Ineptitude (mine)
I complain, a lot, about other people's ineptitude. In fact, I was just totally busted today at work as a colleague and I were bitching about another co-worker's shortcomings (I was SO POSITIVE that she had left for the day and that we didn't need to keep our voices down. Never assume.).
But once in a while, I'll admit to my own ineptitude. And in the last 24 hours, I've demonstrated plenty of it, not only in my failure to be discreet when engaging in office gossip, but also in my attempts to operate pretty much any type of machinery.
I had done a ton of prep work for the Smelmooo's birthday dinner on Sunday, so all I had to do when I got home from work last night was assemble and bake the chicken pot pie and make the raspberry sauce for the chocolate cake I baked on Sunday (from scratch!). All that the sauce required was to pulse raspberries, powdered sugar and cognac in the food processor, and then throw it on the cake. Done.
Except, after I poured all of the ingredients into the food processor, it would. not. work. I twisted it, disassembled its various parts, unplugged it and plugged it back in a dozen times. Nothing. And after literally 20 minutes, I called the Smelmooo over in desperation, resigned to the fact that I'd probably have to pour the mixture into a regular bowl and use a potato masher on it. And then, of course, the Smelmooo pointed out that I'd put the processor onto its base incorrectly, facing the wrong direction. He turned it around, and, wham! Done.
Tonight, the Smelmooo is out at a class, so I decided to catch up on Ugly Betty and Ellen. We normally tape Ugly Betty on the VCR in our office because our DVR is full at that time, but I was all bundled up on the couch and didn't feel like getting the tape from the office, so I tried to watch the latest episode online. Unsuccessfully, about six different times. I think somehow that the web folks at the networks are on a pseudo-strike, ensuring that the webisodes won't work until the writers are compensated for them.
I finally turned the TV on to watch the tape, and on the screen was a language menu -- highlighting "Francais" --that I could not get to disappear no matter how many buttons I pressed. I spent literally 10 minutes trying to figure it out, turning the TV on and off, pushing every single button, repeatedly. I finally had a flash of clarity that the menu wasn't related to the TV itself, but to the VCR, which had turned on when I pushed the tape in. But when I turned it off and turned it back on, the option had disappeared, so now all of the display text is en francais. Which is kind of fun. I like that it says "Arret" when I stop the tape.
And I like that it's been worth it so far to watch Ugly Betty, which includes a cameo by Monique in a funny exchange with Henry:
"Sugar, where you been all my life?"
"Uh...math camp."
And Wilhelmina saying, "Balls" when she's disappointed. Which is awesome, and what I need to start saying when I encounter my next gadget-inspired fit of frustration and rage.
But once in a while, I'll admit to my own ineptitude. And in the last 24 hours, I've demonstrated plenty of it, not only in my failure to be discreet when engaging in office gossip, but also in my attempts to operate pretty much any type of machinery.
I had done a ton of prep work for the Smelmooo's birthday dinner on Sunday, so all I had to do when I got home from work last night was assemble and bake the chicken pot pie and make the raspberry sauce for the chocolate cake I baked on Sunday (from scratch!). All that the sauce required was to pulse raspberries, powdered sugar and cognac in the food processor, and then throw it on the cake. Done.
Except, after I poured all of the ingredients into the food processor, it would. not. work. I twisted it, disassembled its various parts, unplugged it and plugged it back in a dozen times. Nothing. And after literally 20 minutes, I called the Smelmooo over in desperation, resigned to the fact that I'd probably have to pour the mixture into a regular bowl and use a potato masher on it. And then, of course, the Smelmooo pointed out that I'd put the processor onto its base incorrectly, facing the wrong direction. He turned it around, and, wham! Done.
Tonight, the Smelmooo is out at a class, so I decided to catch up on Ugly Betty and Ellen. We normally tape Ugly Betty on the VCR in our office because our DVR is full at that time, but I was all bundled up on the couch and didn't feel like getting the tape from the office, so I tried to watch the latest episode online. Unsuccessfully, about six different times. I think somehow that the web folks at the networks are on a pseudo-strike, ensuring that the webisodes won't work until the writers are compensated for them.
I finally turned the TV on to watch the tape, and on the screen was a language menu -- highlighting "Francais" --that I could not get to disappear no matter how many buttons I pressed. I spent literally 10 minutes trying to figure it out, turning the TV on and off, pushing every single button, repeatedly. I finally had a flash of clarity that the menu wasn't related to the TV itself, but to the VCR, which had turned on when I pushed the tape in. But when I turned it off and turned it back on, the option had disappeared, so now all of the display text is en francais. Which is kind of fun. I like that it says "Arret" when I stop the tape.
And I like that it's been worth it so far to watch Ugly Betty, which includes a cameo by Monique in a funny exchange with Henry:
"Sugar, where you been all my life?"
"Uh...math camp."
And Wilhelmina saying, "Balls" when she's disappointed. Which is awesome, and what I need to start saying when I encounter my next gadget-inspired fit of frustration and rage.
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