It's cool if it happens by accident but I hate the forced merriment of office birthday parties and suchlike.

Yup, I loathe forced merriment in any setting.

Oh JZ, I just caught up with the car debacle. What a mess! Much love comig northward to you and the family. P-C, that was an awesome thing you did last night. You're a mensch.

I'm have a lovely lazy day on my own. I've been wandering around my city reminding myself why I love living in Pasadena. I also bought some new work clothes (Ann Taylor Loft's petite fit model must be just like me; best fitting clothes off the rack I've ever found) on sale. Loft gives a 20% teacher discount!! Plus I got an additional 10% off because of their "first Tuesdays" sale. Who knew?

Connie, I'm with you on being baffled by required work bonding. I mean, I see it more in an educational environment where we really need to collaborate, but in a cubicle environment? Really?

We'd totally come over, P-C, but there's the tiny matter of having no car and being totally dependent on BART and my dad.

Oh right. Der. Well, I can pick you up and bring you over and deliver you back to BART. That's easy enough; I'm close to two BART stations.

It's weird because I get very high marks for cheerfulness and diplomacy when talking to the customers, so they know I'm not Surly McSurlyson. But I guess I need to make with the happy talk with the people I only know as voices over the wall.

I have figured out dinner! Almost. I've got rice cooking, and tofu is marinated in Caribbean jerk seasoning. (I have no idea how Caribbean it is, but it's easy and it's good.) Now I've got a package of frozen vegetables, and I'm trying to decide whether to just put some margarine on them or make a more interesting sauce.

edit: I just through together a coconut curry sauce for the vegetables. This feels like a real meal now.

If it says "Caribbean" probably not very. It's supposed to say "Jamaican," dammit.

It's weird because I get very high marks for cheerfulness and diplomacy when talking to the customers, so they know I'm not Surly McSurlyson. But I guess I need to make with the happy talk with the people I only know as voices over the wall.

My supervisor once told me in an annual review that some of the other people in the office regarded me as 'aloof'. I told him next year I was hoping to upgrade it to 'haughty'.

If it says "Caribbean" probably not very. It's supposed to say "Jamaican," dammit.

It's from a cookbook called, "Help! My Apartment Has a Kitchen!" I'm not expecting much. I've made this recipe before and it tastes good, but it doesn't taste much like the jerk seasoning I've had at Jamaican restaurants.

It's from a cookbook called, "Help! My Apartment Has a Kitchen!"

I love that cookbook. I have given it to so many people.

I think I inherited this cookbook from my sister. My mom bought it for her, and she was insulted by the insinuation that she didn't know how to cook, so she gave it to me. There are a lot of good recipes in there.