Sold!

My new job, or hobby, is selling items on ebay. Alvin used to be in charge of this, but he is too busy to do it these days.

So I have taken over. I sell tech items (like old computer parts), home decor items, games, and kitchen and athletic equipment. The funniest thing about when I sell tech items is that I really have no idea what I am talking about. I research the tech item and then write the description. Usually it will just be me copying numbers I find are associated with that item. Then I have Alvin look it over. Sometimes he will read my description and say, "hmm, you basically said nothing." Sometimes I will hold up an item and say to Alvin, I can't find anything about this "chip." And then he will say, "because it is ram." Whatever? Like people know the difference.

I have gotten pretty good at writing about tech stuff now though. I also got pretty fast at writing up creative reasons why someone should buy chopsticks from Hawaii for $8 even though we are in a middle of a recession.

I was really sad because no one was buying my items. My first two items I have ever listed were finishing their sale tonight. And one hour into the auction, I got a sale! Yes! I sold something. But unfortunately I only made $3. And I actually don't really make $3 because it was CJHL's old Sprint phone. Maybe if she never reads this I can pocket the money for all my troubles.

The other item (the chopsticks), did not sell.

Currently, I still have 21 more items that are listed. Go CD walkman! Go 1998 digital camera! Go stained glass window candle holder! Do your thing and sell, sell, sell!!!

Simply Complicated

After a first half of the day filled with ups and downs, I came home hungry. So, I just whipped together something, and it hit the spot perfectly. Quick little bundle of thin noodles boiled. Topped with a sliced pork chop, some chopped green onions, and some chili oil. It was delicious.

I'm sure there are some days when The French Laundry, with its morel mushrooms and tomato diamonds, are the way to go. But today, simplicity ruled the day.

A simple meal like this got me thinking about how often our lives are not simple. The pleasures that we enjoy are so often no longer the simple ones. Or - in pursuing convenience or security, or even more noble pursuits like love or compassion - we layer our lives with more and more complexity.

Granted, my life would be simpler if I lived alone, interacted with no one, and kept to myself. So it was clearly a conscious decision of mine to do things like marry a wonderful girl or build into friendships that I valued. These things were well worth it to me, even though they complicated my life.

Some people own dogs, even though doing so clearly complicates their lives. They do it because the pleasure of their canine companion far outweighs the complexity cost they experience. That's fine (but I don't think I could ever own a dog).

But I do want to do some good thinking about what things I have let seep into my life which make my life needlessly more complicated. That is, find those things where the cost of complexity outweigh the benefits. For example, owning two cars meant worrying doubly much about the cost of gas and insurance or keeping up with maintenance and registration, etc. Our lives are simpler now with just one car. And, riding the DART is pretty darn good.

So then, what are those things in life that I own or pursue which... have more control over me than I do over it? What are those things in my life that I thought would simplify my life but actually complicate it instead? I should make a list...

Adventures in Walking

As mentioned in Running Soon, I have been training for another half marathon happening in Pasadena on Mar. 22nd. But this time I am walking it with Mama Lee.

I have been trying to train, and at first it was fine. Then when I went to Pennsylvania, it was too cold to walk outside. The good thing was that there was a treadmill. The bad thing is that the gym only had one treadmill and everyone in our program pretty much had the same free time. So I remember that I needed to walk 5 miles to stay on my schedule, but I felt really bad since if I walked it all, it would take more than an hour and a half. So I ended up half running it and half walking it but it still took more than an hour.

When I got home, I realized that I don't know where to walk to fill up my walking requirements. The problem with walking is that it gets really boring and it takes a long time. Another problem is that Dallas is not walking friendly. So this last week I had to walk 7 miles. So after plotting it out, I decided to walk to Katy Trail and then meet my friend at the Knox Henderson entrance. (Another reason I had to walk is because Alvin had to drive the car to the dentist.)

So from my house, I walked to the Walmart on Lemmon. Then crossed through the cemetery. I know Alvin doesn't get scared walking through the cemetery, but I think it can be creepy. It was very windy that day, and no one else was at the cemetery. I thought to myself, if anyone attacks me, only the dead will hear me scream. (That sounds like a tagline for a movie.) Then I thought, if I die, they can just bury me here.

Then I walked to Walgreens where I picked up an Odwala bar and a travel pack of tissues. I then made it to Katy trail. That was 1.5 miles according to my pedometer. Then I walked on the trail to Knox Henderson. At that point it was about 3 miles. Man, only 3 miles to Knox Henderson. Then my friend and I walk to the end at McCommas. We then walked back. At the very end, since I am legalistic to a dot on my training schedule, I made her walk back and forth on the trail until I hit exactly 7 miles (and of course no more). And then she drove me home.

It took me about 2 hours at about at 17 mile/hr pace.

My evaluation is that the 1.5 miles from house to Katy Trail is barely walkable. There must be a better way to go from the Walmart to Walgreens without going through a private cemetery.

I will think about my options as I plan out my 8 mile walk this week. I wonder if I could walk to Central Market on Lover's from my house.

Returning to Food

Before I dive into today's post, I wanted to write a quick note on something that I heard on the radio today. On Studio 360 (NPR) this afternoon, there was an entire show talking about the elderly, and about how much we can learn from them. They were asking questions of some of these men and women who are well into their eighties, and they asked what kind of advice they would like to give to younger people. One elderly woman advised young people not to take everything in their life so seriously.

She said the words, "Not everything is a crisis. When you're young, you think everything is a crisis. But it's not true. As you get older, you learn that not everything is a crisis." YES. I love it. I feel like she validated the thoughts I was having just a week ago when blogging about the End of the World.

Ok... for today: As most of you know, I have had a week of intense dental activity. I have already learned my lessons about taking care of my teeth. I've been doing very well this week! And I plan to keep it up. But yes, this week has included 4 wisdom teeth extractions, a crown, and... a few fillings. (Don't shake your head at me. Each of us has our individual areas of weakness and brokenness. Yours might not be dental, but you've got areas too.)

So, for the most part this week, I have been taking it pretty easy in regards to food. Lots of jouk. Lots of soup. A couple poached eggs. And then yesterday, seared jumbo scallops on asparagus puree. And then tonight (thanks, CWang), braised short ribs, swiss chard, mashed potatoes, and frozen bread.

But today, I really wanted to return to food. Like, go and indulge in a few simple pleasures that I missed this week. Not that I eat these things every week, because I don't. I guess these were just cravings I had since I feel like I just got my mouth back after a week of quarantine.

So for lunch today... I ate a Filet-o-Fish sandwich from McDonalds. Delicious.

And tonight, on the way home from dinner, I stopped to get fro-yo with mochi topping. Delicious.

I wonder, after we move, what kinds of foods, I will be craving to eat whenever we return to the States for a visit. Right now, I'm thinking it would be an In-N-Out cheeseburger with grilled onions and fries well done. But what if it's something totally random and unexpected... like the Meat Lover's Scramble from Denny's? Or pita chips with Harry n' David onion and relish dip? Or raw broccoli with ranch dressing?

Makes me think I should cherish everything more now, since I don't know what I'll be missing until I'm missing it. This means food, sure, but probably also conveniences, simple pleasures, and then, of course... people.

Snobby Food

This past year, my friend received the French Laundry recipe book for a gift. She lent the book to me so I can read all about food that I will never be able to eat.

When I first borrowed the book, I thought that there was a slight possibility that I could try a couple of the recipes. 20 minutes into looking through the book, I was discouraged that there was no way I could make any of the recipes. First, I don't know how to shuck an oyster. Second, I don't have the tools. Third, I don't have the money to buy the food. I put the book down dejected and hungry.

A couple days later, when I was feeling more confident and determined, I went through the book looking for the easiest and cheapest recipe.

The recipe I chose was pan-roasted scallops with morel mushrooms, and asparagus puree. The problem, I found out later, that morels are hard to find and are super expensive. They are also poisonous when raw (just in case you are put in that situation). I found on a website that morels can be priced at $59.99. Alvin kept teasing me that it was a Disneyland ticket. I thought, if I have to choose between DL and mushrooms, I am choosing DL (I Heart DL.)

So the substitute I chose was Hen of the Woods mushroom. Sounds like Chicken of the Sea. Anyway, prep time was about an hour, cook time was 30 minutes. The most snobby request the recipe asked for was to cut the tomatoes into small dice, but shaped like diamonds. My friend CWang, owner of snobby book, came over to help and then of course eat.

And here are pictures of the result:





Here is my critique of the recipe: I didn't like the asparagus on top because the texture clashed with everything else, but the puree, mushrooms and scallops went well together.

Also, it doesn't fill. My friend made mashed potatoes, not from French Laundry, to fill up everyone's stomach.

Overall, it was very yummy. Kudos to the snobby recipe. I guess being a snob works sometimes.

I will let the Alee and CWang comment with their critique.

I feel accomplished now for making my first and probably last French Laundry recipe.

Weighed Down

I do not know what to blog about today. So I will blog about how I feel. Why? Because I rarely care about or talk about how I feel, so maybe it's healthy for me to do so. And, because today I feel differently than I do on most days.

Today, I feel... weighed down.

Some of the things weighing me down are the things that people around me are going through. Interpersonal relationships. Insecurities. Suffering. Pain. I think that, usually, I can listen and be there for people, and help to carry their burdens, and not feel too weighed down myself. Today's feeling is... rare. Maybe by tomorrow it will pass.

Some of the things weighing me down are the things we will be going through in the next few months. And there will be a lot. Packing up. Moving. Saying goodbyes. Tying up loose ends. And all this, while I'm still trying to put in a certain number of hours each week as an independent web programmer. Maybe it's stress, or uncertainty, or even fear. I guess I'm still processing.

And then, some of the things weighing me down are completely internal to me. Things like... how can I be better? Not just do things better. But actually be better. Like... be a better husband. Be a better brother. Be a better son. Be a better friend. And ultimately, be a better follower of chrst. This weighs me down too.

My typical response on these rare days when I feel weighed down is to list out what needs to be done, and then just have at it. Start doing stuff. Get things done. But tonight, I am going to try something different. Maybe tonight, I will be still. Quiet myself. Stop. Listen. Read. Pr'y.

So that's how I feel today. Rare, don't you think? Not quite... my usual. But there's nothing wrong with that.

This has been a good session. I think we've accomplished a lot in our time together today.

6 Pots of Jouk in 2 Weeks and a Day

Question: What do you need to make good jouk?
Answer: A good punchline.

Alvin and I were counting, and we made 6 pots of jouk in 2 weeks and a day. I believe we both made three each.

Why so much jouk you may ask?

Well the first two was a because I roasted two chicken and didn't want to waste the carcass. The third and forth pot was because Alvin was feeling sick at the end of last week. And the fifth and sixth one was because I was feeling sick and then Alvin got his wisdom teeth pulled out.

I do have to say that each pot has been getting better. We realized that the chili oil that Alvin made goes really well with jouk, as does raw sweet corn.

I'm not tired of jouk yet, but I know I will be soon. And that is no "jouk!"