I tried to go to my beloved Sufficient Grounds earlier, but the place was so full I couldn’t even find a table! The upstairs was taken up by a beer tasting, and it was too cold to sit on the deck. I toyed with the idea of asking another patron to share their table, but eventually decided that might be awkward and ended up heading out to WLR to the Java Roasting Co., which I had thought had free WIFI also, but it is requesting a username and password, so perhaps not. If I get to the bottom of this mystery I shall certainly report my findings. The place is pretty cute with Van Gogh prints on the walls and jazzy music, though it appears to be almost entirely staffed and clienteled by highschoolers. I feel a little old in here. The coffee is tasty though, and the advantages of proximity to Old Navy and Target cannot be denied.

Edit: The name is Oyster Bar and not Oyster House, not sure what I was thinking there.

The walls are very bright, there is lots of red stuff, and the food is really good too.

If you like pizza, a relaxed atmosphere, buffets that come to your table, and gigantic drinking glasses, then Larry’s is the place for you.

So I suppose tomorrow back to Dell my poor little computer goes! I’ve been very sad without it, I hate being chained to my office desk at home on my old desktop. Technically I could compose my little ramblings on pencil and paper and then take them to the computer for entry, but that is just so old-fashioned.

L.

—

I enjoy food. I mean to say, I enjoy reading about food, preparing it, learning how to make it, and doing creative things with food. It’s just more fun than going to your local fast food chain and eating the crap they peddle. So it makes sense that I would date someone who was similarly interesting in all things culinary. After all, I would want someone to take me to places that had delicious, unique things to eat, right?

Well, I did begin dating someone who was passionate and interested in food, in fact, more so than me. (My first contact with him was listening to my friend discuss gumbo making over the phone). I heard tell of his prowess in cooking, but other than a mediocre hamburger the first time I met him, it wasn’t until several months into our relationship that I found out just how good a cook he is. It was from him that I discovered my love—nay, my lust—for curry.

And not only is he a wonderful maker of delicious things to eat, he’s a food snob. Hence, I call him an epicure. He has certain recipes, certain things he likes to eat, certain ways of preparing things…Are you perhaps perceiving my dilemma? Think about that person you know who is so picky about one thing that if you try to help, they end up doing it anyway. That’s my boyfriend in the kitchen. I would try to assist, but would end up opening cans. Eventually, I got moved up to being able to cut vegetables, but had to listen with irritation to explanations of how to chop properly. If I testily told him to cut it out, he would remark, “Well, I just don’t want you to hurt yourself.”

I like to think of this as a trial in our relationship. We were basically incompatible in the kitchen; we couldn’t cook together. It didn’t work. I’d eventually be shooed out or told he didn’t need help. Well, I like to cook too! So, finally, I started cooking on my own, and then telling him when everything was ready. This improved matters. He slowly started backing down about telling me the “proper” way to do things in the kitchen, and I lightened up a little by asking for his help.

I also discovered that if I was cooking and wanted him to keep his fingers out of my pies, then I needed to give him a task, one that would take time and keep him “over there”, i.e. not near my cooking. And if I wanted to help him, I simply had to tolerate the menial jobs of opening cans and peeling garlic (which I actually love peeling garlic, so…).

Life with the epicure is now good. We don’t fight over the right way to slice bell peppers, and I no longer have to listen to lectures on the proper way to hold a knife. I know what sorts of things he finds acceptable to cook with, and he enjoys my cooking, offering constructive criticism. I’ve finally gotten to the point where I’m not too intimidated to offer suggestions for dish improvements, which he usually at least considers.

So when you’re beginning to date someone, love food, and love to cook, be sure to match kitchen compatibility. It’s just as important as personality compatibility or any of those other “clicking” or “chemistry” factors that we like to rely on. But of course, if you don’t match up in the kitchen, don’t give up hope. If we can make it, so could you.

–jenniechris

As an self proclaimed geek I am academically aware that large companies with an image to maintain continually search the internet for mentions of themselves (heck, I do it, and my online presence is minuscule), and I have heard many anecdotes like the one from my mom’s friend, but I never quite expected it to happen to me… until I picked on Dell:)

To any Dell employees who happen to be reading this, I would just like to say that every PC that I have purchased new has come from Dell, and I have been almost uniformly satisfied with the quality of the products offered and the friendliness and helpfulness of the customer service personnel, even to the point of recommending the company to friends and family on more than one occasion, and it was probably unfair of me not to point that out in my previous posts. Also, anyone who possesses an ounce of logical thinking ability may reasonably point out that a person who keeps a laptop anywhere near food or drink deserves what happens when they inevitably come into contact. This is not the first laptop I have damaged in this fashion – Dr. Pepper was the culprit in the previous case, and I was lucky enough to be leasing the computer from my university and wasn’t held responsible for repair costs – which is why I happily paid for the repair plan when I bought this one.

Anyway, apparently my two posts describing the fate of my poor laptop garnered some attention, and I received a very nice comment on this post by a certain Mike who happens to work for Dell, which I will most definitely be following up on. I don’t want any special treatment or anything crazy like that, all I ask is that my beloved computer be functioning correctly before it is returned to me. Is that so much? I think not.

So, tiny blogs out there, let this be a lesson: if you are unhappy about something, say so! The internet gods have your back.

I’ll be sure to post updates!

I had an auto mechanic who did that to me once, my car was overheating because the coolant system had problems… so I told them what I thought the problem was, they did the job, and then sent it back with me. However, they did not test the car to see if the overheating had been solved. And it hadn’t. When I took the car back they tried to tell me that I had blown a gasket (or something like that) and that it would now be a thousand dollar repair. I wasn’t about to trust them now, so I had the car towed to a different mechanic, who fixed it for a hundred dollars. No blown thingamabob, just a malfunctioning thermostat. Magically the overheating stopped.

I don’t know if the mechanic tried to scam me because I am a woman or because they just thought they could, but I am forever wary of repair persons who don’t follow through. Dell dudes, I have my eye on you.

Oh, and if anyone has mechanic recommendations for the Little Rock area I would be grateful.