There's bacon grease in the cornbread?

So I moonlight at a well-known Southern-cooking restaurant. Sometimes I serve, but yesterday I was an Expediter - one who puts the orders together as the grill line places them in the window, adds condiments, make sure the dishes have the proper plate presentation, etc... Yesterday I pulled a 13.5 hour shift and spent the day observing my fellow workers lose their minds one by one. It's amazing how ballistic people will go when they can't have their cigarette. It's funny - most of the people who have reservations about working in a restaurant have a fear of rude customers. It's been my experience that your co-workers will make you faaaar more angry faaaar more often than the relatively few uncouth customers one comes into contact with. It's also been my experience that if the table ever tells you, "You're the best server we've ever had!", you can count on a crapola tip.

We also had a customer who had to be physically restrained at his table from beating his female companion. I think the managers asked them to leave after the near altercation, but as I was working in the kitchen I didn't see the brouhaha myself. Apparently the other gentlemen at the table weren't doing much to ameliorate the situation, and it was sad that the other tables in the section had to get the management instead of homeboy's "friends" policing the situation.

We had a fifteen-top come in about 20 minutes before close and they ordered a variety of items. Typically on Sunday nights we start to run out of things because we stay busy pretty much the entire day. Last night was no different - we ran out of dumplings once, meatloaf once, and baked potatoes. Of course the last party ordered copious amounts of the things we were out of. Since they were being served by a new employee, there was some delay in finding out which items they wanted to replace the ones they couldn't have. Unfortunately, the grill line was in such a hurry to get out of there that they sent all the food to the dishroom as soon as they placed the order in the window. Needless to say, neither the customers, the server, or the manager on duty were particularly pleased to find out they couldn't get replacement items, nor any more bread. The cooks even told me about an hour before closing time that we were out of fries so that they wouldn't have to cook anymore. Turns out that they didn't inform the entire grill line of this, as one cook continued to drop fries for the orders he fixed - after I'd sent our several tables' food without fries. Now I look like I'm a slacker because I believed the grill cooks. I'm not in love with my job, but I try not to be a slacker because it would make things harder on my co-workers if I do shoddy work. I wish everyone thought that way.

Life is Good

All I have to say right now is I love Cary, NC. And the Embassy Suites is quite nice. And I've been offered an extension on my Fellowship to do a post-doc - assuming I actually finish this degree. Even the 3-hour teleconference that I sat through today was interesting and productive.

Just checked my email. There's an opening on campus in married student housing, and there's only one person ahead of me on the list for it. They must accept it by Monday or it's mine!!!

And... We've been accepted for the Jamaica site. The only hold-up is they want me to book to connecting rooms b/c all suites have been taken. If I can get them for the double occupancy rate, then cool. If I have to pay the rate for 2 sinle occupancy rooms, then Clearwater Here We Come!

Well I'm off to read the new booklet. Good nite.

Hi - Bye

I've been busy trying to prepare for a meeting tomorrow in NC. Now, it's time to go home.

Jamaica's outta the question...

... so I guess we'll start looking into Clearwater. The boys have made it known that they prefer Florida beaches to Myrtle Beach. Jamaica is going to be out of our price range, so Shonta finally resigned herself to the disappointment of not going there this year. I think Clearwater will be great though. I assume the Panama City regulars will migrate on over, so we should know a lot of people there. I actually had Myrtle as my first choice, as it's only a 4-4.5 hour drive from here. It's also close to my family, but I can't complain about the opportunity to hit Florida in the fall... I'd like to find a condo that's occupied by brethren primarily, but that might be a little hard to do. If we do make it there, I've got to take the kids to Busch Gardens in Tampa (OK, I really want to go back for myself, but they'll definitely enjoy it).

I think I'll hit up Sam's today. Nothing like buying food in bulk. And Pampers. Here in the south ALL disposable diapers are called Pampers, be they Luvs, Huggies, or generic store brands. Is that a southern thing?

Perhaps someone out there can tell me how we're going to pull off all of our projected trips over the next two months - Kansas City in July, Bakersfield in July, Cincinnati sometime this summer, and the parents in two weeks? Donations are welcome - particularly if you have a van you're trying to write off as a charitable contribution.

One thing this blog has done is let me know that I'm not gonna be a writer when I grow up.

And guess who's leading songs for the second week in a row? No, the fact that the Milliches will be driving down from HQ won't make me even more nervous. Nope, not at all. I guess I should get with the piccolo player sometime and see what songs he's picked out for tomorrow. I'm utterly convinced now that Spokesman Club was a trap. An enjoyable trap, but a trap nonetheless.

No more 'Woe is Me' posts

Well, the meeting was relatively painless. The professors just stressed that they would be "really happy" I would go ahead and organize my advisory comittee, file my GS2 (form outlining coursework needed for graduation), and take my qualifying exams by the fall - which is what I planned to do anyway. I also picked their brains for some career advice. Forensic DNA analysis has piqued my interest lately; I was assured that my plant background wouldn't exclude me from obtaining a post-doc position in forensics. Of course, I'll probably be interested in something else by the time I graduate. I also feel somewhat obligated to continue in cotton research, since cotton growers are funding my education. However, upon receipt of the fellowship I was told that there was no obligation on my part to remain in cotton, so...

I don't like my major...

... and I'm sick of school. For some reason all of my recent DNA sequencing efforts have been frustratingly crappy. That translates into a tremendous waste of time, effort, and $$$$. I've invested quite a bit of time into generating the sequence data, and now I may not be able to use it because it's not as high-quality as it should be. Plus, I have to meet with some members of the department so they can rake me over the coals for not having had a committee meeting yet, thereby delaying my comps. I guess I need to find that final faculty member to complete my graduate committee.

OK, so I don't really hate school. I am tired of doing the same thing every day, and I'm ready to move on to phase II of this project. I'm also not over excited about working with plants (cotton, to be precise), but since my fellowship requires I do cotton genetic research, then cotton genetic research it is. *sigh*

I guess I'm tired of feeling inadequate. I somewhat reluctantly accepted the fellowship in the first place b/c I was intimidated about having to major in GENETICS. Molecular biology - fine. Biological Sciences - fine. GENETICS - not so fine. I always feel I should know more about my subject, but I don't love it enough to constantly read, read, read science journal articles. Am I just too lazy? I wish I weren't so insecure, but that's the story of my life. When I look back upon most of the outlandish (or downright stoopid) things I've done, hiding my insecurities has always been the ultimate reason. *Stopping to recollect* Yep, I would say that statement's accurate.

Oh well, Shonta's here so I'd best get to steppin'. Later!

The Fallen Ones

Man... That was bad. Not even enjoyable bad. I didn't watch the whole thing, just flipped back & forth b/c I could only stomach small doses at a time. Once again I ask: "Who gives the go-ahead for these projects?"

It was sad to see Richie Cunningham's dad and the male half of Hart to Hart working in this film. Oh well, I guess a paycheck is a paycheck.

At least it's not Jerry Springer

I was talking to a friend last night when we realized that we share a guilty pleasure: those horrible Saturday night movies on the Sci-Fi Network. You know the type - the actors appear to reading cue cards; the special effects are... special, for lack of a better word; and the plots have more holes than a flute. Typically you can find me late at night watching this tripe in amazement that someone was actually able to convince a studio to give said tripe the green light. So week after week I subject myself to such torture as "Boa", "Python", "Crocodile I & II", "Snakehead Terror", "Frankenfish" and the like. Oh, how could I leave out the ever-popular "Mansquito"? Yes, "Mansquito" - as a bonus, the movie also featured a womansquito.

This week they're showing "The Fallen Ones", which is about the archaeological find of the century - a mummy. But not just ANY mummy mind you - no, this one is 42 feet tall and is supposedly the offspring of an angel and a human woman. I'm assuming they'll use Genesis 6:4 to back up this assertion. Oh I'm sure this one will have plenty of cheese; after all, it stars Casper van Dien. I'm suprised he hasn't won an Oscar yet for his thespianism, as exhibited in such fare as "Starship Troopers", "Beastmaster: The Eye of Braxus", "Shark Attack", "The Omega Code", yada yada yada. The only movie which managed to escape unscathed was "Sleepy Hollow", probably due to the miniscule amount of screen time Senor van Dien appears onscreen and the fact that his death was pretty memorable.


I couldn't quite bring myself to watch "Man-Thing" last week though. The cheese factor was a tad too high, even for me.

I suppose it could be worse - I could be addicted to Lifetime movies or "Trading Spaces".

Maintenance-delayed post

Tuesday:

I just made the mistake of looking at plane tickets to Jamaica for the Feast. They were just low enough to make me think Jamaica might be doable this year. Maybe. I think I’ll keep this info to myself – and my faithful blog readers, of course ;-D *Note to self: Don’t blurt out to Shonta “I’m considering Jamaica.!”* I don’t know why she doesn’t want to return to Myrtle Beach. I don’t get the whole “I don’t wanna stay in-state for the Feast” thing. Jalen is rooting for a return to Florida, and I think Nick is too. However, the Florida they’re thinking of Panama City Beach. I’ve never been to Clearwater, so I don’t know how it compares with PCB, but it’s also a distinct possibility. I briefly looked at Taos on the web, but I don’t think that’s gonna be an option.

Supposedly there was a report printed today about a connection between some possible pheromone and male homosexuals' brains. I’ve got to look that up and check it out. Could be interesting. Oh, wait – the Heat are playing the Wizards tonite. I guess I’ll read that tomorrow.

Genesis

August 4, 1970. Tuesday morning, 4:12 a.m. Marlboro General Hospital in Bennettsville, SC. That's where and when it all went down. After much pushing and cajoling, I ventured out into this world and took my first breath. Matthew & Jackie brought their bouncing bundle of joy home to our little white house on Main Street in Clio (rhymes with Ohio), SC. I don't remember very much about my early years (obviously), but I'm interested to see how much will come back to me as I type this.

My hometown was quite small; pop. < 1000. It would be four years before I got a baby brother, so for the moment I ruled the roost. Me and the dogs, that is. Well technically they were roaches, but mom said I called them dogs. These were the large roaches known as "water bugs" or "Palmetto bugs". *Do not confuse with the true water bugs. While they do look similar, the bugs of which I speak are just a large variety of your typical cock-a-roach).* Anyway, I distinctly remember how they would FLY around the house when the lights were out. Giant flying roaches. Even as a toddler I remember that that's just not right.

One of the things that was so cool about our location was that my paternal grandmother lived two houses over. Two houses past that was one of my maternal great-aunts (who spoiled me to death!), and behind her lived my maternal grandmother and grandfather. My paternal grandfather died when I was about 1 ½; I don’t remember him at all. We had one Polaroid of me sitting in his lap, and one of my dad at his casket (coffin for you non-Southerners); but his face is hidden in both pics. I finally got to see his face a couple of years ago when my grandmother showed me his last driver’s license. My dad’s sister looked just like him. Everyone tells me he spoiled me too before he died.

So my dad’s lineage is Palmer and Cabbagestalk. I’m glad that wives took the husband’s name back in those days. I’m not really feeling Cabbagestalk. It is rather unique however, and a member of our family has traced it back to some slaves in Manning. It appears that ALL Cabbagestalks are related. My dad had four brothers (two deceased) and two sisters.

As for my mom’s side, her dad was a Johnson and her mom was a McLeod – like the guy in Highlander. My mom’s side of the family is a little different. Grandma had 12 kids – 11 of which survived. She had three boys, then three sets of boy/girl twins, and finshed off with a set of triplets (two boys and one girl). When Grandaddy died in ’96, we counted up her grandkids; she had ~ 60. Her 4 daughters had 3 kids between them; the other 57 came from her sons. Let’s just say there are Johnsons up and down the east coast, from Florida to Connecticut. Needless to say, I’m related to pretty much my whole town. This is a good thing for the most part; this does, however, present obstacles when trying to find a date/girlfriend…

I have two older siblings: Ronnie and Carolyn (Ann)… There’s also baby brother Mark. There’s also another possible brother named Len, but that’s a story for another day.

We spent 5 ½ years at this house before we moved to our current palace. Other than the roaches, I have a few random memories of my time there. I remember being trapped on the porch while a vicious killer Cujo devil dog menaced me, instilling in me a lifelong aversion to large canines; sitting on the front steps tieing and re-tieing my shoes until I got it right; sitting in the crook of the little dogwood tree by the sidewalk in the front yard; helping our neighbor Mrs. Annie Ruth pick up pecans in our yards (her trailer is visible in the pic); seeing our neighbor’s beagle lying in the road dying after being hit by an 18-wheeler; getting the truck drivers to honk their horn as they drove past… I haven’t thought of these things in years.

Well, I must go try to get my truck window fixed. I’ll try to attach a coupla pix – one should be of me around the age of 5, and the other should be a pic of me taken at the old house a couple of years ago.

Ye olde homestead 

Kindergarten '75 

Hashbrown Casserole

Well it's official. I'm making hashbrown casserole for the potluck (potSUCCESS in these parts) tomorrow. It's a simple dish to make, but I wasn't sure how I was going to keep it warm; I didn't wanna use a crockpot b/c I want the casserole to maintain some crispness on top. Shonta suggested I buy some type of pan that would kinda act like a steam well. That might work. As for the ingredients, I use frozen hash browns, cream of chicken, onion, cheese, salt, and pepper. Bake covered @ 375 for 1/2 hour or so, and then broil (to crisp the top)for 5-10 minutes. Hope they like it tomorrow.

I think I'll be able to talk Shonta into making a blueberry cheesecake. I'm sure Patti will make here world famous meatballs, and Mr. B will contribute his even more world-famous salad avec ranch (or is that peppercorn ranch?)... Yeah, tomorrow's gonna be great.

Oh yeah, and I'll get to hear a sermon too.

Dear Diary...

Why am I trying this blog thing? I’m not comfortable with the idea that my inner thoughts are available for anyone to peruse, so I don’t post anything deeply personal. My posts are pretty blahhh - so why do it? As I mentioned in my first post, I’ve toyed with the idea of having a journal since I was a wee lad. What always stopped me was the realization that I would never write down anything of substance, because I’d always be afraid someone would eventually find and read what I’d written. So instead of starting a journal in a notebook, I decide to publish one online. Go figure…

I do like the fact that blogging gives me a way to reflect on events of the day, capture random musings so I can give them more thought later, study myself (even if I don’t share what I find out), practice writing, and share what’s going on with me with friends and family. I guess those are some of the reasons I’m doing this. A larger part of the reason is joy of communicating with fellow church members and the camaraderie I feel with certain other bloggers (Summer, Ash, and D-D-Desiree) and the others I’ve “met” through their blogs (pretty much everyone these three have linked to). I think my brother may check in here from time to time as well, and he can catch glimpses of what’s going on in my head and with his nephews and sister-in-law.

I might turn my next couple of posts into an autobiographical sketch; just what the doctor ordered for a case of insomnia…

Why isn't it hot yet?!? It's May, isn't it?

*Taking Desiree’s advice to compose my post elsewhere and then post it to my blog*

I received the Tomorrow’s World magazine over the weekend. I really enjoyed the articles (as I always do). I was glad to see the evolution article; in my field I’m constantly bombarded with the presentation of Darwinism and neo-Darwinian evolution as the GOSPEL TRUTH, and the faults of the theory are never acknowledged. There is an unspoken understanding that only the ignorant or fundamentalist Christians (synonyms in many minds) disbelieve the hypothesis of evolution. Since gene mutations and duplications are so strongly intertwined with evolutionary theory, my field (genetics) is neck-deep in the assumption the evolutionary hypothesis is true. Interestingly enough (or not), quite a few people in my department are extremely active in their respective churches. These are mainly lab techs though, and not the profs. Ironically, whenever there’s misfortune or tragedy in the dept., there is no shortage of “We’ll pray for you” and “You’re in our prayers” circulating. I’m not trying to poke fun, as I believe that my colleagues and professors are sincere and are genuinely trying to make the sufferer feel better. I just see irony in invoking a God that, if evolutionists are correct, is at best a liar, and at worst doesn’t exist. *Was that a run-on sentence?*

I find that I utilize the Scriptures much better in my head than when I’m trying to explain something to someone – not like I get the opportunity to explain my beliefs very often. I often have arguments in my head as I lie in bed at night – I’ll try to prove or disprove doctrines by using Scripture without getting up and opening a Bible. I think my arguments are well-reasoned and accurate when they’re in my head – but on the few occasions I’ve actually been asked to vocalize my beliefs and back them up Scripturally, my responses are nowhere near as smooth. I must get better at that, as I am admonished to by… Peter, I think.

On a completely unrelated note, I think I’ve found my Summer jam for 2005. I’m really digging Alicia Keys’ “Karma” on her last CD. I saw her perform it live on VH1 with like an 8- or 9-violin ensemble, as well as a couple of cellos. *Smile Summer!* It’s an uptempo cut produced by Timbaland, I believe. Anyway, that’s my current flava-of-the-month…

OK – I really am going to start exercising and dieting next week. I didn’t want to miss out on this week’s potluck (Mr. Davis is coming down from HQ) or the various Mother’s Day dinners I’ll be attending – after slavin’ for THE MAN at Cracker Barrel for a few hours. Yep, Monday I’ll hit the gym and cut out the carbs. Yeah, that’s the ticket…

edited 05/05/05: To listen to a clip of "Karma" w/ Windows Media Player, click here.