Friday, July 10, 2009

Critical of being cryptic

I recently had a conversation (over email) with my aunt about how much we love technology. Thanks to facebook and blogging, I feel way more connected to my aunt and cousin than I would have otherwise! My aunt's last blog post was so funny, I laughed until I had tears in my eyes.

But sometimes I hate technology. Specifically email and how cryptic emails can be. I took this communication class a few weeks back and they had us do an exercise where we read the same sentence, but put emphasis on a different word each time we read it. It completely changed the meaning of the sentence - the exercise was kind of an eye opener for me. Today I got one of those emails that left me scratching my head and wondering - what is she trying to say? Am I supposed to respond? How am I supposed to respond? The meaning of her email was completely lost on me. Plus the sender of the email is someone that I have a somewhat strained relationship with, so it's tough for me to give her the benefit of the doubt and not think she is delivering some sort of virtual jab by sending this email. I'm pretty sure she was.

But you know what? It's Friday. All I can say is, Alleluia! I made it through another week and didn't have any days that were as bad as last Thursday. Onward and upward - that's what I keep telling myself.

I've got a busy weekend ahead of me - tonight I am going to a BBQ at a friends house. I attempted to make Waldorf Salad. Ok, I am using the word 'attempted' lightly because I didn't actually attempt to make it. I printed off the recipe. I had all the ingredients in my shopping cart. And then I panicked. Have I ever told you how culinarily challenged I am? I had thoughts of the Waldorf salad being a complete flop - then I would have had to show up sans salad at the bbq tonight. So I called my mom from the grocery store and had her help me come up with something else. Maybe I will feel like an adult when I no longer have to call my mom from the grocery store. She came through, as I knew she would, and found an easy vinaigrette that contained ingredients that I pretty much already had. So I'll be bringing a Spinach Salad with strawberries, walnuts, and apples. Crisis averted. I did email my aunt this week (the same one that I had the 'I love technology' conversation with) and said I definitely need some "culinary boot camp / teach Lisa not to be afraid of the kitchen and recipes" classes. She's happy to help and is such a pro in the kitchen - I'm looking forward to learning lots under her tutelage.

Tomorrow night I'll be going to the Basilica Block Party. This is something I've wanted to check out since I moved to Minneapolis 6 years ago. It's a huge outdoor concert that is help on the grounds of the Basilica of St. Mary. Yep, you read that right - it's held on the grounds of a Catholic Church. The proceeds of this huge music festival help the church maintain the Basilica. Counting Crows and Matt Nathanson are both playing so it's quite the line up!

Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!!

4 comments:

  1. I SO know what you mean about the emails! My boss is the nicest lady ever, but she's BUSY so her emails are often short and too the point, sometimes I interpret them wrong and feel like she's being snappy with me. Now that I know her better I know that's simply not the case, but it's so hard to interpret emails sometimes!

    It sounds like you have a fantastic weekend ahead of you! Enjoy it!!! XO

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  2. Lady, you are HILARIOUS. I love how you can get your MBA while working, run a freaking marathon and have the bejeezus scared out of you by a salad!! I laugh every time. I'm telling you. The secret to getting into the kitchen is not giving a whoop what comes out. I've made some stuff and thought, holy cow, that is ridiculously disgusting. Sometimes, I'm pretty sure i'm having a seizure while adding spices... who knows. I don't even measure properly in BAKING! Rebel!!! I want to come for the boot camp though! sounds fun!! WE can have my dad teach us how to make salmon too. He's iron chef quality in that domain. I hope you are well, and getting excited for the wedding:)

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  3. You will NEVER go wrong when you call your mom for culinary advice. When I figured out I needed to learn how to cook I would always call your Grandma for advice. It became a real bonding experience for us. It became such a habit for me to call her while I was cooking (even in the old long distance telephone days). She was really always thrilled to talk me though a recipe. Well, my perception was that she enjoyed my calls. "Mom, how do I make your dumplings?" "Okay, I've added the flour, now what?" I will never forget that moment when I was standing in my kitchen and thought "This is the moment to call Mom." And I realized she wasn't there. In our family, cooking is from the heart. I look forward to bonding with you in the kitchen!!! What fun we will have!!! Maybe we will call your mom while we are cooking!!! Even better, she should come and cook with us!

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  4. I have the technology thing with text messages. People shorten everything, and miss out punctuation, so you have NO IDEA of the intent of the message. It is annoying!

    I am one of the people who write everything in full in a text. I am constantly mocked for it!

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