— tapioca world tour

I know some really interesting people. And the holidays always highlight their, how to say, specialness…

I am not going “home” to Philly for turkey day, for microwaved instant stuffing and cranberry slices from a can and frozen green beans defrosted in Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom, then topped with dehydrated onion rings, all of which comprise the staple Thanksgiving meal at the Dougherty household since the death of my grandmother, Anna McKeown Dougherty, the first and last great cook of my sad little family.

No, despite my mother’s pleadings, I haven’t the time or funds for a big trip like that right now; I love my ma but right now I’m more focused on moving into the new place. I’ll bake a pumpkin cheesecake for one of my pseudo-families, with whom I’ll spend the holiday, and call home while I’m eating it.

My pals, however, all do very interesting things when these commercialized occasions roll around. Does anyone really “give thanks” on one particular Thursday? I hope so, but that should be a perpetual, personal and solumn event, not a farm-animal-inspired Macy’s One-Day Sale. That said, here a few of my good friends explain their festive plans:

SHIVA
Im doing that Berlin conference thing for thanksgiving
which i dnt really want to do but its good for the resume –
and life must naturally revolve around a peice of fucking
paper so im gonna do it.

REEN
should be a great week since it’s thanksgiving and
all, but i (stupidly) volunteered to go to f’ing arizona and
observe young stars, instead of eat cranberry sauce and
mashed potatoes at home. argh. anyway. another week.
another paycheck. teaching science in the ghetto.

JOE R.
I’ll be staying in NYC this t’giving. I have to work
Wednesday and I don’t feel like traveling, and I’m not
feeling altogether festive either, to tell the truth.

They’re brilliant, these people. Honest to God, I sit up nights wondering how it is I’ve come to know all these brilliant people. Sure, they’re overworked and stressed out, but they’re inspiring, and one day, dammit, one day something great will happen to all of us….

bayley says:
“these are dark days, dougherty. dark days.”

i tend to agree with her.
it tends to pile up all at once, doesn’t it?

“I think we should stand around your camera with candles and chant something”

ha haaaaa

Everyone I know is so, so cool. I am feeling so relieved that these silly video dreams of mine might finally come to fruition…that I’ve got a team of awesome people willing to help out…that we’ve got some ideas…that the ideas are good…that we can start really soon and I can move into my new place next week and life will continue to become insanely busy but oddly, quite fulfilling…

Tonight I went to my friend Ben’s 27th birthday party. I knew him in the late 80s, and we’ve reconnected this past year — in fact, in a week, he’ll be my Central Square neighbor. Ben is probably the only person my age I know who would invite both his parents to his own birthday party…and his parents are probably the only people I know who would blend in wonderfully and kick it with their son’s friends all night. In addition to Ben and his parents, there were a lot of Quakers and chocolate cakes at this party. Not to be confused with Quaker Chocolate Cakes.

Sometimes human events and/or relationships seem bad, but when I really think about it, life is very good. I feel like a big dirty hippie for saying this, but I love everyone I know. I really do.

My pal Hiromi has, on my request, sent me these amazing recipes for cookie bars and dark chocolate cake. She was a regular in the Dougherty/Bayley household last year, cooking like crazy as a stress relief for being extremely pregnant. We ate a lot of dessert during those 9 months, thanks to this little buddha -

Really, write these down and make them. They are both absolutely amazing, even if they do make your arteries hurt a little. Oh and eat the choco cake with ice cream, please.

Magic Cookie Bars

1 stick butter
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (12 oz) package semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/3 cups flaked coconut
1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Add butter to pan, place
pan in warm oven until butter is melted.

Add graham cracker crumbs to melted butter. Press
evenly into bottom of pan to form crust.

Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over crust.
Sprinkle chocolate chips, coconut, then pecans and
press into crust.

Bake 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool and cut
into bars.
- See link -

Chocolate Fudge Cake

1 box Betty Crocker Fudge Cake Mix
1 cup sour cream
4 large eggs
1/2 cup oil
1 (4 oz) package instant chocolate pudding
1/2 cup warm water
1/4 cup coffee-flavored liqueur
1 (12 oz) package semisweet chocolate chips

Combine chocolate cake mix, sour cream, eggs, oil,
chocolate pudding, warm water, and coffee-flavored
liqueur. Stir to blend, then beat 3 minutes at medium
speed. Stir in chocolate chips.

Turn into greased and floured 10-inch bundt pan. Bake
at 350 degrees for 45 to 55 minutes or until tests
done. (If using a 9-inch pan, bake 1 hour 20 minutes.
If making cupcakes, bake 25 minutes.)
- See link -

I do.