Gloves

Gloves work wonders.

No Smoking

The other night, we tried braising meat for the first time. For those who are unfamiliar with this cooking technique, it basically consists of browning the meat and then stewing it at a low temperature in a broth for a while (typically at least an hour and a half). It comes in handy for tougher (and usually cheaper) cuts of meat, since the stewing process makes the meat really tender. A simple process, really, but none of us had ever attempted it.

The conditions were just right. Veteran's Day meant no work or school, the three of us were all craving meat, and spare ribs just happened to be on sale. We got started early, anticipating a good 2 hours of oven-time. Since we didn't have a braising pot, we used a casserole dish just barely large enough for our ribs. The downside with this was that some of the boiling broth spilled over the edge onto the oven floor. It quickly burned (unnoticed by the three of us, who were planted on the couch anxiously waiting for dinner) and started smoking. Maybe the intense hunger messed with our vision, but we didn't notice how hazy the room got until the smoke alarm started screaming at us.

I'd imagine the subsequent scene looked pretty amusing from outside passersby. Five kids frantically running around, opening windows, fanning smoke with cutting boards, and climbing chairs to cover up alarms with plastic bags. For fifteen minutes.

I think we've learned our lesson. Next time we'll clean up anything that might burn on the oven floor before it causes a kitchen catastrophe. Or make sure nothing drips down there in the first place.

On the bright side, the ribs had a nice smoky taste.

Halloween

Ours was good. How was yours?

Your Own Soundtrack

This entry is dumb. There is no useful advice in this entry. Read it if you want a dumb story.

Tim and I have been going to Bally Total Fitness for the last month and a half to get totally fit. There's the occasional broken machine and the locker room smells foul, but overall it's not a bad gym. The biggest complaint I have against Bally, however, is that they play the same music videos over and over. And typically they choose the girliest songs - Tina Parol's Who's Got Your Money, New Kids On the Block's Summertime, and Taylor Swift's - well, any Taylor Swift song. Honestly, I think it has a negative impact on our workout. And maybe even our masculinity. Sometimes I catch Tim checking his eyelashes in the mirror during my set.

Ok ok, so that last part isn't true. And truthfully, not all their music is bad. The other day I heard a song that I recognized - a catchy tune that I had heard on BallyTV several times before, but I had never looked up to see who it was by. This time, I decided to glance up at the screen and figure out who it was that was aurally enhancing my workout week after week. I was shocked as much as I was disgusted. Jonas Brothers. All those times I made fun of hardcore fans. All the tasteless jokes - turned around and punched me in the face.

The lesson? Don't judge too early. No. Scratch that. Today's lesson: Bring your iPod to Bally Total Fitness to prevent musical brainwashing.

Now forget what I said about the Jonas Brothers. I was just kidding about liking their song.

Free!

Remember those first couple weeks as an underclassman living on campus? You could walk outside and find yourself on the quad amongst students reading in the sun, people skateboarding to class, and the stereotypical disc-throwers playing a friendly game of ultimate frisbee. Over by the bulletin board you'd find a list of events to kick off the year - free BBQs, dances, meet and greets, etc.

Well, good news. You don't need to be a freshman to take advantage of these activities. In fact, you don't even need to be in college to partake. If you're just out of college like me, all you have to do is play the part! Dig up that old backpack. Carry around a notebook. Do whatever it takes to fit in and you're good to go. Get some free food, hit up the job fairs, whatever. If you're feeling ambitious, rush a couple frats and grab a few slices of pizza from the info sessions.

And this freeloading doesn't have to stop after the first few weeks of school. There's still plenty going on. My latest craze here has been forums. They're packed with information, knowledgeable people, and, if you're lucky, free food!! And I'm not just talking about cheese platters and grapes. I'm talkin full on sandwiches, 5 different selections of hummus, and even cocktails. Last week I got free pizza at one forum and then lasagna, hummus, and unlimited drinks at another one the next day.

So get yo butt in line at the next back-to-school barbeque and treat yourself to a free burger. Free food is out there. All you have to do is find it.

When In Rome...

...eat what the Romans eat! Sure, yelp can do wonders. But the best place to discover local favorites is through word of mouth. We recently pigged out at this restaurant near MIT called Emma's Pizza. Some of the best thin slice pie I've had outside of New York. The only way we found this place was through KThai's coworkers, who are frequent customers at Emma's. It's location is a bit obscure - on a sidestreet in a semi-residential/semi-industrial area. Across the street you will find an autoshop, and on the next corner, an apartment building. Who knows how long it would have taken us to find this diamond in the rough otherwise? Save yourself some time and go where the locals go.

Another tip: cook. Especially if you have people to cook with. Some people are turned off by cooking, and reasonably so. Not everyone comes home from an 8 hour day eager to spend 30+ minutes in the kitchen preparing dinner. But when the prepwork, cooking, and cleaning are distributed among two or more people, cooking becomes less of a chore and more of a leisurely activity. Plus, it takes less time to go from this:

to this:

Oh, and double plus - it saves you money so you can spend it all at Emma's later!

That Guy

The moral of today's story? Don't be that guy. Which guy, you ask? I haven't told you yet, but I'm sure that deep down inside, you know who I'm talking about. I'm talking about the guy who wears three brightly colored polos at once with all three starch-stiff collars popped. I'm talking about the guy who chews gum obnoxiously with his mouth open. The guy who wears sunglasses indoors. That's right. I'm talking about the elusive douchebag. And unless you want to be the butt of all jokes in a bar, you don't want to be one.

Here's what happened: The guys and I went out to grab a drink at Harvard Square's own Charlie's Beer Garden. Feeling the force of nature on my bladder, I ran off to the little boy's room while the rest of them headed to the bar. I started up conversation with the guy in front of me in line, DJ, about how ridiculous that we had to wait in line for the restroom (isn't that something only girls do?). Next thing we know, the guy in the restroom walks out and back into the bar. But this wasn't just any guy. The man who walked out of that restroom was that guy. On this particular night, he was the guy who wore designer jeans and a dress shirt with the collar popped all the way up to his ears (no exaggeration) in a casual bar setting.

Naturally, DJ and I bashed the hell out of him behind his back and, as a result, became bar buddies for the night. He gave us tips on which places to check out in Boston, where to hear good live music, and we all had a good laugh whenever collar-neck walked by.

If you don't mind having everyone around you want to punch you in the face, then feel free to sport that old high school letterman jacket you couldn't bear to part with. Otherwise, lay off the Ed Hardy t-shirts. It's just embarrassing.