Adventures in Video

I found out that you can embed video via YouTube, so here's a video for you all. I'll try not to get video-post-happy.

Stay Away from This Recipe

This recipe seems pretty simple... just boil some vinegar and sugar and let it reduce. Too bad that's not what happened. Instead of a cup and a half of vinegar reducing to 1/3 cup, it filled my entire apartment with smoke.

Besides that, however, the instructions for preparing the steak went well. The thickness of the steak has a lot to do with how fast it takes to cook. Mine was about 1.5 inches thick and I was in fear of searing it too much to get it medium-cooked. There's no shame in microwaving your steak to finish the job.

Enjoy!

Cooking with Carl

Now that I have a lot of free time during the day, I've taken to getting more creative with my dinner meal choices. During periods of chronic employment, I ususally come home too tired to do much preparation for dinner. If I do end up making something "nice" (meaning, something baked in the oven with a side), I usually don't sit down until 8pm. This predicament ususally left me quickie options of pasta, soup, and maybe steak.

From time to time I'll give a little recap of my adventures in the kitchen.

For those of you who like fish, you know that it's kind of tough to deal with outside of a restaurant. You usually need to eat it fresh (unless it's frozen shrimp or scallops) and fresh fish doesn't freeze well for long-term keeping. Last week I went the route with a really good cream-sauce topping. Here is the recipe if you're interested. The fish itself has layer of garlic and ginger crumbs and is topped with a sauce made from sour cream, Caribbean jerk seasoning and a few other things. It's an easy recipe that takes about 45 minutes to get ready (and another 15 or so for cooking). The salmon was a little pricey at about five dollars for 3/4 of a pound. Give it a shot -- it's worth the effort for something different.

Tonight I'm going to liven up my steak. We'll see how it goes.

I Love You, Larry

Courtesy The Boston Globe

"I love you Theo."

"I love you Larry."

Awkward silence from everyone else.

Freezing to Death

Having a freezing cold apartment is pretty much a right of passage in New England, when you're in your mid-twenties. There's nothing like a $300+ heating gas bill in the first month of winter to cause you to lower the thermostat to 55, certainly against your better judgement, but for all the more relief on your wallet.

Right now I have on an undershirt, a pullover fleece, a hooded sweatshirt and a polar fleece blanket. My hands are still freezing. There's no good way to escape this either. My unemployment journey has taken me on the self-employed web designer route, and there's nothing cheaper than working out of home for most projects. I could escape to my car and its heater, however gasoline isn't cheap either. I love my parents very much, but working out of their climate-controlled home in Lexington wouldn't work out for me.

No, I'm stuck like this until late March sometime. California, here I come (in my dreams).

I Miss the Old Theo

So Theo Epstein is GM of the Red Sox and all is supposedly good in the universe again, unless you're the sports section of a newspaper. If you're the sports section of a newspaper, things are not good at all. You want to get all Pulitzer on the Red Sox because there's no logical explanation for these recent events, but they won't let you because they've released a press release that's the length of the Constitution, rather than hold a press conference.

Why are you angry? Because you need fodder.

The Red Sox have ridden a tide of goodwill since October 27, 2004 and the local Boston newspapers are sick and tired of nothing to write about. The fact the Theo Epstein should echo a resounding "who cares?" from most fans. It's the on-field results that matter. The Sox have put themselves in a tough position. If their off season moves don't pan out, the story will either be that it was Theo's (and hence the Sox's) fault (because he was always behind the scenes, even during his GM absence), or the Sox's fault for loosing Theo while they made these bad moves.

We just won't know for about nine months.

The newspapers aren't the only ones being childish, either. Let's take the Red Sox, who will hold a press conference to announce the construction of a handicap ramp, or why they decided not to resign Johnny Damon. Hiding behind a press release that lays out everyones' feelings like it's a segment of Oprah is not a brilliant PR, nor does it show any respect for the press or anyone else who might be interested.

This whole situation is a mess, but, like I said before, who cares? The jury should be out on this one until game #162.

White Out

The snow is pretty bad today, and of course I made an appointment to get my car's oil changed (at the dealership which is a 20 minute drive, normally). I'm also having lunch with old office-mates from BU, so that will make up for it a little.

A couple work prospects came up over the weekend, so this week should be more exciting than last week, though I wouldn't call them full time job prospects -- but who wants to work full time anyway?

Checking off Items

What's the rule with capitalizing prepositions in a title? In the above title, "off" looks kind of funny with a lowercase "o". The Globe only capitalizes the first word of every headline. The Times, which owns the Globe, capitalizes its headlines (except for prepositions).

Here on The Angry Young Bostonian, we will follow the example of the Times. Now, down to business:

Despite being unemployed, I've been busy. Time to check off some items on my to-do list:

Find a job. (CHECK MINUS: No job, but the resume is getting all polished and shiny. I expect HR people to come knocking sometime next week).

Write for the blog every day. (CHECK: Missed a couple days, but I feel good about it)

Maintain a clean apartment. If I'm going to spend most of my time here, I need a clean environment in which to contemplate life. (CHECK PLUS: All rooms have been vacuumed except the bathroom. That's a group project).

Eat lunch at Galleria Umberto at least once. (CHECK. Best lunch in Boston.)

Walk on the treadmill two out of every three days. (CHECK)

Finish putting all my CDs on my computer (for those of you know my CD collection, you know how monumental this is). (CHECK MINUS: I'm running out of room on my hard disk and it doesn't look good. Plus, ripping CDs conflicts with me using the computer for other activities.

Finish watching season four of The Shield on DVD so I can begin watching season five as it airs on TV. (CHECK PLUS: If you haven't seen this series, rent season one today.)

One week out of work and I've gotten things done. Most of it has been spent on job-related activities, but I like to keep a check on all those little activities that make me feel like I'm getting things done.

Whoops

Didn't post the last couple of days... a combination of nothing too interesting happening and me being busy.

Yesterday I visited the set of Stiffs, a movie being shot in Boston. I was there to meet the Ciota brothers (one the writer, one the diretor) to discuss designing a website for the movie and other communication-related items, but things were so hectic, not much got done.

I've known the Ciotas since I was a sophomore at BU and helped them with pre-production office work, as well as post-production publicity for their last movie, Ciao America. Fellas, after you get your date all worked up with an episode of 24, rent Ciao America for her and thank me in the morning.

This was my first experience with a feature film shoot. The location was Joe Tecce's restaurant in the North End for an all-day shoot. It was pretty incredible, actually. There must have been about 150 cast and crew members there. The professional short films I've worked on have had crews of about 25-35. The student-films I worked on had crews of about 3-4. The budget for the movie is probably around $5 million, so I can't imagine how many people would be there for a big, Hollywood-type production. Most of the film's featured actors were there -- I saw Danny Aiello and Jon Polito (featured in several Coen Brothers films and probably most famously known as the Beatle-driving gumshoe in The Big Lebowski).

From this brief visit to a film set, my feelings on a life in film or television are mixed. When you start at the bottom, you are at the bottom. Up at the crack of dawn, poor pay, no benefits, and on the go for 12-14-16 hours a day. Did I mention last in line at the catering table? Don't get me started on union rules.

I hope that I can get back on the set a few more times under the guise of "web designer/writer doing research." For now, I need to get a final draft of the script, think of an interesting theme to apply to the website so it becomes more than an electronic lobby card, and work on finding a "real" job.

The Jack Bauer Power Hour Begins

I like to call myself one of the orignal 24 watchers... I've never had to watch an episode on DVD because I was there from Day 1 (12:00am-1:00am). All those 2001 World Series commercials got to me and there was no way I was going to miss such a hyped show.

The show has had its ups and downs, as well as some truly ridiculous, over the top moments, but all in all, it's been an extremely exciting four days in the life of Jack Bauer. There is no more exciting hour of television than an episode of 24. I pity those of you who have not given it a fair shake (I suggest five or six episodes). In fact, I know just as many girls who love the show as men. So dudes out there, if you're looking for something to do on date night, why not stay in and catch the Jack Bauer Power Hour?

Look What I Did

Even though technically it's Sunday, this entry counts as Saturday's, since I'm still awake.

Yesterday I figured out how to transfer movies from my computer to my TiVo, which in a word, is awesome. I can now watch the short films I've starred in during college on a 52 inch screen. I can also watch movies that I've downloaded, such as Disney's long-shelved Song of the South that I've held onto my computer for years, only because I didn't feel like sitting at my screen for 90 minutes.

Forced Listening Enjoyment

A little while ago I wrote how I was done with the classic rock genre. Today I'm going back to my roots because WZLX is having a scanvenger hunt. Over the course of the afternoon, clues will be read off for scavenger hunt items. Whoever gets all items to the DJ outside the Fleetcenter later today will get two front row tickets to tonight's Rolling Stones concert. Now, I wouldn't pay anything close to what they're asking for tickets ($450 for floor seats), but I do enjoy a scavenger hunt, and I do enjoy a free concert, so I'm going for it.

Best of C2K+5

Yes, it's a few weeks into 2006, but everyone loves a "Best of..." list! I decided to go through my movie stubs, rental history, restaurant dining schedule, and anything else that I happened to experience in 2005. Here's my version of a year-end "Best of..." list, and and I'll throw in a few "worst", just for fun:

Viewed

L'Auberge Espagnole (The Spanish Apartment) (rented in February). Believe it or not, some foreign films suck. Just because something comes from off-shore and not through the Hollywood system, doesn't mean it is a work of outsider geniuous, giving film snobs even more ammo. Luckily, The Spanish Apartment is a good parable of the state of Western Europe today and an interesting coming-of-age story. If you've ever studied abroad, definitely have a look.

Bubba-Ho-Tep (rented in March). An ancient Egyptian ghoul invades a nursing home that happens to house an elderly, incognito Elvis Presley and a black man who claims to be John F. Kennedy. It can't get much weirder or better than that.

Napoleon Dynamite (rented in March). Duh.

Kung Fu Hustle (seen in the theater in April). The best movie I saw all year and probably in my top 10 of all time. If you haven't seen it, get your ass to the video store immediately.

The Motorcycle Diaries (rented in April). A very atmospheric film that explores friendship and spirit for adventure, as well as some social and class differences. This shouldn't be known as "That Che Guevara Movie before Che was Che," but rather a semi-existential road movie.
The Right Stuff (rented in August). Definitely a lost movie. It's really interesting to watch and there are quite a few performances from today's bigger names.

Rocky (rented in December). Sorry I didn't see this one earlier in life. Go Rocky Go!

Worst: Wake Up Ron Burgundy (the piece-of-crap collection of deleted scenes formed into a new Anchorman movie), Land of the Dead.

Food

Best Meal: It was a tie, but both events include steak. My old company's holiday party at Grill 23 and a dinner I had with friends at the Roadhouse. The Roadhouse meal was so good I blogged about it. I love steak.

Worst: The Blue Shirt Cafe in Davis Square. The chicken fajita wrap tasted like bland carboard. My girlfriend felt so bad she bought me a burrito at Anna's.

Trip

Best: Nine days in Italy this summer with my girlfriend, family, and extended family were an experience of a lifetime. I'm very happy I went.

Worst: Anytime I took the bus to my girlfriend's place (when I lived in Allston and she in Cambridge). Waiting in the dark in 20 degree weather for a bus is not fun.

Concert

Best Small-venue: Stellastarr* at the Paradise in October. It more than took the sting out of the Red Sox exiting the playoffs earlier that evening.

Best Large-venue: Tom Petty at the Tweeter Center in June. It was kind of a short show, but still excellent. Tom is the definition of a performer and he likes to keep his ticket prices relatively low. I will always see Petty if he's in town.

Worst: The Rolling Stones at Fenway Park in August. I worked this show and it was one of the worst working experiences of my life. Never have I been involved with such planned chaos.

Goals for the Month

Since I have this opportunity to get paid without working for a month, I'm going to set a few goals here, mostly to keep me sane and focused, but also just to write them down and get on the path to 'figuring things out'.

I am going to make it a point to write daily. My hope is that you will get thirty entries from me over the next thirty days (or until I'm too busy with a new job). Somedays it might be a paragraph, other days it may be pages. Here are some other things I'd like to get done, in somewhat relative order:

Find a job that I like(that's a no brainer).

Write for the blog every day.

Maintain a clean apartment. If I'm going to spend most of my time here, I need a clean environment in which to contemplate life.

Eat lunch at Galleria Umberto at least once.

Walk on the treadmill two out of every three days.

Clean up my computer -- get rid of old files that have been on my desktop for months, organize my music.

Finish putting all my CDs on my computer (for those of you know my CD collection, you know how monumental this is).

Finish watching season four of The Shield on DVD so I can begin watching season five as it airs on TV.

Watch Once Upon a Time in the West -- a DVD I've had for over year, but never had three solid hours of awake time to watch it.

Finish the Freaks and Geeks DVD set. I've had this expensive collection for over two years, but have yet to finish it. I've called this series one of my favorite of all time, but I'm ashamed to say that I haven't gone though the whole set yet.

We'll see how it goes.

Well, I Seem to Have Some Time on My Hands Now

I was laid off yesterday.

If you've never been laid off or fired before, there are a few things you should know about their differences. Getting laid off isn't as bad as being fired. Being fired means that you did something to provoke your company to terminate your employment. Maybe you kept swearing too much at work after they told you to stop swearing. Maybe you slept with your boss's wife at the Christmas party. Just like someone who breaks the law in real life, you're sent to jail and pretty much all rights are taken away from you. You pretty much are out on your own with no obligation from your company to make your life any better once you are escorted out of the building.

Being laid off, on the other hand, is relatively better, but not by a whole lot. Being laid off means that factors you can't control are involved in you being terminated. Since it's not your fault, your termination is more of a 'transition' into unemployment. You might get a severance package or be able to keep some benefits.

So I was laid off. I don't feel great about it, but I'm happy that I'm 'transitioning' into unemployment. Everyone I worked with was really nice. I realized that the job I was doing wasn't what I wanted to be doing for the rest of my career, nor did I want to spend the rest of my career in that particular industry, so I feel that I was actually pretty lucky to leave the way I did.

The goal now is to find employment doing something I like. To do that, I first need to figure out what I like. I like to make money, but that's pretty vague as far as what kind of job would get me that. I took this last job because it paid about 30% better than the job before that (don't worry, if you knew how much I made at that first job, a 30% increase brings me an 'average' salary for someone my age and with my experience). A 30% increase in pay didn't bring me any happiness, so one has to wonder what the monetary value of career happiness is. I would take a pay-cut if it were for a job that made me happy and was satisfying.

So leave it up to you, dear reader. Most of you know me, most of you know what kind of person I am and what I like. Tell me: what kind of work should I look for?