The 12 Days of Chicken

We somehow managed to buy a ton of chicken here. I mean really. We have a 10 pound bag and then the Costco stuff we just got the other day before fall break. So our freezer right now is chock full of poultry.

And deer meat, which...

So we are involuntarily going through what we call the 12 Days of Chicken. Sort of like the 12 Days of Christmas, but with meat.

And without the gifts.

Or the ham. (Yeah, ham!)

Geeks are Mean!

I'll admit it: I tried to use torrents. And it didn't work out.

I'm a little bit of an anglophile, which is a little bit of an understatement. So I was looking around the interwebs to watch The Thick of It, the really funny show that spawned In The Loop. Over on this side of the Atlantic, it's damn near impossible to find, so I went looking around and found the first DVD online. After watching it, I was banned from the site. Why? Because nerds want a better description of the file they're getting, and mine wasn't detailed enough.

Ugh! How rude are these dorks?!

Priorities, Italy. Priorities!

As you all probably know by now, I've been taking Italian this semester to get in touch with my roots and learn a new language — which for me, geek that I am, is actually pretty fun. So far, we've learned a few verbs, the descriptions of people, how to say family members and how to introduce ourselves, count, say where we're from, and talk about sports. Right now we're learning about technology and how to talk about computers.

What I would like to know is how in the first 100 pages of our book we have learned almost nothing about Italian food.

Seriously. I don't know anyone who has gone out of their way to purchase an Italian laptop. They're not really known for their technological advancements. They are world known for their delicious, meat-filled and sauce-smothered pasta and cuisine. So at this point in my Italian class, I can tell you all the members of my family and talk about a football game. But I can't order myself dinner? Whuh?

This November, Vote NO To Negative Campaign Ads

God I miss England. Over there you're not allowed to have TV ads for politics, much less negative ones. But over here? I just saw six negative campaign ads in a row.

Six. Six!

(Well, 5, Kirsten Gillibrand's was just her standing there talking about how the state is sucking and blaming its problems on someone else)

I mean, is the election here yet? Because I'm over it.

I Guess I Look Trustworthy?

So this past weekend, John, Brooke and Eric came up to visit, which is sort of awesome. Got to go to Applefest and do the usual Ithaca stuff, but we decided to make a field trip up to Canada to see Niagara Falls from their side of things (meaning the clean side with the Horseshoe, not the lame parts).

So going there and coming back, we had to get our passports checked, which we did without complaint. On the way there, they pretty much didn't ask that many questions. Because they're Canadian, and they don't really think people care enough to bomb them. On the way back into the US, they questioned everyone hardcore. Made them take glasses off, confirm their middle names, ask birthdays, the usual. Everyone but me.

This is the third time this has happened to me. When I went into Germany, I got a quick visual scrutiny from Hans and Franz behind the counter, a stamp proclaiming I had entered through Schoenfeld International Airport, and I was on my way.

When I came back from 5 months abroad, I didn't get a second look coming back through Newark Liberty Airport. The guy looked at me, gave me a quick "How you doin'?" and a stamp and nudged me through security with my huge bag in tow. Not a look, not a question, it's like he saw my Italian last name and my New Jersey birthplace on my passport and figured I was legit.

When we came through Canada, I was the only person in the car that didn't get asked anything. John got asked if he was bringing stuff back through (a hat and a mug), how we all knew each other (high school friends), and how long we had been there (like 4 hours). Brooke got asked to confirm her name and got a visual scan —meaning the customs guy was checking her out. Eric got asked to take off his glasses, confirm his middle name, and confirm his birthday. I got asked no questions, they simply smiled at me and handed back my passport.

I find it amusing and sort of frightening that security doesn't seem to pick up on me. I mean, I have nothing to hide, really. But you never know. Certainly makes traveling to foreign countries easier, though.