Out with the Old!

I work in fundraising as my day job, so it’s interesting to me to learn about all of the different forms it can take. Recently, I’ve been reading a lot about microfinance. It’s certainly not a new concept, but I do feel as though it’s becoming increasingly popular as of late. As Wikipedia defines it, “Microfinance refers to the provision of financial services to low-income clients, including the self-employed. Often, the term also refers to the practice of sustainably delivering those services.” Basically it’s a bank of sorts, where individuals contribute money as a loan to another individual, who use the windfall in order to improve upon or start a sustainable business. Just like a regular loan, they sign a contract with terms that involve the repayment schedule. Am I blabbering? In any event:

I loaned money to a business owner through Kiva.

After doing some research, I found Kiva, an organization that streamlines the process. You can search from thousands of people and families to find the perfect fit for what type of person/business you prefer to support. I chose to loan to a woman in Nigeria who plans to use the loan to buy a freezer for her local shop so that she can stock more products and improve upon food safety.

Fun factor: 10

I worked at the restaurant tonight. At one point there was a lull in traffic, so in order to entertain my mature self:

I drank a suicide from the drink gun.

For those of you unfamiliar with this notion- a suicide is a concoction of several different flavors, usually in beverage form, most often performed on the playground as a result of a dare. I have had a suicide before- at Dairy Queen with the Mister Misty flavors- but never with pop.

The gun at the restaurant contains: RC, Diet Rite, 7-Up, Grape Soda, Green River, club soda, lemonade, iced tea, water, and Dr. Pepper. It was pretty nasty. The overpowering flavor for me was Grape, which made it slightly more bearable.

Fun factor: 7

There’s a newspaper in Chicago, The RedEye, that contains a daily Sodoku puzzle. Apparently the publication has been lucrative for the outfit, because they seem to have some extra cash laying around to pay a staff member whose title is “Resident Sodoku Ninja.” I imagine his cubicle is probably right next to the Resident Butthole Sniffer. This man does the Soduku puzzle every day and times himself. The challenge each day to the readers is to beat his time. I’ve never actually timed myself, so today:

I challenged the Sodoku Ninja’s time.

I’ve seen his times range from 3 to 18 minutes whenever I happen to check out this paper, but today it was an astonishing 59 minutes. The puzzle was rated with difficulty of 6 stars- another staggering number I’d never seen. I thought I would kick the SN’s ass, but instead I finished in 69 minutes. And then I spent the next 69 minutes being depressed that I had spent 69 minutes of my Sunday doing a Sodoku puzzle.

Fun factor: 6

I’ll get right to the point:

I attempted to do the Master Cleanse.

A terrible, terrible idea.  I thought it would make me feel great to have a good cleanse.  The idea is you drink a concoction comprised of fresh lemon juice, maple syrup, distilled water, and cayenne pepper for 7-10 days.  Yes, it’s very extreme, but I had done some research and spoken to many people who had done it and the common theme was that you feel incredible after doing it.  

Day one was a success, but I was so crabby and tired it was ridiculous.  The work day was okay, but once I was home, it was all downhill.  I had BAD, BAD thoughts toward Dr. Stanley Burroughs, the creator of the cleanse.  I wish I could’ve reached the stage of enlightenment that I had hoped for, instead I celebrated the next day with a bag of M&M’s and a peanut butter brownie. 

Fun Factor: 0

Tonight, Nick and I had a cook-off. He cooked salmon, and I cooked salmon. He grilled his and:

I cooked salmon in a dishwasher.

First, I buttered the foil and placed the salmon fillet on it. I squeezed a little lemon juice on it at this point too.

Then I made a cute little envelope with the foil, making sure that no air gaps existed.

Then I placed it in the dishwasher (no soap), closed the door, and put it on the hot, normal cycle.

Nick’s creation (BELOW): Grilled salmon and asparagus, roasted scallions, all served on a bed of crushed coriander and red chili pepper rice pilaf, and plated with a foam infusion of orange and ginger.

Mine (BELOW): Buttered dishwasher-steamed salmon fillet served with a lime-infused Palmolive elixir.

So, who wins? Without injecting any bias, might I gingerly mention that one of us does NOT attend culinary school.

Fun factor: 8

Yesterday Katie, Emily and I had irrational fears of being alone. We went to afternoon tea, as we do most days, and we surely couldn’t go to the bar in our tea garb, so we were forced to go our separate ways to change clothes and meet back up again at a bar to send two of our friends off to Colorado. To remedy this dilemma, we concocted a plan and:

I went on an apartment crawl.

We went to Emily’s place first and drank a beer while she changed. Then we headed to my place, and then to Katie’s, enjoying a beverage at each joint. It was impromptu and fun, while still serving its purpose.

Fun factor: 8

We wanted to do something different for Emily’s birthday this year, so:

I had formal afternoon tea.

We went to the Drake Hotel, where we proceeded to order our tea flavors and enjoy tiny sandwiches, scones, and desserts. Katie chose pear caramel tea, the birthday girl chose Earl Grey; I chose a variety of green tea called gunpowder. It was yummy and the food was really good. There was a woman playing the harp to serve as the background music. I would definitely recommend doing this if you live in Chicago- if you live somewhere else, find a place near you that offers tea service. To have a similar experience, avoid places ending in “mart” or those that have a drive through.

Ladies who lunch:

Fun factor: 10

I’ve always wanted to grow an herb garden.  It’s good for the environment, it improves the taste/quality of the herbs, and it’s so very Martha- and I love me some Martha.  

So, I started out with a kit of sorts.  It’s called the Jiffy garden.  It’s basically a starter kit that looks like an egg container with peat in each section.  Each soil peat is covered in a pantyhose-type material.

Before anything:

Step 1: Add water and open pantyhose

Step 2: Add 2-3 seeds in each peat.  

Step 3: Cover with lid and place in warm spot, but not in direct sunlight.  

Once they sprout, I will transfer them to their own pots.  I can’t wait to use them once they’re fully grown! 

Fun factor: 9

One of the luxuries of my current job is my commute- or lack thereof.  I live insanely close to my place of employment.  I can literally leave my house at 7:58 to be at work at 8:00am.  

Living so close affords me the luxury of spending an entire lunch hour at home each day.  Some days I watch my soap, others I read a magazine.  I always eat.  But yesterday:

I grilled out over my lunch hour.  

The dogs sizzling:

Proof that we live in Chicago:

The product:  

It was so fun!  We just got a new grill and have already used it several times.  I associate grilling out with fun, friends and family- it has a social aspect to it in my mind, so it just seemed fun to be doing it on a break from work.  Then 1:00pm struck and I had to report back to the clink.  

Fun factor: 10

You know those polls that your local news stations periodically put on the screen?  Who the hell actually votes in those?  Apparently I do.

I voted in a TV news poll.    

I’m not sure how widespread this news has been, but the other day, a cougar was loose in a neighborhood in Chicago.  And I’m not referring to your average North Shore mom coming downtown for a mani and pedi.  A real live wild animal, running loose through city intersections.  Some third party witnesses reported seeing the cat riding down Western Avenue in a rickshaw while smoking a cigarette. 

In any event, Chicago’s finest shot the cougar twelve times and killed it.  The poll on the news was asking “Do you think the police were justified in shooting the cougar?”  I responded via text with “no.”  I clearly realize it was a safety hazard to have a wild animal running through the streets, but aren’t there tranquilizers for this sort of thing?  

Fun factor: 5