To celebrate the (non)rapture, we had our second annual crawfish boil. There were a couple planning bits that went a little better this year. For example, we boiled the crawfish on the same day they arrived, which reduced the dead-loss significantly. We actually cut back to 30 pounds instead of 40 pounds (and there was still a lot of food). Lastly, we got a plastic kiddie pool which gave us some extra space to clean the crawfish before boiling them. It was also entertaining to have a kiddie pool full of crawling and swimming cockroach cousins.
We changed companies this year, which means that we got a different boil. This year's boil was good, but it wasn't as spicy. Thinking about it, I think I liked it slightly better with it a little less spicy. Maybe spicier than what we ended up with today, but not quite as spicy as last year. I missed the spiciness when eating the tails, but the head-sucking portion is more enjoyable because you better taste the goodness.
I did try a couple other things in the boil this year. I put garlic cloves (unpeeled but broken from the head), and those turned out pretty good. I really enjoy the sweet flavor of cooked garlic, and it picked up some of the spices from the boil. We also had mushrooms shrimp. The mushrooms were good, but the shrimp didn't pick up as much flavor as I had hoped. I think that next year the shrimp will get seasoned separately (probably just using the boil seasonings) and I'll put them in a little bit closer tot he end (because they came out overcooked).
I think everyone had a good time, and I don't think anyone went away hungry. If they did, it's their own fault! There was plenty of food left over. Speaking of which, I've already started playing with the leftovers. I put together a corn chowder tonight. I used some of the boil broth in the soup, and it has a good flavor. However, I think I overdid the seasonings and ended up with something a little bit overly spicy, but not too spicy to eat.
But enough about food. The first week of classes went well. There are only 8 students in the class, which means I'm not going to draw a full paycheck for this class. I'll only get paid about half of what I would normally get paid, but that's fine. It's a fun class to teach, and summer teaching is extra because I'm on a 9 month contract spread out over 12 months.
It looks like summer basketball is moving forward. I'm looking forward to playing competitive basketball. This league comes complete with refs, which always puts a different tempo on the game. It usually means you actually get more rest than you would in a game without refs. I'm still concerned about my overall conditioning. Adding two nights of intense basketball to the one night of semi-casual basketball is going to be interesting.
The legislative session is winding down, and maybe we'll finally have clarity on the budget situation (for better or worse). Nevada is not the only state that is trying to come to terms with the role and value of higher education. Nobody really knows where this is going. Being 49th in the nation in education is not good, and while simply throwing money at the problem isn't a solution, neither is taking all the money out of it. So it's more of the wait-and-see mentality.
I'm reading "The Challenge of Jesus" by N.T. Wright in preparation for the InterVarsity faculty retreat. I will be leading one of the sessions, and this needs to be figured out in the next day or two. I'm looking forward to it because I think I like the direction that the retreat is heading. N.T. Wright's perspective is a bit different from what most people think of when they think about Christian perspectives, and I think it's different in a good way. He takes very seriously the historical context of Jesus, which brings a completely different insight into what he says. I would say more if I had more to say, but I think I've got to finish reading, first.
That's about it.
