Life, the Universe, and Homemade Nachos (Vegetarian, Gluten-Free)

If you're a regular visitor here, you've noticed that I've sort of gotten out of the habit of blogging. It's one of those things where life has been so eventful that I just don't know where to start. I'm hoping that this will get the ball rolling again, but it will unfortunately involve just listing, probably in an excruciatingly boring manner, the stuff I'd have blogged about if I'd taken time to when it was new. For your trouble, I'll also share the recipe for some nachos I just made, which made Sam declare they were better than any she'd ever had in a restaurant.
So, the news:

• The petition for Fraser's visa was approved near the beginning of the month. Hooray! That's the first hurdle done. He has to go to London in a few weeks for a medical exam (after filling out umpteen more forms and waiting for a couple of other things to process), after which the embassy will schedule his final interview, after which they will at last issue his visa and he'll be able to come over here for good.
• One outcome of the above is that we will be getting married within 90 days of his entry into the USA. The tentative date we've set is May 21, but I can't stress enough that that's tentative. We just can't make solid plans yet without knowing when his final interview is. We're planning a fairly small affair, knowing that hiked travel prices and worldwide financial issues will prevent many people from making the trip. Still, those who attend will be treated to homemade goodies, music, and fun on the theme of "stuff we like." So far, that includes Willy Wonka, Doctor Who, and Star Wars, but expect that list to grow. Fraser will sport a snazzy new kilt, and I have no clue what I'll be wearing. That is, until the costume party bit, where we're encouraging Scottish/American character mashups.
• I am back in the USA now, as of 2 weeks ago Wednesday. It's weird, and it has its ups and downs, and of course I miss Fraser, and of course I'm glad to see family and friends again.
• I'm actively looking for a decent job. I have a couple of leads to follow up, but no news there yet.
• Before leaving Scotland, I got to see more of the country, including Aberdeen and the northeastern coast, along the North Sea, including Pennan, where the movie Local Hero was filmed. I'll be posting pictures from that trip as part of a forthcoming article on Pop Bunker, so stay tuned for that. I did post reviews of a lot of the places I visited on Yelp, so if you're interested, you can see those here.
• I've brought on a new batch of writers at Pop Bunker, so hopefully things will pick up there and get fun again.
• I'm going to be writing more for the Geek Girls Network, once I get my posting credentials, so look for me there too.
• Supersecret project I can't tell you about yet goes here.
• More stuff I've forgotten and may get to later goes here.

Now, for the nachos! I was just feeling snacky, but didn't want anything sweet, so I raided the kitchen to see what all we had. There was a package of corn tortillas. There was one tomato, some onions, some dried cilantro, some lime juice, some garlic powder, some ancho chili powder, and a nearly-full bag of shredded cheddar cheese. Therefore: Nachos!

Use a pizza cutter to cut a stack (don't ask me how many - about 1/4 of the package) of small corn tortillas into quarters. Spray some Pam (I used the organic canola variety) into a gallon-sized ziploc bag. Dump in the tortillas & sprinkle in some garlic powder & ancho chili powder. Zip shut, shake like crazy til evenly(ish) coated. Spread on cookie sheets. Bake at 400F for 5-10 minutes (crispy but not burnt). You might have to check them pretty frequently. Throw away the ones that burned because you weren't checking frequently enough.

While the chips bake, dice up a tomato & a bit of onion (less onion than tomato). Mix in a bowl with a bit of cilantro, a dash of salt, and several generous squeezes of lime juice.

When the chips are done, switch the oven from bake to broil. Spread a layer of chips on an oven-safe plate. Top with shredded cheese and 1/3 of the salsa, making sure you get some of each on every chip (because those dry, bendy chips at the bottom of a plate of restaurant nachos are just nasty). Lay more chips on top and top with more cheese & salsa. Repeat one more time until you've used everything up.

Pop in the oven for just a minute or two, to get the cheese all nice and melty.

Remove with an oven mitt, bring to the table, and warn your friends that the plate is hot!

A Wintertime Message

What's in a Flag?

David Sedaris has said that when he travels, he likes to ask people questions like "what are your local gun laws?" and "what do you do for Christmas?". I've decided that I'm going to start asking "what do you do with your flag?".

In the United States of America, we have a series of regulations to dictate what is or is not to be done with the American flag. There are rules about how to fold it, carry it, display it, dispose of it, and what you generally may or may not do with it. Some of them are pretty straightforward and make complete sense without leaving much room for debate. For example, if you want to fly an American flag along with that of another country with whom we are not actively at war, you can, but they need to be flown at the same height. Some rules, such as the particular triangular folding pattern to be used when storing a flag, seem to be in place to give a sense of ceremony when handling it. Some might see that as nitpicky, but I can appreciate the occasional slowing down to reflect upon that which the flag represents.

Some other regulations are a bit more controversial. There is one that states that the flag must never lie flat upon the surface below it, such as the ground. For this reason, it was remarked upon with varying degrees of snark when then-President George W. Bush and his wife stood upon a rug that featured the image of the Stars and Stripes. Some people thought it was ironic and remarked upon the obvious symbolism this could reflect. Others said they were offended that the flag would be depicted on a floor mat at all. Still others said things like "it's just a rug. Get over it."

This commentary was still nothing to the response Kid Rock received after appearing at the 2004 Super Bowl (yep - the same one famous for that other wardrobe malfunction), wearing a flag as a poncho. I remember how profoundly offended my friend's father, a Senior Chief in the Navy, was by this. He felt that this was a profound desecration of the flag and a slap in the face to all of the servicemen and women who put their lives on the line for all that it represents. The federal flag regulations are with him on this, stating that the flag shall never be worn as a garment. Still, not that I'm holding Kid Rock up as any kind of moral paragon or even fashion icon, in an interview with the Daily Mail, he said:

I don’t regret it. At the end of they day I’m pretty vocal about America and our soldiers. It was just my way of expressing my patriotism.

These two examples, to me, illustrate an interesting disparity in logic. For the most part, it seemed that the same people who said "it's just a rug, Get over it." are the same ones who were most offended by Kid Rock's flag poncho. Would it have been different if Pres. Bush had been standing on an actual flag, instead of a mat bearing its image, or if Kid Rock had been wearing a t-shirt bearing the image of a flag, instead of a garment made from a real one? It's tough to draw clear lines while still allowing for freedom of expression.

Because of all of these rules, regulations, and controversies that have just been a part of the backdrop of the society in which I was raised, it was surprising to me to see my Scottish friends, along with several thousand strangers, crowding together in a sea of flags and tartan as they marched toward Hampden Park to support the national football (soccer, that is) team. Some wore their flag like a cape, tied together at the short end and left to flow and flutter behind them, letting every fan take on the persona of a patriotic super hero. Others wore them like a shawl, literally wrapping themselves in national pride, while adding the symbolism of the flag protecting their bodies from the cold night air. It's a beautiful thing to behold, and there is absolutely no room for offense to be taken at the sight. These are the same people who, when the Scottish team was down and in need of encouragement, sent 50,000 voices raised in the national anthem. I'm actually getting a little choked up thinking about it, so strong was the outpouring of hope and pride that rode on every note.

Not that it's likely, but if Kid Rock had been the celebrity guest singing Flower of Scotland, and wore a Scottish flag as a poncho, I'm pretty sure the fans would cheer extra loudly and probably copy the look. I think everyone has the right to be offended or not and feel what they feel, as long as they express their opinions about it with some modicum of forethought and rationalism. There is no one who gets on my nerves faster than a fanatic extremist, no matter what they're shouting about, whether it's flags or religion or the Star Wars prequels. I'm happy to invite rational discussion, but don't call somebody Hitler because you disagree with them. I'm only pointing that out because my concluding statement may be one you disagree with, and that's fine. I have never been in the military, though I have many loved ones who are. I've never walked a mile in your shoes to know what it is inside you that makes you disagree if you do. If so, I'm interested in your opinion and the reasons for it.

Fraser loves his flag

Now that that's out of the way, I'm not saying that the Scots are doing it right and America is getting it wrong when it comes to flag etiquette. Not exactly, anyway. Justin, over at Geek Shui Living, asked me recently if being abroad for an extended period has altered my view of American society. I basically told him that it has, but I'm still processing and observing and contemplating how it has. It is in this vein that I contemplate the difference in what we do with our flags and see how this issue illustrates a concept I've had difficulty putting into words.

I fully acknowledge the right of a nation to impose rules, regulations, and to some extent even societal standards for proper conduct regarding its national symbols. However, when I saw that stadium full of flag-wearing Scots, my heart swelled. These were people who were together. They were one, singing the same anthem without being prompted. I just can't help but like this system better, as a matter of personal opinion, than the one that sparks yet more arguments and scandal, with the national anthem only sung when the announcer says it's time. I know that the differences between the two societies run much deeper than that, but I just like how the flag in Scotland is like a favorite teddy bear, instead of a thing made inaccessible on a pedestal of regulations. Fraser said to me, "I love my flag. Every spot of mud on it or snag in the fabric is from a time when I wore it proudly."

I just can't help but wish I could see a crowd of Americans who felt the same, insulated from the cold wind by Stars and Bars, who, at least for a little while, stop bickering about what makes them different because everywhere they look, on their very bodies, is a symbol of what holds them together.

When Life Takes Your Pumpkins...

For at least all of my adult life, Fall has been my favorite season. My friend Scott does the best autumnal things, like getting candles in all the right smells, hosting pumpkin carving contests, and, along with the rest of a group of like-minded friends, plans outings to haunted hayrides and Hammer movie marathons. We used to walk at the beach a lot, and my favorite walks were the ones where the salt air was cooling off and there was a 20 degree difference between the stretches of sidewalk under the shadows of all the emptying hotels and the gaps where the sun came through.
I found myself missing that this year, sad that I'll miss out on all the fun.

Along with that, there's the food - the pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin spice lattes, and I thought surely, that would help fill in some of what I was missing, but alas, pumpkin is really hard to come by in Scotland. Even Starbucks, which I figured would be the same everywhere, doesn't offer the Fall seasonal flavors that they do in the US. I spent a little too much time whining and convincing myself that I was homesick for these things. I didn't make it home for Thanksgiving last year, and I won't this year either, but I'd decided that since our friends here seem to rotate hosting little gatherings at home, one of our turns would be a Thanksgiving dinner. After seeing how hard it is to find pumpkin, my ears drooped and I became convinced that it just wouldn't be the same.

Then, tonight, while I was putting some dessert together, I took a good look at what was in front of me, and what it all meant:

See the mug? Not only does it say I [heart] boys in kilts, reminding me of the sweet Scottish guy I'm here to be with, but it's full of coffee from my new coffee maker, a gift from my mom to give me back one of those comforts of home I'd been missing. Then, there's the Mackie's honeycomb ice cream, which may possibly be the best ice cream I've ever had in my life. If you've ever had a Cadbury's Crunchie bar, it's like the inside of that, mixed in with this amazingly light ice cream, and, more to the point, is not available in America. Granny Smith apples, oatmeal, and brown sugar are plentiful enough in America, so I could make that apple crisp at home, but the important thing is, I could make it here.

I realized that I actually have everything I was missing, with the exception of the specific friends who are back home. I miss them, and if there were some way to get everyone all together at once, I'd do it, but I have memories of previous years and more years to look forward to with them, and I'm sure we'll make the most of them.

Right now, I have autumnal food; I have a damn fine cup of coffee; I have new friends and my boy; I have things that I can enjoy here, that I couldn't if I were anywhere else but where I am right now.

Cook, Eat, Love

I've never been all that interested in cooking. Baking, yes, but not more frequently than once a week at most, and generally only sweet things. Other than that, I've always seen cooking as a chore - a thing that needs to be done. That's not to say I always minded doing it, but I also never looked forward to it either. I might have looked forward to the meal that would be the result of it, but the act of actually putting it together just wasn't something I would get excited about. That is, until recently.

Fraser working on a Guardian recipe

I've been in Scotland a little over a month now, getting used to sharing my everyday life with someone again, after a really long hiatus. One of my favorite parts of this is, to my surprise, the time we spend in the kitchen. Without consciously setting out to, Fraser and I have become these people who like to cook. Neither of us is particularly gifted when it comes to culinary creativity, but we can follow a recipe with the best of 'em, and we know what we like.

We've taken to cutting recipes out of the newspapers, bookmarking ones that people post to Twitter or Facebook, and even flipping through a Jamie Oliver cookbook (Say what you will about him, but the guy comes up with some good stuff.).

We don't eat out much, partly because, well, everybody knows we don't have any money. The silver lining to that lack of funds is still pretty shiny, though. If we had a bunch of money, we might have taken to eating out a lot and missed out on some really good experiences. Just about every day, when we start getting hungry, we wander into the kitchen. As we rummage through the cabinets, preheat the oven, boil water, chop vegetables, or whatever is required, we're not only doing a chore that needs to be done if we want to eat anything remotely healthy and within budget, but getting some quality time to follow whatever the day has brought. This is when anything remarkable about the day will be brought up, when plans will be made, concerns addressed, and silliness ensues. Also, if dinner gets messed up, it's hard to place blame if both of us are equally involved in creating it. That's a rarity though, as we've pretty much gotten the hang of it at this point.

There was some burned rice and improperly-stored and consequently rotten veggies in the beginning, but we're getting steadily better. We don't do pasta a lot, but when we do, we've figured out what to add to it to make it less boring. We've also officially mastered the Scott Pilgrim shepherd's pie. If it was a rough day - the kind where he was hassled at work or I've had a project blow up in my face, this goes a long way toward making it better and restoring balance. If it was a good day, then it continues to be a good day, turning into a good night.

I just can't help but wonder how many people who live together would be happier if they also cooked together. It really is a good way to make a chore enjoyable while spending time together without needing to go out and spend money or be camped in front of the TV. If you also do this, let me know. If you don't already but decide to try it out, let me know how it goes. If not, come have dinner with us sometime. It probably won't be too fancy, but it'll be made with love.

Thousands of Words, Mostly in Picture Form

I promised myself that I was going to only write words I'd get paid for today, but since the work site is undergoing maintenance, I figured it'd be okay to post some pictures and stuff from the past few days.

Friday, we went to see The Illusionist - the new animated one, not the boring Edward Norton one - and sooner or later, I'll get around to posting a spoiler-free recap of that over on Pop Bunker. This tied nicely into Saturday's trip to Edinburgh for the Festival Fringe, as I got to see in real life some places that were beautifully drawn into the movie, for example:

Tatischeff performs in the window of Jenner's

The real Jenner's in today's Edinburgh

We saw lots of cool things that are always there, like the Sir Walter Scott Memorial, which I think looks more like the place a wicked queen in a fairy tale might live:

Unsurprisingly, Fraser got some really cool pictures of it.

...and lots of things that were not as they always are:

The Police Box may be a fixed point, but the really amazing Johnny Cash singer is sadly not. He serenaded us as we had lunch outside one of the numerous cram-packed pubs on a side-street.

If anyone knows what this is all about, by all means, enlighten me! There were no signs or actors around - just these dummies, looking more than a little disturbing.

Best money-making scheme ever! Why did I never think of this?

In addition to lots of wandering among the crowds and sights, we did catch 2 of the festival shows - one stand-up comedy act revolving around Ferris Bueller's Day Off, and one 80's-themed sketch show. All in all, a pretty good time!

There will be more trips to Edinburgh in the not-too distant future, for the Storytelling Festival, and to finally meet up with Joe Peacock, whose rockin' Art of Akira exhibit has been accepted as part of the Scotland Loves Animation festival. (Man, this town loves a festival!)

Elvis and Other Religious Figures

Today's exploring had a slightly more pious bent than yesterday's. We visited the altar of Saint Elvis - King of Rock and Roll at The Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum, then fled an impending pipe organ recital to have lunch at a pub inside a building which was originally a church. Really good food, although I'm not exactly sure what it was that I ordered. I had some kind of sandwich with cheese and... some stuff. I want to go back there again, for their A Play, a Pie, and a Pint lunchtime theatre. It was also pretty cool to get to see some of the things I've seen in Fraser's photos, but in their real-life locations and states of being.

That doesn't sound like much, but there is a ton to see at that museum, just among the free exhibits - everything from taxidermied jungle creatures to oil paintings, with the odd airplane suspended from the ceiling or cartoon instructions on how to become an authentic mummy.

Meanwhile, I'm highly amused that some friends and relatives that I almost never talk to have begun a debate on my Facebook page, over which is the better Glasgow football team, just because... uh... I'm here.

Free-Range Haggis

Muppet roadkill?! Ikea is a strange and scary place.

For starters, Fraser and I have reached a new level of relationship status: the all-important Ikea phase. There is an Ikea dangerously close by, and we got some stuff to make life a little easier as we occupy this space on loan to us from a generous and lovely friend. He's putting together a chest of drawers right now, while I mostly laugh at the grumbling and occasional swearing coming from that direction.

Most importantly, to my thinking anyway, is the coffee maker. I dunno where these Europeans get off calling that watered-down espresso an Americano and trying to tell people that it's the same thing as brewed coffee. Take it from a lifelong American coffee drinker - it is so not the same. Oddly enough, we had lunch at a nice pub in the city, where they had great big signs in the window, advertising that they serve real, regular coffee, but I didn't have it then. It was the first thing I did when we got back from this first day of being shown around.

Duke of Wellington statue, with upgrade

We did some window shopping and walking around the City Centre. There was the modern art museum, where we might have momentarily pretended to be statues, unless you were that pair of non-English speaking tourists who happened by at just the right moment and gave us funny looks, in which case, those statues were totally real.

I've also gotten to meet a lot of people this past couple of days - no thanks to the extremely surly customs agent who demanded all these insane details before stamping my passport - given that I've only been here less than 2 days. Every single one of them has remarked upon my height - mostly in complimentary ways, but some, not so much. Fraser's dad was funny about it, taking great delight in standing next to me and seeing how tall he could stand.

He also gave me quite the history lesson on the time-honored tradition of raising one's own flock of haggis, nurturing them and caring for them, until Burns Night, when, just as you pick a lobster out of a tank at a seafood restaurant to have it cooked for you, you select your haggis, then catch and kill it yourself, a cruel process much like boiling crabs (In my head, this was actually a lot more like the scene in Son In Law, when Crawl attempts to slaughter the Thanksgiving turkey he frightened to "death" in the barnyard). I was much chastised for not giving this ancient and sacred practice its due reverence upon its being recounted to me, as I was being delivered of a solemn trust to welcome me into the fold. I have promised to try harder next time.

As far as getting back on the grid goes, this post marks the successful implementation of the wireless network here, and my iPhone has picked up the signal, though it doesn't seem to like any of the free wifi networks we encountered around town. At any rate, I should be able to use Skype on the iPhone from here, and/or at least access email and socnets.

You Can Call Anywhere In The World From Here

It took a bit of doing, but I finally got my tickets booked for my trip to Scotland! Instead of rehashing all the stress, I'm just focusing on the excitement of getting to go and spend some time with my favorite guy in a place I've always wanted to visit. I'm really looking forward to (and also fairly nervous about) meeting his friends and family and seeing some of the places we've planned to visit. 

Most of the time will be spent in and around Glasgow, and after seeing all the pictures Fraser has sent me (and posted on his site), I'm excited to see them in real life. I've also been made aware of some quirky features, like the police box (read: TARDIS) coffee shops. Fraser might be the proper photographer in this relationship, but if I'm gonna be a tourist, you'd better believe I'll be taking pictures of my own and most likely posting them here. There'll be some special outings planned in town - Fraser got us tickets to see Joshua Radin, and I'm hoping I'll get to a soccer game too. And some out of town - to various festival happenings in Edinburgh, and to visit friends and see sights a little further north. I won't go into detail now; I'll save that stuff to talk about once it actually happens!

For now, here are the basics:

I'll get there on the 17th of this month, and have booked my return flight for December 15th. That could change, depending on a few things, but for now, that's where it stands. Why am I staying so long? Because I can. A tourist visa is good for up to 6 months, I can keep up my hack-writing from there, and I can spend more time with my boy.

I'm not sure exactly what the phone and internet situation will be just yet, but I'm planning to stay in touch and keep writing for Pop Bunker while I'm there. I have a Google Voice number, so messages can be left for me there. I also have Skype and will likely be using that for the majority of my overseas calling. If AT&T will unlock my iPhone for me, I'll get a SIM card I can use there, but otherwise, my regular phone number won't work, as I'm having my account set to vacation. Email, Twitter, and Facebook should continue as normal. I will have at least daily access to the Internet, even if I don't check it after the end of the workday. I'm pretty much planning to work the same hours as Fraser, and then use any downtime I have to work on my much-neglected novel.

If you'd like to keep in touch, send me your Skype ID if you have one, your mailing address if you like postcards, and follow me on Twitter (which I think will be easiest to update, as I can do that even from my Kindle, with its free 3G connectivity!).