April Moms@Work & Women@Work catch-up

My byline snap

Notice I said catch-up instead of catsup or ketchup.  We all (or those of us who hang on every word of dialogue in Mad Men at least) know there’s only 1 ketchup.

I digress – anyway, here are some blog posts from my other spot out here on the internet, Moms@Work.

• Would you do it all again?  (“Probably not” was the impression I apparently conveyed in this one.)
• Travels in parenthood (Includes a nifty picture of me doing a ringer of  Molly Ringwald impersonation.)
• Tests of spring  (Where I talk about the NYS math assessments, but don’t acknowledge that I can’t do 8th grade math.  I saved that for FB and Twitter.)
• What do you think about a “good enough life?” (Even if you don’t read my post, read the one which inspired it.  Please.)

Also, excitedly enough for me, the print edition of the May/June issue of Women@Work is now available in all sorts of lobbies and waiting rooms around town.  Grab one, why don’t you and read my piece on page 59.  Don’t forget to linger over my name on the page listing of contributing writers!

What I now know about pressure cookers…

image: http://www2.worldpub.net

They scare me.
I’ve always considered the pressure cooker to be the most menacing piece of kitchen equipment.  I understand the appeal of cooking something super fast, rather than leaving it to braise for hours upon hours, but I was always intimidated by their mystery.  This past week has only confirmed my fears.

They continue to make a contribution to contemporary life.
Last Monday’s events at the Boston Marathon added the verbalized request from my youngest child of “Please don’t get killed at your race on Sunday” to the terrorism dialogue I have had with my children over the years.  The opening statement in this conversation came in the form of question in September of 2001: “Why do the buildings keep falling down?” I don’t like having to revisit these acts of violence with my boys, and I am resentfully heartbroken about the necessity of these talks.  It sucks.

They boggle me with their capabilities.
I don’t understand a lot of what happened last week.  I can’t grasp that so much carnage can come from ball bearings, nails and other bits of metal.  I will never accept that an elected official could make a statement like this, and while I’m not beyond a bit of suspicion when it comes to my government (weapons of mass destruction,  anyone?), I really don’t believe there is any type of conspiracy theory worthy activity here, either.

They work quickly, but not necessarily reliably.
The media coverage was at least as explosive as an overheated pressure cooker.  The unsubstantiated information circulated was alarming and it was difficult to look away from my Twitter feed.  When those pictures of the two suspects were “broadcast,” it became impossible to ignore the immediacy of current news technology.  It was breathtaking.

I don’t ever want one in my home.

Putting my money where my mouth is

I spent a little time Sunday afternoon at an event at Mingle.  It was a fundraiser for Kathy Sheehan’s campaign for mayor and there were familiar faces present as well as some local food items from our DelSo peeps, All Good Bakers, The Cheese Traveler, Tilldale Farms and, of course, Mingle.

I have no personal aspirations to be mayor of the city of Albany (although Duchess of DelSo has a nice ring to it), but I think Kathy Sheehan has the right experience for the job.  I didn’t have a chance to talk directly with Kathy, but I’d like to believe that she is interested in making Albany a city where the residents come before partiers and suburbanites who make their money here but spend it elsewhere.  The focus needs to shift and I’m willing to take a chance on someone new after 20 years.  It’s time.

Speaking of time, my neighbors and I finally found some to share.  Perhaps with a bottle of wine or two.  When it came time to adding a little food to the mix we were in complete accord that Sweet Basil was the answer.  It was my first time trying this fairly new spot and we ordered a mess of food.  It was pretty much all delicious – FRESH, tasty, and with a lovely creeper spiciness.  We ordered our food as take-out, but the Yelp reviews pretty consistently note that the service is gracious and the dining room pleasant.   I’ll definitely be putting this place into my rotation.  Trying something new, be it politics or dinner, can taste pretty damn good.

Siam Duck

Drunken Noodles

Larb Gai

Sad, mad and glad

image: http://bettertomorrow.sodexousa.com

Last week was a weird week in the news. I mean like the kind of week when I almost feel ready to abandon reading anything beyond cooking and fashion magazines so I have a prayer of staying in my happy place. Are they going to print those upbeat type of glossy publications on Hearst’s new press?

Ever since I saw this story on the TU website I haven’t been able to get it out of my mind.  I understand that these accidents occur with far too much frequency, but for reasons I haven’t quite grasped yet, this one has really had an impact on me.  My God, did you see the car?  It doesn’t seem possible that someone could have survived that crash and I’m left wondering what the future holds for the driver of that vehicle. How many times will he wish for a do-over, for the chance to take it back and do it all again differently?  As a parent, I’m tempted to begin printing out accident scene pictures and the related obituaries and start wallpapering my boys’  bedrooms with the consequences of bad decision-making. I’m scared and my heart aches for the families involved who both lost their children that morning, because I’m certain the young man who was driving that car will never be the same.

And how do you feel about the smoke story?  No, not the Pope Francis thing, this one.  Apparently, Assemblyman Steve Katz, an opponent of legalizing medical marijuana, has no personal problem with getting blazed and speeding up the NYS Thruway – at 10:00 a.m, by the way.  Perhaps he is anti-medical marijuana because he understands it won’t cure the severe case of hypocrisy he appears to be suffering  from.  What a jerk.  Throw him out of office and let him wake and bake on his own time.

If marijuana could in fact cure hypocrisy, maybe Rob Portman has been indulging in the wacky weed, too.  Seems that now that his own son is at risk of being denied basic civil rights because he is gay, Portman has had a change of heart in his consistently anti-gay marriage stance.  I don’t really understand why his son’s life and access to the benefits of marriage are somehow more important than the millions of other gay Americans who have been denied access to wedded bliss.  I’m sincerely glad he’s changed his position, but I’m even more glad that I could never imagine believing that my own child’s opportunities are somehow more valid than those of anyone else’s child.

I’ll go back to my Bon Appetit now.

International Women’s Day

Did you know my undergraduate minor was Women’s History?  In case my English degree didn’t make me marketable, I could always fall back on that, you know?  Ha!  Anyway, yesterday was International Women’s Day and here’s my Moms@Work post in recognition of that holiday.  I can’t say any of the facts really surprised me, nor did this post from Huffington Post.  Coincidence?  I think not…

I don’t hate guns

image everydaynodaysoff.com

I hate what people use guns to do. Guns scare me, but I don’t hate them.  Today, more than two dozen people were massacred in a(nother) school shooting.  Twenty-seven people, including 20 children, woke up today for the last time.  I went for a run tonight and thought of the terror that was school today for those children and adults in Connecticut.  Each time I imagined the fear those children must have felt, I gasped anew, feeling my  heart nearly stop with my exhale.  Horror.

I couldn’t post today about the 12 Days of Dining DelSo. How could a person even consider a holiday season on a day like today?  This day belongs to those lives lost.

Peace.

(Comm)unity doesn’t mean monopoly

image:alloveralbany.com

During my run the other night I got to thinking about a new building being constructed on New Scotland Avenue.  I think the previous building on this particular lot was affiliated with a house of worship, and this new construction is a church, I believe. What strikes me each time I run by, is the lack of a BBL or Columbia Development sign.  This building is identified as a Bunkoff project, a name refreshingly unfamiliar to me.  Now, don’t get me wrong, I have no personal beef with either BBL or Columbia, but I am so weary of seeing their names on so very many of the building projects in this city, our city.  There must be other outfits out there capable and prepared to add to the landscape of New York State’s capital city, right?

It seems to me like Albany has been on the cusp of “happening” for decades.  The individual pieces grow tantalizingly close to falling in place, but something prevents them from locking firmly together.  Could it be the city’s leadership?  Is it possible that the mayor and his preferred business associates have been so busy taking care of each other that they’ve neglected to take care of anyone else?

A few years ago, federal funds came into my neighborhood and sparked a renaissance.  Streets and sidewalks were improved, lighting was added, and independent businesses started to find a home in the Delaware Avenue south area.   Individuals  invested their time and resources and together are forging an identity for our little piece of Albany.  Christ, I made up a word for it and it stuck – DelSo, my home.

Imagine if more citizens and neighborhoods start doing this?  What if other residents start taking ownership of their blocks?   If folks began saying that it isn’t okay for one builder or developer to “own” the opportunity to create the landscape we all share?  Maybe those established contractors could take on the task of mentoring some of the smaller outfits as they strive to get in on the action?   I know, I know, I’m an evil socialist or something, right?  That might be the case, but what definitely is true is that there needs to be a greater distribution of the opportunities presented by sharing a city of nearly 100,000 people.  It’s time for something new, folks.  Please share your thoughts.