Random, but mostly about food

[trinityofone]

I got a package from mciac! She sent me Kate Atkinson's Case Histories and lovely bath stuff and, best best of all, chocolate! Scharffen Berger--so the really good chocolate. Chocolate so dark, eating it is kind of like getting attacked by an army of cocoa beans. But in a tasty way.

Thank you, mciac! Finding the package slip in my mailbox was exceedingly exciting. Seriously, if anyone wants to send me empty envelopes, I would still appreciate it, because really, I just like getting mail. I'm a mail whore.

***

Marks & Spencer, further solidifying its status as THE DEVIL, is selling mini mince pies, 12 for 3 euro. I was in there the other day, and all these packages of happy, Christmas-looking pies are stacked up by the cash register. Now, I really shouldn't be spending money on anything unessential. So I thought: I know! I'll get the cashier to tell me that mince pies are essential! Watch:

Me: Are those mince pies?
Cashier: Yes.
Me: Not the kind with meat?
Cashier: No. Fruit.
Me: They don't have that kind of mince pie in the U.S.
Cashier: *blank look*
Me: You know, where I'm from?
Cashier: *blankety blank*
Me: See, accent? Oh, never mind. But yeah--I've never had a traditional Christmas mince pie.
Cashier: *is supposed to say, "No!" "That's awful!" "But you must!"* Do you need a bag?
Me: No, I've got one. *starts to pack groceries into used Arnott's bag, because in Ireland, supermarkets charge for bags* You know, just the other day, I was telling some friends of mine that I'd never had mince pie, and they were like, "How have you lived?"
Cashier: That'll be 19.24.
Me: *sigh* Why don't you thrown in some of those mince pies?

So Marks & Spencer really needs to train more enthusiastic cashiers. Because damn, mince pie is good! If you've never had any...How have you lived?

***

Random fic revelations, specifically regarding character shortcuts I sometimes use to write:

1. John’s dad is the dad from Dirty Day. Which would make John Bono. Which is weird.

2. Rodney’s mom is my Grandma Jan. Which would make Rodney my dad, which is BAD and DIRTY and WRONG and we are all going to pretend that this sentence DOESN’T EXIST.

***

My mom is awesome. Last night she sent me this e-mail:

*

From: trinityofone's Mom
To: trinityofone
Subject: Just so you'll know--

--and keep fingers crossed--I'm trying to book our Christmas dinner
(it'll be lunch, really) at The Clarence. You know--Bono's hotel?

Mum

*

I wrote her back:

From: trinityofone
To: trinityofone's Mom
Subject: OMG!

YOU WIN AT LIFE!

*

And she replied:

From: trinityofone's Mom
To: trinityofone
Subject: Re: OMG!

Heh--your internet parlance cracks me up! I'll let you know when it's confirmed.

Yr Mum

*

So I guess it's okay that LJ has eaten my brain, because it amuses my mother.

***

Finally, since I had five minutes to kill yesterday, here's a little cartoon mini-me:


Yep. Definitely plotting something nefarious. Just look at those shifty eyes!

***

Okay, I lied. To make this post truly random, we need a pointless poll.

[Poll #613884]

Comments

[leech.livejournal.com]

Your mince pie story cracked me up.

[trinityofone.livejournal.com]

Food stories are the best. I still remember something about you and oatmeal. No details; just leech-->oatmeal.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Okay, you can only sleep with one. You choose:

Silly them! Why would they be sleeping with me when they should be sleeping with each other? *pushes them together, then into bed*

[trinityofone.livejournal.com]

That is an excellent point. It would be wrong for any of us to interfere with the course of true love.

*apologizes to the boys, feeds them mince pies*

[trinityofone.livejournal.com]

How have I lived? Painfully, clinging to the hope that one day, a mince pie would be mine...

And now that day has come! *sob*

I'm still going to hit you up for Christmas pudding, though--just you wait!

[lordelessar.livejournal.com]

I'm still a bit confused on what a Mince pie is and why it is good. The cashier certainly didn't make them sound good. You do though. But what are they?

And seeing as how my choices for sex were two guys, death by head explosion, and you, I chose to sleep with you. Please take no offense. *evil grin*

[trinityofone.livejournal.com]

In America: meat pie, sometimes meat-and-fruit pie, sometimes meat-and-fruit-and-nut pie. Gross.

In Great Britain/Ireland: sweet dried fruit pie--currants and raisins and other yummy stuff. DELICIOUS.

I'm so glad I win out over death by head explosion and abrupt shift in sexual preference. I'm honored. ;-)

No, seriously: that cracked me up so much. I am glee!

[taelonmahal.livejournal.com]

What's Scharffen Berger?

So Marks & Spencer really needs to train more enthusiastic cashiers

*lol* Very nice story.

Out of curiosity: where do you usually go shopping?

[trinityofone.livejournal.com]

Scharffen Berger is really potent chocolate. It's often used for baking, but some crazy people (i.e., me) just eat it. The company's native to Berkeley, I think, but it's spread to the rest of California, if not farther. Pretty soon, it will conquer the WORLD!

Embarrassingly, I shop at Marks & Spencer much more than I should. My dorm has a really crappy kitchen--the size of an airplane bathroom, with a fan oven and a hob that doesn't work--so it's difficult to cook, and I end up relying on the M&S ready-made meals. When I need basics, though, I make the trek to either Tesco or Dunnes. I assume there's a similar situation in Limerick?

[taelonmahal.livejournal.com]

Thankfully we have a rather large kitchen. In fact our house has the largest in the whole village, I think, because of the way the houses are arranged. I bought some ready-made meals, but I didn't eat them yet. As long as I have potatoes there's no need for them. ;)

I usually go shopping at both Dunnes Stores and Tesco - I prefer Dunnes Stores, but when I have other things to do in the city (the university is in a suburb) I shop at Tesco. I've also been to the Lidl two times. That's a cheap German supermarket. If you want to save some money you should try to find one in Dublin. Shopping might take a bit longer, though, because you might have to search for the English translations of what you're buying... but there are usually loads of non-Irish folks there - so if you're having doubts just ask them what the hell it is you're buying. ;)
There's also a SuperQuinn and a Spar in the suburb itself, but I haven't been there yet, because I heard that they are more expensive than Dunnes and Tesco. There's even a tiny village shop in the same house I live in... but the stuff there is really, really expensive. I only buy fruits there, because the stuff I buy in supermarkets tends to go bad pretty fast. *sniff*
I haven't seen a Marks & Spencer yet, btw.

[wychwood]

You should read Pilgrim's Progress because it's a really good book!

...possibly I am the only person in the world who thinks this. But it is good! I used to read it, like, several times a year.

Which would make Rodney my dad, which is BAD and DIRTY and WRONG and we are all going to pretend that this sentence DOESN’T EXIST.

...except that if he were your dad, then we could totally all visit you, and, like, perve on meet him. That would be cool. For us, except for you it would be scary instead. Hmm.

[trinityofone.livejournal.com]

I actually did finish reading Pilgrim's Progress, among other things. It was okay, but I think it all went downhill after Faithful died. I am utterly serious when I say that. But there were things that I liked about it--pilgrimage stories in general, I like. *goes to listen to "The Wanderer"* Oh, yeah.

...except that if he were your dad, then we could totally all visit you, and, like, perve on meet him. That would be cool. For us, except for you it would be scary instead.

Frighteningly, I was just reading a book with a chapter on incest taboos. I am in a very scary place right now. ;-)

[wychwood]

Mmm... I love the story, but you may be right that it is less interesting after Vanity Fair. Although I rather like the shepherds. Have you ever heard the Vaughan Williams opera? My dad took me to hear it, oh, must be ten years ago now, and it blew me away - I still listen to it, sometimes. Good stuff. Mr By-Ends and his wife are hilarious, and Apollyon is satisfyingly spooky. Or maybe you're not into classical music, who knows? :)

Frighteningly, I was just reading a book with a chapter on incest taboos. I am in a very scary place right now. ;-)

Heh :) Not Robin Fox, by any chance? He seems to be the King of Incest Research. It's mildly worrying.

Also, you're apparently more popular than either Sheppard *or* McKay! I think that's pretty impressive...

PS I do love that icon. Especially since I read the original poem.

[trinityofone.livejournal.com]

I've never heard the opera--I wasn't even aware that there was one. But hey, I'm willing to try anything once. Twice. Repeatedly, as long as centipedes aren't involved.

Not Robin Fox, by any chance? He seems to be the King of Incest Research.

Edward O. Wilson, actually. I've never actually heard of Robin Fox. Man, I am striking out all over the place today!

you're apparently more popular than either Sheppard *or* McKay! I think that's pretty impressive...

Except for here, apparently. I...don't know whether to be flattered or disturbed, frankly. Mostly I'm just surprised that the few straight boys on my flist are still reading this journal at all. ;-)

I do love that icon. Especially since I read the original poem.

Oh God, T.S. Eliot...he just breaks me. I'm no Dante, but if I were, he would totally be my Virgil. *g*

[wychwood]

Hey, don't feel bad for not recognising all my random babble *g* The opera is pretty obscure! But if you like Vaughan Williams at all, it's *well* worth a listen. If you can't find a copy, I could, um, make it available for you to hear?

Edward O Wilson... don't think I know him. Maybe I shall do some research :) Fox is an anthropologist; I had to read some of his stuff for my first degree (I did Archaeology & Anthropology). His best-known book is probably "Kinship and Marriage", which has some incest stuff in, but he also wrote another book called, um, "The Red Lamp", or something weird like that, which was all about incest.

I'm still discovering Eliot. Until quite recently, all I'd ever seen of his was "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats", which is good, but not exactly... thought-provoking *g* But people keep using him for titles, and things - I came across The Love Song of Alfred J Prufrock in two or three different places. And then that line you've quoted. Because it's... well, at first it makes me think of "Jerusalem" (I shall not cease from mental fight, nor shall my sword sleep in my hand), which is a positive resonance for me anyway, but then the more I think about the rest of the line
We shall not cease from exploration. And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time
the more I get from it, I think. It works for me on a number of levels. Even directly applying it to SGA, it means about three different things - one of them being a meta thought about fanfic, and how it changes our perception of the canon around which it circles.

[trinityofone.livejournal.com]

If you can't find a copy, I could, um, make it available for you to hear?

Ahh, euphemism. ;-) Sure, that'd be cool--I'm all curious now.

Edward O. Wilson is a biologist; I think he's vaguely famous (IOW, famous among biologists) for some studies he did about ants. I'm reading his book Consilience for, erm, research purposes, and it's very cool. I have shiny new science love--whee!

"Prufrock" is my favorite poem in the history of the world. I know the whole thing by heart, and I was J. Alfred himself one year for Halloween. *is lit dork* "Four Quarters," as you said, is amazing; you should also try "Journey of the Magi" and "Rhapsody on a Windy Night." Then take a stab at "The Waste Land"--it's just...oh, so shivery good.

It works for me on a number of levels. Even directly applying it to SGA, it means about three different things - one of them being a meta thought about fanfic, and how it changes our perception of the canon around which it circles.

Yeah--that's really cool. And speaking of circling--it goes back again to my innate love of stories about journeys, stories where a physical journey reflects an emotional or spiritual one. Gets me. Every. Time.

[wychwood]

Ooh, "Journey of the Magi", I know that one... it's the piece that starts "It was a hard time we had of it..." isn't it? Yes. Very good, very dark, very very good.

Clearly I must read more :) I'm not very good at reading poetry, but sometimes I see or hear things and they just grab me - probably my favourite poem is "High Flight", which did just that. And some of those bits of Eliot do something similar.

Ooh, journey stories. Yes. Always a good thing. Got any good recommendations? And have you read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance?

[wychwood]

Can you play .ogg files? The "full" free version of Winamp supports them, but WMP doesn't.

[aurora]

Wow, M&S employees are just full of empathy, aren't they. Must be the holiday season :)

I can't say I've had a mince pie before. I should rectify that.

And you should definitely go and hit on the first Irish person you meet outside. Oh, yes. :D

[trinityofone.livejournal.com]

YES. Mince pie = love. Though not for M&S cashiers, apparently. Maybe they wouldn't let her have a sample...?

you should definitely go and hit on the first Irish person you meet outside.

Er. It's on my 'to do' list? *sheepish grin*

[trinityofone.livejournal.com]

I've always said that one of the great joys in life is being able to stare into space and dream about pie...

[nenar.livejournal.com]

What be thy address, crazy happy woman??

Is Scharffen-Berger really good?? Yay! I have made good choices.:)

[trinityofone.livejournal.com]

Ooh! *is excited*

[My Name]
47.1.03
Pearse Street
Trinity College
Dublin 2
IRELAND

Thank you! *bounces*

[sonofzeal.livejournal.com]

Totally random walk! Walks are awesome. And while I wouldn't neccisarily discourage you from hitting on the first Irish perosn you meet while on said walk, your iPod is your best friend while walking. I know my Zen Xtra has kept me quite happy on walks. Even when I nearly hurt myself on a walk yesterday.

[trinityofone.livejournal.com]

I agree that walks are the awesomest. And my iPod (iPods, actually--Apple owns my soul) is also wonderful. Oddly, though, since coming here I've stopped wearing it out of the house. I think I prefer to soak up the accents. ;-)

...You hurt yourself on your walk yesterday? Do I want to know?

[sonofzeal.livejournal.com]

Nearly. I slipped on a rock on one of the nature-y parts of my walk, and put a substantial amount of weight on the side of my foot. Shook it off and I was fine. Have I mentioned how much I like being double-jointed?

[youwerefabulous.livejournal.com]

You do know that even mince meat pies don't actually have meat in them, right? The "meat" part of the title refers to nutmeat. So it's like fruit and nut pie. OK.

[trinityofone.livejournal.com]

Some mince pies in the U.S. do have meat in them, as I found out from personal and deeply unpleasant experience. As darcydodo says, it's hard to tell. It's like cafeteria mystery meat...minced. *g*

[mandysbitch.livejournal.com]

Mince pies are evil. Don't eat them. They're one of the many nasty legacies the english have left the colonies. Mince pies and the royal family. Quite frankly i think that's what destroyed the British empire.

*starts to pack groceries into used Arnott's bag, because in Ireland, supermarkets charge for bags*

And it reduces the amount of plastic produced *and* ending up in the landfill! We're bringing it in over here too and as I've written to my local parliamentarian saying YAY! DO IT LIKE IRELAND! I feel the need to tell you it's a *good* thing.

Also, Rodney is my boyfriend - who are all these people who want to sleep with my boyfriend?

[trinityofone.livejournal.com]

Mince pies are evil.

But...yummy! ...So of course they're evil. I should have suspected. *shakes fist* Curse you and your sudden but inevitable betrayal!

Re: charging for bags, I understand why it's a good thing that less plastic is being produced, but why can't they just give us free paper bags, which we can then recycle? That's what I do back home. *pouts*

(Okay, all together now: Worst. Ex-pat. Ever!)

Rodney is my boyfriend - who are all these people who want to sleep with my boyfriend?

Who are all these people who want to sleep with me? It's like all the straight boys on my flist suddenly decided to clarify the fact that they're still reading this journal. ;-)

Also, if you want Rodney, you're going to have to fight me for him! *pinches you and runs away*

[mandysbitch.livejournal.com]

why can't they just give us free paper bags, which we can then recycle? That's what I do back home.

Plastice, paper - not really that much difference in terms of bad. Recycling's great but we have to learn to stop this constant production of "new" things. Slow it down. I have Simpsons shopping bags. :) They're cool.

like all the straight boys on my flist suddenly decided to clarify the fact that they're still reading this journal.

Just the straight boys? What about the not-so-straight girls? Or do you have specific appeal? If I put this poll on my list I wonder if anyone would want to sleep with me... curious...

Also, the John, Rodney and head explodes options were evenly divided... there must be something in that.

Also, if you want Rodney, you're going to have to fight me for him! *pinches you and runs away*

Wait! Come back here and fight like a girl (because that how I'm going to do it).

[trinityofone.livejournal.com]

Just the straight boys? What about the not-so-straight girls?

No, there was a good showing among the not-so-straight girls, too. *g* But I was talking about certain boys I knew in high school. Weird.

Also, the John, Rodney and head explodes options were evenly divided... there must be something in that.

Yeah, John had the early lead, so for a while I was like, "Ha! I get Rodney all to myself." But then it evened out. I don't know if it means anything deep, but it does remind me of how much I love this OTP--it's the first time ever in my crazy 'shipping history that I've ever liked both characters (in terms of both looks and personality) even close to equally. *happy sigh*

Come back here and fight like a girl (because that how I'm going to do it).

Ow! Stop scratching me! *pulls your hair*

[darcydodo]

I forget that we don't have non-meat mince pies here. I mean, many of them haven't got meat anyway, but it's hard to tell. The mini-ones are better if you heat them up, by the way.

Oh, and since I could only tick the "eat mince pies" box once, I ticked some other stuff too. But pretend like I ticked "eat mince pies" lots of times.

[trinityofone.livejournal.com]

You are quite right, and I have been heating them. In a fan over, admittedly, but a girl's gotta make do with what she's got.

pretend like I ticked "eat mince pies" lots of times.

Noted. Say...nine times, once for each pie I have left? ;-)

[trinityofone.livejournal.com]

But the whole point was that I wanted to make people choose! I just didn't think anybody was going to choose me. Huh.

American mince pies are nasty, but these are really good. I'll try to get a recipe off of someone, and then I can make one when I get back to the States. They'll be a piece with your name on it. *g*