how the other half lives

last night, i lived like a normal person. my tutoring clients were on a class trip to washington d.c., and i was free as a bird. i did things normal people do:

stayed late at work (!)
ran errands
talked on the phone
got a fresh direct delivery
made dinner
watched a movie

it was bizarre, but kind of nice and relaxing. for dinner, i scavenged my cupboard and fridge and created a pretty tasty meal. it's a fun game, by the way.

SPAGHETTI WITH CHICKPEAS, SUNDRIED TOMATOES AND RICOTTA

1 pckg. whole wheat spaghetti
one small yellow onion, diced small
two cloves garlic, minced
1 can chickpeas, drained
2 tbsp. sun dried tomato pesto
5 sundried tomatoes, packed in oil
grated parmesan cheese
ricotta cheese
salt
pepper
red chili pepper flakes

as the pasta is cooking, you saute up the onions, garlic, chili flakes, until soft and translucent
make sure to salt and pepper it as you go
add chickpeas and sundried tomatoes, cut into strips
cook for a few minutes
when pasta is done, drain it and add to pan
add: a few tbsp pasta water, some oil from the sundried tomatoes, and the pesto
use your tongs to stir
once it's all nicely mixed up, put some in a bowl
add two hefty dollops of ricotta cheese and sprinkle with parmesan
salt and pepper as necessary

as i wolfed this down (why? why must i eat as if i am in a hurry even when i'm not?) i watched "network." what an amazing, prescient, wonderful, weird, at times terrible movie. i was charmed and baffled all at once. it is both an old movie and a modern one, caught in the middle. all the women talk with that old movie star affected accent. william holden speaks out of the side of his mouth. faye dunaway is ravishing--dynamic and ludicrous all at once.

the story must have been crazily radical at the time--chronicling a newscaster who goes mad and has his unpredictable madness used by his network to garner good ratings. it's a story of the old generation (holden) battling the new (dunaway) while also sleeping with each other. watching holden and dunaway have sex was terrifying. there is this really strange scene where she babbles about work all through sex. and the sex ends up lasting literally 45 seconds. i think we were supposed to think it was hot. it was not. anyway, it's certainly worth watching. it has many charms, including that it is beautifully shot and there is a scene between holden and his wife that is beautiful in its honesty and clarity.

all in all, my evening as a normal person went pretty well.