im jetting off to the emerald city this weekend for my cousin’s wedding reception. i’ve never been so i’m super super excited to experience seattle – especially the pike place market, space needle/seattle center, and duck tours! can’t wait to share the gloomy photos with y’all.
you know you’re getting old when…
1. you develop an internal alarm clock that wakes you up before 7am everyday.
2. you’d rather listen to kost 103.5 rather than power and sing scream eye of the tiger like it’s no one’s business.
3. you crave to bake on the weekends.
just to reaffirm how i constantly feel, i did all three of these things today. even sing eye of the tiger. way to go, em. i can almost feel my joints tightening up. i decided to make a rice cake in celebration of chinese new years but instead of making a traditional 年糕 i decided to bake a matcha mochi cake. it was also an excuse to visit the local japanese market, mitsuwa, and see the jolly japanese ladies that work there. they’re so cute! happy chinese new years everyone!! may your year be filled with happiness and love.
super easy recipe:
Matcha Mochi Cake
1 lb glutinous rice flour (equivalent to about 3.5-4 cups depending on the type of flour. the french weigh out their ingredients. and they make the best macarons so we should trust their technique)
2 tblspn matcha powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 cups milk
2 cups sugar (i used 1.5 cause i don’t like it too sweet)
3 eggs, beaten
preheat oven to 350 degrees. combine all ingredients in a bowl, mix until consistent. grease a pan or two, depending on the size, pour the mixture in, then bake for an hour or until you poke the center with a toothpick and it comes out clean. let cool before you cut it! next time i want to pizzazz it up and put some red bean in it. mmmmmmm. the star of the cake – matcha!!! it’s a great antioxidant.
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played with the macro lens!
dozer is the snot king. snot that looks exactly like how they draw it in anime. example below.
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he was not a man of many words, but always held a striking presence. he was my idol – smart, generous, kind. my grandpa passed away early yesterday morning and though devastated, i know he lived his 90 years vicariously. it gives me a sense of happiness that he’s at peace and of course, he will live on forever in my heart. he was traditional and didn’t express his emotions as we americans do. whenever i would go to taipei to visit him, i’d hug and kiss him. he didn’t get that much from any of his grandchildren, let alone my grandma. however, looking past the slightly uncomfortable and rigid expression, i could tell he loved it when i did that.
here’s to a humble celebration of his time here on earth. the last photo was just a month ago.
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who knew steam mopping the floor could be so exhilarating? part of me thinks it disinfects my soul more than it does the floors. from last week’s emo post til now, ive taken the first step every therapist wants their client to aim for – acknowledging i have been in a funk. now i just need to snap out of it!
last night, dozer stared at me looking mighty bewildered. if i could guess, he’s thinking im crazy for running around the house like a mad woman, cleaning my ass off. vacuum, steam mop, laundry, dishes, bed linens… oh my, what a glorious night!
later on, dozer was doing what he does best – dozing off – and looked too cute to ignore. i tried practicing manual focus. failed on that last one…then i got distracted by my flowers on the coffee table.
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the aisles of vons, ralphs, whole foods and the like are well-groomed and systematically organized. fluorescent lighting bounces off the polished floors, vegetables receive a refreshing spritz every so often, and meats are wrapped or cased to reach america’s high sanitary standard. hell, many markets now provide antibacterial gel or wipes for their mysophobic patrons. now, imagine the exact opposite and you’re likely to picture something more similar to a traditional market in taiwan. it’s not to say the market is disgusting or uncivilized – just very, very different. i thoroughly enjoyed visiting the market on my visit to my home country last month.
taiwan’s markets are a maze of exotic fruits and on-the-scene slaughtered meats. innards and animal parts you’d never imagine were edible hang everywhere and if you’re not cautious, a large intestine or cow tongue will probably grace your face. it’s festively loud, with mopeds honking their way through the stands and everyone haggling for the best price. many vendors are old. they wake up before the sun and haul their harvest to the market each day. it’s quite amusing and surely a humbling experience.
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