WHAT I SAID WAS

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don’t get used to

get used to
don’t get used to
don’t get used to
don’t even get too used to (things)
if you get too used to things
you won’t be moved
if you aren’t moved
your life is over

nothing is worse than becoming too used to things
always the first time
always the first impression
no matter how many times
you do it
it’s the first time for today
because it’s the first time
you tremble with excitement
and that’s all right
it’s natural to tremble
when it’s the first time

– mitsuo aida

i transcribed the above from the mitsuo aida gallery in tokyo. the format and some words might be off because a) i wrote it in my little notebook, b) i wrote it in a rush because there was a swarm of visitors surrounding me, and c) now i can’t read my handwriting. but i love the gist of the poem. never get too used to anything because that’s what living is all about. i think it’s especially applicable to relationships. i was definitely thinking about mgs who i will never get used to 🙂

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spicy soba

spicy soba finished!

since coming back from asia, i’ve been experimenting with all sorts of soups and noodles trying to recreate the flavors that tickled my tongue throughout the trip. this has resulted in some odd mash-ups, one of which is this spicy soba dish. you know how some people are weird and don’t drink the noodle broth? well, this isn’t for you if you’re one of those people. this is for someone who likes licking up every drop! it’s a really satisfying, cold-weather dish. enjoy.

serves 4 / cooking time: 15 minutes

spicy soba ingredients

ingredients
5 cups of water for broth and additional water for soba
3 1/2 – 4 tablespoons of miso paste
1 bunch of soba noodles per serving
1 leafy head of bok choy or other greens (more if you like veggies)
1 tomato chopped
2 – 3 cloves of garlic
1 – 2 green onions chopped
2 – 3 chili peppers chopped
1/8th pound ground pork
4 – 8 beef balls halved
1 sheet of seaweed cut into strips
fresh ground pepper, to season

1. bring water to a boil in a medium pot. throw in the miso, garlic, and chili pepper. boil for 2-5 minutes.

2. shape the pork into little balls and add to broth with the beef balls. add the tomatoes, green onions, and half of the seaweed. simmer under medium low heat.

3. in a separate pot, boil more water. insert soba and cook until soft, but not mushy. drain and place noodles into serving bowl(s).

spicy soba cooking

4. once the meat balls are cooked thoroughly and the greens are softened, turn off the heat. scoop enough broth into the bowls to cover the top of the noodles. add ground pepper, as desired. top with the vegetables and meat. add strips of seaweed and leftover green onions as garnish.

my suggestions:
i tried this recipe out for the third time today and played around with it by adding sliced ginger and about 1/2 teaspoon of lemon zest. the broth had an even richer flavor that balanced well with the saltiness of the miso.

also, i’ve tried cooking the soba in the broth versus cooking it separately. this method works really well, too (i actually prefer it), although there are pros and cons. the pro is that the noodles really pick up the spiciness that makes this dish so special. however, the inherent saltiness of the soba combined with the saltiness of the miso can be a bit overwhelming. an easy resolution would be to reduce the amount of miso paste you add. i’ve been doing one less tablespoon of miso than there are cups of water (e.g. 4 tablespoons of miso for 5 cups water, 5 tablespoons for 6 cups, etc.).

if you cook the soup and noodles separately, you can store the leftover broth for later. use it to cook MORE noodles or to drink as a standalone soup. seriously delicious.

this is a ridiculously easy to cook, quick, and healthy meal. enjoy!

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asia on my mind – the top ten list (part four)

and finally, the conclusion to my very long list (which is ironic because my intent was to be concise):

9. retreat from technology
during our last stop in bali, MGS and i attended a kecak performance one evening held in a temple courtyard. the audience was assembled in a semi-circle around the performance area and the temple was beautifully lit in the background with spotlights. we arrived to snag a few seats along the side with good views over the short people sitting in front of us. i was super excited to see my first, live kecak. i grew more excited when the lights dimmed and a priest came out to perform blessings. he then lit a torch in the center of the yard, which cast a dramatic, warm glow across the yard. this was going to be awesome… BUT…

almost immediately, the tourists around us whipped out their cameras, blocked our views, and started taking picture after picture after picture. i thought this would eventually stop as the performers flooded out from the temple — i mean, one would think folks would be respectful enough to put their cameras away, but no. they repeated a merciless pattern of snapping a photo, showing it off to their companion, then carrying on a meaningless exchange about how great the shot was only to repeat it again and again through the entire performance. it became so distracting that i had to get out of my seat and move away.

i mean, how can someone be so concerned about capturing the moment instead of being in the moment? did they realize how much they actually missed because they were so concerned with playing their toys? what idiot does that shit?

oh wait. me.

i have such a love-hate relationship with technology… and by technology, i mean any and all products and programs that are designed to help us connect with the people and world around us, but distract us from being present. it’s almost as if society today is being trained to believe that if you didn’t tweet it, it didn’t happen; if you didn’t take a picture of it and post it on flickr, it didn’t exist; or if you didn’t write/respond to email RIGHT NOW, you’re as good as dead. it’s come to the point where it’s like: do we set out to do things these days for self satisfaction or so that we can write about it later in a facebook status and get ego-driven, comments-and-likes?

i don’t know whether it was a conscious or subconscious decision, but i didn’t use my computer that much and used my camera less and less as the trip progressed*. i didn’t realize the full impact this would have on my daily enjoyment of the trip until that performance. the more i abandoned technology, the more developed, profound, and visceral my memories became. i was more engaged with the people and things in front of me. i felt really alive in a way i haven’t felt in a long time, as if discovering my five senses once again.

that said, i highly recommend shutting off your ipads, ibooks, and iwhatevers to focus squarely and solely on i. it is such a liberating feeling. perhaps i will designate a day where i don’t touch my laptop or phone unless i really have to…

* “less” is a completely subjective term! my less might still be more than the average human being.

AND finally, my #10 highlight of the trip…

10. just getting the fuck out of the country aka i love my passport stamps!
excuse my french, but who doesn’t like to leave the country every once in awhile? america is great, but there are so many places that i need to see before i kick the bucket. i’m so glad to have checked off five from my list and to have stamps in my passport to show off.

this trip was a once in a lifetime opportunity that i will not soon forget. my hope is to travel through europe or central and south america next. no more big cities, though, unless they’re super romantic and not overly commercialized.

well, that’s all folks! thank you asia — i miss you and hope to be back in a few years!

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asia on my mind – the top ten list (part three)

my asia list continues:

6. eating
a sample of the food that it’s mah belly:

7. enjoying sunsets

of course, china had some of the most beautiful sunsets because of all the pollution in the air…

8. water

i’m pretty determined to own water-front property in a few years. that’s going down on my goal’s list. i don’t necessarily like to be IN the water. i just like to sit by it and watch the ripples and waves and listen to it swooshing to and from shore. it kills me to see trash in the ocean/sea. the times we went snorkeling or kayaking, there was SO much trash just floating around in these otherwise, pristine waters. we made it a habit to pick up the trash and bring it back to land. MGS loaded his kayak with so much, i was surprised he was still afloat! the kayak renters gave him a thumbs up when they saw what he had done. i blame the stupid tourists.

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asia on my mind – the top ten list (part two)

continuing on with my asia top ten list! by the way, i was looking at old photos and totally forgot that i started the year in europe visiting my friend YF in london and MGS in spain and just ended 2010 in asia. why didn’t i get a airline points credit card?! anyway, moving on:

3. being a responsible tourist
merriam webster defines tourism as “the practice of traveling for recreation.” even though there are outlets now for ECO-tourism or SERVICE-tourism that are slightly more community-conscious, what tourists really want is to go to a foreign place to soak in culture and take pretty pictures. then there are also the expats, men and women who have settled in asia long-term or permanently. ideally, an expat would immerse him/herself more into local life, but as i’ve learned, this is not always the case. too often tourists and expats alike engage in bad behavior that i feel is both really insulting to the locals and makes them, and in turn, the country that they’re from, look plain, old ignorant (it’s no wonder why americans have such a bad reputation abroad).

i kept asking myself during my travels, especially in southeast asia: at what point does tourist/expat’s hegemony conflict, change, or even ruin local values and culture? am i being a participant in the disneyfication of small villages as a tourist who supposedly wants to experience the local life, but also wants all the creature comforts of home whether that’s a cup of good coffee, a bar that’s open late, etc.? also, who the hell am i to assume the local way of life is changing for the worse?

i don’t have any answers, but i did question my role as a tourist a lot in this trip and always tried to be conscious of the consequences of my actions, which leads me to …

5. gaining perspective
i was always really quick to judge the people, government, and media in the countries we visited. why are these streets so dirty? why are people spitting? why are these commercials so horrible? why don’t these people recycle? yet, the truth is, i’m sure folks who visit the U.S. have an equally strong reaction even though in the end, our two countries are really not all that different. for instance, i would be so grossed out by all the trash in bali. but really — it’s not that the bay is any cleaner. it’s just that i’m used to it. by getting out of the country, i’m able to return with greater perspective on my way of life here and examine how i can make my community a better place to live.


4. new years in bangkok:
if there was one event or evening that i could single out as being THE most memorable from my asia trip, it would have to be new years and it is all summed up in this picture: