Discovering
Number of books bought at Borders since it opened: 6
Number of magazines bought: 6
Number of cookbooks bought: 2
Lunch hours spent browsing: 5
Hours spent in graphic design section: 3
Number of graphic novels read in store (woohoo! because they're so damn expensive!): 2
Number of magazines read in store: 5
Number of times head was hit by falling book: 1
I love that they opened a bookstore right by my office building but I hate that I'm there all the time. Apparently, so is everyone. I brave the rush hours, the long lines, the narrow aisles, the cashier who asks me the same question everyday (would you like to receive coupons in the mail?) because they've got a great selection. I got two cookbooks and a Far Side book for $6 each, plus a nice, hardbound copy of Tale of Genji, which I've been looking for forever. Monday, not surprisingly, dozens of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix for the taking (in exchange for $20).
Due to a strong urge to take good advantage of the cookbooks, I've been visiting the fruit and vegetable stand down the block quite frequently. I buy the ingredients for the day's recipe and take note of possible vegetables or fruits I can use for the next day's dinner. Today, the artichokes and baby potatoes seemed to be beckoning. (Did you know there are at least five kinds of pears?) So far, I've made lemon and garlic chicken, beef with a kind of spaghetti-like mushroom sauce, stir-fry pork chops, and calamari. As a child, I was a very picky eater (I'd have rice with liver spread for dinner, and I could never really eat a banana without cheese), but one of the things they could get me to eat and actually enjoy was calamari. Unfortunately, no one ever taught me how to cook squid. Well, no one ever taught me how to cook, period. So I have to make do with step-by-step recipe cooking. I'm not very good, and sometimes it doesn't taste quite right but I've sworn to just keep trying until I can cook without my head buried in a cookbook.
Last Saturday, I had lunch with my old college housemate Master, her sister, and her sister's husband. She was the only one taking her masters in a house of undergrads, so we called her Master, and the nickname stuck. Master was the one who remembered to pay the bills and the rent. She was the responsible one who sort of pulled everyone together. It was great to see them again; I had met her sister about five years ago. They were in town to watch a show and had an hour to spare. She's scheduled to leave for the Philippines tomorrow, having spent six months in Rock Island for an exchange program. We talked about old roommates, and where they were, and the apartments we had lived in. It brought back memories so vivid sometimes I still can't believe I've been out of school for two years.
{All You Get, The Red Hot Valentines}
Number of books bought at Borders since it opened: 6
Number of magazines bought: 6
Number of cookbooks bought: 2
Lunch hours spent browsing: 5
Hours spent in graphic design section: 3
Number of graphic novels read in store (woohoo! because they're so damn expensive!): 2
Number of magazines read in store: 5
Number of times head was hit by falling book: 1
I love that they opened a bookstore right by my office building but I hate that I'm there all the time. Apparently, so is everyone. I brave the rush hours, the long lines, the narrow aisles, the cashier who asks me the same question everyday (would you like to receive coupons in the mail?) because they've got a great selection. I got two cookbooks and a Far Side book for $6 each, plus a nice, hardbound copy of Tale of Genji, which I've been looking for forever. Monday, not surprisingly, dozens of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix for the taking (in exchange for $20).
Due to a strong urge to take good advantage of the cookbooks, I've been visiting the fruit and vegetable stand down the block quite frequently. I buy the ingredients for the day's recipe and take note of possible vegetables or fruits I can use for the next day's dinner. Today, the artichokes and baby potatoes seemed to be beckoning. (Did you know there are at least five kinds of pears?) So far, I've made lemon and garlic chicken, beef with a kind of spaghetti-like mushroom sauce, stir-fry pork chops, and calamari. As a child, I was a very picky eater (I'd have rice with liver spread for dinner, and I could never really eat a banana without cheese), but one of the things they could get me to eat and actually enjoy was calamari. Unfortunately, no one ever taught me how to cook squid. Well, no one ever taught me how to cook, period. So I have to make do with step-by-step recipe cooking. I'm not very good, and sometimes it doesn't taste quite right but I've sworn to just keep trying until I can cook without my head buried in a cookbook.
Last Saturday, I had lunch with my old college housemate Master, her sister, and her sister's husband. She was the only one taking her masters in a house of undergrads, so we called her Master, and the nickname stuck. Master was the one who remembered to pay the bills and the rent. She was the responsible one who sort of pulled everyone together. It was great to see them again; I had met her sister about five years ago. They were in town to watch a show and had an hour to spare. She's scheduled to leave for the Philippines tomorrow, having spent six months in Rock Island for an exchange program. We talked about old roommates, and where they were, and the apartments we had lived in. It brought back memories so vivid sometimes I still can't believe I've been out of school for two years.
{All You Get, The Red Hot Valentines}
