18 April 2004 ... Baking and Books

My own personal universe is the only one I have power over. And I will live my life as I see fit. I choose the path of enlightenment, I choose to do good in all things, I will be responsible.

And so, happy things:

Baking
or: Baking??!

heh. I don't cook. Or bake. And I hate washing dishes. I try to keep myself out of the kitchen as much as possible.

Growing up, my mom was and is a great cook. She likes to experiment with new recipes all the time. But I was never interested in learning how to do all those things. When I lived on my own, I made pasta. And those flavored rice packages. Boiling water is about the extent of my abilities!

This past xmas, WC's mom got us a bread making machine. And I was really excited. I could make stuff, and not really have to do anything! You throw the ingredients into the bucket and four hours later you pull out fresh hot bread.

So far, I've made 8 loaves of bread. Some were the pre-mixed kind you buy in a box from the store. Some were Static Creations of flour and sugar and yeast and other cool ingredients.

All my bread tastes like bread and my confidence is up! So when I saw the first issue of the Vegetarian Journal this year had an article about corn bread, I knew that's what I wanted to do next!

It took a while to get all my vegan ingredients together. Fake eggs had to be bought online. And then there's baking powder, which is different from baking soda.

Today was the day. I looked at the recipe on the side of the corn bread box and I gathered all the ingredients on the counter. Then I had to stare at them for a while. I was really intimidated! heh. But I got going eventually.

I got it all mixed up! I put it in the oven! I did a cheri-dance of excitement! I checked often: Are you done yet? And then I got it out of the oven and I didn't even burn myself! And then I put it back in the oven 'cause I didn't think it was all the way cooked yet! haha.

And then it was done, and I let it cool, and then I ate some! And it even tastes like corn bread! baha! happy!

Books

Books make me happy like nothing else. I am always reading three or four at a time.

I will read anything if you make me, but I do prefer my science fiction and my animals and my creativity books. Unfortunately, the "I will read anything" part has gotten me into trouble...

I do a lot of reading at work (... mostly during breaks, heh). In fact, I'm the only one who reads there. Everyone knows I read sci fi. And my supervisor started bringing me books from his collection.

At first, the books he brought were older sci fi. They weren't books that I would normally pick up for myself... I don't particularly like time travel stories, or "universe-driven" stories (ie, stories that have little to do with characters, but only move along to show you all the cool things in the author's world). But I read them anyway, because the books are classics and the authors are part of the building blocks of the science fiction genre.

But now my supervisor is bringing me horror books. To which I say, ick. I am reading them. But I don't like it.

I don't even watch the news on TV because I'm too sensitive. I don't like hearing about people who have been hurt or seeing horrible accidents. I have too much empathy. And the scenes in horror books are a lot more terrible than the stuff they show on the news. ick, I say.

And so, I try to read the horror books fast. Just to get them over with. And that's probably why he keeps giving me more. sighs. This last one that I just finished, I'm going to keep on the shelf for a while, just so he doesn't think I read it fast.

The books I love, I read slow. I like to savor them.

I've been re-reading my favorite sci fi series, Uplift by David Brin. mmm. I love the world and people presented in Brightness Reef. I first read the series in 1997 and 1998 (or there abouts... the reason I remember: I took my online nick, Rift, from #4, Brightness Reef, and I joined a certain Internet community in Autumn 1997).

It's been so long, that I no longer recognize parts of the story, and I am surprised at several turns! mmm!

A List of Books to Treasure!

• David Brin's Uplift
• Carl Sagan's Pale Blue Dot
• Hannah Hinchman's A Trail Through Leaves and A Life in Hand
• Jeff Corwin's Living on the Edge

I notice that 100% of these have pictures in them. Yep, even the Brin novels... they have maps and a couple have a line drawing or two inside them!

I do love to read novels... but the books with photos and art are very special to me.