To My Fellow(ette) Clindocians

Us Bus People made the front page of the Ardmoreite today. See it here. Can you OKC people top that?

To celebrate how all of us Clindocians rock, here's a really cool song that depicts our role (in my mind*).


*this job ABSOLUTELY doesn't suck.

Rainy Day Racin' and Bakin'

The sound of rain woke me this morning. I rolled over and went back to sleep.

A smiling sleep I had. Then I ran...in the rain. Running in the rain for me is like Singing in the Rain is for Gene Kelly...not that a manly-man like me would know anything about musicals...or anything like that, you know what I'm sayin', right?

Now I bake (in my hotel kitchenette), and watch NASCAR.

I think I'm an oxymoron.

A cool, gray, rainy day and the smell of banana bread seem to be a great marriage. Not that I'm an authority on great marriages.

But I am (humbly) an authority on banana bread. Here's my, self-acclaimed, world renown recipe for Banana Bread with Ghirardelli chocolate chips:

Ingreds:
1 cup granulated sugar
1 stick unsalted butter (don't even try a substitute), at room temp
2 large eggs, at room temp
3 large bananas (proper bananas are the key to this recipe, here's the scoop:)

• use over ripe bananas
• they should have brown skins, you know the kind you usually throw away
• peel'em and put'em in a zip top bag, the bananas should have a few brown spots
• freeze them over night
• thaw the next day, they should be really brown and slimy. This is a good thing. Do it. You will be rewarded with banana flavored exponential-ness.
  

1 tbsp milk
1 tsp cinnamon
2 C. AP flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp good quality vanilla (I use Watkins)
6 oz (by weight) of Ghirardelli chocolate chunks
2 oz thin sliced almonds, toasted

Preheat oven to 325 and butter a 9x5 loaf pan. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one by one and beat well after each addition.
In a small bowl mash the bananas, including their banana-y goodness juice with the milk, cinnamon and vanilla. Add to the light, fluffy, creamed butter and sugar mixture.
Mix the remaining dry ingredients together and slowly fold into the wet mixture. When the dry ingredients are almost incorporated add the chocolate and almonds. Fold lightly until distributed.

It's important to not over mix. This mix should not be over mixed. Don't over mix this mixture. A few small lumps are okay.

Did I mention to not over mix the recipe?

Put in previously buttered loaf pan and bake until the room smells so good your tummy rebels (about an hour). Use your tried-and-true method for checking done'd-ness (that's actually a word, IJS). I use the touch method, others use a toothpick or knife.

Remove from oven, invert on a rack to cool, resist for 15 (or 2) minutes. Slice. Chew. Swallow. Repeat as needed.

I think tomorrow I might have some happy co-workers.

A Day in the Life of Brent

Yes, it's temporary. It's fun. And it's certainly productive. I've got a man-crush on all the guys I work with and a sister-crush on all the women.

Mercy is a pretty cool organization with really awesome employees.

And to bury the lede...here's my time-line for the last two days....

6:am: report to classroom for pre-class welcome-y admin stuff
7-11am - lecture/lab
12-1pm - break to file paperwork and organize for afternoon class
1-4pm - lecture/lab
4-5 or so pm - file paperwork from the day's classes; gather materials for the next day's classes (hand-outs, rolls, evals, ect.)
5-5:30 - errands/groceries/laundry
5:30-6:30 - Run w/Rosco
6:30-7pm - SSS
7-8pm - gather and organize material for tomorrow
8-10pm - rewine(d)
10-2am - sleep
2-4am - review material for morning and afternoon lecture/lab
4am - quick run with Rosco
5am - shower and dress for 6am prep/class.

A shot of my box of curriculum ? (click to enlarge)

This won't last for long, so it makes me smile to see how
busy I am.

Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrot (4-10-10)

I wonder what it is with me and signs these days.

Crooks Law Firm? Hmmm...isn't that implied guilt? This reminds me of a Dentist in Irving, Dr. Payne.

Shouldn't the treeline and lack of pavement be a better clue?