Career

The Job I Love & the Job I Lust

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I love my 8-to-5. Seriously! I work at one of the coolest companies in California, and my coworkers are hilarious, genuine, brilliant people. I’ve been nothing short than excited and thrilled to be going steady with my job (even though it didn’t get me flowers or chocolate on our recent anniversary). I can’t believe how lucky I am to be 23 and recently graduated with such a great place to work every weekday.

Photo by Andy Sutterfield

Photo by Andy Sutterfield

But I’m having an affair on the side.

It started with wandering eyes; a dangling participle would catch my gaze and pique my interest, a misplaced comma could so easily distract and entice me. Editing has always been my passion and, without my fix, I start to go into withdrawal. My obsession with grammar was born from my love of organization, mathematics, and rules—the sheer act of breaking down something as complex and nebulous as language and literature practically makes my mouth water. It’s like math with words!

When I started my day job, however, I was not tasked with meticulously grooming the text in a document but rather shaping its look and feel instead. This focus on document design has taught me so much in the areas of layout and graphic design (an area I’d previously only dabbled in, buried somewhere in an elective I took for my degree). But while my design skills flourished, my editing chops lagged, and I found myself missing semicolons and subordinate clauses.

And then I found the UNDERenlightened.

Our editor-in-chief, Anastasia, recently published an article chronicling our pitfalls and successes since we started operating UE a year ago. She was a complete stranger to me back then: a friend-of-a-friend who was cashing in enough favors to get an idea off the ground. I emailed her and set up a phone interview, eventually signing away my evenings and weekends in order to get a hit of that sweet, sweet grammar.

My original commitment of editing one article a week instantly exploded when I stepped up to managing editor at the beginning of this year. Our editing team dwindled to two: I edited every article twice, with Anastasia doing a final read before posting. Thankfully, our staff is expanding once again (though we always love more help).

It’s a lot of work and even more time, but teaching myself the professional skills that I want is a priceless opportunity. I’ve maintained and improved my concrete skills: I haven’t forgotten the important bits from my grammar courses though I still have my textbooks handy (I wish the same could be said for my French minor), I’m developing my ability to edit for tone and content, and Anastasia has guilted me into writing more articles than I ever would have volunteered. I’ve also discovered some invaluable resources: for example, the Chicago Manual of Style allows a free trial, which is quote/unquote unlimited (as long as you don’t mind making tons of fake email addresses—I’ll pay for a real subscription eventually, I swear!).

When my friends complain about their struggle to find fulfillment at work, I ask them why they don’t just make opportunity for themselves. However, I realize how tough that can be. I have to remind myself that my schedule is not for everyone: it is literally a job on top of a job. But if you’re committed to learning a new craft, I believe that you will make the time, even if you’re not a self-admitted workaholic like I am.

I’m incredibly lucky to have this outlet for my passions. I have the benefit of a day job that supports me enough to devote my evenings and weekends to editing. I even have family, friends, and strangers on the Internet who help this blog run, allowing me to fulfill my personal interests.

For now, I get to keep both the job I lust and the job I love. It’s exasperating sometimes, but it leaves me energized and optimistic for the future. I am confident that I can sow the seeds of personal development now, and reap the rewards of a grammar-filled 8-to-5 at a great company later.

Food, Money

Food on the Cheap

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Once upon a time, I made a rash, but good, decision. I decided that I really wanted to live near my university instead of commuting four hours every day. But, I also knew that getting a job there would be hard without a local address. So, I did the fairly irrational thing: I moved there without having a job lined up. I had enough savings to pay my rent for a few months—except, oops, I totally forgot to budget for the other costs of living! Like food.

Photo by Sara Slattery

Photo by Sara Slattery

Food is kind of a big deal so I did some research, looked at basic nutrition, and then bought what was the cheapest. This was not at the “nice” grocery store with the nut bar and open bins of nutritional yeast and gluten-free oatmeal. This was at Grocery Outlet or Food Maxx. This was the “ethnic” Mexican, Vietnamese, or Indian market. This was the last half hour of the farmer’s market when the person behind the table wants to get rid of the last bag of oranges.

I took a notebook with me and, over a couple of shopping trips, saw what was cheapest and weighed that against my personal needs. For example, I find large grocery stores very overwhelming, so I get some stuff at Trader Joe’s that is the same price almost everywhere: milk, eggs, butter, bread, frozen vegetables—even organics, if I wanted them. I’m not including prices because they vary widely, and the best thing to do is compare prices at whatever is local to you!

In an attempt to balance my nutrition, I tried to have a carb, protein, and vegetable or fruit with every meal. For breakfast: hot rice pudding and fruit, or toast and an egg with frozen sautéed spinach, or just some oatmeal and brown sugar if I was feeling especially lazy. The oatmeal packets at the store are ridiculously easy to recreate. Lunch or dinner was maybe Spanish rice (rice, spices, canned tomatoes) and bean tacos, lentil and rice soup, black bean burgers, homemade French fries, pudlas, or stir-fry.

The Staples for a Cheap Kitchen

When I was living on the cheap, I filled my pantry with basic staples in bulk because they will spoil the slowest!

  • Dry rice
  • Dry lentils
  • Dry beans
  • Other dried goods (oats, bulgur, etc.)
  • Large bagged spices

I found that the following brought a lot more variety into my meals, so I bought as much as half my freezer and cupboards could hold! Discount and bulk stores, for the win!

  • Flour
  • White/Brown Sugar
  • Pasta
  • Potatoes
  • Frozen, dried or canned fruit and vegetables
  • Olive oil for cooking
  • Bouillon Cubes
  • Tofu
  • Eggs

Since we all have our own preferences and dietary restrictions, don’t feel limited because you can’t follow my examples above.  There are a lot of cheap alternatives for you to consider when stocking your own cheap kitchen:

  • Bulk Tea (instead of soda)
  • Corn Tortillas (instead of flour tortillas)
  • Bread ($2 for 12 servings!)
  • Fresh vegetables (when in season!)
  • Coffee (because everything is cheaper than Starbucks)
  • Mozzarella and Feta (the cheapest cheese I’ve seen)
  • Bacon Ends or Ham Hocks (great for flavoring soups and stews)
  • Meat and Fish on sale (throw it in the freezer if it is about to expire!)

Did you notice what’s not on here? I considered dairy, meat, and pre-processed foods “special items” because, when comparing price-per-ounce, they were way more expensive than other protein and carb sources like beans, rice, flour, and frozen/canned produce. Except for the occasional cheese wedge or free pizza, I didn’t see a lot of meat or dairy. It’s weird, but I was so into making affordable stuff actually taste good that I didn’t even miss meat. The key to cooking deliciously on the cheap is spices, spices, spices. I experimented with what I liked and started to add it to everything!

All this dried food requires a lot of cooking. I learned that it’s best to soak beans overnight to soften them, lessen gastrointestinal issues, and decrease cooking time! I just put some beans in a bowl, cover with water, and let them sit overnight. The next day, simmer until soft. I then discovered that it’s prudent to invest in a rice cooker if you like rice, and a crockpot if you hate standing over a stove. These meals usually come out to be cheaper per serving than frozen or boxed meals, and way more nutritious. It makes sense to try to safeguard your health when you can, because hospital bills in the future are definitely not frugal!

If you do like farmers’ markets, vendors usually lower their prices or are much more willing to haggle during the last half hour. They often don’t have long-term storage for their produce, so it’s better for them to get rid of it before it spoils. If you can pick from multiple markets, try them all, especially the ones in the less swanky parts of town: honestly, I’ve found the prices are much better there. I’ve seen the same vendors at multiple locations, and their lowest prices are usually in cities and more working-class parts of town, not the suburbs or the ladies-who-brunch neighborhoods.

I hope this article gives you some insight into eating cheaply without resorting to McDonald’s and Top Ramen! Some great resources with tips and recipes I’ve found include Budget Bytes, Broke Ass Gourmet, and Poor Girl Eats Well. If you’ve got any of your own suggestion, share them in the comments. Bon appétit!

Geekery

Cutting the Cable Cord

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I’m not going to lie, it was a hard decision. As a TV junkie, I never thought I’d find myself sitting on the floor of Time Warner Cable clutching my DVR box to my chest, about to relinquish it. How was I going to watch House Hunters (on HGTV.com) or The League (wait for Netflix or buy it on iTunes)?  Letting go of cable was a hard choice but, for me, a financially necessary one. These are the steps that helped make cutting the cord easier.

Photo by Rob Adams

Photo by Rob Adams

Explore Streaming Options

Technology has turned TV into a 360° experience. Not only can you watch your favorite shows on your tablet, phone, and computer, but there are also many options for streaming devices that hook into your TV.

You can consider streaming boxes like a Roku, a Google Chromecast, a WD TV Live, or an Apple TV. I’m not going to pro/con these devices because, honestly, I haven’t used any of them. I have always been old school and used a VGA cable to hook up my laptop to the TV (another inexpensive option).

Nowadays, I also have a Blu-Ray player that streams Hulu, Pandora, and Netflix. It’s not perfect because it doesn’t have all my streaming options in one place, but it’s pretty impossible to get Amazon Prime, iTunes, Netflix and Hulu all on one system. Netflix and Amazon are always expanding their libraries, but I also have this service called CinemaNow, I only recently discovered that it allows you to rent movies through the internet (like OnDemand) for a small fee.

I heard tons of people in the Time Warner Cable store talking about sites like ProjectFreeTV, and how you could catch your favorite shows there. But this isn’t actually free television.  It’s piracy. Stealing. It’s no better than theater hopping. You can, however, watch all the broadcast networks (FOX, CBS, ABC, NBC, & the CW) for free on your television. All you need is a digital tuner (this is what replaced the rabbit ears) and if your TV was made in the last couple of years there’s a pretty good chance that it already has one. Connect your TV to a cable outlet and you’re good to go—no cable subscription required.

Consider What You Can Do Without the Box

Here’s the major reason I cancelled my cable: outside the fact that you can save money, I realized I had 300+ movies in my Netflix cue. With cable, I would just channel surf all the time and, honestly, it wasn’t super enriching. I would rewatch episodes of Love It or List It multiple times in a day just because they were on!

Now, I have finally been able to use my TV time to watch House of Cards, Parks & Recreation, and great little movies like Turkey Bowl—the things I always intended to watch but never did.

Additionally, not sitting on the couch also allows me to spend more time going running or hiking, going to the theater, or just hanging with friends. There are so many possibilities in life without cable.

However, I will say that not having a DVR to help me watch the Olympic Games next year will be hard. But, that brings me to my next point…

Viewing Parties

I just came back from an Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. viewing party down the road from my house. A viewing party is pretty much what it sounds like: a bunch of fans sitting in a room or in a bar, watching a show. It’s one of my favorite things!  If there is a show you love, see if you can get a group of friends to come watch with you, and get the bar to make it a theme night. One bar near NYU had entire nights dedicated to 24 (Jack Bauer Power Hour) and Lost (Get Lost Wednesdays)—and, more recently, is still hosting Breaking Bad and Homeland viewing parties.

You can also keep it low-key and just go to a friend’s place. The OC and Grey’s Anatomy are two shows from high school I hold dear because I’d always gather with friends to watch them. Make it even more fun by turning it into a theme night and have a group of friends bring some ‘60s appetizers for a Mad Men party.

After living without cable for a few weeks, I can honestly say “it’s not that hard.” Sure, it’s a bit harder to keep track of shows without a DVR. But now that I figured out how to use my Hulu Plus queue, it’s a piece of cake. If you are unsure if you can cut the cord quite yet, test it out by giving your remote to a friend for a week, signing up for a Hulu Plus trial, and seeing how you do.

Tell us about your experiences cutting the cord in the comments!

Career

Defending a Liberal Arts Degree

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A few years ago, I was at a party for my mom’s work. I was chatting with one of her coworkers when my recent graduation came up.

Photo by Michael Cox

“Well, what did you major in?” her coworker asked.

“Linguistics!” I said, perky as can be, proud of my hard work.

“What will you be doing with that? Waitressing?”

What a jerk, right? Apparently not. I soon learned this soul-crushing kind of snark is pretty widespread: a classmate of mine once had someone turn to him shortly after graduation and say, “Know how to get an English major off your doorstep? Pay him for your pizza.” Ugh, makes my heart sink.

There exists a fairly common belief, for some reason, that a humanities or liberal arts degree can’t get you anywhere. People often struggle to defend the degree. Many say that it’s worth it because the humanities are “mostly about finding yourself.” However, in my opinion, “finding yourself” is a tough justification for that insanely expensive college tuition. If you really want to find yourself, you can travel, join WWOOF (Willing Workers on Organic Farms), volunteer, or really do anything that allows you to interact with a wide range of different people. You’ll still be faced with situations that force you to grow emotionally and cognitively. However, if you want the added bonus of concrete skills and the college education to attract top-tier employers, a humanities or liberal arts degree could be a better fit: the advantages are worth the expense and time commitment of college. I currently work at a large, urban public institution, encouraging students to consider Linguistics, English and Philosophy as beneficial, lucrative areas of study, and these are the reasons I give them when they ask if it’s really worth it.

In the vast majority of classes one can take as a liberal arts major, there are several key questions that are constantly asked:

  • “Why does this matter?”
  • “Is this truth?”
  • “How does this actually work?”
  • “What are the layers of meaning?”
  • “What is this consciously trying to tell us, and what does it tell us unintentionally?”

Getting into the habit of asking those questions can make you a really valuable asset in any job because you have the ability to suss out how to prioritize, how you fit into an organization, and ways you can use your role to improve processes and relationships. Following through with the answers will make you a more efficient and impressive worker. Asking these questions before you’re asked to do so is super valuable. You then make intentional choices about how you want to interact with the world, and you understand how your choices affect not only yourself, but also the people around you.

In order to succeed in the humanities, the papers I wrote—and I wrote a lot of papers—were not about reporting the facts but about convincing the reader that my point of view held water. This means I had to learn to carefully gather my information, and present it in a coherent and digestible way. You will need to do this in every job you have: being able to do it well will impress your supervisors, but more importantly, it will make it easier for you to articulate what you want to do. As a result, you can achieve your goals more easily.

Because a liberal arts degree requires you to learn about a wide range of topics, you will likely end up being well-versed in a lot of different areas. This makes you an asset because you can connect with a wide range of people, you can speak articulately about a lot of different things, and (most of all) you can easily learn about things that you don’t already know about. If you need to build a new skill for work, the tools to do so are already in place! Learning how to learn is an oft-used catchphrase for liberal arts, but it’s the real deal.

College is about your ability to make more money and do more challenging or interesting things over the course of your life, not in the first job you get. Yes, it may be harder to find your first job if you major in the humanities (unless you use your career center at school, which alumni are also able to use for free and network like hell), but over the course of your life, you are in a better position to make interesting career choices and are more likely to continue on to graduate education.  You have the training to think critically about what you want and the contribution you are making to the world. Many of the critics who say that humanities majors can’t find jobs are flawed because they only look at data from students’ first jobs, not at the arc of their career. When longitudinal studies are done, it’s clear that liberal arts and humanities majors have more varied career paths, and make the same amount of money as or more than business and STEM majors 15 years out from their degree. In fact, a huge amount of the talk in the media about the struggling humanities is due to the fact that it is incredibly difficult to measure the success of anyone, let alone people who studied a particular field. There are too many variables, and not enough data, to even do things like measure the change in enrollments of a field. So, then, take the hysteria around how “no one can make it” with a pretty serious grain of salt.

Most likely, if you studied something in the humanities or liberal arts, you did it because you loved it. Goodness knows, it wasn’t because you wanted to come up with snide and snappy answers to “Why would you care about that?” When you have a genuine desire to learn, you pore through more books, ask more questions, are more likely to be BFFs with your profs, and ultimately, get more out of your studies. All the skills you acquired are magnified because you were honing them in an environment that brought you joy.

It’s important to think about your humanities degree as a springboard for the rest of your life. So boo to all the naysayers. If you love the humanities, they are worthwhile to study. Whether you dug deep in your early modern literary studies, investigating gender portrayals in botanical novels or, like me, you spent your undergrad career looking at miniscule acoustic differences in vowel systems and their development, flaunt it. It was, is and always will be worth it.

Sex

The First Time I Ever Had to Buy Condoms

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Let me tell you people, it was terrifying. I was seventeen years old, in high school, giving myself the pep talk of a lifetime as I sat in the parking lot of the CVS in the next town over. (Obviously, I wouldn’t dare make this purchase in my hometown, where a humiliating encounter with an über-gossipy friend-of-the-family was way too risky.) I had driven an extra twenty minutes out of my way just for this purpose. Just to buy condoms. For the first time ever. Holy good god.

I so wish the purchase of protection wasn’t such a humiliating process, especially for teenagers. What’s worse: buying condoms, or not using them at all? We shouldn’t have to ask ourselves that question! It has an easy answer. But here in the United States of Slut Shaming, a stroll to the CVS to buy condoms can feel like a long walk to the gallows in an old Western movie. And that’s not even exclusive to teenagers! I still feel that way, every time I have to do it, and I’m (mostly kind of) a grown woman.

That afternoon, I felt as though everybody’s eyes were glued on me as I finally mustered up the courage to get out of the car, walk through the door, and head to the “Family Planning” aisle. I told myself that if I wanted to do the deed, then this came with the territory. But when I got to the section where the condoms were stocked, a horrible surprise met my eyes: THEY WERE LOCKED IN A GODDAMN CASE. I would have to ask somebody to open it up for me! Apparently, a lot of pharmacies do this. Several years after this particular ordeal, I casually asked a pharmacist why the condoms were sometimes locked up. She explained that it was because they often had a problem with teenagers stealing them. Well, obviously they’re stealing the condoms! Our culture has made it humiliating to purchase them! It’s a vicious, awful, slut-shaming cycle.

So there I was, deer-in-headlights in the family planning aisle. I knew I had to get out of there fast before somebody tried to make eye contact with me. I’d have to formulate a plan. I also realized, at that moment, that I would need to purchase additional items. God forbid I give the cashier the impression that I’d come to CVS just for this very special, sexy occasion.

I stormed through the store, filling my basket with sunblock, deodorant, a diet coke, and a pair of socks. I needed none of these items. I only needed one item: the one I had yet to put in my basket. But I felt spending the extra cash would be worth it for the sake of my fragile, fragile pride. I feel it’s important to mention that I still do this, every single time I need to buy me some rubbers. It’s always hidden among several unnecessary items in my basket, lest I be judged.

Finally, it was time to re-approach that evil, monstrous locked case. I walked by it, eyes narrowed—Fine, bitch. Let’s dance. But my courage pretty much drained out of my every pore the second I timidly approached the pharmacy counter. My conversation with the (thankfully, female) pharmacist went a little something like this:

Me: “Hey. So. There’s this… locked case. Over there.”

Her: Silence

Me: “I was wondering if you had a key for it.”

Her: “Locked case of what?”

Me: (really, woman?!) “Uh… condoms.”

Her: “Okay. I don’t have the key. Jose does. Hang on.”

Me: (completely re-thinking all of this now) “No, no, it’s okay, wait—”

Her: (picks up the goddamn intercom) “Jose! Can you bring the keys to family planning, please?”

Beet-red, I grumbled something that was probably meant to sound like “thank you” and awkwardly shuffled back towards the locked case. No turning back now. We’d come this far. Jose was on his way, after all.

Well, Jose took his sweet-ass time getting there, or at least it felt that way. Every minute was agonizing. Finally, he showed up with a key. He purposefully avoided eye contact with me, lest he be judged for judging me. Oh, what a tangled web! But I took some comfort in the idea that he was probably just as embarrassed as I was.

So, now the case was open—oh, boy. I waited a moment for Jose to walk away and let me do my thing, but he was still standing there, waiting to lock the case again when I was done. But I’d never bought these things before: I had no idea what I wanted! And all Jose wanted—and all I wanted—is for this to be over! NOW!

And so, I took the most logical action I could take: I swiped like… five different boxes. Without even looking at them. Just casually tossed them in. Ribbed, Her Pleasure, Ultra Thin… who the hell even knows. I would try ‘em all! I’d try ‘em all and never have to come back here again.

Squirming like a fish on a hook, I bolted towards the checkout line. I probably didn’t even thank poor, awkward Jose. My purchases totaled up to something like $75, which was way more cash than I had in my wallet. I had to charge it to my parents’ credit card, the one I was only supposed to use for gas and emergencies. But obviously this was a justifiable emergency, as long as they never saw the receipt, which I would conveniently lose as soon as possible.

My boyfriend at the time had a pretty good laugh once he saw the haul I was stashing, and I realized pretty quickly that I hated all of the textures. Every single one of them. I also realized that I was slightly allergic to latex. But that’s how you figure out what you can and can’t use: buy a bunch of different varieties. Despite the enormous price tag of the ordeal, I’m glad I tried several different brands. If you’re new to this, that’s the only way you will figure out what you enjoy. Every person’s body is different! And if you are indeed allergic to latex, a latex-free option does exist.

So if you’re about to embark on this journey for the first time, heed my warnings, but please go purchase your condoms regardless! Be prepared for a locked case. Purchase additional items if it puts you at ease (just don’t max out your credit card in the process). Bringing a friend might make you feel a lot more comfortable. I wish that I had! Or better yet, make your partner buy them! Or at least make him/her do it next time. After all, it takes two to tango. Or… y’know what? HAVE SEX. Enough with the euphemisms: they only contribute to the awkward slut-shaming of it all. If you’re about to go buy condoms for the first time, then you’re ready to confront not only your own sexuality, but also that wicked locked case in the family planning aisle. Be brave and go forth! It’ll be so worth it in the end!

Photo by Meaghan Morrison

Food

Adventures of an Aspiring Chef: The Produce Challenge

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A couple months ago, I wrote an article about figuring out how to cook chicken. Since then, I’ve been challenging myself to become a better chef. This past month, the challenge was to purchase five produce items that I wouldn’t normally buy and figure out how to cook them:

  • a turnip
  • an eggplant
  • a spaghetti squash
  • a bag of Brussels sprouts
  • two pears

Let the games begin.

THE TURNIP

Okay, so first I’ll admit I didn’t cook the turnip. But I tried to! Do you know how hard it is to find good turnip recipes? I wasn’t in the mood for anything in the soup variety, anything involving mashing, or anything remotely close to fries, so I settled on a nice cheesy turnip gratin—which sounded delicious until I realized a modest-sized block of Gruyere cheese (only enough for this one recipe) was $12. Yes, I know good things cost money, but $12 worth of a cheese I don’t even know if I like? Suffice to say, the neglected white and purple ball of guilt is still sitting in my refrigerator… fine, I’ll get some Gruyere at the store tomorrow.

EGGPLANT PARMESAN

I’m pretty sure the only thing I’ve ever eaten with eggplant in it was eggplant parmesan. I figured that was a good place to start. I found  this seemingly easy, highly rated recipe (two criteria I always look for) and got to work.

Ingredients:

AllRecipes.com

What I Used

My Commentary

3 eggplants, peeled & thinly sliced

1 eggplant, sliced

I probably should have peeled the eggplant, but I forgot I owned a vegetable peeler, and peeling without one… not so easy. I also didn’t “thinly” slice my eggplant, but I’ll be better about that next time. The thicker pieces didn’t cook as well and ended up being a bit tough and chewy.

2 eggs, beaten

2 eggs, beaten

I don’t know how this lady thought 2 eggs would cover 3 eggplants. I needed both just to coat my 1 eggplant. In the future, with even thinner slices—meaning more sides to coat—I will probably need 3.

4 cups Italian seasoned bread crumbs

A container of Italian seasoned bread crumbs.

Have enough to use “as needed.”

6 cups spaghetti sauce, divided

A jar of spaghetti sauce.

This is what “divided” means in cooking. I just poured from the jar, again, “as needed.” I ran out of sauce really quickly, though, so I probably should have used 2 jars.

1 (16 ounce) package mozzarella cheese, shredded and divided

A ball of mozzarella that was on sale at Ralph’s.

I think it was 16 ounces…

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided

Poured from my Costco jar of pre-grated Parmesan.

Clearly there is an “as needed” trend going on here.

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

…

Oops.

 

Directions:

AllRecipes.com

My Commentary

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

To reduce potential bitterness, the comments suggested sweating the eggplant by sprinkling them with salt, letting them sit for 30 min, rinsing with cold water, and patting dry with a paper towel. I did none of this and did not notice, but I still might try it next time.

2. Dip eggplant slices in egg, then in bread crumbs. Place in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 5 minutes on each side.

Add foil to your baking sheet for easy clean up. Bake for 10 minutes on each side, as suggested by the comments and my own experience.

3. In a 9×13 inch baking dish, spread spaghetti sauce to cover the bottom. Place a layer of eggplant slices in the sauce. Sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Repeat with remaining ingredients, ending with the cheeses. Sprinkle basil on top.

I did this until I ran out of sauce. Then I just kept layering eggplant and cheese, it all worked out in the end. Forgot about the basil, which might have been a nice touch.

4. Bake in preheated oven for 35 minutes, or until golden brown.

I had to bake mine for at least 45 minutes and most of the comments suggested something in the 40-60 minute range. Be your own judge of this. Undercooking might lead to tougher eggplant: I wish I had cooked mine even longer.

All in all, this turned out to be a success. I’d do it again with thinner slices and a longer baking time. I ended up serving it by itself with some salad, but next time I’d serve it over some plain spaghetti (which is what I did with the copious leftovers and it was delicious). The breaded eggplant was definitely the best part so now I’ve got big plans to make these breaded eggplant sticks with my next eggplant.

BROWN SUGARED ROASTED BRUSSELS SPROUTS

Emily Knight did a whole piece for UE on the excellence of Brussels sprouts. She also dazzled me with them in person a couple years ago and wrote up the recipe on her blog. I tried to replicate to her success with my bag of Brussels sprouts.

Ingredients:

Directions:

Brussels sprouts

1. Preheat the oven to 400°.

Olive oil

2. Prep the Brussels sprouts by cutting off the icky end bit, slicing them in half, and then rolling them around in a bowl with some olive oil.

Brown sugar

3. Sauté the Brussels sprouts for about 5 minutes with plenty of brown sugar and more oil so they can get soft and sweet.

4. Spread the Brussels sprouts out on a baking tray and cook for 30 minutes.

This seemed so easy that I’m actually impressed that I screwed it up. See, when Emily said “plenty” of brown sugar, I channeled all my childhood memories of horrible boiled Brussels sprouts—and put in a copious amount of brown sugar. So much brown sugar, there was in fact a caramelized liquid to drizzle over the sprouts before I baked them. Sounds like a recipe for awesome, right? Not so much. Unfortunately, and I can’t believe sweets-loving me is saying this, this made them too sweet and not nearly as good as Emily’s. But this will definitely not be the last time I attempt this side dish.

SPAGHETTI SQUASH SPAGHETTI

I’d been intrigued by spaghetti squash since my neighbor first introduced me to it. As a lover of noodles, I’ll admit, I was a little skeptical. But after hearing several friends repeatedly rave about the dish, I was ready to give it a try.

Before you even get to making the spaghetti sauce, you must first “prep” the spaghetti squash:

Directions:

1. Cut the squash in half (AKA hack the shit out of this tough squash until it splits in half).

2. Remove the seeds / pulp. Pumpkin carving flashbacks are optional.

3. Douse with olive oil, salt, and paper and then turn flesh side down on a foil covered baking sheet and cook for 30-40 min at 450°F.

The “spaghetti” comes out like buttah when scraping it with a fork and has the consistency of angel hair noodles. I may have overly enjoyed this step, but noodles are being created from squash, it’s meant to be enjoyed.

Making the Sauce:

Spaghetti is one of the few things I’ve actually been able to cook for years, though it’s really not that hard when you are just cutting up vegetables and stirring in jarred tomato sauce. This time I decided to add ground beef, which I’d only ever cooked once before.

For anyone who, like me, feared ground beef, it’s actually even easier than chicken. I put some olive oil in a frying pan, added the garlic and onion first, gave them a minute or two, and then added the ground beef. Brown the ground beef (until you see no more pink) and add in the zucchini when it’s almost done. Continue cooking until you see no more pink in the meat, then add the jar of sauce. I usually let the whole thing come to a boil and then simmer for a few minutes. But really, you can eat it as soon as it’s hot. I also usually add in the chopped tomatoes last, so they retain some of their original consistency when I serve. Seeing as how I made this entire recipe up, it’s really a use-what-you’ve-got-and-go-with-it situation.

Serve your sauce over your spaghetti squash “noodles.” I added some grated Parmesan cheese and had to salt and pepper my “noodles” a bit more (so I’ll probably add salt and pepper to the squash post–baking-and-forking next time), but otherwise I’d say this was every bit delicious as I had heard. I barely noticed that I was eating squash, in fact, I might have even liked it more than pasta but don’t tell anyone.

FRUIT CRUMBLE

With all the use I’d been giving my oven, I’d yet to bake a dessert in it. This was clearly not okay! I decided to rectify this with my pears and some remnant raspberries I had left in my refrigerator. I Googled pear and raspberry crumble, found this, and went to town.

Ingredients:

CanadianLiving.com

What I Used

My Commentary

FILLING

4 cups sliced peeled pears

Two sliced, unpeeled, pears

I didn’t even notice the skin, but now that I’ve found my peeler, I might peel next time.

2 cups frozen raspberries

a handful of fresh raspberries

Unfortunately, when I went to get my raspberries, I realized many of them had gone to the other side and I found myself with far fewer than I’d anticipated.

…

a nectarine

To compensate, I added in a nectarine.

…

a couple grapes

This is where I went a bit off the rails, but I was bolstered by this grape and pear crisp recipe (and I was still lacking fruit!). You’ve got to work with what you’ve got!

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

2 tbsp all-purpose flour

2 tbsp all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp nutmeg

…

Yeah, I don’t keep nutmeg on hand. Probably should.

TOPPING

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

3/4 cup quick-cooking rolled oats

3/4 cup quick-cooking rolled oats

1/3 cup butter, melted

1/3 cup butter, melted

Melted in the microwave.

 

Directions:

CanadianLiving.com

My Commentary

1. In large bowl, gently toss together pears, raspberries, brown sugar, flour and nutmeg. Spread in 8-inch square glass baking dish.

I did this with my fruit additions and omitted the nutmeg.

2. In separate bowl, stir together flour, brown sugar and rolled oats. Drizzle with butter; stir until crumbly. Sprinkle over fruit.

3. Bake in 350°F oven until golden and bubbly and fruit is tender, 45 to 60 minutes.

Watch one episode of Breaking Bad, then eat.

I served this warm with some whipped cream and had to hold myself back from going for seconds.

Cooking used to be so daunting to me but when I remind myself of these simple rules/guidelines, it’s just another tasty challenge:

More Meals = More Practice

Make dinner every night. Even when I don’t feel like it, I cook. By doing this I learned (1) cooking is not nearly as hard as I thought it was, (2) it is possible to do it both well and quickly, and (3) it’s a great, fun way to switch gears after a long day even if it feels like a chore when you first start.

Improvise AKA Get Creative

Don’t make cooking harder than it needs to be, follow the instructions, but don’t be afraid to switch ingredients or adapt recipes to your equipment/time/skill level. I usually combine several recipes and look closely at reviewers comments and see what their experience was like.

Don’t Skimp on Essentials

Substituting and improvising can be a wonderful adventure, but skimping on essentials like oil, butter, eggs, milk and cream can severely effect the taste of a meal (and not in a good way). If it says it wants A WHOLE CUP OF ACTUAL BUTTER, put in a damn cup of ACTUAL butter!  Not margarine, not half a cup, not anything else. I could start linking to all the articles and arguments about butter being better for you than all of its substitutes but I’m going to go with this line from Michael Pollan: “Eat food, not food products.” Or this line from me: “It tastes so much better.” Eat in moderation, exercise, be smart, and put down all the junk food before you blame butter.

Leftovers are your friend

Always make enough to take for lunch the next day and, if possible, even more to keep in the freezer. If you don’t eat it for lunch, it can be there for another dinner. There’s nothing better than coming home from a long day and turning some frozen leftovers into a new 15 minute meal.

Brainfood

A Religions Overview

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In A Religions Primer, I introduced the basic elements of religions and reasons you may or may not be interested in exploring particular faith practices. Below are some of the (still-very-general) specifics of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam—the top four world religions by population.

Photo by Sara Slattery

As I write this, my heart is trembling a little bit. My personal faith practice is a huge part of who I am, and I have close friends for whom different beliefs play just as big a role in their lives. My goal here is to give a general overview of a few world religions, hopefully in a way that helps you learn more about a certain faith. But I am a student of religions, not an expert: if I at all misrepresent a part of your faith, please leave a comment below so that I can remedy the mistake. Rather than in-depth or comprehensive descriptions, consider the following as a springboard for you to continue your own education and exploration. In the interest of space, I won’t mention the many other smaller religions and faith practices out there.

Buddhism

Basic Ideas

Buddhism is based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, who abandoned his wealthy life in order to seek enlightenment. He achieved enlightenment after meditating under the Bodhi tree for forty-nine days, after which he sought to share what he had learned so that others may be freed of life’s suffering. He advocated a balance called the Middle Way between self-indulgence and self-denial, and he delivered a set of teachings called the Dharma that reveal how to achieve freedom from suffering. They include the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path, among others. Buddhism teaches that there is rebirth after death, but not because our individual souls keep living; rather, we continue being reborn after we die until we attain enlightenment and freedom from suffering. BuddhaNet is a good next step if you want to keep digging deeper.

Weekly Practices

Following the Buddha’s Dharma is the place to start. Meditation is an important daily practice in Buddhism; in order to free yourself from suffering, you need to be aware of your own sources of suffering. The practice of mindfulness—being aware of yourself, your actions, and your motivations—permeates daily life for many Buddhists. Community service is also highly valued.

Faith Community

The Buddha Dharma Education Association has compiled a World Buddhist Directory of Buddhist centers and organizations around the world. You can narrow your search by continent, country, state, and type of Buddhist tradition, making it fairly easy to find Buddhist communities in your area.

Christianity

Basic Ideas

The foundation of all Christian denominations is the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth: raised as a Jew under the Roman Empire, Jesus was  the prophesied son of the monotheistic creator God, sent to redeem humankind. Jesus performed miracles of healing and gave many teachings, the basis of which form the Gospel books of the Bible. Jesus of Nazareth was sentenced to crucifixion for the crimes of claiming to be divine and creating political and cultural unrest. Christianity teaches that Jesus was resurrected three days after he was entombed, visited with his disciples and followers, and then ascended into heaven. The Gospel books and books written by early Christians form the New Testament, which in combination with the Jewish Tanakh, or Hebrew Bible, form the writings that inform Christian religious practices. One core belief is that humans are imperfect and need redemption to be worthy of an eternal afterlife in heaven. Jesus’s crucifixion is believed to be the sacrifice necessary to redeem humankind’s failures, so acceptance of him is seen as the way to baptism and redemption. Each Christian denomination interprets the Bible differently, and here is a chart that gives a sense of their main differences.

Weekly Practices

Most Christian practices revolve around a gathering or service on Sunday, often in a cathedral, church, or other designated meeting area. Services may include singing hymns or other songs of worship; a message delivered by the priest, pastor, or minister; and spoken or silent prayer, along with other rituals. Outside of the Sunday gathering, practices range from meeting in small groups for prayer and Biblical study to individual daily following of Christian principles.

Faith Community

Churches of many denominations are easily found throughout the United States.  If you’re not sure where to start, this directory has a fairly comprehensive list of churches by denomination, so you’ll be all set to explore.

Hinduism

Basic Ideas

Hinduism doesn’t have a particular founder, and its various forms may follow one deity, many deities, or the sacred nature within all of existence. The Vedas are a collection of scriptures that contain many of the beliefs that Hindus follow, though there are several other sacred texts as well. One core belief is that Truth is the one Reality, but this belief can be expressed in a variety of ways—Truth can be thought of as Brahman, the sacred nature that is all-inclusive, eternal, and that encompasses all existence in the universe. Gods and goddesses in Hindu traditions are considered expressions of Brahman, and a person’s soul in relation to Brahman is often described using the metaphor of a drop of water in the ocean. The dharma is what Hindus strive to achieve in their lives, and can be interpreted as morality, duty, or right conduct. (Sound familiar? Gautama Buddha was raised in a Hindu society, and his Dharma came out of his experiences with Hindu dharma.) Unlike Buddhism, Hinduism holds that our individual souls are immortal and are reincarnated into new bodies after we die. Karma, your actions in this life and all of your past lives, determine what kind of body your soul will inhabit in your next life. The ultimate goal is moksha: liberation of the soul from the cycle of life and death by realizing its true nature and uniting with Brahman.

Weekly Practices

Many Hindu practices include daily or weekly rituals centered around shrines with sculptures and images of deities in their own homes—these follow bhaktimarga, or the path of devotion. Other practices called jnanamarga, or the path of philosophy, don’t involve deities at all and instead focus on Brahman through meditation. A third branch of practices—karmamarga, the path of works and action—is based on fulfilling the social and moral roles specific to one’s lot in life. All three paths are equally valid. For more specific rituals and practices such as Ayurveda, different types of yoga, and the daily puja, here is a list to get you started.

Faith Community

Temples, ashrams (religious centers or monasteries), shakhas (Hindu theological schools), and Hindu cultural centers are good places to get plugged into communities of practicing Hindus. This comprehensive directory lists such places located in the United States.

Islam

Basic Ideas

Somewhat similar to Christianity, Islam is founded upon the belief that there is one all-knowing God (Allah) and one man (Muhammad) who was chosen to communicate divine truths to humankind. The central creed of Islam is called the Shahada: “There is no god but God, and Muhammad is the prophet of God.” Unlike Jesus, Muhammad was not divine; rather, he was the last in a line of great prophets who received messages from God to give to humanity. The Qur’an is the central scripture of Islam and contains the teachings given to Muhammad from God through the angel Gabriel. The teachings show how to live life in a way that pleases God, so that after death one’s soul will be judged worthy of spending eternity in Jannah (paradise) rather than in Jahannam (the abyss).

Weekly Practices

The Five Pillars of Islam are considered the essential practices of the faith. They include the Shahada, or confession of faith; the Salat, or ritual prayer performed five times a day; the Zakat, or alms tax; the Sawm, a period of fasting during the holy month of Ramadan; and the Hajj, a pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. (Exceptions to the Sawm and the Hajj are made for Muslims who are physically or financially unable to fulfill these duties.) Certain sects of Islam have other practices in addition to the Five Pillars.

Faith Community

Muslim places of worship are called mosques, but many Muslims also gather at community centers and Islamic schools. Here is a directory of mosques and Islamic schools in the United States.

Still interested? Or want to learn about a religion I didn’t cover? There are a lot of great resources out on the web. ReligionFacts.com and Pluralism.org are good introductions to a wide range of religions practiced worldwide and in the United States. Pluralism.org also includes a great directory of religious centers, organizations, and places of worship in the United States.

Career

That Time I Killed my Childhood Dream for the Sake of my Sanity

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As a kid, I was blessed with a hyperactive imagination and a dramatic sense of destiny.  These are both helpful once you’re older and trying to be assertive in your creativity… but if you’re at a stage in your life when you’re obligated to take an afternoon nap, it makes you a tiny lunatic.  I believed in Santa until I was prepubescent (who cares what other people said, I had the logic worked out), and nobody could prove that dragons didn’t actually exist so I inverse-propertied that shit and stubbornly held out (we just haven’t been looking in the right places).  This was just the more fantastical stuff—you can only imagine how I was about anything over which I actually thought I had control.

Photo Submitted by Emmy Yu

I started acting in films when I was 5.   Ask me some other time, and I can go into the details of how bittersweetly intoxicating it was—the intricacies of how quickly and willingly any child ruled by wild, hungry imagination would slip under that wave of magical make-believe.  For now though, let’s just suffice to say that set life was pretty sweet.  There was free food always, someone announced my presence over walkie-talkie whenever I was anywhere, and working meant having my face on all the monitors.  I fucking loooved it.  (I’m a Capricorn.  You know who else was a Capricorn?  Stalin.)  Point being, when I realized that this was something that I was getting paid to do and technically could get paid to do for the rest of my life and, therefore, not need to do anything else but this all the freaking time… well, I was in.

I turned 6. And chose what I (thought I) would do for the rest of my life.

It’s fascinating how attached you can become to even the most trivial choice.  You embrace it because it gives definition to that messy, inscrutable concept of “self” you have in your mind.  You lock it down in front of you so you can trace the shape of it with your eyes and claim that this is you.  It’s incredibly satisfying… until, of course, it’s not.  Heavy-hitters like Fight Club and Mad Men explore the “not” in a way that I can’t even attempt, but from my basic understanding of it, you either 1) start hating the shape you’re seeing or 2) someone (maybe everyone) starts telling you “Hey, you’re wrong.  That’s not you at all.”  And you’re expected to just let go.

The second was what happened to me and, honestly, it became clear pretty early on that I would not have a future in acting.  But this was the choice I had made—not a trivial one in the slightest—and I was so very deeply attached.  I closed my eyes to the (mostly well-intentioned, for the record) Dead End Ahead messages I was getting.

I turned 10, I turned 11, I turned 12.

It’s difficult for me to step into this next part.  Even with the time I’ve had to soften the light and mute the volume, I try not to dwell on the memories of this time because it’s so easy to linger and ask unheard, unanswerable questions.  To keep it brief, the auditions were torture.  The stifling hush of cattle-call waiting rooms, where I spent at least 45 minutes for every 5 I actually auditioned.  The canned “thank you” responses that I carefully memorized, word for word, so later I could pick them apart, turn them over in my fingers and see if they meant something else. The dwindling callbacks.  The incredible silence from the phone—undeniably the most judgmental silence I have ever experienced.

I turned 17.

I don’t believe that I was an unusually intense child; it was just an atypical context for someone of that age to find herself in.  So, with the logic of my years, I decided that this whole experience couldn’t simply be something that was just happening to me—it had to be as melodramatic as “destiny.”  How on earth could anyone expect me to let go?  It had been molded into my identity for as long as I could remember and, no, it wasn’t even a significant time investment out of my year anymore—much less my day to day—but it was part of me.  You may as well have asked me to hack my arms off.

I can make jokes about it now (armless kids are funny, guys) but really, I struggled with it.  So I gave myself a cheat and went off to film school that fall to study writing and directing.  I packed your usuals—you know: clothes, new laptop, headshots, kitchenware.  I gave myself a little hope.  I wasn’t letting go of acting entirely—I would just come back to it later, and everything I had ever known about myself would still be true.  Everything I had ever insisted to be true would be true.

Photo Submitted by Emmy Yu

Photo Submitted by Emmy Yu

There’s no dramatic, climactic ending to this story.  There was no eureka! moment when I suddenly said, “Hey, get over it,” and then I did.  College and post-grad life led to a natural diminishment in the time and energy I put into keeping acting on my mind.  Admittedly, at the time, this was a transition I ignored because it was too painful to accept.  Better to cover it up with dismissive jokes about “my acting days of yore.”  Even now, I find myself fighting my panicked instinct to minimize the significance—to look it in the eye, this darling, childish fantasy of mine, and say that acting was just a phase I went through.  But I’ve also wised up to the fact that this is a kind of denial—the emotional equivalent of smiling after you’ve knocked your own teeth out.

Somewhere between ages 5 and 18, I missed the memo that there is always a gap between who you are and who you want to be, and sometimes that gap is unbridgeable.  Acknowledging reality—that this thing I once thought was an everlasting part of my life would actually end up as a montage in my head—was a terribly painful but necessary step in growing up.  And I’m not even sure how it happened but I can say that it did.  I stopped paying my SAG/AFTRA dues.  I don’t even remember where my headshots are stored.

The concept of “letting go” is a horrible, shrieking abomination—one of life’s unfortunate staples that will hold you down beneath the surface of all your expectations, breathless, drowning in your impotence.  What’s worse is that your instinct to fight it will cause you just as much pain—the lengths to which you will go so you can trick and manipulate yourself into thinking that it’s done or that it didn’t matter.  If you find yourself there, be honest with yourself but be gentle, too.  Be okay with the fact that you had hoped for something you couldn’t control and it ultimately disappointed you.  Paolo Coelho said “Everything will be okay in the end.  If it’s not okay, then it’s not the end.”  The end comes when you least expect it and will be much easier than you ever imagined.  You won’t even feel relief because you will have already floated on.

And if that’s too flowery to digest, just think of it as forcing yourself to throw up after a night of hard drinking.

Sports

A Newb at NERF

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“Hey, you wanna go kill some zombies?”

Excuse me, what?

This über nerdy and physically intense activity is called a NERF war, and I have only recently stumbled across its thriving subculture in my neighborhood.  In Humans vs. Zombies you split into two teams: a team of Humans and a team of Zombies.  The zombies’ mission is to tag the humans and turn them into zombies; the humans’ only chance at “survival” is to mow down as many zombies as possible with NERF darts and get to a safe zone.

I’m a “newb” at NERF, but my fiancé and I have a growing arsenal of NERF automatics, rifles, pistols, and melee weapons that is slowing taking over our limited closet space.  It’s a never-ending stream of Facebook event invites and strangers geeking out online over NERF’s latest gun releases (“I just got the RapidStrike!  You can borrow it next round”).

Don’t Go Alone: Equipment

Photo by Meggyn Watkins

NERF veterans are very welcoming to newbs, and are also typically very trusting with their equipment.  My roommate goes to more NERF events than my fiancé and I do, but he doesn’t own a single gun.  Vets love to share their guns and strategy, huddling up into bands-o’-brothers of mixed experience to fight back the zombie horde.

My first Humans vs. Zombies (HvZ) game was at San Francisco State University with a high school friend who loaded me up with a rifle to carry and as many baby pistols as I could fit in my (super-trendy) cargo pants.  After loading up with darts (specially marked to distinguish from everyone else’s), all I needed was a bandolier of backup dart cartridges and a bandana around my arm (to distinguish me as Human)—I was good to go!

In that first game, there were a couple things I learned.  First of all, no matter how uniquely you mark your darts, you will not get them all back.  Just resign yourself to that fact from the get-go.  Though your opponents are often incentivized to pick them up (either to take them out of the game or to reuse them against you), some will get lost in the arena and some will be picked up but never returned to you.  Organized games usually have a dart box where you can at least take home a portion of the darts you contributed.

Another lesson for a newb is to moderate the amount of gear you carry.  Running from zombies gets tricky if you’re holding onto three pistols to keep them from falling out your pockets and a bandolier of ammo is weighing you down.  Now, I pretty much only carry my rifle (on a shoestring around my neck in case I need to free my hands fast), with one small pistol.  I’m no good at melée, so I don’t bother touting around a foam sword as my fiancé prefers.  I’m also not the best shot, so I’m fairly conservative with my darts.  This means that I don’t even have to carry more than one backup cartridge, because I can refill between rounds before I run out of ammo.

Last lesson learned: don’t be afraid to ask questions!  Especially back at your start point before the game or between rounds, veterans have a bunch of advice to share.  One lady showed me how to duct tape two 18-dart cartridges together for quick reload.  A zombie guy helped me retie my bandana so it wouldn’t keep falling down when running.  Everyone’s there to have a great time and shoot each other with little foam darts: they’ll help you out!

Veteran players usually also have the most visually impressive guns.  Modifying is huge in the NERF community, and it’s not uncommon to find a vet wielding a behemoth double semi-automatic with a shotgun zip-tied underneath!  The versatility of NERF’s stocks and barrels allow for some easy basic modifications, and it’s also quite simple to throw in some overvolted batteries or custom-tension springs to get your NERF darts flying faster and farther.  Some of the more artsy types will even paint and weather their guns for a kickass realistic look.

Competition: Capture the Flag

Not all NERF events are all-day HvZ games.  There are tons of different, classic competition games, just like in paintball and airsoft.  Most are competitive team games: VIP (protecting the president), King of the Hill (protecting a defensive zone), or Capture the Flag (invading the opponents’ base); however, there’s always Deathmatch (individual elimination games) to spice things up a bit and destroy all friendships, Hunger Games style.

The closest NERF organization (B.U.R.N.) to me plays a lot of Capture the Flag tournaments, with rounds of teams competing.  As a newb, I really enjoy these for practice: team games normally include a spawn point, so getting shot just means that I have to run back to a spawn point and count to ten, rather than in HvZ where “dying” involves hanging up my rifle for the rest of the game and playing as a zombie.

Survival of the Fittest: Humans vs. Zombies

HvZ games typically start out with a group of dedicated zombies, decked out in fake blood, decomposing makeup and running shoes.  Zombies don’t carry guns, but must instead be able to use their numbers to overwhelm and two-hand touch to infect humans.  The humans are released first into the arena to spread out, camp up, and get started on their mission.  Missions are typically survival-related, such as finding and moving “food” (a wrapped bundle or cardboard box) from the arena into a human safe zone.  Sometimes, the missions are as unstructured as “create and defend a base.”

My first HvZ game had a twist: there were 20 antidotes and 10 passports.  Not only did humans have to find the little index cards taped around campus, but they also had to compete for them!  Humans without antidotes at the end of round one would die and become zombies, and those without passports at the end of round two would not make it off the infected island.  This was a pretty harsh start for a newb like me when my little merry band was mowed down with darts in round one by a group of fellow humans, as we ran past their safe zone in an escape attempt from the zombie horde.  Pretty sucky!

Yet, being a zombie isn’t half bad!  Yeah, you have to put your gun away, but then the pressure of surviving isn’t constantly freaking you out, and the arena basically becomes a giant playground game of tag.  If you’re shot as a zombie, your game rules will either require you to walk out of sight (behind a corner or tree) or just crouch down where you are and then count to the predetermined wait time.  Then you’re quickly back in the game, hunting down those delicious, delicious brains.

NERF games are constantly being moderated by very dedicated groups!  The organizers are usually college kids, and they appreciate and respond to feedback from NERF enthusiasts.  The mods do a great job of participating and keeping everyone honest during the game.  They also keep the community up-to-date with events and news, typically via Facebook or their own websites.

Geekery

Forays into Laptop Land (by a Desktop Builder)

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Photo by Meaghan Morrison

*beep*

<black screen>

Welcome

…

…

…

COME ON ALREADY!

I was sick and tired of the 15-minute boot-up times on my old computer—and I didn’t think it had much life left in it, anyway. I knew that I would need something that I could take to my engineering classes, but I had never looked into a laptop before. Ugh… where do I even start? Well, with the basics, I suppose. Operating systems, ahoy!

I decided that a Windows laptop would be better for my future classes (he typed on his work MacBook Pro at 35000 feet, with said Windows laptop safely tucked away in the overhead bin for use at the hotel—I’m not as biased as I once was). I decided on Windows because of the wealth of programs that are exclusively available for it, including some of the applications that I would need while pursuing my Bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering. Many of my alums chose MacBooks, or even wiped their Windows laptops and dropped in their favorite Linux distro (Ubuntu, anyone?).  And, to be honest, I wanted to be able to run games on my new laptop in-between classes, and at the occasional LAN party. I knew the Mac would struggle with gaming, not because of any hardware deficiencies but rather due to a lack of developer support from some game companies. So, the slightly better-rounded of two evils… Microsoft, it is. Okay, what’s next?

Having built my own custom desktop computers for years, I knew a fair bit about the internals of the machine. I also knew that it would likely cost me more than I had in my skeletally thin piggy bank to get the specs necessary to use the machine for everything I wanted. I did some begging, made a withdrawal from the Bank of Dad, and ended up with a budget of about $1400 in exchange for a promise to my parents that I wouldn’t need to buy another one in the next year (five years going strong and it still plays Starcraft II, so I’m happy!).

For me, choosing my specs revolved around restricting my budget to $1400 and getting the fastest processor I could—while maintaining a dedicated onboard graphics card (because integrated graphics at the time just couldn’t support graphically intensive applications).

Here’s the techie blow-by-blow of my thought process:

  • I knew I needed a dual-core processor, so I went with the Intel Core 2 Duo because I read a lot of reviews and found it to have adequate performance at a not-so-prohibitive price. I went with 4GB of RAM at the time, in order to support switching between engineering programs and the basics (32 different chat windows, at least three Chrome tabs, and no less than four Excel/Word documents in the background—you know, just the necessities).
  • Having a good track record with NVIDIA graphics cards in my custom-built desktop PCs, I went with one of the NVIDIA mobile graphics cards with 512MB of dedicated video memory. I knew that for gaming I’d need something with decent graphical processing power under the hood.
  • The standard HDD at the time was 256GB, and that was enough for my needs at the time. (I have since dropped in a newer 512GB HDD that is also moderately faster, just because the original started making horrible grinding noises after three and a half years).
  • 14” seemed too small for a screen, and 17” way too big, so I took the middle-of-the-road 15.6” screen. My Goldilocks choice ended up being perfect—I constantly complain about the 14” on my work’s MacBook, and I can hardly lift my dad’s 17” work laptop without straining something. Also, 15.6” was a perfect fit for both of the backpacks I have since purchased (with those fancy laptop ease-of-travel pouches).
  • I have since learned much more about batteries, which may have tempered my choice, but back then I didn’t even care—I figured that I’d be in the classroom for 50% of the time and at the library for the other 50% with no lack of available AC outlets. Oh, to be young and naïve again… It has since been revealed that the best way to extend a battery’s lifetime is to not leave it charging 100% of the time. If I could, I would go back and educate myself (and spend the extra $90 to get a spare battery).

It’s important to note that all of my research was spent picking parts piecemeal from different laptops that I had searched on Newegg.com—which was effective at teaching me which parts were good, as I was voraciously consuming reviews, but I hadn’t yet found The One Laptop to Pwn Them All. I knew that it was possible to custom build a laptop, but I also knew that it was out of my price range—I was starting to grow worried that I wouldn’t be able to find any one laptop that would fit my needs.

By far, the most important thing to consider when looking into a new laptop (or any product that you’re buying online) is the wealth of reviews from consumers like you. Never rush headlong into the fiery chasm of an impulse-buy. Your wallet (*ahem* or dad) will thank you. I read reviews and comparisons for two weeks straight before I even had a Top Five list of candidates. Many of the options that I looked at were awesome from the perspective of the specifications and the price. But, of course, what good is the thing if it spontaneously bursts into flames (like I read in one review) or has to be exchanged five times before one is found without manufacturer defect?

What I ended up with was an Asus M51Sn, and at the time it had stellar reviews (4.5 out of 5 eggs, now up to 5 out of 5 eggs since it has gone out of stock).  On top of that, it was only about $1200, and the $200 I saved stayed comfortably in my parents’ savings account. I used it for years as a gaming machine between classes, and during class ran AutoCAD, the Autodesk Suite, three different flavors of IDE for C/C++, Java, and even used it as a server for a Databases class project. Sure, there were a few complaints along the way about the gimmicky fingerprint sensor and the inevitable crapware that comes with any modern computer purchase; however, I was able to minimize the impact that it had on the system by strategically uninstalling services that I knew I would never use (who really has or knows what a Smart Card is, anyway?).

As with all things in the church of planned obsolescence, it is certainly showing its age now (five years later). As it happened, a couple of years into owning it, the HDD started making noise and slowing down, and the computer would get so hot that I couldn’t leave it on my lap. For the typical user, these problems would likely spell The End for my silicon-hearted companion—but not today! I was able to open the laptop, clean out the fans, and drop a shiny new 500GB HDD in it. The new HDD was larger, faster, and quieter, and with the fans cleaned out I was no longer cooking an egg on my graphics card.

Now that I’ve got a job (and many, many games waiting on my shelf to be played), I’m thinking about a new laptop, and I’ll follow the same process I did before. I’m going to be patient, do my research, and find the next laptop that will take me another five years down the road.