Scrutinizing Fruit and the Sell By Date

Yinz didn't think I was gonna blog on the weekend, did you?

I've gotta tell you, today I am exhausted.  I don't sleep well in general, and for the last week or so I just haven't been able to get enough sleep.  I think part of that is my worries over Chief.  And then today I had to get up super early.  Blah.

Speaking of Chief, the vet told me to call this afternoon for his spinal tap results.  I did, and the receptionist said she didn't have the results, that the vet would have to call me back -- this is not what the vet had told me to expect to happen.  And it was two hours ago, so I don't think she gave him my message.  I'm sorry, I'm at the end of my rope about this entire situation -- fuck that lazy bitch.  I intend to call tomorrow morning, and again and again until someone damn tells me that wee Chief's test results were OK.

Anyway.

The weekend was nice.  Saturday I was hungover and ate a giant breakfast at DeLuca's to try to fix that.  I got drunk on Friday on my very own couch on white wine and bourbon because frankly, the day had just been too damn much.  Then I made green curry out of that curry paste I had put together on Wednesday, and Nick came over, and he and Ted declared the curry delicious, an I have to say I was pleased with myself.  Then we went late to the Harp & Fiddle to wish a happy birthday to some friends, and I did an Irish Car Bomb, which is always awesome.

Then Sunday we saw The Avengers, and it was fucking awesome -- what a sweet movie.  I realize that's not a particularly sophisticated review, but, y'know, it's a superhero movie.  I kinda wanna see it again.

Also on Saturday I bought this:

LOOK HOW CUTE THE BURGER MADE FROM YARN IS.

I don't know how to crochet, but I do know how to knit, so I'm hoping the two aren't far off from each other.  I don't knit much because it's tedious -- making anything at all, even a scarf, takes like, hours.  But these little projects are 1) adorable, and 2) appear to be quite wee, so I'm hoping making them won't be tedious, but will rather be fun and rewarding because of the cuteness.

***

This morning I got up at the asscrack of dawn because my doctor's office does blood draws between 8:30 and 9:00 and I wanted to get my thyroid checked.  My thyroid has been dying for years now.  It's not that big of a deal -- I take a synthetic hormone pill every day, which works in my body exactly the way the organic hormone would -- but it's a pain in the ass because the thing is dying, not dead.  This means that over time it makes less hormone, and my medication dosage has to be increased accordingly.  But it doesn't do this in a reliable pattern, so eventually I just realize that I feel really run-down and shitty and then I get my blood tested and oops!  Not enough hormone.  It would be a lot easier if the thing would just fail entirely outright.

After that I went to the grocery store because we were out of vegetables.  Holy no one is in the grocery store at nine o'clock in the morning -- it was great, and if I find myself awake at such a terrible time again, I'll totally go to the store.  Let me ask you something about fruit: do you carefully examine each orange/apple/pear you buy, rejecting some until you find just the right few?  I do.  Just this morning I was standing in front of a stack of navel oranges, picking one up, squeezing it gently, examining it carefully, putting it down or holding it for a moment of verification before putting it in my cart.  But here's the thing: I have no criteria for this whatsoever.  None.  I have no idea what to look for in an orange.  I mean sure, if there's like, a hole in it, or it squishes like a sponge or something.  But every single time I buy fruit, I go through a little ritual wherein I scrutinize each apple or orange or peach or whatever and meanwhile my mind is completely blank, except possibly to say to myself, "You're doing it again".  It's like I'm just waiting for some instinctual tug: "Yes, this one.  This one is good."  I mean, avocados you gotta check for ripeness.  But apples?  Mangoes?  No idea whatsoever.  And yet.

After that there was dish washing, bill paying, some tidying.  I moved the house plants out to the front porch, which should make them very happy.  I read Crime and Punishment and then Friend Carley came over and we talked about sexual fetishes, but in a very ladylike and demure fashion.  Then I waited on the damn vet.

Hopefully tonight I'll get some sleep, and I plan to finish my book by the end of tomorrow.  Oh, and help me with a question: is ground meat good at all past the "sell by" date?  I never keep anything past a "use by" date, but I've got ground pork in the fridge whose sell by date is the 5th and today is the 7th: can I eat that for dinner tonight?

While I was buying a crochet kit, Ted bought a jigsaw puzzle. I wonder where we'll put it.