Friday, November 23, 2007

yesterday's meal

Without further ado...






































































And yes, in case you were wondering: I did drain the grease from the sausage. Not all of it, though; it tastes too good.




_

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

WHY NO ALT TEXT?!?! NONONONONONOOOO!

Jelly said...

Wow! That seems like a labour intensive meal! When you mentioned the variety of vegetables in a previous post I wondered if you were going to end up heating a bag of tri-mix veggies....but nope, you hooked each veg up on its own! The stuffing looks interesting - I've never had sausage and apple stuffing. I wanna try it!
Serious kudos for your dilligence. Preparing a Thanksgiving meal with two burners is a feat!
Two Q's: How'd you make the gravy? and How are the leftovers working out? Sammiches?

Jelly said...

Oh -- I just noticed maybe there was a supplemental burner? Aiight!

And - you have a blender! Is that yours? You want a deelish zucchini soup recipe for your blender, don't you? Do you make much soup with it? Would you make a recipe for me and tell me if it's fabulous? If you say it's great, I might give in a buy one!

Unknown said...

Kevin,

Very impressive, and now I sit here at 7 in the morning, suddenly very hungry. And not for a bagel, either.

Anonymous said...

Too bad my Thanksgiving wasn't spent like yours, instead it was spent like this:

This was my worst Thanksgiving ever. Most of the time, I just don't understand the world and our purpose in it. Do parents ever think about “their” children before bringing them into this troubled world, and whose god is the correct god to believe in? I'm willing to bet that the current religious fanatics/cults of the world all end up in the same boat as the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans, but we all need some sort of “hope” (love, job, family, future haven for our departed soul, etc.) to keep on trudging through this miserable world we inhabit. I honestly can't believe that so many “educated” people can call poverty, disease, famine, war, prejudice, elitism, and many other disgusting things “God's will,” while others have no problems using living, and departed, human beings as medical guinea pigs in hopes of becoming Gods themselves.

On Wednesday afternoon, there was a “tragic accident,” yes, accident, outside the entrance to our school academy in which the school bus ran over and killed a truly great young person who was just beginning her life. This horror was witnessed by many of our five, six, seven, and eight year-old students, as was the CPR attempt on this beautiful child by the school's owner. While she was rushed to the hospital, the bus driver somehow managed to get the kids home before returning and turning himself into the police who were now waiting at the scene.

This child was a true joy to teach. She wasn't the best student, but she was always happy, smiling, inquisitive, willing to share her snacks with everybody which included her teacher, and a true worth-while addition to this harsh world in which we live in. I still can't believe she is gone.

I can't begin to imagine the pain her parents are suffering right now and for the rest of their lives. Sadly (this being a very small school), everyone here is suffering too and walking around in shock.

Like I said earlier, this was an accident, but the driver will likely end up in jail because while there was accident insurance this culture also requires payment from the party that caused the damage—accident or not. This man makes less than a $1,000 a month, but will likely be asked to come up with $80,000 during negotiations with the police and family. Since he does not have this kind of money, he will end up spending time in jail. The consensus seems to believe it will be around one year.

There is also some worry as to what will happen to the academy. Will this end up being too much of a “loss of face,” and cause many students to drop out and force the academy to close? I was aghast to find out that we would be open the following day, but open we did, and it was actually quite a beneficial start to the healing process. There are no grief counselors in this country that I know of. It was also great to see that the parents of our kids realized it was an accident and called to voice their support of our school in this poor neighborhood. I was worried because without this school hundreds of kids would not get the same opportunities that those in more affluent neighborhoods get.

I already admired and respected the owners, but even more so now after seeing them go through this awful situation with strength I didn't know most people had. The same can be said about about my three other co-teachers who kept their heads and the other students occupied, while short-handed, during this crisis. However, my revulsion at the franchise that we operate under has reached new lows after witnessing these snakes slither in to cover their own asses while acting like they were here for us. Low-lifes.

I don't know what the fallout for the school and the driver will end up being yet, but I know that it was a truly horrific day, I wouldn't wish on anyone.

I really am going to miss that girl, and I'm pissed at myself for actually thinking why couldn't it have been one of the problem kids instead? Being human and having these types feelings really sucks at times.

Jelly said...

John, what a tragic event. My condolences to you and your co-workers and everyone involved. On the same day here I opened my classroom window after hearing the screech of tires and saw two of my students clutching each other in front of the car that had stopped short of hitting them. I thought, "Oh Jesus, be careful girls! I can't imagine how horrible I'd have felt if there had been an accident in front of my school, like there was at yours. The bus driver and the parents,....I just can't fathom what they must be going through.
Kevin's got some good advice. Do take care, John.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the kind words and place to vent. I am the only foreign teacher at my hagwon, so I've been somewhat out of the loop as to all the goings on after the accident. The people I talk to the most are the owner and his wife--two really great friends of mine, but both have been in shock and have been too preoccupied in dealing with this tragedy and the aftermath for any real conversations at this time.

I was really thrown though when some people representing the school franchise had the gall to try and brush the incident under the rug and not mention that a young child had lost her life at all to the other students and their parents, and let "our" bus driver take all the rap. The owner quickly said no to that idea.

The bus driver really cared for these students, and it seemed the the accident happened as he was pulling up in front of the school building. The kids were jockeying for position to board first when either the little girl fell, or was pushed, under the rear tire before the bus had stopped completely. Most people, and the other students, say that she fell, but a few others feel that she might have been pushed. This same situation plays out at schools all over the world. I remember being involved in this same nonsense when I was a child as well, just never with such horrific consequences.

I also had to vent because a few of the more thick-headed kids seem to think nothing of the situation and laugh about the loss of a little girl's life as if it is a joke and no big deal. I could have ended up in trouble by speaking my mind to these punks, had I not gotten a grip on myself when listening to some of these little morons' comments. I did kick one out of class on the spot though. This isn't one of those asinine computer games where you can just hit the start over button again.

Kim @ Socius: Daejeon Central said...

John-

That is truly tragic. While it's not surprising that this has happened, it's something that shouldn't have to happen. Please allow yourself to grieve and I hope that you are able to find comfort.

Peace from another Daejeonite-

Kim