A Hint of Wasabi

Today was a fun day spent at the Town of LaPlata's annual chili cook off. We had a team entered in the contest from work and since it involved cooking of any sort, I volunteered to be the ringleader. There is, after all, this one kind of chili that I really love to make because it is so easy and appealing to people of all levels of moral eating standards. So I insisted we register for the vegetarian category, thinking that there would be less competition and maybe we would FINALLY win one of these town contests.

The great thing about this chili is that is is incredibly easy to make. You throw a bunch of stuff into a slow cooker and let it simmer overnight. Then you've got this fantastic chili that you don't have to worry so much about [temperature-wise] because it doesn't have meat in it that will quickly go bad. It smells really spicy, but only has a little kick to your mouth. Give it a try sometime:

Chipotle Black Bean Chili

Ingredients:

-2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed

-2 cans diced tomatoes w/peppers and onions

-2 cups salsa (your choice)

-1/2 white onion, finely chopped

-1 Tbsp chili powder

-1 tsp minced garlic

-1 tsp ground chipotle pepper powder

-1 tsp ground cumin

Directions:

Toss it all in and simmer on low for 8-10 hours.

But then I read the rules for this particular chili cook-off and realized that I was potentially doomed. The rules stated that because all chilis had to be made from scratch, the only canned item we could use was beans. Fast forward to last night, and I (along with two other staff) found myself chopping a 20-pound case of tomatoes, an entire flat of cherry tomatoes, fresh peppers, onions, and jalapenos. When we decided that we had enough (which in the end was far too much) chili in the pot and needed to let it simmer, I was concerned.

It just didn't look or smell quite right. But we left it on the stove and just let it be for a while. I went back to check it around midnight and felt a little better about it. But it wasn't until my 3:30am check that I knew it was going to be okay. The smell of it took me back to Indiana, to my little one-bedroom-off-campus-campus apartment, to the first time I ever made it...

You see, I had been assigned to make potato salad for a potluck back in grad school. And since I'm grossly unskilled at estimating how much food a crowd will eat, I bought approximately 40 pounds of potatoes. Of course, I only ended up needing about 10, and then had 30 pounds of potatoes on my hands and nobody to feed. So I made a facebook event called "Leftover Potatoes" and invited everyone over. And then realized that Inga, my vegan friend, would be attending and I had animal products in just about everything on the menu.

I did a quick google search for vegan crockpot recipes and this was the first thing that came up. I was so delightfully surprised by its heartiness despite its lack of meat that it became a regular staple of my apartment. I almost always had some in the crockpot. I made it for my parents when I was visiting on a Friday during Lent. I've entered it in numerous chili cookoffs, and each time altering the ingredients just a little to find perfection.

And today I think I finally did. You see, I've also been known to make what's called "The Double Burner" - because it burns on the way in and on the way out. The first time I made that I was on a mission to make the eaters of it sweat and cry. I went to the grocery store and grabbed every spicy thing I could find. Wasabi included. And then, this morning, just before we packed up to head to the Town Hall, I dropped in a teaspoon of wasabi.

We got a lot of good reviews, and a lot of thankful smiles from the vegans who had been dragged to the event by friends and family. We didn't even place when it came time to announce winners. Of course we're slightly disappointed, but overall it was a good day. I got to spend it feeding people, and that's what I love!

I'm eating a bowl of the leftover chili as I type this. It's cooled to almost room temperature, and the only utensil I could find is a fork. But I'm making it work.

Let the Music Lead the Way

It's Sunday afternoon. Halloween. I'm in my office, catching up on overdue variance reports and planning for the whirlwind next two weeks brought on by a flash of brilliance had by my boss in a meeting last week. Speaking of last week, it was a hot mess. And that's putting it mildly. But we all survived, had an awesomely fun Halloween dance last night for all the individuals we serve in our programs, and have a lot to get excited for and look forward to in November and December. Wow. Tomorrow is November. Hard to believe I've been working here almost an entire year.

Another very exciting thing in my life is that when I came in today, my computer all of a sudden had sound capabilities. I like to think it's just karma coming my way after baking brownies for the IT guys on a semi-regular basis. Regardless. I can listen to PANDORA while working now, which I am certain will help me focus a bit. An hour or so into my being here, an old familiar song came on. This song holds a very special place in my heart, because it helped me make a major life decision. Let me explain...

I started work on my master's degree at Indiana State in the fall of 2007. It only took my first professor in my first course to stand up and say that a career in recreation was pointless because there was no money in it to get me to start seriously rethinking my decision from the start. I figured I could at least give it the old college try (pun intended) and stick it out the semester. A few weeks in I met with an undergraduate professor who sang a very different tune and wanted to get me involved with his various courses, research, and even got me a job. When he asked if I intended to stay there, I told him I still wasn't sure, but was leaning towards leaving in December.

He encouraged me to apply for the Student Camp Leadership Academy that November. I attended and went back to Indiana set on leaving school and figuring out my life as I went along. In the meantime, my sister had introduced me to the music of a singing fellow named Jon McLaughlin. I downloaded his entire first album after only listening to one song. And in the midst of all my life's confusion at the time, I grabbed my iPod and went for a walk around campus. I'm not even kidding when I say that the first song that came on was one by this McLaughlin guy and it was called Indiana. I didn't think much of it at first, until it got to the very end. But I'll let you read the lyrics and see for yourself:

I'm glad i never lived next to the water
So I could never get used to the beach
And I'm glad I never grew up on a mountain
To figure out how high the world could reach
I love the miles between me and the city
Where I quietly imagine every street
And I'm glad I'm only picturing the moment
I'm glad she never fell in love with me

For some the world's a treasure to discover
And your scenery should never stay the same
And they're trading in their dreams for Explanations
All in an attempt to entertain

But I love the miles between me and the city
Where I quietly imagine every street
And I'm glad I'm only picturing the moment
I'm glad she never fell in love with me

The trick of love is to never let it find you
It's easy to get over missing out
I know the how's and whens, but now and then,
She's all I think about

I wonder how it feels to be famous
But wonder is as far as I will go
Because I'd probably lose myself in all the Pictures
And end up being someone I don't know.

So it's probably best I stay in Indiana
Just dreaming of the world as it should be
Where every day is a battle to convince myself
I'm glad she never fell in love with me

Needless to say, I stayed. I don't regret it for a second. I made some absolutely amazing friends, learned a lot about myself, about life, and about making it work. I met Micah the following semester, and he kinda saved my life this summer when I needed to hire a last minute nature program leader...now he's working full time here and is a major player in this whirlwind two weeks coming our way. David and Inga and I quickly became practically inseparable. I got to travel, present at conferences and teach an occasional class. Once I left, I missed Indiana more than I ever expected to or thought I could. Every time I drive past someone with an Indiana license plate now, I cross my fingers and hope they see the Indiana State sticker on my car...and know that they're not alone in the big city.

I'm obviously still a big believer in signs. If I wasn't before, how could I not be after that song just HAPPENED to pop up first in a random playlist when I was taking a walk to figure out my life? Yeah, it was a pretty short walk.

So when I heard that song come on Pandora just now, I was comforted by the reassurance in his voice. I started thinking about how the gods of music just seem to give you what you need when you need it. Which brings me to my next point. My lease on my current apartment is up at the end of December. The rent is going up in 2011, as is the water/gas/trash/sewage bill, AND they are adding a $3 per month fee to process my rent payment. REALLY? I have to pay to pay my rent?!? So I clearly need to move, but am having trouble finding a place. So I got to thinking that if I have to move, should I just move across town or should I make it worth it and really move somewhere else and do something different? I mean, I hadn't really planned to stay here very long anyway.

When I say work was a hot mess last week, I mean it. But I'm just going to leave it at that. What it means for me, though, is that my job is changing a bit. And I think the changes are going to keep it interesting enough (not that it was ever a boring job by ANY means) that I'll be happy here for a few more years. Especially since I can now make a case to live in a more rural part of the state and still be able to be close to work. But I'd be lying if I said I didn't still have a little bit of an itch for a change in scenery. Except immediately after Indiana came on Pandora, was this song by The Afters:

One Moment Away

Wake up and smile
Put on a tie
Walk to the car
And wave goodbye
Radio onY
ou're singing along
It's all gonna change but how could you know

You're one moment away
One chance left to take
And you're gone
Are they gonna remember you for running away
Or saving the day from the darkness
And letting your love shine through
What will you do
You're one moment away

Eyes are on you
The pressure is on
Where will you stand when the lines have been drawn
The clocks have all stopped, the story's been told
This is your life, so how will it show

No you can't pretend that forever
Will never come knocking at your door

Run through the flames
Never look back
What did you think that you came here for?

I truly don't know what this song is about. It kind of has some suicidal undertones. And it also kinda feels like a woman with a large presence is telling me to quit crying about life, make a decision, and live with it. The last line really got to me though. What DID I come here for? I came here to work, to learn, to make friends, and, forgive the cliche, to try and make a difference. I know I've achieved the first three, and the fourth really isn't for me to decide anyway. So I'm gonna hang around here, keep the music playing, and see where we go next...

Back Home Again in Indiana

So this has been quite an eventful five days of fun since I touched down and the still shiny and new Indianapolis International Airport. We ate our weight in just about everything this weekend and had plenty of laughs, naps, and all around good times. I am sitting at my gate in the airport waiting for the return flight to BWI and since I am unable to log in to my work desktop and get a head start on tomorrow, I figured this was a great time to try to chronicle the happenings of recent days.

Team Perkins picked me up right around 8PM on Wednesday and our first order of business was to stop and pick up some fancy dog treats for their English bulldog, Crumpet. Now, you might think that buying fancy treats for a dog is a bit extravagant. But she is just way to cute NOT to spoil. I give you Exhibit A:

And I rest my case.

After FINALLY getting to meet Crumpet, we walked on down to the local yokel Alabama Grill. It was almost 10PM and we could only order things off the menu that could be deep fried. But it was all delicious anyway and Team Perkins introduced me to a delicious new beverage...The Flying Dragon. At least that's what I think it was called. It was a-MAZE-ing.

The next morning was spent shopping for shoes for Inga to wear in the wedding...the next day. If it weren't for the last minute, nothing would get done! :) But she managed to find some cute little silver ballet slipper type flats that worked perfectly. We went to Chilis for lunch and that afternoon Inga and I got our nails done. That was an experience you can read about in the previous post.

That night was the wedding rehearsal and dinner. It was an outdoor wedding overlooking the Wabash River. Which is usually not so attractive. But it got dressed up for the occasion. It was super windy for the rehearsal and since it was right next to a golf course, some guys out on the nearest putting green were being jerks and chipping balls that were three feet from the hole so they came over and nearly hit us. And they waited till the balls landed to yell fore. I've never played a round of real (read: not putt putt or wii) golf in my life but even I know that rule! We finished the rehearsal and then decorated the reception hall. It was simple and beautiful and really really nice.

The rehearsal dinner was at my favorite Terre Haute hot spot, Moggers. They had a pulled pork buffet with apple crisp and bread pudding for dessert. Since the guys were going out to have another bachelor party of sorts, we decided that we should do the same. Except for the bachelorette. We thought about going and having a couple drinks, but with an under-21 with us we didn't think that was fair. So we decided to head to the little campus coffee shop in down town and just chill out. But right next door was a brand new hookah bar called Smoke in Peace.

This was fate. With none of us ever having actually smoked hookah in the past but all of us wanting to try, it was perfect. We got two different hookahs, one was called a Yellow Submarine with pineapple, banana, and orange and the other was a random mix of mango, cinnamon, and something else I can't remember. But a good time was had by all. At 11:20 Inga and I had to go and meet David at the movie theater since we had tickets to the midnight showing of Nightmare on Elm Street.

I generally don't go see horror films. Not because they're scary, but because they are ridiculous. I just laugh at all the "scary" stuff and rarely get freaked out. So Inga and I giggled our way through this Freddy Krueger update - especially when one of the girls goes all Exorcist on us - and then audibly judged the movie for making it seem as though you can jam an epi pen directly into someone's heart not kill her. After the movie David had to pee so Inga and I waited in the hall. The two guys who were sitting in front of us in the movie walked by, one of them looked straight at Inga and said, "stupid bitches!" I wish I had heard him...I would have responded by ensuring him that I am not, in fact, stupid.

Well I slept till almost noon the next day and by the time I woke up, Inga had already left to meet the bridal party and get their hair done and photos taken. David and I had lunch at this awesomely delicious home town greasy spoon diner. Then we got ready and headed over to Terre Haute for the big wedding! It was a perfectly lovely ceremony despite the wind which broke the unity candles. A mere eight hours later we were back at the Hotel Perkins and starving like crazy. So obviously, a midnight run to Hardees was in order!

We got up relatively early Saturday morning and went back to where the wedding was to help the newlyweds clean up the last remnants of the reception. After that was brunch at Bob Evans (delicious) and a search for a flea market in Brazil. The search turned out to be pretty fruitless but we did end up on the parade route for the Brazil Loyalty Day parade....which was an experience in itself. It included the usuals like the local state championship marching band, the trucks full of boy scouts throwing candy, and the town's dance academy. But the most interesting of the displays was Santa being towed in a fishing boat labeled Jackson Fire Rescue. I wish I was making this up.

Saturday night I hung out with my friend Betty and her two boys followed by a night DDing for David and Inga at a toga party that only had a handful of togas. It was an interesting party that involved people randomly trading shirts the entire night. And I had way more fun than I expected to. It was kinda nice to pretend like I was part of the college scene again...hahah! So after driving the drunks back in the rain, they went straight to bed but I was wide awake. So I started reading the book Push and couldn't put it down until I fell asleep an hour or so later.

I slept till 1:30 Sunday afternoon and then we hit Moggers for lunch. I had the bourbon wings this time...wings that are so delicious I have literally driven across the country for them. We then went to the mall to pick up some gourmet cookies for Inga to take to her dad for his birthday on Monday.

My internal clock must have known that it was Monday once again and I woke up at the crack of dawn ready to go. So I read some more of Push and then packed my bags. We went to the Umi Grille for lunch, which was as amazing as ever. And then it was time to head to the airport. Which brings me here. Waiting for my flight. Even though I don't really want to get on the plane. If nothing else, this trip has reminded me that I belong anywhere but where I'm going.

Creeper Magnet

I swear I have a magnet in my head that attracts creepers. Not necessarily directly to me, but definitely to my relative vicinity. In preparation for the wedding tomorrow, Inga and I went to get our nails done. We walked down to the little nail place in town (walking around town is another activity I've completely forgotten about since moving to the DC metro area...) and got started right away.

About five minutes after we walked in, a typical rural Indiana man came sauntering in. I figured he was in the market for a gift certificate or something, because he surely wasn't getting a mani/pedi! He asked one of the employees if he was from Vietnam. When the Asian man said yes, the creeper started in on a list of questions about traveling to Vietnam, getting a visa, how much things should cost there, how long the flight is, etc.

He continues grilling these guys about their home countries, and tells them that he has so many questions because he has never traveled before...never even been on a plane. So I'm wondering why he's choosing Vietnam as his first international travel destination. Through further ear hustlin (I must credit that term to my sister Emily) I learned that he has a girlfriend there. One he met on vietnamcupid.com. (I'll save trying to figure out how he found that website for another post altogether.) And after a year and a half of talking online, he's finally traversing the Pacific to make it real.

Where do these people come from and how do they always find their way into my life? I'm not complaining, though. It keeps it interesting.

Sometimes I Ramble

So I'm pretty excited to be heading back to Indiana tomorrow. I miss that place way more than I ever expected to. I am well into my usual pre-trip routine. Which of course means I have four things in my suitcase and I have taken a break to watch Glee and do a little blogging. It also means that there are clothes I need to take with me in the dryer at the moment and my apartment is kind of a disaster area.

There musn't be very many people flying from Baltimore to Indianapolis tomorrow night, because I still got an A boarding pass and I didn't check in online until an hour after I was allowed. I'm cool with that, though. It means that when I fall asleep on the plane, as I always do, and start mouthbreathing, there won't be anybody next to me to get grossed out by my drooling.

Anyway, I'm going back to HoosierLand for the wedding of two great friends I met during grad school. If knowing the two of them means anything, this will certainly prove to be all but a conventional wedding. It will be goofy and oddly romantic, beautiful and still simple, honest but hopeful. These two are so comfortable with themselves, with each other, and with their relationship. And to top it off they have one of those cutesy yet funny how-they-met stories. They were both crushing on each other, but she was younger and thought he saw her as a dumb freshman while he thought she just plain old hated him. Something made her kiss him one day and the rest is history. Oh, and their first dance is likely going to be Sir Mix-A-Lot's Baby Got Back. SO bring on the weekend!

Anyway, I'm going to a wedding on Friday and just went to a funeral on Sunday. I didn't know the lady really well, but it was very sudden and she was a big part of the camp community in this region. The funeral home was packed to the MAXX and the people there even filled the hallway outside the main room. The minister told this random story about fishing and how it relates to how short life is despite how long it may seem. And this got me thinking about how truly insignificant we all are in the grand scheme of things.

As much as we all like to think (and rightfully so) that our lives make a difference, when we die, the world just keeps on a-turning. I can't remember if it was in real life or on TV, but I once heard someone say that dying is just as big a part of life as living. So I wonder then why most people are so afraid of it. And then I think about it more and realize that we are afraid of dying because we are afraid of living.

Obviously we all wake up every morning (sometimes feeling like P Diddy) and continue breathing. But how much do we truly live each day? We go through the motions. We don't take that many chances. We play it safe and then wonder why we have so many regrets when we get old. I really don't know what I'm trying to say exactly, but my mind just keeps wondering.

And I've decided that I'm going to try really hard to stop worrying about the little things. What? I said I'm gonna TRY!