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David went to a regional programming contest today and placed second! Yay for the David! He won a really cool road atlas that Alisdair will luuuuuve, and $40 bucks for his own edification and gratification. I'm uber proud of him. :) In other, more stunning news, he talked with his friend, Robert there as well. Robert's a programming guy who's also graduating this spring. He's been doing an internship, and has just been offered a starting position at the place he's been working for $50K a year.
Fifty Thousand a Year.
And this is apparently not unusual here locally for the programming companies. I am stunned. I mean, I've lived in the world. I know that most everywhere else, $50K is pretty darn good for starting but nothing completely spectacular. Well, let me put this into perspective for you. The house we're wanting to buy isless than $30K. $50K, in this part of the country, is frickin wealthy. Especially when you add on that I will still be making my income, giving us roughly $70K a year. Some of the most comfortably well off people in the area make around $50K and never have a financial worry their whole lives here. I'm utterly in shock. I'm so scared to trust it, but my God... all my life, all I ever wanted was to not have to worry about money and have some left after bills to allow a little spending money. I cannot fathom what it would be like. It's almost enough to make me consider sticking around this part of the world for a while longer, because being here with money is a whole different animal than being here and broke and unable to go much of anywhere else.
Anyway, on a more down-to-earth note, I finished a small editing job today that had been taunting me with its incomplete status. Tomorrow I dive back into the Big Seecrit Writing Project and try to finish with all haste. My goal is to write 5K tomorrow. Think good thoughts for me. :)
After I got the editing done, I put the boys to work and together, we cleaned their room. Threw away about a large sack full of garbage, straightened up their books, did laundry, fished socks out from under their beds, and generally got stuff done. I was feeling pretty wiped by then, but then my mom cooked dinner for us all (bless her) and gave me a chance to rest. This cold still is kicking my butt, regrettably. Afterwards, I had recovered enough to bake, and made cinnamon chocolate Kahlua brownies. Mmmm.
And now, I will do more questions. Today's questions are from![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
anidada.
1. What is your favourite thing to cook for other people (if you do)?
Wow. That's tough. Well, I actually do like cooking for others. I think my favorite things vary, though. One of my favorites is sauteeing onions and mushrooms in butter (or olive oil), then making a roux and a traditional french cream sauce in the same pan, giving it that lovely flavor, and serving it with sauteed chicken breasts, rice or pasta, lightly steamed broccoli, fresh bread, a nice green salad, and a light dessert, like a strawberry sorbet. I also really like to make cream of broccoli soup, or a simple spaghetti dinner with homemade marinara sauce.
Baking for people is really rewarding too, but then I'm even more tempted to eat what I bake. :) My grandmother's banana cake recipe is a favorite, or her angel food cake. I've been wanting to try cream puffs again, as I loved them when I was little and I would really like to see my kids' reactions to them.
2. What makes you fall over laughing?
My boys. I am convinced that God sent them to me to make me laugh. Tongiht, for example, Alisdair came up to me in his pajamas and started serenading me with a couple of lines from "The Way You Are," by Billy Joel. Completely out of nowhere. Will has continually found flowers or something similar somewhere and brings them to me, just because.
Secondarily, I'd say that Fawlty Towers does it every time. :)
3. If you could go back to school, all expenses paid, what would you study?
Welp, first I think I'd finish this thrice-damned English degree. Barring that, I'd go back and throw myself into Classics or Letters. Barring those, then Foreign Language, probably starting with a Romance language and then branching out.
4. When the boys grow into adolescence, what's the most shocking thing they could do to express teenage rebellion? (I wonder sometimes if our generation is really unshockable, but I suppose that's tempting fate again...)
Decide to change their sex. I fully expect them to declare their undying hate for me when they become teenagers, if only because it seems to be what everyone does, and I'd rather not be caught by surprise. It just still falls into the place in my brain that leaves me going, "but... but... but... but..." I could handle gay better, probably, than I could transgender. I'd still love them, but that would take a lot of work on my part to overcome the cognitive dissonance.
5. How do you think parenthood would've been different for you, if the boys had been girls?
I think it would probably be like night and day, honestly. I mean, most of the big things would be the same, and many of the little ones would too, I imagine. But the boys are just, so.... male. Their whole likes and dislikes and ways of communicating and handling things would likely be different, if observations of their classmates and friends and cousins are any indication. I'd still love them, though. In the end, it doesn't matter. :)
THE RULES:
1 - Leave a comment, saying you want to be interviewed.
2 - I will respond; I'll ask you five questions.
3 - You'll update your journal with my five questions, and your five answers.
4 - You'll include this explanation.
5 - You'll ask other people five questions when they want to be interviewed.
Fifty Thousand a Year.
And this is apparently not unusual here locally for the programming companies. I am stunned. I mean, I've lived in the world. I know that most everywhere else, $50K is pretty darn good for starting but nothing completely spectacular. Well, let me put this into perspective for you. The house we're wanting to buy isless than $30K. $50K, in this part of the country, is frickin wealthy. Especially when you add on that I will still be making my income, giving us roughly $70K a year. Some of the most comfortably well off people in the area make around $50K and never have a financial worry their whole lives here. I'm utterly in shock. I'm so scared to trust it, but my God... all my life, all I ever wanted was to not have to worry about money and have some left after bills to allow a little spending money. I cannot fathom what it would be like. It's almost enough to make me consider sticking around this part of the world for a while longer, because being here with money is a whole different animal than being here and broke and unable to go much of anywhere else.
Anyway, on a more down-to-earth note, I finished a small editing job today that had been taunting me with its incomplete status. Tomorrow I dive back into the Big Seecrit Writing Project and try to finish with all haste. My goal is to write 5K tomorrow. Think good thoughts for me. :)
After I got the editing done, I put the boys to work and together, we cleaned their room. Threw away about a large sack full of garbage, straightened up their books, did laundry, fished socks out from under their beds, and generally got stuff done. I was feeling pretty wiped by then, but then my mom cooked dinner for us all (bless her) and gave me a chance to rest. This cold still is kicking my butt, regrettably. Afterwards, I had recovered enough to bake, and made cinnamon chocolate Kahlua brownies. Mmmm.
And now, I will do more questions. Today's questions are from
anidada.1. What is your favourite thing to cook for other people (if you do)?
Wow. That's tough. Well, I actually do like cooking for others. I think my favorite things vary, though. One of my favorites is sauteeing onions and mushrooms in butter (or olive oil), then making a roux and a traditional french cream sauce in the same pan, giving it that lovely flavor, and serving it with sauteed chicken breasts, rice or pasta, lightly steamed broccoli, fresh bread, a nice green salad, and a light dessert, like a strawberry sorbet. I also really like to make cream of broccoli soup, or a simple spaghetti dinner with homemade marinara sauce.
Baking for people is really rewarding too, but then I'm even more tempted to eat what I bake. :) My grandmother's banana cake recipe is a favorite, or her angel food cake. I've been wanting to try cream puffs again, as I loved them when I was little and I would really like to see my kids' reactions to them.
2. What makes you fall over laughing?
My boys. I am convinced that God sent them to me to make me laugh. Tongiht, for example, Alisdair came up to me in his pajamas and started serenading me with a couple of lines from "The Way You Are," by Billy Joel. Completely out of nowhere. Will has continually found flowers or something similar somewhere and brings them to me, just because.
Secondarily, I'd say that Fawlty Towers does it every time. :)
3. If you could go back to school, all expenses paid, what would you study?
Welp, first I think I'd finish this thrice-damned English degree. Barring that, I'd go back and throw myself into Classics or Letters. Barring those, then Foreign Language, probably starting with a Romance language and then branching out.
4. When the boys grow into adolescence, what's the most shocking thing they could do to express teenage rebellion? (I wonder sometimes if our generation is really unshockable, but I suppose that's tempting fate again...)
Decide to change their sex. I fully expect them to declare their undying hate for me when they become teenagers, if only because it seems to be what everyone does, and I'd rather not be caught by surprise. It just still falls into the place in my brain that leaves me going, "but... but... but... but..." I could handle gay better, probably, than I could transgender. I'd still love them, but that would take a lot of work on my part to overcome the cognitive dissonance.
5. How do you think parenthood would've been different for you, if the boys had been girls?
I think it would probably be like night and day, honestly. I mean, most of the big things would be the same, and many of the little ones would too, I imagine. But the boys are just, so.... male. Their whole likes and dislikes and ways of communicating and handling things would likely be different, if observations of their classmates and friends and cousins are any indication. I'd still love them, though. In the end, it doesn't matter. :)
THE RULES:
1 - Leave a comment, saying you want to be interviewed.
2 - I will respond; I'll ask you five questions.
3 - You'll update your journal with my five questions, and your five answers.
4 - You'll include this explanation.
5 - You'll ask other people five questions when they want to be interviewed.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2004-03-02 07:12 am (UTC)From:Thanks for answering the questions. The food sounds yummy. :) I'm not surprised at your answers about the boys -- partly because I think we think along the same lines.
If you're interested in Romance languages (and admittedly I don't know how good your local library is, but you never know) there's always those tape kits. That is, if there's ever time to listen to them (does your car have a tape deck?).
no subject
Date: 2004-03-02 09:15 pm (UTC)From:Alas, my new hamster does not have a tape player. I do have a new radio/CD player/tape player I'm hoping to have installed this summer, though.