Texas Girl (Interrupted)

**First of all, I want to apologize for my lack of frequency in posting; I realize that your world revolves around my blog and I know I've left you hanging. However, I'm a graduate student struggling to maintain a social life, so something's gotta give, and that something is this blog.

I am from Texas. I hate the cold.

I hate the wind when it's already cold outside.

When the wind is blowing and it's cold outside, I especially hate the rain.

Tonight I strutted my Texas pride; I put away my umbrella (I simply could not find out which way the wind was blowing) and quit trying to fight the blisters on my feet from the nice shoes I wore today. I put on my imaginary cowboy boots and took off my shoes, carrying them the two blocks home.

If you saw a girl walking home tonight who was barefoot in the freezing rain with no umbrella, that was me. And I was smiling, thinking of home.

Cajun Heat!

This recipe is amazing. It's got a lot of veggies and carbs, so if you're looking for a truly balanced diet that straddles the line between healthy and really not healthy, look no further! Plus it's absolutely delicious. I must say, I'm not a fan of red bell peppers, but this dish makes them even irresistible to me. Not to mention, red bell peppers have more Vitamin C than oranges (little factoid for ya) and as I'm currently trying to thwart my death by plague, I find that to be very useful.

To start: put on a little zydeco music to get in the right mood.

Next, follow this recipe. It feeds 4-5 people, but if you want to scale it down for 2, just cut the pasta, chicken, and broth to thirds. You'll get more veggies per serving and just as much flavor.

You'll need:

3 whole chicken breasts, cut into cubes

3 tsp Cajun spice

1 pound fettuccine

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp butter

1 whole green bell pepper, sliced

1 whole red bell pepper, sliced

½ of a large red onion, sliced

3 cloves garlic, minced

4 whole roma tomatoes, diced

2 cups chicken broth

½ cup white wine

cayenne pepper, to taste

black pepper

salt

Now do as I command:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain.

2. Sprinkle 1 1/2 teaspoons Cajun spice over chicken pieces. Toss around to coat all over. Heat 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a heavy skillet over high heat. Add half the chicken in a single layer; cook until the chicken is well browned, but not burned. Remove and set aside into a large dish (preferably a mixing bowl or casserole dish. You'll see why later.)

3. Repeat with remaining chicken. Remove chicken, leaving pan on high heat.

4. Add remaining olive oil and butter. When it's all melted together, add the peppers, onions, and garlic. Sprinkle on remaining Cajun spice, and add a little cayenne pepper if you want it to be spicy. Cook over very high heat for 1 minute, stirring gently to get the vegetables as dark as possible. Add tomatoes and cook for another 30 seconds. Remove all vegetables from the pan and put them into the same dish as the chicken (it'll let the flavors mingle and keep everything warm.)

5. With the pan over high heat, pour in the wine and chicken broth. Cook on high for 3 to 5 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pan to deglaze. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cook sauce over medium-low heat for about 2 minutes. Taste and add freshly ground black pepper, cayenne pepper, and/or salt to taste. Sauce should be spicy!

6. Finally, add chicken and vegetables to sauce, making sure to include all the juices that have drained onto the plate. Stir and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until mixture is bubbly and hot. Add drained fettuccine and toss to combine.

7. Eat, drink and be merry! This may seem obvious, but go ahead and enjoy the rest of the wine you used in the recipe while you eat. (I used Barefoot Chardonnay-- it's inexpensive and delicious. Plus cheap wine keeps me grounded.)

WoW. I Never Thought I'd Do This

I'm going to start playing World of Warcraft.

Now before you either A) flip out with excitement or B) scrunch up your nose and judge, let me explain!

When I got accepted to attend Loyola, they offered to actually make it possible for me to attend by granting me an assistantship. Part of this deal is that in exchange for tuition, I have to hand over my soul devote 15-20 hours a week to working with a professor in the department on his/her research, as well as fulfill any other small tasks he/she may require such as grading papers, filling in for a class, etc. This year I got paired with Dr. Talmadge Wright, a very smart and interesting man who studies the video game world, specifically targeting the individuals who play video games. He is concerned with how players interact.

Contrary to popular beliefs about players being social outcasts or future murderers and rapists, studies have shown that video gamers are much more likely to be social than people who do NOT play video games. Dr. Wright looks at how people interact within games such as Counterstrike, or, more recently, World of Warcraft. He is interested in how players communicate when conflict arises, and how they deal with that conflict, whether it is conflict in the way the game is played, or conflict that arises from conversation. From a sociological standpoint, it's REALLY freakin' interesting.

Part of my job as his student-in-training is to familiarize myself with his work. The first step: get familiar with the game being studied.

Now, as excited as I am about learning more about this study and these ideas of interaction, my biggest joy in this somewhat unexpected duty has to do more with my siblings. I know. I'm a middle child, it always comes back to this.

My brother and sister have both been playing WoW for at least 2 years. It's probably closer to, like, 6, but I haven't kept track. They are both very smart and very good strategists, and they are both very good at this game. Hopefully they also have a talent for teaching, because I feel like I'm going to need Hooked on WoW to even begin to understand how to play.

Living away from home has brought a few interesting things to the table when it comes to my siblings. On the one hand, I don't see them nearly as much as I'd like to, and we don't have the chance to interact as much. In some ways, we have drifted apart when it comes to our daily lives and personalities. On the other hand, we're freakishly linked, and the distance has made the time we do have together even more enjoyable. We don't fight nearly as much as we used to (though we have our moments) and details about our lives that would have seemed mundane and boring before are now welcomed windows into each others' worlds.

The thing I'm most excited about when it comes to playing WoW is having a new way to share myself and get to know my brother and sister. It's a new way to stay in touch, a new way to interact, and we are switching roles-- my younger sister will be showing me the ropes, alongside my older brother whose purpose now is not so much to tease me (although I'm sure he will) but to help me. It's going to be fun to get to see different sides of them.

Growing up I always loved having a brother and sister. I didn't show it well at all. I often pretended it was something I disliked. But I can't even imagine how boring my life would be if they weren't there, and I'm thrilled to get to know them better.

So! It's time for me to start Googling "World of Warcraft" and see just what kind of mess new adventure I've gotten myself into...

Birthday Month

For some reason, I really enjoy the obnoxious tradition of mandating celebrating my birthday month. It's especially obnoxious because my birthday is at the end of the month, therefore I can really milk this thing longer, a lot longer than most people find to be "endearing". There is something about letting myself be a little kid every year during this time. I think it has to do with A) enjoying cheesy stuff like this; B) having very little patience for waiting; C) it's really fun.

This year I think birthday month is especially important for a few reasons. After having moved across the country to the Arctic tundra Chicago, not being able to see my family very often, not being able to see Eric very often, and now having to juggle a huge amount of responsibility in graduate school, it seems like the value of birthday month has shot up. Maybe it has to do with escapism-- birthday month is a silly way to toss everything else out of my mind for a few minutes a day. But mostly, I think it has to do with being able to carry on a tradition that I've grown to love, especially when everything else has changed. This is something that I can do no matter where I am or what phase of life I'm in. And yes, when I'm 92 there will still be birthday month, and it'll be a lot more exciting because who knows if I'll make it!

SO! As you hear me talk about it and you roll your eyes at my 9-year old-like ways, just think to yourself, what is more fun? One day where you worry about increasing wrinkles, frown lines, and weight? Or a whole month of embracing youth and a little immaturity to celebrate where you come from?

I'll take the latter every time.