The departmental mailing list is constantly getting notices of job openings around the country, right? Well, this afternoon one came through announcing multiple open positions at City College in NYC. Oh, criminy, how I would love one of those.

Here’s hoping there’s no great Library Crash in the next nine months.

If my tax refund is what Messrs. H. and R. Block tell me it will be, I should be able to make it through the summer months with little to no difficulty whatsoever. I might even be able to pay for an internship, assuming I can set one up in the next couple weeks, but that’s a bit more iffy.

Still, w00t!

Knocked out the remainder of Humanities Ref today, a good follow-up to getting half of Advanced done yesterday. Back on my meds, yay, so should be getting benefits from ‘em soon.

Not quite at the point where I’m worrying about how I’m going to fund August expenses and summer classes yet, but I’m getting close.

Had to be weighed at the doctor’s Friday, after which I wanted to stick my head in an oven–this is why thus far I’ve eaten only two of the truffles I made yesterday, and don’t expect to personally eat more than maybe three more. Considered taking up a nice, slimming heroin habit but then realized I really couldn’t afford it.

Still haven’t gotten around to banging up copy for the ALA:UA website, which I’d promised to have ready by tomorrow. Also, owe Zero at least one nice lengthy email, which I feel terribly guilty for not having even started.

Also: must iron kinks out of Tuscaloosa Public Library project database by 10:00 tomorrow morning. Shouldn’t be a problem at all, though, really.

Wishes of wellfullnesses to Rachel!

And, finally, there are many papers to be begun. Blargh.

They are, however, a bit more grainy than I’d like, and not as strongly flavored. It appears that curry powder just doesn’t like dissolving in cream.

I think next time I try this I’ll bump up the amount of spice plus try dissolving it in something before adding it to the cream. Maybe butter? Also, I’ll definitely try adding the peppers to hot things up a bit. Finally, I think it would be quite nice to have a pistachio sliver rolled into the center of each truffle, but I’m not dead-set on it.

I’ve made the ganache, using 12 oz. of Ghirardelli semi-sweet baking chips (the store I was at didn’t have choc in blocks except for Baker’s0brand, which is a little too downscale), 9 oz. of heavy whipping cream, and about 1 1/4 Tbsp of Blue Ginger-brand curry powder. I first warmed the curry powder in a small portion of the cream, added the rest of the cream and brought the concoction to a boil.

I stirred the boiling cream into the chocolate, whipped it all up nice and smooth and glossy, and left the bowl to cool to room temperature. I licked the whip clean and was a wee bit disappointed–there was barely any curry flavor at all. There is, though, a significant curry aftertaste, rising up as the chocolate flavor dissipates. Interesting.

Once the ganache has cooled, I will chill it for a half hour or so. I’ll then scoop it out, form it into balls, roll it in Ghirardelli cocoa powder, wait for ‘em to warm to room temp, and call ‘em truffles.

Amy, I’m positive I’ll be adding in the peppers next time I try this. That sounds mondo fab.

Whinge! Moan! Gripe!

(I should note here that all the above should be read in the voice of Gordon Cole. I have no idea why, but it seems totally appropriate.)

(So much so, in fact, that I couldn’t even recall the proper ‘leet orthography. Is it 0wnz0r3d? Isn’t it sometimes rendered with ap at the beginning?)(And if that last sentence isn’t a straight line, I don’t know what is.)

I realized last night that I’ve been well and truly infected by the reference virus when at 21:00 I thought, “Hey! How ’bout a quick nip ’round the library to follow this one tiny lead that I could easily put off until the morning?” And then I went, and then I knew I was owned.

Bobby Brewster’s rooster
Scratched at the corn
And when the grain was eaten
Sought something vermiform.

The next morning that cock
Didn’t want to crow
So he hid up in the rafters
When it was time for his big show.

Bobby Brewster overslept
Thanks to the chicken’s selfish plan
Which sped the rooster to his fate
In the supper frying pan.

(Hi, Advanced Reference people!)

Mom: Thanks for posting; that meant a lot to me.

Amy: Because of my presentation, I put off truffling for a week. I plan to try them Saturday, and you surely will be among the first to know how they turn out.

Catherine: If your everyday chocolate growing up had been Hershey’s, you too would be constantly searching for ways to spiff up the stuff. You should write a letter of utmost thanks to Mr. Cadbury, as you now know what horrors his company spared you.

Steve: That does sound difficult, but I have faith that you will handle any self-identification situations with aplomb, compassion, and love.

More later, almost certainly.

In a thread on a message board that frequently congratulates itself on being a collection of the smartest folks on teh intarweb, I just witnessed the following exchange:

Poster A: A small, but unfortunately vocal, number of people claiming to be discriminated against for being Nice Guys are not, in fact, Nice Guys at all but are simply assholes.

Poster B: (quotes the exact and entire sentence above, then writes) So you’re saying all Nice Guys are assholes? Typical!

It’s just…wow. I can’t think of anything more to say.