The beaver is a proud and noble animal
Notes from a bemused canuck
Two traveling penguins from Seaworld in San Diego went through regular airport screening at Denver International Airport recently. Here, Pat and Penny are removed from their carry-on case so they can walk through the metal detector.
Somewhere, somebody is cackling in glee at this.
I didn't sleep well at all last night, and neither did Katy. And no, not for that reason. In my case, it was because I couldn't get comfortable because I was either bumping into the wall or Katy's elbow; in her case it was because I was fidgeting too much. I couldn't fall asleep last night. I hate that feeling, when you toss and turn and toss and turn and think that hours have past, only to look at the clock and notice that only 4 minutes have gone by. I wasn't sleepy at all when I went to bed – Katy and I are on different schedules right now because of her work – and I think that that was the biggest culprit. Katy, on the other hand, was beat. She fell asleep at 9:30. I also had to break out the earplugs for the first time last night, though that only usually happens when she's really tired or has a cold.
I think I didn't help matters this morning when I didn't give her a kiss when she was about to leave for work. In my defense, my brain wasn't working, but still, that's not an excuse.
Day went better though. Katy's dad and I drove up to cambridge to deliver my groceries, suitcases and the last of the kitchen stuff to the apartment. I also went to the EMBL to fill in paperwork for my bank account, which I should have by the middle of next week or so. While I was there, I took the opportunity to talk to my supervisor and the people I'd be working with. They seem like a good bunch. I'm actually really excited to get working there. I'm anxious to get my hands elbow-deep in code and technologies I don't know much about and get back to using my brain instead of letting it rot, dealing with IBM. The campus looks really nice too – it even has a lake on it – but it's in the middle of friggin nowhere.
I'll be there permanently as of saturday. That's going to be an adventure.
I now have a Tesco club card.
I did a big grocery to get all the dry stuff for my apartment, stuff that you only buy once in a while like spices and cleaning products and loo roll. I was expecting the worst, as I had a cart (pardon me, a barrow) full of stuff. It ended up costing £66. I was happily surprised. I was also a bit culture shocked, as none of the brands I'm used to seeing were there. I miss Tide, and Hunts and Downy, and… well, you get the picture. The good news though is that British labelling laws are quite draconian so I now have a ton of new things I can safely eat :D Hmmmm, sausage.
Quote from Katy: See? us brits are useful when we're being neurotic.
Slow day today. Went into town to get some keys re-cut (they'd been botched the first time) and take pictures of an abandoned church along woodgate road. Got rained on, hailed on, thundered on then sunshined on in the span of about 15 minutes. The weather here is just as unpredictable as I was lead to believe it'd be, but the good thing is that those little showers here and there seem to be keeping the pollen out of the air so my allergies aren't giving me grief.
Bought my TV today, it should be getting delivered on sunday, when I'm in Cambridge. It was a bit tricky to find one that would have NTSC playback for all the region 1 DVDs that I brought over cause the salespeople are fairly useless. I ended up getting it online from Comets.
I'm going to Cambs on thursday to go see the HR people at the EMBL to get some paperwork started and hopefully get a bank account sorted out. It's the last big thing I need to do, really. The rest is on its way to getting done.
– fast food chains that sell only jacket potatoes (i.e. baked potatoes).
– Crisp (i.e. potato chips) flavours like rosemary chicken, oriental rib, peppered rib eye steak, honey-glazes ham or mango chutney.
– swan roadkill.
– a bicycle crossing across a national 4-lane highway where the speed limit is 70 mph. (Katy quote: it's not recommended, but you'd be surprised by how many people do it).
– Traditional foodstuffs like toad in thw hole (sausages in yorkshire pudding – actually really good), spotted dick (suet pudding with currants), mushy peas (green peas, well, mushed).
– really BIG keys.
Last night, I dreamed that Sara tried to pierce my nipples and I decked her, then she and Em jumped in a moat while shopping for sunglasses. Highly distrubing.
Lots of progress this day. My couch was delivered and assembled in Cambridge; Katy's dad (Mel), his brother (Stu) and I (me) drove up the first load of stuff to the apartment and started unpacking – my kitchen is becoming functional – and I finally got my house insurance sorted all. All in all, a good day.
Ok, so I don't have a new car nor any caviar, but what I do have is:
– a new duvet with duvet cover
– lots of shiny Ikea schwag (lamps, picture frames, storage solutions and other goodies)
– kitchen stuff
Katy and I took a drive across Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire today. It was a nice day for a drive, though the Ikea store kept trying to maim Katy. Bad store! *kicks Ikea*
This weekend also saw the acquisition of my cell phone. It's here. Worhip it :)
I'm going to be in Cambridge tomorrow morning (well, from noon-to-5pm) waiting for Ikea to deliver my sofa and hopefully also work out the details of my house insurance. After that, cable and internet and telephone are coming at the beginning of next week, and all I need to do is work out my banking details and do the last few purchases and Robert's my father's brother.
Ingredients
8fl oz/225ml carnaroli rice
4½oz/125g cubetti pancetta or chopped bacon
1oz/25g butter
1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
1¼ pints/725ml chicken or vegetable stock
3oz/75g finely grated Pecorino Romano, plus some extra for sprinkling
1 large egg
2 large egg yolks
1 heaped tbsp crème fraîche
salt and freshly milled black pepper
You will also need a round ovenproof dish with a diameter of 9 inches (23 cm), 2 inches (5 cm) deep, placed in the oven when it's pre-heated.
Method
Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 2, 300F (150C).
First of all, in a large, hot frying pan over a medium heat, fry the pancetta or bacon in its own fat for 4-5 minutes, until it's crisp and golden, then remove it to a plate. Next add the butter to the pan, then the onion, turn the heat down to gentle and let the onion soften in the butter for about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the stock in a small saucepan. Then return the pancetta or bacon to the frying pan and, after that, stir in the rice and move it around until all the grains get a good coating of the buttery juices. Now add the hot stock to the rice, along with some salt and freshly milled black pepper. Let it all come up to a gentle simmer, then transfer the whole lot to the warmed dish, stir it once and then bake, without covering, on the centre shelf of the oven and set a timer for 20 minutes.
When the time is up, gently stir in the Pecorino, folding and turning the rice grains over, then set the timer for a further 15 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk the egg, egg yolks and crhme franche together, then remove the risotto from the oven and gently stir in this mixture, making sure it is well mixed. Leave the risotto for about 2 minutes, by which time the eggs and crhme franche will have thickened – but no longer, as it will get too thick. Serve on warm plates with some more Pecorino Romano sprinkled over.
Must try this.
As of monday the 25th, I will have broadband internet, digital cable and a phone. Things are falling in place. This makes me happy.