I Really Need to Get an Apron Part 1: To C or not to C?

This is Part 1 of a three part series










We are going to divert from our usual tales and escapades of the hardwood and discuss some of the off the court endeavors I have immersed myself in on a day to day basis (doesn't that sound like such an efficient sentence?)



















One thing that has been suggested to me from an early age was saving money was important.












And when I say taught...I mean that I was required by the authorities in charge (mom and dad), to save 2 out of the 3 dollars in my weekly allowance.  (For those who arent math majors, thats about 4 dollars a month.  Big ballinnnnnnnnn)
















Needless to say I have been very picky about what I spend my money on.  From clothes, to food, to making sure I get into big fights with my friends around there birthdays so I dont have to buy them anything, I have learned efficient ways of saving money (surprisingly not for keeping friends...weird)
















So when I did some research on Sweden I quickly learned to my dismay that this beautiful country I would be spending 5 months in is also one of the most expensive countries to live in.
















I shed a tear.

















I soon realized that I would need to find different ways to save money.  When I heard that you wont find a lunch meal for under 10 dollars and dinner under 15 I knew that eating out was not an option for regular occurrences.  I was going to have to learn to make my food.
















Side Note:  There are two types of professional basketball players:

1.)  Those you see on TV that have enough money to buy a house in each state

2.)  Those that deliver pizzas in the summer


I won't tell you which one I am but there is only one house in one state that I own, and when I say I own, I mean my parents.
















Now I have survived on my own before.  Just give me a microwave and it will be a normal cooking experience for me....
















When have I blogged about anything normal?
















Of course there is no microwave.
















I was going to have to learn how to cook...from scratch.
















My mother gives me a few recipes to start me off and I go to the store and get all the ingredients that ill need to make my first home cooked meal.


















Chicken and Rice.
















Everything in the preparation seems to be going smoothly and I head to the oven to put the chicken in.  I need the oven preheated to 350 but I notice that it only goes up to 275.









Weird.












Not to be deterred I decide to just do it at 275 for longer time so that it will cook just the same.












I also notice that the oven was slower to heat up than a geriatric driver making a U-turn at a busy intersection.













After it preheats I put the chicken in and go back to watching Monsters Inc. (what? its a classic)
















As you have read in many of my previous blogs I tend to randomly switch topics and go on about things that usually have nothing to do with my current course of thought.  In this one instance it saved what would have certainly been charred chicken.  I will try to document my thought process.














What I see:

Monsters Inc characters Sully and Mike Wazowski walking outside in the warm sun






1.) Man I wish it wasn't so cold here





2.) What is the temperature here?





3.) hmm my thermometer says -7 but thats in celsius and that means nothing to me





4.) Man everything is in Celsius here





5.) wait...if everything is in Celsius then that means...
























Oh....Crap....


















Now when I get a sudden burst of unexpected stress I tend to just act on the FIRST thought that comes into my head. This usually works well for me unless I have two ideas pop into my head at once.













But that rarely happens...





















At this point in time two ideas popped into my head.









The First:


OMG OMG MY CHICKEN IS ON FIRE







The Second:




hey I wonder how much 275 degrees actually is?
















When I reached this epiphany and formulated my thoughts I was sitting on my couch.  My body then decide to act...















On both....















I got up to run to the kitchen as I was reaching for my computer to type in the calculation.
















All of this would have been fine if my left foot (heading to the kitchen) didnt get caught in the computer cord and my right foot (heading for the computer) didnt step on my rug.


















All I'm going to say is even gymnast would have been impressed at what happened next.

















I hobble to the kitchen just after I convert 275 degrees CELSIUS to 527 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT.
















Basically I sent my chicken to hell.


















Fortunately it was only for a few minutes and I managed to turn down the heat to a more chicken friendly temp of 175C (roughly 350)



















After that semi-dramatic episode everything else seemed to go smoothly and after an hour or so my first meal was made.

Not bad for a basketball player right?










This meal unleashed the beast.  I soon became at one with the kitchen.  But this blog is long enough.  My next entry in this three part series will show my recent conquests.








Until then.