training has been going well, and I'm finally starting to "get it". I managed a lot of my "training" shift without much/any supervision, and I'm beginning to learn my way around the hospital.

At first I was a little freaked out to find out that we deliver the food to the patients' beside, because lets face it...when it comes to hospitals and illness and people in hospital gowns, I'm really, really wimpy. Hospitals freak the crap out of me, actually. I'm over my initial shock though, and now I just I never want to be admitted to the hospital. Ever. Not even to have a baby.

The ladies I work with are mostly 20+ years older than me, and pretty hilarious. As the one other girl my age put it, working here "is like being in a big chicken coop". Complete with squawks, squabbles, and a pecking order. Most of them are pretty funny, but I know that I'm going to have to catch myself from falling into their habits of gossiping, complaining, and talking about nothing but what's on sale at the grocery store.

Anyway, I do not have to clean tonight, so the evening is my own for the first time this week! I have some things to do, so this post is going to end now. Hope all you bloggy friends are doing well, I've missed doing my regular daily readings!
Until later-

A Quick Hello

Hello blog readers!

I haven't forgotten you! Here is a quick update:

*My computer is back up and running, though its not quite what it was. There is still much to be done.

*To be honest I enjoyed having a break from computers in general. It was kind of freeing somehow. I'm having mixed feelings about getting it back. Weird.

*Daylight Savings...is a terrible, terrible, idea. I think it should be discontinued. Today.

*My car is having issues. I talked briefly with my friend who looked at it for me today. Sounds like it could be quite bad. Or it could be ok...but, pessimist that I am...my gut is telling me I'll be hearing from Bad News Betty soon. And she'll be grinning from ear to ear. I don't like Bad News Betty. She is not my friend.

*I went to the first wedding of the year, today! Please notice my updated tally.

*8pm Monday morning I begin my job at the hospital...nervous and excited! Mostly I am dreading the daily parking space battle. Anyone know where I can get free parking downtown, that is close to the hospital?? That is assuming I have a car to park.

*I am really, utterly, exhausted right now. I am going to bed now. At 8:35 pm. It is sad, and it is true. But considering that its actually sort of 9:35 pm, that makes it a teensy bit better. Also the fact that I will be getting up much earlier this week, and my brain will tell me its even earlier than the clock reports...I think I better stock up on sleep while I can.

*Goodnight.

Viruses, Books, and Scrubs

I'm sorry I've been so neglectful of my blog this past week!
Besides having no ideas, my computer has been laying down the hate on me. It got a virus, and then a day after that was fixed (thanks to my awesome brother, Paul!) a blue screen popped up and wouldn't let me on...my Dad tells me that windows needs to be reinstalled or something. Its all gibberish to me. So, at the moment, I am without a computer of my own...I have to bum off everyone else (when they aren't on theirs...which is not as much time as you might think!)
I don't know when this problem will be resolved.

In the meantime, I've gone to library and taken out a whole bunch of books on WWII to occupy myself. I even reread Things We Couldn't Say and sniffled my way through the last chapter. I don't usually cry over books, but that one pulls my heart strings. Its up for loan again if you're interested!

I also have some great news!
I am officially employed by the hospital in food services! Its such a relief to have a job again! I am on-call to begin with, but by the sounds of it I will be getting a lot of hours. Next Monday I begin with my orientation, and then I'm going to be training in all the different positions. I'm always a little nervous starting new jobs because there is so much to remember, but I'm sure in a month or two I will be totally fine.
I am also hoping to keep my cleaning job, seeing as I will never work past 8pm at the hospital, which still leaves time open in the evening to do my 3/4 hours at the office.
I'm excited to finally be able to do some serious saving for school, though I don't know how long I'll be able to keep up 11-12 hours work days! I guess its just making up for these months of slacking off!

Katie and I went shopping for my scrubs yesterday, which was fun! I've secretly always wanted scrubs, but I never had any reason to buy them, and I never, ever, EVER, expected to be working in a hospital...seeing as I have a debilitating fear of them. I think I'll be ok in the cafeteria though.

Anyway, that's what's new...I'll try and be good about blogging, but after next week I make no promises. I might not be as frequent as I have been these past months when I had nothing to do all day!

I Yam What I Yam...

This story begins with a problem.

The problem was this: I love yam fries, but I do not like the way they are often served.

Whenever I buy them in restaurants they come deep-fried with chipotle mayo.

When deep-fried, the wonderful sweet natural flavor of the yams is completely covered in the taste of the frying oil. I don't notice as much with regular fries, probably because they have a much milder flavor in general, but with the yams I always get a bit grossed out.
Especially with how greasy they are. I feel sick after eating them.

And I don't know why, but chipotle mayo is the staple dip to go with it. I guarantee if you order yam fries anywhere, they will serve a side of this weird stuff. The first time I was ok with it. And then I got really sick of it. It was just too much weird slippery savory stuff, combined with the greasy fries.

Yam fries deserve better.
Much better.
I feel very strongly about this.
So I began to think of how to do them justice.

At last, as I lay in bed one night consumed with my love for yam fries, it came to me.

Lime.

Yam and Lime. Sweet and Sour.

This could be good.

Yesterday I got the opportunity to experiment, so I did.
And I loved it.

Here's what I did.

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Cut a large yam into thin fries. The thinner the better, because it will cook faster. And the sooner they bake, the sooner you can eat them.
But if you're more a wedge person, go for it, I admire you for your patience.

Make sure the yam is nice and dry before you lightly toss it in oil (I used olive oil), and give it a good bit of pepper. NO SALT...yet.

Now...if you are feeling especially adventurous, get out the curry powder!
YES...trust me, it is going to be delicious. If you are a spice person, make your own mix. I just used the pre-mixed curry we had on hand. Because I'm lazy. And mixing curries can be hard.

Throw in quite a bit. I just eyeballed it, but what I thought was a lot turned out to be a very mild flavor, so you can afford to go a little crazy here.

Now after those yummy yammy fries have been tossed well, throw them on a baking sheet. Its best if they are well spread out and not touching each other. You don't want any moisture to be trapped anywhere, because then your fries will get steamed, not baked. Remember Julie and Julia? "Don't crowd the mushrooms!" Its the same principle with the fries.

Now put them in the oven. They're going to be there for a while...30-45 minutes. I know...it seems an eternity.

While you pine away for them, make yourself some Lime Aioli!

Aioli is really just a fancy name for a flavored mayo, meant to intimidate and impress. At least that's the conclusion I've come to.

Now, if you are like me you can scoff at that name and whip out your eggs, oil, and lime juice and whisk away...

And then when the emulsion breaks (twice), come to the realization that you really can't remember the basics you learned at school last year. And reflect on how sad that is.

And then you can pull out the Hellman's Mayonnaise in your fridge, and mix a small amount (however much you think you will eat with all those fries) with a fresh squeezed lime, lime zest, and a small amount of crushed garlic, salt and pepper and SUGAR. Tasting it and adjusting constantly is the only way to get it right, so get in there!

Now you're done!

Keep it chilled while you wait for your fries to finish. Also...don't forget to flip those little darlings now and then.

I like to cook my yams pretty long, so that they get almost yellowish, and chewy. But if you prefer, take them out right when their centers become soft.

Sprinkle as much or as little salt over them as you like.

Now enjoy your curried yam fries with lime aioli!

It sounds almost gourmet, doesn't it?
Just humor me and say yes.

They're Back

So Katie and I were having a little foot-soaking session about a week or two ago and guess what I noticed??
That's right...
The warts are back.
And there are more of them!
I can't believe this.
I have never met such stubborn warts.
And now I know the pain of getting them burned off, so I'm scared of going back in. Especially since it didn't work last time. And there are more of them.
Waaaaahhhh....