My Cooking Nemesis

Cooking is one of my favorite pastimes. While I don't do it as often as I'd like (Dad usually has dinner ready by the time I get home from work), I do enjoy it immensely. I don't claim to be a great chef at all, but for the most part cooking comes pretty easily to me. Just the other night I tried a brand new dish that my dad couldn't stop raving about. I think baked goods are a particular strong point, and I'm getting better at family recipes each time I try them. Still, even the best chefs have something that they just can't seem to master - so you can imagine that a novice like me is bound to have some issues.

I've made plenty of mistakes while cooking, everything from burnt cookies to undercooked (or overcooked) meat. But usually, if I mess something up the first time, it doesn't take me too many more tries to get it right. But there's one recipe that is ever-elusive of my mastery - the omelet.

When one thinks of an omelet, it seems like a pretty simple dish. Beat some eggs, cook them in a pan, and toss in your favorite ingredients. But let me tell you from experience - it is not that simple. AT ALL. Omelets have become the bane of my cooking existence.

I've tried making this tasty meal countless times, and along the way discovered just about every way you can mess them up. Not having the eggs spread evenly enough; overcooked eggs; undercooked eggs; too much cheese (if I'm saying this you know it's possible, even if it doesn't seem possible). And of course, the classic - you go to fold your omelet, the eggs rip to shreds, and you simply hang your head, accept defeat, and settle with the fact that you're going to have scrambled eggs instead. Each of these events ultimately delivers a painful sting to the would-be omelet creator's pride that takes at least a few days to heal.

I decided that tonight would be a good chance to try another attempt at taking on my nemesis (yes, I said tonight. I think I actually make omelets more for dinner than for breakfast). I got home late and wanted something that could be prepped quickly. I was on a roll as I bustled through the kitchen - everything seemed to be going right, and as I slid my finished omelet onto my plate I couldn't help but admire its beauty.

I sat down at the table, so excited that I may have finally made the perfect omelet. But as I got a couple bites into it I came to a horrible realization - the eggs were slightly undercooked, and I instantly knew where I messed up. When you make an omelet, you're supposed to have some of the egg left slightly undercooked before you fold it. Your ingredients cook into it, it's easier to fold, and it eventually cooks through as the complete omelet rests in the pan. But I had turned the heat down too soon and didn't let the omelet sit in the pan long enough. I was once again slapped in the face by failure.

While this moment of dejection is no easier than the others, I'll never give up. I have to reach my goal of cooking the omelet well enough so that I can serve it to other people. I'll continue to battle my nemesis until I'm victorious.

A Getaway Close to Home

If you live anywhere in the DC area, you've probably heard of the ever-popular Rock Creek park. About 5 minutes from my house lies an important piece of this park, Lake Needwood. For years Lake Needwood was nothing more than a convenient shortcut to avoid the rush hour traffic of Averi Road. But last week, my dad and I decided to drive through the park just so that we could take the scenic route home. As I looked around, I was blown away by how green and beautiful everything had become with the warm spring weather. I also realized that I had never taken the time to come and enjoy the park - I had always driven through it without a second thought. I decided right then and there that I would make it a point to take a trip to Lake Needwood to enjoy it for what it was meant for - and I'm not talking about a traffic cutaround.

Normally when I make these types of promises to myself, it takes me weeks, if not months, to finally do what I said I would. But not this time. This time it only took me two days. Thursday was when Dad and I drove through the park. Friday was when I tossed the idea out to my friend David on our morning commute. Saturday afternoon David and I were on our way to the park to take advantage of our local gem.

After we drove around for a few minutes trying to find the ideal parking spot, we finally made up our minds and took to the walking trails. It felt SO GOOD to be outside and walk through the beautiful nature scenes. And it was so nice out! We wandered around, trying different trails, soaking in the nature, and enjoying the beautiful lake views. Our hike eventually led us down to the boathouse where my breath was truly taken away. We didn't rent a boat that day since we were short on cash, but we walked out on the dock and just sat on the water. I must admit, I couldn't believe I was in the middle of Derwood. As we looked ahead of us, all we saw was the lake and trees. I actually had to remind myself that I was still in the DC area and not hundreds of miles away in some random rural lake spot. It was AWESOME, and so relaxing!

Honestly, I'm not sure what blew me away more - how beautiful our little Lake Needwood Park really is, or the fact that I had never taken advantage of it before. I've lived in this neighborhood since I was six years old, and that's probably one of the last times I was actually at that park to play. I've had my driver's license for 6 years and I've driven through that park countless times going to school and work - but this is the first time I took advantage of such local beauty. It was quite the wake-up call!

If you're in the area and you're looking for a quick city getaway, I highly suggest checking out Lake Needwood (or any part of Rock Creek Park for that matter). It's a great little oasis in an otherwise chaotic region. I know I plan on going back again soon. I need to take advantage of those boat rentals!

Perspective

Every once in a while, I have my moments when I get ridiculously upset over something completely stupid. It doesn't happen often, but when it does I get this feeling deep down like I'm ready to just break out into a temper tantrum. I try not to let other people see me when I'm in these abnormally bad moods, but usually I do let myself vent it out in private, take a breather, realize it was a stupid thing to get upset at in the first place, and move on.

Today, that little thing had to do with football. One of the playoff games that I REALLY want to watch (Broncos vs. Patriots) is on at the exact same time as my company's (belated) holiday party this coming Saturday. I've heard nothing but good things about this party in the past (not to mention the fact that it's held at the Ritz), but the fact that it was getting in the way of football time really ticked me off. And apparently I HAVE to go to this thing. Ugh. That just shows you something about my personality - I'd much rather be at home or at a sports bar watching football than at a party at the Ritz.

While I was steaming over the oppressive working world making me go to this party, I was basically letting my temper build up more and more. That way I could just get my venting session over with and move on, especially since I knew that I was getting far too upset over something so small. But just as I was working up to my boiling point, I saw something that struck me back to reality in an instant.

I went onto Facebook and was scrolling through my news feed when I saw something I didn't expect. Someone had posted a status that the son of the offensive coordinator for the Packers had gone missing yesterday...and his body was found today. I looked into the story further, and sure enough, Joe Philbin's 21-year-old son Michael was gone. Here I was worrying about not being able to watch a football game when the games were probably the last thing on the mind of a football professional.

I moved past my moment of pure insanity, but it was not through the short session of rage I had originally expected. It was through a solemn reminder of what true pain and anguish really is. A life lost too young, a son lost too soon. While it's ok to be excited and passionate about our sports teams, we need to remember that behind those sports teams are real people that suffer real tragedies - more than just the loss of a game.

My condolences go out to the Philbin family and they are all in my thoughts and prayers.

A Little Bit, A Lot of Times

I must admit that this year I didn't exactly take the time to come up with any sort of New Year's resolution. But I just had a minor stroke of genius that could actually pass for a New Year's resolution, so I'm just going to go with it, even if it is a few days late.

One of my biggest flaws in life is that I can still be a bit of a slob, even at 22 years old. Despite living with my semi-OCD, sickiningly-organized father for my entire life, my bedroom usually still looks like it's placed in the middle of Tornado Alley getting hit by F5 storms on a daily basis. For most of the summer, I wasn't too concerned, thinking that I would eventually find the time to spend a whole day or two just attacking my room full force and getting it clean. After all, I'd done it several times before. Unfortunately, life in the real world turned out to be much busier than I expected, and those full days that I planned to dedicate entirely to cleaning my room never came.

Several people had suggested that I just clean a little bit at a time, but I continuously brushed them aside. All previous attempts to follow that method had failed miserably, and I figured it wasn't even worth trying again (not to mention the fact that I usually like to follow the "go big or go home" way of doing things). But with such a lack of time and such a big mess, I just had to admit that I had a long war ahead of me and that I would have to fight it a battle at a time.

The first battle was getting and keeping my floor clean. I needed space, so one day I just said, "Screw it. Even if I get nothing else done, I have to get my floor clean." I successfully finished in a relatively short period of time, and I continued to clear my floor for a few minutes each day. Recently, I started a separate project on my desk. Each night I've been grabbing a small stack of papers off my desk and sorting them into a box by my bed, keep and trash, before going to sleep. It only took about 10 minutes a night, and shocker, my desk is already much smaller. A little bit a lot of times is actually working!

So tonight, I realized that I don't just have to apply this method to cleaning my room. One of the biggest things that's been bothering me lately is that I haven't had time to write - blog or journal - and I'm far too much out of practice. So rather than spending tons of time on my long and verbose entries, I'm thinking I'll write more posts that are smaller (even though this one is beginning to drag on). I'm not sure how interesting or well-written they'll be at the beginning, but hopefully it won't take long before I get back into the swing of things and I can tell better stories again. I also plan on applying this to other fun things in my life like working out, reading, sorting pictures, etc etc. I can already see progress in all of them!

So as it turns out, no matter what you're trying to achieve, a little bit is always better than nothing - and it always seems to pay off! Still don't think it could ever work? I just rolled a bunch of coins that I had lying around the house and I'm ready to head to the bank!

The Never-Ending Tube of Toothpaste

About 3 or 4 weeks ago, I noticed that I was running rather low on toothpaste. Normally I wait until my brand is on sale to buy more, but I didn't think my remaining toothpaste would last more than a few days. I had already put the purchase off for a week, so I figured I would be pushing my luck if I waited any longer. So, I jumped the gun, went to CVS, and bought a two-pack of toothpaste at full price. I was so proud of myself that I had actually found the motivation to be prepared. I could rest easy knowing that I had a full supply of toothpaste and wouldn't have to run out to get more in the middle of the week when I was tired after work. Whew!

A week later, I was still using the same tube of toothpaste that had triggered my nerves and forced me to rush to the store. It was this same week that I noticed that my brand of toothpaste had just gone on sale. "Damn," I thought, "I could have held off a week and I would have been fine." Oh well, better safe than sorry. At least I didn't have to fight the stores in the middle of the week if I had run out.

As time went on, I was still using the same toothpaste. Day after day, I thought I was getting the last little bit out of the top of the tube, and yet there was always more. Oddly, rather than being happy that I still had toothpaste and wasn't wasting anything, I started getting frustrated - would it ever run out?! Well, a few nights ago, the anticipation of the end of my toothpaste finally got to me. I had to put a bit of effort into getting that night's portion out and thought, "Ha! It's finally finished!" But just to check, I gave it one more squeeze - and there was more! It just couldn't be! It wasn't possible!

I had officially snapped. Suddenly all of these possibilities of why the toothpaste didn't run out started buzzing through my mind. While these possibilities may have been partially fueled by exaustion and may make you feel the need to send me for a brain scan, maybe they'll at least be somewhat entertaining:

1. The gnomes did it! When I was at school, various items, particularly kitchen accessories, kept disappearing. My crazy roommates and I decided that there must be mischeivous gnomes that kept stealing everything. Well, I've decided that the toothpaste gnomes are just as mischeivous, but in a different way. Instead of stealing my toothpaste, they slowly just keep adding a little bit more when my tube is actually empty, just to mess with my head. *Nervous twitch*

2. It must be magic. I clearly was the lucky purchaser of a magical tube of toothpaste. Every time the user thinks that it is about to run out, it magically refills itself to provide just enough toothpaste for that particular cleaning. How thoughtful.

3. A diabolical plot by the toothpaste marketing people. Marketing people wanted to trick consumers into thinking they were running low on toothpaste all the time to get them to buy more. The toothpaste people realized that a tube was the best dispenser for their product, so it was a win-win for them...but a headache for consumers. Joy.

It's now a few days after I snapped from bewilderment, and I am still on the same tube of toothpaste. I think that I'm finally nearing the end, but at the rate I'm going, the gnomes are probably adding more toothpaste right this moment.