God daaaamn it

I came to Canada prepared for Celsius. I came to Canada prepared for Tim Horton’s. I even came to Canada prepared to hear Nickelback. I came to Canada, however, not at all prepared to be told that I had a Chicagoan – excuse me, I mean Chicaaaaagoan, eeaaaccent.

The first few months I brushed it off. South Park had taught me that all Canadians were delusional and had no idea what they were talking about. “I speak perfect English!” “You're adopted!” and “Well I hope your stupid Flames lose the game tonight” were my usual replies to people who dared to make these slanderous and treacherous accusations.

But it hasn’t stopped. The remarks, teasing mimics (“Stay “staff rates” again, Rose! Steeaaaaaaaaff”), and looks of skepticism that flash across people’s faces when I insist that my pronunciation is normal have only grown exponentially over time. Usually I just get it from co-workers but I think today was the straw that broke the camel’s back. I walked into Starbucks and ordered an Americano and allegedly pronounced it more as “Ameri-ke-anne-o” rather than “Ameri-cahn-o”. The new girl behind the counter flashed me a smile and asked me if I was from the Midwest.

“Fuck! No. I mean yes. Well sort of. I’m a Chinese-American US citizen from Maryland but I live in Chicago and I work in Calgary on the weekdays.” …I always have no idea what to say when people ask me where I’m from so I just blurt out my life story. Then it’s awkward.

But, I digress. I’ve never had an accent my entire life, except for maybe when I was five and first moved to the states. Growing up, there wasn’t really such a thing as a Maryland accent. I remember absolutely LOATHING Chicagoan accents when I first came to the UofC. I thought all Midwesterners sounded inbred and that I, with my parents-who-were-not-cousins, spoke in such a superior and sophisticated tongue by comparison.

But now that I think about it, I can’t even discern those nasally, drawn-out As anymore. I can't remember the last time I've paused or been annoyed from hearing a distinctly Chicagoan way of pronouncing something. I guess I too have become inbred, maebe.

Transition into old lady 90% complete

Lately I have been what I call a real good "old lady" kick. I get home after work and do not socialize and go to the gym and take a shower and cook a meal and read a little and go to sleep. On nights when I am feeling frisky I might even write an e-mail or two. About once a week I'll venture out into the real world and talk to people, but for the most part my weekdays are spent in the silent comforts of my Calgary apartment while my weekends are reserved for booze and debauchery.

But I digress. The point of all this is that I've had the chance to start experimenting with some new recipes. I've been using Stonesoup, an excellent and free e-cookbook. (Get the pdf here) Each recipe uses five or less ingredients excluding S&P and olive oil and also promises the meal is ready in approximately ten minutes. The ingredients are more or less healthy, too. What I like about it is that because each dish is so simple, I have room to play around a little and make it to my own liking. Or on days when I am feeling really lazy, I just follow the instructions as-is and it hasn't let me down yet.

Today I chose to make the chorizo with chickpea and tomato dish, which can be found on page 74. I subbed out the chorizo for turkey sausage, a much healthier but still flavorful alternative, and added a small diced Spanish onion to the pan before browning the sausage. I also added a splash of lime, seasoned with banana instead of black pepper, and reduced the parsley to just a large pinch - I find that too much parsley makes me feel like I'm eating grass.

The final result? Pretty tasty! And as promised, it didn't take more than ten minutes to throw together either. I have enough left over for lunch as well, and then at night I might tackle the salmon with broccolini - stay tuned!

i can't quit you

hi! just poppin' in to say hello and that i'm not quitting this blog/i have not forgotten about it/i have not died. life has just never been busier and while i sure am enjoying the ride, i have been relatively neglectful of a bunch o stuff, this bloggity blog blog included.

one good/bad (depending on how you look at it!) bit of news i can share is that my roll-off date from this client in calgary is scheduled for april 29th! that would put me at 8 months in calgary. i'm both hoppin' around with ants in my pants, eager to change things up (put me in san francisco, thoughtworks! i'll be your slave forever) and really, really nervous about leaving the people and the places and the memories i've grown to love here in calgary.

five weeks-ish left. i'm determined to make them unforgettable - and to share them here!