Test Your Happiness

Test Your Happiness

I scored "Satisfied":

"People who score in this range like their lives and feel that things are going well. Of course your life is not perfect, but you feel that things are mostly good. Furthermore, just because you are satisfied does not mean you are complacent. In fact, growth and challenge might be part of the reason you are satisfied. For most people in this high-scoring range, life is enjoyable, and the major domains of life are going well - work or school, family, friends, leisure, and personal development. You can draw motivation from those areas of your life that you are dissatisfied with."

I call major B.S. BBC must be getting some money or something for running this story.

What I want to know is why happiness can't be this easy.

Spencer Day at the Hotel Cafe

Last night Spencer Day debuted at the Hotel Cafe. For some reason I thought the Hotel Cafe was in downtown, but I was wrong; it's in Hollywood.

Even living in LA, Hollywood still feels like a strange, foreign city to me, full of nightclubs, bars, and tourist attractions. But I digress.

Spencer found me on MySpace a couple months ago and sent me a nice note. Most of the musician "friend" requests are fairly impersonal, but I felt that Mr. Day looked at my profile and (correctly) judged that I might be interested in his music, then sent a note to say so. Classy.

His original songs are full of witty lyrics, great syncopation and wonderful piano playing. His genre is somewhere in that weird realm of lounge/jazz/pop standard flavor of music, similar to Michael Buble but more original. I definitely will be going to Mr. Day's shows in LA in the future.

Here's how not to hit on a girl: Approach her from behind and touch her arm with a cold beer she doesn't want during the last song of the gig she's clearly interested in watching, then proceed to talk to her while she's (unsuccessfully) ignoring you. Bonus jerk points for being dirty, smelling like you've had a pack too many smokes, and telling the girl you live upstairs.

Lazy Carnitas Recipe

Sorry I've been slacking on the blogging. . . .I've been incredibly busy at work and incredibly fatigued at home, leaving me little time to do stuff like bare my soul (and recipes!) on the web.

I received a free subscription to Bon Appetit from Amazon a few months ago, so when those come in the mail I glance through them for recipes that sound interesting enough for me to actually make them, tear those out, and throw the rest of the magazine away. Somewhere in there I end up reading most of the magazine. It's not bad, but I still think I prefer Food & Wine.

Anyway, I saw this Carnitas recipe in there and gave it a shot. It turned out pretty good, but the recipe doesn't mention you need to top the slow cooker with water before you start cooking. Otherwise I think that could lead to disastrous results. I also think I would up the seasonings as I thought the carnitas turned out a bit plain (then again, I only had a teaspoon of oregano and I substituted basil)

~2 lbs pork (I used boneless country-style ribs because then I wouldn't have to cut anything up)
2 TB salt
2 TB ground black pepper
2 TB dried oregano
1/2 onion, cut into four pieces

Throw all of that in the slow cooker, top with water, plug the thing in, and go to work. Six (or eight, or ten) hours later, you're ready to eat. Take the pork pieces out and put them on a cutting board; they should be tender enough for you to separate them with a wooden spoon so you don't have to use your fingers. Serve with warmed corn tortillas, salsa, guacamole, and refried beans.

Call Me Irresponsible

I went out and bought another copy of Michael Buble's CD, Call Me Irresponsible. I had a copy when it was first released but it was in my ex-boyfriend's car when we broke up and it got misplaced. When I asked him about it he said he looked and couldn't find it. So that leaves two conclusions:

1) He lied.
2) I took it from his car, put it with my CDs, and forgot that I did so.

While option 2 is plausible, I looked through all my CDs before I bugged the guy about it (Unless I had a secret stash of them that I forgot about). I suppose it's also plausible that something else besides options 1 or 2 happened, but given his moral flexibility, I'm inclined to believe option 1 more than anything. I'm biased, I'll admit it.

At any rate, I wasn't without the music (it was on my iPod), just the CD. And since I'm closer to Lawful Good than Neutral Good, I needed a hard copy of my own and Border's Bookstores sent me just the 30% off coupon to get it with. (Even so, no wonder CD sales have declined! You'd be crazy to spend $25 for a CD!)

Cool!

Five Ways Generation Y May Reinvent IT

Depending on how you look at it, I could be considered a Generation X or a Generation Y, although I'm closer to Generation Y than X. I fall on the Generation Y side of the cusp.

It's rare to find an article that talks about my generation, the group of people I belong to when you look at my age and what's going on with my life, in a positive light.

The idea that I'm part of something pivotal and culturally changing (for the better) is self-empowering.

Arthur C. Clarke Dies

Arthur C. Clarke, 90, Science Fiction Writer, Dies

I remember reading "2001: A Space Odyssey", as well as "2010" and part of "2060" (I think I stopped when Jupiter ended up being a huge diamond in the center of the gassy soup that makes up the atmosphere - at least that's where my recollection of his writing ends)

I think science fiction (especially good science fiction) is in some ways more important than other genres of literature/entertainment. It's a medium that allows us to explore what might be (especially technology, but also society in general), for better or for worse.

New Blog Link

I normally don't post new additions to my sidebar, but one of my dear friends from high school just moved to New York City and started a blog: utahgirlinnyc. So go check it out.

The REAL Reason to Use Linux

Because it's fun. :)

Great

And I just bought my new iPod at Costco.

Now I have no reason to hang out at the best place to meet single men. Maybe next paycheck I'll get the Nike+ for my new Nano. That's reason enough to go to the Apple store, right? On the other hand, the guy at my running store is delicious eye candy, and I know he's willing to sell me a Nike+. He's probably married. Or has three girlfriends.

Reality check: Do I really want to meet someone new? I thought I was on this "I'm trying to be single and loving it" kick.

Social Policy Molded On Morality?

Spitzer's True Folly

I think this article makes a good point.

While we're on the subject, why not legalize prostitution? You can regulate it (more money for us), it's good for the prostitutes, and it's good for the clients.

For all the moralists out there, just because something is legal doesn't mean you have to do it. You can *choose* to participate, but you don't *have* to.