Um. Heh.

Thing 1 - K-Bug is at the A's game. I am insanely jealous. I'm watching the game, hoping for a glimpse of her behind the bullpen.

Thing 2 - CJ is applying to be a part of the Arapahoe Rescue Patrol. It is a group of high school kids who are trained in search and rescue. Takes a lot of training and a lot of responsibility. He sees it as a first step toward his desired fire fighting career.

Thing 3 - KCD. I just don't know how I stayed married to him for so long. For a while it looked like all 4 kids were going to go to Vegas for the wedding - CJ driving with B's kids and K-Bug flying out. But he just called and said they are second thinking having any of the kids go. They will just have a big reception after K-Bug moves out here so all the kids can be a part of that. My guess as to why they changed their minds - the minors would cramp their fun. Whatever.

Thing 4 - I get my daughter tomorrow!!!

Suzi, that's a lot of things! Thing 2 sounds especially awesome.

I took Noah out for dinner (it's a Thursday thing. We've been doing it forever). He was such a pill today (not listening, not eating, just playing) that I snorfled my salad and we left posthaste. Actually with such haste that I left my credit card there.

After, he was apologetic and he could at least parrot why I was so angry. But I told him no more restaurants.

The op-ed piece about Kyl was so dead on.

There's also a good piece about sugar as toxin that will be in the magazine this weekend.

Burrell, I subscribed using the educator's link to the NYT. We haven't done the LAT in forever, but I do love the paper. So, we did a Sunday-Only and it's perfect.

CJ is applying to be a part of the Arapahoe Rescue Patrol. It is a group of high school kids who are trained in search and rescue.

Ooh! I know the lead trainer for that. If CJ makes the cut I'll have to tell Matt to pay some extra attention to him.

There's also a good piece about sugar as toxin that will be in the magazine this weekend.

I read that! Or, was what appeared online a truncated version of that? Anyway, it made me sad, because I love sugar so much I would shank a baby for it. Which, I suppose, indicates I have a wee problem with it.

Unrelatedly (except for how food and drink is broken down in the body), I have had 2 alcoholic ciders tonight, and I am such a damn lightweight, I am tipsy as HELL and have had to correct about 300 typos in this post. Woo.

I still want that Korean taco thing. Possibly because I am tipsy. Also because I love bulgogi.

Pork belly is my new One True Love.

Another part of the pig that's incredibly good? Pork cheek. Yes indeedy.

Pork cheek.

Cow cheek is also very good, and a delicacy at the taco truck.

Flew home today. Plane was completely full, but the flight went well.

I was telling my cabbie on the way home that, given the number of American Taxi cabs that are always parked at my apartment parking lot, I was surprised that I've never been driven home by one of my neighbors. Turns out that he lives at the end of my hall! We ended up spending most of the drive talking about how great the neighbors and management staff are.

As soon as I walked in the door, the cat started meowing at me from under the sink, where she retreated after sniffing my luggage. But then she came out to continue to meow at me for another half hour before she finally jumped on top of me for some petting that lasted much longer than her petting sessions usually last (normally, she's had enough after five minutes or so, but this time, she kept coming back for more).

I miss the kogi beef taco truck that used to hang out by my work. It may still go there, but I haven't seen it. Mayhaps on the days I'm not on campus.

I need to grade more. Sigh. I so don't want to. And I can't do the just-do-5 thing because each one takes me close to an hour. I'm all just do one, and then take a break and you can do another one.

Man, I love bulgogi. I have an excellent recipe for it, which calls for flank steak, which marinates up wonderfully. NOM.

Oakland needs some food trucks, more than just the taco trucks we get in the Fruitvale.

Ha! I finally figured out why Alberta was so snooty about Bombay Sapphire.

It's a compound gin instead of a distilled gin.

*****

The base spirit for gin can be made from a variety of cereal grains--wheat, rye, or barley. The grains are used to make a neutral base spirit to which flavoring is imparted from botanicals. There are two basic methods for instilling the flavors.

* Distilled gin The neutral base spirit is infused with botanicals and then distilled a second time. Botanical essences travel with the alcohol vapors and flavor the gin in a delicate manner.

* Compound gin The neutral base spirit is flavored with botanicals and there is no second distillation. Technically, compound gin is the same thing as flavored vodka.

That's why she said it was basically gin-flavored vodka.