New job, new schedule, new blog.

When I was seven, I didn't dream of being a princess. I didn't have my wedding planned by the time I was sixteen. I didn't have any interest in being homecoming queen. Girly girls scared me. I tortured my Barbie dolls, cutting off their hair until they were bald. Lincoln logs interested me more than nail polish, Duck Hunt more than dress up. I've always been entertained by the atypical, and staying in the lines was never of any interest to me. 

So, truthfully, I never thought I'd end up craving an eight-to-five type job. I always thought that type of work was for boring accountant-types, and I would shrivel up and die in that environment. But after working three years as a temporary faculty member, where my friends and I would be up until all hours of the night (and early morning) grading papers, only to wake up and teach 8 a.m. classes, I thought much differently. If you really want to know why our education system sucks, go and talk to temporary faculty members. Over-worked, underpaid, and definitely under-supported, they'll tell you what needs to change. I often refer to that job as an abusive relationship. Fabulous workers were (and still are) getting smacked upside the head on a weekly basis, but we knew we couldn't make it on our own unless we had backups. 

Luckily for me, my backup became my main man this past week. Maybe I'm just in honeymooning bliss, but I dig being done with work at five. There's something magical about closing my office door and knowing I don't have to think about anything work-related until the next morning. Admittedly, I didn't know what to do with my hands the first two days after work. I tried twice to take work home with me, before forcing myself to turn around, unlock my office door again and put the paperwork down. At home, I paced around looking for things to prep for the next work day. Then I came to the painful realization: I have no clue how to entertain myself when given free time. Will has frisgolf, softball, and geocaching. I have a dog who goes to sleep when I walk in the door. 

That's where this blog comes in. It's my attempt to entertain myself. But enough about me, here's the basic premise of this newbie: Lack of money to travel + desire to try ethnic food + geographical interest + slight blogging addiction = my new project. In short, I'm going to pick a random country each month, attempt to make its national dish, and write about it. I don't promise I'll do the dishes any justice. Nor do I  pronounce myself some geographical genius. But I can tell you the first country is Afghanistan, and I'm pretty jazzed about that.