Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Off and On: Star Whores
Off and On: Star Whores: Well, the temp agency still didn't call back for when I start the full time spot they got me so it's back to prostituting ourselves for the ...
Star Whores
Well, the temp agency still didn't call back for when I start the full time spot they got me so it's back to prostituting ourselves for the movie business. Yes, it's more work as extras. Mike has already worked one shoot this week for a pilot called "Wild Card" in which he sat in Orleans Parish Prison for 13 hours doing...absolutely nothing. Granted, being an extra is a lot of hurry up and wait, but this set of folks are incredibly disorganized. Forty people sitting in a cell block and doing time, waiting for their turn to get out. If they were going for realism, they got it. He did get to see the tilapia tanks, though. Yeah, I had to ask him to repeat it when he said it too. Apparently the prison system used to have a fish farm and provided 90% of the area's restaurants and grocery stores with their tilapia. After Katrina, it never opened back up again and now they just have empty fish bins. Tomorrow, it's on to the glamourous town of Thibodaux for more work on "Parker". Sorry, no explosions this time.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Off and On: A Small Retraction
Off and On: A Small Retraction: While all the rest of the post earlier was true in, "How We Gonna Pay, How We Gonna Pay" Apple is not guilty of the aforementioned sales tac...
A Small Retraction
While all the rest of the post earlier was true in, "How We Gonna Pay, How We Gonna Pay" Apple is not guilty of the aforementioned sales tactics. It turned out to be a true interview session with Apple's corporate culture at the forefront; cheering upon introductions and running down the aisle to get nametags. Great enthusiasm throughout the whole thing. And while it'll be Wednesday before anything is heard, I can thankfully say that Apple is at least showing growth and gumption. I apologize for the unintended slur, Apple has my thumbs up!
Off and On: How We Gonna Pay, How We Gonna Pay...
Off and On: How We Gonna Pay, How We Gonna Pay...: Ugh, life sucks right now. We're two months behind on rent and the landlord is getting antsy. My lease is up and he's allowing me to go mo...
How We Gonna Pay, How We Gonna Pay...
Ugh, life sucks right now. We're two months behind on rent and the landlord is getting antsy. My lease is up and he's allowing me to go month to month but unless we win the lottery things are going to be bad for awhile. Mike is currently at another interview, this time with Apple at the mall.
I'm going to rant for a minute now, hold on to your hats. We all know it's a tough economy and money is tight. Sales is one of the worst businesses to be in because nobody with half an ounce of sense is spending on anything they don't absolutely need. Anyone who can do sales in this environment and actually make something of it nine times out of ten has my kudos. What I have a problem with is what appears to be a new trend in "sales" tactics.
In the last two weeks, I, my friend Lodie, and now Mike have all applied for what appeared to be straightforward positions that turned out to be sales pitches to a captive audience. (See blog from 8/22/11 "The Crab People" for my experience.) Lodie had this happen to her not once, not twice, but four times in one week. Now Apple is doing the same with Mike as we speak.
There will always be people who want something for nothing. Case in point, the people who've never entered a contest, yet win a "free boat". Upon arrival to collect the prize, they're told that they're being arrested for past tickets and/or warrants. People who show up for time share meetings thinking they're going to walk away with a thousand dollars or a free vacation for two with no investment or time wasted get what they deserve. I get that. There's a time and a place for ploys like this.
Deliberately wasting the time, energy, gas, and already strained financial resources of people who are only trying to find honest work to support themselves and their families is shameful. In each of these cases the ad that was responded to was made to look as though it were an application for a job, nothing else. And while a "group interview" in the most informal sense possible was held, it counted for nothing. The worst part is, if you're really desperate for work you don't want to get up and leave the diatribe because there's the chance the company might still hire you. So you are reduced to being a captive audience in the worst possible way; having no interest in purchasing any product from the company but paying attention because you never know when the sales patter will stop and the actual employment related questions begin.
And to any businesses out there who might be considering this as a way to get people in to listen to your spiel? Don't. Ok? Just don't. The depression won't last forever and if you do manage to survive it, there will be a lot of people who will remember the shady tactics you resorted to in the name of profit instead of doing something effective like, oh, say cutting the CEO's bonus. Revenge is a dish best served cold and I guarantee that's the temperature of the reception you'll get when you try to make a profit off the crowd you duped. Dishonesty never pays.
Ok, rant over. Tonight's gourmet meal is red beans and rice with sausage. Film at 11:00.
I'm going to rant for a minute now, hold on to your hats. We all know it's a tough economy and money is tight. Sales is one of the worst businesses to be in because nobody with half an ounce of sense is spending on anything they don't absolutely need. Anyone who can do sales in this environment and actually make something of it nine times out of ten has my kudos. What I have a problem with is what appears to be a new trend in "sales" tactics.
In the last two weeks, I, my friend Lodie, and now Mike have all applied for what appeared to be straightforward positions that turned out to be sales pitches to a captive audience. (See blog from 8/22/11 "The Crab People" for my experience.) Lodie had this happen to her not once, not twice, but four times in one week. Now Apple is doing the same with Mike as we speak.
There will always be people who want something for nothing. Case in point, the people who've never entered a contest, yet win a "free boat". Upon arrival to collect the prize, they're told that they're being arrested for past tickets and/or warrants. People who show up for time share meetings thinking they're going to walk away with a thousand dollars or a free vacation for two with no investment or time wasted get what they deserve. I get that. There's a time and a place for ploys like this.
Deliberately wasting the time, energy, gas, and already strained financial resources of people who are only trying to find honest work to support themselves and their families is shameful. In each of these cases the ad that was responded to was made to look as though it were an application for a job, nothing else. And while a "group interview" in the most informal sense possible was held, it counted for nothing. The worst part is, if you're really desperate for work you don't want to get up and leave the diatribe because there's the chance the company might still hire you. So you are reduced to being a captive audience in the worst possible way; having no interest in purchasing any product from the company but paying attention because you never know when the sales patter will stop and the actual employment related questions begin.
And to any businesses out there who might be considering this as a way to get people in to listen to your spiel? Don't. Ok? Just don't. The depression won't last forever and if you do manage to survive it, there will be a lot of people who will remember the shady tactics you resorted to in the name of profit instead of doing something effective like, oh, say cutting the CEO's bonus. Revenge is a dish best served cold and I guarantee that's the temperature of the reception you'll get when you try to make a profit off the crowd you duped. Dishonesty never pays.
Ok, rant over. Tonight's gourmet meal is red beans and rice with sausage. Film at 11:00.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Off and On: Comfort Food
Off and On: Comfort Food: Yesterday was a rough day. Poor Mike got extremely sick with heat exhaustion, nearly to the point of heat stroke due to the ineptitude of t...
Comfort Food
Yesterday was a rough day. Poor Mike got extremely sick with heat exhaustion, nearly to the point of heat stroke due to the ineptitude of the major shipping company he was throwing boxes for as a temp job. I had a good interview with the veterinarian's down the street, but was told it would be another week for round two of interviews. Sigh. So to make things a little better, we took a brief jaunt on the streetcar to Harrah's and used our leftover voucher for $10 and played penny slots and $0.25 blackjack for awhile. The free drink was about all we expected to get out of it and we weren't disappointed.
Heading back to the streetcar, I smelled the most horribly appetizing scent in the air; deep fried greasy something-or-others. Didn't really matter what, I got an instant craving for fat fried goodness. My general policy is to avoid deep fried, greasy foods because they're bad for me, give me heartburn, and mess with my gall bladder. Sometimes, if you're miserable anyway, you want at least a good reason to be so. That was yesterday.
Before getting home, we stopped by Rouses and picked up a few supplies. Poor Mike was exhausted by this time, having well underestimated the heat sickness so he played at being a slug on the couch. I got in the kitchen and spent the next hour and a half creating the most greasily decadent dinner I could come up with. On the menu were fried chicken tenders and home grown okra fresh from the garden; breaded and fried as well. Skins on garlic cheddar mashed potatoes rounded out the plate and the dollop of dip for the chicken was a buffalo wing blend. Dessert was my mama's easy recipe for banana pudding (though I almost forgot the bananas). And of course, you can't have a proper southern meal like that without a glass of sweet iced tea.
Naturally, sleep did not go well with heartburn inducing tastiness of that caliber. It's always darkest before the light as they say, and the light hit when I heard my phone ring. It was a job offer, and a good one! I'll be starting (possibly tomorrow) on a temp to perm gig doing typing M-F 9-5 with acceptable pay. And it's about fifteen minutes closer than the last one was. Hoody hoo! Send all your kudos for Mike to find something permanent and paying well and we'll be set. Yeah!
Heading back to the streetcar, I smelled the most horribly appetizing scent in the air; deep fried greasy something-or-others. Didn't really matter what, I got an instant craving for fat fried goodness. My general policy is to avoid deep fried, greasy foods because they're bad for me, give me heartburn, and mess with my gall bladder. Sometimes, if you're miserable anyway, you want at least a good reason to be so. That was yesterday.
Before getting home, we stopped by Rouses and picked up a few supplies. Poor Mike was exhausted by this time, having well underestimated the heat sickness so he played at being a slug on the couch. I got in the kitchen and spent the next hour and a half creating the most greasily decadent dinner I could come up with. On the menu were fried chicken tenders and home grown okra fresh from the garden; breaded and fried as well. Skins on garlic cheddar mashed potatoes rounded out the plate and the dollop of dip for the chicken was a buffalo wing blend. Dessert was my mama's easy recipe for banana pudding (though I almost forgot the bananas). And of course, you can't have a proper southern meal like that without a glass of sweet iced tea.
 |
| Does the new food color wheel include "brown"? I think we have that one covered. |
Monday, August 22, 2011
Off and On: The Crab People
Off and On: The Crab People: As in both catching tasty crustaceans and being "crabby". This weekend started with a "job interview" as a receptionist at ITT Tech. I wen...
The Crab People
As in both catching tasty crustaceans and being "crabby". This weekend started with a "job interview" as a receptionist at ITT Tech. I went in and discovered there were about seven other women waiting for the group interview setup. No problem, I've done group interviews before. What it actually turned out to be was a thinly veiled attempt at school recruitment. Two hours later, I left the building more than a little pissed that my time had been wasted and gas burned for nothing while Mike was waiting on me to leave the building.
Fortunately, there was some good that came out of it and that was we were close enough to pick up my friend Jason who was in town on his new truck route. We went home, made some smoked sausage po' boys and homemade okra caponata with the backyard crop and had a good time.
Bedtime came early Friday night because Saturday morning we were up before the roosters (who were still at Pal's on the other side of the Bayou) and on set early for Ricochet. Six in the morning was the starting time and boy were there a lot of bleary eyeballs. The set was at the Orleans County Courthouse because it's a crime drama and the scenes being shot were all trial scenes.
Now, for those of you who aren't that familiar with the behind the scenes ways and means of movies and tv, one of the things they make sure you know as an extra is to not wear logos (copyright stuff), whites, or reds. White stands out too much and red bleeds when you're on camera. When I looked through my closet the night before, all I had was reds and whites that were suitable for a courtroom setting except for one shirt. It's a swirly pattern in primarily black and purple...and very low cut. It's classy, but well, let's face it; I can't help the way I'm built. The girls were definitely wanting to be part of the show through no fault of my own.
It was still pretty early on and the director was telling people which side of the courtroom he wanted people to go to. The PA's were calling extras out based on their appearance and the director said "Now everyone, if we say for example, 'Red Shirt' go to the other side, don't take it personally. We're trying to get things done quickly here." He then pointed to the mid-twenties guy next to me who looked like this: http://nerf-this.com/motherly-issue/.
"Moustache! You, go over there. And the young lady next to you (pointing to me) , who we'll call Poochie...um, because...of her...shirt design."
I grinned and laughed along with everyone else. Poochie? I had a brief, bright memory of the little fluffy pink dog that had a stamper in its paw. Mike texted me from across the room. "Did he just say what I think he said?" Yep. He sure did. I knew he was trying to find a descriptive, yet non-offensive adjective for my buxomness, but it just didn't get any better. So for the rest of the day, I found myself trying to keep my cleavage to a minimum, and the crew moving me as far in the back as they could without being too obvious about it.
Mike, on the other hand, got tons of on screen camera time including interaction with Julie Benz! She played
"Darla" on Buffy and Angel and is on Dexter as the serial killer's girlfriend/wife. Too cool! Mike started out as a juror, then got moved to being a reporter, then replacing a guy who started drooling in his sleep mid-shot behind the actress. He says he doesn't want to be an actor, but I really don't think they're giving him the option.
While I'll probably never be anything more than an extra on television, I have decided to take a hint from reality tv with crab fishing a la Deadliest Catch. There's a big roll of chicken wire stuffed beneath the house and we're about to create a crab trap or two to take to Lake Ponchartrain. You can catch all kinds of stuff in there, but the blue crabs are all over the place. And with a lot fewer freezing temperatures. Tune in next week when we bring you the catch of the day!
Fortunately, there was some good that came out of it and that was we were close enough to pick up my friend Jason who was in town on his new truck route. We went home, made some smoked sausage po' boys and homemade okra caponata with the backyard crop and had a good time.
Bedtime came early Friday night because Saturday morning we were up before the roosters (who were still at Pal's on the other side of the Bayou) and on set early for Ricochet. Six in the morning was the starting time and boy were there a lot of bleary eyeballs. The set was at the Orleans County Courthouse because it's a crime drama and the scenes being shot were all trial scenes.
Now, for those of you who aren't that familiar with the behind the scenes ways and means of movies and tv, one of the things they make sure you know as an extra is to not wear logos (copyright stuff), whites, or reds. White stands out too much and red bleeds when you're on camera. When I looked through my closet the night before, all I had was reds and whites that were suitable for a courtroom setting except for one shirt. It's a swirly pattern in primarily black and purple...and very low cut. It's classy, but well, let's face it; I can't help the way I'm built. The girls were definitely wanting to be part of the show through no fault of my own.
It was still pretty early on and the director was telling people which side of the courtroom he wanted people to go to. The PA's were calling extras out based on their appearance and the director said "Now everyone, if we say for example, 'Red Shirt' go to the other side, don't take it personally. We're trying to get things done quickly here." He then pointed to the mid-twenties guy next to me who looked like this: http://nerf-this.com/motherly-issue/.
"Moustache! You, go over there. And the young lady next to you (pointing to me) , who we'll call Poochie...um, because...of her...shirt design."
I grinned and laughed along with everyone else. Poochie? I had a brief, bright memory of the little fluffy pink dog that had a stamper in its paw. Mike texted me from across the room. "Did he just say what I think he said?" Yep. He sure did. I knew he was trying to find a descriptive, yet non-offensive adjective for my buxomness, but it just didn't get any better. So for the rest of the day, I found myself trying to keep my cleavage to a minimum, and the crew moving me as far in the back as they could without being too obvious about it.
Mike, on the other hand, got tons of on screen camera time including interaction with Julie Benz! She played
"Darla" on Buffy and Angel and is on Dexter as the serial killer's girlfriend/wife. Too cool! Mike started out as a juror, then got moved to being a reporter, then replacing a guy who started drooling in his sleep mid-shot behind the actress. He says he doesn't want to be an actor, but I really don't think they're giving him the option.
While I'll probably never be anything more than an extra on television, I have decided to take a hint from reality tv with crab fishing a la Deadliest Catch. There's a big roll of chicken wire stuffed beneath the house and we're about to create a crab trap or two to take to Lake Ponchartrain. You can catch all kinds of stuff in there, but the blue crabs are all over the place. And with a lot fewer freezing temperatures. Tune in next week when we bring you the catch of the day!
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Off and On: I Always Wanted to be in Pictures
Off and On: I Always Wanted to be in Pictures: You know, it's funny. Most of the time people involved in acting take on real jobs to survive while waiting for roles. Here lately it's be...
I Always Wanted to be in Pictures
You know, it's funny. Most of the time people involved in acting take on real jobs to survive while waiting for roles. Here lately it's been just the opposite for me and Mike. We're desperately trying to find regular paying work and in the meantime taking spots as extras to pay the bills.
Yesterday we arrived to be extras on the set of Parker knowing it was going to be an active shoot. Lots of milling about, acting like normal fairground patrons. The scene was at the Ohio State Fair (but shot at the National Guard outpost/Fairgrounds in Covington, LA). Typical fairground setup, barrel riders at the grandstands, stage full of square dancers; hot dog and cotton candy vendors, etc.
For those of you who have never been an extra, let me tell you it's hard work. We did get fed really well and paid $80 each for our time, but it's essentially like being in a union. When you work, you work hard in all kinds of environments and weather. There's a lot of "hurry up and wait" in which you're not doing anything but waiting on the director, production assistants, sound guys, etc.. In this case, we were also waiting on the pyrotechnics operator. Stunt Heather in action!
Fortunately, the base had an awning space close by the square dancers' stage so that we didn't have to go too far for shade before being called back. Here we sweated, sweated, and sweated some more. Despite getting a late start, we had the foresight to grab two insulated bottles of water as well as an umbrella for standing in the sun between takes.
The exciting part was watching the fire scene. The backdrop for the square dancers were six lengths of blue and red drop curtains that were around 30 feet high. The square dancers (who were mostly in their early fifties and sixties) were supposed to be dancing around, notice smoke, then run offstage toward the camera. The director Taylor Hackford was really good and got people motivated without resorting to being a jerk, unlike our last experience with the crew on Treme.
All day they did this; shoot a scene, wait. Shoot another scene, wait. Get put into one position or another and wait some more. The very last scene of the day was one last "curtain on fire" scene. They told everyone that they needed us to run like we had before, but this time the director would yell "boom!" and that would be our cue to panic and head toward the back side of the stage. Mike was worried I'd pass out from heat exhaustion so I went up front, but they called me up anyway. At this point, Mike was on the back side of the stage closest to where the propane tanks were and I was on the front end where the square dancers were scurrying off.
Three, two, one..."boom"? No "boom". Where the boom should have been there was a three-tier explosion! Whoosh! We got three fireballs up thirty feet of charred curtain and singed elderly! Let me tell you, the panic was real. We weren't sure if the pyrotechnics had gone wrong or what but we ran. I suspect it was a clever ruse on the part of the director for realism, because once I got out of the way of stampeding septugenarians, I paused, grinned and said "wow!".
On his end of things, Mike became a star in his own right because not only was his face right in the camera, people started following his lead when he turned and sprinted 25 yards off once the explosions started. He'll definitely have a close-up shot in the movie, so be sure and watch it when it comes out. Oh yeah, extra cool points because Jason Statham is going to be in it too.
Following the shoot, we decided to go to Taco Bell because we'd burned off lunch; no pun intended. It was a really nice one; one of the stores that's gone with the hoity-toity cafe decor. One of these additions was a four foot by three and a half foot taco related painting that was hung artfully on my side of the booth. Tired, sweaty and hungry we sat down...and the painting immediately fell off the wall and onto my head.
When I said I wanted to be in pictures, this was not what I'd anticipated.
Mike and I are mid-burrito, trying to hold up this massive canvas painting and fortunately the manager noticed and came to help us with the comment, "Well that's a first!". She removed the painting after asking if I was ok, and went back to work. As soon as she left, the lamp above us started dripping condensation. We gathered up our orders and moved to another table to finally finish dinner. I was disappointed because she didn't offer me even a free taco for the inconvenience, but it's ok. I figure karma has better for me than a complimentary chalupa.
This weekend, extras in Ricochet! Stay tuned.
Yesterday we arrived to be extras on the set of Parker knowing it was going to be an active shoot. Lots of milling about, acting like normal fairground patrons. The scene was at the Ohio State Fair (but shot at the National Guard outpost/Fairgrounds in Covington, LA). Typical fairground setup, barrel riders at the grandstands, stage full of square dancers; hot dog and cotton candy vendors, etc.
For those of you who have never been an extra, let me tell you it's hard work. We did get fed really well and paid $80 each for our time, but it's essentially like being in a union. When you work, you work hard in all kinds of environments and weather. There's a lot of "hurry up and wait" in which you're not doing anything but waiting on the director, production assistants, sound guys, etc.. In this case, we were also waiting on the pyrotechnics operator. Stunt Heather in action!
Fortunately, the base had an awning space close by the square dancers' stage so that we didn't have to go too far for shade before being called back. Here we sweated, sweated, and sweated some more. Despite getting a late start, we had the foresight to grab two insulated bottles of water as well as an umbrella for standing in the sun between takes.
The exciting part was watching the fire scene. The backdrop for the square dancers were six lengths of blue and red drop curtains that were around 30 feet high. The square dancers (who were mostly in their early fifties and sixties) were supposed to be dancing around, notice smoke, then run offstage toward the camera. The director Taylor Hackford was really good and got people motivated without resorting to being a jerk, unlike our last experience with the crew on Treme.
All day they did this; shoot a scene, wait. Shoot another scene, wait. Get put into one position or another and wait some more. The very last scene of the day was one last "curtain on fire" scene. They told everyone that they needed us to run like we had before, but this time the director would yell "boom!" and that would be our cue to panic and head toward the back side of the stage. Mike was worried I'd pass out from heat exhaustion so I went up front, but they called me up anyway. At this point, Mike was on the back side of the stage closest to where the propane tanks were and I was on the front end where the square dancers were scurrying off.
Three, two, one..."boom"? No "boom". Where the boom should have been there was a three-tier explosion! Whoosh! We got three fireballs up thirty feet of charred curtain and singed elderly! Let me tell you, the panic was real. We weren't sure if the pyrotechnics had gone wrong or what but we ran. I suspect it was a clever ruse on the part of the director for realism, because once I got out of the way of stampeding septugenarians, I paused, grinned and said "wow!".
On his end of things, Mike became a star in his own right because not only was his face right in the camera, people started following his lead when he turned and sprinted 25 yards off once the explosions started. He'll definitely have a close-up shot in the movie, so be sure and watch it when it comes out. Oh yeah, extra cool points because Jason Statham is going to be in it too.
Following the shoot, we decided to go to Taco Bell because we'd burned off lunch; no pun intended. It was a really nice one; one of the stores that's gone with the hoity-toity cafe decor. One of these additions was a four foot by three and a half foot taco related painting that was hung artfully on my side of the booth. Tired, sweaty and hungry we sat down...and the painting immediately fell off the wall and onto my head.
When I said I wanted to be in pictures, this was not what I'd anticipated.
Mike and I are mid-burrito, trying to hold up this massive canvas painting and fortunately the manager noticed and came to help us with the comment, "Well that's a first!". She removed the painting after asking if I was ok, and went back to work. As soon as she left, the lamp above us started dripping condensation. We gathered up our orders and moved to another table to finally finish dinner. I was disappointed because she didn't offer me even a free taco for the inconvenience, but it's ok. I figure karma has better for me than a complimentary chalupa.
This weekend, extras in Ricochet! Stay tuned.
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Baking Bonanza!
I might have bitten off a little more than I could chew today, but it turned out ok. I decided that since the experiment with Chinese Pork Buns went so well earlier in the week, today would be a good day to take on baking.
I get most of my recipes from AllRecipes.com and for the most part the recipes turn out ok if you follow the reviews and comments. I found the Fleischmann's yeast sponsored one that said it was the winner at the Iowa State Fair and decided to try it. I had all the ingredients it called for so I figured it was worth a shot.
I had an inkling something was awry when the liquid ingredients alone took up most of my pastry bowl. After combining and adding two cups of flour, you were supposed to slowly add a cup of flour at a time to get a soft dough. After mixing in the initial two cups, I had pancake soup.
Somewhere between six and eight additional cups (and one run to the store for another bag of all-purpose flour) later, I got to the soft dough stage. The roughly five pounds of dough produced still had to rise a second time. Thirty minutes later, the world's largest cupcake was protruding from my biggest mixing bowl. All I wanted was two mornings' worth of cinnamon rolls and now I had enough dough to feed an army.
Mike had taken over at this point (I think he likes to poke and knead the soft stuff) and commanded that the dough be cut into thirds. This was still too much so the thirds turned into fourths with a bit of dividing and squashing. One quarter became cinnamon rolls, the other three-quarters got dumped into greased bread pans with crossed fingers.
All the time this was going on, we were finishing up round two of steamed Chinese Barbecue Pork Buns, and Mike made dinner from the last of the week's leftovers. We had dinner, watched a few episodes of Shin Chan, and baked the bread and rolls. It turned out...well, just check out the photo to see.
Three absolutely beautiful loaves of light, fluffy bread and ten cinnamon buns glazed in orange-bourbon icing. We couldn't have done it this perfectly if we'd tried. YUM!
I get most of my recipes from AllRecipes.com and for the most part the recipes turn out ok if you follow the reviews and comments. I found the Fleischmann's yeast sponsored one that said it was the winner at the Iowa State Fair and decided to try it. I had all the ingredients it called for so I figured it was worth a shot.
I had an inkling something was awry when the liquid ingredients alone took up most of my pastry bowl. After combining and adding two cups of flour, you were supposed to slowly add a cup of flour at a time to get a soft dough. After mixing in the initial two cups, I had pancake soup.
Somewhere between six and eight additional cups (and one run to the store for another bag of all-purpose flour) later, I got to the soft dough stage. The roughly five pounds of dough produced still had to rise a second time. Thirty minutes later, the world's largest cupcake was protruding from my biggest mixing bowl. All I wanted was two mornings' worth of cinnamon rolls and now I had enough dough to feed an army.
Mike had taken over at this point (I think he likes to poke and knead the soft stuff) and commanded that the dough be cut into thirds. This was still too much so the thirds turned into fourths with a bit of dividing and squashing. One quarter became cinnamon rolls, the other three-quarters got dumped into greased bread pans with crossed fingers.
All the time this was going on, we were finishing up round two of steamed Chinese Barbecue Pork Buns, and Mike made dinner from the last of the week's leftovers. We had dinner, watched a few episodes of Shin Chan, and baked the bread and rolls. It turned out...well, just check out the photo to see.
Three absolutely beautiful loaves of light, fluffy bread and ten cinnamon buns glazed in orange-bourbon icing. We couldn't have done it this perfectly if we'd tried. YUM!
Friday, August 12, 2011
Overdue Update
Wow, sorry about the lateness of posting. It's been a helluva time lately, and unfortunately, much of it negative. It's an emotional, sordid tale (but an interesting one) and perhaps someday I'll tell you about it. If I ever do go into it, for legal reasons it'll be way in the future after things are well and fully calmed down. How's that for a teaser?
What I can tell you is that the new job is now an ex-job. I hired on with the anticipation of being primarily a receptionist and biller for a freight company and occasional dispatch assistance. An inkling that something wasn't quite right appeared when they said they'd been through three billers in a year. It turns out that "occasional dispatch help" meant that they expected me to become a secondary dispatcher and learn the job skills of the other two girls in the office as well as my own to perfection within a month of being there. So when they pulled me into the office to express the concern that I wasn't quite getting it...you get the idea.
So I'm back in the job market and in my spare time am back to work on my cookbook. Be on the lookout for a project update!
What I can tell you is that the new job is now an ex-job. I hired on with the anticipation of being primarily a receptionist and biller for a freight company and occasional dispatch assistance. An inkling that something wasn't quite right appeared when they said they'd been through three billers in a year. It turns out that "occasional dispatch help" meant that they expected me to become a secondary dispatcher and learn the job skills of the other two girls in the office as well as my own to perfection within a month of being there. So when they pulled me into the office to express the concern that I wasn't quite getting it...you get the idea.
So I'm back in the job market and in my spare time am back to work on my cookbook. Be on the lookout for a project update!
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