My Kitchen Window

Why?! It's a cement mixer.

And I don't have AC.

Where Will the Oil End Up, Maybe?

Hey what's a little oil? It comes from the earth anyway. No big deal. More Pics.

Using Parsley and Garlic to Flavor Lamb

I love lamb. Next to squid it's my favorite meat. I often walk to the other side of the tracks (literally) about 10 blocks to get grilled "meat" as the locals call it (but it's really lamb) from Mimi's African Restaurant. I stopped buying meat and cooking it myself (because mostly for weight reasons, yes, I'm obsessed with my health), but sometimes (about once or twice a week, when I have a craving) I venture out to a neighborhood restaurant to purchase it already cooked. Uncooked meat really kinda grosses me out.


Oh this is cool. Searching for Mimi's African Restaurant, I stumbled on this website. They write: "The goal of this journey is to find cuisines from every United Nations member state, within New York City limits, in alphabetical order." Wow, that's impressive.

Here's what they wrote about: Mimi’s African Restaurant (55 William Street, Newark, NJ 07102).

Just a little bit outside of downtown Newark’s commercial district, Mimi’s shared a quiet block with an electronics shop displaying Nollywood DVDs in the window and a hair salon. Two women were grilling corn and shish kabob on what looked like a Weber outside. We guessed that the restaurant itself might have been a converted Chinese place because the seating area was a small square with a few table and because the menu was displayed on a back-lit board above the counter. French commentators were deconstructing the triumphs and failures of Fidel Castro on the television set mounted in the corner.

Very accurate.

Smart Lock

For those nights when you had a little too much to drink...

Count Down

My three biggest changes: corporate attire, a regular hair cut at a barber shop, and the gym.

In reverse order, during the past five years my schedule allowed me to frequent the gym during off peak hours. Upon starting my new job, my gym visits are limited to before or after work, during peak hours. Not sure, which will work out better. But I'm determined not to gain back the "working-in-an-office" weight that once adorned around my midsection. I purchased a scale and plan to step on it each and every morning, and eat accordingly. I was about 25 lbs. heavier when I left work in 2005.

Yeap, a haircut every two weeks in a barber shop, that's my goal. At Cornell, I learned to cut my own hair, which I did - successfully and unsuccessfully - for almost 15 years. I paid a barber a cent while living in DC. I cut my hair myself. Prior to my first interview a couple months back, I visited the Ecuadorian barber on the corner of my multi-cultural block. Nice guy. I almost look presentable again.

And lastly, the dress code at my new job is corporate attire, except during the summer when it is business casual. I dry cleaned all my dress pants and purchased 10 new dress shirts, 10 new ties, new t-shirts, underwear, etc. At the end of summer, I expect to purchase a few more new suits. I can't believe I'll be wearing a suit and tie everyday to work again. I also plan to walk to work. It's only a mile from where I'll be living. Google says 25 minutes.

Who knows, I might even start carrying a wallet again…..

Gay? Whatever, Dude

Via NYT. The times are a changing...

1. For the first time, the percentage of Americans who perceive “gay and lesbian relations” as morally acceptable has crossed the 50 percent mark. (You have to love the fact that they still use the word “relations.” So quaint.)

2. Also for the first time, the percentage of men who hold that view is greater than the percentage of women who do.

3. This new alignment is being led by a dramatic change in attitudes among younger men, but older men’s perceptions also have eclipsed older women’s. While women’s views have stayed about the same over the past four years, the percentage of men ages 18 to 49 who perceived these “relations” as morally acceptable rose by 48 percent, and among men over 50, it rose by 26 percent.

Even more interesting...

... there is a growing body of research that supports the notion that homophobia in some men could be a reaction to their own homosexual impulses. Many heterosexual men see this, and they don’t want to be associated with it. It’s like being antigay is becoming the old gay. Not cool.

What I Do to Preserve Land Fills

Return my plastic (not the paper) Chinese takeout food containers to the restaurant. (I can't guarantee they don't throw them out after I return them.)

Try not to "buy" things. However, I want to buy a new iPhone and TV, but I struggle with what do I do with my old phone and TV. They still work. Craigslist? Or maybe Salvation Army.

In furnishing my new room, I'm trying to purchase as much as I can on Craiglist and Salvation Army. We'll see how that goes.

I went to the Salvation Army Store yesterday to purchase a scale, coffeemaker, coffee cup and umbrella. All I got was the coffee cup.

Sew my old clothes (e.g. T-shirts, socks, buttons, etc.) instead of buying new clothes.

The conversion of DVD/CD to digital has reduced my waste significantly. I might research buying a Kindle to reduce my tree usage.

I never take plastic spoons, forks or knives, if I'm going to eat takeout at home.

Only use cloth napkins and towels at home instead of paper napkins or towels. I do use toilet paper, however.

Try to buy as much produce fresh or dry good in bulk, and reuse the clear plastic bags. I always bring reusable grocery bags with me to the store.

Use a cardboard box as an indoor garbage bin. I refuse to buy a plastic one.

I hate buying things, taking care of them, and eventually having to throw them out. I rather just not buy "things". I don't like the responsibility.

Yes, I'm a whack job, thank you.

Meet the Sloths

We saw these critters from a distance in the Amazon River Basin in Peru. So cute, and sloooowwww.

My top three places that I've traveled to view animals: 1) Serengeti, Kenya & Tanzania (lions, elephants, giraffes, zebras, etc.); 2) Australia (kangaroos, koala bears, fruit bats, crocodile, etc.); 3) Galapagos Islands (iguanas, giant tortoise, seal lions, birds, etc.); and 4) South Georgia (penguins, seals, whales, etc). Yeah, it's four. I know. I'm getting old, it's called reminiscing. I have vivid memories (with the help of pictures late at night downing a bottle of wine) of the animals in each of these places, plus the underwater life along the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia.

12th Annual Memorial Day Weekend

Are these kids tired or what? Once a year, I travel deep into the bowels of suburbia to hang with my undergrad friends. And this past weekend was that weekend. It was the12th annual gathering of it's kind. I haven't attended all the gatherings, but I try, here and there, when I can muster the courage.

The next morning, Monday, actual Memorial Day, I cycled a 50 mile loop in west Jersey to shed the weekend's food and drink! I should not have eaten so much artichoke dip!!

"I have known more men destroyed by the desire to have wife and child and to keep them in comfort than I have seen destroyed by drink and harlots." -W.B. Yeats

Every time I hang with my undergrad friends, I feel like I'm visiting my racist, homophobic, sexist, unexplored past. A time when I didn't understand multiculturalism and the opportunities the world outside the U.S. and New Jersey has to offer. It's nice to visit my past, but I never want to live there again, metaphorically. I like change. I like adventure. I like learning new things.

Worse Summer for Young Workers

For summer jobs, this will probably be the worst year since the Great Depression.

This graph shows the unemployment rate for workers 16 to 24 years old (from the BLS), and the headline unemployment rate (blue). The unemployment rate hit a record 19.6% in April for this group.

Source Calculated Risk.