Review: Five Guys Burgers.

Now, don't get me wrong here, I do enjoy a good burger. But I do not necessarily ever feel it necessary to order a "restaurant" burger. (After all, why would anyone pay 10+ dollars to buy something they can easily make at home...especially when there are so many other delicious things on the menu.) So my "burgers I will pay money for" list really only includes fast food. (Which is sort of gross.)

But move over, Steak'n'Shake and Wendy's, because I have discovered Five Guys.

As a concept, Five Guys Burgers and Fries is pretty simple. You can order, burgers or fries or burgers and fries.

For two people to eat cheeseburgers (with all the fixings you could ever imagine), fries (we split a regular sized order) and drinks, it cost about 15 dollars. And it was worth it.

So here's a picture of my delicious delicious burger:
Texture-wise, this burger was perfectly balanced. The burger was juicy, the bun was fluffy and soft and the vegetables gave it a beautiful crunch.

Get on this.

New Obsession: Next Iron Chef.

That's right, friends. My life away from blogging has given me the time necessary to fall in love with the Food Network Show Next Iron Chef. For complete recaps, you can check out one of my favorite websites FoodNetworkHumor.

But I'd like to take this moment to declare myself on Team Ming Tsai.

Seriously.

How I got my life back.

It, my friends, has been a long couple of months. (Unexpected illnesses with bonus caregiver duties will do that to you.) Dropping out of school for close to a month will fuck your shit up too. But I'm back, I'm finally caught up and I'm hoping to finally get this show on the road. Let's do some updating, shall we:

-All of my family members are alive, although it will most certainly be a long road to recovery.
-College football season (the best season, as far as I'm concerned) is well under way. This should provide some interesting fodder for posts.
-Bought all the stuff to do the 30 Day Shred. I haven't started shredding yet, but I will, I promise!
-Learned how to make the perfect omelette.
-Joined LinkedIn and started searching for a job.
-Was rejected from Teach for America.

Onwards we go, friends!

Where do you get your energy?

I recently found this blog called The Document, and its fairly entertaining for a more journal-type blog. (So you know, don't go there to find recipes.) Her most recent entry details how she finds her energy (hint: it's not caffeine) and how that affects her life.

Apparently, this blogger (bloggette?), named Jenna is one of the rare breeds who "derive[s her] excitement and energy from everything [she] do[es]". (To be honest, I'm not sure whether or not to be jealous or puke a little bit.) And I find the concept interesting -- it got me thinking and I realized just how different I am.

I don't derive pleasure, excitement or energy from the things that I do -- doing them requires energy and I derive a sick sense accomplishment over getting things done. I enjoy having research on a particular subject done and filed away. It means less work when it comes time to write. My laundry and dishes get done because I enjoy having the freedom to sit around and marathon Dexter Season 4 (which is excellent, by the way) and I only ever hit the gym in the morning because I feel almost disgustingly self-satisfied knowing that I won't have to do it later.

It's sort of sick and twisted. As is my relationship with caffeine. See, I like the taste of coffee and there is no better way to start the morning (at least in my humblest of opinions) than a pot (or two) of coffee. During winter, there is no better afternoon beverage than a hot cup (or two)(or twelve) of coffee. It's problematic, I know, but very rarely do I use caffeine to "get" my energy. It's just a tasty beverage that runs through my veins.

But how do you get your energy, readership?

On Sleeping Alone.

Sleeping alone has been a bit of a hurdle for me. I don't mean that in the clingy "ohmygod, I need to co-sleep" way either. There just comes a point in time where you spend three-plus years crawling into the same shitty bed with the same person that you come to get used to it. And when that sense of normalcy goes away, it can be a bit of an adjustment.

I have two beds in my apartment. Well, one's a pull-out. I could go sleep in the little one by myself, but I don't like the mattress as much. Meanwhile, the pull-out feels so damn empty when its just me. It's been a bit of struggle. An internal one, really. But one on which I'm working.

Adult Milestone: Caring for an Ailing Parent.

This is not a place from which I ever wanted to write. At least not for the next 15 to 20 years. But here I am, in the hospital, the primary "adult" responsible for my mother's care and keeping for the foreseeable future.

The role reversal is weird. I keep the family informed, she focuses on being healed. Doctors talk to me, she quietly receives treatment. Meanwhile, she fights to establish that she is, in fact, "the adult here." Whatever you say.

I don't yet know what's going on, or how long our lives will be on hold here in medical limbo.
But I do know that I'm not old enough for this shit.

It's been too long.

I am well aware that the end of the summer has brought on a period of suckitude in blog-land. Don't worry, as the school year kicks up and I spend more time at a computer, the bloggerific world of Anonymous College Graduate will get up to speed.

In the mean time, what have I been doing? Well, there's been full-time work and full-time play and an epic mad rush to get enough research to face Keanu (that's the thesis adviser) without shame. There's been lots of food and the perils of living in an un-airconditioned apartment, too much caffeine, too much nicotine and entirely too much alcohol.

...it's been great.

This week, I've been down visiting the Significant Other in his new state of residence. I've used this week to really ramp up for the coming year: I finally finalized my fall schedule, ordered some of my text books and have managed to condense a shit load of research into not a lot of time.

Expect great things in the near-to-immediate future.