5 Things My Neighborhood Grocery Store Doesn’t Stock

5 Things My Neighborhood Grocery Store Doesn’t Stock, but Should

  1. Whole nutmeg – the closest I can get is “cracked” nutmeg in a grinder, which is better then powder, but not nearly as good as the whole nut.
  2. Duck Fat – its like lard, but is rendered from the fat under the skin of duck. Flavor is more intense than lard and has overall better properties.
  3. Orzo Pasta – a short fat pasta that resembles rice, but has a pasta texture and flavor.
  4. Frisée Lettuce – a frizzy lettuce that resists wilting when exposed to things like hot dressings or fresh croutons.
  5. Mushrooms with a name – my grocery store has typical “button” mushrooms, but that is the extent of it. There are no crimini, or even portobello mushrooms. I’m not asking for shiitake or anything fun like that, and certainly not the very scary maitake. It would however, be nice to get a little mushroom variety. I want the depths of flavor that is offered by each variety of mushroom.
  6. Semolina, Durham or 00 Flour – I can get all kinds of flour, including unbleached AP, whole wheat, rye, and even coconut flour, but not something as basic and ESSENTIAL as semolina. I’m not even picky, Semolina, Durham or 00 type flour would work perfectly well for what I want. I’m looking for just a good pasta flour, something that doesn’t become sticky when rolled and cooked.
  7. Kitchen Twine – a super-clean cotton twine that does not have any offensive flavors or smells. I have a different cotton twine that I use, but it isn’t the same as kitchen twine, as it often contracts and tries to cut into my meats. Kitchen bondage should not end up with twine stuck inside food.

Entitled Culture

In Response to: [http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/dailydish/2011/03/barefoot-contessa-ina-garten-rejecting-make-a-wish-cancer-patient-enzo.html]

There are days when I am ashamed to be a part of a culture that feels that somehow they are owed certain treatment from celebrities. Apparently Ina Garten (“Barefoot Contessa”) has refused to cook with a 6 year-old who has cancer. People seem to want to gather on this particular decision and somehow find something evil about it. While I will admit that it isn’t a nice thing to have happen to a person, it isn’t the responsibility of celebrities (no matter how minimal they may be) to cater to the demands of the ill and unfortunate. What makes people feel that they are entitled to special treatment? More importantly, why is declining a request ever “evil”? That is sort of the nature of a request, they may be granted or denied, otherwise, we tend to call it a subpoena. So what makes this individual so entitled? Is it because he is sick, or because he is six?

I do not know the specifics of the situation, and apparently neither does the person who wrote the article. Perhaps Ina Garten has some personal reason for not being able to fulfill the request, or perhaps  she has a phobia concerning children. Honestly, it doesn’t really matter and is not for public discussion or debate. The women made a decision about a request. I fail to find anything “mean” or “heartless” in her decision. What I find “heartless” is how inconsiderate individuals responding to the article have been in their treatment of the situation. Sometimes I feel that people responding to news stories let their emotions run away with them and fail to be considerate to the rights of everyone concerned and react to whatever media spin is placed on the article.

I have a deficiency in my risotto technique that I find quite debilitating, and I would love to have Anne Burrell teach me exactly how to do it, but that is certainly not going to happen (unless I get into the next season of “Worst Cooks In America”, for which, I do not think I qualify).

Improvement of Society

With my present course load of sociology courses I find myself caught in numerous debates about things that could improve society, or things that would make culture more safe. To me it seems that sociologists (and people in general) are looking in the wrong place. How can we ever expect to fix the ills of society as a whole? In my perception, “society” is not real. “Society” is a conception of the mind that exists when more than one person is involved. The problem with trying to apply fixes to the general society is that we are applying these fixes to an illusion. It is my belief that to improve society we must first improve individuals.

It is concerning to think that a person might decide to not do something because it is illegal. If a behavior is wrong, why must it be illegal before someone stops doing it? Humans for too long have functioned from survival instincts, trying to do what is best for the self, and not what is best for the species or the whole. Why is altruism not a default human trait at this point? I don’t ever think of myself as perfect, or anywhere close, but I do try to think of my actions in terms of what it means for others and whether or not I think that the behavior is “right” (or moral).

The problem with society is the individuals. Individuals are responding to what is “expected” in society, whether it is being successful or a social obligation to simply be deviant. Where is the conscience? Where is the self-control?

This line of thinking was brought about by an interesting conversation in Deviant Behavior today, about the topic of legalizing prostitution. The majority of the class seems to feel that legalizing prostitution would be a negative thing. I agree that prostitution in itself may be negative and is certainly a deviation of social expectations, but on the topic of legalization, there is a lot more to be considered. Do we really need to have laws for such a thing? Do we need to tell people what they can and cannot do with their bodies in our society? It seems to me that it may almost be beyond the scope of what a rational government should dictate to its citizens. One individual in my class said that prostitution should be illegal because she did not want to think about the prospect of her son having access to prostitutes. First of all, if it were legalized, there would likely be additional safeguards in place (such as an ID check for age verification), and second, shouldn’t this concerned mother simply be teacher her child values that would help him make good decisions rather than counting on legislative action to protect him?  Another comment on the topic that has me concerned about the state of society was this one individual who was worried about prostitutes being able to increase their revenue if prostitution were legalized and be able to “take money away from the rest of us who make an honest living at a 9-5”. To me that comment screams discrimination. Just because a person makes more money than you at something that you disagree with, why does that make them automatically a target for your hate? I personally find Justin Bieber deplorable and certainly overpaid, but I don’t have this type of animosity toward him, not do I have a desire to see laws written that would hinder his rights to sell his body in the way that he wishes.

Maybe I’m just crazy and have been around the academics too long, but I think that it is time for a different type of social reform, one which encourages individuals to be rehabilitated into society, not incarcerated, and generally a society where individuals are taught to respect each other and to exercise self-control and not be always driven for selfish gain.

Status of Degree Programs

Bachelor of Science in Psychology
0 hours remaining – pending completion in Spring 2011.
Candidacy confirmed 8 March 2011.

Bachelor of Arts in Sociology
Program not yet (officially) started.
Officially admitted on 9 March 2011.
Awaiting advisor assignment.
15 – 21 credit hours remaining.
If pursued, can be completed as soon as Fall 2011.

Associate of Fine Arts
16 credit hours remaining.
Gradually completing requirements
Completion date unknown.

Associate of Applied Sciences in Computer Programming
30 credit hours remaining.
Limited personal desire to complete program.

 

It is interesting to look back at my academic records in a transitional time such as this, as it sheds some clarity on my desires in life as well as shows where things have changed, how I have changed. Perhaps the most interesting thing for me is the fact that I am perfectly willing to abandon the Computer Programming degree. I used to want to be a programmer, it seemed like a rewarding career option, but then things changed and I got deeper into Computer Science and realized that my interest in the topic did not run that deep, but that I was more interested in using computer programming as a tool to help with other pursuits in my life. I would love to at some point utilize what I know in research and perhaps one day in psychological treatment/analysis scenarios.

The Associate of Fine Arts degree is one of whimsy and curiosity. I am very close (1 semester) to completing it, but I am not prepared to put the rest of my life on hold so that I can knock out that one degree. The degree is interesting to me because it would give me more exposure to art concepts and creative attributes that interest me, but the degree itself is a mere novelty. I suspect one day I will complete this degree, even if it does come after a PhD.

The Bachelor of Arts in Sociology is an unlikely degree because of the timing of things. I am going to take some courses in the program during the summer, and leave the program as a backup option. It is presently intended that by the Fall semester this particular program will have been superseded by a graduate certificate program. Still, it feels good to have a backup program. At the current time I am awaiting an advisor to be assigned that can determine if I qualify for course substitutions that would allow me to complete the degree in 15 hours or less.

The Bachelor of Science in Psychology is at this point almost a certainty. I am on track to graduate and short of an unforeseen circumstance causing a course to not count, I will graduate on 7 May 2011. Final confirmation will be on 30 April 2011 after my final grades post.

 

I am still applying for admission to graduate programs for the Fall 2011 semester and I am hopeful that at least one will accept me and that I can begin my graduate career and work towards my ultimate goal of a PhD in Clinical Psych (in some form, perhaps PhD in Health Psyc). At the present time my interest is in social interactions and gender roles in society.

A Most Pleasant Advisor

This blog is full of rants and raves about problems with my advisors. In general I have found advisors to be a pain and a general road block to academic success in most situations. It seems as though I have adapted to one of my advisors in a way that has formed a much more functional relationship.

Its not the typical thing that I think about most of the time, and it did not even occur to me until I realized that I was going to have to be assigned a replacement advisor that I had become so attached to my current advisor. Dr. Allen is my advisor for my B.S. in Psychology program. I went through 3 other advisors before her. My first advisor was assigned when I declared my major. Unfortunately, we didn’t exactly get along. She wanted to advise me by phone only and give my advising PIN by phone as well, and our schedules didn’t really match. I requested that she be replaced, and she was replaced by another advisor, but unfortunately, he left the university a semester later and I was finally assigned to Dr. Allen.

Dr. Allen has basically given my free-reign over designing my curriculum and even supported my goofier academic endeavors (such as becoming a sociology minor and taking an entire course sequence to take an SPSS course). With Dr. Allen, I have always known that I was in charge of my academic plans, but she has always been there, advising me of potential pitfalls and problems that can occur. She has been like the perfect advisor to me.

Now, as I prepare to graduate, and work towards a B.A. in Sociology during the summer I face the fact that there are only a few weeks left with Dr. Allen as my advisor. Actually, in a few days I expect to be notified of who will replace her as my advisor of record.

While it is true that I probably could have functioned without the support of an academic advisor, it has been very reassuring to have access to Dr. Allen when I needed her, especially when I couldn’t quite take care of things with the registrar’s office the way that I needed to.

The Torture of Admissions

I know very few processes that have the same level of stress, anxiety and anticipation as the process of applying to an academic program. To individuals that desire to pursue education, an admissions decision is a big deal. The decision of an admissions committee (or a program coordinator) can alter the outcome of a person’s life. That one little decision makes all the difference. Neither decision is particularly bad, admitted or not admitted, it doesn’t seem to matter, but they have a profound impact on a person’s life. Being not admitted to a program that an individual is a good match for and being admitted to a program that an individual has no chance of success in are equally bad outcomes. It is possible for dreams to be crushed, but it is also possible for people to discover what their potential truly is and perhaps think outside of their comfort zone. To the applicant all that matters is acceptance. Everyone wants to be accepted, in some form or another.

I am presently more nervous than I have been since I began the application process. My application to Cognitive Science has been decided. All I know about it at the moment is that my application’s status is “DECISION MADE”. No further information is available. This is where the torture begins. I am informed by the graduate school that the decision letter will be release in the next 24 hours. The decision letter contains the actual answer to whether or not I am admitted. If I am accepted, it will also contain an offer of admission, which I must accept or decline (if I’m accepted, there is only one possible response to that question). There is just something extremely torturous about knowing that the decision has been made, but having absolutely no access to that information. 

Restructuring a Dream

I began this semester planning for how I was going to move on to graduate school. My original plans were pretty simple, apply for program X (clinical psyc), if denied, move on to program y (academic psyc). As with all of my plans, there are backup plans for the backup plans. The essence of my desires have changed somewhat.

I still have my absolute last-resort backup plan in case no grad schools want me, the Bachelor of Arts in Sociology program. It would give me a chance to expand my academic record to further prove my academic abilities. I’m not too worried about admission for this last-resort plan, since according to the admissions office at Fayetteville all I have to do is “come over to the office after graduation and tell us you are ready to come back”. Apparently its as simple as that.

The restructuring comes with me taking a look at my goals and my abilities and creating a realistic, workable plan for graduate education for myself. First of all, I may have the pre-requisite knowledge for a master’s in clinical psychology program, but in some ways I would like to be a little better prepared when I go in. It’s a competitive program and I’m going to have to kick ass to get into it. As it stands, I’m not a good competitor for those 5 seats in the program for this year. The Academic Psyc program at ECU sounds good as an alternative on paper, but it’s not where I want to be, its not the program that I truly want to be in. The Academic Psyc program would be admitting that I am defeated and would result in academic stagnation for me. As for the original 3rd option, the graduate program in Liberal Studies, I think I would enjoy it, but I would prefer to hold off and take that degree when I’m 80 and can truly put life experience behind it and enjoy it. My new restructured plan does not have 10 layers of redundancy like the original plan, but requires a bit of faith in myself and my abilities, as well as a belief in luck and the wisdom of the academic process.

My new restructured program is fairly straight forward. The first part of the program is a graduate certificate in Cognitive Science. The program is focused on cognition and thought processes, both human and computer. It’s a melding of curriculums for me. My absolute dream curriculum. The program is just a certificate, so it will likely only last a year for me, just long enough for me to gain some more experience and learn to interact well with other students and faculty. After completing the Cognitive Science program I intend to apply to the doctoral degree in health psychology (community focus). While in that program I would very much like to pursue another certificate program, this time in the computer science field of game design and development. I think that combining the two programs would give me a good handle on the areas I would need to be familiar with to design games and other computerized tools for psychological assessment or research.

Perhaps my goals are a bit too lofty, and perhaps some things are still a little too unrealistic. I don’t know for sure, but I do know that this is what I want and its what I’m going to go for. I am not going to build my education based on my second choice, and I am certainly not going to be told that I am not good enough for something that I am passionate about.

Waiting for White Smoke

I don’t like rejection, but I hate waiting.

I have submitted the first of my graduate school applications, the one for Cognitive Science. My admission to this program will determine if I complete my application for Clinical/Community Psych at UNC-Charlotte. Ideally I would be accepted into both programs and could immediately work towards my goals. I have communicated a little with the graduate program coordinator for Cognitive Science, including immediately after submitting my application last Tuesday. Unfortunately for my nervous habits, she stopped responding last Tuesday as well, just after saying something about my application missing the statement of purpose (which to my knowledge it was not). Its been nearly a week since I last heard from the graduate coordinator, and she sort of left me hanging with the statement of purpose question. I have also contacted the graduate school admissions staff to see if perhaps they can track down the problem, or the graduate coordinator (I will restraint myself from making the obvious joke there, as I am trying to conduct myself more like a graduate student). Luckily I am not having to wait on a panel of cardinals, this time, just a single individual who will decide if I am a good fit for a program that involves computer science, psychology, philosophy and language. In some ways I think I would be more comfortable if this particular admission decision was being made by a panel, as then I would at least not feel like I have to walk on eggshells as to avoid offending or irritating the one person who is control of my admission to the program.  I am not usually a superstitious person, but for things like this I am. I am not walking under ladders or making any type of concrete plans just yet, not until I know one way or another. I suspect the next things bothering me is the timing. I have applied for the Summer semester, which has a materials deadline of April 1, but each program has its own decision cycle. For the Clinical/Community program I know that I should know something by April 15th, but this one is a little more loose-ended. I am honestly hoping for a decision before the week of March 28th so that I can register on time for classes for summer and fall (since there is only 1 class available for summer for the program).

At this point I am waiting. I am waiting for an admissions decision. I am waiting for a reply.  I am waiting for any little hint of being able to make stable plans for my academic future.