Edmonton's "Veggie Garden" (restaurant review)

In all honesty, vegans and vegetarians in Edmonton actually have surprisingly little to complain about when it comes to restaurants that cater to our dietary needs.  I can think off the top of my head of at least two restaurants which are strictly vegan (Padmanadi and Noorish) and several more which are vegetarian/vegan-friendly (Cafe Mosaics, Loma House, Clever Rabbit, Veggie Garden).  Considering that our rivals to the south consider themselves to be SOOOOO cosmopolitan, Calgary leaves vegans begging compared to the selection in Edmonton.  And this isn't even to mention many restaurants which are not specifically vegan/vegetarian, but offer many options that are suitable (too many to mention here, see Happy Cow for the list!)

In Edmonton on a Saturday night, if you're going out on the spur of the moment and haven't made a reservation, I'd recommend a trip to Veggie Garden.  As a fairly new restaurant (less than 2 years old, located where Oriental Veggie House used to be), they could always use the business, and they are rarely very busy.  On times when we have gone there for lunch, we have often been the only customers there, or one of very few tables.  I was quite happy to see that there were at least a good dozen tables filled in this small restaurant when we went there on Saturday night. 

Despite being located in a terrible neighbourhood (south end of Chinatown, right across from the Hope Mission), Veggie Garden is actually a fairly nice restaurant.  The decor is simple, but the restaurant is always clean and the family which runs the place are incredibly friendly and eager to serve.  The free parking right out front is often full, but there are meters around each corner which are free (for now) after 6 PM and on Sundays.  Veggie Garden is open seven days a week, and has an absolutely enormous menu, making for a good selection of lunch and dinner dishes.

And now, on to the food! (forgive the photos, I took them with my cellphone camera so they're a bit lower quality than usual).

Crispy yum-yums!

For an appetizer, we had the spring rolls (which are #3 on the colossal menu, $3.99).  Spring rolls actually come as an order of five, but we couldn't help ourselves and dug in before I could take the picture!  The rolls are nicely crisp, with a filling of cabbage and tofu.  They come with a sweet chili dipping sauce.  Like most spring rolls I've encountered, these one's don't particularly blow my pants off, but they do make a nice little starter snack.

Happiness in a bowl

For his entree, DH selected the "chicken and beef" vermicelli (that's #22, $7.49).  All the vermicelli dishes at Veggie Garden come with spring rolls.  A spicy, dark sauce comes on the side with the vermicelli bowls, allowing the customer to add the amount of spice that they desire.  Everything in this dish was cooked perfectly.  The vegetables maintained their crisp juiciness, and there was definitely a difference in both flavor and texture between the faux chicken and beef.  The value is excellent on the vermicelli bowls, they are a huge dish of food, and we ended up with leftovers to take home from this one.

Presentation a bit sad here.

Something to keep in mind with Veggie Garden is that all of the menu descriptions are LITERAL.  If it says "salty tofu and shiitake", then that is exactly what you will get, a plate of just these two things, no other vegetables or noodles or rice.  I forgot about this fact when I ordered the sweet and sour pork (#44, $6.99).  It is just little faux pork nibbles in sauce with a handful of vegetables.  Not the greatest dish to have as an entree because it lacks the flavour variety that comes with eating something like the vermicelli dishes, with their diversity of components.  I found this one to be a miss; the pork was tender and flavoured correctly, but was overwhelmed by the sauce.  It was just far too sweet.  This dish really needs to be served on rice, with far less of the sauce.  I don't think I would order this again, or I would order it as a side dish to share.

Suspiciously good chicken...

Continuing with the literal, we also ordered the lemon chicken (#42, $6.99) to share.  This dish is probably Veggie Garden's biggest hook.  I have taken several omni friends to Veggie Garden, and when they taste the lemon chicken they are 100% hooked, and beg to go back again.  The lemon chicken is suspiciously good, it is flavoured perfectly, and the texture is quite firm for a faux meat.  The chicken is breaded, making for a delicious crispy bite followed by a savory chewiness. The sauce is not too sweet or overwhelming.  It comes sliced into segments, making it a great dish to share around the table.

Although I neglected to photograph them, we also enjoyed two of the restaurant's smoothies ($3.99 each).  While they offer exotic flavors like jackfruit and durian, the DH and I were not very brave on this account and opted for strawberry and mango.  The smoothies can be made vegan with soy milk upon request.  Both smoothies were delicious, they are almost pallet-cleansing like a sorbet.  I found them well worth the $3.99, especially as the restaurant does not offer alcoholic beverages (food follows Buddhist tradition).

Aside from the sweet and sour pork, all of the items were enjoyed at Veggie Garden were fabulous.  What was even better was the bill!   We enjoyed four items and two drinks for a grand total of $36!  The prices are ridiculously low here, which I think helps Veggie Garden to hold it's own against the popular Padmanadi, which is located just down the street.  For those of you planning to visit Veggie Garden for the first time, I would definitely recommend the lemon chicken and any of the vermicelli bowls as a great way to get and idea of what kind of food the restaurant has.  And, my own personal favorite happens to be the soft chowmein (#34, $6.99), which features tofu if faux meat is not your thing.

Despite it's location, I give Veggie Garden my highest recommendation.  Overall, a great restaurant with great staff that is really deserving of our business.  And with their very low prices, I won't be surprised if they continue to get busier, so get your lemon chicken while you can!

Faux fare or faux pas? Thoughts on "fake meat"

People are usually not vegan for one reason alone. This is just like how people are not Buddhist for one reason, or politically conservative for one reason, or whatever.  We are complex creatures with complex rationales for most things we do.  I would think that most people arrive at a vegan lifestyle through a combination of reasons. Some of those reasons could include (but are not limited to):

1. Wanting to lose weight or maintain a healthy weight
2. Wanting to generally eat a healthy diet
3. Wanting to eliminate consumption of certain dangerous compounds found in high quantities in animal products (e.g.- cholesterol)
4. Wanting to reduce one's carbon footprint and otherwise benefit the environment (remember that a vegan driving an SUV does less damage than an omnivore riding a bike!)
5. Having a great deal of love and compassion for animals, and not wanting to support their suffering by demanding animal products
6. Training for sports competition or other physical activity that requires a very healthy diet
7. Being part of a culture/religion/family where a vegan diet is the norm
8. Being disgusted by the idea of consuming a corpse
9. Lots of other good reasons

For a lot of vegans, you could think of these as categories and break them down into a kind of percentage in terms of how much they caused and continue to affect your vegan lifestyle.  In my case for example, the issues surrounding animal rights and prevention of suffering are about 80% of my motivation for being vegan.  The other components of environmental impact and weight maintenance and some of the other reasons are there as well, but they definitely don't resonate with me as strongly.  And it's different for everyone.

I think the composition of our own individual, personal reasons, leads us very much to our own unique vegan paths, and that our reactions to a variety of issues can be coloured by the reasons with which we identify.  In the case of today's post, I want to talk a bit about the reactions I've felt and that I've seen in others when it comes to faux meat items.

Tempting treat, or uncomfortable reminder?

Faux meat (or meat analogues) serves a couple of different purposes in the vegan world, and our reasons for consuming them could be as diverse as the reasons for being vegan that I was talking about above.  Aside from the generally disinterested members of the community, most vegans I've talked to seem to come down on one of two sides on this issue.

SIDE 1: (some combination of the following...) Faux meat is yummy.  It makes me feel happy-nostalgia-moments from when I was still eating meat.  It is a good convenience food. It is useful to eat faux meat to help you transition into a vegan lifestyle, so you don't miss meat as much.  Faux meat is great for convincing omnis that a vegan diet is not a scary thing and you don't have to give anything up.  Etcetera.

SIDE 2: (again, some combination...)  Faux meat is yucky.  It is highly processed using chemicals like hexane.  It makes me uncomfortable to eat faux meat because it is too close to real meat.  Faux meat is often high in salt and is not part of a healthy diet.  If I went vegan, why would I want to recapture what it's like to eat meat?  Etcetera.

Going back to our own reasons for being vegan, I think where you come down on faux meat can be coloured by your reasons for being vegan.  Although I lean heavily toward the animal rights and protection side of the vegan spectrum, I don't generally feel uncomfortable about faux meat.  If an animal didn't suffer to create it (i.e.- no egg products in the faux meat), then I am quite fine with it and will eat it.  If I was more heavily influenced by some of the other factors, it would likely impact how I feel.  Now keep in mind I do agree with the argument regarding the processed nature of a great deal of faux meat, and as a result I limit my consumption of faux meat as I would with any other product that has been highly processed, like store-bought cookies.  Or I make my own faux meat at home.  For example:

Faux chicken salad made out of mashed chickpeas.

AND

Pulled pork made out of jackfruit

AND

Fried chicken made out of seitan

Regardless of where you come down on the issue of faux meat, be kind.  Don't be mean to your fellow vegan if they pass up your offer of a faux breakfast sausage or analogue slice of ham!  And don't glower at your friend when they nosh on a faux chicken wing!  We get more than our fair share of criticism and fear from the general population about what we do or don't eat.  No matter how you arrived here, and what your personal reasons are, remember... we're all in this together.

When good patterns go bad: what to do when you crochet something ugly

Sorry for the lack of blogging lately...
 
Actually, I'm not sorry.  To quote Bob Cratchit, "I was making rather merry", and to blog did not even really enter my mind between the slabs of Tofurky, plentiful libations, and a one-sided, frostbitten game of road hockey.  Despite all that time off (without pay...) I found no time to blog.  I did however find much time for my favorite and most addictive hobby, crochet.

Cute penguin I made on NYE. <3 He reminds me of Gunter from Adventure Time.

But something is rotten in crochet-land-ia, my friends.  And it's not that I have given myself a repetitive strain injury (much, only like two days out of the whole vacation), but rather something far more evil and disturbing...


I have created something UGLY.

This is perhaps a worse crime than creating something that doesn't fit.  At least when it doesn't fit your indignation is righteous.  It's not your fault that it came out too big/small, it's the stupid pattern's fault for not being correct. (Because we ALL check our gauge every-time... herm herm...)  When it doesn't fit, you can chalk it up to a bad pattern, or the wrong hook size, rip it and start over.

But then there are the ugly ones.  This happens when finish a project and realize you have created something so un-pretty and foul that it really should not exist.  Do you rip it?  Do you pretend it's supposed to look that way?  Do you give it away to that friend who's not really right in the head, or to a small child who doesn't yet know ugly when they see it?  Do you make a tearful confession on your favorite crochet forum that yes, it was you who brought forth that heinous wretch of a project?

Or, do you just post it for the whole world to see?

Voila, my panda that looks like hell:

The case for euthanasia.

And I can hear you all saying "oh but vegbrarian, it's not so bad, he's actually quite cute, etc. etc. etc.".  No my friends, he is ugly, and I can prove it... this is what the panda is supposed to look like according to the pattern makers over at Lion Brand:

Uber cuteness, I have failed you.

So what's wrong with this picture?  #1, the eyes are WAY too low on my panda.  #2, how the hell did they get the bottom of their panda to not have corners sticking out the sides?  Panda is worked in the round and then sewn shut across, so I have no idea how they could have possibly accomplished this.  #3, Just look back and forth between them and shake your head and say how much I missed the ball on this one.

What should be ugly panda bear's destiny?  And don't say "do a blog giveaway with him" because that's just mean and I'm trying to gather readers, not scare them off and punish them with ugly toys.

Do I try again?  Take another shot at the panda?  Or cut my losses and stick to penguins?

The one consolation today, is that the panda will never be as ugly as THIS ELEPHANT:

Makes babies cry.

Oscar Wilde's "The Picture of Dorian Gray" (a review)

"Thus conscience does make cowards of us all."

- William Shakespeare

As I've said before, and I'm sure I'll say again, I get nervous when it comes time to review the classics.  Who am I to doubt or impugn the works of the late, the great, the canonized and the deified juggernauts of literature? I don't even have a master's degree in English... but I do have an MLIS, which at the very least qualifies me as an avid consumer and promoter of books, if not a suitable judge of their character and quality. But that aside, I still find it hard to offer criticism to works which have not only stood the test of time, but have found their way into our collective consciousness to the point that themes of these works have become the tropes and memes of everyday life and contemporary entertainment.

And today, the case in point for all of this is Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray.

Even if you have not actively sat down and read this novel, you already know the story.  A young man, in the bloom and vigor of his youth, sits for a portrait.  The beautiful result moves him not to delight but despair, and he makes the now cliched "deal with the devil" that the portrait shall age in his place.  A lifetime of debauchery follows, with the painting baring the scars and wrinkles of the man's misdeeds.  And of course, all ends tragically.

This story has been adapted, appropriated and otherwise borrowed from so much for other books and films that it is a very well-known theme.  As a result, I went into Wilde's work already knowing what would happen and how it would end*.  I don't have this problem with most of the books I decide to review.  Consequently, I'm going to set aside any criticism about the premise of the story (which obviously has been good enough to be repeated so often), and focus instead on some of the other elements of the work such as the character development and pacing.

* As a side note: I find it strange and somewhat hilarious that my strongest exposure to this story prior the reading the novel was Brian De Palma's film The Phantom of the Paradise, which crosses the stories of Dorian Gray, The Phantom of the Opera and the legendary tale of Faust.  It's a very strange B-movie with a great soundtrack courtesy of Paul Williams, I recommend it.

Damn fine show-tunes.

First of all, this book is so very, very reflective of Oscar Wilde and his fate.  Dorian Gray is the consummate dandy (a term which I feel is almost impossible to describe Wilde without employing), enjoying a life of relaxing hobbies, socializing, and focusing incessantly on physical appearance.  Scandal and gossip abound for both Wilde and his fictional counterpart.  And while The Picture of Dorian Gray was written before Wilde's imprisonment and exile, it seems quite prophetic in all these regards.  The difference being that Dorian Gray falls from grace in a much less catastrophic fashion, maintaining his unholy outward appearance while his moral structure and social life slowly begin to crumble.  

Oscar, King of the Dandies.

Interesting parallels between author and character aside, the character of Dorian Gray is quite the tabula rasa at the beginning of the story.  He's a vacuous pretty-boy with not a care in the world, until he is introduced to Harry (Lord Henry). Harry is not only a corrupting factor in Gray's life, but is very nearly the devil himself.  It is Harry who whispers the seeds of malcontent in Gray's ear and plants the initial buds of doubt.  It is Harry who introduces Gray to a lifestyle heavy with temptation and sin.  Without Harry, Gray would not have struck his unholy bargain that the painting would age in his stead.  And while Harry seems to do none of these things out of malice, his impact on Dorian Gray is as undeniable as if it he had been purposefully leading him astray.  As a realistic story, the devil is never directly portrayed or communicated with when Gray makes his fateful trade, but Harry seems to suit the role just a bit too well for it to be coincidental.

Generally speaking, the pacing in The Picture of Dorian Grey is a bit unusual.  The first segments of time pass very slowly, until Dorian Gray takes interest in the actress Sibyl.  From there the pacing picks up a bit, until the reader is slammed against the truly bizarre chapter which details the contents of the book which Gray is given by Harry.  And while this strange chapter seems to demarcate the two halves of the story, I found it's long-winded, overly descriptive passages to be pretty much unreadable.  I ended up skipping long sections of the chapter (which was over 50 pages long in my version).  Following this chapter we move several years ahead, and pacing resumes a somewhat regular flow.  While I appreciated the impact and need to go into detail about Dorian Gray's first act of cruelty (that against Sibyl), I felt that this section of the novel could have been a bit shorter in order that the reader be moved into the action a bit more quickly.  The first chapters are a bit dry and I hope that not too many readers have given up on this novel too soon because of that.

Dorian Gray himself is both frustrating and relateable.  While part of me wanted to shake him for being a classically-trained asshole for good parts of the book, another part of me wanted to see him redeemed, repentant, and relieved of his curse.  These mixed feelings are the sign of true character development.  When Gray's vengeful stalker is killed, it is both a breath of relief and a moment of annoyance that Gray had escaped punishment for his crimes yet again.  Being able to elicit such strong reactions in the reader is a true sign of a great writer, which Wilde doubtlessly was.

Wilde, like his character Dorian Gray, was also subject to a tragic end, one very much unsuitable for someone with such a creative, provocative writing style and imagination.  And while his works are few, I've enjoyed this one immensely, and would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys fiction and wants to read one of the great common themes of literature couched in a rich cast of characters.

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen (and Ladies) - best Christmas albums from the dearly departed

I’m more than just a little bit of a fan of Christmas music.  People always bitch about hearing it on the radio (starting in November, 99.3 has it 24/7!), in the stores, and pretty much everywhere you go.  I am not one of these people who complain.  In fact, I am probably the one in the background who has it cranked up to 11.  I have more than 700 Christmas songs on my lappy, playing on infinite loop for the entirety of December.  This includes all the soundtracks to the classic stop-motion, muppet and traditional Christmas cartoons.  It also includes all of the beautiful religious songs, and while religious I am not, these are by far the best and most beautiful of the Christmas tunes, and I love them.  Christmas music amps up my already profound Christmas fervor to ridiculous levels which suggest that someone let the ADHD kid eat all the candy canes.

 I AM THE ELF, I AM THE CHRISTMAS QUEEN, I AM SANTA INCARNATE.

Anyway, rather than simply doing a list of my favorite CD’s, I’d like to do a bit of a tribute to some of the beautiful voices that have left us, but remain immortalized in their wonderful Christmas albums.   I’ve picked four very different works from four different genres – opera, folk, country and jazz.  However different they are from each other, I would consider them all to be canonical Christmas CD’s, and complete must-haves for any Christmas music fan.

Also, you have to know that music was better “back then”, and this is just a fact (don’t make me whip out Sinatra vs. Bieber on you). 

So here we go.

Christmas With Mario Lanza

The original album was produced in 1956, and is probably my single favorite Christmas album EVER.  Mario Lanza was an absolutely peerless tenor (along with being a total babe!), and this album shows his virtuosity and powerful voice at its best.  Unfortunately, Mario Lanza’s troubles were as great as his talents and he left the world far too soon at the age of only 38.  It’s very difficult to pick a favorite song from this album, but I very much enjoy seeing the multiple sides of Lanza’s talent.  On O Holy Night we get to hear Lanza using the full might, power, and volume of his incredible voice.  And then there are very soft and tender moments, like on The Virgin’s Slumber Song which is just so melodic and beautiful that it brings tears my eyes when I hear it.  This is just an amazing album from an amazing artist, with not a bad song on it.  Even if you aren’t a fan of opera, your Christmas album collection is really not complete without this work.

The Very Best of Burl Ives Christmas

While this compilation was put together in 1999, Ives recorded most of the songs found on this album in the 1960’s.  Ives was a prolific Christmas music singer, with several albums of Christmas music to his name during his lifetime, and several re-compilations after his death.  Ives’ folk sound suits so many of these Christmas songs perfectly.  And while he is known for Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and Holly Jolly Christmas which he sang in his role as Sam the snowman in the stop motion Christmas special, there are so many better songs by Ives on this compilation.  I’m particularly fond of his rendition of What Child is This, a Christmas song that seems not to be recorded very widely, but that Ives does an absolutely great job with.  While I have three Burl Ives Christmas CDs in my collection, if you are only going to pick one from the bunch, make it this collection for a good overall feel for Ives’ work and sound. 

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and Other Christmas Classics - Gene Autry

I don’t usually dig country music at all.  And because it’s Christmas I’ll refrain from lambasting the genre all together (for now).  The tracks found on this CD were recorded in the late 40’s to early 50’s, and while there have been many other Gene Autry compilations created, this is the easiest one to obtain.  My favorite song has to be If it Doesn’t Snow on Christmas Day, I remember hearing this one as a child and I think that’s where my fondness for this album is rooted.  It’s a very fun song, told from a child’s perspective.  While Autry’s voice and ample twang cannot really be categorized as beautiful, it is certainly a unique sound which is instantly recognizable.  Even if like me you aren’t a country fan, this one makes a great addition to the collection purely for Autry’s unique sound and unusual take on some of the classics.

Ella Wishes you a Swinging Christmas

Great album, freaky cover.  Not sure what’s going on there with the trippy oil-slick unicorn...  anyway, this album from the lovely Ella Fitzgerald was originally released in 1960. As it's a jazz/swing album, obviously there's been a bit of liberty taken with the interpretation of some of the classics.  And while some of the songs are quirky to the point of near ridiculousness, the album has an absolutely fabulous version of Sleigh Ride which is irresistibly toe-tapping.  Fitzgerald’s amazing vocal range gets a pretty good workout on most of the tracks, if you can find a copy of this one I’d highly recommend adding it to your collection. 

Until next time. :)

Rankin-Bass' "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town", the World War II allegory

As my friends know, I am someone who very rarely gets sick.  I chalk  this up to a healthy diet, occasional exercise, and that fact that I am in the so-called "prime of my life".  But, despite having a usually gold-plated and well-functioning immune system, I spent the last few days housebound with the flu and bored out of my mind.  Since basic housework would induce a coughing fit, I decided to go the route of least resistance and watched lots of awful daytime television, and several Christmas cartoons.

Christmas cartoons are a distinctive entity of their own within the world of animation.  For one reason or another, the standard rules that govern quality in animation, voice acting, and production seem not to apply.  And the general populace doesn't seem to care.  Classic Christmas cartoons made prior to 1980 seem to be above scrutiny because we have attached so many warm and fuzzy holiday memories to their otherwise shabby facades.   Without the sentiment, most of these cartoons would have been relegated to obscurity long ago.  And the kings of this shabby chic holiday fare have got to be Jules Bass and Arthur Rankin Jr.

It's all business when it comes to puppets.

Rankin-Bass is in your childhood, and probably still permeates your adult life whether you remember their shows, and whether you liked them or not.  Along with their bevvy of stop-motion Christmas specials, they also had a wealth of conventional cartoon productions including The Last Unicorn, The Hobbit and Thundercats. And while I could wax poetic for an entire post about Rankin-Bass and their prolific cartoonery (BTW, these two are still alive and STILL involved in animation!), I am focusing today on one particular stop-motion Christmas piece that has a bit more to it than just a simple children's tale.

This weekend I watched Santa Claus is Comin' To Town, a Rankin-Bass jem from 1970.  This one shows up on TV less frequently than Rudolph and Frosty, but is one of Rankin-Bass' better efforts in many regards.  My sister and I noticed something about this movie years ago when we were still in our teens.  The choice of ethnicities for the various characters seems to be particularly deliberate, to the end that the story actually becomes a World War II allegory, albeit one told from an American perspective.  Raising several characters as examples, I would like to suggest that Rankin-Bass not only did this on purpose, but that the hidden allegorical side of this movie makes it all the more clever, insightful and meaningful.

Burgermeister Meisterburger is clearly a Nazi.  And it's not only the German accent.  He is the lederhosen-wearing totalitarian dictator of Sombertown.  The fascist Burgermeister is introduced as an uncaring figure who persecutes the town's children (the Jews) by taking away all of their possessions and expecting them to do nothing but menial labour.  His immediate answer to the problems posed by Kris and allies is to incarcerate them. 

Heil.

What is bizarre within the context of the WWII allegory is that the Burgermeister's sidekick Grimsby is British.  While Italian may have been more suitable in the context of the war, I took this choice of accent to reflect the British appeasement policies towards the Nazis leading up to the war.  Grimsby smiles and nods without any reflection regarding whether or not he agrees with the Burgermeister's policies on a personal level.

And then there is the hero, Kris Kringle, who is clearly representing the Americans.  He comes onto the scene after the persecution has already begun, and using his seemingly unending resources to attempt to intervene in the situation and remedy it.  And in the end, of course he saves the day, as goes the ending of every American-made war movie, ever.

How does he do it?  Elf slave labour (AKA conscription!).

The WWII undertones are a great reason why this movie is a real Rankin-Bass winner.  But the true soft spot in my heart is always a good sing-along song.  And so I leave you with the best of the bunch from this one, the duet between Kris (Mickey Rooney) and the Winter Warlock (Keenan Wynn):

Temp-ting fate... or, 'tis the season to be sessional (a rant).

I try to talk about work as little as possible in my blog.  This is simply because I like having a job and I am not very cleverly disguised, and many of my coworkers are (or are possibly) reading my blog too.  And I wouldn't want to write anything that would (A) cause them chagrin or (B) cause my online life to become a problem.  Because I am one of those people who very much feels that it's not particularly healthy to be a two-headed monster when it comes to your work versus home life personalities.

Left is all business.  Right likes to get loaded and run amok.

I much prefer to just be myself, rather than be someone different at work from at home.  As a result, I think my coworkers would call me quirky (or maybe that's too polite... maybe more like brash and tactless, whatever).  But hopefully still keep a good professional opinion of me.  And because it isn't particularly professional to bitch about one's workplace/boss/job/etc., I try not to.

BUT.  Today I feel like I need to say something specifically on the subject of temporary employment.  As my friends know (and now all of you know too), I am a temp.  I'm not supposed to call it that, as we have a fancy term that is supposed to make me feel better about the fact that I get laid off every year for anywhere from three months to forever.   Now in this economy I know I am supposed to simply be grateful for the fact that I do have an amazing, well-paying job that I generally like.  And generally, I am pretty happy.  But as every other temp out there knows, there is always that niggling, incessant hum in the back of your brain that quietly reminds you day-in and day-out that YOU COULD LOSE YOUR JOB AT ANY MOMENT AND THEN YOU WOULD BE TOTALLY SCREWED.  And there's nothing I've found (because drinking isn't the solution to life's problems) that shuts this reminder off.  Even when things are going perfectly well it's still there because you never know if the contract is going to end on time or if it gets extended or if they'll have you back for another go round pending budget approval, etc.

But everyone else who's not temp seems to have forgotten what it is like to be temp, if they ever were in the first place.  Because to them we are exactly the same.  Except for the part about not having control over my own life because of minimal health benefits, no chance of having kids in the near future due to the lack of maternity/parental leave, no vacation, no sick days and no guarantee that I won't be destitute in six months time.

Being a temp causes a deep, unsettling paranoia.

A recent survey of my grad school classmates found that only TWO PEOPLE from my class of about forty had permanent, full-time employment.  So much for re-training for a more-employable career (face-palm).  Which means I am surrounded by thirty-eight of my temp brethren (and some unemployed too).  Which would be great, were it not for the fact that we are all probably plotting ways to murder each other to get one of the very few jobs in our chosen field that is permanent.

Because there's no honour among the tenuously employed.