My New Friend

Now that Scott has left his job, we had to go out and get phones like normal people. Scott used to work for T-Mobile, so he had several employee lines, and paid next to nothing for 'em. This was especially nice for my stepdaughter, I think. I bet not many of her friends had a Sidekick in junior high, and never once had to worry about going over minutes or texts or anything. Frankly, I was a little worried about what our cell phone bill was about to entail, but as it turns out, I was pleasantly surprised.

I knew right off that we would need unlimited texting. I'm not sure how, but Cass sends over 1500 texts steadily each month, and receives about the same. That's a lot. Or maybe it's not. I don't really hang out with any high school chicks, so maybe it's par for the course. Anyway, that was a priority- texting. Luckily, (I assume because of all the texts) she uses about the same amount of minutes as Scott and I each do. With these things in mind, I started shopping around a bit.

I won't lie. I chose our new carrier for one reason, and here it is:

Yup. The iPhone. I had been nudging Scott for a Google phone, but in my heart I always really wanted the iPhone. And I'm so glad fate landed us in this situation, because it really is freaking awesome. All three of us got one, each with our own snazzy case. I went with orange. I'm thinking about naming mine The Viceroy.

Three iPhones on a plan with unlimited text and 700 minutes will run you about $200/month. Plus AT&T has those great rollover minutes, so if there is some sort of crisis, we hopefully won't have to worry about some extra phone usage. But the ability to not only check email, but tweet, blog, check any website, get directions, and always having my iPod on me? Priceless.

My Blackberry Pearl looks like a worthless POS next to this sweet thing. My HTML emails are readable, the camera is better, no more phone delay, internet is nearly flawless, and it's way faster. Hooray for 3G! And I hate to break it to T-Mobile, but AT&T is killing them with better 3G coverage.

So far I've only found two things I don't like about it.

1)It's not compatible with the iPod-through-the-car-radio cord we have. Scott's iPod touch worked with it, but not the iPhone. Which also means not having a car charger. So we have to get a new one of those, or a new car stereo with a MP3 jack, or something.
2)Email isn't automatically updated. To see if I have new email, I have to physically go in and look.

Neither of these is a big deal by any means. And my god, the applications! There are more than you could possibly go through in a lifetime. So far I've only gotten a few freebies, but I see more in my future.

Now if I could just put it down long enough to get some knitting done...

Tricksy Comcast and Some News

Scott and I decided to get rid our cable last week. We generally hate Comcast and the TV sucks up a lot of time so we just cancelled it. Some might remember that we tried this a couple years ago- we went about a year without it, and it was mostly good. There are some downsides (like a major feeling of detachment from society, and never knowing what movies are out) but mostly it's pretty great.

Unfortunately, when the Comcast guy came to disconnect our service, he wiped out our internet. It's partly my own fault for letting the guy leave before making sure all was well, but mostly I blame the Comcast guy. My rage really boiled over when I called them- not 5 minutes after the guy left- and they said nobody could come fix it for four days. Doucheknockers. I swear my hatred for Comcast grew exponentially each day. The worst part is that they have a total monopoly on high speed internet in our area. I'm hoping weekly calls to Verizon, begging them to expand their service, will change this.

But for now, my bubbling anger has been reduced to a simmer as the internet has been restored. And those tricky bastards sent out the nicest, most competent men (yes, two men!) to fix the problem, nullifying my plan to shoot the messenger. Nonetheless, I still despise Comcast and plan on dropping them as soon as possible.

Now for the news: Scott is back to tattooing. He had enough of the office scene, and an opportunity presented itself, so that was it. The next few weeks will be hectic as we adjust, but all in all it will be much better.

Honestly, I was debating holding that little tidbit back, but it would probably have come out sooner or later. My hesitation was purely due to the fact that now nearly every conversation with every person I meet is going to be about tattoos. I mean, when someone asks what my husband does for a living, and I respond with "He works at (insert telecom company here)," that's it. Sometimes there's a follow up question, but rarely an entire discussion. But if I say, "He's a tattooist," it's inevitably followed by a discussion about tattoos. I won't lie- it gets old fast.

Perhaps it's the anti-socialist in me, but I just don't care. I don't care what you want, or what you have. I don't care to show you all of mine. None of mine have any meaning whatsoever- really. It really doesn't matter if you like mine, or if I like yours. If you ask me more about my tattoos than you'd ask about a haircut, I'm going to start looking for escape routes. I can't tell you how much "something like that" would cost, and I definitely can't tell you how much it will hurt you. Them's the breaks.

BUT if you want to talk tattoos, go talk to Scott. He's at Exposed Temptations in Manassas. He's really quite awesome, and can answer all your questions (except the pain one- seriously, how can anyone else know your pain tolerance?).

Laziest Day Ever

Scott left on a camping trip this morning, leaving me on my own for most of the weekend.* A moment ago, I reflected on my day thus far, and decided I really should not be left on my own with no direction. Apparently, this is what happens:

Around 7 I woke up and showered. The next couple hours were spent assisting in making breakfast and coffee for 6 biker friends of the Husband. Around 10 they all left on aforementioned camping trip. At that time, I whined via Facebook status about having to clean up the bacon grease splattered all over the stove. Afterwards, I may have had a drink to cope with the recent stress of having many people in the house so early, and the prospect of cleaning.** From 10:30-11:30 I cleaned said grease, did many dishes, and vacuumed the layer of dog hair Spencer unleashed at the excitement of having company. Afterward, I ate a brownie as a reward.

Around noon, I decided to check out Wonder Books. For those not local to this area, it's a bookstore that sells new and used books, DVDs, VHS, CDs, etc. I think they rent movies, too. It's supposedly a great place to go if you're looking for something out-of-print, or if you still have a functional VCR. Thinking they may have some rare knitting books, I go, only to find their knitting/crochet section is pitifully small. I guess knitters don't let go of their old books... I did find a book with some general patterns in it, and picked up a paperback copy of Red Dragon. When I got back, I more thoroughly examined my purchases while eating an apple. So far this isn't too bad, but then I rapidly sank into boredom:

I spent the better part of the afternoon taking quizzes on Facebook, wandering aimlessly around Ravelry, and watching TV. I followed a fly around the house with a spray bottle set to "mist" for a while, thinking that if I got him wet he wouldn't be able to fly around, and he'd land so I could catch him. I have a thing about smooshing bugs. And cleaning up smooshed bugs. Unfortunately, he was clever enough to go under the couch, so that was the end of that. I made an iced mocha, and went back to screwing around on the interwebs. Later I was suddenly struck with the feeling that I was developing a fever. As I put down the laptop to go get a thermometer, I realized that it was only the heat of the computer making me hot. Feeling stupid, and still bored, I went to the kitchen to procure a snack. On the way, I tripped over the abandoned spray bottle. I ate a banana while pondering compost heaps and wishing we had a backyard. By that time it was nearing 7:30 and I noticed the whole day had been a wash, due to my own laziness. Eventually, I decided to blog in an effort to redeem myself and that's where I sit now. Somewhere in there I did manage to get 4 rounds of a sock done, but that's it.

A bit of sock, a couple of books, and a clean kitchen- that's all I have to show for the day. One of these days I'm going to figure out this whole "productivity" thing. And learn how to eat like a normal person, with regular meals and all that.

*Would-be rapers and killers beware: I am alone but armed.

**I'd like to point out that I almost never drink, but have an affinity for Disaronno and a rebellious attitude toward social mores (like drinking alone in the morning).

More Things I Like

21. Lists, apparently

22. Edamame (mostly I like picking it out of it's little pods)

23. The Venture Bros.

24. Pockets. Pockets in bags, pockets in pants, pockets everywhere.

25. Slip-on Vans

26. Skulls

27. Breakfast, especially toast

28. Snarkfests (as an observer, not an active participant)

29. Virgils Root Beer

30. TV shows about ghosts and haunted stuff

31. Cast iron skillets (we've recently acquired a second one!)

32. Little Britain

33. Space phenomenon such as shooting stars and comets

34. Thai Tanium (best Thai food ever)

35. Solitude. I really just love to be alone.

Whew.

It's been a busy month! We made a lot of progress on the house (or at least it looks like we did):

We painted the living room a reddish-orange, with a yellow accent wall you can see in this photo:

And then we got some new curtains up, bought a better bookcase (to replace our two Ikea monstrosities), and got everything back on the walls. It's like a whole new place. I can't tell you how much I love the color we chose. In the shadows, it's a cozy, earthy, red; and when the light hits it, it's warm and bright and wonderful.

And we got all this done in time for a visit from Bryan (Scott's brother) and Celia (his wife). We had oodles of fun cavorting around DC, Frederick, and Gettysburg this past weekend.


There were many good times to be had, and of course, a filthy cake:

Cast Iron Excellence

Scott and I are in love with our cast iron skillet. It keeps getting better and better with age and use, and I can't imagine breakfast without it. For me, cleaning it is akin to bathing a baby. It's our special time together. There may even be some bonding.

Because I've heard some horrible things people have done to their own skillets, I've created a little tutorial on how to properly love your skillet. Rule number one: NO FREAKIN' SOAP. A cast iron skillet will absorb the flavors of whatever goes in it, so unless you like your bacon with a side of Ivory, don't use soap and water.

Here is my skillet after a delicious breakfast of bacon and eggs this morning:

The first step is to gather the following:

Kosher salt, oil (I like olive), a dishrag (or several paper towels, if you hate the planet), and maybe a stainless steel scrubby thing or steel wool.

Step 1. Use the (dry!) rag to wipe out any food in the skillet. Don't go nuts, just get the big stuff out. Shake off the rag into the sink or garbage, refold so the icky side is on the inside, and set aside.

Step 2. Add a tablespoon or two each of salt and oil.

Step 3. Spread around the salt and oil, and use this to scrub the skillet clean. If there is any food really baked on, use the steel scrubby and elbow grease.

Step 4. Wipe out as much of the salt as you can with your hands (this makes the next step easier).

Step 5. Using the (still dry!) rag, wipe out the rest of the salt and oil.

And that's it! Yay! Clean happy skillet!

To ensure your skillet remains happy, coat in oil (inside and out) and bake it in the oven every once in a while to keep it from rusting. If you find a rust spot (check early and often) scrub it off with steel wool, coat with oil, and bake. We bake it at 300 degrees for about an hour. Watch as your skillet develops a patina over time... it's a thing of beauty. And remember: Soap tastes terrible, and water causes rust. Those two things shouldn't go on your skillet.

A Day Without Rain

I’ve been feeling a little out of sorts the past few days. Nothing major, just a general ickyness. Today, I thought of some possible causes of my malaise:

1. It’s the flu I would have gotten had I not received a flu shot. My fatigue is due to my immune system working overtime to suppress said flu.
2. Mono. It explains why I feel so wiped out, but I've already had Mono, so probably not.
3. Spring Fever. Perhaps this is a real condition: a combination of Cabin Fever and/or Seasonal Affective Disorder and allergies, further complicated by rampant rain-induced mold spores.

Or I just need to eat better and exercise more. Le sigh.

In other news... It was a beautiful day today, and my boss let me out of work a little early. First I bought a pair of Spicolis.

I really love slip on Vans, even more than Chuck Taylors.

Then I went to the eye doctor to get some contacts (it turns out that glasses are rather difficult to fit inside a motorcycle helmet). And now I'm about to go for a walk since it's so nice out. Hooray for short work days!

By the way, I have a Twitter now. It's over there on the right sidebar thingy. >>>