no moon this morning, overcast

Yesterday morning I went to the library. changed Molli to Mary, Adrian to Carlos, Ray to Paul and made a few other edits to my story, then submitted it to NPR.

http://www.npr.org/2011/01/14/131223566/your-three-minute-fiction-submission-has-been-received

I am not really expecting to be hailed as the best new writer this year, in fact, probably there will be no result whatsoever. But I did it. And I will write more. But it appears that a deadline is somewhat inspiring.

I applied to be a mental health professional at the University Health Center, and looked at lots of other jobs. I might need to go get licensed again as an MSW. I did when I graduated years ago, but it might be worth redoing. such a pain; study, make appointment, go to Atlanta to take test. the reason I let it lapse is I didn't need it for the job I was doing. You have to pay and you have to keep track of courses you take (which you also pay for). But I should put it on my list of things I need to do.

For lunch, Ray and I went to the Georgia Center. We had to wait about 15 minutes for a table, but we had such a nice lunch. It is a very elegant atmosphere there, with tablecloths and pleasant decor. Our server said this was his second day on the job, but he did fine. He seemed awful young; his name is Andrew. They have a local entree that I usually choose. This time it was "blackened" chicken. I was thinking that meant char-grilled, but it was really about the spices, a little much for me. It came with spaghetti and the daily vegetable, some nice sauteed squash. Ray's chicken was yummy, if you like barbecue. It was a somewhat sweet, peach barbecue sauce. We did succumb to dessert and they were beautiful. My creme brulee had whipped cream, chocolate whipped cream and some other delicious sweet sauce, with pieces of strawberry and kiwi. The prices are reasonable, too.

Creme Brulee at the Georgia Center: I wonder why I am not losing weight?

Ray's dessert: chocolate truffle

In the afternoon, I wrote some more about my life. I have started using Dropbox to share and backup files. For instance, if you want to read the notes I have been making about my recollections, here is the link: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/10685084/bio.docx. If my computer crashes, or whatever, that information will be saved.

We got home a little earlier than usual and it was sunny and warm in the house. My parents had been there and left a note. I had promised cupcakes for Deb's birthday party tonight, so I wanted to get started on them right away. I used a recipe Amelia had sent for chocolate cupcakes. Unfortunately, I was talking on the phone while I was making them, and I realized later I had only put in one cup of flour, instead of two. They're surprisingly edible, but not what I wanted for this special occasion. I hope the frosting will hide my sins. I had to make them in 4 batches in 2 toaster ovens. I added extra flour to the last batch, hopefully not too much. They look better. I also made chili with the ground beef I had bought at Earth Fare a couple days ago. Ray and I were not really hungry, so I just made it to use up the beef and I will put it in the freezer.

Ray looked up from his computer about 6:30 and said, "did you want to go to the movies?" So we zipped off to the dollar theater see MegaMind, which Molli had recommended. It was fun and not intense. It was definitely worth $4. Of course, we had to have a giant tub of buttered popcorn, as well as Coke and candy. It wasn't too awful, since we didn't have dinner. Ray said I should have Sprite, so the caffeine didn't keep me awake. I said I didn't like Sprite and had to have Coke with my popcorn. Fortunately, it didn't seem to affect my sleep at all. I was in bed by 10 and slept until after 5, which is pretty good for me.