TWQ: Cooking Dishes

For this week's TWQ (The Weekjend Question), we take a trip into the kitchen...

What dishes can can cook? What is your 'speciality'? Write down as many as you like.

My answer is:

Sorry to say I barely know where the kitchen is! I could probably make something in a microwave if I tried, but to actually cook something from ingredients....time to visit a restaurant!

Now it's over to you...

But before you go...

Secret Squirrel has kindly nominated me in three categories in the Blogger's Choice Awards (see my sidebar). If you would like to vote, click the badge and head over.

Thanks!

Girls Night Out

Guest Poster: Jadzia Dax

With the Enterprise having an oil change at the moment, the girls have decided to go out for a night on the town. That's me, Beverly, Deanna, Ro, Jennifer, Trisha, Guinan and Seven.

We were a little reluctant to take Seven, but she insisted on coming.

"I demand to know what these female get-togethers achieve." she told me. "I insist that I come with you. If you do not take me, you will be assimilated."

Well, with a charming request like that, how could we turn it down?

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The eight of us all look around and decide to go in The Klingon's Cave, a known drinking establishment in the nightly circuit. We all order some Klingon Bloodwine.

Seven drinks it back without a moment's hesitation.

"This is rather weak." she says to the barman T'Leth, "Do you not have anything stronger? Bring it to me, otherwise you will be assimilated."

T'Leth goes away issuing a few Klingon curse words.

"Seven!" warns Guinan, "You can't speak to Klingons like that; they are a little touchy, and don't like being insulted."

"Their thoughts are irrelevant!" she replies.

I sigh; it seems we might not last long in this establishment.

Ten minutes later, we are all thrown out and decide to look for somewhere else.

"I think The Thirsty Ferengi is just there." Beverly comments, "Let's go and drink the place dry. Seven, be careful what you say."

We order lots more drink, such as Romulan Ale and more Klingon Bloodwine. As the night goes one, everyone starts getting more relaxed.

"Let's talk about the men we have." says Jennifer, "It'll be fun."

We shriek, although things were starting to get foggy for me. The Dax symbiant was telling me not to have any more.

"My Geordi is a super guy!" laughs Trisha, "He knows all the latest hit tunes; he always tells me he wanted to be a disc jockey."

"Is that to do with horses?" asks Seven, who is looking very much the worse for wear, as the drinks are catching up with her.

We explain it all to her as Guinan answers.



"Oh, I've had a few men in the hundreds of years I've been going. Some pretty famous ones. Can't tell, though"

Lots of screams and "do tell!" comments follow, but Guinan maintains a discreet silence.

"How about you, Bev?" we all ask, "We know you and Captain Picard are sweet for each other. Are you going to get hitched someday."

"We maintain a professional relationship" replies Beverly in her usually diplomatic voice, but she adds with a knowing smile, "We have been on a few dates together."

More loud shrieks follow, which results in the Ferengi waiter coming over and telling us that there have have been complaints about the noise from other customers.

"Blow it out of your ears!!" shouts Ro.

This causes us to be ejected again, and we head for The Bajoran Beerkeller.

Once inside, we resume what we were talking about.

"My Worfie is a great big hunk of a Klingon." I tell them as I consume more alcohol.

"He certainly is!" agrees Deanna.

"What does that mean?" I reply.

"Well, we've both known him haven't we?"

Tempers start to rise.

"Calm down, Deanna and Jadzia" warns Guinan, "We're just on a fun night out. Now, Jenny, what do you like about Data?"

"Oh, he's a great guy!" answers Jennifer Baxter, "He's always so caring and kind."

"Do you ever switch him off if he bores you?" Ro asks.

We all laugh as Jenny says she's been tempted once or twice.

"I wish I could do that with Will." Deanna comments drily, as all the women agree.

"How about you, Ro?" I ask, "You haven't got a boyfriend have you. That Lieutentant Tyler has an eye for you. He looks cute."

Ro looks red faced as we decide to get matchmaking for her later on.

"What about Seven" Deanna comments, "She hasn't got a boyfriend either."

"Romance is irrelevant" replies Seven, "It is strictly forbidden by the Borg Queen on the cubes."
"You're not on a cube now, Seven." says Deanna, "You might like it."

"Any date I did not like would be assimilated." Seven states coldly.

"Well that's one way to end a romance!" Bev answers.

We all shriek hysterically; again we are ejected by one of the waiters and stagger to the beam up point to go back to the Enterprise.

I think there will be a lot in SickBay looking for a hangover cure.

400th Post!

Authors Note: This is my 400th post; it all started on 30th April 2005, and ever since then, the Enterprise has been trawling through space encountering all sorts of people and problems.

To celebrate this event, we will have an imaginary story, away from the regular sphere of things.

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On 15th March, I was asked to name five bloggers who I would take along on a desert island. Those I chose were: Ciera Nic Miss Cellania Nurse Ratched and Secret Squirrel

Ciera is a friend who I've really got to know in the time I've had my Journal. Nic is one of my closest blogfriends. She and I must write in tandem as she is celebrating her 400th post as well. Say congrats to her as well!

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In the imaginary story that follows, Captain Picard and the above are stranded on the island....

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"Well don't look at me" said Secret Squirrel, "I haven't a clue what to do!"

"I thought you might have a few suggestions" I asked her, "You seem a very practical person."

"Hardly!" she replied with a hint of sarcasm. Everyone seemed to be looking towards me.

"You're the Captain." Ciera reminded me, "You are supposed to get us off this island."

I noticed that I had a cut finger; this must have occured when we arrived. I indicated this to Nurse Ratched. She sighed and put a band-aid on it.

"You big baby!" she commented quietly.

I groaned. This wouldn't have happened had Beverly been here with me.

"So what are we going to do?" asked Nic, "We have no food and water. There's hardly going to be a McDonald's here."

"Why not?" replied Miss Cellania with a laugh, "They are everywhere else."

Ciera walked up to me and led me away from the others.

"Look, Jean-Luc" she said quietly, "The rest of the women are looking to you for leadership. You need to give them tasks."

I agreed, and went back to them.

"Ladies." I started, "If we want to get off the island, we are each going to have to work. Nurse Ratched, you will be looking after medical supplies, Squirrel, you will collect any debris or items we need, Nic, you set up camp with anything they pick, Ciera, you can hunt for food, and Miss.."

"Can I be the Morale Officer?" jumped in Miss Cellania, "This duck goes into a bar and..."

"No." I reply quickly, "Perhaps after we've set up camp; you can help Ciera with the hunting."

"What are YOU going to be doing, Captain?" asks Nurse Ratched sharply.

"Err.." I reply, "I shall be overseeing and co-ordinating the operation from a central viewpoint to make sure it has an optimum effect."

"In other words, nothing" says Nic quietly to Ciera. Everybody laughs.

"Just before you go." Miss Cellania pipes up, "Three women apply for a job, a brunette, a redhead and a blonde..."

"Later!" I tell her.

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After a few hours, the women start returning.

"I've assessed all the medical equipment we have." says Nurse Ratched, "We have six band-aids and one bandage. Try not to hurt your finger again."

"There are a few planks of wood." Squirrel lets us know, "We might be able to build a small raft, or a good camp. We found an old axe, so we can chop trees as well."

"That looks great." comments Nic, "We should do really well once those trees are chopped."

Why is she looking at me?

Ciera and Miss Cellania run back excitedly.

"There's someone else on this island!" Ciera mentions almost breathlessly.

"Yes" continues Miss Cellania, "It looks like there are Others on the island. A whole group!"

"Where are The Others?" asks Nic.

"I think they heard us." Ciera tells us, "They could be coming this way."

"Stand by to defend yourselves!" I say, "We don't know how hostile they may be."

We hear the forest twigs cracking, and a group of figures emerge from the trees.



Now I KNOW we are Lost!

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I'd like to thank everyone who has visited my Journal over the last 400 posts, those who have commented, especially those in my bloglist. Besides the above, they are: Tammy Linda A True Jersey Girl Bernard Chan Better Safe Than Sorry Black Widow Dari Donovan Craziequeen Curmudgeon Darth Nepharia Dragonflyfilly Eastcoastlife Ellee Seymour Empress Bee Erifia Apoc Fickin Chingers Five Minutes For Mom Florence Friday's Child Heather Nicole InterstellarLass Is Anything Truly Random? Jaime H Jana Jen's Horde Jim McKee Jon, Intergalactic Gladiator J Ranae Oneida Kellyology Lady Wyntir Lahdeedah Lois Lane Lori Mimi Meow Merlyn Gabriel Michele Minerva Mistress Of The Dark Mrs Mogul Nettie Nightingale Osquer Padme Amidala Pantha Panthergirl Paperback Writer Petite Anglaise Petroville Professor Xavier Raehan Ribbiticus SciFiChick Shelley Siskenyon Sqt Summer Dawn O'Ciardha Table For Five Susan Tara Lynn Johnson Terminatrix Titania Starlight TNChick Trying To Catch Up Vampirella Windwhisperer

Easter Bunny Hunt

Deanna Troi is looking delighted; well she might, as the chocolate Easter eggs are about to be handed out.

This chocolate-mad Betazoid always goes for the extra-yummy GigaEgg.

"The ship has stopped." says Data, just as I am bringing in the bag of eggs, with Deanna already in pole position to grab the big egg.

"What is the reason, Mr Data." I ask.

"It would seem that a few vital components have gone missing from Engineering" he replies.

Suddenly there is a flash and I notice our uniforms have changed; we are all wearing yellow rabbit costumes. There is only one answer to this.

"Q!!!" I shout.



"You called, Jean-Luc?" Q answers as he appears, "My, oh, my, Starfleet uniforms do appear to have changed. Do you think you will charm you enemies wearing those?"

"You're responsible for these aren't you?" I reply angrily.

"Oh, go on, Jean-Luc, I confess." Q laughs, "It was me that put these charming bunny costumes on you. Don't forget it is Easter."

"I refuse to be dressed as an Easter Bunny!" declares Worf, "A Klingon warrior should not be seen like this."

"Nor should a Borg drone!" says Seven of Nine, "The Borg Queen shall hear of this!"

"Don't be party poopers you two!" teases Q, "Just enjoy the Easter celebrations."

I must admit inwardly I smiled at seeing Worf and Seven in yellow Easter Bunny outfits, though I would never tell Q that!

"Get us out of these uniforms right now, Q" I demand.

"Not before we have an Easter Treasure Hunt." he replies, "I've scattered the eggs around the ship and put a component in them. Take the eggs to Engineering and then the Enterprise engines will work again. You won't be able to go or get your uniforms back until you complete the task."

Q vanishes.

"What do we do now, Captain?" asks Geordi, who is carrying an egg basket with him.

"If we go out there, the crew will see us and we'll get laughed at." Riker reasons, "We'll never live it down."

"Perhaps we can confiine the crew to quarters?" suggests Bev.

"That's a good idea." I tell her, and begin to speak to the others in the ship on the intercom.

Nothing works.

"Q has even thought of that." Geordi says to himself, "We're going to have to go out there."

"I agree, Mr La Forge." I say, "Let's get it over with."

For the next half an hour, we are running around the ship carrying a basket each and looking for eggs. The crew stand by watching, with poorly suppressed giggles as I carry my Easter basket around. I find one in my sonic shower; Beverly finds one behind her monitor in the SickBay, Seven locates an egg in her alcove, Riker finds one in the donut machine, Deanna in Ten Forward, Geordi in The Sands.

Eventually all the others are found and Q reappears,

"Well done, Jean-Luc!" Q smiles, "You have a staff with a keen nose for chocolate, especially Counselor Troi."

Our uniforms appear back on.

"You've all done very well." Q continues, "As a little reward, you can all have three GigaEggs each."

They appear, much to the delight of Deanna, who seems to have forgotten everything around her, and has her eyes just on the GigaEggs.

"Until the next time, Jean-Luc..." Q says with a teasing smile....

Time to close this entry; I've got three eggs that need my attention.

Happy Easter!

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Author's note: Don't forget that the next post will be my 400th. It will also include a special imaginary story! Be sure to drop in!

TWQ: You And Your Blog

As my Journal will be reaching it's 400th post on Tuesday night English time (this is #398), TWQ (The Weekend Question) asks about blogs.

What made you decide to start writing a blog? How has yours changed from the time you first started it?

My answer is:

Initially, I wanted to write a daily one about life in my office, and wrote it for a couple of days. I soon found it was going to be too dull, and decided to change to something I knew a lot about. From the time I started, I now write from the points of view of other characters (over 20) as well as Captain Picard, and have also introduced new characters of my own. It has a smart header; seeking to improve my Journal is always a main consideration.

Now it's over to you...

Reclassification

I'm calling a meeting of the Senior Staff as we've had one of those awful messages from Starfleet. One would think they would just send us where no man has gone before, like Kirk used to do, instead of administering red tape.

"What is this one, Captain?" asks Riker, "Are we going to have to say please before we attack anyone?"

I check the form just in case; fortunately it doesn't say that, but with the weird messages that Starfleet give out, it was wise to check.

In front of the staff, I read the following:

"Certain items in starships will be reclassified. From now on they will be known by their new titles. The items to be changed are:

Planetary Sensor: now known as:

World Occupational Territorial Scout Installation Target

Annual Planetary Sensor: now known as:

Televisual Help Informing New Growth Yearly

"Have you got that right, Captain?" asks Deanna

"What do you mean?" I enquire, as the rest as the staff are giggling away.



"Well, Captain" she replies, "Both would be known by their acronyms. the Planetary Sensor would be a WOTSIT and the Annual Planetary Sensor would be a THINGY,"

I feel slightly embarassed that I didn't spot this before. Do Starfleet always have to make these sort of directives?

"I'm sure they hadn't realised this, Deanna" I tell her, "I'll inform them, and they will be bound to retract them.

Seven looks like she is ready to say something...unfortunately.

"Locutus" she enquires, "What is the relevance of a WOTSIT or a THINGY to the humans? I have heard this term often amongst the humans on the Enterprise. The Borg Queen would be most interested in hearing what they mean before we assimilate you all."

Everybody rolls their eyes; Seven has a distinct way of charming people in a staff meeting. If I suggested she write a book before she assimilated us, I think she would!

We leave the meeting and I get in touch with Admiral Foster, who sent me that directive. He smiles and looks a little embarassed.

"I'm really sorry about that, Captain Picard." he tells me, "You can abandon all those plans we had to change the names, and the one I just sent ten minutes ago."

"What was that one?" I reply.

"The one where Warp Drive was changed to Speed Octane Monitor Extra To High Induction New Guide."

Or SOMETHING like that!

Holodeck Cinema

Bev and I are going for a date in the holodeck. We have programmed it so that it looks like an authentic 20th century cinema.

We both enter the holodeck and pay at the box office with our money. The movie that we are scheduled to see is 'The Wizard Of Oz'.

The man in the box office gives us a sneer and sends us in.

It's a real flea-pit of a location; why can't we have a more tidier cinema? Even the holes in the carpets look like they have holes in them.

Bev treads in a few unmentionable things.

"Jean-Luc." she whispers, "This isn't exactly err...."

"I know" I reply, "Let's see how it goes, and I'll give some instructions for Data to tweak it up a little."

Suddenly there is a blinding flash; the usual sort we get when invaders are coming aboard. It looks like trouble.

We can't get out of the holodeck or communicate with the Bridge.

"What's happened, Jean-Luc?" Bev asks.

"I'll soon tell you my pretty!" barks a voice from the screen.




A green skinned figure looks at us. It's certainly not an Orion Slave Girl. Maybe it's what their mothers look like?

"You two are in REAL trouble now" she shouts, "That anomoly the Enterprise passed through has made me real and self-aware. From now on, I, the Wicked Witch of the West will be calling the orders."

"I'm the Captain!" I reply angrily.

"In name only!" she laughs with a mad cackle, as a winged monkey comes forward towards us both.

Bev screams and hides under the seat.

"I've locked the cinema doors while I tell you what will be happening now." the Witch tells me, "The Federation will be bowing to me when we get to a starbase.

This looks like trouble, until I remember the movie; I whisper to Beverly, who is still under the seat as the monkey is trying to attack her.

"Have you got the bottled water, Bev" I whisper. She points it out. As the Witch advances, I pour it all over.

She gives a horrendous scream, worse than the one Deanna gave when we saw an Elvarian mouse.

Gradually, the Witch disappears into nothingness; the holodeck doors open again.

"Beverly" I say with a smile, as we leave, "The next time we go one a date, a romantic film might be a good idea."

Q And Janeway

Guest Poster: Q

With things so boring around the Continuuum right now, I need something to occupy my mind. It no good being told by the other Qs that playing billiards with planets is not really a good thing, and doesn't do well for harmony between the Continuum and the universe.

Ho hum...

I could go the the Enterprise, but I'd get an icy reception from Jean-Luc. That's part of the fun, I suppose, but he's busy right now; I could look elsewhere.

There is always my favourite female human: Kathryn Janeway of Voyager, Now I know she would be delighted to see me, and will welcome me with open arms and a big kiss.

All right, that last sentance was a slight exagerration on my part; in fact very much so.

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I materialise on a ship that has a lot of internal damage; it is interesting how Voyager always seems wrecked, yet they manage to repair it so well. Humans are very resourceful on this point.



Kathryn comes round with a phaser gun shooting the alien creatures that have invaded the gun; I smile at her. Isn't she pretty?

"Hello Kathryn." I say in my cheery way, "Good to drop in on you. Hope you're not too busy right now."

She looks amazed at seeing me; perhaps I came at a bad time?

"Oh, sorry." I tell her, "Do you want me to get these out of the way?"

"If you wouldn't mind!" she replies with that steely sarcasm that I like so much, and carries blasting away at the aliens.

In an instant they are all gone, and Kathryn turns round to me.

"Thanks for your help, Q" she say, "Now why have you come to bother us? Unless you are going to get us to the Alpha Quadrant, which I know you can, I'll just say goodbye."

"That's gratitude, Kathryn!" I tell her in my slightly hurt voice, "You know that you have the ability to get home by yourself. Just be patient. All good things come to those that wait. I just wanted to drop in to ask how my favourite female Captain was."

"I don't need a cliche, Q" she tells me, as she puts the gun down and moves some wreckage, "You know how I am without visiting; you know everything."

Chakotay comes in, and looks at me with any icy stare.

"Be careful, Kathryn!" I warn her, "You might need a gun to defend yourself against this Maquis leader. You never know when he might want to take over the ship."

Chakotay looks incensed and rushes towards me; the Captain stops him.

"Easy, Commander." she warns, "Q is just trying to provoke you; it's the sort of thing he loves to do. It keeps him amused."

Neelix and Kes approach. I ask if they are still together, which upsets the poor Ocampan. I then mention the number Seven a few times to Kathryn. This puzzles her. We in the Continuum have no need for time, so can see into their future.

Quite fun really! It would help in the Federation Lottery, but would end up as very boring.

"I could always stay on as a crew member, Kathryn." I offer to her, and whisper quietly "I could be the Commander; this untrustworthy one can stay in the brig."

Chakotay must have good hearing as he gets mad again; no wonder he was a member of the Maquis.

B'Elanna Torres turns up; she is a really fiery one; not one for patience. I think Kathryn has her work cut out with those two!

"Q!" exclaims Torres, "Can we destroy this mad creature, Captain?"

She's worse than I thought!

"Be careful, B'Elanna" warns Kathyn, "Q could send us even further away from home than we are."

Kathryn has a wise head on her shoulders; I just wish she liked me more.

"I think I'll take my leave of you for now, my dear." I playfully tell Kathryn, "The Continuum is holding a kareoke contest tonight, and my Sinatra singing is well known there. I'll be singing 'I've Got You Under My Skin'".

"Well you get under ours! she replies with her sharp wit.

"Look out for 8472!" I call out to tease her about the future.

Quite an eventful day in the Delta Quadrant!