Time to review the week!
1) Pasta dough needs to be much drier than bread dough
It took me two batches, but I’ve finally realized my most critical mistake in attempting to make fresh pasta. I used to cook bread dough a lot and when you process that, it should be a little sticky to the touch. But it’s very very important that when you knead pasta dough, that it ends up being very dry. You can’t fix it with more flour if you let it rest when it’s gooey, I wasted a lot of resources trying to save it.
2) Save your .edu e-mail address, get Windows 7 through Digital River
A few days into my experience, I would highly recommend Windows 7 because it’s faster, smoother, and operates better than any previous Microsoft OS. If you’ve ever had an Apple, it feels very much like that; a little more wobbly, but a similar experience. But you should be upgrading with a .edu e-mail address because it only costs $30. If you have two computers like me, you can also take advantage of a loophole and get home premium for one computer and professional for the other. This is your one chance to get a good program and not fear the consequences of Microsoft catching you with pirated software. Also, do a “custom install” to clean out your computer, just be sure to save all your personal data on the desktop or the program files folder.
3) Use your wedding to upgrade your kitchenware
It was probably the best wedding decision we made to ask the Chicago group for plates and the Karpen lab for a big gift card. You will not have a better chance to force yourself out of the student lifestyle and drag yourself into middle class yuppie-hood.
Goals from the week:
1) Succeeded in exercising every day and ran 12 miles. Running summary:
2) Succeeded with 600 questions, 79% correct
3) Learned to use chef’s knife, did not succeed with pasta
4) Watched less TV, but did not do arts time
Verdict: Quite good. Proud of the effort.