Daily Report: Home Made

I took one commenter's advice and started reading "The Brothers Karamazov". I'm not into the story yet, but I do like Dostoyevsky's writing style (or at least the translation thereof). I'm also reading a book on British history... or trying to. It's a giant tome on the reign of James I that I borrowed from my friend Clarkie's library. Finally, I'm using my mother's Kindle (the electronic book screen thing) to read the second installation of "A Song of Ice and Fire" series. Kindle is okay actually. I think for paperbacks that you would only read once, it's a good buy: it should pay for itself within about 20 or 30 purchases. But for big and important books that you want to keep... books that you would consider buying the hardcover version of... or big history books with maps and illustrations like the one I'm reading... Kindle is not the answer.

Stepdad Paul is installing a microwave oven above the stove in the kitchen, tearing out the cabinet and remaking the whole thing using saws and hammers and even a straight edge and calculator. I like Paul. He's a retired senior engineer from Westinghouse's famous Department of Invent Cool Stuff That Nobody Understands: a real dawn-of-computers, pocket-protector-wearing, calculus-using, level-25 übernerd. Similar to me, he spends much of his time thinking, so we get along great. But unlike me, he also spends much of his time tinkering too; I'm not inclined to build stuff as he does. He isn't as frivolous as I am either (other than when playing with Puppy Gracie): most of his free time involves things like gardening, whereas I watch Doctor Who or Star Trek.

I cooked my famous pasta carbonara for dinner last night. (Recipe taught to me by a Belgian chef in Thailand: Bacon/garlic/onions in a pan, fried. Then add heavy cream, Parmesan cheese. Nutmeg, salt, and pepper to taste. Add green peas and pasta.) It was a big hit, and there were lots of leftovers. Tonight it was out to the Moose Club for the fish fry.

I've caught a cold, I think. Either that or allergies. Honestly, I can never really tell them apart: I sneeze a bunch which makes my neck and shoulders hurt, my nose itches and runs, and my sinuses get stuffed up. Regardless: It's just wait and see time. I'm still functional, just not 100%.

I still haven't got a mobile phone here in America yet. Well, I have my phone from Asia, and maybe I can use that, but I don't have a number or account yet. I'm not even sure how to go about getting one. I don't really need one since I'm almost always home and have essentially nobody who would call me on a mobile phone even if I did have one. Well, maybe at some point I'll give it some more thought.