victory, she is mine

Lest ye forget, for the past several weeks I've been assigned to the Worst Cube in the Building, a nickname that suits far too well for my taste and that has been verified by everyone who just happens to pop 'round to it while waiting for their coffee to brew.

For the record, I don't care for being 'popped in on.' We won't go into all the other things I hate about this new workspace, because enough time and verbiage has been spent on that already.

Well folks, the squeaky wheel does, it seems, get the grease, because as of Monday I'm being MOVED! Woohoo! Now, it's not back to where I WANT to go, my former cubicle with the privacy and quiet and access to natural light, but that would be like me asking to be put in an office at this point - ain't gonna happen. The new spot is a few rows away from the hub of office social life that is the space right outside my cubicle, and if you don't think that could make a big difference in atmosphere, I'm here to tell you you're wrong, wrong, wrong. The whoosh of the coffee machine, the whirr of the printer, the almost never-ending chatter of coworkers as they take breaks, the flush of the bathroom toilets 10 feet away, all will be much more muted once I move 30 feet farther away from them.

It's sunk to this then. I'm happy about being in a middle cube in the middle of a farm o' cubes.

Just call me Dilbert.

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Made some kickass chicken chili last night and some peanut butter/banana/chocolate chip/raisin muffins. Neither of them involved me pulling out a recipe book, so kickass could have easily been 'barely digestible' given the free-formness of the cookery. Sometimes the plan comes together, don't it?

Anyhow, here's the chili recipe, mostly because it actually turned out and I need to write it down before forgetting it:

The thing you need to pour:

2 Tbsp olive oil
Things you need to chop up:

2 boneless skinless chicken ta-tas, cut in bite-sized pieces
1 diced onion
1 cloves garlic, diced
1 chopped bell pepper
Things you need to use a can opener on:

2 15-oz can black beans, drained
1 28-oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 15-oz can kernel corn, undrained
Things you need to 'measure' and sprinkle:

2 Tbsp cumin
2 Tbsp chili powder
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp ground red pepper
S&P to taste
1/4 c corn meal (or corn muffin mix)
1/2 c grated cheddar cheese

What you need to do:

1. In soup pot heat oil over medium-high flame, sautee chicken until just light brown.
2. Sprinkle 1 Tbsp cumin and some S&P on chicken pieces.
3. Add chopped veg and sautee until onions are starting to turn translucent.
4. Dump in the canned veggies and spices, stir well, cover and turn heat to low. Simmer on low for at least a half an hour. Chili will be thin at this point.
5. 10 minutes before you're ready to serve, stir in corn meal and cheese, turn heat to medium, and let cook for 5 minutes.
6. Cool for a few minutes, then serve with more cheeze on top and maybe, if you're super fancy, a little chopped coriander (which I did not because we were out of it and it was 11 p.m. as I was making this, so no I wasn't going out to the store).

Really super-easy, and pretty danged yummy. Oh, just do not leave out the smoked paprika, as I think it's key. Also cumin. Don't make this without it, mmkay?

Thanks, and have a great weekend. Tiff out.