Sunday, September 29, 2019

An autumnal birthday

I have previously said that it has finally started feeling like fall, but then this week it has started looking like fall. Hooray!

On Thursday, at work I decided to eat my lunch in the Pioneer Cemetery. Creepy? Maybe, but it was really very peaceful, because it's in a lesser-visited area of the park.


Friday was my day off, and after renewing my car registration, going to the temple, and eating at the Eaglewood Golf Course, I took a run up North Canyon. The leaves have started to change, and it was amazing, even if the pictures don't show it.




What I did not enjoy about this run is that there was an unusual amount of dirt bikers. I don't like sharing the trail with dirt bikes, because I'm afraid they'll crash into me. They're also noisy, and they leave the smell of gasoline in the air. Also, when you find cigarette butts on the trail, it's almost certainly from dirt bikers, because they don't have to be healthy to be on the trail. Also, when you find beer cans, it's from that kind of redneck outdoors person. I was also mad when I learned that ATVs will now be allowed in Utah's national parks. Ugh. (Sometime I'll have to explain my theory about hippie outdoors people vs. redneck outdoors people. I align with the hippie side.)

Then today is my birthday. I'm 31, which isn't that big of a deal. Two years ago was my golden birthday, and a year ago was when I started a new decade. This is the age I get booted out of the YSA ward, but that doesn't happen until the end of the year. I would show you pictures of my presents, but my phone doesn't like to charge. It died, and even though I keep it plugged in, it's not charging very fast, if it's charging at all. Anyway, I got hilarious/awesome/adorable salt and pepper shakers with a white cat dressed as a vampire and a black cat dressed as a bat. And I got a light-up vampire that moves its arm.

***
Here's pumpkinundation roundup!

Someone shared with me this year-old Sweet's Candy Corn Taffy. This taffy isn't super flavorful, and it's very sweet, but it's fine. It's better if you don't eat too many. 6/10. Sweet's is one of two major taffy companies from Salt Lake.

Kirkland Signature Pumpkin Pie is a typical pumpkin pie. When I'm eating it, I feel like I should be settling down after Thanksgiving dinner. 8/10.

Taco Time Pumpkin Empanadas come back every year because they're classic—basically pumpkin pie filling inside a tortilla coated in sugar and cinnamon.

Thomas' Pumpkin Spice Bagels are the best pumpkin bagels. They're soft with little pockets of pumpkin spice filling. 8/10.

Taffy Town is the other major Salt Lake taffy company, so at work I bought this Taffy Town Harvest Treats Taffy, which has seven flavors, but only three or four that I consider fall flavors. From top left we have:

  1. Maple. Typical, uninteresting maple flavor. 7/10.
  2. Pumpkin pie. Might not taste like pie per se, but tastes like fall spices. 7/10.
  3. Pomegranate. Not really a fall flavor, and my least favorite of the flavors. It also seems to be the most common flavor in the jar. 5/10.
  4. Caramel corn. I consider popcorn balls a Halloween thing, so this works. Tastes like popcorn Jelly Belly. 8/10.
  5. Caramel apple. Tastes artificial, but it definitely tastes like artificial caramel and apple. 8/10.
  6. Candy corn. OK. 6/10.
  7. Cran-raspberry. This might have been the only one I've had from the jar so far. 6/10?


Earlier this year, I told you that I don't like Greek food, and Greek yogurt is no exception. So I can only give Chobani Pumpkin & Spice Greek Yogurt a 5/10.

Noosa Pumpkin Yoghurt is better, and it's some people's favorite yogurt, but I'm not a yogurt person. 6/10.

I had a weird experience when I got this 7-Eleven Apple Cider Donut. The cashier wouldn't leave me alone. Do I look suspicious just because I'm wearing a shirt and tie? Apple cider donuts are apparently a big thing on the East coast. This one was crispier than I expected, but it was nice. 7/10.

I associate Pez with Easter, because my very first Pez dispensers were Easter. So I was happy to see a Halloween flavor, Candy Corn Pez. Unfortunately, the fruit flavors are better. It tastes like butterscotch mixed with fruit. 4/10.

Sunday, September 22, 2019

GRE

Tuesday was the big day. I took my bike to park at This Is the Place, then rode onto the U's campus to the Student Services Building for the GRE. I was nervous.

I had to empty all my pockets and take off my watch before I entered the test. It amazes me that there are people out there who cheat, especially if they're committed enough to apply to grad school. I couldn't live with myself!

The GRE starts off with two essays. For the first, you are presented with an argument and decide whether you agree with it. For the second, you get a proposed idea and then decide whether there are other questions that need to be analyzed for the idea to be correct. I don't think I did great on the essays, but I'm guessing I did well enough.

Then you get a verbal section, which is vocabulary and reading comprehension. I finished these sections with a little extra time. Then you get quantitative reasoning, which is math. It's high school math, but it's presented in ways that you don't see in school; many of the questions have two equations, and you have to say which is bigger, or if they're the same, or if you can't determine it. I'm not mathematical, so it was tricky to me. I had to guess on several of the questions because I didn't have time to figure out how to do them.

Then there was another verbal, then another quantitative, and then I had another verbal, but I think it was experimental.

I got my unofficial scores for the quantitative and verbal. I don't know my percentile yet, but I think I did great on the verbal, and good enough on the math.

And I was so glad to have it all done! I have been studying at work for the last three months, so now I can go back to reading academic books! Last week I was tossing and turning one night because I was dreaming that I had to find the perimeter of an unusual shape (and I was also thinking about the Edmunds-Tucker Act of the 1880s). I thought I'd be done with those stressful dreams, but then I had another one this week after the test about writing the essay again.

I hopped on my bike to head back to my car. I had to get off my bike to ascend a staircase, and I found that a cool orange spider had hitched a ride.


Yay! No more test!

Last week we made grape juice, so this week I used it to make grape jelly. It was the first time I ever made jelly, and it was very easy and quick. But unfortunately, it's not very flavorful, even though it has a pretty pink color.

We also have a small tomato garden, so I used our tomatoes to make a margherita pizza, my favorite kind (my mom made the dough).

Yesterday at work, Church service missionaries from the Salt Lake City Headquarters Mission came into the print shop, and one was asking about octavo paper. He said, "I was reading The Autobiography of Andrew Jenson, who was Assistant Church Historian," which made my ears perk up. I asked:
"When you read The Autobiography of Andrew Jenson, did you read the original 1938 version, or the—"
"I read both. First I read A Historian in Zion, and then I read the original to see how it was different."
"I'm coeditor of A Historian in Zion!"

I never expected people to read the first book with my name on the cover, because frankly I don't think it's that interesting, so what a surprise it was!

I have been trail running in NSL for five years now, and it amazes me how much the trails have changed during that time. Unofficial shortcut trails now look like regular trails, and parts of the regular trails have gotten wider. And the Bonneville Shoreline Trail has boomed in popularity for photography. It's nearly impossible to go on it now without passing several groups of people taking wedding or family pictures. What really annoys me is when they have the couple on one side of the trail and the photographer on the other. If you both got on the same side, people wouldn't go through you! Once a photographer asked me to wait while she took her shots of the couple walking down the trail. What gall! Last night, someone had even rolled out an old, rickety piano onto the trail!

There's this guy in my ward who is very autistic. Well, he's high functioning, but he's on the low end of high functioning, and he frequently says outlandish/awkward things. This morning before church started, he got on the stand and asked the bishopric if they had a Sharpie so he could black out his teeth. I taught the lesson/led the discussion in elders quorum today based on President Nelson's talk, and when I talked about dressing and grooming, he went off on wearing clothes for a certain time and place, like settings when it's appropriate to wear military clothing, like camping. He even came up to me after the lesson to ask about other settings for military clothing. And when I asked, "How can we better honor the women in our lives?" he said, "I was thinking I hate the girls in this ward." I don't think he does, and I don't know where he was going with his statement, because we collectively shut him down.

***
Week 2 of pumpkinundation roundup!

This was my first picture, taken in the dark, of a pumpkin chocolate chip cookie at a ward activity, and I was sure I took another one, but it vanished. So even though you can't see it, the cookie was typical. 7/10.

I bought this Caramel Apple Cow Tale at work. It's like a caramel-flavored licorice with an apple-flavored filling. Weird but fine. 6/10.

My family has been buying Nature's Path Organic Pumpkin Seed + Flax Granola since 2010. I loved it at first, but I've grown tired of it. Back in 2010, I remember the back of the box said "Pumpkins: not just for Halloween." 6/10.

Entenmann's Little Bites Pumpkin Muffins are tasty, but I feel guilty eating them, since they're unhealthy and have wasteful packaging. 7/10.

This Wienerschnitzel Pumpkin Spice Dipped Cone was my post-GRE reward, and I was pleasantly surprised. It's just a vanilla ice cream cone with a topping, but the topping tastes like a spicy pumpkin shake. This is probably my favorite ice cream topping ever! 8/10. (Wienerschnitzel's dairy products have the name brand of Tastee Freez. In 2012, my brother lived down the street from a Wienerschnitzel, and I was so confused why they had a neon sign in their window that said "Taste Free." Only later did I figure out the sign was broken on the last letters of the words!)

I bought these Pennsylvania Dutch Candies Nut'n But Natural Pumpkin & Oats at work; they were expired, so they gave me a discount. They are basically pumpkin seeds with cinnamon, sugar, and oats, with a few dates thrown in. Simple but tasty. 7/10.

The Corner Bakery Maple Pecan Pumpkin Baby Bundt Cake is tasty and decadent. The sugar pecans provide a nice textural contrast. 8/10.

This Blue Moose Sweet Shoppe Pumpkin Pie Fudge is similar to other pumpkin fudges, but it was tangier and stickier. 7/10.

Last year, I bought these Trader Joe's Pumpkin Recipe Dog Treats because my sister brings her dog, Buddy, over all the time. When I tried one last year, it was really bland and hard, so I didn't finish it; and since it was sitting in the cupboard for a year, I certainly wasn't going to try one again. The fact that we still have them should tell you something. They don't seem to be Buddy's favorite; he doesn't always finish them, even though he eats anything. Last year I rated them 2/10.

I first had a Caramel Apple Pop in 1997, and their simple deliciousness has made them endure. 8/10.

I liked the Russell Stover Candy Corn Marshmallow much better than I expected, and I like the orange and yellow marshmallow on the inside. I mostly like the white chocolate fudge. 8/10.

I decided to try the Trader Joe's Harvest Spice Trek Mix, even though it doesn't have any pumpkin (and Trader Joe's is the ultimate pumpkin store!). It has spiced nuts, candied ginger, and dried apples. I like it, even though I don't think dried apples serve much of a purpose. 7/10.

Last year I didn't find the Trader Joe's Pepita Salsa, so I was glad to see it this year. Pepitas are pumpkin seeds, but this salsa doesn't have any crunchy bits. It's surprisingly creamy. It's a fine salsa. 7/10.

The Russell Stover Caramel Apple is decadent, but I don't remember the apple flavor being noteworthy. 7/10.

Trader Joe's Organic Pumpkin Bread is like cinnamon raisin bread without the raisins. Dense and OK. 6/10.

Trader Joe's Pumpkin Butter is a classic, and I use it on my PB&J sandwiches at this time of year. 8/10.

For some reason we always seem to have this Stephen's Pumpkin Spice Hot Cocoa in the house, even though it's mediocre hot chocolate. 6/10.

Pumpkin Spice Frosted Mini Wheats haven't really improved since their 2015 debut. They're OK. 6/10.

I didn't officially see a name for this cookie, but I think it's a Sugar Fix Pumpkin Cookie. Sugar Fix makes the best cookies you will ever get from a gas station. 7/10.

I didn't feel like another Clif Bar, so I was glad when I remembered I had a Pumpkin Spice RXBar. As an energy bar, they're fine. The pumpkin and spice weren't super strong. These are chewier than most energy bars. 6/10.

It doesn't belong here, but I'm showing you this TruMoo Orange Scream Milk. I justify getting these milks because chocolate milk is frequently used as a recovery drink. It's sweet and enjoyable, but still not as good as chocolate milk. 7/10.

Everyone knows peanuts and candy corn are a winning combination, and so is Archer Farms Candy Corn Crunch Trail Mix, which also adds pretzel balls and raisins. 8/10.

Pumpkin Spice Life has also not improved since 2016. I like it for its Life-like qualities, not for its vague spice flavor. There's no pumpkin to be found. 6/10.

I've heard of pumpkin hummus for years, so I was delighted to finally find Delighted By Pumpkin Pie Dessert Hummus. It tastes and feels just like pumpkin pie, but it's vegan hummus! 8/10.

The gluten free pancakes I had last week were great, but unfortunately the Trader Joe's Gluten Free Pumpkin Spice Bagels are not so great. There is a bit of pumpkin flavor, but the texture and flavor of the bagels themselves are not so good, even with pumpkin hummus and pumpkin butter. 4/10.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Finally fall again

It finally felt like fall this week!

Last Sunday, some friends invited me to take a small excursion to Silver Lake in Big Cottonwood Canyon. It was a fun early-fall road trip.
 There is a plaque devoted to the July 24, 1857, celebration. That was a historic and significant July 24, but I don't know how they can assert it was "the first statewide Pioneer Day celebration." It had been celebrated all over the state in previous years; 1857 wasn't different in that respect. They also celebrated at Silver Lake in 1856. This seems to be a problem when people write histories: they're eager to mark something as the first or the best or the biggest, even if it's not. Guys, it's OK. Something can be important even if it's not the first.
On Monday, after a late-summer/early-fall activity at Cherry Hill, I went to the Smith's in Farmington. Now that the spooky season is upon us, I have to rant about one of my pet peeves: decorative animal skeletons. I don't have a problem with human skeletons; people do fun things with them, posing them in various ways in their yard, and skeletons are creepily fun without being gory. But I don't like the anatomically incorrect dog, cat, and other skeletons that have ears and other things. Dog skulls do not have ears! Cat skulls do not have ears! Spiders have exoskeletons; they do not have bones! And in this image, you can see frog "skeletons" that are really just hollowed-out frogs with white skin. I'm not asking for scientific preciseness (I'm certainly no anatomist), but why can't we have more accurate animal skeletons? They're no less creepy than the cartoony ones. These dumb skeletons are the Halloween equivalent of eight-pointed snowflakes and North Pole penguins, and you know how I feel about those.

I'm taking the GRE this coming Tuesday, so on this past Tuesday, I took my bike to work so I could find the building where I'm taking the test, since work is on the border of the U. I didn't know where I was going, and I found myself by the hospital when it started raining, so I turned back to try another day. That night I made grape crisp. It took almost an hour just to take the grapes off the little stems. Grapes don't make great crisp.


Wednesday was cold and rainy and truly felt like fall. I did wall sits at work to keep warm, and my legs were sore for several days. They sent us home early because of the rain, so I made celery soup.

On Thursday, I biked to the U again and found where I'm going. It was fun to be biking on a college campus again, thinking I'll be a student again next year. That's also terrifying.

Friday was my day off. I picked more grapes so we could make grape juice, just one of the splendors of September.
 Then my family went to the Utah State Fair. I like going to the fair, even though I don't know why. I decided to try one of the turkey legs and felt super trashy eating it. It wasn't that great; it was very gristly and bony. But the worst part was that these yellowjackets kept following me. I might have picked off some extra meat at the end, but I was sick of the gristle and yellowjackets that I threw it away, and I felt unethical doing so. Not going to get one of these again.
The leaves appear to be changing later this year than usual. But I'm fine with prolonging this fantastic season.

***
Now that it's mid-September, pumpkinundation roundup has returned for its fifth year! For those of you new to the blog, every fall I document the fall flavors I encounter. The three big fall flavors are pumpkin, caramel apple, and candy corn, but there are others as well. This week has a lot of caramel apple.

I started the season a little early on Labor Day with this Icy Mountain Caramel Apple Sno Cone. I had it early because that was the one time the Icy Mountain food truck was at work, and it was a super hot day. I wouldn't have had one if they didn't have caramel apple. It was OK; I found the cream a little off putting, and the ice grains were larger than I like. A few days later, one of my coworkers said, "I need to wag my finger at you, because I saw you getting a non-holiday sweet." Oh, but it was holiday, even if it was a little early. 5/10. 

Honey Bunches of Oats Apple Caramel Crunch came out earlier this year, meaning it's not marketed as a fall cereal, even though it totally is. Dried apples are weird, and this cereal had the potential to be gross, but it's not. But it's also not as fantastic as it could be. (I'm still hoping for pumpkin spice Honey Bunches of Oats.) 7/10.


As I was driving home with these Kettle Brand Apple Cider Vinegar Potato Chips, I was thinking about how much I love seasonal flavors. Fifteen years ago, seasonal flavors were limited. What a great time to be alive! These chips really taste like vinegar, but the apple element isn't very strong. 7/10.

I have submitted my official review of Betty Crocker Pumpkin Spice Cake Mug Treats, but it hasn't been posted yet. This is a cake mix you put in a mug, then add water or milk and heat in the microwave. Unfortunately, they're pretty bland and not worth the calories. 5/10.

I keep getting Pumpkin Spice Cheerios (multiple times) every year because they're the best pumpkin cereal out there. 9/10.

I will soon be submitting my review for Hostess Iced Pumpkin CupCakes, which were revamped from their 2015 version. These are easily my favorite Hostess product, with a strong cinnamon flavor. 8/10.

Sometimes I see a product that sounds so weird and bad that I have to try it—hence Palmer Pumpkin Spice Cups. Palmer is a terrible discount candy brand that uses inferior chocolate—that is, when it uses chocolate at all, and not "chocolaty candy." I was pleasantly surprised here. The "mockolate" layer is thin enough that it's not gross, and the filling has a nice flavor. 7/10.

I always take Spiced Pumpkin Pie Clif Bars on my autumn runs up North Canyon. Classic. 8/10.

At the state fair, I got this birthday cake caramel apple, since it's my birth month. It's hard to go wrong with a caramel apple, but I didn't like the white confection and sprinkles. 7/10.

Last November, I got free samples of See's Pumpkin Spice Lollypops, and I still have leftovers. They're OK; they taste like plastic. 5/10.

Also at the fair, I got pumpkin fudge. In other years, I have absolutely loved it; this time around, it was a little too sweet, but still good. 8/10.

Normal Ice Cream is a very hipster ice cream truck in Trolley Square that recently opened up a store with a different menu. This Normal Ice Cream Caramel Apple Composed Cone has green apple–flavored ice cream with a topping and some kind of salt. It was fine but weird, and it wasn't very caramely or appley. 6/10.

The Kind Caramel Almond Pumpkin Spice bars have been out a few years, and this time it was more autumnal than I remembered. 7/10.

But the Kind Apple Cinnamon Spice bar is new. It didn't make enough of an impression on me to really remember how I felt. 7/10?

I had these Trader Joe's Gluten Free Pumpkin Pancakes in the pantry from last year, so I cooked them up this morning. I would have no idea they were gluten free, and I ate three with no syrup! 8/10.

belVita Pumpkin Spice Breakfast Biscuits have been around for a few years, but they have new packaging. I like them better than I remembered. 7/10.