September 3rd thru 5th, 2010

(internet pic my sax is brass not silver)

Sept 3rd and 4th: Friday was a half day, which was nice after a grueling third week of school. By the third week; I get the hang of the long hours and the early mornings, which made this week the best one so far. Most of my students know me and love me, and I feel the same. No major issues this year, looks to be smoother than last year due to my increased organization and stricter class expectations. Next semester I will be teaching two "Foundations of Art" classes as well as Jewelry one and two, and Sculpture One and two. It will be more hectic than this semester. Its all good in the job department.

I came home in the afternoon and caught up on some well needed sleep, then went to my classroom in the evening in order to practice the sax! Damn I am glad to have the opportunity to play the sax again. Later that night I hung out with my son and drank a bottle of "Mount Gay" rum together. Mount Gay is made in the Barbados Islands and is my favorite rum. They have been making it since 1703. Must have been nice when a happy word like "Gay" didn't have such other connotations. I resent the hijacking of happy words to describe, peoples personal sexual habits. But I do love "Mount Gay" Barbados rum. Its best with sprite and lemon juice in my opinion.

The morning was painful, since rum is not as clean as gin and has more impurities like acetone and the like. Or maybe mixing rum with the occasional glass of cheap paisono Grappa wine, messed things up.

I did get up at 8 and ride the bike around this morning, but I came back home and slept for a few more hours before leaving again at 6 PM. I went on another bike ride, and this time I felt alive again. Went home later to call some friends, and make some "Sag Aloo" or "Panak Aloo", which means Spinach and potatoes depending on which Indian dialect you are listening to. Same cooking procedure and spice combo as the previously describe "Bhindi Marsala". Be sure to boil the chopped potatoes first before adding them to the stew. Just make the Bhindi Marsala recipe again and use finely chopped spinach instead of okra, and potatoes rather than tomatoes. This dish is a bit more bitter but less acidic. I might try adding a small dose of sweetener next time.. I did put a table spoon of butter with the mixture, since "Ghee" adds more flavor than vegatable oil does. I stiill put in quite a bit of canola oil in this concoction.

Way better than the Bhindi in my book. I did make the changes I described earlier and they worked out well. I did hit it too hard with the cumin, but no big deal. This meal was nearly the same quality as the restaurant. Just a couple small changes and I will have this down. Might even start an Indian restaurant someday, in a place like Wyoming or Montana. Charge way less for the vegetarian versions and might even convince a few rednecks that not all meals require a pound of meat. I am down to a mere two or three ounces of meat per day, after having no meat at all. This is not planned, but is a natural result of eating too much indian fare. Meat should be a condiment and not a main course. Unless you happen to be a Tiger, Wolf, or Alligator. Humans, Chimps, and Pigs, are Omnivorous, not Carnivorous. We all share many other similarities as well!

Put my new 8 gallon (Bio-orb) fish tank together. right now its running fishless until tomorrow, when I plan to add a couple fish just to cycle the tank. New tanks need a month with just a few fish in order to grown the benificial bacteria which is known to breakdown the wastes and toxins, that reside in the fishes urine and feces. The benificial bacteria, will turn the shit into clean water. After a month enough of the good bacteria will be present in the under gravel filter, and I will be able to fully stock the globe with fish.

Looks like only about 10 small fish can live in a tank this size, but some of the choices are beautiful small fish, such as guppies, swordtails, platy's ect... I plan to keep mainly guppies, but will throw in a few inverts, such as crabs, mussels, shrimp, as well as anything else that is interesting. The big 8 gallon globe, alone is pretty to look at without fish. With the high tech halogen lighting, it makes my old hotel living room complete.

Woke up on Sunday at 7 AM in order to call Larry and see if he was up for breakfast. Larry said "sure, but lets make it at 9", which allowed me another 2 hours sleep. Larry and I like to sit at the diner bar, since he has a penchant as flirting with all the pretty waitresses. They all love Larry, maybe since he equally flirts with the not so pretty girls in the same manner. Had the double barrel and many cups of coffee.

Went to Walmart to buy three zebra danios (minnows from India), and a fiddler crab. These fish will cycle the tank and once the beneficial bacteria are established, I can add the guppies. On my way out of Wal-mart the bell goes off and I get some semi-retarded old lady asking for my reciept. I bluntly told her that I'm not a thief , she seemed amazed that I would be offended by being stopped at the door like a common criminal. I told her I lost the receipt but I would find it if she gave me 5 dollars for bothering and embarrassing me. She didn't know what to do so I took pity on her and pulled the reciept out of my pocket. She quickly let me leave. Funny, i could have actually had stolen merchandize in my pockets, but she was only required to check my bag and receipt. Walmart treats their customers almost as bad as their employees. I dislike the place, but they do have the lowest prices so I go there when I have no choice.

After adding my fish to the tank, I grabbed my computer and headed to the coffee shop for a few hours of uploading blogs, drinking fine coffee, and listening to some old hippy playing the Spanish guitar. This small town has far more local culture than the huge city where I come from. All within bicycle distance. I will leave here someday, out of boredom, but I doubt many towns are as nice as Logan, Utah.