bad news

my ipod is broken!! i can access the music if it is plugged into the computer, but otherwise it just has a big checkmark on it and none of the buttons do anything. this is so annoying! i've only had it for 4 months and i don't even use it that often, just at the gym. ipods are garbage. now i have to deal with bringing it in to see if they can fix it. ugh. but first i should take all my stolen music and put it on my computer in case they can't fix the ipod. i wonder how i do that. who would have thunk i'd be on to oliver III so quickly? i like the name oliver jr. better. oh ollie!!!!

ohhhhhhhh boy.
that was a lot of brownie i just ate. also, i got some on an acknowledgement letter. i hope the donor likes chocolate.

expedia is stupid

i've gotten it into my head that i would like to go on a tropical beach vacation, just for a few days. i know, it's almost summer, but i think that's a fine time to go. two years ago, shun, cyni and i went to jamaica for 5 days in the middle of july, and it was awesome. fabulous. wonderful. the life. so, if i could find a good deal i would try to organize this trip. i want a cheap, all inclusive vacation where i can lie on a tropical beach for a few days with my feet in the ocean. but i want to do the looking with minimal work. i looked up beach vacations on expedia and this is the pearls of wisdom i received:

So many beaches, so little time! You know you want to go somewhere that’s sunny and sandy—but how to choose from there? One simple way to narrow down the possibilities is to think about what you want to do while you’re there (besides laying about in the sun!).

it then narrows down into choices like family fun, active beach stuff, romantic, etc. i think this is extremely stupid. the way to narrow down the possibilities is by PRICE. you should just be able to say, "hey expedia, at some point over the next two months, i would like to go to a tropical beach resort. i would like to leave from NYC. please give me choices and sort them by price."

sometimes i don't even care if it's the beach, i just want to go on a trip. surely i am not the only cheap bastard who will go anywhere if it's a good deal. there must be a site with "good deals leaving from NY." travel stuff is so tricky though, you have to trust where you're getting it from. i'm not buying plane tickets off a popup ad.

end of rant.

today i made curry chicken salad, which was very good. actually i made it on sunday to eat yesterday, but yesterday was too rainy for a picnic. today is a lovely day. here is the recipe:

1 3/4 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 lb skinless boneless chicken breast
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup plain yogurt
5 teaspoons curry powder
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 medium red onion, chopped (1 cup)
1 firm-ripe mango (3/4 lb), peeled, pitted, and chopped
1 cup red seedless grapes (5 oz), halved
1/2 cup salted roasted cashews, coarsely chopped

Bring 4 cups water to a simmer with chicken broth in a 2- to 3-quart saucepan. Add chicken and simmer, uncovered, 6 minutes. Remove pan from heat and cover, then let stand until chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate and cool 10 minutes. Chop into 1/2-inch pieces.
While chicken is cooling, whisk together mayonnaise, yogurt, curry, lime juice, honey, ginger, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Add chicken, onion, mango, grapes, and cashews and stir gently to combine.Makes 6 servings. (Gourmet June 2002)

except i made some changes (like the crazy epicurious commenters who make a million changes and then rate the recipe, it's so funny.) i didn't want to buy the mango and grapes because i'm a cheapo so i used an apple. and i used almonds instead of cashews because i had them. and, funnily enough, i just noticed that although i halved the recipe, i forgot to halve the amount of curry powder. but it wasn't that curryful, i think perhaps the powder had lost its oomph. it was over two years old, i think that is overly aged.

the chicken salad was nicely accompanied by some greens and some espresso brownies from starbucks. everyone's roommate should work at starbucks.

A few weeks ago (I'm still delayed on this posting thing), we had an Easter egg party at M&V's. Eggggggggcellent!

why don't my posts have titles? i like titles.

my new theory about blogging: people who have lots of things to say but don't have anyone to say them to write them on the internet. i told jake this theory. he said that i should start writing my thoughts on the internet instead of telling them to him. does that mean he is bored of me?

ugh.
i feel terrible.
bad sushi cannot be fixed by eating beard papa.
fishy+creamy=yuck