Our Friend Paul

Our newest friend Paul!
Our first visit, about a week after his arrival.

At 2ish weeks, I hung out with him and his momma for a day. He just slept a bunch. His mom got to, too.

And then, I spent another day with them at 6ish weeks. He was practicing for his driver’s permit, but he couldn’t reach the pedals from his car seat. So, we all 3 had lunch.

Day 1!

First day of the new job was interesting. I mean, I got up early, got to work at the requested 8:30, and got a small tour of the floor before most everyone else got there. That, I kind of expected.

On the tour, I noticed that the guy in the cubicle across from me had pictures of dogs, a black one that looked like Angus and a smaller brown one (with a race bib!) I thought, “This looks like a cool person to know! He clearly runs with his dogs, I can’t wait to talk to him.” And then he showed up, went to a meeting, and came back upset. It wasn’t hard to figure out why when someone soon showed up with boxes and he started packing up. (He was gone before lunch.) I saw several cubicles packed into identical boxes. It was weird to come home and see articles like this on my first day of work.

Anyway, the rest of the day was about what you might expect: my computer’s not in yet, my name’s wrong on most stuff (my middle initial is not “S”), the folks I met were nice, I have a badge with my picture (and correct name), I reviewed an application that’s getting deployed soon, and had lunch at my desk. (Haven’t really figured out the deal with lunch- not sure if people usually sit at their desk and eat or if they congregate somewhere.)

Some of the folks in my group gave me a mini-tour of the facilities, but I’m looking forward to Monday’s orientation, to learn more about the extra services in the building complex and be able to take full advantage of them.

I sort of felt like I putzed but, considering I borrowed a computer and my accounts aren’t all set up yet, I also feel like I did something. I did like getting out so early, since I arrived so early. I didn’t have that feeling like I was sneaking out, as I did with smaller companies. I was done with my day, so I left!

Assembly!

Can you guess what’s happening this weekend?

If you guessed that the finished engine is going back in the truck, you were right!

Foods

Since going gluten free, I’ve discovered that I like a lot more foods. Clarification: It’s not that I disliked the foods, it’s just that I didn’t like them enough to make them, order them, or buy them. I haven’t tried every food I previously avoided, mostly because I didn’t realize I was avoiding them.

For example: waffles. They just didn’t do it for me before. I didn’t buy them, I didn’t order them, and I defintiely didn’t make them. Though I had great memories of having Eggo waffles at Grandpa Harper’s house (with Hungry Jack syrup out of the microwave), I just didn’t want to eat them- they didn’t make me happy to eat. And then, I noticed that Van’s GF waffles were on sale at the grocery (post-recall, of course) and got a box.

Hooray, waffles! I like waffles! They’re great with good syrup, they’re good with butter, they’re good with peanut butter, they’re good with jam, they’re even better with Mom’s homemade jam (and jelly, especially the stuff that didn’t set well), and they’re good plain. Trader Joe’s GF waffles aren’t good, though they have a really good non-sale price, but it’s because they’re so plain and blah, not because they make me unhappy when I eat them.

Another example: spaghetti. I did. not. like. spaghetti. I wasn’t sure if it was too many soccer team spaghetti dinners (I always played like crap after them) or too many burnt-spaghetti sorority dinners (I started avoiding them by senior year and just loaded up on the salad that always seemed to accompany the spaghetti.) I don’t know that TCB and I ever had a spaghetti dinner where we ate the same noodle until I went gluten-free (same sauce, we just made different noodles. It was a pain, and TCB usually would make spaghetti when I wouldn’t be home for dinner.) I generally preferred tofu noodles or buckwheat, but definitely not regular, plain spaghetti. Now? We both like corn spaghetti. Is tasty.

Not every gluten-filled food has this story. I still don’t like hard pretzels. Bleh.

Dear Ted, I want fry pile equality

I like the food at Ted’s Montana Grill. Really, I do. But the last three experiences dining there makes me wonder if I want to go back again.

Used to, we’d go in, get pickles, get more pickles, order, get our tasty food, and be outta there with a happy feeling. Since dining there with Lisa just before the wedding, we haven’t been especially happy.

The first time back after the weddings (and after me going gluten-free, and suggesting Ted’s based on knowing that their fries are GF), we went with Dad, Kathy, George and Sus-babe, and I got poisoned. I ordered off the GF menu, I was really happy to have so many choices, I was happy eating most of my food- the fry pile was huuuge- and then, as I was starting to feel not-so-happy eating (though not full), I got to the bottom of the fry pile, where I discovered an onion ring. Awesome. I felt like poo, Dad and Kathy were heading out of town, I have no idea how their packing up and leaving went- I was concentrating on not barfing. I recovered enough to go to YDFM with Sus-babe that night (I was mostly concentrated on getting home, though), and we got a bunch of coupons to Ted’s to compensate for them poisoning me. (When they took the plate back to the kitchen, I heard an all-staff meeting where they severely questioned everyone about who had plated the meal, why this was unacceptable, and someone may have been suspended. Made me feel more confident about coming back, but I didn’t understand why I was the only patron of the whole table to get this “bonus” of an un-ordered side. It almost seemed deliberate.)

The next time we went, we went with Jo Ann, George and her BF. They ordered off the special dinner menu, TCB and I had regular entrees, and we wanted to use one of the coupns they’d given us ($10 off 2 entrees.) And… they nearly didn’t let us use it, because they quibbled about what we’d ordered (saying we’d only gotten 1 entree and 2 special menus, when the bill was 2 entrees and 1 special menu.) It was a lot of trouble to use the Ted’s-issued coupon, and we had the same waitress as last time, when I’d gotten them for the poisoning. Ugh. With so much trouble over using their own coupons, I really didn’t want to try using one again. Or go back.

But… I had a resturants.com coupon that I’d bought that I wanted to use. Yeah, $10 off $20, the same as those other coupons, though this one had a price minimum (easily met with 2 entrees, add a side salad to both.) But I paid for it, damnit! I gotsta use it before it expires! So, I took TCB there for his birthday yesterday. And, of course, the food was a problem. I asked for the gluten-free menu when we ordered our drinks (almost immediately after being seated.) Our drinks came and the menu… it took a while. I really just wanted to see it to make sure nothing had changed, but still. We finally ordered, and our salads were fine, though they seemed to take a long time. A table that ordered their drinks after us got their appetizers and food before we did. And their main food order was correct! My bunless burder came with a bun, so I sent it back. TCB’s wasn’t quite what he thought it would be, though it was what he ordered. My re-make, though it came with lots of apologies and manager visits, took forever. TCB finished his meal before mine arrived.

And! Most disappointing! The fry pile was halved. Srsly. There was a huuuge fry pile on my first burger, the one with the bun. And there was a huuuge fry pile with TCB’s burger. And there was a tiiiny fry pile with the bunless burger. I noticed that my fry pile was tiny the last time we were there and TCB’s was big (the time with the bill quibble), but thought that was an anomoly. This time… tiiiny fry pile with the bunless burger, and very seemingly on purpose. Sure, I could see through it to make sure that there were no hidden onion rings at the bottom but, Gr. Just because I don’t want the bun anywhere near my plate doesn’t mean I don’t want the same number of fries! No to buns! Yes to fries!

So, I’m unsure if we’re going to give them our business again, even with the bunch of coupons we still have from the poisoning. It feels like more of a hassle to eat there on one of our few nights out than using a coupon might possibly be worth. Wendy’s and Atlanta Chick-fil-A locations are so much easier.

Srsly, wtf.

I’ve been trying to enjoy my last week of relative unemployment. It’s a little full of errands that I/we have been putting off (like changing our names), but it’s been fine, and I like that the free time has a little sense of that urgency back that the first month of unemployment had.

But, I’m still recovering from that freaking cold and the newest problem? Massive facial breakout. I don’t know when I’ve ever had my face break out this badly. It’s all over my cheeks, all over my chin, all over my forehead (though next to my eyebrows.) Gr. Not my nose, as it usually is after a cold.

I’d been washing my face more often than usual, up until the cold, when I started washing it (lightly, with the gentler soap), every day. Then, I went back to my usual washing schedule (still every day, but one day with an exfoliating, clearing scrub wash one day, and the gentler, redness-clearing wash the next. And occasional extra stuff, like yogurt. I used to use oatmeal, but it seemed to do little to nothing, or even be less effective than simply rinsing with water.)

And now? Total breakout. I’ve gone back to the gentler wash, but will have to get more soon, since it’s nearly out. Not sure if it’s more allergen/autoimmune fun, stress, immune depression or something else.

Any remedy/product that’s worked well for you?

First

TCB though he’d be the first to break a wedding present.

When we left to visit Mom this weekend, I washed a bunch of dishes, glasses, knives and plastic containers. I left them on the drying towel next to the sink.

We returned to find glass all over the floor. Clearly, the cat had jumped up onto the counter (as she usually does when we’re gone, looking for that mousie, still. I’ve really cleaned it many times, she keeps wanting to inspect the “death” spot.) In the process of jumping up, she knocked over the fancy wine glass that I’d cleaned. How she managed to avoid the knives, I’m unsure. But she knocked over the glass that TCB has been avoiding using because he didn’t want to be the first to break one (which I think is silly. We have it, let’s use it!)

I’m hoping the cat’s misbehavior will lead to TCB using the wine glasses from the wedding, because they’re really nice.