Randomized cooking

This is tres mundane, but...

I am making a giant vat of pasta sauce right now (what can I say, we can't cook in small quantities,) and I came to realize that I always stir pots/sauces/batter/paint/what have you clockwise.

Much like that spinning dancer...

Which made me wonder - so most people stir clockwise? Only right-handed people? Only right-brained people?

I mean, I pass counter-clock-wise every once in a while for variety, but not 90% of the time.

Please comment...

Sciurus vulgaris...

I was reading this article in the NYTimes today, and for the umpteenth time was struck by how little we know of the world outside of us until we are exposed to it.

I grew up with red squirrels. They were ubiquitous, as squirrels are wont to be, and never warranted a second thought. They also changed colours with the seasons, as bunnies in Russia do as well - red in the summer, mostly grey in the winter (the bunnies go from grey or russett to white, in case you are wondering.) If you ask a Russian kid to draw a squirrel, you will get a blazing orange critter with tufts on its ears. They have a long coat and a glorious tail.

Because they don't usually molt until October or November sometime, when there is already snow on the ground, the most striking vision of a squirrel from my childhood is an orange red squirrel in the bright white snow stealing bright red mountain ash berries.



It never occurred to me that squirrels could be grey all the time, have short fur, or not have any tufts. If you are in the US right now, ask yourself - what do you think of when you think of a squirrel?

And then ask yourself - what would you never see and know for yourself if you did not experience it in another town/ another country/ another continent...

TAGGED!!!

So Riese decided I should play her little game, and I will joyfully comply, though I always refuse these things when they come by as chain-emails:

1. We have to post these rules before we give you the facts.
2. Players start with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
3. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
5. Don't forget to leave them a comment telling them they're tagged, and to read your blog.

It is my understanding the facts should be more or less unknown to the general reader, no?

1. If I had less common sense and more physical space for living, I would be a crazy cat lady. Every cat I see, I want to take home. Last night we discovered this beautiful tuxedoed Maine Coon in the hallway of the building, and even though he eventually went home to his little Asian girl-mother, for a minute I wanted to take him home. I've been that way since I was a toddler. The only time I did not own a cat or two was in college, where I was too terrified of breaking the rules to have a kitten. However, I gave LK and her girlfriend at the time two kittens from my house, and visited them periodically.

2. I desperately try to be less preppy. I don't currently own any loafers, but that's only for lack of trying. Most of my wardrobe is black and white and brown, and I still own my high-school letter jacket.

3. I read more slowly in English than in Russian. It's a curse, because English is my primary language now. But in Russian I can scan a page and get all the information out of it, whereas in English I need to sound out the words in my head, making me constantly feel like I am in grammar school. Paradoxically, I type in English 10 times faster than in Russian.

4. I have trouble following orders and fulfilling requests. Like, ever. That's one of the reasons I don't understand the army. I need to understand the specific reason behind what I am being asked to do, and then I will do it, even if I don't agree with the request or the reason. This gets me in trouble at work sometimes. And in real life, too, just ask my family.

5. BUT, if I said I will do something for you, and give you a timeline, it will get done well and on time. I can't understand people who disregard deadlines. I am also NEVER late for appointments, unless there are factors way beyond my control (shitty public transport, anyone?) in which case I will call you and tell you exactly how late I will be. It has taken me YEARS to not be the first person to arrive at a party.

6. I was trained as a classical pianist for years. I hated it until I was 15, at which point it was too late to be serious about a career in music. I never had the drive, patience, or technique to become a concert pianist. I would have made a decent accompanist or a musicologist. Often I miss playing. Piano is not an instrument you can easily acquire and move around with you, like a guitar or a flute.

7. I've never done karaoke. I would LOVE to go to a karaoke bar. I don't have any serious desire for embarrassment, but I want to try it. I've been obsessed with this Griffin product for a while - it's a mike you plug into your iPod, and it supresses the vocal track - can you imagine the possibilities?

8. On the subject of music, and if I knew the last thing about guitars and playing rock music, I would love to have a Zemfira cover band. I guess we could cover Nochnye Snaipery too. No Russian pop, though. I could translate the songs and do some in English, some in Russian. There isn't much of a market in the US for that, I know, but it's cool to dream about.

So - no tags for me - but maybe those of you who read the blog and NEVER comment (you know who you are...) - write a note or two? You know, anonymous commenting is turned on now (it took me a month to realize only Gmail people could leave comments...) so write away...