What to do, what to do?

Here I sit on my porch with my laptop. I feel like a total technology addict but I'm trying to enjoy the outdoors as well. There's a storm in the distance as indicated by periodic flashes and low rumbles of thunder. I feel like writing but I'm unsure as to what. I feel like ranting and raving but I feel like it's the same thing it always is. I'm jobless and broke and I don't know what to do with myself. So there's that. I'll end that rant there. I mainly just want to be creative in some fashion but I've never been one who's good at anything like that. Maybe I feel like the sounds of the evening and the distant storm should provide me with some inspiration. Maybe I just feel better about having my laptop outside if I'm doing something other than dicking around on Facebook or Twitter. I think I'm mostly at the end of my wits. I apologize for this if anyone decides to read it.

A Restaurant Review

Here's my first (and possibly only) attempt at writing a review of a dining experience.

I had heard from my old boss that The Library on the South Side was one of her favorite places to grab a bite to eat. I was looking for a new place to dine yesterday so I went to their website and perused the menu. The nerd in me was so giddy at the names of the menu items as they are mostly all based on works of literature or the literary geniuses who penned them. Going in there, I had a few ideas of items I would like to try but I had to narrow it down. I had also learned that from 5-7 they have happy hour during which most of their draft beers are $3 and all appetizers are half-priced. Not bad, right? They boast an impressive beer menu and Dan tried something new. To my knowledge, he enjoyed it. I decided to skip over the beer and look at the mixed drink menu. I am not very into liquor and usually prefer beer to any kind of alcoholic beverage but these drinks sounded delicious. I was torn between a couple different ones but eventually settled on Dracula. I'm sure it's obvious to many who know me why I chose this one. That particular beverage was potent! The menu told me that it was made of Jim Beam Black Bourban, DeKuyper Sour Apple Pucker and Cranberry juice. It was tasty but it took me the duration of our visit to finish it. Again, I'm not very fond of liquor but I had to try it.

The appetizer and dinner decisions were a bit more difficult. Mostly everything sounded wonderful. Menus are brought to your table in various books. For instance, Dan received a large atlas and glued into the first few pages was the menu. I thought that was clever. I became just as giddy looking at the physical menu as I had when I looked at it online. So many delicious-sounding items with such fantastic names. For appetizers we chose Edgar Allen Potatoes which though not spelled properly, was a generous portion of hand-cut french fries. They came out piping hot, crunchy and barely salted. I enjoy salty foods but I grow tired of establishments that pour salt over everything. These were enjoyable and filling. Definitely more than enough for 2 people to share. We also chose The Magic Pretzel. This was 3 soft pretzel sticks with beer cheese for dipping. I love getting pretzels with cheese as an appetizer but so many places have so much salt on the pretzels that I have to scrape it all off. There was barely any salt to this dish and it was much appreciated by us. The cheese sauce seemed as if it had been sitting out while the food was cooking and it had that cheese skin on top. I could have done without that but I worked through it. Overall, the appetizers were satisfying, especially at half-price.

For dinner, Dan chose the Porky Pig sandwich. It was a large pulled pork sandwich and with it, he got Edgar Allen Sweet Potatoes and an order of fried pickles. He enjoyed it and I stole a bite of the pork and it was pretty tasty. I didn't try the fries as I'm not a fan of those in general but I did try to fried pickles. It's an interesting concept. They give a very large portion of them and I'm not sure it's something that can be eaten in large portions. I had one and that was enough for me at the time. I chose The Two Towers. It was 2 pieces of filet mignon each stacked with 2 large scallops and two grilled shrimp. It was accompanied by asparagus and rissoto which were the vegetable and starch of the day. My meal was just okay. I had asked for the filet to be cooked medium-rare as I love meat more rare than cooked. I tend to cook rare at home but when I go out to eat, I'm never sure how the restaurant will cook so I figure medium-rare is usually safe. It usually tends to be more on the rare side anyway which is okay by me. This time, instead of medium-rare, my filet came out more well-done. Filet mignon is not supposed to be well-done ever. Still, it wasn't bad. I ate one of the pieces and saved the other to take home. The shrimp was also overcooked and didn't really have any flavor. The scallops were not overcooked but they did not have much flavor either. I should say that I have never much been a fan of scallops but I've tried them a few times more recently and found that, if prepared properly, I can enjoy them. By themselves, they taste like nothing and I don't like them but they do pick up flavors very well and can be enjoyable. These scallops didn't seem to have any flavors to pick up so I wasn't too keen on them. I saved a few of those to bring home as well. As for the sides, the rissoto was actually quite tasty but asparagus, again, I don't like it normally so I didn't really eat it. I took a bite only to say "yeah, I still don't like asparagus" and moved it to the side for Dan. I brought home my leftover filet, scallops, rissoto and asparagus and just had them for lunch (minus the asparagus). I heated the scallops in some butter and garlic powder and it really made a huge difference. Much better today than they were last night. All in all, my meal wasn't the best but it wasn't bad either. It was edible but not worth $28. I wouldn't think anything of paying that much for the same meal if it had been better-prepared.

All in all, our experience was pleasant. We didn't have to wait for a table, the drink selections were plentiful, the wait staff was very kind and the food was mostly good. I enjoyed the novelty of it all and I will definitely go back there and try other entrees. I think next time I'll get the Hunter S. Thompson as it sounds very delicious. I say for this trip, 3 stars out of 5.

Fffffffffffffffffffuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu

It's 6 AM and while many people are waking up about this time to begin readying themselves for their work days, I too dragged myself out of bed. The difference between me and them? Well, two of them...I don't have a job for which to get ready and I never went to sleep. Most people that know me will not be shocked by the latter as they know that I more often than not, have sleep deprivation issues. Seriously, it's getting really bad. This heat needs to cut it the fuck out. I've barely slept a few hours total this week and no sleep at all last night. All week, I have spent my nights tossing and turning trying to find a position in which I get maximum surface area exposure to the wind from the fan. Normally, the fan is really nice. Not this week. This week it's just blowing super hot air all over me. So I toss and I turn and I get progressively more frustrated to the point where I feel violent. This is why I get out of bed. I'm tired. I'm hot. I'm really fucking cranky. Add to that the joys of having a uterus and you're dealing with a mega bitch named Heather this week.

Along with the heat and exhaustion, I've been getting more restless with each passing day that I'm not working. I've been going crazy in the house by myself all day. I'm tired of washing dishes and cooking and taking care of other household chores all the time. I hardly ever get out. The most excitement I've had all week was a trip to Giant Eagle with Jason (temporary roommate) last night. I just want to do fun things and Dan never wants to do anything. DEVO is tomorrow. I really really really want to go. I haven't actually wanted to go to a show in a long time. He still hasn't given me a straight answer on the matter. Me = annoyed.

Yesterday, I went to the basement to clean the litter box. I found a puddle on the floor of rusty-looking water around the floor drain and the hot water heater. I thought the hot water heater shit the bed so to test it out, I turned on the sink in the basement and let it run for a few minutes to see if it was leaking from the water heater. Nope. It started coming up out of the floor drain...again. We just had this fixed a few weeks ago and it was disgusting and awful. So I had to call the home warranty people and they called plumbers who were supposed to call me and set up an appointment. Well, they called Dan instead and they will be coming out today between 1 and 4. In the middle of all this stupid heat, we can barely use water because it comes back out into the basement. Color me really fucking annoyed by this.

Are we getting the point of this blog yet? In case you missed it, I'm annoyed with everything.

Conclusion

So, in case you didn't know (whoever may read this), I quit my job on Saturday. I was becoming miserable again and the commute to and from was just too much. I decided to apply at The Exchange again. Now, some may see this as a step backward but I see it in a different light. I wouldn't be able to work at the same store since Dan and I are married but possibly one of the downtown stores or the new one that will be opening in Oakland. We'll see what happens. I made the decision to try to get a job there again based on what I know of myself. First, it's the best job I've ever had. This may sound silly but here's why: it was a fun atmosphere, the co-workers are mostly fantastic, the customers provide endless entertainment and I was surrounded by everything I love (music, movies and video games). It doesn't pay a lot but I've finally decided that money isn't what should determine a job. There are other factors. I've had jobs making more money and I've had jobs making less money. All of my jobs have made me miserable except that one. I can't keep finding a job and quitting a short time later. I'd rather do something I enjoy for a long time even if it's not a lot of money. Unlike a lot of people, money and objects aren't what make me happy. Yes, I need money to pay bills but I do not need money to waste on silly material things. So, hopefully this works out for me. If not, I guess it's back to the drawing board and I'll need to find something else that is at least tolerable. I never wanted to leave The Exchange but if I hadn't, I wouldn't be married to Dan today.