Seven ways to get nothing done on your time off

Fun fact: did you know a month where you have one week of no work due to natural disaster, one week of shitty public transportation from said natural disaster, and then two two-day weeks of mostly traveling, your work life becomes very stressful?

This was basically my entire month of November. So, when December finally rolled around, I was counting down to the week-long winter break that the university I work for gives all its administrative employees. I had tons of ideas of what I was going to do with my spare time: read academic journals, finish a few good books, catch up on my sleep, finally get in a full workout a few days in a row.

Five days into the vacation, and I have done pretty much none of these things. In fact, I really can’t even tell you what I did with my many hours of free time. How is this possible, you ask? Here’s your guide to excellently vacant vacations.

Thoughts for Festive Foods

‘Tis the season for holiday parties and celebrations.  Still trying to figure out what  to make for all of your events?  Let me help you.

Still deciding what to serve for Christmas dinner?

Let me tell you, Hot Cheddar Marbles and Crabapple Ornaments are the new bacon-wrapped everything and cake pops.  But the Roquefort Mousse Salad is not your taste?  May I suggest an alternative Christmas dinner, featuring Shrimp in Asipc (nothing says happy holidays like aspic) and Cranberry Candles.  Did I mention the ingredient list for cranberry candles includes cranberry sauce, gelatin, mayonnaise, and oranges?  Mmm.

The Working Lunch: Buffalo Quinoa Salad

For lunch this week, I recreated a salad from a local restaurant chain called Protein Bar that I used to visit when I worked in the loop.  It’s full of all the good things that make buffalo wings delicious, including chicken, buffalo sauce, and blue cheese, plus crunchy vegetables and quinoa which make it a totally acceptable (and healthy!) choice for lunch.

 

Buffalo Quinoa Salad

3/4 cup quinoa

1 1/2 cups, plus 3 tablespoons water

1 chicken breast, cooked and chopped into cubes

1/2 english cucumber, diced

1 stalk celery, diced

2 medium carrots, shredded

1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese, optional

2 1/2 tablespoons butter, melted

5 tablespoons frank’s hot sauce

salt and pepper

1. Rinse the quinoa in a fine mesh strainer.  Add quinoa and water to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil.  Cover and lower the heat to medium-low.  Simmer for 15 minutes, or until water is absorbed.  Turn off the heat and let stand for 5 minutes.  Fluff with a fork.
2. Meanwhile, add chicken, cucumbers, celery, carrots, and blue cheese to a large bowl.  Season with salt and pepper.  Set aside.
3. Combine the melted butter and hot sauce.  Stir until combined.
4. Add the quinoa to the chicken and vegetables and toss to combine.  Add the sauce and combine until evenly coated.  Serve.

Makes 4 servings

 

Proximity to time zone borders affects the composition of daylight hours.

INTRODUCTION: As a relatively recent transplant to Chicago, IL from Pittsburgh, PA (and before that Rochester, NY), it seemed as though adjusting to Central Standard Time (CST) would be relatively simple.  Aside from being mindful of late night telephone calls to friends and family on Eastern Standard Time (EST), and watching primetime television shows an hour earlier than normal, it seemed as though there was no significant difference between CST and EST.  However, as I became more attuned to my surroundings, I noticed that the long summer evenings and short winter days seemed… shorter.  At first, I dismissed this idea as simply a nostalgic recollection of my childhood, when summer days lasted forever and I was finished with school at 2:30PM instead of walking out of work at 5:00PM.  However, while driving from Rochester, NY to Chicago, IL and watching the clock on my phone change from one time to an hour earlier in the span of a mile, I began to formulate another theory.  In fact, it seemed that because Chicago was so close to the EST border, what was evening darkness in Indiana became late afternoon darkness in Chicago.  What follows is my scientific exploration into this theory.

HYPOTHESIS: Due to its proximity to the eastern border of the CST, Chicago has longer morning daylight hours and shorter evening daylight hours than cities in close proximity to the western border of the EST.

METHOD: Using the google search engine, I recorded the sunrise and sunset times for Chicago, IL and South Bend, IN on December 6th, 2012 and June 6th, 2012.  South Bend was chosen for its close proximity to the western border of the EST.

RESULTS:

Table 1		Sunrise	Sunset
	06-06-2012
Chicago, IL		5:16AM CST	8:22PM CST
South Bend, IN		6:11AM EST	9:16PM CST
	12-06-2012
Chicago, IL		7:05AM CST	4:19PM CST
South Bend, IN		7:58AM EST	5:14PM EST

Table 1 clearly demonstrates that the sun consistently rises and sets earlier in Chicago, IL compared to South Bend, IN (based on the local time in each location).

CONCLUSION: There are many factors that people consider when determining where to live, including cost of living, job market, proximity to family, transportation system, arts and culture, and weather.  It is my recommendation that proximity to a time zone border be a part of this equation.  Early risers may favor locations close to the eastern border of a time zone, while night owls may prefer locations close to the western border of a time zone to maximize exposure to daylight hours.

My less objective conclusion is that I really wish they could move the CST border so that Chicago was in EST because longer summer nights are obviously better than full daylight at 6:00AM and the sun really set at 4:19PM today?  That is absurd.