lusting after some (chicken) breast and such.

i've really got to start getting into work a little earlier. heh. it's 9:40, and i've just put a chicken in the oven to roast. methinks it's toast and cheese for supper tonight. that bird's not gonna get done till about 11:30 or so.

but... i have a meat thermometer now. huzzuh! just a $12 probe one. SOME people i know have spent oodles on fancy-assed ones, but i'm living on a budget with the knowledge that i'm very likely not going to be working beyond the new year. dunno yet, but it's likely the case. couple people are hiring in my 'hood, and i'm applying for one of those in particular, which i think i'd be skookum good at.

nonetheless: a thermometer!

i've toyed with fate and the gods of late, having had a couple chickens not QUITE perfectly cooked. i'm really good at doing the old 'pull the leg and see if the juices run clear' bit, but it's a little dodgy at times.

this bird's stuffed with thyme and i've put my sundried-tomato/basil butter under the skin, over the breast, and i suspect this'll be a really nice, savory chicken. won't be much good for things like chicken pot pie, maybe, but so what. i'll freeze it and use it in yummers sammiches and goodly things such as that.

i saw a TERRIFIC psychological thriller today, one that makes some pointed statements about the climate of fear bred by the US government in the post-9/11 world. but i can't tell ya anything else about it. really got the wheels in my nerdy noggin' spinnin' something fierce today, tho.

ah, it'll suck to look for new work, but i have trepidations about the film industry in light of ACTRA (actor's union here in Canada) encouraging its members to vote for a strike, as their contract ends dec. 31st, 2006. BC's actors belong to their own union, though, and that's secure until, i think, march 31st, 2007. which is to say "not so much".

methinks the actors'll be fucking nimrods to vote for a strike. they're lucky our industry is still hanging on now that our dollar's up to about 90 cents against the yankee buck. our industry skyrocketed when the dollar sank to 60 cents about four years or so ago, and the fear was that a surging buck would send many to unemployment lines. fortunately, we're not just CHEAP up here in canada, we're fucking good little worker-bees with scads of talent, it would seem, and coupled with the state-of-the-art finishing and studio houses around, we've kept the industry alive.

but if our actors go demanding the 5% per annum in raises they're hoping to get, i think there'll be a fat chance that industry boon's gonna continue. "good luck with that!"

so, we'll see what happens. my eyes are wide, wide open, though. it was a surprise to me that my boss hadn't heard word one about the potentially impending strike. came as a big bad shock when i mentioned it last night. the audible groan was my first clue.

but, like most things in life, it's way outta my hands. so, i'm not sweating it.

instead, i'm roasting a chicken. a sexy thang it is, too. just over 6 lbs this time. $14, and farm-fed halal (islam's near-equivalent to kosher) bird. LOVE that. :)