Archive for October, 2014
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If you’re a longtime reader of this comic, maybe you know that I have issues with seasonal depression. There’s a chill in the air these days, and the sky is darker and darker every morning when my alarm goes off. It’s not here yet, but I can feel it, the gloom, scratching at the corners. I know it’s coming.
But let’s not think about that. Let’s think about all the great things about winter. I actually really love the cold weather, I love boots and scarves and giant scrunchy socks and sweaters. I love snow, I love the smell of a fireplace on a cold day, I love being wrapped up in quilts with snuggly cats and snuggly boyfriends. And I love delicious things that warm the heart and belly on a cold day. When I first moved to Chicago, I lived in a traditionally Swedish neighborhood called Andersonville. Once it turns cold, all the bars there – even the non-Swedish ones, even the Mediterranean restaurants – serve Glögg, a Swedish mulled wine cooked with raisins and fruit and nuts and served with gingerbread. On a cold, cold day, a hot mug of sweet wine can be the most amazing thing.
And while I still eat plenty of chili and soup and ramen and drink plenty of dark beers year round, these are all things that are twice as tasty and restorative when the weather gets cold, and pretty darn effective at chasing off the winter blues.
In related news, GUYS I AM JUDGING A CHILI CONTEST THIS WEEKEND. This is all I have ever wanted out of my career, to be invited to judge food contests. I am only kind of joking about that statement. Come eat some chili and drink some beer for a great cause!
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Guys guys guys guys I was going to start this post out complaining about how these peppers are taking forever to ripen and wondering if they’d still be green when we had our first snow, but TODAY, today one of them started to turn orange!! I’m so thrilled, I can’t even. This plant has been my baby all summer. I love it almost as much as I love our cats.
Niles took issue with me calling them “pretty”, since they’re actually really ugly, evil-looking little peppers. It’s like they’re actually trying to warn you that they’re not good to eat.
Honestly, I do like things spicy, but I normally don’t like things SO spicy that they overwhelm the flavor, and 2,000,000 Scoville units is pretty extreme. They’re military grade spicy. The articles I’ve read say that they’re actually really delicious and sweet, but then they start to burn, and burn, and burn, and burn some more. I’m probably going to try one of these just to see how wicked they are, but I’m planning on giving the rest of these to our local restaurant friends.
And if the restaurants don’t want them, I guess I’ll just use them to destroy my enemies.
Speaking of enemies, I was inking this comic out at a bar the other night, and some bros next to me said that it reminded them of Daria. At first I was flattered (I love me some Daria) but then they started doing the Beavis and Butthead “DIARRHEA! DIARRHEA!” chant. And then they did it again ten minutes later. And then four or five more times before they left. So, score one against drawing in public, I guess. :\
HOLY COW I MADE A NEW SAUCEOME. I really don’t mean to go so long between updates here, I’m going to try to be much better about this. I’ve been having a hard time keeping things balanced lately. It feels like I’m just constantly working – I leave my job and work on freelance jobs all evening until I fall asleep. I set aside most of my time on the weekends to get work done. I love all the freelance work that I’m doing, but my schedule is starting to feel pretty monotonous.
And, as Niles often reminds me, most of my crazy schedule and deadline stress is self-imposed. Not every job has to be done as soon as it can be possibly done. And I don’t want to get to the end of my life and be remembered for efficiently meeting all my deadlines. More importantly, I don’t want to get to the end of my life and realize that I didn’t seize EVERY POSSIBLE OPPORTUNITY to eat delicious ramen.
So I’m making a concerted effort to be a little more social, and to take a little more time for myself. And this comic – at least when I manage to update it regularly – is such a boon to my mental health… and I definitely have some resurfacing issues that need to be comicked out these days.
