Heath Ledger Memorial Bars

Yesterday was a spectacularly quintessential "university" day.

First I went to University Health Services (UHS) for a check up. One of the cool things about UHS is that they do pretty much everything in that one building - there's an emergency room, a clinic, and every type of doctor you might imagine. As I waited for a doctor, I was seated right next to the research lab, where I saw medical practicioners in white lab coats walking around importantly. I'd never seen this type of "backstage" to a medical office before, so I was pretty excited.

As I headed back up the hill to my building, I noticed a man seated casually on a bench, shouting... all by himself. Then I noticed that he was looking up into a nearby tree. My gaze shifted to the branches high above, and I saw that there was another man pretty far up that tree, climbing gear and all. This guy was serious.



I had a nice chat with the two men - Damien and Dave - and it turns out the one in the tree (Damien) wasn't the typical arbor culture student (those guys are always up in random trees around campus). He's a political science major and was just climbing for fun.

I continued on my way to prepare for that evening's SJE potluck. I whipped up a batch of Michael's "Heath Bar Delights" or some weird name like that. I'd tried them a few weeks earlier at a staff Cranium party, where I dubbed them "Heath Ledger Memorial Bars."

I took the conservative route and labeled them "Chocolate Toffee Crunch Bars!" for tact's sake.

Around 6:30 I arrived at Ximena's house, treats in hand, and enjoyed an evening of conversation, running around the kitchen preparing food, and snapping some sweet photos.



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Soycotash-a-licious

Naturally, my first "love and artichokes" post takes place on the eve of a very large homework assignment I have due the next morning. I find that when it comes time to get down to business, I usually wind up doing something to distract myself first. It could be facebook surfing, a short nap, or perhaps a heinous reality show. Tonight it's starting a blog. But the point is, it's never something I'd choose to do if I had free time. This makes me feel less guilty for not doing the work, but either way... I'm not getting it done.

Tonight's most urgent announcement: Trader Joe's "Soycotash" is officially delicious and worth buying. It's a frozen bag of edamame (baby soy beans), corn, and chopped red pepper.

Throw a quarter cup of water into a bowl with the 'tash, cover, and microwave for 6 minutes. No salt, pepper, or butter needed. Perfect.