Perpetual Jet Lag

Victory is Sweet

Two weeks ago, we were in third, one point away from the lead. This week, however, we kicked everyone's ass (I'm looking at you, "Team: The Musical") by a full 6.5 points.

Beezer made a good observation, however: we'd sweep from here to Armageddon if Coen ever came down to play.

An impressive display of knowledge was at hand, including a perfect score in the lightning round. All in all, a good night: my take was $30, which means after my entry fee, a slice of pizza, and two beers, I came home up $8. It's great that we won, because I'd have rather come in fifth than second. Second through fourth got free passes to see "Altar Boyz."

So if you're in town on July 11, or can fill in for me July 13, I'm sure the Fantastic Fournicators and I would love to have you join us at The Big Quiz Thing.

I'm definitely with the right person

Hanging around Saturday morning over coffees, Jenny had a realization that our anniversary is coming up next week. I mentioned that we'll have been married six years then. Without missing a beat, she said:

"Halfway there!"

She's nuts. I love that.

Mmmm... Dessert

It only took two tries to successfully make really good Sticky Toffee Pudding over the weekend.

The first recipe we found needed self-rising cake flour, which I didn't realize until after I'd already made the batter. Leaving out the dates (and the accompanying boiling water) and boiling the sauce too high made the first attempt inedible. They were essentially little bricks with Werther's Originals on top.

This recipe used regular all-purpose flour with baking soda and baking powder, and was a little more explicit about getting the sauce right. I would definitely recommend trying your hand at it, as long as you can find fresh dates. Oh - and chopping dates isn't as straightforward as you think. Once they get small enough, you basically get mush. Stop before that happens.

I ♥ NY

Today on the walk to work, I saw a young woman, probably early twenties, in a green poodle skirt, red blouse, red horn rim glasses, and sneakers, sitting on a step for a side entrance to a building in Midtown having a cigarette. It was about 8:30 this morning.

This made absolute sense, since she worked here. It did not, however, make it any less surreal.

So much for that idea.

As it turned out, I worked a lot harder last week at training than I'd anticipated. We also had outings (well, not "outings" per se, since we never left the compound, but free drinks at the bars, anyway) both nights I was there, which lasted much longer than they likely should have. On the upside, I confirmed that I like scotch.

Scotch story: I posted before about telling off that Associate Partner in India, right? Well, as it turned out, we had another altercation in the lobby of the hotel as I was leaving. Long story short, I was right, he was wrong, and several of my team members who happened to overhear came to my aid. I left in an absolutely shitty mood, since I don't tend to like confrontations like that, and waited in a crowded and odoriforous lounge. When I finally boarded my BMI flight, I had several very nice and courteous English attendants greet me and pamper me. When asked about a pre-dinner drink, needing desperately to relax, I said "Glenlivet, rocks" with the air of someone who knew. It was good. Last week, three of the four free drinks I had were Black Labels on the rocks.

Over the weekend, Jenny and I crashed around the house Saturday (we went out late with some of her students on Friday to celebrate the end of the program, wherein I had two large vodka martinis, no food, and discussed the sheer incredibility of the Scientology movement) and went to Ikea in Jersey on Sunday.

Despite the beautiful weather, I still hated driving in Jersey. Why don't the signs tell you where the highways are? If I follow signs that say "Rt 24", shouldn't I shortly see an option of East or West, and not be forced onto Westbound? And even if I were forced West, shouldn't I be allowed to turn around without driving four miles, taking two rights, and doing a donut in a car dealer's parking lot?

I do, however, now know the origin of "Jersey barrier." Every stupid highway, even the state routes, have them down the center to keep you from turning around. I would think it's all a scam to get more "No U-Turn" tickets written to out-of-towners, if I'd seen a single trooper on any road.

Love that Flag Day Traffic

For the third time in about 5 weeks, I'm in a New York airport (Newark this time) waiting for a flight. I did not hesitate to drop the $7 for 24 hours of internet access, even though I now have the sneaking suspicion it's 24 contiguous hours, such that I will not be able to save my remaining 22.5 hours and use this same account at a later date. Shoot.

Only off to Chicago this time, for three days of training. I've spent the last week working on a huge proposal, only to leave just in time to avoid having to spend the evening at Kinko's getting it printed and bound. If all goes as I left it today, a Partner at the company will be doing that. That's why we pay him the big bucks, you know.

Speaking of big bucks, a congrats go to Beezer, Skid, and the rest for narrowly missing out on the money at the Big Quiz Thing last night. We ended up in third, only one point out of the running. The following could have had us tied for the lead:

• If any of us had correctly placed the "Little House on the Prairie" theme from a 10 second clip.
• If I'd remembered that the weekend before the Booz Allen Classic, the Memorial tournament was played.
• If Jenny had come and recognized the video to "Whisper to a Scream" on sight, as she claims she can do.
• If any of us had read the Sunday papers cover to cover and learned Mayor Bloomberg's ex-wife's name.

That said, we did do extremely well and got a lot of good gets, including correct umlaut placement on Björk, Motörhead, Hüsker Dü, and Blue Öyster Cult, guessing the largest city in the Maritime Provinces (Halifax), and getting "Pac Man Fever" from a 15-second clip.

We ended up splitting a cache of bad TV books. I got a pre-release copy of Center Square: The Paul Lynde Story (no joke) which was timely for two reasons. One, yesterday would have been Paul Lynde's 78th birthday. Two, Jenny and her crew at Springboard NYC were discussing how much they hated "Kids!" from Bye Bye Birdie. (He sang that.)

More likely to come, as there's not much to do at the learning compound to which I'm traveling. I have my India photos and notes with me, and who knows: you may actually see one or two of them.

Damned Trackback Spam.

Greg had it right - I was in Mumbai / Bombay for three weeks for work, on very short notice. (Got the call Tuesday afternoon, left the following Monday, and still managed to get a new visa issued.) The New York Times had a great article on the whole Mumbai / Bombay conundrum, and to have seen it in action was amazing -- everything has two names, and everyone still uses the British names, no matter what's on the signs. (Sorry for no link on that article -- I can't find it now, and even if I could, it would be behind their archive payment scheme.)

I have notes from the trip all prepped and ready for a travelogue recap, though blog etiquette would seem to require that I delay the publishing of same for at least a few more weeks. ("I learned it by watching you, OK? I learned it by watching you!")

For the record, I've been working 18 hour days since I got back on a new proposal, though if it sells I'll be working a short 10 minute walk from my house. That sure beats flying to Paris and only being 2/5 of the way there.

Oh, for those who were wondering: I'd meant to post this a few days ago, but spent an hour clearing out trackback spam and adding sites to our blacklist. Hence the title, a very weak excuse for my procrastination.