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Don't Rely on Luck this St. Patrick's Day
6 years ago
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Thursday, March 26, 2009
I started my new job with the Census Bureau yesterday. I've worked for the government before, but they are quite serious. I'm looking forward to a few months of trailblazing. We will be the first people to ever use handheld GPS computers in the Census.
I'll be address canvasing, the most important part of the Census. The rest of the phases are predicated on us getting accurate data. Everyone that works on this after us will be using our data. Its cool to be doing something important. The Census data is used not only for history and statistics, but for assigning congressional districts, electoral votes and appropriation money.
Yesterday I spent the day taking the oath of office, (Yep, I have to defend the Constitution from all enemies, foreign and domestic, too.) getting fingerprinted, and learning the basics of preserving confidential information. Its a big deal there, since the Census is so important and needs the trust of the American People to succeed.
PS. That pic is my new official Census 2010 messenger bag. Its VERY heavy. I should be getting back into better shape lugging that around the neighborhoods.
Next week, training...
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Took a good couple hours (and several Guinnesses) to make the Corned Beef and Cabbage. It looked great, smelled good, was a beautiful piece of meat. Unfortunately, the butcher did not cure the brisket long enough. In the center, you could see a strip where the cure didn't even make it and it looked more like a regular brisket. REALLY disappointing. It was like eating a roast more than the traditional favorite. I was/am quite upset about it. I look forward to this meal every year. Thats what I get for trying to go natural. Next year, we either are back to a conventional brisket or we cure it ourselves at home.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Just back from Ireland in time to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. Every year, I make Corned Beef and Cabbage. Olivia is excited because its one of the few meals that I can cook and she still be able to smile while eating.
This year, I wanted to extend my preference for humanely treated, grass fed beef to my Irish celebration. There is no way your typical Corned Beef at the store has been treated well for .39 a pound. Anyway, last week I called up our butcher and put in an order. He asked me if I wanted the whole brisket, I asked how big that was. He says "I don't know exactly but around 4 pounds or so." I reply, "So no bigger than 5 pounds?" He affirms and I make the order. Fast forward to last night. Olivia picks up the meat on the way home. She asks me how much I think its going to cost, I give a reasonable price based on 4-5 pounds. Nope, its higher, because its 8 pounds of corned beef. Ha. Thats not what I was expecting. That might actually last a day or two, even with my ravenous appetite.
I included a picture of it pre-preparation. The Guinness is there for scale, and not because I've already started drinking today.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
It finally happened. Olivia and I got married in Clifden, Ireland on February 28. It truly was a wonderful day and everything that people say/write/make movies about came true. We had a great time with our family and friends that made the long trip. I'm happy to report that quite a few of those people have told us how much fun the wedding/trip was and some even said it was the best wedding EVER! =)
We don't have any official photographs yet, but that's the Church we got married in. It would be too much to write of every cool/funny thing that happened in our 2 weeks in Ireland, but I think I'll try to shoot for 4 anecdotes a week for a while. There's a lot to be shared.
I feel very lucky and Olivia is excited because we might end up in an Irish Wedding Magazine.
On a Portland front, I've accepted a temporary position with the Census 2010. I start in a few weeks, so thats something.
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