My Christmas baking, as you would expect, is quite substantial. It takes me three full weekends to bake it all, and a lot of planning before I head out to the bulk goods store to get my supplies before I even start. I have to buy over 12 cups of flour, alone!
This year, I did all of my planning and shopping in the week before December started. I was off work, and I decided to get it all done. I had, however, underestimated my load, and forgotten that taking a lot of stuff with you on the bus is difficult, not to mention how many dirty looks you get from fellow passengers.
So, off to the bulk store, and I had my list made. Twelve cups of flour - check. Two pounds of white chocolate - check. Icing sugar, brown sugar, molasses, royal icing mix, almonds, coconut, oatmeal - suddenly I was reevaluating what I was doing. I got to the checkout and got out my reusable bags to try and tote things home in a compact manner. When I got two huge bags on my shoulders, and started walking, oh boy, was I in trouble.
After a ten minute walk through the mall to the bus terminal, I found there was a ten minute wait for the bus. I put down my bags and took a seat: Here, no one will say anything about the bags at my feet. Time for the calm before the storm, while I prayed that the bus would be almost empty.
The bus arrived, and I tried to get on early, to get a seat where I could put my bags out of the way. No such luck. After squishing my way to the back, I had to put my bags on the seat beside me (which I hate to do) and simply looked apologeticly at anyone who came near. There was nowhere else I could put them. The bus was two thirds full, so my precious cargo was taking up precious seat space. I hate those evil looks. As I blushed and tried unsuccessfully to hide behind my bags, I sent up a silent prayer that everyone would get off early.
Here, I lucked out, and the bus was down to only ten people about half way through the ride. One stroke of luck was all that I was due, however. Once my stop came up, I got up and went to put my bags on my shoulders again, nearly falling into my neightbor's lap when the bus rounded a curve. Then, I had to push past three rows of seats, bumping people each time, to get to the rear door to exit.
Finally, squished, blushing and with incredibly sore shoulders, all I needed to navigate was a final hundred yard trek to my building. Inside and up with elevator, I tried to put my prized purchases down gently, before my arms fell off. Just for my own knowledge, I pulled out my bathroom scale. Thiry pounds per shoulder!! I just make a 45 minute trip carrying 60 pounds of baking supplies, for cookies and goodies of which I will eat very few!
As I put away my supplies, all I kept thinking was, "Next year, I'll take the car." However, I know better. By next year, I'll forget that this ever happened, and do it all over again, all for the enjoyment of watching people eat my treats, beg for my recipies and smile through the Christmas season.
They better appreciate it, goddammit.
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Monday, August 9, 2010
Eminem + Rhianna = Nothing New.
Why is everyone so upset? We have 2 superstars who have gone through incredible
problems, singing about a very common social issue – domestic violence. I know, I
know, Rhianna was a victim of abuse. Don’t think I wasn’t aware of that – it was posted on every website, blog, twitter account, Facebook page and newspaper between here and Kalamazoo! So why are people getting upset now?
Oh, right. Although we encourage people to talk about such social issues, we expect
it only to be done in quiet, meditative formats, like private houses and social studies classes. We expect all discussions to come from a severe, “THIS IS WRONG” stance,and no one can discuss the inner turmoils of BOTH of the individuals experiencing it. Therefore, any use of it in social media, by any person who can make money, is obviously callous misuse of an issue that should never be seen in that light.
Ok, let’s get a grip – This isn’t something new that we’re seeing. Does anyone
remember “Thunder Rolls” by Garth Brooks, or “Independence Day” by Martina McBride? Both are stories of domestic violence, depicting the impact of one final confrontation between the spouses. Both had their controversy. In “Thunder,” Garth
actually portrayed the abuser in his video, and that had a lot of people scratching
their heads about how any man could portray the actions of hitting a women. In “Independence,” the wife burns down the house after her husband comes home drunk
again, and their daughter is sent off to foster care. In this case, the entire story is told from the child’s perspective, making it even more disturbing.
So why are we all getting up in arms? I think most people are simply mad because they assume that these two headliners are using tragedy to make money. Perhaps they
will make money out of it, but that won’t be the purpose. Eminem’s album is entitled
Recovery, and has several songs with lyrics about recovering from a severe drug addition. Why aren’t people mad about that? Didn’t he get himself into that habit? Why should he be allowed to profit from recovering from that? “It could be damaging for his daughter to hear that!” “It’s a long journey and he’d not finished, so how can he talk about it?” It’s his journey and no one can tell him how to do it.
As for Rhianna, she is the recovering victim of an abusive relationship. No one has the right to tell her what messages she should or shouldn’t give, nor what business decisions she should make (e.g. all of your messages from here on out should be anti-violence). Such decisions make her a one trick pony. Maybe she’s trying to put it behind her and move on, trying to free herself. How can she do that when the media keep reminding her of it, every interview she gives? There is more to this woman than being a victim. Every time that the media reminds her of her abuse, they are letting Chris Brown win one more time.
So many people seem to think that unless it’s being done as a public service
announcement, then all other discussions of domestic violence are inappropriate. They
aren’t. If you want to reach the youth of today, a public service announcement isn’t the way to go. More and more groups are finding that music videos, rap songs, and inserting the topic into popular tv series gets the message across more effectively, than a person sitting in front of a blank canvas, discussing how “wrong” something is. Kids and teens tune out about 60 seconds into the topic, while being lectured. This is why teachers have an ongoing battle to keep kids' attention in school. You have to make it interesting.
In this case, the rhythm, the video and the message all blend so that it shows how such situations can end in a messy, bloody way. The lyrics show both sides of the situation, from his knowledge that he’ll probably do it again, to her attitude of thinking he still loves her. It ends tragically, and what that tells the youth of today is that fighting and physicality in a couple is bad, and leads to escalating returns on the devastation to themselves and those around them. Why some people see this as glorifying the situation, I’ll never understand. “It’s alright because I love the way it hurts” doesn’t mean that she enjoys this. It is part of a battered woman’s mindset that they may deserve this. That’s the perspective. That’s the point.
I think that both of these artists should be praised for once again attacking a difficult topic and making it a number one hit. This means that it’s going to get a lot of replay. Subsequently, that means that there will be a lot of people talking about it. How this can be anything but a good thing, I don’t know. Add that to the fact that this isn’t a country song, like the above, and the reach of it has tripled, easily. I say, let it play.
And to Eminem and Rhianna – Kudos.
problems, singing about a very common social issue – domestic violence. I know, I
know, Rhianna was a victim of abuse. Don’t think I wasn’t aware of that – it was posted on every website, blog, twitter account, Facebook page and newspaper between here and Kalamazoo! So why are people getting upset now?
Oh, right. Although we encourage people to talk about such social issues, we expect
it only to be done in quiet, meditative formats, like private houses and social studies classes. We expect all discussions to come from a severe, “THIS IS WRONG” stance,and no one can discuss the inner turmoils of BOTH of the individuals experiencing it. Therefore, any use of it in social media, by any person who can make money, is obviously callous misuse of an issue that should never be seen in that light.
Ok, let’s get a grip – This isn’t something new that we’re seeing. Does anyone
remember “Thunder Rolls” by Garth Brooks, or “Independence Day” by Martina McBride? Both are stories of domestic violence, depicting the impact of one final confrontation between the spouses. Both had their controversy. In “Thunder,” Garth
actually portrayed the abuser in his video, and that had a lot of people scratching
their heads about how any man could portray the actions of hitting a women. In “Independence,” the wife burns down the house after her husband comes home drunk
again, and their daughter is sent off to foster care. In this case, the entire story is told from the child’s perspective, making it even more disturbing.
So why are we all getting up in arms? I think most people are simply mad because they assume that these two headliners are using tragedy to make money. Perhaps they
will make money out of it, but that won’t be the purpose. Eminem’s album is entitled
Recovery, and has several songs with lyrics about recovering from a severe drug addition. Why aren’t people mad about that? Didn’t he get himself into that habit? Why should he be allowed to profit from recovering from that? “It could be damaging for his daughter to hear that!” “It’s a long journey and he’d not finished, so how can he talk about it?” It’s his journey and no one can tell him how to do it.
As for Rhianna, she is the recovering victim of an abusive relationship. No one has the right to tell her what messages she should or shouldn’t give, nor what business decisions she should make (e.g. all of your messages from here on out should be anti-violence). Such decisions make her a one trick pony. Maybe she’s trying to put it behind her and move on, trying to free herself. How can she do that when the media keep reminding her of it, every interview she gives? There is more to this woman than being a victim. Every time that the media reminds her of her abuse, they are letting Chris Brown win one more time.
So many people seem to think that unless it’s being done as a public service
announcement, then all other discussions of domestic violence are inappropriate. They
aren’t. If you want to reach the youth of today, a public service announcement isn’t the way to go. More and more groups are finding that music videos, rap songs, and inserting the topic into popular tv series gets the message across more effectively, than a person sitting in front of a blank canvas, discussing how “wrong” something is. Kids and teens tune out about 60 seconds into the topic, while being lectured. This is why teachers have an ongoing battle to keep kids' attention in school. You have to make it interesting.
In this case, the rhythm, the video and the message all blend so that it shows how such situations can end in a messy, bloody way. The lyrics show both sides of the situation, from his knowledge that he’ll probably do it again, to her attitude of thinking he still loves her. It ends tragically, and what that tells the youth of today is that fighting and physicality in a couple is bad, and leads to escalating returns on the devastation to themselves and those around them. Why some people see this as glorifying the situation, I’ll never understand. “It’s alright because I love the way it hurts” doesn’t mean that she enjoys this. It is part of a battered woman’s mindset that they may deserve this. That’s the perspective. That’s the point.
I think that both of these artists should be praised for once again attacking a difficult topic and making it a number one hit. This means that it’s going to get a lot of replay. Subsequently, that means that there will be a lot of people talking about it. How this can be anything but a good thing, I don’t know. Add that to the fact that this isn’t a country song, like the above, and the reach of it has tripled, easily. I say, let it play.
And to Eminem and Rhianna – Kudos.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Baking for my colleagues - not always a great idea.
I like to take my baking in to work. I do it because I like to make the people around me smile, and let them try new goodies all of the time. The thing is, sometimes the responses that I get aren't so flattering.
1) You'd make a great mommy someday.
Here's the thing - I've told people quite clearly that I don't intend to have children, and associating my hobby of baking with the "need" to have children is quite insulting. I try to make it a joke and say "If I had kids, you guys wouldn't get any of this," but that only seems to open the conversation up for more arguments (see - demands) that I am to have children. This one gets my goat easily, and then I spend the entire day irritated. In future, I'm just going to avoid giving goodies to this person.
Sorry, people, the only buns coming from my oven will be hot cross buns!!
2)Aren't you quite the Suzie Homemaker/Betty Crocker.
Now, in theory this one can be a compliment, but both of these names conjure up women who work at home and bake and cook and do it to please their husbands and have no outside ambitions, no offense intended to anyone who lives that way. However, I am a woman with a degree, and a diploma, and ambition to do more in life, like maybe go to law school (if we ever get the money) or at least to move up the corporate ladder. I do this for fun, but it's not my life. Is every person who likes to surf on weekends a beach bum?
3) Can I have another? No, I don't have very many, so others won't get one. Aw, that's not nice!
This one happened yesterday and it, frankly, pissed me off. Yes, there are certain people who I try to make sure get one of my goodies when I bring them in. However, when I make bars, rather than cookies, I may only have a couple dozen and I can't let everyone have 2 or there won't be any left for other people. If I make a batch of cookies, and I have 6 dozen to give away (so that I don't eat them all myself), sure, you can have 2. But if I say no, it's for a reason. This one person bothered me for the remainder of the day to see if there were any left, so I finally took the last half dozen to another department that doesn't get my goodies most of the time as a thank you for their help so that I could honestly say "They're gone." Once I did that, I was told "Well, next time you make them, I want 2." ARGH!! Maybe next time you won't get any!. This same person begs me at least once a fortnight to make her my lasagna, despite me telling her repeatedly that I'm trying to lose weight and lasagne isn't on the menu! This kind of response, although it could be taken as a compliment, just comes across as greedy and selfish and turns me off completely.
For the most part, people respond wonderfully when I being things in, once every few weeks. Their faces light up, and they ask what I brought this time. Many don't even ask, but just take one and trust that it's going to be delicious. That's the compliment that I enjoy the most - the unadulterated trust and enjoyment of a treat at coffee/tea time. Then, later, people come by and tell me that they really enjoyed it, and/or ask for the recipe. That is the best compliment of all, and I wish that more people took that unpretentious approach to workplace goodies.
The rest of them make me want to use rotten eggs next time.....
1) You'd make a great mommy someday.
Here's the thing - I've told people quite clearly that I don't intend to have children, and associating my hobby of baking with the "need" to have children is quite insulting. I try to make it a joke and say "If I had kids, you guys wouldn't get any of this," but that only seems to open the conversation up for more arguments (see - demands) that I am to have children. This one gets my goat easily, and then I spend the entire day irritated. In future, I'm just going to avoid giving goodies to this person.
Sorry, people, the only buns coming from my oven will be hot cross buns!!
2)Aren't you quite the Suzie Homemaker/Betty Crocker.
Now, in theory this one can be a compliment, but both of these names conjure up women who work at home and bake and cook and do it to please their husbands and have no outside ambitions, no offense intended to anyone who lives that way. However, I am a woman with a degree, and a diploma, and ambition to do more in life, like maybe go to law school (if we ever get the money) or at least to move up the corporate ladder. I do this for fun, but it's not my life. Is every person who likes to surf on weekends a beach bum?
3) Can I have another? No, I don't have very many, so others won't get one. Aw, that's not nice!
This one happened yesterday and it, frankly, pissed me off. Yes, there are certain people who I try to make sure get one of my goodies when I bring them in. However, when I make bars, rather than cookies, I may only have a couple dozen and I can't let everyone have 2 or there won't be any left for other people. If I make a batch of cookies, and I have 6 dozen to give away (so that I don't eat them all myself), sure, you can have 2. But if I say no, it's for a reason. This one person bothered me for the remainder of the day to see if there were any left, so I finally took the last half dozen to another department that doesn't get my goodies most of the time as a thank you for their help so that I could honestly say "They're gone." Once I did that, I was told "Well, next time you make them, I want 2." ARGH!! Maybe next time you won't get any!. This same person begs me at least once a fortnight to make her my lasagna, despite me telling her repeatedly that I'm trying to lose weight and lasagne isn't on the menu! This kind of response, although it could be taken as a compliment, just comes across as greedy and selfish and turns me off completely.
For the most part, people respond wonderfully when I being things in, once every few weeks. Their faces light up, and they ask what I brought this time. Many don't even ask, but just take one and trust that it's going to be delicious. That's the compliment that I enjoy the most - the unadulterated trust and enjoyment of a treat at coffee/tea time. Then, later, people come by and tell me that they really enjoyed it, and/or ask for the recipe. That is the best compliment of all, and I wish that more people took that unpretentious approach to workplace goodies.
The rest of them make me want to use rotten eggs next time.....
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Shouldn't The G20 Protesters Eat Humble Pie?
Ok, so this isn't a baking post, but it's what's on my mind, so sue me. It is the G20 weekend in Toronto, and I just don't get it. There are protesters all over the place, and they (or some subset of them) are wreaking havoc - and for what?
As far as I'm concerned, protesting a summit meeting is ridiculous. The leaders have no idea what's going on outside of the walls of their meetings. They might get occasional security briefings, but they have no idea about a) what groups/movements/issues are being represented, or b) which ones are behaving peacefully, and which ones aren't.
I do understand that all of society will have varying opinions as to what topics should be on the agenda, and which should be at the top. However, lobbying in a direct manner, using highly placed representatives who can speak directly to the people in charge, and use intelligent discussion and debate to advance a cause - that is what makes sense to me. Screaming slogans that become unintelligible at high volumes, while allowing abhorrent factions to slip into your numbers and undermine any progress you "might" have made, makes no sense at all.
It may be very prejudicial to assume that these sorts of people in general are the same ones who would love a good ganja-brownie recipe, but perhaps they would all do better to just eat a slice of humble pie, and try to make changes through calm reasoning and debate, rather than violence and shouting.
If they need my help, I could always get them a good brownie recipe.
As far as I'm concerned, protesting a summit meeting is ridiculous. The leaders have no idea what's going on outside of the walls of their meetings. They might get occasional security briefings, but they have no idea about a) what groups/movements/issues are being represented, or b) which ones are behaving peacefully, and which ones aren't.
I do understand that all of society will have varying opinions as to what topics should be on the agenda, and which should be at the top. However, lobbying in a direct manner, using highly placed representatives who can speak directly to the people in charge, and use intelligent discussion and debate to advance a cause - that is what makes sense to me. Screaming slogans that become unintelligible at high volumes, while allowing abhorrent factions to slip into your numbers and undermine any progress you "might" have made, makes no sense at all.
It may be very prejudicial to assume that these sorts of people in general are the same ones who would love a good ganja-brownie recipe, but perhaps they would all do better to just eat a slice of humble pie, and try to make changes through calm reasoning and debate, rather than violence and shouting.
If they need my help, I could always get them a good brownie recipe.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)