Today's cocktail: Apple Cider Hot Toddy

Today's ingredients: whiskey, apple cider, honey, cinnamon

Today's gadgets: resumé builders

Today's vocabulary: J-O-B

Note: this is not the "kitchen sink" post I promised last time, but it's coming when "then" becomes "now" (extra credit if you get the reference).

Between this post and the last one, I received my last full paycheck from my former employer. I should be getting a partial paycheck in a couple weeks to complete my compensation, but for all intents and purposes, I am officially un(der)employed. I include the "der" caveat since I'm not completely without work. I'm just without current, steady work at the moment. This has been the plan for several months. All the numbers worked out then, and all the numbers work out now for me to be in this situation for upwards of a year, worst case, though I doubt I'll mentally make it that long without wandering up to the nearby hardware store or car wash and picking up some hours just to pull some income.

In the meantime, I have a daily schedule laid out so that I (a) remain productive and (b) maintain a healthy marriage. This includes a check of various audio industry job sites, reading or viewing instructional material on new technology I've missed out on over the past couple years, picking up a long-forgotten guitar and making noises somewhat resembling basic chords, exercising both body and voice, and working on a range of projects around the house, from hardscape work (adding a landing to our back outdoor stairs) to organizing and cleaning the utility/laundry room. I have plenty to do, just nothing that garners income. We'll get there. For now, I consider putting on underwear to be a win for the day :)

In other news, it's about to get cold around here, at least for this area. We're talking days that won't get above freezing. I love cold weather, though I don't like the cabin fever that comes with it. I tried living in lower Connecticut one winter and saw lots of snow, but it was too much even for the resources they had, so I was stuck in my two-room apartment for almost a week. I was even willing to walk a mile or two to get to my regular watering hole or to a train station to get down into the city, but even though the sidewalks had been cleared, trains were limited and bars were closed. Even the awesome next-door deli that never closed stayed closed, so I stayed inside, worked out, and watched a lot of Family Guy. At least here, I can get out and enjoy the occasional snow.

I rarely get sick, which is great. I am not sick now, which is also great. There have been a few occasions, though, when I did catch the seasonal crud, and if there's one thing that growing up in the rural South taught me, it's that alcohol is as much a cure as a cause of various health issues :) It's about that time around here, so with that in mind...

Apple Cider Hot Toddy

The county where I grew up was (is?) the second-leading producer of apples in the state. As such, I learned to like apples early. I don't eat many now, but when I'm sick, few things make me feel immediately better than a hot toddy. There are tons of recipes out there, usually with whiskey or rum as the main alcohol, with and without honey, lemon is often present in some fashion, and the rest is window dressing:

• 2 parts apple cider
• 1 part bourbon or rye whiskey
• 1 tsp honey
• Build all ingredients in glass. Heat in microwave for 30 seconds.
• Sprinkle cinnamon to taste.

The nice thing about this drink when sick is that the ingredients matter much less than if you just had this on any other day. After all, you're probably not tasting much but the saltiest of salt, tartest of tart, and sweetest of sweet. As I'm not often sick, I do tend to enjoy this just because, so I'll usually use a nice bourbon or softer rye, but when I'm couch-ridden, it's a slap-yo-mama rye like Wild Turkey 101. I guess if you really didn't like the person you're making this for, or if they're really on death's doorstep, you could use some low-grade firewater instead :)