If Life's an Illusion, We Might as Well Dine

Now that I don't have a job, the days seem to be going by very quickly. There are so many things that I enjoy doing on my own. Oh, maybe I was meant to be unemployed... when I was at work, I couldn't wait for the end of the day. Now I just keep busy during the day with things that interest me. A lot of it is just taking in information, though. I think I need to work on producing something worthwhile because I can't just keep taking everything in. I do so much reading and tooling around on the internet. I need to work on creating something to share with the world.

Not that I haven't been applying for jobs. I've been working on that. I have a couple of leads. A woman called me a couple weeks back about a research job I applied for. She asked me right away over the phone what my salary expectations are. I told her a number and she said, "Well, that's a little high for what we typically start our research assistants at, but I'll see what I can do." Then, I didn't hear from her for a long while. I thought I'd messed it up by asking for too high a salary. Yesterday she left a message on my voicemail about how I shouldn't interpret a lack of contact from her as a lack of interest in having me work for them, that they are busy in the office with proposals lately, and that she will probably contact me next week to try to set up an interview. I also applied to a school psychologist position with an organization that contracts with DC Public Schools. They contacted me and I asked if I would be able to work for them because the requirements for being licensed in DC are less stringent than in VA or MD (only 500 hours of experience are needed to get licensure, which I have...VA and MD require a 1200 hour internship). The HR person I spoke with on the phone made it sound like they'd still be interested in having me work for them. She asked me my salary expectations and I told her the same general number I told the woman for the other job. "Well, we would be able to pay much more than that, I'm sure," was her response. She told me yesterday that she was going to FedEx me some more application materials overnight, so I'll probably get that stuff soon.

Eh. I'm iffy on doing more work for schools. I think it'd be really cool to be self-employed. I don't know exactly what I'd do though. I'd need to come up with one good (self-employment) idea and stick with it. What do I wanna do?

I wanna be a punk rocker! (I could write a song a week ala Jonathan Coulton!)
I wanna be an organic farmer! (I could ask the farmer I'm getting my CSA share from for tips!)
I wanna be a screenwriter!
I wanna be a philosopher! (Piss off, Ayn Rand...I'm writing the anti-Atlas Shrugged.)
I wanna be a dog trainer!
I wanna be a photographer!
I wanna be a professional poker player! (Okay, this is just because I read this article about Annie Duke, who dropped out of a PhD program in psychology to play cards. She won $2 million in a poker tournament in 2004.)
I wanna operate a food cart! (Seriously, I want to have a cart in the middle of the patent office buildings and sell lunch to patent examiners. I imagine I need some sort of license to do that, though...and a cart...and a commercial kitchen, probably...)
I wanna write cookbooks!

Speaking of cookbooks, I have been doing more random cooking recently. I need to find ways to use all this stuff we're getting from our CSA. I made my own variations of cole slaw, potato salad, and an Asian rice noodle dish this week. Most of what I make is just a variation of or a combination of recipes I read. However, I thought it would be fun to start writing out recipes. So, here's an attempt at doing just that:

The Tofu/Broccoli/Bok Choy Noodle Dish I Made Last Night

I had to find a way to use the bok choy I got from our CSA. This is what I came up with:

Ingredients:
1/2 lb. Asian rice stick noodles
1 lb. firm tofu
2 cloves garlic
One crown of broccoli
2 heads baby bok choy
green onions
a few good handfuls of baby carrots
Szechwan Sauce
Soy Ginger Sauce

Directions:
First, drain your tofu and press it for half an hour by putting it between two plates and weighing down the top plate with a heavy book (I'm told that tofu picks up flavors better if it's pressed...). Drain off the extra water that comes out of the tofu as a result of pressing. Put the tofu in a container (I used the little plastic package mine came in...) and coat it with a few tablespoons of Szechwan sauce and allow it to marinade (I let it sit for a half hour or so...I don't even know if it really did much, but I like to think that it did...). Mince up your garlic and chop up your tofu and throw them together in a pan with some oil (this would actually probably work better with a wok, but I don't own a wok...there is one on our wedding registry, I think, though...). In the meantime, start bringing your rice stick noodles to a boil in a pot. After your tofu and garlic is browned up a bit, throw in all the veggies (chopped up, of course...). When the veggies start to get tender, put in a couple more tablespoons of Szechwan sauce and about half a bottle of soy ginger sauce. When your noodles are done, drain them off and mix them in with your veggies in the pan. Mix it all together as best you can. Put in more soy ginger sauce if you want...or feel free to randomly throw in regular soy sauce or sesame oil or whatever you want. Stir fry it up for a minute or two and it's ready to go in bowls or on plates and be served!

Okay, there. I can say that I produced something today. A poorly written, random recipe. If any of you actually make this, let me know. I'd be amused.

Also, if you have ideas about what I should do with my life, let me know that too...all ideas are welcome.