Sunday update

3 hours later, and i have yet to do any real studying. i have, however, done pseudo-work: i finished updating my CV and put together all evidence of my research experience (thesis, lit review, practicum files, etc) to send to Dr. McKinney, head of the epidemiology department at the school of public health here, to try and get a job this summer. then i submitted my application for the summer research scholars program to try and get funding for said job. tomorrow i need to call Dr. Troutman, head of the city health department, to set up a meeting about possibly working for him this summer -- need to keep my options open. plus i need to contact some doctors about maybe doing some shadowing. or maybe i'll just get a job at Old Navy so i can buy clothes with an employee discount.

i also did some assorted class president stuff, which is what i always do when i need to do pseudo-work. the only pseudo-work left on my list is cleaning, but i'll do that during tv tonight. i still have to finish putting things away from my hong kong trip, and clean clothes keep piling up that i need to hang up and/or iron.

and my final act of procrastination will be to tell you where i've eaten this week: Diamante, on Bardstown Road, courtesy of an interviewing pre-med that we took out to dinner and a gift certificate from Restaurant.com; and Flanagan's, also on Bardstown Road. Diamante was really good. I've read good things about their wings on Robin Garr's site, and they were true; the wings were spicy but also tangy-sweet, yum! I had a southwestern grilled chicken breast with black bean and pineapple salsa, which was also very good - the chicken was very tender! - with sauteed mushrooms and garlic smashed potatoes. ESC had a buffalo chicken sandwich, so it was like he never finished the appetizer, but he said it was also very good. I'd definitely go back, either for a semi-nice dinner, or just to sit at the bar and have wings and a burger. Flanagan's, on the other hand, wasn't so great. Lots of my classmates go there late at night, and it seems like it would be fun in such an instance. They have a pretty good beer selection, both tap and bottle, which is much-appreciated. I had a chocolate cherry ale (can't remember the brewer's name) that was really good, and ESC had Never Summer Ale, which he said was good but was too hoppy for me (i don't like hoppy beers ever). The food was less good: we ordered "cheesy breadsticks," which were in reality cheese calzones due to their size (not so bad), but they were followed within 3 minutes by our entrees. boo, bad timing. Entrees were pretty good: i had a southern fried chicken sandwich, which was really crispy-on-the-outside, tender-on-the-inside, but tasted pretty bland even though i swear it was somehow the cause of the spicy sensation in my mouth. ESC had a buffalo chicken sandwich (he does usually have a more varied food repertoire, i swear!). they were OK, but all they have on the menu are appetizers, burgers, chicken sandwiches, and pizza. It's supposed to be an Irish pub; why the crappy menu? In that respect, I like Molly Malone's across the street better, but I don't remember what their beer selection was like. So I guess it's Molly Malone's for food, Flanagan's for drinking.

Also this week, I made an easy chicken recipe: throw a chicken breast, some red pepper chunks, and some onion (preferably sweet but i was trying to use up an old non-sweet one) in a piece of aluminum foil, sprinkle with monterey chicken seasoning (i was also trying to use up half a beaten egg, so i used it to lightly bread the chicken), and fold up into a packet, then stick in an oven for about 45 minutes or until your thermometer beeps. i also threw in a head of garlic (cut off just a bit of the top to expose the cloves, sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper) for about an hour to make some roasted garlic and enjoyed some garlic bread. I also made a really easy pork roast, it was one of those pre-marinated, pre-wrapped deals from the meat section, and i served it with baked sweet potatoes and steamed green beans while we watched Lost episodes. Last week we got industrious and made lasagna, which was fun and delicious, so I'll throw that into the rotation again soon. And in the spirit of trying to "eat more fish because it's good for you and eating it in restaurants is expensive," i bought some frozen tilapia fillets, so i'll try those out this week. Also this weekend I made sugar cookies from scratch for the first time ever for a volunteer event our class did with the local Big Brothers/Big Sister chapter (cookie decorating). They came out pretty well, although I think I rolled them a tad thin, so they were more crispy than chewy, so now I know I can make those successfully.

Well, 1 football game down (see ESC's blog for the minute-by-minute syopsis if you care about things like that), I hear another rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner, and I have 2.5 hours before Desperate Housewives. I WILL get some studying done today! I WILL!