Valentine's Day 2010

It's time for the [almost] annual Valentine's Day blog entry.  I don't think I've done one since moving to BG, though.

One perspective has not changed in the years that have passed…I truly believe that anyone who finds love to celebrate on Valentine's Day is fortunate.  I also believe that anyone who does not find love to celebrate on Valentine's Day should look around and re-discover love that is there.  This day is not just about "expressing" love, it's about realizing love.  Although I gave up my chance to celebrate romance many years ago, I am still blessed for all of the love in my life.

All of that being said, let's get down to brass tacks.

Thanks to my great friend, Erich, I am able to share the following photo for this year's V.D. edition:

Yes, that is right.  For all the wonderful people in the world that associate their love with White Castle, our friends in Cincinnati are helping to insure that today remains special thanks to their reservation hotline.  Sadly, I'm failing to find an appropriate love/"slider" pun for this image.  While I do appreciate the White Castle reservation concept, it's the phone number that makes me laugh--x10.  Really?  Is this White Castle so enormous that it's management and work force demands multiple extensions for outside callers?  Wow!  A White Castle that grand probably does require reservations.

If there where a White Castle near me, I probably would have visited simply to express my love for the "slider."

I guess that is all for this year's edition.  It's getting close to midnight, so I need to get this posted.

Love and peace to all!

Pork marinade

I recently posted a spectacular marinade for steak (beef) on Facebook.  Well, today I have another combination (not quite a recipe), but this time for pork.  For my cooking adventure, I was using thin-sliced center-cut pork chops cooked in a slow cooker (Crock Pot).  I plan to use again for thicker chops or possibly a roast.  My particular cut of meat and presentation was not photo worthy, but yummy!

Ingredients (other than pork)--roughly in order of content quantity:
Water
Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce
sweet onion--1 thick slice lightly chopped
minced garlic
dry mustard
black pepper
Tabasco sauce (hint/dash)

I mixed the marinade the night before and refrigerated to allow a good mixture, but I did not marinade the meat in advance because it was still thawing.  Not real sure a marinade is necessary when slow cooking anyway.  I would recommend a 2-6 hour (or overnight) marinade if choosing to bake, fry, broil, or grill the pork.

Quantity: for the slow cooker, I made sure to start with enough water to cover the pork.  From there, add BBQ sauce until appropriately flavorful (probably 1 cup per pound of meat--start with less and work up so as to avoid wasting the sauce). 1-2 slices of onion per pound of meat is fine, more or less to suit your taste.  Garlic--roughly 1 Tbls per pound of meat, or one clove if using fresh; I probably used 1 tsp. in my mixture.  The garlic is a companion in this sauce, not the main event. Dry mustard = 2 tsp per pound.  Black pepper: probably 1 tsp, but I imagine up to 1 Tbls would be fine.  Tabasco: use your judgment--it's giving a little extra "tang" to the BBQ, but your limit for "kick" will determine how much to use.  I'm thinking 1/2 tsp - 1 Tbls per pound.

I served the marinade/sauce over the cooked pork, which is why I left large pieces of onion--yum!

Retreat

I’ve spent the better part of this weekend on a retreat sponsored by a Catholic church.  For some of you, this might seem predictable.  For others, this might be hard to believe.  It probably depends on when and where we’ve known each other.

I should start by saying that it was a fabulous experience, and I thank the parishioners of St. Aloysius in Bowling Green for making it all possible through their planning and volunteering.  My experience is entirely due to their service and sacrifice.

So, what’s blog worthy in this story.  “What happens on retreat stays on retreat,” so I can only ethically share self-perspectives (which seems fitting for a blog).

The biggest thing that stands out is that we reap what we sow, and that includes humor.  I was very appreciative of the letters I received from family and friends during the retreat, especially because they all were infused with humor.  I’ve been on many retreats in my life, and I was very pleased to spend more time laughing than crying on this one!

I can also say that I have renewed my spiritual focus, which remains untethered to any specific religious doctrine.  While this does leave me detached from the kind of community experienced by many Christians, it permits me to live every day knowing that I am not falsely impersonating a believer of religious “truths”.  For now, I am grateful for the values of love, respect, justice, and community instilled within me through family and Church; I am also happy to shamelessly hold my beliefs within those values, even those which conflict with the Church that helped raise me.

I realize this posting is very unspecific, but I think that’s how it must be for now.  I am happy to have experienced love this weekend, and I look forward to sharing that love forward.

Shalom (peace, prosperity, and harmony be with all of us).

Regrets?

I've heard it said (sorry, no specific references) that some people strive for "no regrets" in life.  I'm pretty sure I've said that at times, perhaps even in former blog posts.

To an extent, I embrace the philosophy.  If this means taking advantage of opportunities rather than letting them pass by, count me in.

However, there's another side to regrets.  I do regret things now, and I expect to regret things in the future.  Included in these regrets are opportunities presented simultaneously with other opportunities.  With every opportunity, there is an alternative.  With every choice is a cost.  If we are fortunate in life, we will sometimes encounter multiple amazing opportunities from which to choose.

Here, I am reminded of Robert Frost's The Road Not Taken. We all face a "fork in the road" at some point, and we choose a direction.  By the "no regrets" philosophy, I hope to look back on most of those choices and feel that they led to good--to amazing--places (figuratively and literally).  At the same time, I may look back at some of those choices and regret not having experienced the other opportunity.  That's not to say I made a mistake or even that I would do it differently if given the chance. It simply means I would like to have experienced the other as well.  There have certainly been times when I've encountered "a fork" and parted ways with other people with whom I would have enjoyed a continued journey.  Again, I may regret the departure from those persons, but that does not necessarily shroud the beauty of the chosen path.

Perhaps some regrets are treasures...reminders of amazing encounters.  In the words of Alfred Lord Tennyson from In Memoriam, "Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all."

I leave you with Frost's The Road Not Taken.


Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that, the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
two roads diverged in a wood, and I --
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Moving along

Sorry for the inactivity.  This has been a crazy...well, awkward...week.  Last Saturday, in the midst of continued "settling" activities, my lower back basically went out.  I spent much of Saturday literally crawling around my apartment and trying to get comfortable.  On Monday, I visited a doctor and was prescribed medications for a back strain.  Due to the medications, I am not permitted to drive and have spent much of the week in my apartment.

While this could have made for a good week of studying, I was largely preoccupied with my own physical condition (and I slept way more than usual).  Regardless, I have moved forward with preparations for my exam (Jan. 22-23) and feel confident that I will be ready come next Friday.

I also was suckered into a "red tag" promotion this week.  As such, I now have cable TV which means I'm paying for television for the first time ever.  Hmm...we'll see how long that lasts.

I guess that's all I have to share for now.  If I did have perspectives to share this week, they would probably regard the Tonight Show / Conan / Leno debacle.  For now, suffice it to say that I've developed a new respect for Conan O'Brien.

Finally, Go Cowboys!

A snowy start

I am officially moved and unemployed.  I have my new "Graduate" ID (to replace my former "Employee" ID) and I have no parking permit for the University.

Time to start over.

I finished turning in keys and getting donations to Goodwill just in time to see the heavy snowfall begin from the comfort of home.  Take a look

The first two offer the perspective of my actual home-office view:

This one gives a little better look at the snowfall:

And this is the snow leopard that is still waiting to get into my computer:

[For those of you unfamiliar, that is the image from Mac's new Mac OS X 10.6 operating system (Snow Leopard)]

I won't show any other pics from home at this time because there are--finally--boxes everywhere.

I'm not quite sure what happens today.  I feel like I could use another hour or two of sleep, but that can probably wait.  I know there will be soup at some point.  As much as I would like to relax on the couch in front of the fireplace with a book, I know that unpacking must be a priority in order to begin my studying this weekend as planned.

Sadly, I don't have much other perspective to share at this moment.  The snow is falling and I think it is beautiful, but I'm a little too tired for poetry.  I am excited for the opportunities ahead of this transition, but I am still sad knowing I abandoned my team who started "training" today.

Oh, and I can't quite decide what font size I prefer for this blog.

Top 5: Winter Moving

TOP 5 REASONS WHY WINTER MOVING IS BETTER THAN SUMMER MOVING IN OHIO

5. Working up a sweat makes negative wind chill bearable.
4. Frozen ground = solid footing.
3. Bloody knuckles from dry, cracked skin looks kind of tough--like a fighter.
2. Frozen ground = no muddy footprints.
1. No humidity!