Channeling My Inner Martha Stewart

I am so proud to tell you that I successfully channeled my inner Martha Stewart and updated my pantry organization! Inspiration came to me while browsing the Houzz app. If you don't have it, download now. It's like Pinterest for your house - I know Pinterest already exists for homes but Houzz is way better. You can search for all sorts of specific or general topics and view pictures. Houzz has a larger selection and more breathtaking amazing renos. After scrolling through a bunch of awesome pantry renovations with neat ways of organization, I figured I could do something small to improve mine. 

                                  

Like most people, I don't automatically think to save my jars. I tend to rinse and recycle, aka losing some pretty useful storage options. Slowly, I've been saving my jars. Using one for coffee beans, whole flaxseed, and oats. I'm lazy and keep the old labels on. You could always buy new jars and what I've seen done is fill them with granola or jam and give as gifts. Now, I've being selfish and keeping my old jars and using them for my stuff! 

Before using jars, I saved everything in big ziploc bags. Yes they are a life saver and are hard to beat. For marinating, yeah, I'm going to aim for ziploc bags. For keeping things fresh and neat in the pantry, ziploc bags really don't cut it. I have two big plastic bowls holding ziploc bags of granola ingredients: almonds, walnuts, raisins, chocolate chips, coconut. Now in my moment of inspiration I whirlwinded through my pantry, replaced all of the ugly ziploc bags and carefully loaded up my jars. Here is where your type A or non type A personality can come out. I wanted to make sure all of the jars were filled to the max level and didn't waste any space, added labels, and organized the pantry by function rather than alphabetical, or like others by sheer chaos. Below is a picture of part of my pantry masterpiece. Voila! 

Next after this great success I feasted my eyes on my spices in ugly plastic containers. Since I cook so much, I have a ton of random spices. Indian, Italian, American,  you name it. From my accumulation I've messily stuck some big bags of spices like turmeric and cardamom in hilshire farms containers. Yeah not too sophisticated. Well, now I have jars and it was easy, cathartic really! Now in my functional space I have a section for my exotic spices (turmeric, curry powder, chili pepper), most frequently used spices (pepper, paprika, garlic powder), Italian/European blend (tarragon, basil, parsley, rosemary), and the infrequently used (celery salt, cream tartar, poultry seasoning)...I told you I had a lot. Here's an example of what the spices look like in my cool jars. I even retrofitted an old thai curry paste one to hold some dried peppers! 

At this point I've rolled through the majority of my pantry. I'm feeling good and everything is getting a facelift. While staring at a couple small empty white jars, I felt the need to fill them. My mantra is not "a place for everything and everything in its place," instead it's organized chaos. There's a method to my madness of organization and it fits my functionality. When I'm cooking a pasta dish, I'm looking for the italian seasoning, parsley, basil; I want to grab them all at the same time and not tornado through my pantry looking for these spices. It would be silly to put the thai curry paste next to the paprika or the curry powder next to the tarragon. Maybe alphabetical works best for the grocery store but definitely not for my pantry. Anyways, back to those remaining containers. They're so small, what could fit in there? In a moment of genius, I emptied a bag of pine nuts and they fit perfectly in mini container 1! With one left, what to put in there. My eyes landed on a random baggie of carraway seed. Before I knew it, I was putting labels on the containers and bam, all my jars were full. It was too easy! I can't wait to finish my jam jar to plan what I'll be storing in there! 

 

Hopefully this inspires you to give your pantry a facelift. Really it's easier than you think and you most likely have the majority of what you think! Share your pictures or let me know if you need help. Organizing = de-stressing :) 

Cook Plenty, Cook Often

Yes, I know it has been a while. What have I been doing with my time? I have been cooking, cooking, and...cooking. I love it! Before I started college I could barely boil and cook pasta. My sister can attest to this. Now, I'm giving out recommendations and talking sauces, stir fries, curries, ratatouille, you name it. I will give credit to my college roommates among others who have helped me find one of my passions!

For starters, you need some inspiration for cooking right? Well, here is mine. I think snacking while I cook prevents me from making stupid decisions because I'm hungry.

Being a Type A person you would think I would be pretty regimented in how I cook, but I'm not. My goto for recipes is Allrecipes.com and like most cooks, I don't have all the ingredients. I supplement :) Or as I say, I make it my own. Don't have a tomato, used canned tomatoes or throw in some red bell pepper! Oh, and adding garlic powder and paprika will make everything taste better, I promise. 

A typical question, what do you like to cook? I love cooking everything, except I don't like taking apart a big roasted chicken. Not a fan. My favorite things to cook are chili, ratatouille, lamb, Indian curries, desserts and anything that I can add wine to! Believe it or not there's a lot that you can add wine to, think of any sauce and even veggies like cabbage. Something super awesome that I've made is this dish called mansaf, a traditional Jordanian dish. There's a great Mediterranean shop nearby that had jameed, found it finally!, so lo and behold this amazing dish with some expensive pine nuts on top! Jameed is like liquid delicious thick yogurt. Wow I'm almost embarrassed to say that I could eat this on its own, but no not really embarrassed. There's some leftover in the freezer, yum. 

No you don't cook desserts but they're included in this post. They're made in the kitchen so they should are included. Dates are amazing to bake with - think of the best granola bar and then add some nuts on top and a sweet date layer aka date squares! And you can eat them by themselves. Dates stuffed with blue cheese, almond, pistachio...oh wait there's a company that already does most of that. It's called Bateel and they're like Godiva for dates. Unfortunately, there aren't any locations in the US but I'm hoping I can change that one day! Here's a pic so you can understand the scrumptiousness that I'm talking about. 

Yes, now I hope you understand. I'm keeping this short and sweet but there will be more to come! 

Adventures in the Desert

Just getting over the jetlag from my two week trip to Dubai! Thank goodness for 22 hours of sleep in two days, probably more sleep than I got in about 4 days during busy season. Unfortunately, I wasn't very good at taking notes and writing about my travels while I was in Dubai, so we'll see how good my short-term memory is.

Day 1: Flight at 6 pm from IAD to Amsterdam on KLM. I was all excited for the famously young, blonde flight crew, but I encountered a much older set of flight attendants. No worries, I just watched The Fighter and focused on the little 6 inch screen barely 2 feet from my face. I love the passengers who move their seats all the way back right after the seatbelt sign goes off. I know you're probably larger than me, but, hey, I like my super small airplane personal space as well. I was pretty surprised by the food - it was somewhere in between delicious and not awful. The best part, I got a small airplane bottle of wine and cheese and crackers. Did I mention nobody asked for my ID? That's a big step up from people asking me what I plan on majoring in when I get to college. Thank you Europe.

Day 1 1/2 and 2: Hanging out in the Amsterdam airport cursing myself for not getting a direct flight. I landed in Schippol at around 1 am East Coast time but it was about about 6 am over there. The only way I could handle this was to head straight to the nearest non-Starbucks stand. No, I don't hate Starbucks, but I mean there are options other than Starbucks out there - too bad they haven't made it to the US. I walked around until my feet hurt, trying to make the 6 hour layover go by faster than 6 hours. The Dutch being the Dutch had a small art museum in the airport with replicas of Rembrandt and a few others. They were pretty gorgeous! Ven, so sorry I forgot to take pictures. Hung out in the numerous "See Blue Fly " stores and picked up the delicious stroopwaffels. Did I mention they're delicious? Oh, and they have similar ones in Trader Joe's.

Day 2: Finally land in Dubai, the land of bigger and taller and more expensive is better. Texas, take notes. Landed in DXB airport at 11:30 pm Dubai time (completely lost all sense of east coast time and pretty much dazed), and followed the crowds of European tourists to PASSPORT CONTROL. Oh goodie. I stood in line for about an hour. I have no idea what took so long other than the fact that the people working at passport control are incredibly (hmm what's a good euphemism for lazy)...laid back. Fortunately, I didn't have to pay to get in like the Dominican, but trust me, I will pay later.

Day 3: Woke up at 1:30 pm Dubai time and ready to do the tourist thing. Thank goodness I have a semi-almost native with me to show me around. Since the weather in Dubai is perfect all the time, except for scorching heat and humidity in the summer months, I didn't have to check the weather. Major Stop #1: Mall of the Emirates. This place is enormous! I will no longer be in awe of Tysons Mall (1 or 2) after visiting this place. To warm my heart, there were coffee shops all around: Costa, Gloria Jean's, El Monde, Second Cup, etc. And I've never tried any of them before. Before I left Dubai, my goal was to try all of these places, and more. After wandering around the Emirates Mall, I had to get to the beach. That's why I came right? The water was amazingly warm for April and we managed to catch a beautiful sunset. One difference: you know when you see those spectacular sunsets with all those shades of red and orange, well I didn't see that here, just pure yellow. Then went to dinner at the Noodle House in Wafi mall. This mall is decorated and designed with an Egyptian theme. Not really sure what our equivalent would be in Virginia, maybe something British-esque? Took lots of pictures, then finally got to looking at the menu, and tried not to let my eyes bulge out of my head. Right, those prices are in dirhams, not dollars. This was a mantra I said to myself for the whole trip. At this time the dollar was worth about 3.65 dirhams. Prices were pretty equivalent to the US (note this excludes the old markets and Karama areas), as long as you divided by 3.65. 

Day 4: Woke up at a more reasonable hour, and started my Brooke Bond tea bag morning ritual. I could not leave the house with at least 1 cup of Brooke Bond tea. I really can't keep counting the days and remember exactly what I did, so I will have to default to large paragraphs where the days blend together. Now that I've done a few touristy things, I sought out to achieve goal #1: get tan. We went to Nassimi Beach, the one next to the new Atlantis on the Palm. This place was gorgeous! White couches, beds, and bean bags to lay out on, good drinks, and mezzes of hummus (yum!). I had my first taste of mortabel here, which tasted like a more garlicky version of baba ganoush. There was a DJ area for the evening beach parties that I knew would get pretty routy later. Darn my aggressive tourist itinerary. To kick off the eating binge of my vacation, we ate at Ijaza, a cafeteria near a mosque. Never would I think to eat a place like this, but oh is it popular. If you want good, cheap, local food then this is the place. Sadly, the shawarmas weren't around at 3 pm, but there was so much else on the menu that I didn't care. I ate the chicken burger that had a couple french fries on top of the bottom bun. What an unusual thing to add, but I definitely like it better than pickles! Another delicious difference: fresh squeeze fruit juice. Any juice you want, you can get it juiced, and it's not loaded with spoonfuls of sugar. Can we import this to the US please? They also are famous for the milkshakes. Curiously, the menu just lists the obscure name of the milkshake, and no description of what it was. There are about 20 options, all looked splendid, but I had no idea what was in them! We picked the "Georgio Armani" because of a recommendation. No idea why it's called that, but it was really good. No idea what was in it either, but I don't mind. 

We made good use of the metro system while we were there, mostly because the place we were at was a 5 minute walk from the metro. It was so well planned and designed, I can't help feel a bit jealous when I think of the DC one and all it's ineffectiveness. The metro in Dubai came about every 5 minutes, the stations are all superbly clean, they have bathrooms in each station (!), and they are electronically/remotely run, so you don't get those awkward brake slamming, head jerking stops. The only negatives are: you can easily get confused and get the wrong ticket and have to pay for an extra expensive ("punishment") exit ticket, there are police officers manning each station which made me nervous at first, and there's not too much seating so you're most likely going to be standing most of the way. All in all, I'm really glad it was there. It saved from relying on taxi cabs but at least the taxis aren't too expensive.

Since I was on vacation, clearly I ate a lot. One night we ate at Asha's, a gorgeously decorated Indian restaurant that is dedicated to the old-time Indian singer. I'm not really sure if her meals are related to her, but the decor and music were. The food, a little pricey but it was in a nice location, was really authentic, not that you can't get a ton of that in DC, but it was a really good experience. I could smell all the hints of cinnamon, masala, and cardamom, and my glass of white wine. 

You can't visit Dubai without getting some gold! You can literally get it everywhere and anywhere. My best bet was to go to the gold souk over in old Deira and try to haggle my way to a better deal. My bargaining skills were quite tested here, especially since I don't really know the true price/cost of the items they sell, but it's quite a new experience. We walked around and there are stores and stores lined with gold, silver, precious gem jewelry. There were necklaces, rings, earrings, and bracelets galore. I can't even imagine the prices of some of these items when I was only looking at small earrings, but the shops were decently crowded. I bought a Mother's Day present of earrings for my mom and felt so successful after haggling the price down by 30 dirhams. It's barely 10 USD, but it's all in the experience of bargaining. I don't understand the purpose of getting a receipt for my purchase though. It's not like I'm going to come back from the US and return my purchase 30 days later - is that even possible?  Probably not. Anyways, it'll be a good souvenir for 20 years from now when gold will cost double what it is today.

Time to wrap up this post before it's obscenely long. My introduction to Dubai was amazing! There are so many tourists and foreign people living there that you get a good cosmopolitan feel. You can get almost any cuisine you want there: Japanese, Chinese, Indian (South or North - you choose), Lebanese, Moroccan, American fast food, Arabic, Iranian, Italian, Thai, Afghan, the rare Mexican, and British pub. You can find some really cheap, really expensive, and everything in between. Great weather (except the summer), beaches, hotels, bars, MALLS, and activities can keep anyone pretty busy. To excite the accountant in me, there is even no income or sales tax over there. The price you see is the price you get. There weren't too many Americans over there, but that's a new experience in itself. 

To be continued in the next post...

Dryer Sheets No More

Sorry for the delinquency. Unfortunately, I haven't had enough time to pursue my evening pastime of writing my random feelings and thoughts. I have encountered a most unusual and annoying experience and feel that it is appropriate to share it with you.

I am not someone who is usually allergic to things. No peanut allergies except for that one year when I was younger and my doctor performed the prick test on my arms and found out that I could possibly be allergic to almonds which turned out to just being allergic to the change in seasons. I'm okay around dogs and cats, I sneeze like all normal people when the flowers bloom and the weather turns to spring. I'm pretty sure I had some diaper rash (which self-respecting baby didn't?), and I might have had an adverse reaction or two to bath bubbles. They're all chemicals, as my mom likes to say. Speaking of which, how about those dryer sheets?

All of a sudden, one random day around Thanksgiving, an itchy, rashy looking group of bumps appeared on my hands. I felt like a leper. I was scared someone would look at my hands and think, hmm this person better not be spreading some ridiculous itchy bump disease. They were oddly concentrated only on the outside of them, between my knuckles and my wrists. I couldn't think of any reason why they came up. Did I douse my hands in something that spurred some 20 year dormant allergy? Definitely not. Did I eat something that could have specifically decided to cause an allergic reaction on my hands only? Probably not. I eat pretty much everything and not even super spicy Indian food can conquer me.

Perhaps it was those acrylic gloves that I've been wearing for the past 5 years that caused this unsightly set of itchy bumps. And so, I tested it. I rubbed one hand with the acrylic glove for a few minutes, then wore it on that same hand for about 30 minutes. Nothing. Well, not nothing. The itchy bumps were still there, demanding that I desperately scratch my hands until I could find another bottle of cortizone. Cortizone is pretty useless by the way, unless you have a mosquito bite, which I definitely did not have. No, to the acrylic, no to the almonds/other non-existent food allergies. What else? I had to Web-MD it.

Again, no help except that I started to think that I had a form of cancer that began as itchy bumps on your hands. Mind you, this has been several days of flaringly itchy bumps on my hands that didn't seem to die down. The lone acrylic experiment didn't work, Web-MD failed to diagnose me, and I was starting to think I had a unique case of a new hand disease. Benadryl helped sometimes, but I didn't want to be drugged up all day at work and nodding my head in drowsiness.

Finally, I talked to my parents about it. Granted one is a dentist and prides herself on her excellent medical awareness and research abilities, I probably should have talked to them earlier. They boiled it down to soap and feminine lotions that are too much for my delicate sensitive hands or dryer sheets. More experiments underway, including countless loads in the washing machine and new bars of ivory soap. At long last, we figured it out, and I had to part ways with my dryer sheets. The culprit was hiding behind that veneer of a promise to de-static and perfume my clothing. I felt so betrayed!

Dryer sheets and I had gotten along pretty well over the years, especially after I had learned to do my own laundry. However, my skin and my sanity were my priority. The chemical residue reaction that were the itchy bumps on my hand started to fade after each load of laundry sans dryer sheet and I could finally feel relieved. I have been itch-free ever since, minus the one flare up when I wore a friend's sweater that reeked of dryer sheets (of course I noticed this after I was wearing it for a while).

I have looked into alternatives like "natural" dryer sheets and feel a little cautious as to trying them. One wrong step and I could be five ways to Benadryl-Cortizone land. I hope the old washcloth and conditioner remedy works like the housewives say they do. Maybe they've all encountered the same scenario as me, forgot to write about it in Web-MD, and discovered a magical solution. I'm crossing my fingers and praying it comes in a bottle labeled 7th generation or Sun & Earth.

In the meantime, I have sworn off an old friend. Goodbye dryer sheets!

Tis The Night Before Work

Finally, it has come. Folding and putting away the jeans and bringing out the newly ironed black work pants. I feel old. Making sure I'm pressed and debating whether to wear panty hose. The waiting seemed almost interminable. Everyone else had started and gotten into their work groove, had their busy nights, and paychecks. I was left behind in the dust with my late start date and studying, spending away my savings, and not making any money. It's bittersweet to leave the freedom and free time and gain a new lifestyle. Am I ready to start as a grundoon and think only of manager's wishes? We'll see.

In the mean time, I'm prepping. I got my work stilettos, the clothing, even the the map/directions for the first day of work. I'm getting in the mindset, made some extra leftovers to bring for lunch, and got a gym membership nearby the office. I'm excited to go to happy hours with an actual work outfit and having just left the office like a real working person rather than leaving my house after just changing from PJ's. And I know my bank account is excited for deposits and hopefully less withdrawals.

My aunt even got me a new professional black work bag, so I don't look like I'm too much of a newb. Adults and friends alike have given me advice on the working world and even told me to update my LinkedIn account. I've made sure to keep everyone's comments and suggestions at the forefront of my mind. Yes, I've gotten the list of happy hours. Yes, I have my coffee mug for those days when one cup every hour seems to be the standard. Yes, I know which days I plan to take off because I've already bought a plane ticket.

My dad reminded me that the tradition in his family is the first paycheck you get from your first job is spent taking out the family to a nice dinner. I would say Chipotle should be included in this category. Then I reminded my dad that I am just starting to pay back my student loans. Thank you. We have come to an agreement that I will visit my house once a week after work. I'll stay over at home and hang out with the empty nesters in return for a free meal and some old-school "allowance." Old habits die hard.

I'm excited to start working and have that lifestyle where TGIF really means something. Friday is really payday and rush hour is something I have to drive through and not avoid. I won't completely retire the old days. I'll live up the weekends, eat some Ramen like I'm a first-year, and call my parents asking them to put more money into my account for rent.  Tis the night before the first day of work, and I'm hoping my three alarms don't fail me. Here's to joining the world of the Man in the Gray Flannel Suit.

Dear Cheese, I Like You

It's probably a love-hate relationship, like coconut. You either really love cheese or you don't. No room for ambivalence. If so, you've probably never experienced real cheese, just Kraft or some other fake processed stuff. This is an homage to the true delicious gourmet cheese that everyone should try.

Living in the U.S., you probably don't have a gourmet cheese shop right next door like, say France, for example. However, there is a precious gem in East Falls Church aptly named Red, White, and Bleu. We discovered this place after searching randomly and brusquely on our friends for something nearby. Little did we realize that we walked into one of our favorite shops! The outside of the store doesn't do it any justice. Don't judge the shop by it's storefront, just walk in. It's a small place but it's full of wine, gourmet cheeses, charcuterie (sliced meat for those antipasti appetizers), and knick-knacks like water crackers and jam. We were lucky enough to get a free wine tasting and lots of samples of cheese. Of course I couldn't help myself and bought about 2 lbs. worth when I left the store, but well worth it.

From my first expensive purchase I was able to really start appreciating cheese. I mostly had those fake gourmet slices of cheese for sandwiches, but never really knew the wide range of flavors cheese could offer. The most commonly tasted, brie, is creamy and salty, good with apples and honey (thank you roommate for that addictive combination). Another, cheddar has a more variable flavor and texture. It can be aged for a long time and be very flaky and sharp. On the other hand sometimes I crave that more mild sharp and creamy, less aged cheddar that is still that classic orange-y color. I don't think I've had a bad experience with cheddar. It tastes good with everything, especially wine. Red wine, stronger whites and any type of cracker. Then there's Beemster, the gouda masters. Beemster has a few types just like cheddar where there's the super aged, smelly, flaky and the less hard more soft cheese. I definitely prefer the hard, aged, flaky kind, mostly because the taste is so much stronger. Beemster XO is the best for that. However, just cutting it produces about forty flakes, so it can get a little messy.

So those are just three cheeses. There's so much more! What a world cheese can open you into. With crackers, apples, figs, fruity spread, jam, and crackers/bread. Did I mention that I try to add cheese to almost anything I cook? The grater is my best friend, after the cheese slicer. They are precious utensils in my kitchen. I feel like every cook has that easy wow you factor like add a pinch of paprika or pepper. Mine is a few ounces of grated cheese. I like to think that when I add cheese to something, it add its own cheesey flavor but also enhances and brings out the tastes of what it accompanies. Think about creamy jarlsberg wrapped around sauteed asparagus. Yes, I'm drooling too. Sometimes I secretly favor the recipes on allrecipes.com that feature some amount of cheese. I know it's bias, but we all have it when it comes to food. Mine just happens to be odd and about cheese.

Isn't it exciting to try new cheeses and pair them with wines and fruit? It's a great present to bring to a potluck or friendly dinner date. It's the go-to. I don't understand how anyone could not like wine. I hope this blog helps you, encourage you to try more wine. Go to your nearest shop and grab the weirdest cheese and wine. It'll be a great time.

Do other people feel the same as I do for cheese? If not, is it for something else? Meat, olives, prunes? I guess there are lots of types of meat but you have to prepare it and cook it with things. It's too complicated to be that easy wow factor to add with almost anything. I will say, meat is pretty great too. Actually, all food come to think of it, but I'm trying to heighten my relationship with my tastebuds. They tell me they like cheese and I give it to them. It's a great system. Now, let me get back to my wine and new cheese with chives and onions. So exotic!

Pet Peeves

I've spent a little while talking about things I enjoy, notably donuts, coffee, and reading, but in the honor of Kingsley, I'll broaden the spectrum of what I share. So pet peeves are those silly little details that really shouldn't bother us but they do. Some more than others affect us and they affect each of us in different ways. I don't know why but so many of these pet peeves occur while I'm at Starbucks. I'll limit myself to a few in my top 10. They are in no special order.

Pet Peeve #1: this might be more female-specific, but one of my biggest pet peeves is the absence of a hanger on the back of the bathroom door. No hanger in any part of the bathroom is a big deal. Where do I put my purse/jacket/whatever else that I'm carrying because more likely than not, I'm carrying something? Even if it's freezing outside, both guys and girls are probably wearing big heavy coats and would like a place to set them on a hanger. It's pretty silly to not have a hanger, but even more so, it's my pet peeve. Luckily, I don't own a $2,000 Louis Vuitton because if there was no hanger and I had to put that on the floor, I would be mad enough to punch the manager.

Pet Peeve #2: blasting the A/C when completely unneeded. First, it's a waste. Secondly, and more importantly, it makes me tremble which is incredibly distracting for myself and others. This happens at Starbucks so often. Maybe it helps the hot latte sales. I don't even know how because all that coffee and lattes they churn out should give the place a soothing warmth. Unfortunately, not. A little while ago I was at dinner with a friend at Sandia, and it was so cold inside, mind you it was about 80 degrees outside, that my teeth were chattering. For eating a nice dinner at a restaurant, that is not comfortable at all, and I probably won't go back there, ever, unless I'm wearing a parka. I couldn't even concentrate on conversation or eat my delicious handmade guacamole, I only thought about getting outside of that freezing igloo. I guess my body is comfortable with a very specific narrow temperature range because I also tend to break out if I sweat too much in high heat and humidity, thinking back to spring break in the Caribbean.

Pet Peeve #3: bad drivers. Yes, I've grown up in NOVA, so I really should be used to bad driving right? Since my New Yorker dad taught me to drive, I feel like I have a leg up over the majority of DMV people. I'm okay with people going slow too, except if you're in the left lane and going at or below the speed limit. Do those people not see those signs that say: slow people should not be in the left lane? No, because they don't pay attention to signs. I don't speed too much, but you should have the courtesy to not hold back the rest of traffic behind you since SO many in the DC area have a penchant for tailgating. Another thing I also hate. Although a friend has told me that I tailgate, that is mostly for a few seconds to let the person know that they are going too slow and need to move and I really don't get too close to the bumper - too dangerous. Should I perhaps turn on my left blinker (that they wouldn't notice) or my brights (wouldn't notice in daylight too well) and patiently wait? No. I don't ride people's bumpers. It's too dangerous and reckless for my Type A self to handle. I don't even get too close because I'm afraid the bad driver in front of me will stop short for some silly reason. The best bad drivers are those who feel like they are important enough to go through a red light at any time. I have a special angst against them because they are the kind of people who total good drivers' cars like myself. There's no warning and no time to react.

Pet Peeve #4: people who don't respond to e-mails. Really? Do you live under a rock? How do you function if you don't check your e-mail and respond? Most likely you've read it and are too lazy or too busy to write back. Please go to AT&T and pick up an iPhone so you can respond back in a timely fashion. I'm not saying you need to write back immediately after a Facebook comment - that's silly. Rather, I would like you to respond, so I know you're alive. If not, I'll have to go back to snail mail.

Pet Peeve #5: Dell computers. Yes, Michael Dell I'm talking to you. Your computers are so unreliable that I now associate Dell with the blue screen of death, the black screen of death, and all the other acronyms like P.O.S. That was my college computer's endearing name: P.O.S. My Dell was a pretty nice computer for about the first 8 months that I had it. Then, the battery refused to charge, ever. I had to buy a new charger. After having this pain in the neck machine for 15 months, it crashed, without any notice. I took it to the school computer people, who are as unuseful and unhelpful as Dells themselves, and they blamed me saying that I downloaded viruses. No, I had about 4 applications to block, prevent, and fix those problems. It was not my fault - they refused to acknowledge that my computer had faulty hardware. I actually considered all the ways I wanted to truly destroy it such as: driving it over, throwing it against the wall, and dropping it out the window.  About 5 months later after I had recuperated from the shock and stress of a computer crash, it crashed again! Dell refused to accept responsibility, so I gave up and just relied on a back-up hard drive. Oh, and I now own a HP.

I'm sure I've probably listed several of you in these pet peeve categories. By all means that doesn't mean I dislike you, just some of your actions peeve me. Most importantly, please don't blast your A/C. I have a mental list of all the places I despise because of over-A/C-ing: grocery stores, badly managed Starbucks, people who like to overspend on electricity bills, and pretentiously cold restaurants.