Kitchen Malfunctions

Two of my favorite hobbies are to cook and to bake. Although I love these hobbies I sometimes have difficulties in actually performing them. I am a very good cook and baker, don’t get me wrong there, but sometimes I have troubles with the appliances. Normally I can produce a meal or dessert without any troubles but once in awhile things go wrong, which is what I am going to talk about.

My first real malfunction when trying to cook something was in my condo in Florida when I was about twelve years old. I cannot remember why I needed the cream cheese, all I remember is that I needed it to thaw out. So without even thinking about the aluminum foil it was wrapped in, I threw the cream cheese in the microwave so that it would thaw quicker but that was definitely not a good idea. As soon as I started the microwave the sparks started flying and I became very frightened. I am not very good in scary situations so instead of simply opening the microwave, I ran to the other room where the rest of my family was, screaming the whole way. I informed them of what had gone on and then they had to rush to fix the problem.

The second time was in my own kitchen at home. It was a hot summer day and I was in major need of a Capri Sun juice box. I looked in the fridge and there was a juice box there but it was frozen. Without even thinking I popped the Capri Sun into the microwave to thaw it out a bit. You would have thought that I would have learned from my first experience with aluminum foil and a microwave but obviously not. It is even worse because I did the same exact thing that I did the first time. Instead of opening the microwave I ran to the other room screaming for someone else to help me.

My third bad experience with kitchen appliances dealt with a pizza. My friend and I decided to throw in a pizza and left it to cook for sixteen to eighteen minutes. My friend later went to check on it and started screaming. As I ran into the kitchen I saw flames at the bottom of the oven. Apparently a chunk of the pizza had fallen to the bottom of the oven and somehow caught on fire.

And finally the most recent mishap with kitchen appliances happened just yesterday when I attempted to make Rice a Roni. Now I wouldn’t even qualify Rice a Roni as cooking. It is such a simple meal or side dish to make that no one should have problems successfully making it. As I was stirring the rice mixture with the butter, I noticed flames coming out of the bottom of the pan. How could I have started a fire simply making such a simple dish? I still do not know how it happened. I am just assuming that something was down in the burner and caught on fire. Oh by the way, I didn’t handle that situation very calmly either. I started screaming and my roommate was the actual one to put out the small flames. Ha I need to work on my control in such situations instead of freaking out!

Even with these troubles, I promise you I am a very good cook! I may have a few troubles along the way with the appliances but I can produce a very tasteful meal or sweet!

Indecency of Lunch Room Conversations

Today my roommate and I decided to meet up for lunch between our classes like we normally do on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the Kumm Center Cafeteria. After we found a table to sit at and began eating our lunches, my roommate suddenly put down her sandwich with a disgusted look on her face. From this I believed that her sandwich was not up to par but this was definitely not the case.

“Did you hear that!?” asked my roommate.

It was obvious that I hadn’t heard what she was speaking of so she started to ramble on, quietly however, that the small group of boys was having a very sexually orientated and quite honestly derogatory conversation about women. The conversation varied in who was “hott” to who that person had hooked up with the night before and detailed descriptions that nobody needed to hear. Personally I could not hear the full conversation that was going on at the table beside us but it was enough to make my friend want to finish her lunch elsewhere.

I do understand that it is in the nature of some men, or in actuality some people to share such stories and personal information with friends or others but please keep it down or at least have such a conversation in a “safer” place. The lunch room was in no way a place to be sharing such sexually explicit information, it definitely disgusted my roommate and myself.

So basically before you decide to spill your guts in the cafeteria of your school, think about what you say and what people would perceive of you, unless you truly don’t care. But even if you don’t care, it would still be very mature of you to save such appalling conversations for somewhere else more private, especially someplace where other people are not eating. Go on a walk, chill in your living room, even the student lounge, but keep the cafeteria a clean place, and I mean more so then just the tables and chairs!

What else could we put your paycheck towards?

With not only our country, but also the world, in troubled economic times, I find it hard to believe that Hollywood actors and actresses are demanding ten to twenty million dollars per film, if not more.  I find it outrageous that billions of dollars are set aside to fund these celebrities’ paychecks when our world is full of poverty, starvation, and disease.  I am aware that some celebrities donate money to various charities, putting the money to better use then buying hundred thousand dollar cars and billion dollar homes, but I feel that this is not done nearly as much as it should be. I understand that everyone has the right to spoil themselves to some degree, as long as they work for it, but I believe many purchases of celebrities are unnecessary. As I read over my last statement, I realize that in fact not everyone has the privilege of spoiling themselves which brings me back to my original point. Hollywood actors and actresses are paid incredible wages when they are in no need of such a grand amount of money. There are bigger causes in this world than which sports car or mansion to spend the next million dollars on.

            Sub-Sahara Africa is a region that spreads over the bottom two thirds of the continent.  According to “Avert,” a site dedicated to “averting HIV and AIDS,” twenty two million people were living with HIV by the end of year 2007 and 1.9 million people were affected that same year. Millions of people continue to become infected from this disease as well as the actual AIDS virus.  It has been reported that 1.5 million people have lost their lives in this region and more than eleven million children have been put in orphanages because of this epidemic. Africa is not the only country to be infested with the HIV and AID viruses, it is found around the world. If such diseases are killing such extreme amounts of people I believe not only America should be spending money in attempts to solve this disaster but other more fortunate countries as well. (http://www.avert.org/aafrica.htm)

            In more local news, applicable to our country, health care has been a great debate among American citizens. So not only is money not helping out the people of our world, we cannot even support our own people. I believe health care should not be looked at as a privilege, but as a right for every single person in this country. President Obama had called for a health reform that is made up of three main ideas. His goal is to reduce costs, guarantee choice, and ensure quality care for all. I definitely agree with Obama’s reform and hope that Americans will sign this declaration, bringing the issue to congress. (http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/hcreform?source=OM_LB_google_HC-search_O-search&gclid=COWDnu2b5pwCFRPyDAodY3XSGg)

            And lastly is the issue that I feel is the most basic and visible to almost everyone in America. Everyday, people of our country are starving or are homeless, living horrible lives. I have heard people say that these people deserve this because they are lazy and do not work for anything. I do not care who you are or what you do to better yourself or live, but I firmly believe that no one deserves to starve or live on the streets. Luckily our country has established food pantries and shelters but the increasing number of people who are in need puts a test to these facilities. Food pantries are running out of food and shelters are running out of beds. I find this extremely depressing.

Ultimately, I realize that taking ten million dollars from Angelina Jolie and another ten million dollars from Tom Cruise is not going to put a stop to HIV/AIDS, make health care available to all American citizens, or keep people off the streets and with food in their stomachs but it still agitates me. I also realize that this is such a little amount of money when it comes to looking at our country’s actual debt and other spendings, but I do think that every little bit helps. Apparently I am more upset with the American economy than I recently believed and for some reason it took seeing the amounts that actors and actresses made to spark the interest. Sad but true, coming from my world of watching E news and reading tabloids. Maybe that will be my next topic! :)