What's the trick to getting a treat in this joint?

Halloween is coming to an end. I guess we had a few trick or treaters last night and a few less tonight, but Dylan had the lights off so I don’t really know what night was the main night. I missed all the kids though, worked dinner shift both last night and tonight.
We did go out to the bars last night and it was fun, but I really don’t like being in bars that are that packed. It was fun to see all the costumes but other than that…super long bathroom lines, impossible to get drinks, almost as impossible to find a place to sit, I’m over it. Busy but not full, that’s how I like my drinking establishments.

And now I’m tired but know I won’t be able to fall asleep if I go to bed, hate that feeling, so I’m staying up even though Dylan is in bed already and I have nothing to watch on TV and nothing to do. Read my book I guess.

October is over, enter November. Jean-Pierre loathes the holidays and sees November as a last month of piece and normalness before the hysteric mania that is December and Christmas time. But he doesn’t live in America where the holiday season never ends, just takes a few short intermissions.

Thanksgiving will be fun, but it’s the people I care about; decorations and dead birds and cranberries in the shape of a can, I could care less about all that. I already told people at work I don’t give a shizzle about New Year’s, I can work all through New Year’s, I’ve done it before and will gladly to it again.
But Christmas, I have to get time off for Christmas. Otherwise I will cry tears of childlike disappointment and disproportional pain.

Tamales

I just bought tamales I can’t eat (cause they have meat in them) from the Mexican couple that walks around our neighbourhood and knocks on doors with plastic bags full of steaming hot, home cooked food.
It’s not like I think they have 18 hungry children sitting at home starving and hoping mama and papa will bring home some money for groceries. If they had 18 starving children you’d think they feed them the tamales and skip the detour via our neighbourhood.

Still, I can’t pretend it doesn’t make me feel like a good person, buying their tamales. Like I’m helping people less fortunate than myself. Because cooking a bunch of food on a Friday night and then going door to door trying to sell it is not something I would do unless I was hurting for money I assume that they are hurting for money. But what do I know?

Maybe cooking is their passion and they found that selling tamales in old town Pocatello is a nice way to make some extra money and put towards a Caribbean cruise. Maybe.

Spending 10 dollars on tamales is not something we could do everyday, my dearest and myself. We had Subway earlier today cause we were lazy and hungry and felt like getting something ready made and quick. I felt a little bad about that since we could of course have made sandwiches at home, it’s not like Subway is that spectacular. But I clearly don’t feel the least bit bad about the tamales, quite the contrary.
Blessed mother Åsa saves the world by buying tamales. Singing doves and green meadows and pink flowers. With salsa on top.

Everything sucks - just wait

Super shitty lunch today; 3 tables and 15 bucks. Ridiculous and a waste of my time. My time is far from precious so it takes a lot to waste it, but this did.

The shitty lunch was followed by some more hassle on campus with registration and admission and all that crap. It’s such a head ache, I’m not even going to get into it. Being foreign sucks balls.

Eventually everything sucks in some way though. School, work, people and stuff like that obviously, but also your friends, family, love and yeah….pretty much everything. At some point, if you stick with something long enough, everything will suck.
Those are my words of wisdom for today. A Buddhist monk might have said it first, but it stands repeating.

On a more positive note, I’m going wine tasting tomorrow with my new girlfriend Jessica. We didn’t have the talk yet, but I am still going to call her my girlfriend. She cut my hair this Monday and then we decided to go out and do something together. I am way excited; it’s been a long time since I had some quality time with just females.

Happy Holidays

Some people just poison the air around them. When they are not around you can breathe, relax and feel comfortable in your skin. And when they are present, everything is ten times harder than usual, you mess up simple things and everyone is in a bad mood. We have a person like that at work, a manger. This week I have been lucky enough to not work a single shift with him. It has been wonderful. I hope he has the whole weekend off.

Tomorrow we are supposed to carve pumpkins. I have been wanting to do it for a while now, but tomorrow I think will be the day. It will be my second pumpkin ever, the first one was in Moscow. I’m a little bummed that I have to work next Sunday night, though. I’ll probably miss most all the trick or treaters.

So yeah. Halloween will be nice, Thanksgiving will surely be a good one too. But I don’t really care that much about these American holidays since they are new to me and not something I grew up with. I mean, it’s always nice to get together with family and friends and celebrate something, but they obviously have no nostalgic meaning to me. Christmas on the other hand, I’m going to go bananas over Christmas. I have practically been counting down since last years Chilean Christmas done wrong in the middle of summer. This year better be good. It will be good. I will be all over it.

Purple support and a ticket on my purple car

Today you were supposed to wear purple if you support gay rights. Just like you were supposed to wear denim on Oct 5th to support breast cancer (treatment...I assume?) and all the chips bags have ribbons on them now and you can run and walk and donate can foods and wear socks and hats and bracelets and god knows what else to support cancer, hear disease, lung disease, diabetes and god knows what else.

It's very hard to keep track and very easy to act supportive even if you're not.

I have to wear black at work, but I wore purple socks. I'm sure the gays were glad. Then I went to the gym (where people could actually see my socks) and got a ticket for parking in the university district without a permit. That, I believe, is my first ticket ever. Dylan was not thrilled.... I was not either, obviously, but had I not run into some people from his program right after finding the ticket, I would probably not have told him.

Annoying, and stupid (on my part). Next time I will make sure I park so far away I might as well just drive home and park there.

Darryl Jr smells a deal

We have a new neighbour, somebody moved into the apartment next door to Nate and Chris. Some African chick, I have not seen her yet. Hopefully she's cool though.

That house next door, where Nate and Chris have the bigger apartment, is for sale. It has two aparments; the guys' place with two bedrooms, a big livingroom, a smaller, but open, kitchen and a fire place. Then there's the smaller place, which still isn't too small; one bedroom, a livingroom, bath and a fairly large closet. There's a garage out back, a basement with washer/dryer, a nice patio and a decent size yard.

Dylan wants to buy it, he has been eyeing it since he saw the For Sale sign and the more we hang out over there, the more he wants it. Of course we have nowhere near enough money to buy it at this point. I have to admit that if we're looking at spending 4 something years here, that would add up to a lot of money thrown away on rent if we don't buy something.
But then there's of course also the fact that other people actually live there now.

I don't know. I am definitly missing that Stiegemeier gene that seems to make your whole system twitch and ache if you think you're not getting a good deal. Buying something eventually seems like a good idea in theory, but not yet.
I'm Swedish; we rent, we share, we cheat on our taxes, all we want is to be normal and we will avoid a conflict at any cause.

A day well spent

Just spent a good three hours driving around Pocatello counting yard signs for the upcoming election. It’s for one of Dylan’s classes. I must say I’ve had more fun on a Saturday.
We figured poor people in trailer parks would be less likely to care about the election than rich people in nice neighbourhoods. Now we now that (judging by the number of political signs and posters) poor people in trailer pars do indeed care way less about the election that rich people in nice neighbourhoods. A day well spent.

As for work, I’ve had a hard time deciding weather to stick with my job or keep flirting with other places that I feel would pay better, give me more shifts and be less cooperative. And so I got an interview lined up. But no, now I’ve decided (once again) to stay where I am. The grass is not always greener and I don’t want to be a flaky quitter or risk screwing myself over.

Here we go again

People, seriously, let’s make this easier on everybody involved in your restaurant experience. There are a few things you have to understand.

-First of all, the hostess is not your server so there is no need to make eye contact with her, smile or waist any other politeness on her- or him- whatever, like I said, it doesn’t matter.

-Don’t listen to your server’s name and try to remember it, they only say it to seem special, not so you can call on them if you need anything. The only time you want to notice your server’s name is if it’s something you can make fun of.

-If you’re with a large group, go ahead and assume that everybody wants water. Carrying 10 or 15 tall glasses of water is done in an instant. If the procedure of fetching water glasses that will mostly be left untouched slows down your server, go ahead and take a good chunk out of the intended tip.

-Servers are mentally slow by nature. Always assume they will get your order wrong. Even if they repeat your entire order back to you, it doesn’t mean they understand what they are saying; parrots do that trick all the time.

-However, mind reading is mandatory is waitress-school. Go over how you want your burger cooked at least three times, but don’t tell them you want the pickles on the side and no mayo, they should be able to figure that much out on their own.

-Once the food arrives, make sure not too look too excited as this might indicate satisfaction and hint to the server that you don’t need them anymore. Critically scrutinize your plate, this is the perfect time to put on glasses if you have a pair, and ask for that side of pickles, extra napkins and a refill on the salt shaker, just to make sure your server doesn’t slack off.

-Ask for refills on everything that is refillable free of charge. That’s the whole purpose of free refills. If you will actually eat those fries or drink that coke doesn’t matter one bit. The only way to make sure the glass is not just half full but actually full, is to have it sitting in front of you.

-The doggy bag part can be tricky, you don’t want to have to bag up your food yourself; on the other hand, you can’t trust your server not to steel or tamper with your food when out of sight. The best way to go; do it yourself but make sure they understand how unhappy you are to have to do so and take another good chunk out of the tip.

-Splenda, Equal and all that stuff is free for restaurants, but not for you. Stock up before you leave!

-Make sure you get every single penny of your change back if you pay cash. If you pay with a card, go ahead and take both copies of the slip, it’s a myth that the one that says “business copy” actually has to stay at the business. That’s none of their business, it’s yours.

Enjoy your dining out, but never, ever let on that you are enjoying it. Restaurant staff is not people, they are servers. That’s why they are called servers for crying out loud, so go right ahead and bring the medieval “server and king” style back.

A tank of gas can only take you so far

I filled up the car with gas, 35 dollars. Then I went into work and made 36 dollar. One dollar plus today.

Some days are about the future, some days are about the past and some days are just about getting through. Jean-Pierre is having the third kind today. Hating his teachers, his roommate, his life and the world there is no time for pondering and no energy left for decision making. He is not going to even check facebook today.

I am so glad fall is finally here. Crisp, cool air on sunny days with a sky, high and blue. Yesterday it was raining and Sunday when we actually had a nice day like that, I was working. But still. Bring on the scarves and scented candles; I’ve been ready since August.

Sunday 10-10-10

Just got back from a better day at work than I had yesterday. More money, less busy and no (major) screw ups.
The house is kind of a mess, but I am not about to clean it right now.

So this is how I see it.
Jean-Pierre is sitting at a single table outside a small coffee house in central Paris. He has a scarf wrapped loosely around his neck. October is chilly and the thin anorak style jacket he is wearing does a terrible job of keeping him warm. The café au lait in front of him is turning cold fast. A to-go cup with a lid would keep the hot beverage hot, but Jean-Pierre would rather drink cold coffee (he would rather be caught dead) than with one of those horribly ugly American style styrofoam or paper cups that scream out “I am too busy and too stupid to enjoy my coffee.”

After six cigarettes, he is still as clueless as when he sat down. Coffee and cigarettes on a busy street normally clears his head, but not today. His skinny lap top computer clashes with the antique style of the coffee mug and exterior design of the café.
He’s checking facebook, reading random blogs about random places he will probably never visit. He’s debating whether to make an omelette or something more substantial for dinner when he gets home. He’s starting to really annoy the waitress who wants to clean her section and end her shift. Her name is Claudette. She is positive he has no idea who she is even thought he comes in for coffee several times a week.

Jean-Pierre looks busy, tapping the keys of his sleek computer with focused frenzy. He has learned about an ex-gang member in Sweden who has a prize on his head after the police refused to put him in a witness protection program. He has read about NHL-football players accused of cheating on drug tests. Film reviews and weather forecasts and fashion updates have made their way into his conscience.
But he has come non the closer to making a decision about his future. That was his plan for the afternoon, but it did not work.

He leaves the café and his half empty cup without paying. He knows Claudette will be angry but let him pay for it next time he comes in without making a fuss. He does know her name.

Decisions are like that sometimes, impossible to force out of their hiding. They’ll come out in time, when they’re good and ready, but no sooner.

Personally, I have decided to not even go to the interview at the Brewery. I would feel dishonest and probably not take the job even if I got it.

Enter Jean-Pierre

Someone recently asked me about blogs; what they are, why you have them and so forth.
I told him I had two and he asked if anyone read them. I said I knew people (family and friends at home) read my Swedish blog but that I honestly had no idea if anyone ever read this one...

So then what's the point of having a blog that nobody reads? (one might wonder, and he did)
Well, I suppose I just like the thought of people being able to read it. I can't write whatever because there is that slight chance that whatever will find its way back to whoever it was about.
I can be honest or I can invent things and events, but if I go completly nuts with it, again, there is that chance someone will call me on ny BS.

So, I'll keep doing it. For me and my imaginary reader Jean-Pierre. JP is a French student who lives in Paris even though he hates it there, because it is good for his image.
More on him later, now I am going to be social and nice to our guests Nate and Chris even though I am still a little mad at them for waking us up at 3 am last night.

Costumes and Curry

Chill Friday getting ready to work the Brunch-shift both Saturday and Sunday. Tomorrow night we are going to Indian night on campus; naan, curry and hopefully lots of yummy foods.

Then we were supposed to go to Flip Side after that, a bar just two blocks from our house that puts on costume parties all the time, and this time for Superheroes. So yesterday we went to the thrift stores and Dylan got a Donatello Ninja Turtle costume, well no he didn’t actually. He got long johns that he dyed green, purple fabric and a stick. Then he spent 3 hours making a shell.

I got a fairy godmother/medieval maid costume and was going to get a wand and cast spells on people, but then Dylan (unfortunately) found this yellow jump suit (what the hell are the odds?) and bought it for me even though it seems to have been custom made for a skinny umpa lumpa. It fits extremely funny, somehow it’s too short, too saggy and too small all at the same time. But yeah, so now I’m going as a poorly dressed version of April O’Neal instead.

Well, good good thing that we ended up going to Flip Side for a little bit last night because as it turns out, the Superhero costume party is not until next weekend! Tomorrow is band night and live music with a band from Washington. I would not have been happy showing up to a concert in my yellow outfit….

“Hi, I’m with the band…my name is April”
yeah I don’t think so.

Money Honey

Yep, i got it. Passed the test and will go in today to get my schedule. Nice, just so I can actually start bringing in some money.

I don’t like to talk about money though, or plan ahead for every little expense.
I know how that sounds, ok so let me explain.

I don’t like making a super detailed budget plan and then have to remake it every time a lunch is a little pricier than expected or a pair of flip flops break and a new pair ruins the budget for that day. Dylan loves it.
Where I like to plan social events ahead of time so I know whether I need to dress up or can just slouch in sweats, he hates that. But he can’t help but planning every little cent we’re going to spend and then he actually seems to enjoy remaking his budget when the not-planned for night out ended up adding a six-pack of beer and a $ 25 bar tab to the expense list.

I just try to be smart about it, not spend too much on the necessary stuff and not buy too much unnecessary stuff. I am dying to go shopping, the real fun kind of shopping where you don’t actually need anything but still want to find whatever looks cute. It’s at the point where I don’t even go into stores that will tempt me anymore. I need to get a few pay checks under my belt before I can let myself go to the mall.

what the hell muffin pan..?

My hand is cramping up like a claw. I don’t think I’ve written anything that long since middle school. The menu test, I took it today and I can’t really say how I did. I definitely missed some celery sticks, lettuce leaves and pieces of parsley, but hopefully they’re not too picky about the garnishes. I think I got most all the main dishes down close to perfect, except the sandwiches….they have so many different toppings and there is no rhyme or reason to what goes on what.
Swiss cheese, pickles and BBQ-sauce sound like a good combo to anyone?
Not me, but apparently to whoever made the menu.

Whatever, at least I did it and now I just have to wait and see.

I just signed up for the GRE-test (draining another $160 from our account, I really hope to putting some in there soon), and I’m taking it in December. I’m going to have to study, cause if I do real good on the verbal section they’ll waive my TOEFL-test and thus save me a lot of money.

Today I made blueberry-banana muffins. Muffins don’t really want to work out for me, don’t know why. The chocolate cake I made for Chris’s birthday came together surprisingly well, the cobbler was a hit. Why not muffins? Why?

Elbow noodles in creamy cheddar cheese sauce

Studying the menu for my test tomorrow.

Chicken strips come with Honey Mustard, Fire Wings with Blue Cheese. There are pieces of red and green peppers in the rice pilaff that cannot be removed. There is pico the gallo in the guacamole but it can be made without it upon request. The broccoli had margarine on it but the cauliflower has butter. The Chicken Mushroom Pasta is spicy where as the Chicken Broccoli is not.
I’m not sure it was a good idea to say I’d take it Monday…..but you can retake it if you fail so maybe I’ll just have to do that a couple of times. It’s not like it’s hard, just a lot to memorize.

Last night we had game night here and it was a lot of fun. We played Quip It! and Outburst and everyone seemed to have a really good time. I want to get the new version of Scruples though, that game is one of my absolute favourites.

Dylan is studying for his first actual test tomorrow. So we’re both studying, only he is studying real stuff and I’m studying Asian Glazed Baby Back Ribs and Peppercorn Steaks. I’m slacking, blogging and checking facebook and he’s slacking taking naps and downloading music.

I have been thinking a lot about home this week. Because Linnea is here and I speak Swedish almost every day (as supposed to maybe once a week if my mom calls) and I also because I got a care package stuffed with goodies from home. I miss it, a lot. But I also feel like I’m starting to get comfortable here.

I miss my friends. And being gone for such long periods of time tells you a lot about who your real friends really are. There’s one I am kind of disappointed with lately. Maybe I’m being unfair, but I feel like she only keeps in touch with me when she needs someone to talk to about her messy life, if she’s fine, no need for me…

Oh well, back to the Italian Cream Cake and the kid’s Shirley Temple Float. I have pass this damn exam and not get hung up on energy draining people.