News of the Me

[ricevermicelli]

I was laid off this morning. This is not entirely unexpected. I didn't think it would happen so soon, but I did more or less expect it to happen. In the 3.25 hours since they told me it was my last day at work, I have made chicken tikka masala, emptied the dishwasher and the sink, updated my resume, and made appointments with two recruitment and staffing firms. I feel amazingly productive - this is a hell of a lot more than I would have gotten done at the office.

I am doing okay. I expect to do some wavering on that over the next few days, but nothing terrible.

My biggest current practical problem is this: I have CPA exam prep software, which I still want to use (two exams to go). It only runs on PCs. I don't have one of those at home. Does anyone have, or know of, a PC I could rent or borrow for the next month or two? I am chasing a variety of leads. It doesn't have to be incredibly fancy, it does need a functional DVD-ROM drive, and (despite the PC-only thing), I have to be able to install Quicktime on it.

Comments

[taura-g.livejournal.com]

Good luck with finding something new. Hopefully it will be better than what you had.

Unfortunately, we don't have anything you could use right now for a PC. If I come across something I will let you know.

[mzrowan.livejournal.com]

I have a PC laptop with a broken monitor, so if you have an external monitor you could hook it up to, you could use that.

[blk]

Congratulations and consolations on the laying off. I am now hungry for your chicken tikka masala.

We have one

[sweetmmeblue.livejournal.com]

We recently upgraded our PCs and have a spare that is functional and not likely to get much use any time soon. Contact either myself or DrWex about it.

Stupid question

[deadwinter.livejournal.com]

My memory fails me...do you have Intel Macs? Because if you do, you could install this:

http://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads

In order to do that you would need a copy of XP, and clearly, I would not not know how to get my hands on one of those, and I could totally not provide you with any such thing if you emailed me.

I did this recently when my work machine went kaput, and it was way less painful than it sounds.

Mind you, I'd explore the already mentioned alternatives first.

[dancingwolfgrrl.livejournal.com]

I am glad you are okay and productive and hope your next job is less of a stressbasket than this one! Also, possibly I will see you tonight when I return with your kid, assuming you still need that :)

[ricevermicelli.livejournal.com]

Yes please!

[bookdivalia.livejournal.com]

Yay and boo, I suppose.

I mean, considering how mean these people were about internet time I'm not sure how you managed so long.

[ceo]

Oh dear. Best of luck in your search.

[gyzki.livejournal.com]

Modified rapture. But hooray for chicken tikka masala.

[mizarchivist]

I'm sure you'll find something good soon.

This reminds me- that and the stupid levels of heat- shall we arrange for the ice cream bowl return? I'd poked danceboy about that a bit ago to no effect. I was wondering if he worked downtown still, as I could hand it off mid-day.

... Now I want Indian food.

[ricevermicelli.livejournal.com]

Yes.

Because what, I ask you, is free time for but to experiment?

[chessdev.livejournal.com]

Sorry to hear you got laid off but I'm glad you're already taking steps to handle that.

Good luck!

and no - I dont have any leads on PCs. Sorry... 8-(

[beth_leonard]

How nice of them to work you through tax season and then lay you off. :-P I hope you find something soon, I'm sure you will.

My PC is so old I doubt it would run your software even if it was economical to mail it to you. Microcenter has new desktop computers sans monitors for under $250. I know you don't exactly want to spend money, having just lost your employment, but if no one has anything you could borrow you still have options.
--Beth

[zathrus.livejournal.com]

Sorry to hear about the job loss, but I'm glad you're dealing well. Good luck with the job search!

This is at least the second time in recent weeks that you have mentioned chicken tikka masala. Any chance you could share your recipe?

Newt

[bookdivalia.livejournal.com]

I know that this is part of what she uses:

For those of you who wondered about masala sauce, I'm using/mangling the Cook's Illustrated recipe, so you can look it up if you like, but if you don't:

- 1 small onion, chopped fine.
- 2 cloves garlic, minced (more won't hurt ya)
- grated fresh ginger (how much have you got? I'm sure the recipe has a quantity, I usually wind up grating up an inch or so of ginger root)
- 1 small chili pepper, seeded, minced.
- 1 tablespoon garam masala (which you can buy special, or you can use 2 tsp. coriander, 1/4 tsp cardamom, 1/4 tsp. cinnamon and 1/2 tsp. black pepper)
- 1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes (Muir Glen organic crushed tomatoes are best, we have tried the alternatives, it does make a difference)
- 2 tsp. sugar
- Heavy cream

Saute the onion in oil until translucent. Add garlic, ginger, chili, garam masala and cook until fragrant (a minute or two). Pour in tomatoes and sugar, bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally. The recipe calls for 2/3 of a cup cream, but this is too much for us - add a little cream, stir, if you like the color, stop, if you want it more pale, add more cream.

[ricevermicelli.livejournal.com]

Ayuh. For the chicken - dredge approx. 3 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts in a mixture of 4 tsp. cumin, 4 tsp. coriander, 1 tsp. cayenne and shy of a tablespoon salt. Let sit in fridge for half an hour or so (while you make sauce is the right amount of time). Heat broiler to 550 or so.

Mix 1 cup plain yogurt, 2 cloves crushed/minced garlic, more grated ginger root, and about a tablespoon of olive oil. Drag chicken through this mixture to coat, put chicken on the broiling pan or equivalent of your choice (I use a sheet pan with a cooling rack in it). Broil for about ten minutes, flip over, broil for another ten. Remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes or so, carve into 1 inch chunks, mix w/sauce.

We are heavy-handed with spices around here. Lots of people prefer less - the original recipe suggests about half of what I use. If you want to let the chicken sit overnight in the fridge, cut way back on salt.

[zathrus.livejournal.com]

Thank you! Sounds yummy!

[zathrus.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

Newt

[caulay.livejournal.com]

My sympathies on that. I regret I don't have a spare PC sitting around at the moment or I'd be happy to lend it to you.

[gosling.livejournal.com]

Much sympathy. I am glad you are doing ok.

[aelscha.livejournal.com]

I have a several-years-old laptop that is looking for a home. Has a working XP install (last time I booted it, which was a few months ago), as well as a Linux install.

And, my sympathies on the laid-off-ness. Props for the productive response (at least thus far).

[robbbbbb.livejournal.com]

Oof. I'm sorry that you're unemployed. But it also sounds like you're adapting well and have a good plan, so I ain't too worried, neither.

The nice thing about working in finance is that even in a down cycle, companies need people to keep books.

[steuard.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry to hear about the layoff, but it sounds like you're handling it with real grace. I wish you the best as you figure out what's next, and I can assure you that whatever else happens, you remain awesome.

[macthud]

sympathieses and respectses and gosh, I wish my brain turned such events into productivity like yours does! and hey, less-committed (for we all know you don't ever have *free*) time might mean opportunities for visitations!

[ricevermicelli.livejournal.com]

FWIW, the appearance of amazing speed in getting off the mat here is generated by advance warning. I was told (by someone who probably should not have told me) that layoffs were coming, and I was able to judge that I was a likely target (I had a slow season, no clients coming up), and I had a plan in place.

What happened on Tuesday was that they started the ignition sequence.

[mrf-arch.livejournal.com]

Good luck with the search for the next thing.

We have a spare PC (minus monitor) floating around in the closet if you haven't got enough offers yet.

[alexx-kay.livejournal.com]

I also have a spare PC, if you would find that convenient.