pass the pasta

Even though pasta is one of the cheapest and most convenient foods to buy and prepare, I have decided to go through the process of making my own. This is partly due to my obsession to use the dough tool that came with the food processor. We bought the food processor 2 weeks ago because my husband's wanted a blender for fruit smoothies. I insisted it had to be fully featured and do the task of 20 different machines.

Last week I used the regular chopping blade and made my own hummous and I made bread. Bread doesn't use the dough tool, for some reason. My bread was pretty heavy, so I think I need more bread research.

Today I made lasagne, by grating and slicing things with the grater and slicer disk. I used the dough tool to make pasta. I also went out and bought the pasta machine, which seems to be very low tech with a turning handle, but does make lasagne sheets really thin. It is also shiny.

It takes nearly 2 hours to make a batch of pasta, though much of that is waiting and shaping.

Maybe that wasn't such a good idea

So I told my boss where to go today, using more works than that and all of them polite if taken out of context. I would like to blame it many things, being hungry, tired, dehydrated and pre-menstral. But in the end it was me doing it so no excuses count.

The second backup system failed while the guy who usually looks after it was on holiday. I didn't watch it, because I usually have nothing to do with it. The team member doing support that week was moving to a different job, so he didn't watch it, and neither did the third member of the team, because they were cleaning up their own system before their holiday. And why would we, it usually looks after itself just fine.

When the guy came back from holiday, he found it was broken. Since it was the second backup, he told the manager about it. So the manager sends us a grumpy email (he is out of the country at the moment) because, his manager stepped on him.

So he sends us this email (full of polite words) saying "you're a pack of incompetant bastards". So I get grumpy and send an email saying "Since when did you take an interest". Then he sends one back saying "Do I have to babysit the lot of you." But by then I had had lunch, so I just laughed at it.

So now
I am thinking about dusting off the CV (which I was thnking about anyway).
I am thinking I may not get that promotion after all (But they had taken too long to decide, so it probably wasn't happening anyway).
And I am wondering how I can find out if we are getting a bonus this year or not, to see if it is worth hanging on for a few months.

Summer is fine

Almost a month and no word on the boss of us. They must be interviewing outside or something. Oh well. Ferris Bieuller in the park last night. A very pleasant night for it. A great big NZ style bbq at Eef's place. Eef and my husband proved themselves masters of the grill. To my complete satisfaction. It's my second real BBq for the summer. Which is way behind everyone else in the appartment complex. There are at least 3 or 4 groups in the square with leaping flaming bbqs on any chosen weekend.

I'll toast to that

Dave and I were at the toast festival in Regent's park. A short but lazy sunny day drinking wine, nibbling food and listening to the band.

Desent into idiocy

My brain has been replaced with boiled tofu.
I know there are at least two brains in the head. One of them is the hip cool withit brain, that knows where it's at. It is witty, charming and thinks before it acts.
The other I call it the hind brain (like the back end of the cow in the pantomime). It spends all it's time in the kitchen at parties. It knows how to drive to work (autopilot mode), remembers things in a nagging "you've forgotten something" way and pretty much does all the work around the house.
My hip brain has gone to ibiza. It's drinking cocktails, picking up men and taking too many drugs. It has left me at home with the hind brain. I hope it comes back soon.

Want a holiday in the sun?

I am calling for expressions of interest for housesitting one parent's house in the city of sun - Next winter. Yes a whole year away. In order to coax both parents to the other side of the world. We need to find someone to feed the cat and dog.

The house is not too far from the beach, is fully equiped and has a spa pool. Enjoy a pleasant bicycle ride down the waterfront, sample tropical cuisine in the local resturants, or just watch a lot of television. Live the dream of warmth in wintertime.

Life's a beach

I have started riding my new shiny bicycle to work (like the other one but with black handlebars). I have found a mostly suitable route to work. Mostly suitable so far as - it is good to get me to the city. But even before I pass the dragons, it becomes a little more confused, and contains a higher proportion of doubledecker and bendy buses. (The bendy buses are they worst). I am quite impressed how they have tried to make the city cycle friendly. There are some special cycle streets and cuttings for cycles to go through traffic islands. And some funky curb ramps, designed so you can mount the sidewalk to cross at the lights with the pedestrians. I have found Transport for London's journey planner for bicycles. It really is very cool. Tomorrow I will try a route it recommends. It should shave 10min off my time according to the estimate.
So I was riding my shiny new bike along the bicycle path on cable st and my handle bars start getting a little wobbly. Folding bikes a like that - it must have jiggled loose, it won't pop off just wobble, it should be right till I stop. Next thing I know - ting ting ting. I loose a bit. A nice man picks it up for me and we stop a lot of traffic. Then I notice there is a bit missing. :( So I wander back a forth disrupting cyclists - but no bit. I mentioned the bit about the handlebars just wobbling coming undone - So I ride my wobbly handlebar bike into the office.
At lunch I go in search of a bit. - to the bike shop. The nice man a Cycle Surgery gives me a bit for free. On the way back I pass through the beach. Lastminute.com is doing some advertising. They have the biggest beach ball you have ever seen. They have taken finsbury square and put down sand, some deck chairs and have a band playing. Nice concept, beautiful beach. But today was a reallly hot day, so really hot sand and bits in my sandles all afternoon. The band a bit too trancy so not to my taste. Still as a concept - cool.