Saturday, March 28, 2009

A Good Finish

This weekend was my last New England quiz meet (not counting Regionals) for a long time, if ever again. Sad. I know I'll see a handful of them at Regionals in a month, or in other contexts, and I'll still "see" them on Facebook. But still, this weekend began my goodbyes that I am saying in the next couple months.

HIGHLIGHTS!

Friday night:
*Hitting the PANIC button on my remote key, thus setting off my car alarm as I opened my trunk. Then when I went to close it, I hit Matt's arm with the trunk hatch. Sorry, Matt.
*We got lost on our way there. Really lost. Like going into downtown Lowell when we didn't have to. I asked a police officer for directions (stereotypically enough, he was at Dunkin's), and then we were looking for VFW parkway, a McDonald's, and... a legit bridge (i.e., one that actually went over water, not a road). We finally found the "legit bridge", and then...made not just one wrong turn, but 2.
*"SLOW--Senior Citizen Zone" and "SENIOR SAFETY ZONE" signs were by the Council on Aging. After taking pictures of these, and following directions from a random person in an apartment complex parking lot, we went back to the original McDonalds.
*There we discovered the road we needed ALL ALONG, and it was next to a LEGIT BRIDGE!!! So frustrating!
*A cold night on the floor--I even had my head inside my sleeping bag! The temperatures were completely opposite from the way they are in my top bunk in Munro.

Saturday
*Quizmastering while ridiculously drowsy--until my hot tea (aka caffeine) kicked in!
*Matt had Jen and I come up after the high school seniors shared what their plans were for after graduation and what quizzing has meant to them, and thanked us for working with quizzing, and all that good stuff. Thanks, Matt for your antics but also your willingness to help!
*Also, a BIG thank you to all the NED quizzing folks that contributed toward my Ukraine trip fund -- the total was $109!!!

Saturday afternoon/evening
*Congratulations to Wolly's JV team (Nick, Emily, Cindi) for making it to Regionals as a JV local team!!! (2nd place)
*Congrats to Robert (varsity) and Nick (JV) for making the all-star teams!!
*Taking pictures of Matt while he was sleeping, and Jen taking pictures of us--I have a look of "I'm going to smile for the camera but I want to make sure I don't drive my car into another car or curb"
*Exhaustion.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

a prayer

When we avoid slowing down
Hedge us in and still our souls
When we ignore your voice
inviting us to be foolish
Release our grip on the need to fit in
give us guts to follow you

Friday, March 06, 2009

College students do not live by ramen alone...

...as simple as that may be.

Tonight begins ENC's spring break, and I (along with many other student teachers and other students) remain on campus. The cafeteria is closed, so we are left to fend for ourselves for food. This is the longest vacation time that I've stayed on campus -- in past years, I've stayed for Easter break (4-day weekend) and J-term break.

I have limited cooking skills/experience....though they increased during my times on YIM. Rachel, Brandi, Angela, and I would go grocery shopping in El Paso, but primarily went out to eat (yeah Sonic!!!). One night we fixed ourselves spaghetti and salad, and even set the table in the fellowship hall--it was quite homey. I think it took us a while to decide what kind of pasta sauce to get, just like when we decided where to eat each day/week. In Ukraine, we fixed a number of our own meals...like "last-resort sandwiches" when we didn't want to take the food on the train and didn't want to do more grocery shopping!

Needless to say, this week is going to be a test of my ability to live on more than ramen, cereal, cookies, EasyMac, etc., and avoid eating out all the time. My goal was to cook for myself, with some degree of nutrition and avoiding prepared/frozen/canned meals, and prove whatever independence I have.

Shopping List ($44.41 in total)
1/2 gallon of milk
Sour cream aka сметана
Shredded cheese
Butter
Black beans
White rice
Spaghetti noodles
Mac and cheese dinner
Loaf of bread
Egg noodles (cheaper than Hamburger Helper, because I wasn't buying the meat)
Corn tortillas
Salsa
Tomato soup
Spaghetti sauce (tomato and basil flavor)
Frozen mixed veggies
Frozen corn/peas
Apples
Goober PB/Jelly combo

Other Foods:
Pi Day celebration pizza on Friday--$2 for 2 slices
plemeni (Ukrainian boiled dumplings, with or without meat), and Ukrainian cheese--$11.30

You may notice the general lack of meat on the list. I have not become a vegetarian, but rather decided that I could manage without meat for the week and a half. It's less expensive that way, and is less that I have to cook.

This food, along with my granola bars and cereal that are already in my room, is to last me for
23-25 meals (if you are wondering about the breakdown, it's 7 breakfasts, 9 lunches, 7 or 8 dinners). I might end up with some "last resort" meals composed of various leftovers. You can't beat open-faced fried onion-tomato-turkey jerky-sandwiches with a slice of Ukranian cheese on top, though. :)

Some of the meals I'm trying:
Black bean quesadillas and salsa
Tomato-vegetable stroganoff (meatless)
PBJ every day for lunch at school
only ONE meal of Mac and Cheese!

So far, I've made myself spaghetti with sauce, which was pretty easy -- boil the spaghetti, warm the sauce. I'm not terribly sure of myself when it comes to timing of all parts of the meal, and the stove in our dorm kitchen, but it worked out (even without a colander!). In my friend's words, "You're so domestic!" Maybe, maybe not.

Here goes...