Sticky Rice and Sticky Situations

webmaster Updates

9:46 AM, January 29

AUS office

Dear Fellow Arts Students,

As I write this blog post, a large bowl of Thai sticky rice soaks on the kitchen counter of my apartment. Sticky rice–a staple of Thai cuisine–is best prepared by soaking the raw rice grains for at least five hours, and then steaming it in a bamboo steamer. I do not have a bamboo steamer, so I will be making due with a splatter guard over a pot of boiling water. Steaming the rice, as opposed to boiling it, allows it to be firm and sticky. This is of utmost importance in Thai cuisine, as the sticky rice is typically rolled into balls and dipped into various sauces.

Why is there Thai rice soaking in my kitchen right now? The answer is that I am preparing coconut mango sticky rice for an AUS Council potluck. Cooking the Thai rice is the most complicated part of this process–after that is complete, one merely has to add warm coconut milk and sugar, along with mango slices or chunks, and what we are left with is a big bowl of everybody’s favorite dessert. When I cook, I take it very seriously, and I will admit that I feel some need to impress people in a potluck-type setting. It is my first time making this dish, so here’s to hoping it goes well.

As far as sticky situations go, I have learned that accounting software companies such as Intuit and Sage are not my friend. Our current QuickBooks file is on QuickBooks Enterprise, which is a very high-end version of QuickBooks, intended for larger companies or accounting firms with multiple clients. I am trying to bring our software in-house, so we only need QuickBooks Pro (much cheaper than Enterprise). Of course, as I found out, Enterprise files cannot be converted to Pro. So I seem to have two choices: 1) stick with Enterprise and pay a premium for features which we don’t need. 2) spend a few hundred dollars for a third-party software which purports to do the conversion. Naturally, I favour the second option, but am weary of third-party software. Anyway, I’ll figure it out somehow…

The good news is that we have received a preliminary draft of our financial statements. In addition, this draft has made it through the final stages of review by our auditors, so a final draft is due soon.

Wishing you all the best,

Sam.


About the Author

webmaster