An Optimistic Cynic

A colorful dinner to celebrate going back to work. I thought it was going to be terrible and dreadful since the first day back always feels rough, but aside from feeling generally sleepy from sleeping in for a week straight, it was ok! I’ve been eating a lot of bread slathered with butter and jam lately, and it feels like I’m 10 years old again, and it makes me very happy. I just bought more than 100 bags of assorted teas during all the Christmas sales, so I will be having a lot of tea with jam and bread. And butter. https://www.instagram.com/p/Cm-rRNHOI53/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

A colorful dinner to celebrate going back to work. I thought it was going to be terrible and dreadful since the first day back always feels rough, but aside from feeling generally sleepy from sleeping in for a week straight, it was ok! I’ve been eating a lot of bread slathered with butter and jam lately, and it feels like I’m 10 years old again, and it makes me very happy. I just bought more than 100 bags of assorted teas during all the Christmas sales, so I will be having a lot of tea with jam and bread. And butter. https://www.instagram.com/p/Cm-rRNHOI53/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Happy New Year! Today I ate a lot of food and set the tone for a restful year. My goal this year is to nourish my body and mind by working less and resting more. I overdid it last year with work, and my health paid for it. At midnight I ate 12 round foods as is tradition in many Asian cultures. It’s supposed to be fruit, but I’m slightly allergic to grapes and at grape 6, my tongue was swelling so I switched to mochi and cookies lol. Today to celebrate the new year, we had Filipino and Korean food, and I am happy to report that my pancit is getting better although my dad would probably still not approve. Dad would have been 100 years old today. We would have had the best birthday party ever because all the food would have been overseen by him. I hope to inch closer to being half the chef that my dad was this year! https://www.instagram.com/p/Cm5q1AOOVCE/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Today I went to a Michelin starred Filipino restaurant, and my dad would NOT have approved: mushroom adobo and garlic fried rice (they used VERY old rice). An ube tart (their specialty) and an apple hand pie. My friend and I stared at the hipsters on either side of us, while chewing all the food slowly, exclaiming “it’s…good? It’s good!” And then as soon as I walked outside, I said “that was so expensive, and just ok.” I always have mixed feelings about paying a lot for Asian food, especially Korean and Filipino food: on the one hand, I can make it at home; on the other hand, I think Asian food deserves a place at the Michelin table, especially Filipino food. But damn, that meal was really catering to non-Filipinos and honestly, I suppose you can’t fault them. https://www.instagram.com/p/Cl5CGkqOJ1s/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Donuts as TNMT courtesy of @return.of.the.jack https://www.instagram.com/p/ClzYn6BJPLk/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Susan and I forgot to take even one normal picture of Thanksgiving, but I still loved every minute with her and the family! I met @skim1608 when I was 13 years old! She had just moved from New York City all the way to Guam and was probably miserable on the island due to being uprooted in the middle of high school, but I didn’t even mind because it meant she shared all her stuff with me: Ranma ½! New wave music! Smiley faces done in one swirl! I mourned when she graduated high school and left Guam, but being an adult means now I can see her anywhere: NYC, HI, PA! (at Lancaster, Pennsylvania) https://www.instagram.com/p/ClfgMxJO_bc/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

UIC has a boba/milk tea dispenser now and these kids have never had it so good. This overpriced lychee jasmine tea on our first day of melted snow/slush is amazing. I was born twenty years too early. (at Chicago, Illinois) https://www.instagram.com/p/Ck_qwESvNB7/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Dinner in the west suburbs where the server thought we were in our early thirties, and you know what, I’ll take it. #41yearsyoung https://www.instagram.com/p/Cj4xrgROUxy/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Berwyn fall foliage (at Berwyn, Illinois) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cj2M5gTOUCJ/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Today I had lunch by myself at Mitsuwa, and I found this giant Gundam. I’m alive! Ok I’ve been trying to ignore inflation’s presence because I work from home and cook most of our meals so I don’t feel the effect immediately. But $17 for a Mitsuwa food court meal?! One dish?! I almost fell over. Back to eating potatoes at home (I’m over it though). (at Mitsuwa Marketplace) https://www.instagram.com/p/CjtyfM3uzc1/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

My neighbor is really into Halloween. https://www.instagram.com/p/CjgWo16JnSx/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

My newest kombucha experiment: peach kombucha. You can almost ignore the sharp acidic tang…almost. But definitely better than the guava at this point, although I think it’s due to being half sugar. (at Berwyn, Illinois) https://www.instagram.com/p/CjD7RRJppBH/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

These are meals I made for myself these past two weeks. All noodles as usual. I usually try out new noodle recipes (especially Asian) when Jack is out since he doesn’t necessarily like all the food I like. The first was Eric Joonho Kim’s cold tomato noodles along with its noodle pull as number two. The third was nyumen, and it was like a Japanese take on chanchi guksu. Fourth dish is stir fried teriyaki udon, which I over salted and had to toss. Fifth was my usual roasted garlic tomato pasta, but I tried a new method and Frank Prisinzano’s method is superior. I usually reach for noodles when I’m anxious since it’s become a crutch for emotional comfort since I was a child. But bowls of noodles always make me feel a little more grounded so I plug away, even if for a party of one. (at Berwyn, Illinois) https://www.instagram.com/p/Ci9MF-7uQXI/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Kombucha tales: Guava kombucha. This is my first time doing a second fermentation, and it’s very sour, so I’m not sure if I overdid the first (7 days) or second fermentation (3 days). Bubbly but way too sour so I am making a new batch and starting over. (at Berwyn, Illinois) https://www.instagram.com/p/CijND9sux5r/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

This is a very nerdy plant post. This weekend I took a break from working and grading and spent hours repotting over a dozen plants. This is my hoya kerrii that grows when I’m not watching! She’s a little more than a year old and is thriving with 13 heart-shaped leaves. @estherkrida sent this to me as a housewarming gift when she only had 5 leaves, and I just repotted her because 13 leaves was too heavy for her little 4-inch pot. It actually got so heavy that the stem broke in half, but I gave it a little plant bandaid (Velcro) that magically worked. I feel like there is a metaphor here, but really I’m just enjoying watching it grow! Soil: 3 parts potting mix, 1 part perlite, 1 part orchid bark, ½ part earthworm castings. This is my favorite ratio for most household plants except for marantas, which will never tell me what they want, and which I am currently trying to regrow from its rhizome state…because I killed them all…again. (at Berwyn, Illinois) https://www.instagram.com/p/CiG_4O5unat/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

I forgot to take a picture of myself today but @jpoo5 didn’t forget. And she managed to make me look 21 with these sneaky filters. I’m not 21! I turned 41 today! I ate a lot of donuts and cake (yesterday and today) and food with some of my favorite people and enjoyed the day instead of worrying. My goal this year is to let go (as much as possible) and to make the most of each day instead of reliving the various ways I could change the past or anxiously consider the ways I could influence the future. Everyone who texted me today asked me what I ate today, and I joyfully responded, “Everything!” Then a little self-consciousness snuck in and I thought, “Do all my friends think I’m a piggie?” Then I shrugged it off with the newfound self assurance of a 41-year-old because people I love know I love food, and it is a joy to be known by people you love. Cheers from your aging friend, who’s currently nursing a stomachache from that last piece of cake. (at Berwyn, Illinois) https://www.instagram.com/p/ChGw7qOO9VC/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Flew to Busan to see more family! It’s hot af here but I’m happy to be here, mostly bc I am eating everything and buying and seeing the most random things, which gives me great joy in life. (at Gwangali Beach Korea) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cgq_s_WPQ4b/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=