preparations

YOU GUYS. i made the best salad EVER last night. i was coming from pole, so i wanted something filling, not too unhealthy, but also quick/not involving lots of cooking time. this salad was so good that even chris, the meatitarian,* scarfed it down. (it helps that there is a bunch of meat in it.) but seriously, do this:

1 lb flank steak

1 package sliced mushrooms

blue cheese

craisins

baby spinach

season the steak liberally with salt & pepper, then toss into a pan with a little olive oil on medium-high heat. cook until it's as done as you like it, then remove from the pan to rest for a few minutes. in the meantime, add a little more oil, and dump in the mushrooms (with some more salt & pepper) and cook those up in the steak juice.

toss the spinach in your dressing of choice (i use an easily-whipped-up white wine & shallot vinaigrette) and divide onto two plates. sprinkle blue cheese crumbles & craisins on top, then add the still-warm mushrooms on top. slice steak and place atop the salad.

optionally, hard- (or accidentally soft-) boil some eggs and add those on top as well.

i ate until i physically hurt. that good.

*the opposite of a vegetarian. chris doesn't consider it to be a real meal if meat isn't involved.

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i emailed my bank yesterday to let them know i'd be out of the country (so they wouldn't deny my debit card charges as unauthorized) and i got an email back saying i needed to call them directly to put a travel alert on my account. ok, no problem. i call them up and quickly get through to a customer service rep.

CS rep: ok great, i've verified you as the account holder, thanks. now, where are you travelling?

me: sri lanka.

CS rep: ..where?

me [more clearly]: sri lanka.

CS rep: um... is that a country......?

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so yeah, that whole sri lanka thing! i leave tomorrow! eeeeeee!

i have two (!!) borrowed saris at my disposal for the traditional aspects of the wedding (although no earthly clue how to affix them to myself, despite watching SEVERAL youtube tutorials; i'm hoping there are kindly indian ladies around who will take pity on the white girl and wrap me up properly).

i'm positively vibrating with excitement for this. my friends (with whom i'm travelling around the country before the wedding) left yesterday, so they'll already be at his parents' house by the time i arrive. (which, unfortunately, is at 3:20am. his parents set up a car service for me [!!] at the airport to retrieve me, although it just occurred to me today that this means i'm showing up, alone, on these poor folks' doorstep at like 4am. not at alllll awkward.)

i'll be back.. well, basically in december. have very happy thanksgivings, all you weirdos who didn't celebrate in october. and if you need something to read while i'm gone, go visit my mom's blog!