Realism and pseudo cheese

I will not post mush about writing today because I have no news from the week. Even my reading this week has been all business, but I do have a hefty (maybe hefty isn't the right word) amount of books that I've been compulsively buying on my Kindle recently. Amazon, you know my weaknesses and you've done well to entice and cash in. Kudos for such a swift-acting Buy Now button! Genius.

Well, in my desire to improve my dietary habits, I found myself trying a sort of raw, vegan cheese at a restaurant in San Antonio, Vegeria. I had to be convinced by a friend to go because I don't eat soy (it raises estrogen levels), and this restriction usually takes my vegetarian options at restaurants from one or two items to none. But, this sweetly-decorated, health-conscious diner was awesome! I highly recommend it, especially if you tend toward a generally healthy lifestyle already, or a strictly vegan lifestyle, or (and man, I'm impressed) a raw lifestyle. Well that, or you are well-off enough to afford very specific dietary ingredients just when you feel like it. I ate the "Flower Power" salad, which was $13 and filled with edible flowers, a variety of greens, and all ingredients were raw, including the aforementioned cheese which, in case you were wondering, managed to be vegan/raw by being made from cashews and a few other ingredients that made it the texture of Gouda  The server forgot the dressing that was supposed to go on my salad, an avocado ranch, but I didn't need it with that cashew cheese. The stuff was intense! I found a recipe for a similar variety, and I assure you, if I attempt this it will warrant a humorous blog post. So that might be coming.

The regular work week was tough, but that's all I'll say about that. Chris was out of town most of the week. But, I did manage to get a lot of errands run and got most of my To Dos for the week checked off.

Today, I opened up my creative writing class for the more eager students (just a day early because I would have appreciated such a thing when I was a student), and it looks like there are currently 27 writers in my class this term. This is a good number for a class with no TA. I had 33 last time, and 6 less means I'll have more time to spend with the remaining 27. I will never understand why a country founded on competition and innovation allows not only its teachers, but its students, to endure such stifling and blurring of academic conditions when we--the students as well as the teachers--invest so much to do what we do. Small classes = Better experiences for both students and teachers. This is a  fact (subjective, yes, but it's true).*

Okay, so, Argo was well done. Right down to the overly suspenseful climax, I stuck with it. It was very glitzy, not exactly realism, but again: well done. My mind wandered only once, and this was more an account of the fact that I forgot my phone was in my pocket and the vibration was startling than the fact that the movie was losing speed in a spot. I'd give it 4 out of 5 stars. Of course, that's my take.  

"It wasn't as good as the preview for the remake of Red Dawn," my husband said upon leaving the theater, but he thought it was "OK" (the highest compliment my husband gives a movie that is not Red Dawn or Terminator). 

Well, it's back to work for me. I wish you the best for the week! Enjoy it!  



*End of rant.