OK, gotta go.

Talk to you soon.

Cream Cheese

So, I was in the Food Centre and I got this feeling that I need to buy cream cheese. I like cream cheese. But, it is not one of those things that i normally buy. Where did this impulse come from? Was it a subliminal messages in the muzak?

Normally, I dont dream. Or, at least, I dont remember that I dream. But there are different chunks of time - say a few weeks to a month or two - where I would dream, and dream in a specific genre for the period. Lately the genre seems to be me creating, inventing, making, discovering something strange.

Well, in one of these dreams, says a vague recollection, I decided I could substitute cream cheese for another ingredient to make a simple yet gourmet meal quite easily. I dont know what meal, or what it was a substitute for. I dont even think it would have worked in real life. I dont eat anything remotely cream cheesey, except for bread with cream cheese on it, and the occasional cheese cake.

In the end, I did not buy the cream cheese.

Surprising Expiration Dates

Bogdan (name changed to protect the guilty) just sent me a link that some of you learning to live on your own or with others may find useful. Its a "handy" guide to some expiry dates for some things in the frigde and around the home.
http://www.realsimple.com/realsimple/content/print/0,22304,676079,00.html

One of the items that I noticed on the list are pickles, which come with the following advice:

Pickles
Unopened: 18 months
Opened: No conclusive data. Discard if slippery or excessively soft.

This really sums up my philosophy for all items in the fridge. Actually, you can hang on to them for another month or two just in case. Call me sentimental. Remember, take a nibble before you stuff the whole thing into your mouth.

I wonder why all my friends stopped responding to invitations for dinner.

The Well is Dry

OK, I am finished. It was fun while it lasted. I have nothing more to say. You can go back to work now.

Serious Junk Mail Filters

Like many people with e-mail, I have also have implemented junk mail filtering. It is prudent at this juncture not to comment on the different types of tactics used by vendors attempting to get the consumers attention.

I periodically review the junk mail folder for those innocent emails who may have been unjustly marked guilty. In the list I came across this one:

"Serious individuals only"

Now, I don't know how smart your filter is, but mine is smart enough to recognize that I am not a serious individual , and correctly mark this as junk.

The end.

(Sorry Roya - I couldn't help it.)

Mandolin Mayhem

Playing "The Rakes of Mallow" badly for Takhamir
and guests. Photo: Mark Fojas

I've been practicing the mandolin for over two and a half years now. And, I've almost worked myself up to beginner's level.

I started at it as a vehicle to learn how music works. It's amazing how much simpler it is to play if you don't worry about things like rhythm, being in tune, fretting the notes correctlly and picking the right string.

As I began playing in public, and witnessing the ensuing mayhem, I learned a very important principle - encouragement. Playing the mandolin badly is like a litmus test for encouragement. Some people even turn red. Others turn blue. And I dont even know how to play the blues.

Should i put a signature or "the end" or something to show that this post is over?

Love to Leila

Greetings. As you may have guessed, this is a blog. Time will tell if it ends up being a blah-g or not. In either case, welcome to my low key debut.