Jambalaya

As always I think of about 10,000 things a day and every now and again I take the time to write them down so that they don't go in one side of my head and out of the other.  I guess I have enough time to get some of this out, the only other plan I have for today is to watch Lebowski.  I had planned that to be my afternoon activity but I've been watching straight Food Network for about the last four hours.  Tyler Florence's Ultimate Chicken Cordon Bleu could very well be on the menu for later in the week at the Capone household if things stay the way they are and all I have to do this week is watch TV and twiddle my thumbs.  Giada has also redeemed herself today and whipped up a delicious-looking sausage, onion and red pepper baked omelet.  I'm a regular watcher of Giada but her recipes have left something to be desired during the month of September.  For shame, but way to bounce back today, Ms. De Laurentiis.

--

Thanks to NatureWoman for providing me with her enchilada recipe which allowed me to contribute to my household in some way last week.  They came out masterfully, though I added quite a bit to Han's foundation.  I liked where your head was at in terms of simplicity...but I had a free Thursday afternoon to really get after it.  I whipped up a nice white rice, corn and black bean base to begin with, then used some shredded chicken thighs, sautéed onions and peppers, a jar of salsa, some diced tomatoes (sans salt, of course), and some fiesta jack cheese.  All that got layered into 9 inch tortillas, wrapped up, tossed in a baking dish and covered with more salsa, tomatoes and cheese then tossed in the oven to do the damn thing.  And the damn thing it did.

--

When I was walking home from the Pub on Friday I had some thought go ::BANG:: into my dome piece and for the first time in awhile I had the original incarnation of my yellow notepad (an actual pocket-sized, yellow notepad...) and a
purple Uniball so I sat down on a bench near Clover Manor so I could collect some of my thoughts:

Is it actually "safer" to live in a school zone?  I've walked by school zones a couple of times at random hours recently, and I certainly don't notice an increased police presence in the surrounding area.  I mean, yes, Barney often parks there to catch speeders, but is "not speeding" an accurate indicator of neighborhood safety?  I highly doubt it.  Laws are in place to bend people over who are just trying to make $1 of of $.15 and happen to live within 250ft of a school, but again I don't really see THAT making for more safety.  I would say people just WANT TO BELIEVE that their children aren't going to school in a shithole neighborhood so it's a lot easier to lie to yourself and say the neighborhood is actually safe.  School zones generally cater to middle-age-toward-geriatrics (no stats here, it just seems that way) who like living near a location that is only open from 7am at its earliest to 3pm at its latest.  Really, it's quite a racket.

(I'm going to jump out right here: Giada's husband is such a tool.  He clearly doesn't appreciate her cooking.  He never knows what she's put in the dinners she makes him.  Jerk-face.  Get a palate or get the hell out of her life so someone who appreciates her work in the kitchen can step in.  I'm just saying..)

Anyways…and what about the summer months?  NO SCHOOL. That's pretty awesome.  But I don't think that makes it "safer."  To be honest I don’t really remember where I was going with this.  It was dark and my penmanship wasn’t up to par.  It’s just my gut.  And wait, every summer many schools get filled with alternate sentence programmers who are...yep, petty criminals.  Shut this myth down, school-livers-near.  You're no safer than the rest of us..

--

I finally am in possession of a Passport and am legal to leave the United States.  I have no deep-seated desire to leave the country (My borderline-xenophobic tendencies have been discussed here and there in the past..) but hey, I guess it's better to have and not need, then need and not have.  But god damn it, a hundred bucks to get that shit?  F that s, unless that "PASSPORT" stamp on the cover is made with 24k gold.  Ridiculous.  Needless to say that since I spent a hundred Washingtons on it that I will be making use of it at one time or another over the next ten years.  YOU BOYS LIKE MEX-I-CO?!?!  I don't; I prefer smaller, less populated spots in the Caribbean, but we can play that by ear at another time.  Time for the hermit to come out of the cave..

--

I should have stopped and taken some pictures, but one big pet peeve I have is poorly painted parking spots.  Really, most parking lots in general bug me for one reason or another.  Every store wants more people to come but it seems nearly every place is constricting the size of parking lots and thus shrinking spots and space between isles.  Horseshit, I say.

I drive a 1986 Volvo 240 that's rusted (not "blacked," or even "chromed"..) out and I'm telling you nothing grinds my gears more than needing to touch my door on another car.  Not bang, just touch.  I hate that shit.  There should be enough space in each spot to get a front door of a sedan open to the first swing spot.  I know the second swing spot and/or fully-opened is asking way too much, and I can make that concession.  But when I can only get a door open 8 inches then that's crap.  Give me some space, dammit.

And don't even get me started on lines.  Those suckers should be painted once a year and handicapped spots should be re-blued every six months.  Don't leave it up to chance.  Do it and do it well.  Tight spots also showed themselves on Saturday night.  Motel 6...you're better than those tiny spots.  This only goes to show the prevalence of poor parking systems...Twice in a 24 hours span.  Yikes.  Time will only tell if things will get better or worse...Cheers.