The radio show went very well; Matt and Angelina were the hosts and were very skilled at creating a friendly atmosphere and drawing out their guests. I said more than I probably intended to about my own love life (one of their primary interests), but what can you do? They have a web page, so at some point, they may put up a RealAudio version of the interview, so y'all could get all the juicy details if you didn't happen to be listening in Hawaii last night...
More importantly, I finally revised "Interruptions". I've been dreading doing it for months, literally, and the only thing that got me off my butt is that yesterday Joy, one of my colleagues at Mills, was kind enough to give me a copy of the Stegner Fellowship (a fully-supported program at Stanford, yum) application, which requires some manuscript. I wanted to send in "Interruptions", but given that I had piles of critiques on it, it seemed idiotic to not at least try to revise it. And as usual, once I was actually sitting down and doing it, it went much more smoothly than I expected. I'm still not sure the story is perfect (it's so autobiographical that I feel in some ways I can't write it properly until I've gotten more distance/perspective) but it's certainly much better. Hooray... I'll send out a copy of the revised version to the list of first readers, in case you're curious. I'm not sure if I've sent you guys earlier versions. As usual, if you're not on the list and want to be, holler.
I was really in pretty bad shape last week. Some financial problems looming over me (they still are, actually, but they seem more cope-able with now), and this vast pile of work, a veritable mountain, it seemed like. Of course, when I stopped completely procrastinating (which I was doing out of sheer terror) and started working on it (which I also did out of sheer terror), produced material started spitting out, and the whole problem suddenly seemed much more manageable. Of course, I'm not sure how the holidays will intervene in my productivity, what with Kevin here and seeing his family and seeing my family (my mom's cousin recently moved out to pretty much the same town Kev's family is in, so I'll be seeing her this Thanksgiving too, which should be fun. She's got an adorable daughter (12ish?) who wants to be a writer. :-) I think her mom is happy with me encouraging her as long as I don't tell her *what* I write). On the other hand, since David left to visit *his* parents for Thanksgiving, I've been more productive (it's much more fun playing Scrabble with David than working, despite the fact that I've only won one of our dozen or more games), so maybe it'll balance out.
With Thanksgiving looming, I have to share a recipe with you. This is my killer savory sweet potato recipe, low-fat and oh so good. It gets pretty much devoured every year. It's hard to believe I found it in a newspaper. Note that it can be prepared today, and refrigerated overnight, saving effort on The Day.
Savoury Sweet Potatoes
(serves 6-8)
3 large sweet potatoes (or yams) (3 pounds)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch scallions, finely chopped
2 T butter, divided
2 T vegetable oil
1/3 c. finely chopped walnuts (optional)
2 T soy sauce
pinch of cayenne
1. Microwave (20 min.) or boil (45 min.) sweet potatoes until cooked
through. When cool, peel and thickly slice.
2. Heat 1 T butter and both T vegetable oil. Add walnuts and saute for
about 1 minute, then add garlic and scallions and saute for another
minute.
3. Add sweet potatoes, stirring and tossing with other ingredients (sweet
potatoes will break up into chunks).
4. Stir in soy sauce and pepper.
5. Remove from heat, transfer to baking dish, and smooth top of sweet
potatoes with back of a spoon. Dot with 1 T butter. (NOTE: At this
point, dish can be cooled and refrigerated overnight; bring to room
temperature before baking).
6. Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 15-20 minutes, until golden.
Serve warm.
As usual, my access to e-mail while at Kevin's may be rather erratic, so I can't promise to talk to y'all in the next few days. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving if I don't talk to you, and know that I'll be thinking of my fabulous readers at some point during the day.