Feeling reflective...

[fajrdrako]

Today is my last day at work at this theatre. You know how they say, "this is the first day of the rest of your life." I can't help thinking: "it's also the last day of thirty years of my past." It's an odd, but liberating, feeling. Chance brought me here. Chance sets me free. For what? We shall see.

Oddly, I have a lot to do this morning - didn't expect that, but I just got handed a big scanning job. And I need to finish up some banking.

Early this afternoon, I'm being taken our for lunch at Fat Tuesday's, on the Market. Sadly, I have a chest cold and my appetite is a little low. I'm sure I'll manage, once I'm facing the crème brulée. As I recall, they have great crème brulée. I wonder how they are on chicken soup.

Comments

[toraks.livejournal.com]

Aw. Sounds like you have a good attitude though!

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

It isn't really on purpose - but there's something exciting about being on the cusp of change, especially since I've had little change in my life for a long time.

[toraks.livejournal.com]

That's cool.

I hate change, myself. Probably why I was in such a dither before knowing I could stick around for another 6 months.

I hope the cusp proves to be a fun one for you! :-D

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I usually hate change. This time... well. We shall see.

[monsieureden.livejournal.com]

Wow, thirty years. I have yet to conceive of such commitment to a job. I look forward to hearing what you do next.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I look forward to it, too!

[dejla.livejournal.com]

Ooh, I love crème brulée. There's a place on Montague in Brooklyn which makes great crème brulée, but it's so rich it makes me sick afterward. It's a hard choice deciding between my greed and my stomach.

But chicken soup, GOOD chicken soup, is a delight.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

There's a thin line between "rich" and "too rich". I'm ready to sample all the crème brulée in existence to explore the subject.

One thing I don't like, which has unfortunately become a fashion in Ottawa restaurants, is crème brulée made with chocolate. The chocolate flavour overwhelms the taste and it's like crusty chocolate pudding - which in my opinion misses the point of crème brulée entirely.

The stuff at Fat Tuesday's was delicious. Rich, but not quite too rich.

I've been living on chicken soup for days - can't get enough. Love it. Just had the chicken soup at Denny's this afternoon; surprisingly good. I am not usually a big fan of Denny's food, but this was excellent.

[dejla.livejournal.com]

I agree--chocolate would overwhelm crème brulée. It ought to be that lovely smooth melting custard with the crisp sugar. Chocolate--nah.

As far as canned goes, the Simple Harvest (I think that's the brand) by Campbells is good. Frequently, though, when I want simple and plain I want Lipton's.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the recommendation - I'll look for Simple Harvest by Campbell when I'm next in a supermarket. Last night I made a huge crockpot of chicken soup, so I have enough for a month at this rate, in little containers in the freezer.

[gillo]

Thirty years? Goodness. Exciting change but also a little scary, and something of a loss as well. Good luck with all the upcoming changes!

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the good luck wishes.

[duncanmac.livejournal.com]

Sigh. After the last job I had, when two different sites were closed (though I got a reprieve from the first closure), you'll forgive me for feeling a little more cynical about losing one's job.

I should be putting more effort in to job hunting myself, but I'm worried how stiff the competition will be.

[duncanmac.livejournal.com]

I admit I *do* admire your attitude about it all.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

So far so good. I'm a little surprised by my own calmness (so far) but I'm trying to be sensible: no reason to panic yet. Que sera sera, and there's a lot of reason to hope for bigger and better things.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

There's nothing much I can do about the competition, except do the best I can.

You're more cynical than I am about job losses, but it's maybe because I am much more cynical about capitalism in general.

[hab318princess.livejournal.com]

change is never easy, so I hope you enjoyed your lunch and that your future will be bright, in whatever you do

*hugs*

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I hope you enjoyed your lunch

I did. It was fun, despite the fact that I was coming down with a bad cold and my appetite was lower than usual. I managed to have a lovely meal anyway. Turns out that one of the members of the Board whom I've worked with fairly closely for years, had never known I was into comic books - so I was able to surprise him with stories of my costuming in the past. I guess I don't talk about it much at work. (Thank goodness.)

and that your future will be bright

Thank you so much. I don't know what I'll do or where I'll do it, but I live in hope of something that I can live on, and enjoy.

*hugs back*

[mmegaera.livejournal.com]

Wow. Thirty years. Count me among the amazed.

I hope this change in your life goes smoothly and well, and you wind up in a better place (in every sense of the word) than you are now.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I'm sort of amazed by the thirty years, too. Believe me, it was more accident than design. Thank you for the good wishes. I'll be looking for those better places, I really will.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

I hope everything works out wonderfully and you shake off the cold soon.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Thank you! Today I'm lying back with light novels to read, and sleeping a lot. Seems a good way to start.

[silverwhistle.livejournal.com]

Wishing you all the best. I know how tough this is: it took me 8 years to get a regular job post-PhD, and that only lasted 3 years, so you're lucky to have had 30 in one spot. But I'm sure you'll have glowing references!

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Yeah. Hoping for the best.

[walkingowl.livejournal.com]

Chicken soup and creme brulee -- yep, just about the perfect last-day-of-work lunch treat!

Congratulations to you.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

More than a week now since I had that crème brulée and I remember it fondly.

[walkingowl.livejournal.com]

One of the people at work is a semi-fanatical amateur chef. We were on the topic once, and he confessed (and it did come across as such, too, which was cute) that he had gotten himself a torch for burning the edges of his creme brulee, which he hardly ever made, but... still.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

A torch for crème brulée would be fun, but the truth is, I love having it in restaurants. It's a quest. Making it myself never has the same glamour, even though it's still very good. But they always put it in lovely little dishes and... it's nice to eat it without having to do the work or worry of getting the brulée part right.

[walkingowl.livejournal.com]

Hee! it is so delightful to know that.

You know the first time I heard the phrase "comfort food"? It was when I was browsing the Isabella catalog (remember your neti pot? I got that through there) and there was a description of a certain book about finding ways to bring the essence of the comforts of one's childhood into one's adult life. Mention was made of how wonderful it was to have had your mother make you one of the few special dishes in times of stress or illness... the example given being jelly-bread sandwiches with the crusts cut off. Made me think of my childhood Saturday treat of macaroni with butter -- that's all! Macaroni with butter!... ahh. And this review used the term "comfort food."

So. Here's a concept. Comfort food is not just made. It also must be... given. I can make myself beef vegetable soup with barley and cabbage, but if I could get one bowlful of my mother's last pot of it... well. Infinite comfort. And so with your creme brulee: it is not just the having, it is the obtaining! And so your quest! And I understand.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

There's different kinds of comfort. A nice hot bowl of oatmeal, or macaroni and cheese, that I make myself - that's comfort. And ordering it in restaurants isn't part of the deal. But crème brulée is better in restaurants with all the service and fancy table-dressing I can get. Different types of food, I guess - some easy to prepare, some more delicate. Or maybe there's no real difference except in my mind.

[walkingowl.livejournal.com]

No, real difference. I like the way you explained it. Very true.

Tonight, I'm going home to make chili -- but it isn't conventional chili. It's a family recipe. You basically make a fancified pasta sauce including beans and crushed tomatoes and ground meat and onions, then put it over macaroni or other pasta. Eat it out of a bowl with a spoon. Yum. Also known, sometimes, as "munganother." That looks incomprehensible. It's a said word, not a written word. Think of "among" and "another." Basically, 'mong-another. There, that's better. Someone at work was eating something like it for lunch; she said her family calls it Christian Science. Because her husband's grandmother got it from a Christian Science recipe book. I loved that story. She said that one time when he was in gradeschool, everyone was asked to say what they'd had for supper the night before, and he said: "Christian Science." Hee.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I think the difference between the two types of comfort food is that one provides pure comfort, the second also a sense of luxury.

I went back to Infusion and had their crème brulée dessert. It was as good as I imagined it would be.

Your munganother sounds good! I could make that in my crockpot.

[walkingowl.livejournal.com]

Agreed: there's "I feel grouchy and want to stay home in my pajamas and watch old movies" comfort food, and then there's "enjoy to the utmost" comfort food. Yep.

I went back to Infusion and had their crème brulée dessert. It was as good as I imagined it would be.

I am glad it was! Yay.

Indeed you could make that in your crockpot. And I could make it in mine. Hm! It's one of my favorite electric-skillet recipes. (I could prepare any meal of the day with my trusty electric skillet. I love the thing.) This chili works well with shells as the pasta. They hold the sauce. Yum.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

You could make the crème part in a crockpot. You'd still have to do something about the brulée part.

[walkingowl.livejournal.com]

Making creme brulee in a crock pot. Snicker. So much for "elegant"...!