May 10, 2013

Bar’s Open

We have no theme for cocktails today. It’s a free-for-all. Not that we ever charge you anyway.

Karen
  • Comments: 12
  • I would like a hat. - anna
  • After a week that has depleted me in ways I'd rather not dwell upon, I'll take a Jeeves' R... - Stuart
  • A pint of Soprony Aszok please. And a bag of pork scratchings. - Doctor Pockless
  • All the cherry trees are in bloom this week, so I'll have a cherry blossom, but with bourb... - asta
  • Just a small sherry, thank you. I've been overdoing it a bit. - mike
May 9, 2013

Running Out

Last September, I stopped putting up barriers, downloaded an app, and went for a run. The last time I went for a run might have been when I was 12. I’ve thought about it a few times since, but you know, thinking’s the easy part. I don’t really do active stuff much if I can possibly help it, though I find that I’m more inclined to walk or cycle short distances rather than take the car.

So I did this run, and I thought, wow, I didn’t die. Awesome. And a couple of days later I did another one. And I kept going through this programme, not always three runs a week because life sometimes gets in the way, but often finding myself really looking forward to the next run, and getting a bit fidgety on rest days. I experienced a few stiff muscles, a sore knee, shin pain now and then, and got loads of support on reddit and twitter.

In November I ran week 7 day 3 with Pete’s sister, who is fit, and made me run faster than usual. She also told me to get proper shoes. I got those in Sweatshop, where they checked my gait, which was pretty good. By December I was just about running 5km, but my calves were really starting to hurt, and I was slowing right down. I knew I needed to stop and recover for a week or two, but I had signed up for a race on 16th December, and I was so determined I was going to do it.

jinglejog

I did it. Very slowly. I came 96th out of 111 runners, some of whom were pushing prams. I felt ashamed of being so rubbish, and elated at finishing at all. The next day I caught flu and was in bed for nearly two weeks, taking painkillers and sleeping.

When I eventually got out of bed, my leg still hurt, which didn’t seem right considering the prolonged rest. My GP referred me for physiotherapy, and the physio scolded me for not stretching enough, admired my trainers, and massaged my calf muscle with fingers of steel. I asked her if I could go for a run, and she said only a little one, and I was to stop if it hurt.

At the beginning of February I went right back to the start of the c25k programme, thinking I would skip through it quickly because it would be easier this time, but it isn’t. Partly because I’m paying more attention to what my body tells me, and partly just because it really isn’t any easier this time around, I have gone more slowly. My running pace is about the same, but I repeat more runs and take more rest days when I need them. I stretch more, even on days when I haven’t run, because that’s what the physio told me to do. I find that I recover quicker after runs and in the walk intervals, and I don’t have as much of a mental battle to keep going through the run intervals [yet: week 6 day 2 at time of writing], but it’s still hard.

So now I realise that I’m never going to be a brilliant runner, I’m just a slow jogger. I’ll get back to 5km but I cannot imagine this body achieving more than that. I’m still really proud of myself for continuing to run. Also, my shoes are cool.

Update: This post has been sitting in draft for a month while more interesting things happened. Last week I signed up for the National Lottery Run, and then sprained my ankle.

Karen
  • Comments: 5
  • Stuart, that makes me indescribably happy. Do a mile for me. - Karen
  • I am going to start running again tomorrow as a result of this post. - Stuart
  • A colleague/marathon runner says it's perfectly respectable to do 5 mins running/1 min wal... - Karen
  • I'm looking forward to finishing NL run at 9,999 out of 10,000. But damnit I'm going to fi... - Clair
  • Ouchy on the sprained ankle. Once that's better, and I mean this with sincerity, you ar... - Gordon
  • Comments: 1
  • How deep in Lincolnshire do you have to dig to get to the chocolate? - Stuart
May 7, 2013

Where are they now? An interview with Sevitz.

>Maria & Adrian-414

Are you living in the same place as in 2004/05?

For the first time, in 11 years, no.

Which after being in my first home (that I owned) is quite a big change.

After being in  Wandsworth Town for 11 years (where we had a few bloggers BBQs, and in fact the last one, which was the last one, which you were at was the beginning of the end of my last relationship). Which is all good in the end since … well I’ll get to that bit later.

Anyway I sold my flat in January, just before the wedding. It seemed smart at the time, you know, get out of a chain, be in a position to buy a family home etc. And finically it was a smart move. But god, emotionally, it was stupid. Do not sell a flat 2 weeks before your wedding. Unless you like paralysing levels of stress.

Anyway, sold Chez Sev, and moved from Wandsworth Town to East Sheen. Which is rather lovely and very family and aside from the planes for 3 weeks or so every few months, really quiet. Also really expensive (we’re looking to buy a family house). So I may land up living in three different boroughs in one year after being in one place for the last 11.

In summary. No.

Would we recognise you if we passed you in the street?

Probably, but hard to tell. My hair has gone from short to long to messy to short. I’ve gone from clean shaven to Che Guevara to most beards in between. I’ve put on weight since Ann took pictures of me in the park.

But I think you’d pretty much recognise me.

What do you think is the best/most important new technology/online thingy to have appeared in recent years?

Hmmm. I’d probably have to go with the iPhone. Starting back from 1995 when I’ve kept trying to buy an iPhone. I had a couple of Palm Pilots. A few iPAQs. A few things in-between. I think the longest I lasted on one was 3 weeks.

I’ve now owned every single iPhone model since the first one. Not quite by intent but it’s just worked out that way for one reason or another. Having the internet in your pocket is remarkably useful. Especially when travelling (I get local SIMs, makes a world of difference)

Also the iPhone makes waiting around for people a lot less dull.

We all had a blog back then. Do you still have one, or are you mainly present somewhere else?

I guess it’s effectively dead. Or a zombie, as it’s actually still up, just not quite living.

Twitter’s partly taken over it. Work became more time consuming. I got busier. I keep meaning to export the content from MT into something more useful. I also keep meaning to do all 10000 photos I’ve not updated yet. I keep meaning to do a lot of things.

Occasionally I throw a “long tweet” up on tumblr. http://longtweets.sevitz.com

What achievement of the last 7 years would you most like to celebrate here?

Hmm, as eternally self-deprecating, hard to say.

Work’s going well, but I feel I could have done better. I’ve always felt that.

I got my full bike license after 7 attempts (passed the theory in 1, had a strike that cancelled my 1st yard test, failed the 2nd, passed the third, failed my first road test for leaving my indicator on, my second for popping a wheelie, and passed on the third attempt), so I guess I’m quite proud of that.

I’m quietly quite proud of my wedding speech too.

Stuart & Krissa wanted us to interrogate you about what it was like to meet and fall in love with Maria, so here goes: How on earth did you convince Maria to go out with you?

I’m not entirely sure.

It didn’t start well as I didn’t ask her fling or her phone number, the day we met. Some other South African did.

Then I did this elaborate thing of doing a reply to all email that she was on, from the mutual friend I met her through saying I had a good time at the party and ‘enjoyed meeting new people’. Then after she replied saying she had fun too, I dropped the reply to all and just mailed her directly.

But boy was it hard work. I’m used to blogging types that are always online. And reply a lot. Maria replied once a day. Between 11pm and 2am. I’d stay up every night. Reply to her email. Then wait half an hour. Then go to bed. Then wait. Then get another reply a day later.

So in answer, no idea, but boy did she make me work hard for it.

How did you know she was The One?

Hmm. To be honest I don’t know. There was just a point where it felt right and I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. And then after 4 months planning I proposed in a restaurant in Copenhagen called Era Ora. Which is Italian for “About Time”

According to the schedule, when are you having your first baby?

We go on Honeymoon, on August the 23rd.

Are you speaking fluent German yet?

Nein.

I do walk around the flat saying “Ich bin ein Apfel” a lot.

Why do you keep telling twitter your weight?

It’s meant to keep me honest, and encourage me to stay fit and lose weight. YMMV.

Who would you like us to interview next, and what shall we ask them?

Anna Pickard. She’s without a doubt one of the loveliest people I know, and has a great sense of humour. The internet without Anna would be a poorer internet.

I’d like to know what she considers supremely odd/weird that other people find perfectly normal, and what she finds perfectly normal that other people find supremely odd/weird.

Also I’d like to know what she thinks Bobbie would think changed the most about her when Doozer was born. And what she thinks changed the most about Bobbie, when he became a dad.

Karen
  • Comments: 10
  • You know me and tractors. - Sev
  • Awesome wedding speech, dude! Loving the tractor too :-) - Lori Smith
  • That was very nice. - Stuart
  • We never assume anyone reads this rag, Anna. May we email you your interview? - Karen
  • Awww. You guys are the best. - Sevitz
May 6, 2013

Watching: Breaking Bad

One of our favourite shows in the last few years is Breaking Bad. We were gripped almost immediately. The show centres around a small cast, which means that there’s very little dull exposition in the initial episodes – you’re thrown straight into the action. Over time, these characters are fleshed out, but in the meantime their personalities are changing drastically as a result of what they are experiencing.

In a nutshell, the main man is Walter White, a Chemistry teacher who gets cancer and turns to producing crystal meth to (a) pay for his treatment, and (b) build up a nest egg for his family after he’s gone. Gradually he becomes corrupted, partly by the money and power, and partly by the thrill of pushing his scientific knowledge to the limits. Meanwhile, his business partner, Jessie Pinkman, who is a small-time dealer when they first start working together, gradually becomes more human.

While these two characters are phenomenally performed, the supporting cast is also magnificent. Not so much as to outshine the leads, but enough that your heart is broken when they eventually get killed off. Because very often they do. This program has an utterly staggering death count. This infographic puts the death count at 247, which is a slightly misleading number as it includes unnamed characters. Still, 39 named characters is quite a lot for a program of this nature.

And what is it’s nature? Well, fairly violent. But also very often darkly humorous, and sometimes a little bit psychologically torturous. Watching Walt’s descent can be very unsettling. But you can’t stop watching, because you want to see just how far he’s going to fall, and who’s going to still be alive at the end of it.

What can it be compared to? I really have no idea. I’ve never seen anything like it in my life. When we first started watching Weeds, I compared it to Breaking Bad, since the plots have certain similarities, and they both share a certain bleakness, but I think that their target audiences are really very different. Anyone got any thoughts on this?

Pete
  • Comments: 4
  • Wow, spoiler alert. I'm very excited about the upcoming final half season. Whether Walt... - Pete
  • I didn't warm to it from the start, but I fell in love the episode when the pizza got stuc... - Karen
  • I watched the pilot episode and haven't been able to bring myself to watch the rest becaus... - asta
  • We love Breaking Bad so much, that we installed an Android box onto our telly, so that we ... - mike
May 4, 2013

National Pizza Week: The Grande Finale

Normally at Casa Uborka, the treat of a homemade pizza is reserved for the two of us, after Bernard is in bed. We take pleasure in working together in the kitchen, perhaps with a beer, making food for each other. This weekend, to put the topping on National Pizza Week, and because Pete’s mum is staying, we decided to make family pizzas. The one downside is that we only have one pizza stone, but we made the second one on a metal baking tray and it was acceptable.

2013-05-04 18.34.06

Tonight’s two pizzas were the classic Pizza Uborka, and the shaved asparagus pizza recommended earlier in the week by krissa.

2013-05-04 18.33.30

The Uborka (chorizo and mushroom) was modified slightly, with a passata and pepper sauce rather than cooked tomato, onion and garlic. We felt that this gave a more traditional but less intense flavour. The asparagus was cooked on the stone and had a satisfyingly crunchy base, with added texture because this week’s pizza and bread-making has seen us run out of white flour, so I had to substitute about 20% of the base with wholemeal flour. That was actually delicious and I might well do it again.

2013-05-04 18.34.08

We thought we might have a bread week soon; would anyone be up for that?

Karen
  • Comments: 4
  • Are you offering to write a post, Lisa? asta is going to do banana bread. - Karen
  • Bread is good - Lisa
  • It all looks delicious. Bread is always welcome, in all its forms. - asta
  • Ooh, yes. We should also add Beer Week and Whisky Wheek to the calendar. - Pete
May 3, 2013

Pizzatails

Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen and welcome to the Uborka Pop-Up Pizza Shop here at Casa Uborka: Pizzas Like Your Mama Never Made ‘Em. Your waitperson this afternoon is the laudable, laughable gender neutral Ubotka, as I am sidelined by an ankle injury, so will be sitting here with my Pizza Diavolo and a woeful expression. Keep the Margaritas coming, botkin, I’m in the mood for lots of tequila.

We’ve really enjoyed National Pizza Week, and are considering making it a monthly event, but with more alcohol. Massive thanks are due to our contributors, who have the top table this week: Krissa with her plain pie and Negroni on the rocks; unusually wide-awake Pix with her pizza bianca and fizz; and our oily friend Mike, with his calzone and odd-sounding dutch drink. We loved all your posts, and always welcome contributors to uborka. As we always say, the best content around here was written entirely by other people. Latecomer Stuart can join you, as I’m sure he was part of the whole pizza-making business, particularly at the point of arm-incineration. It is, as you say, just the day for a nice crisp white, whether that’s vino, pizza, or Krissa’s arm. And since Asta is drinking Negroni too, she can sit with Krissa.

We have a special sharing table for Anna, Sevitz and garlic-monster Graybo. You’ll notice the extra space we’ve left between their table and the others, because no amount of pineapple/chilli-based cocktail will cancel out the reek of anchovies, ugh ugh ugh. I’ll just take a moment here to mention Sevitz’ interview, which will be Tuesday’s must-read blog post, worldwide. Have another beer.

The tradition of the reprobates’ table, as established by Pix [Nov. 2010], is something we feel strongly impelled to continue, so it’s always nice when Lori, Lyle and Gordon put in an appearance. What happy coincidence that they have ordered unconventional poultry-based pizzas. Gordon, I believe I’ve also had a hoisin duck pizza, and it was so wrong, but very nice. That was at a bar in Bristol whose name I can’t bring to mind, but Pete can probably remember because he has the memory of a timelord.

Pete is your host this afternoon, though he will be spending most of his time bringing me more booze and resetting the bot when hu gets too cheeky. Have a marvellous long sunny weekend (those of you who don’t have to work on Monday, in particular), and we’ll be back next week with Amazing Posts! About Running! And an Interview with Sevitz! And more Easter Egg Reviews! Yay!

Karen
  • Comments: 9
  • Cold pizza for breakfast? - Clair
  • Am I late? - Doctor Pockless
  • Clair, we have plenty of the mango & anchovy pizza left, if you want some. - Karen
  • *hic* I LOVE YOU GUYYSSHHH. *hic* - Krissa
  • Damn. Too late for last orders. Will have to go and get takeaway from a kebab shop instead... - Clair

Are you ready to order?

I know it’s early but it’s going to take us a while to get everything set up. We have borrowed a four de pizza and set ubotka to kneading dough. We’re looking forward to a busy and colourful pizza party this afternoon, so do please place your orders alongside your cocktail requests.

Service will be a little later than usual owing to me actually having a client to visit this afternoon.

Karen
  • Comments: 14
  • Thin crust, goat's cheese, black olive, pesto and sun dried tomato please. Since the weat... - asta
  • It's sunny and wonderful outside so a simple white wine for me, a Sancerre for preference,... - Stuart
  • I'm going to be a total heathen and request a decent barbeque chicken pizza, please. No id... - Lyle
  • Can I have the same pizza as Gordon, but with a lychee martini... or two? :-) - Lori Smith
  • Once upon a time in a place that I can't recall, somewhere in Glasgow, I had the most deli... - Gordon