The Day Before

Well, the time has come. After weeks of anxiety, training, prayer, and nightmares, I'm finally starting my career as an English professor. Heaven knows if I'll be able to sleep at all tonight.

Stay tuned for the first impressions of teaching college freshmen!

Recipe of the Week

Lemon Poppy-Seed Cookies
Makes about 30

I've made three batches of these over the past month for picnics and thank-you gifts. These cookies turn out thin and crunchy without becoming too dry. They go perfectly with a cup of tea.

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, plus 3 1/2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest
8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon poppy seeds, plus more for sprinkling

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bring lemon juice to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat; cook until reduced by half. Add 1 stick butter; stir until melted.
2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Cream remaining stick butter and 1 cup sugar on medium speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix in vanilla, egg and lemon butter. Mix until pale, about 3 minutes. Mix in flour mixture, 2 teaspoons zest, and poppy seeds.
3. Stir together remaining 1/2 cup sugar and 1 1/2 teaspoons zest. Roll spoonfuls of dough into 1 1/4 inch balls; roll them in sugar mixture. Place 2 inches apart on baking sheets. Press each with the flat end of a glass dipped in sugar mixture until 1/4 inch thick. Sprinkle with seeds.
4. Bake until just browned around bottom edges, 10 to 11 minutes. Transfer to wire racks; let cool completely. Store in an airtight container up to 1 week.

Yet Another Interview

Good news! I've been summoned for an interview tomorrow at one of the local hospitals. I applied for a part-time secretarial position that (hopefully) will work around my teaching schedule. I do hope I get the job. It would certainly help me pay the rent.

The entire college football team, 70+ strong, attended my church today. Being such broad-shouldered fellows, only a small number of them could fit in a single pew; they ended up using about a quarter of the seating in the sanctuary. It was neat to see some college students in church, and there will be even more next week. It got me all excited for classes to get started.

A few weeks ago, I signed up to help the church serve lunch to the football guys after the service, along with a couple other profs. I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but my cousin Marcus attends ONU and is going to be the starting cornerback for the football team this semester; I was hoping to find him during lunch and say hi. I hadn't seen him in six years, and I was afraid I wouldn't recognize him, so I asked some of the players to point him out to me. Even before I finished serving, though, Marcus heard that I was looking for him and came over to give me a hug and say hello. He was so sweet and friendly; it really made my day.

An interesting note: Today, four people asked me what I was studying at ONU. Luckily, by this time I have had so much practice in correcting people that I was able to do it with grace. Gosh I feel young.

Official

Today, I got a spiffy new sticker for my car so that I can park in the staff parking lots on campus. I feel so professional.

Ancora Imparo

Several things I have learned over the past couple days:

1. Apparently, it is a remarkable thing to know how to change a furnace filter. The apartment handyman was flabbergasted at my skills.

2. I instinctively mistrust any book I run across that contains the phrase "voluptuous breasts".

3. Applying constant pressure to a corroding pipe seal under my sink will cause a serious leak and lead to water damage in the base of the cabinet.

4. No matter how much care you give it, rosemary will never thrive indoors.


Ancora imparo!! Onward to tomorrow and more random revelations!

He's Back!

Mike Nelson is back and better than ever, now the chief content producer of Legend Films and the main man on the new Rifftrax project. For all of the MST3K fans who ever wished that Mike and the Bots would take a well-deserved swing at modern-day Hollywood disasters, your prayers have been answered!

For only $1.99, you can get Mike's companion MP3s to some of Hollywood's most shameful productions. You simply play the MP3 on your computer, stereo, or iPod while you watch the movie! Rifftrax available right now:
Road House, starring Patrick Swayze as a well-educated wandering philosopher, who for some reason finds spiritual fulfillment working as a bouncer and karate-chopping the daylights out of belligerent drunks. Rowdy Herrington directs this tribute to barflies, bouncers, and Swayze's heinder.
The Fifth Element, a futuristic acid trip from the unbalanced (and French) mind of Luc Besson, stars Bruce Willis playing an unintelligible, smirking wise-guy who enjoys shooting guns and destroying public property (how uncharacteristic!), and Milla Jovovich as the Fifth Element or "supreme being", although I have my doubts on that point. Add Ian Holm, Gary Oldman in spurs, and Chris Tucker wearing a skin-tight leopard print onesie, and you get the perfect target for Mike's eloquent derision.

Keep checking the website, since Mike and Co. are adding Rifftrax about every two to three weeks! Get on the site now and vote for Mike's next target.