New Years Resolutions.. The Limit Does Not Exist

Well here we are again- another year coming to a close. For whatever reason, New Years seems to be my favorite occasion to blog about (see my earlier post, The Hilarity Of New Years Resolutions). Every year I half heartedly participate in the whole “what are YOUR New Years resolutions!?” discussions and always offer up something vague or painfully cliché- new workout plan, here I come!

I like to think that, as I notice certain things about my life I want to change, I try to actively start to change them right then and there. Or do a mini New Year resolution thing and say I’ll fix it but then forget about it. Anyway, I guess my point is, New Years resolutions seem to have turned into a something of a group cop out for our society.

Alright.. Bold statement. Don’t blow it off just yet. Goals are important. How else would we grow, right? Entering 2014 without any goals is just not a great way to go about life in general. But what bothers me about these goals for 20-whatever is the idea that you have to wait until the ball drops and the clock strikes midnight (and for your hangover to subside) to do anything about these goals. If you already have your New Years resolution(s) in your head, why on earth aren’t you doing anything about it right NOW?

Throughout 2014, I want to really deepen my yoga practice. Well since making that decision, I’ve already started practicing on my own at home more and more and it is still 2013. I also want to learn how to brew beer. Immediately before starting this post I had my nose buried in a book about home brewing. But I didn’t wait for the year to start over.. so does it still count as a 2014 resolution? Follow up question- Does it even matter? The term “New Years Resolution” is so incredibly limiting. It creates this illusion that, around this time of year, we have to take inventory of our lives and make giant changes right now. New Years resolutions seem to make us more reluctant to actively try and grow throughout the year.

I notice this more and more around October. I hear and participate in conversations about what we want to change about ourselves and it always comes down to “well, there’s no point in starting now, I’ll just wait until the New Year.” It’s as if we just decide to chalk this year up as a loss and keep doing what we’re doing. Why? Because change is uncomfortable and hard and it will seem more natural to start fresh next year.

The changing of the calendar year is so incredibly arbitrary. We know things change, I’m sure we can all look back on a given expanse of time and pick out several things and circumstances that are no longer a part of who we are now. And most of those things have nothing to do with the date. Come January second, after a day off of what appears to have been designed to let everyone nurse their hangovers, everyone resumes business as usual. Most of us have those new years resolutions we’ll start forgetting and for the most part, everything is exactly as it was on the last day of the previous year. I understand that starting the calendar over is as good a time as any to make personal changes, but on December 31^st and January 1^st, we all find the world looks eerily similar… because it is.

In all honesty, New Years Resolutions do serve a wonderful purpose. They give us a chance to really reflect on the year and how we want to improve. However, the limitations we create for ourselves using these resolutions are what frustrates me. There’s no reason to cop out at the end of a year and hold off making an effort towards a goal. There’s a reason the phrase “there’s no time like the present” is a cliché. Although this post does air on the side of gripe-y, I do wish you all a very very happy New Year filled with constant growth and change.

Love,

Kim

Who Needs Panera?

One of the most beautiful things about food and cooking is that it has the ability to transport you just about anywhere in the world and you don't even have to leave your kitchen. 

Today, I went to New York.

I've been in the mood for some good bread recently and I've been on a random bagel kick so I figured why not try my hand at some homemade, NY style bagels?

I found this recipe from a fellow blogger: New York Style Bagels

Before I get into it let me just say....

HOLY SMOKES

These are actually the best bagels I've ever had. Now, the link I posted has the recipe and all the detail you need, but I'll just share some tips I plan to keep in mind for the next time I make these (which will probably be next Sunday). 

As you may already know, there's not a whole lot of humidity in The Mile High City, so I ended up adding a significant amount of extra water to my dough. Just enough to incorporate all the flour though, resist the urge to add water if you don't need it, you want a firm dough.

When I was kneading the dough, I found it a lot easier to break the dough into sections and knead those, then kneaded it all together a few times. I found it was way more manageable than trying to manhandle the whole dough ball. And yeah, it does take about 10 minutes to knead it properly. This is a bagel. Not a cake. There's a considerable amount of gluten you need to develop in those 10 minutes. I'm assuming if you're making homemade bagels, you're not that lazy. So don't be. It should be very elastic when you're done.

(Pre and post kneading. Pretty different, huh?)

After a nice run on a typical gorgeous Denver day (and after the hour rest time was up), I was ready to make some bagels. I boiled my bagels for about a minute and a half on each side and I thought they were perfect for the kind of bagel I like. If you like a chewier bagel, boil a little longer. And for less chewy... well you know.

I was going for an everything bagel but I only had sesame seeds, poppy seeds, and salt. So I guess it's more of a some-things bagel? Anyway, I highly recommend a little sprinkle of salt on the top regardless of what else you top it with. It doesn't make it salty, but just enhances the flavor of the bagel. I might even consider doing an extra pinch of salt in the dough next time- but the salt on the top did the trick.

All of my toppings would have stuck just fine coming out of the water, but I went for an egg wash just for the sake of color and I'm definitely glad I did. It helped make them look as good as they tasted!

Time to bake!

After a run and another great yoga class, I couldn't think of a better snack than a toasted homemade bagel with a little butter. Obviously my hunger got the best of me and I forgot to snap the photo before I dug in. But honestly, after that first bite, I'm impressed I stopped eating long enough to take a picture at all!! Really guys.. They're that good.

Confession time- the hole in my bagels pretty much completely disappeared after the whole cooking process. I'm not saying I re-pierced my bagel for photo purposes, but I'm also not prepared to say I didn't.. I'll be making the holes considerably bigger next time. Not that I felt like it was particularly detrimental.. It's just more of a bagel flavored roll with a little belly button.

Now, if you don't think you're a good baker, please don't be scared off. Bagels are actually way easier to make than you may think and they're SO worth it. I'm not the biggest fan of baking and I'll be making them again and again. I mentioned at the beginning of this post one of the greatest things about food. Well, here's another. It's so exciting to me to share food experiences, recipes, and adventures with people. It helps us connect on a very basic level. So come on, try it out. If it doesn't work out, like anything else, its a learning experience and a funny story later. :)

~Kim

Dude.. You Gotta Try This

I've been extremely busy these last few months and that's fine, I enjoy being busy. But that being said, I also need a pretty steady way to release the tension I build up from being so busy. I've slipped into a state of just going through the motions and not really noticing the time passing or really paying any attention to myself or what I'm doing. Not that I've been in any state of despair, but I've lost touch with myself, and it was time to do something about it.

I've been feeling stressed and just out of touch with my physical and mental self lately. I'm sure we've all felt this way before and it's a total drag. I started to realize that this feeling wasn't going to just go away through pure will or talking myself out of it, so I started to think of ways to get back to "me" (Ugh. How sappy, right?).

I have never been so in touch with my physical self than when I was in competitive cheer. Flipping your feet over your head and tossing other humans in the air required a pretty strong center and a real self awareness. Since "retiring" from the cheer life, I've noticed that I've lost that. I used to have such a strong sense of my body and what I was capable of. I entertained the idea of open gyms and tumbling classes for about 5 minutes and realized pretty quickly that that's not an option. Seeing as my cheer days have been firmly behind me for a few years now, my body will never do what it did on that blue mat ever again. (Is this what it feels like to get old? Not awesome.)

I also get stuck in my own head. Way too much. And I have a pretty hard time getting out of it. For the most part, working out has done that for me. I love to workout. I love what it does for my mind more than anything. But unfortunately, not every workout is as mentally cleansing as I really need. It becomes a chore.. something I have to do. I just end up feeling like I beat myself up for an hour and then went about my day. This started to happen more and more and the mental benefits were no where to be found. This led to a lot of "maybe later"'s and "I'm too tired"'s.

So I needed something to reacquaint myself with my body and my mind. I desperately needed a way to clear my mind in a healthy-two-birds-with-one-stone kind of way. Something I could focus on that wasn't school or work. What did I come up with? (you may have already guessed it):

YOGA!

That's right folks, I kicked this whole Colorado-hippie thing up a notch.

I signed up for a 6 week 101 course with a collective here in Denver. I only have Sundays off (sometimes), and as the fates would have it, that's the day this class runs. Yoga is something that I've wanted to try for a long time and after some coaxing from a yogi/one of my greatest friends,  I finally took the plunge.

The way I saw it, this was going to go one of two ways. I could have walked into this class and found out that yoga is super goofy and weird and I just dropped a large amount of money (by the standards of a 20-year old) on something I'll never even think about again after these six weeks are up. OR I could realize that this was something that truly opened my mind and my heart and my only disappointment was that I hadn't tried it sooner. Luckily, it's the latter.

I was super nervous walking into it.What if I can't do this? We've all seen those pictures of people doing yoga and they look like stinkin' pretzels. As soon as class began, our instructor placed a lot of emphasis on keeping an open mind and embracing the challenges that will inevitably come with engaging in something so unfamiliar. And I resolved to do just that. I came into this wanting to wholeheartedly absorb everything I felt and experienced.

Yesterday was my second class, so I'm obviously still on that new-experience high (no Colorado-pun intended), but I truly believe this is a journey I will be on for many years to come. Yoga is so much more than I could've imagined- physically and mentally.

I would very seriously recommend at least trying yoga to anyone. Granted, it requires getting out of your head a little bit. You might want to giggle or feel uncomfortable at the whole class chanting "OM" or sticking your butt in the air in unfamiliar positions, but if you walk into it truly trying to absorb everything it has to offer, nothing like that will matter.

This will probably lead to a lot more posts about all of the things I learn throughout this journey (yay!). I'm so excited to see where this takes me and I hope anyone who has thought about it or is looking for a new experience will give it a shot as well.

~Namaste 

It's Monday, You Need This.

If you're like me today, then you need a pick-me-up on this dreary Monday morning.

Happy Monday, my friends.

Those Damn Colorado Hippies and Their Granola

I've been on the hunt for some "good" snacks lately to take with me to school and work but I've found I either spend way too much money or everything's way over processed. Now- don't get the wrong idea, I like my Hamburger Helper, Easy Mac, and Doritos (Salsa Verde flavor or not at all) just as much as the next person, but on occasion you just need some clean, delicious food.

So I channeled my inner stereotypical-Colorado-hippie and made some granola. It's delicious and super hard to mess it up.

Here's what I put in mine:
Regular rolled oats
Organic raw pumpkin seeds (cause it's fall, duh)
Organic brown flax seed
Toasted sunflower seeds
Organic dried cranberries
Slivered almonds
Organic honey
Vanilla
Coconut oil
pinch of salt

spread onto a sheet pan and bake at 350 until golden (about 15 min)



Yield: about 5 cups.

You'll notice I didn't include any amounts, that's because it's 100% up to you, depending how much you like one ingredient over another. You'll find I'm pretty big on that, I avoid rigid recipes whenever possible. However, for the honey, vanilla, and coconut oil, I'd use about a teaspoon of vanilla per 1/4 cup of honey. How much honey you use depends on how clustery (okay I worked at 5 am today, that's the best I can do) you want the granola to turn out. The more honey you add, the more it will stick together. And I wouldn't go over an ounce of coconut oil, you want the benefits but no one likes greasy granola.

These are all ingredients that I just personally like- the possibilities for your granola are completely up to you- put cookie pieces in it for all I care. If you want to stay along the same lines as mine, pick some of your favorite nuts, seeds, and dried fruit or just whatever's on special. But you can add just about anything. Just think about it first- if you want to add something that has a tendency to melt, like chocolate, add it after you bake it and it's cool.

As far as the flavorings, I like honey because it adds the sweetness I'm looking for and I like the distinct honey flavor but you can use maple syrup or anything else of that consistency. I used vanilla extract because, once again, it's what I prefer. You can use anything you want, if it's an extract and you like its flavor, you can't go wrong.

Voila!

Let's Talk About That

So since starting my blog, taking a 9 month (unintentional) hiatus, and starting back up, we've covered a lot of different topics in very few posts. I have every intention of keeping that theme going because let's face it- life's random, I'm random, and this blog is a reflection of that. I've introduced myself, had some brief and fleeting moments of clarity, told you about my job, and made fun of a total stranger.

I'm going to keep my random posts coming with my seemingly profound observations, some recipes and cooking adventures are already in the works, and maybe even more commentary (Hopefully more positive... but where's the fun in that?).

My last post was my most popular by a long shot, and what I enjoyed most about it was the couple comments I received! I love your feedback and you guys are hilarious and also made awesome points that I totally glazed over.

I want to open the floor to you, my delightful readers. Send me an article you found dumb or cool or interesting and let's talk about it. If you have food questions I'd LOVE to answer and discuss them with you. Or even (nay, especially) your random thoughts and observations (as long as your willing to laugh at yourself). Basically, I'm asking for ideas. What do YOU want to read about? Granted- I'm still going to write whatever the hell I want to write about. That's why this blog exists remember? But you guys are pretty cool, so let's chat. Either email me or post a comment and we'll get started.

Put on your thinking caps!

P.S planning on spending a little time in the kitchen today so come back around snack time.

When in Doubt, Blame Nebraska (A Blogger's Response to a Student Publication Writer)

I am not a big fan of openly bashing someone else's work and plan on never doing this again but I simply can't help myself. I fully understand the arrogance I'm going to be funneling into this post because I have no authority to judge her. We're all entitled to our own opinions but it's generally important to actually have a leg to stand on. Recently a UNL student posted an opinion article about her utter disdain for UNL and Nebraska itself. And while I am no advocate for Nebraska and may agree with some of the general ideas, I can't help but disagree with the overall message of the article. Before I go any further, here is the article. Read through it and we'll discuss when you get back.... GO.

http://m.dailynebraskan.com/mobile/opinion/article_ca206a7a-2724-11e3-956c-0019bb30f31a.html

To recap, she hates Nebraska and UNL and would like to form a support group for students who didn't expect, don't understand, or can't handle Nebraska's crazy ways.

Lets start with just how purely misguided this poor girl is. Midwesterners, among ALL other regions, do have certain "norms" that they don't believe should be questioned- it's called culture. It sounds like she feels the same about her culture in Illinois. The fact that Illinois and Nebraska are in the same time zone is completely irrelevant. New York and Georgia are also in the same time zone... states with very different cultures. You'll be hard pressed to find a New Yorker running around Savannah expecting to find a hoagie because they're in the same time zone. Time zones are not to be confused with space time continuums or portals to other dimensions.

Also, I'm fairly certain that it is not Nebraska's fault that she didn't put more research into the major she chose. It's also fairly common knowledge that there are different cows used for meat and for milk- especially to people who study or plan to study animals. This leads me to believe the only thing she knew about her area of study was that she thinks that tigers and dolphins are cute. Which they are.

There are several paragraphs dedicated to how terrible and weird Nebraska is. And to restate, everyone is entitled to their opinion. I lived in Nebraska for 7 years and if it wasn't for the great people I encountered, I wouldn't have enjoyed it in the slightest. Nebraska certainly is no utopian society and whoever gave her this idea has obviously never spent time there either.

The true reason I have a hard time stomaching this article is the idea to have programs to support out-of-state students in trying to understand the culture they signed up for. I am an out-of-state student and I didn't have anyone to hold my hand and tell me "Now, Coloradans smoke weed and business attire includes jeans, do you think you can handle that?" I figured it out and adapted. That's what life is about- adapting. I firmly believe that once you lose the ability to adapt, you lose the ability to survive.

I understand the difficulty of not being able to have a face-to-face conversation with your parents about "what to do" but I've managed to get advice from my parents through several forms of technology and have successfully avoided my life going to shambles. I didn't need to see their facial expression when I said I wanted to declare a Beverage Management concentration (and yes I did already know that there are different types of grapes for eating and making wine). We live in a very connected world.

My school doesn't have any programs or support groups like this and I have yet to see anyone rocking back and forth in a corner asking "where am I?" They don't have a program to help you find rides home. It's called being friendly or proactive. This is college- it's your responsibility to get to where you need to be.

Being an out-of-state student is no special case. If you really feel like you are not equipped to handle the state and the culture that you signed up to immerse yourself in, that's certainly not the university's fault. It's not uncommon and it sounds like you should've stayed close to home.

The intention of this post is not to be cruel or lament about someone's personal views on a given culture. I've had some fun at this student's expense but I truly am sorry her college experience has not turned out the way she planned. I'm just asking that instead of posting an article (on the forum of a school you claim to hate), next time do your research, and be a little more introspective, know your limitations, and make an informed decision. There's absolutely no shame in realizing Illinois, or where ever, is better suited for you. But don't blame Nebraska for it.

And Runza is delicious so shut up.

~Remember: N is for knowledge!

Work, School and Otherwise

Today is the first day of my junior year of college, so obviously I have school work I am currently avoiding. I only have class two days a week this term so you would think I could could get myself to focus those 2 times per week. And my answer to that is, I can and am choosing not to right now. So here we are, my dear reader. Hopefully I'm keeping you from something you should be doing too.

I have been a little low on ideas for writing on here since I have spent the majority of my time working. After talking to one of my closest friends about this, she came up with the idea for me to write about my job. And seeing as that's essentially the only thing I've been doing lately, I thought I'd go ahead and do it.

I work at a comedy club/ restaurant/ events center... It's a big building. My official job title is an events cook, but that's not the only position I occupy. First and foremost, I work in events. I execute the food that goes out for parties, weddings, meetings, etc. If there's an event going on somewhere in the building, you can pretty safely assume I'm in the kitchen. I really love catering and working with events, its always been one of my favorite aspects of the business. One of the most important things I've learned working with events is timing. Timing is everything, especially with banquet dining. Let's say you have an event for 200 people (which I do frequently) and you have a full menu to prepare- apps, salads, and a full buffet. Sometimes the client wants the courses to stagger and the food to come out in phases, and sometimes the buffet opens at 6:30 and everything has to be ready... AT 6:30. Each method has its challenges but it all boils down to this- hot food needs to be hot and cold food needs to be cold.

Prep time for these events usually look/are pretty leisurely until about a half hour before the event. Then  it quickly turns in to organized chaos. Trying to time it so that everything comes out at the same time.. and ON TIME is tricky at first. Everything that is served cold can be taken care of in advance, get it out of the way. Then it's all about heating or reheating the items that take the longest to the ones with the shortest cook time. It requires some juggling with different cook times- but don't forget about the dinner rolls in the oven and burn them to a crisp!!... Not that I know what that's like or anything.. Shut up.

Another trick with working in events is how much food is enough for 200 people? Or how much is too much? There are a lot of general rules we follow for that sort of thing. 3 ounces per person of this, 5 ounces for that. But that's not an exact science. There have been a few of times where the guests apparently liked the chicken way more than the beef and we had to scramble make several more trays of chicken and had trays of beef left over. It's almost never perfect but the less waste, the better.

When I'm not working an event, I'm generally doing one of two things- working on the line if its the weekend (our restaurant is only open for dinner on weekends), or doing administrative work or other projects for our chef.

When I'm in the kitchen for the restaurant, I'm generally in the pantry station. All apps, salads, and desserts for both the restaurant and the showroom come through my station. And on a night where we have sold out shows and a full restaurant, it can get pretty crazy. That's why there's generally 2 or 3 of us at this station. When I'm working in the restaurant I definitely get my fix for the rush and the high energy I miss when I'm working my events.

The computer work I do is definitely more dry than the rest of my work, but that's not to say I love it any less. I just won't bore you with specifics, but I've gotten a lot of invaluable exposure to aspects of this business- ordering, inventory, costing, etc. I'm really lucky to be getting this kind of experience. Especially if I plan to have my own place some day (one of the things on the list).

So there you go, folks. A not-so-brief description of what I get to do week in and week out. It's a lot of work but I'm having the time of my life. Every day I go into work, I learn something new and that's so exciting to me. Obviously, I understand school is important and I'm learning a lot of (expensive) information while I'm here. That being said, I'll leave you with a great quote from Mr. Mark Twain, "I have never let my schooling interfere with my education."

Go out and learn, nerds. :)

The Power of Pen & Paper (Or In This Case, Computer Keys)

Well. Here we are almost 9 months later and my new years prediction about my new years resolution has come true. Until about 10 minutes ago, I completely forgot I started this thing just as 2013 was beginning. Apparently I even tried writing an entry in February, got about half way through, and forgot about it entirely. But I'm back for another try.

I've come to the realization that I've been going about this whole blog thing the wrong way. Back in January I made the very arrogant assumption that I had enough interesting life lessons to bestow upon the world that I could keep this going. Well here's the thing- I'm 20 and know next to nothing about how life works. I have some observations and very liquid opinions about things that I completely intend on sharing, but then rolling my eyes at in the next 1-3 years. And that's what brought me back. Instead of setting out to drop some knowledge on my fellow internet surfers, I want to treat this more as a diary or a scrapbook completely made up of words. If you stumble upon this and find it interesting, I invite you to keep reading. And if not, well this blog is still serving its purpose

That brings me to the title of this post. I don't know about you (whoever you are), but I have always found something deeply cathartic about writing, all facets of it. That's not to say every time I'm stressed, I sit down and write a novel. But some of my favorite stress relievers revolve around the written word. Whether it's sitting down listening to someone else's written word in the form of music while doodling or copying down those lyrics, or reading a book. I've never been one to consistently keep a diary, but every so often I just need to sit down with a pen and paper (or in this case, computer keys) and spill my guts. It provides the perfect opportunity to be more honest with yourself than you could ever be out loud. To say exactly on your mind without interruptions or fear of being judged. Sometimes I'll sit down and write page after page of everything I'm feeling, and sometimes I'll babble on about nothing. Either way, when I set my pen down, or stop typing, it's as if the world has left my shoulders. I guess, in a way, it's a version of talking to myself without seeming super crazy.

If you find yourself stressed out, take 10 minutes out of your day and write it out. Write out exactly what your stressing over and what you plan to do about it. That last part is important because let's be honest, if you don't use this as an opportunity to find a solution, then you're just whining. You don't necessarily have to write about yourself either. Write a story, or even read one. Writing doesn't have to mean staring your problems in the face, use it as an escape.

As I stated earlier, if you find my advice stupid, feel free to ignore it. This post, and most future posts, are my escape. If hundreds of people read this, or no one at all, this blog is still doing its job.

The Hilarity of New Years Resolutions

As one year comes to an end and another one begins, society creates this need for change and betterment. We make ourselves promises to make some sort of personal change. Whether it be to lose weight or have more patience, we all fall victim to the same idea that this year's going to be different. Not that this year can't be different; just that come March, most of us have already forgotten what it was we were trying to change in the first place.

I'm certainly no special case. I guess in a way, maybe this blog is my New Years resolution. Who knows, maybe in March I will have proven myself correct and forgotten this blog even exists. Every year, I set the same goals. Usually revolving around "you need to work out more." To my credit, every year I get better and better about my work out habits. But that's not to say I'm not like every other die-hard-January-gym-junkie that turns back into a couch potato in February. I know that I wont be able to get near the gym for the next 2 or so months unless I go at 8 am (we're college kids.. mornings are not our friends). But as soon as March rolls around, the novelty of the year starts to wear off and people settle back into their old habits.

Lack of commitment aside, most of these half-hearted resolutions are just far too unrealistic. Too many people get a little over excited by the "new year, new me" concept and set themselves up for failure right out of the gate. Someone who hasn't eaten a vegetable in months suddenly wants to become vegetarian. Or, for consistency's sake, there's the couch potato that suddenly wants to start working out 6 days a week. These lofty goals seem like a great idea until the New Year goggles wear off and they realize there's a reason they weren't a vegetarian or a gym rat before this. It's hard. I think that if we were more honest with ourselves, these New Years resolutions would have a greater chance of sticking. But the problem with that is saying "I'm going to be a vegetarian" is way more exciting to tell people than "I'm going to do a better job of folding my laundry...sometimes."

Of course, the start of a new year is always exciting; there's no denying that. As most of us go on and begin to forget our resolutions, I truly do hope that 2013 brings you joy, challenges, and self improvement that will continue to build in years to come. Hopefully tomorrow I'll make it to the gym.....

Welcome

I feel as though I should start out with some sort of introductory post. Although as I'm typing this, I'm really not sure where to start. Welcome to my blog.. Hope what I am about to say is at least somewhat interesting.

Well... I'm currently a college student. I attend Johnson and Wales University where I am studying Culinary Arts and Food Service Management. I have been asked over and over what I want to do with my career. My answer is always an elaborate "I don't know." I know it will have something to do with food- and that's my starting point. I have a long list of things I'd love to try, from chef to food writer to sommelier. I'd love to at least try most of them. So far, I have been unsuccessful at narrowing it down any further.

I very obviously love cooking but some of my other hobbies include listening to music, snowboarding, spending far too much time on social media sites, and writing. Going to school in Colorado has given me a chance to really appreciate the outdoors. I love to escape to the mountains to hike or snowboard as much as I can. Unfortunately with going to school and holding down a part time job, it's not as often as I would like.

I hope to update this blog as often as I can with my random observations and thoughts. Being in culinary school, you can bet I'll include some food adventures as well. I guess this was sufficiently introductory, so let's get to it... Here Goes Nothing..