At RISE:
(Work cubicle, South Lake Union neighborhood - 3:43 pm, Wednesday.
A sweeping crane shot starting outside in the gray, overcast, commercial neighborhood to a figure seated in chair. The office is quiet and everything appears to be lifeless. The figure is slouched over a keyboard with feet propped up.)
FIGURE 1
If this day doesn’t end soon, I’m going to off myself. These long December days do nothing for my mood and I am on the brink of losing it.
(The person slowly turns to face the camera and see from the profile it is a woman. Zoom out to see FIGURE 1 swiveling her chair towards another person. FIGURE 2 leans over the cubicle wall.)
FIGURE 2
Aren’t you being a bit melodramatic? Sure, the holidays suck. But there are good qualities, like spending time with your family and eating heart ravaging quantities of food.
FIGURE 1
Yes, you are right. Thank you for showing me the light.
(Figure 1 rolls her eyes dramatically. A crack of a smile emerges.)
FIGURE 1
You know, the holidays were really great this year. I learned a couple of things. First, VH1 marathons will destroy your soul, no matter what the context of the show. I learned that champagne and wine mixed into one evening is a bad idea. I also remembered why I love My So-Called Life and Brian Krakow. Best part of all? No family bickering or overstuffing my face because I bowed out of the fesitivities.
FIGURE 2
Isn’t that a bit depressing? Not spending time with your family while expelling these vile feelings towards the holidays seems a little…I dunno…dramatic?
FIGURE 1
You are right. I’m being a tool. I’ll quiet down now.
(Slowly zoom out, while Figures 1 and 2 continue their conversation. The screen fades to black with “Eleanor Rigby” by The Beatles playing.)
END SCENE
Green chile fuels liveblogging
I’m liveblogging my dinner. No, I haven’t gone bat-shit retarded. I just want everyone to eat good food, and I find this method more entertaining than typing up a recipe.
Let the cooking commence.
5:04 pm – prep work (my soundtrack choice is Daft Punk “Alive 2007″)
Ingredient list:
one onion (diced)
several cloves of garlic (diced – I used four or five)
kosher salt
one pound of red potatoes (also diced)
lots of roasted and diced green chile (amount dependent on availability, heat tolerance, and size of testicles)
meat substitute (or chicken if you eat meat. You can opt out of this too, but it really isn’t the same without something protein-y. I like the Quorn chik’n tenders.)
36 ounces of vegetable broth
cilantro
Some vegetable oil
5:27 pm
Threw in diced onion and garlic oil into vegetable oil. It got transulcent while I got down to Daft Punk. And goddamn that onion kicked my ass.
5:45 pm
Added potatoes, vegetable broth, salt and brought whole damn thing to a boil. Then bring down to a simmer and put a cover on it. Commence dancing.
6:20 pm
Add green chile, fake chicken (or cooked chicken, if that’s your bag), and diced red pepper. Also changed soundtrack to Jay-Z “American Gangster.” No dancing this time. Please take a moment to smell your hands. This is what New Mexico smells like late August through late September. If you are bored you can touch your lips. Isn’t that spicy tingle fun?
6:45 pm
Added some cilantro. Also, you might want to keep some dairy (cheese, sour cream, etc) around, in case your face starts to melt from the green chile. I promise I won’t make fun of you. To your face, anyway. Also: drinking some red wine and changed music to Jose Gonzalez’s “In Our Nature.” Jay-Z wasn’t doing it for me.
7:00 pm
Wine poured. Jose serenading me. Time to eat. I threw cheese on it because HOLY CRAP THIS IS GONNA BE HOT. Or hawt. Whichever.