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better than a puppyI met Anna, Seth and a few of his friends/family for dinner at Limon in the Mission tonight. Great red snapper basket and Spanish wine picked by Anna. Seth wore the following accessory and was LITerally grabbed all night by both Obama and Clinton supporters eager to engage him in conversation. Apparently undecided is not cool these days. So I couldn't help doing what I often do. I comparison shopped. Below is Hillary's sticker. Not much difference, huh?  These stickers tell a little more about their wearer.  vs  There's the young gay supporter wear versus the scrapbooking mom's sticker (Quick tangent: Wanna study for possible pop culture questions related to the above? a. What's an older scrapbooking mom who donates money to Clinton called? A HillRaiser. b. And if the Clinton supporter prefers crafting and etsy and Facebook to church groups? A HillBlazer. I'm not kidding. Funny, huh?) And finally, just to keep it real, I found a sticker that would appeal to my Mom (the recovering lesbian Mormon)  versus one that apparently appeals to Seth . . . and Jai. . . and everyone in the Mission last night . . .and everyone in Oakland and. . . .me?  2:23 AM - 2/2/2008 - comments {1} - post commentMeow!Thank god YOU, my handful of awesome real friends, hardly ever read this. And that I'm not on Facebook. And that www.michellecortez.com is already taken.  For the record, I am not simply trolling content to post on my log. Besides working 11-13 hours a day inspiring young minds, I am reading Chris Adrian's Children's Hospital (a McSweeney's title) and I checked it out at the library. See? no cause for concern. . . 8:19 PM - 1/30/2008 - comments {1} - post commentThis lifeI had to go to a work retreat Friday night. This is the third one I've been to since I started in June and they never cease to amuse me. Every time I go I think of Christoper Guest's mockumentaries. Next film subject: charter school leadership retreats.First of all. there are always a large number of elementary school lead teachers who are almost all female and remarkably passionate, earnest and . . . .hot. Seriously! There are so many very pretty women at these things but they are more the girl-next-door, mom-material kind than me in my all black uniform. Many are married with children and when they go to these retreats they CUT LOOSE. Did I mention that we always have an open bar. . . . and evening games that culminate in a team "Name the next lyric" - kind of sing-a-long thing?  (this was one of the fun games. I'd play this one again) Do you know the lyrics to Escape? Whether you know it or not, you DO know the lyrics as long as the music is playing. See for yourself. Anyway, the elementary teacher contingency gets really into it. I belong to the secondary lead teacher team and we are a little more male, jaded and wry about the whole thing. We still sing but we don't get up and dance to the songs nor do a group cheer with coordinated arm choreography (think macarana) the way they do. I guess they do a better job team building than we do. (Drink the koolaid, drink the koolaid!) The funny thing is we are also expected to accomplish formative assessments and action plans, tasks that require concentrated thinking and collaboration, early the next morning. With the smell of ketchup and syrup from the buffet lingering in the air. Not pretty. Far more entertaining than charter leadership game night is last weeks episode of This American Life on Matchmakers. Act 3 had me laughing hysterically but its also a disturbing anecdote on race. Seriously. If you haven't already heard it, do yourself a favor and listen. Balance sheet for the above game playing and mild amusement: $0 4:53 PM - 1/27/2008 - comments {0} - post commentJust another Manic Monday"I'm shy when it comes to karaoke." Anyone who knows me knows there's nothing shy about me yet I've used this excuse for years to avoid going to karaoke bars and any semblance of singing in a microphone in front of others (though talking is another story.)I repeated these words at my co-worker Stacy and his girlfriend Krista's house Saturday night. They kinda ignored me which worked well because I found I couldn't help myself; as they programmed in one 80s song after another, I couldn't help singing along. All claims of shyness vanished when Krista thrust the microphone in front of me for the Ramones' song "I Wanna Be Sedated." That song is in my key (ish - as much as I can kinda sing in key) and, apparently, I know most of the words. Same thing goes for the Bangles "Manic Monday," my performance of which ended in applause and accolades from my back-up singers Stacy and Krista. Who knew? Karoke rocks. . . . and its free. Fueled by rock star euphoria, we walked to a dirty dive bar down the street from their Temescal house called Silver Lion Buffet - no sign of actual food but very strong drinks and enough young indie boys and girls to make me feel like Hilary Clinton, "As tired as I am, and I am," I still fight the good fight and try to get out of the house. (I shouldn't tease. . . ) Speaking of being tired, sweet Craig and Ana fed me roasted chicken Sunday night after a free girls afternoon at DeYoung (the Louise Nevelson exhibit was amazing!) and then had to make a bed for me because I was too sleepy to drive home. Real party animal, eh? Weekend receipts: $20 round of drinks and tip + $4 bay bridge toll = $24 - not bad for an aging rock star. . . 7:41 PM - 1/7/2008 - comments {0} - post commentCreative alternativesSpending report for January 4th -$0 - I am prone to diving into a new routine. For me, there is no other way to make something work than to stick to it loyally, tenaciously, maybe even obsessively. I do it with relationships, why not spending habits, food restrictions and yoga practice?Spending habits - I'm determined to curb the slow bleed on the bank account - hence the zero output. So far, so good. Food restrictions - Forget dairy. We are broken up. It was nice while it lasted but its time to move on. Yoga practice - Daily without fail. Yesterday I went to two 6oclock classes. One in the am, one in the pm. Feels awesome (and its both money free and dairy free - the perfect activity.) The first two restrictions led me to experiment a little with dinner. I was craving comfort food which is usually satisfied with something wonderfully horrible - an $8 mole burrito from Los Cantaros or, if I was in San Diego, just a little bit of fancy mac n'cheese from Cafe Chloe. Obviously neither were options for me tonight. What did I have in my cupboards I could make? Cans of artichoke hearts, corn, tuna, hearts of palm, clam chowder. . . hmmmm. Christina's sister Emily used to make this yummy tuna and peas mac n' cheese - could I make some alternative version of that? I did my research. Online I discovered that most folks recommend using cream of mushroom soup and cheddar or american cheese on top. American cheese? Ewww. Some say you can do it without the cheese but everyone says you need a creamy soup. . . would condensed clam chowder work? I searched and searched for validation online and finally found it on this link from the Chicago Tribune. I found a half package of organic greens with edamame, broccoli, and grean beans in the freezer and pasta and just mixed the whole thing up. 4 ingredients: pasta, condensed Trader Joes clam chowder, a can of tuna and the frozen organic greens. I admit it smelled a little funky while I mixed it up but I felt better after I realized that I had this AMAZING green rustic casserole dish I bought from the DAV in Chula Vista last year for $7 and I could put the smelly concoction in there. Wala! 40 minutes later and out popped a gorgous casserole dish with a steamy, somewhat satisfying meal within. Add a little Michelle sauce which makes everything taste better and I am one happy, cheap, dairy-less yogi. Morale of the story? It pays to stock up on pretty dishes. No need to pack up my knifes and go home . . . 8:05 PM - 1/4/2008 - comments {0} - post commentSpending Report for Jan 1st-2ndSpending report for January 1st and 2nd.I didn't spend a dime on January 1st. It's crazy but true. I went to my last free hot flow yoga with Ana then hightailed it out of San Diego heading back to Oakland. I decided to bee line it to my dad's house when he invited me for dinner. Yum. . . pork and cabbage Hawaiian style. . .and free. Yeah! January 2nd - $135. I left my dad's house in Yorba Linda at 4 in the morning. I had to fuel up in Castaic ($35.00) then again in Santa Nella ($36.00). There was a guy in a Honda who stayed behind me the entire length of the 5 and into the 580 until it split at the 880 towards San Jose. He even fueled up at the same gas station I did which spooked me at first but then comforted me as I realized we were in it for the long haul - or at least most of the long haul together (as much of a boyfriend as the last one, eh?) The other $65 was spent at Trader Joes. A girl needs her wine while she's on vacation, right? 11:29 PM - 1/2/2008 - comments {0} - post comment |
Description One of Michelle's Fabulous Finds (and/or Faults.) Michelle shops which costs money. This blog details the push/pull, love/hate, spend/save, frugal/extravagant lifestyle she tries to manage. Home User Profile Archives Friends Dooce Go Fug Yourself Culture Lust East Girls West Coudal Partners decor8 More Ways to Waste Time Recent Entries - better than a puppy - Meow! - This life - Project - Player or pathetic? |
