Snapshots from yesteryear

I had another blog from a few years back which I completely abandoned after a couple posts. Rereading these old entries, I can sort of understand why I stopped writing so quickly. Goodness, it is kind of sickening how smug and pretentious some of these posts sound. Oh well, we learn and we grow.

First entry

Monday, January 4, 2010

So new the price tags are still on it

I believe in the power of metaphors, not really. I just wrote that because the blankness was hurting my eyes and when in doubt it’s better to have something then nothing. This blog is a sand castle and rambling is a wave that slowly creeps up and washes away the sand castle. Rambling is sneaky and you have to watch out for it.
In completely unrelated news, I was wondering why places that are at higher latitudes are warmer than us. At first when I lost feeling in my toes, I was comforted by the thought that there were a whole bunch of people at places nearer the North Pole than I am. I had this mental picture of us all losing feeling in our toes and there was this feeling of camaraderie that warmed my heart. Then I went on the weather channel and saw that not only were these places warmer but they were also sunnier. Why is this? I know that those places at lower latitudes than us definitely still have feeling in their toes. Maybe I just want feeling back in my toes. I don’t even feel a tingle which is quite sad. Heated floors would be wonderful right now as well as an all expense paid trip to anywhere where you can still wear flip flops outside and have feeling in your toes.
I know it’s a little late but this year I have made five New Year’s resolutions and I intend to keep them past the first week of January. I decided I needed to be more ambitious this year so some of these resolutions are downright challenging. This leads me to wonder if these resolutions are even possible for me to accomplish.
New Year’s Resolutions
1. Finish a picture using oil paint that closely resembles the subject and not only bears a passing resemblance if you squint your eyes.
2. Read Don Quixote in Spanish and do not skip any pages.
3. Cook a edible meal that people will not say tastes great with grimaces on their face.
4. Recycle more. (This is probably the only one on the list I can accomplish.)
5. Improve my handwriting which I’ve been told is truly atrocious.

 

Second Entry

Thursday, January 7, 2010

When the doldrums hit then ride them

Lately, I've been thinking of what to do when you have no inspiration and you have to go and create something weird and unusual that people say this is amazing and then absolutely no idea why it's great. I mean there are so many sources of inspiration out there like nature, literature, and possibly an object as mundane as a table.
What about boredom as a source of inspiration? I know boredom may seem like the strangest idea for inspiration and it certainly isn't as pretty as say a flower or the stars. It has a certain quality though. Boredom seems to me like a lazy thick fog that sometimes refuses to go away. If this doesn't work as an inspiration then at least it's something to think about.

Third Entry

 

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

The increase in entropy

I know that as we get older we're supposed to develop this sophistication and poise in every aspect of our lives. Is that us really truly becoming that way though or is just a reaction to what is expected of us? I can't help but wonder but the point of this blog is not to make me sound arcane. That's something I'd like to avoid since I'd hate to fall victim to tedious passages where you could tune out fifty percent of the words and still get the same meaning. 

Things I love: Libraries

     I really like books so I guess it's only natural that I would like libraries. As a young child, I remember walking to the public library that was near my house with my mother. The library was an old red bricked establishment that consisted of two small levels that were crammed tight with yellowed books and an extensive and eclectic movie collection. There was also a closed off little reading area that snaked off into a turret like roof. I longed to go up there, convinced that any book that I enjoyed in that lofty place would be infinitely better than when I read it in our dingy faded apartment. Despite the library's preclusion to my entrance of the room, I always looked forward to going to the library because after checking out a huge stack of books my mother and I would go and have lunch together. It wasn't anyplace fancy but these little excursions were often the highlight of my week.

  

    I started volunteering at my local library when I was around fourteen. There was a brief period of training that consisted of the head librarian telling me that I was assigned to shelve the children's section, I should shelve quickly but not sloppily, and try to be helpful to any library patrons. If I was particularly adept at my job I would be "promoted" and have the opportunity to shelve in the juvenile and the reference section. If I volunteered for a month and I demonstrated that I was a good shelver then I would be allowed to shelve in the popular and heavily trafficked romance section, the pinacle of every volunteer book shelver's career. 

      I quickly found out why the children's section was the bottom rung of book shelving. I didn't keep a running count but more than half of the children's books seemed to be coated in some unidentifiable sticky substance. Pigtailed three year olds came in demanding that their mothers pick out for them the "brightest", the "newest", the "most interesting" books. I watched in horror as book after book was rejected and the pile of out of placed books grew and grew. Finally, the "perfect" book had been chosen and the hassled mother would lead her child wearily towards the checkout desk. I wearily trudged toward the pile of books and mentally calculated how long it would take me to reshelve them. Darn! The books ranged from A to Q, and Z.

  

    

What I've learned so far

-Insect repellant all too easily removes nail polish.

-White gravy is not oatmeal and shouldn’t be eaten by the bowlful.

-Covering your calculator in stickers doesn’t make you the coolest nerd.

-Using literary references to tell somebody you like them is not effective. 

-Cracking coconuts by dropping them on your floor will stain your floor rather badly.

Asian Drinks to try

At first I decided to come up with a list of Vietnamese drinks but then I realized some of these drinks are popular all over Asia so it made more sense to come up with a list of Asian drinks. I hope that you will have a chance to try or even make some of these drinks and experience something new!

1.Pennywort Drink-I drink this every summer and it can be easily found in the drinks section of your local Asian supermarket. It's intense dark green color might make you a little squeamish but there's nothing too be scared about how it tastes at all. Pennywort drink is sweet, refreshing, and supposedly and makes your skin look better.

2.Soy milk-Asian soy milk is different from the soy milk sold in many groceries. Asian soy milk is less thick, more watery, and usually a good deal sweeter. There are many Asian soy milk brands such as Yeo's but I prefer the taste and flavor of homemade soy milk which is easier to make than it may sound. To locate a soy milk machine, either look online or your local Asian supermarket may carry one (the particular model I have plays "Ode to Joy" when it's making soy milk). Asian soy milk is sometimes flavored with a special green herb that gives it a green color and a nice aroma.

                                                      A glass of Yeo's soy milk

                                                          A soy milk machine

3.Artichoke juice-Artichoke juice is very healthy for you. Making this drink is very simple; you simply boil artichokes and collect the juice that comes out. The flavor? It tastes and smells like tea.

Vietnamese snacks galore! Part 1

So after a quick unrelated post, we're back to more yummy Vietnamese food. This time I'll be focusing on those delightful meals between meals-snacks! 

1. Spicy burned rice

While the name sounds less than appetizing, this snack is absolutely delicious and it doesn't taste like burned rice either as its name would suggest. Similar to rice krispies, this snack is crunchy, flavorful, and extremely addictive. It is flavored with various spices and spicy peppers so if you can't handle spicy food it's best to choose the plain flavor which this snack also comes in.

2. Fish Jerky

Nothing smells and tastes quite as good as a hot piece of fish jerky fresh out of the oven. Remember to always eat when hot since the jerky becomes sort of hard and difficult to chew once it cools.

3.Tapioca Cookies

These are lovely little cookies that can be molded into many beautiful shapes and dyed an array of colors. They even taste as good as they look! I remember making these when I was little and how much of a fun experience that was.

The Joys of Yesteryear-Recollections of a 90's kid

This is a short post that is sort of a break from the Vietnam posts and a chance for me to talk about some other things that I'm sure other people growing up in the nineties can recall as well.

Floppy Discs-When I was in elementary school, we were instructed to treat floppy discs with care because they were fragile, could store so much information, and we would need to know how to use them to guarantee ourselves a successful job. Except, floppy discs hated me and refused to save any of my information. Their only redeeming quality was that they came in nice colors.

Dial up-This was the bane of my existence. I remember having to deliberate about whether to click on a website or not because more often than not it would take my computer fifteen minutes to load a single page. If the page included pictures then it would be thirty minutes and if that page contained graphics then I would go watch a tv show and then come back to my computer.

Furbies-I got mine near the end of the craze so it only set me back $5. At first, I was so thrilled to be getting such a wonderful toy for so cheap but my enthusiasm for my furry new toy died pretty quickly. My Furby would not wake up during the day but seemed to enjoy squawking out meaningless gibberish at two in the morning. I screamed at it to please be quiet. It screamed back I love you. As you can probably guess, when the batteries on my Furby ran out I didn't feel a great need to replace them.

I leave you with a completely unrelated picture of my favorite Vietnamese drink/dessert. Isn't it lovely?

*Furbies and Floppy Discs image from Wikipedia

True or False?-Cracking Vietnamese Stereotypes

***Update: I haven't posted in this blog for quite some time, but in the meantime I've noticed that the most popular post on here seems to be about Vietnamese stereotypes. This doesn't strike me as particularly odd since some of these stereotypes cover topics that people wold like to discuss with a Vietnamese person but don't because of the potential awkwardness of bringing said topic up. So to encourage more open discussion I've decided to answer a question a week that you might have on Vietnamese culture and life. So start asking away and please submit your questions by commenting on this post or the post on Vietnamese stereotypes. I hope to see everyone's questions!

I came across a list of Vietnamese stereotypes on a website the other day which made me laugh; some of them were scarily accurate while others were way off.

1. Your parents use the "Eagle" brand oil for every type of sickness.-I certainly don't use this for every sickness but it is very good for muscle aches. I know alot of older people rely on it alot so maybe my answer to this will change when I get older. This might not be related but I believe many Vietnamese people use Tiger balm and "Eagle" brand oil almost interchangeable so you technically Tiger balm could fit in this stereotype.
2.  At least one of your parents are in a self owned business like a laundromat, nail salon, or apartment building.-I've never heard of any Vietnamese person who owns a apartment building or a laundromat. Maybe this was true a couple decades ago? It is indeed true that many Vietnamese people work in the nail industry but Vietnamese people are also teachers, doctors, lawyers, and a variety of other professions.
3. There's Chinese in your family line somewhere.-Well, this one is true for me since I'm 1/16th Chinese. Unfortunately, I don't speak Chinese though since it would be cool to know another language.
4. You don't own an American car.-True, I honestly don't think Vietnamese people really put alot of weight on what country a car was manufactured in when they go to buy a car. I think it's more important how many mpg their car can get and if the car is safe.
5. You played the piano once in your life.-Semi false, I played the violin but you might as well substitute violin with piano in this stereotype and you'd get around the same thing.
6. You take 2 or more showers a day.-What is this? I don't even know what they are trying to say. I guess they could be suggesting we're clean freaks?
7. Your parents always boast about you to all the other Vietnamese parents, or your parents totally dogg on how stupid you are to other Vietnamese parents.-False, my parents don't do this. My parents are always trying to tell others about their garden and their love of gardening.
8. No matter what you are, people think your Chinese or Korean.-True, people have said I'm Chinese. Perhaps, because Vietnam is a somewhat small country it gets forgotten?
9. In your house, there's always multiple pictures of your family and you when you were small, side by side in every room.-Semi true, there are family photos in each room but I seriously think this would be true for any family.
10. You have the last name or are related to someone who has the last name: Nguyen.-Semi true, I know alot of people with the last name Nguyen.
11. Your parents always remind you to greet every older person in Vietnamese if they're Vietnamese.-Semi false, my parents don't remind me because it's pretty much ingrained in me by now. It's a part of Vietnamese culture to address older people with different titles and it's considered extremely rude if you don't do so.
12. Your parents hate pets except for harmless, CHEAP goldfishes.-False, We have two adorable dogs and we used to have two parakeets.
13. Your parents know how to make Pho.-True, it's a Vietnamese staple that almost every household has their own slightly different version of.
14. You put Soy Sauce or nuoc mam on every food.-True, nuoc mam is used on many Vietnamese dishes and gives them their distinctive flavor.
15. You know where all of the Vietnamese restaurants in town are.-True, it's really not that hard for my town though since there's only one here.
16. Your family own a copy of "Paris By Night".-True, I grew up on this show. I think every Vietnamese kid remembers growing up with these too.

I would like.....-7 Different Vietnamese Meals besides Pho to try

When people think of Vietnamese cuisine, they usually think of pho. While this soup is delicious, it's always good to broaden your horizans and try out these other yummy Vietnamese dishes that don't get mentioned quite as often. Unfortunately, ordering at a Vietnamese restaurant can sometimes be difficult with menus offering a bewildering array of choices with scanty descriptions of the food. Here's a short list of some Vietnamese foods that I hope will offer you some aid the next time you find yourself having to order a Vietnamese meal.

1.Banh Xeo (Vietnamese pancake)

This dish contains shrimp, pork, beansprouts, and sometimes other types of vegetables. It is eaten with a sauce that is made from fish sauce, water, and sugar.

2.Bun rieu

This dish which contains tomatoes, tofu, and a special broth made with crabs is very flavorful and may taste a little strange when you first try it but it very quickly grows on you and is delicious.

3.Gỏi Cuốn (Summer rolls)

This dish contains shrimp, Vietnamese sausage, chives, white noodles, and lettuce. It is very refreshing, healthy, and is eaten with a peanut based dipping sauce.


4.Bun bo Hue (Beef Noodle Soup)

This noodle dish is very flavorful and made by simmering beef, bay leaves, and a whole bunch of other aromatic spices for a long time.

5.Bánh bột lọc 

This dish consists of a chewy clear dumpling filled with shrimp. It is eaten with fish sauce.

6.Bánh cuốn 

This dish contains shrimp, pork, and sometimes mushrooms that are rolled into a long white flour packet. They are eaten with Vietnamese sausage and fish sauce.

7.Bánh chưng 

This dish is usually made for Vietnamese special occasions since it is a very time consuming process to prepare and cook them. They contain fatty pork so are a little bit of an indulgent treat.

 *All pictures except for 5 are from Wikipedia.

 

Some Ao Dai of mine

This is just mostly an images post of some of the ao dai I have. I haven't worn any of these except for the blue one. As you can tell even from this limited number of pictures, ao dai truly come in many different styles. Note that I have not photographed the pants that go along with the ao dai since they are usually a solid color and not highly patterned.

I want candy!-4 Vietnamese sweet treats

1.Chè (Hot and Cold Dessert Soup)

There are many varieties of chè and you can often find them sold in plastic cups at Vietnamese stores and restaurants. While there are many different types of chè, they all have a liquid base and are sweet. Some popular ingredients that are used to make chè include beans, jellies, and tropical fruits. Coconut milk is used to give chè added richness and makes the dessert extra creamy and delicious. 


List of popular chè
-chè đậu trắng
-chè xôi nước (I highly recommend this one)
-chè bắp
-chè bánh xếp
-chè thưng
-chè Thái

2.Sương Sa (Seaweed Gelatin)

Sương Sa is a popular dessert that is made from agar or seaweed. Food coloring is used to give it many vibrant hues and then it can be set in molds to create many lovely patterns and shapes. Fruit is also sometimes added to give more color and to add in more flavor. It is a good summertime treat since it is very refreshing and cooling. Compared to jello, it is firmer and usually less sweet.

3. Banh Da Lon (Sticky Chewy Cake)

Banh Da Lon is another dessert that can be easily found in many Vietnamese shops and restaurants. It is very easy to spot because of its distinctive green and yellow patterning. It is slightly sweet and very chewy.

4. Trái Cây (Fruit)

Fruit is always a popular after dinner item. Instead of the usual apples, oranges, and bananas, Vietnamese people consume a variety of tropical fruits. Some popular choices include mango, jack-fruit, dragon-fruit, papaya, and starfruit. You will probably be able to easily find mangoes in any supermarket and if you haven't tried them you should pick one up today. The others will be slightly harder to find although many Asian supermarkets stock canned jack-fruit.

*Pictures in 1. and 4. are from Wikipedia
** Info from Wikipedia used to write 1.

You eat what?!-3 Weird Vietnamese Foods

1. Hot Vit Lon (young fertilized duck egg)

This is also referred to as Balut in some countries. It's basically a fertilized duck egg which you crack open and eat ofter you cook it for a while. I remember seeing trays stacked full of these eggs the last time I went to a major Asian supermarket. Do these taste good? Well, if you can get past what is basically a fully formed baby duck (minus feathers) staring up at you then it tastes surprisingly decent. The egg contains alot of water which many people sip because it's supposed to be highly flavored. Just remember to throw away the waxy white eraser like lump you find at the bottom since it's pretty inedible.

2. sầu riêng (Durian)

Durian is a polarizing fruit; some people love it and can't get enough of it and some people can't stomach the stuff. Durian are notoriously difficult to grow and take alot of time to mature which contributes to the hefty price of the fruit. Another aspect that contributes to people's wariness of durian is the difficulty in opening it. Durian are covered with tough prickly spines which protect soft pale yellowish fruit. The fruit is extremely pungent and some have compared its smell to farts. For this reason, many Asian hotels ban durian on their premises. If you would like to try durian but do not want to deal with the complicated task of opening it, then you can probably find tubes of frozen durian at an Asian supermarket. The taste doesn't quite compare to fresh durian but it's an easier and less messy alternative.

3.Kho Qua (Bitter melo)

Meat stuffed bitter melon is a comfort food for many Vietnamese people but it's definitely an acquired taste. Even young Vietnamese people have trouble eating this dish but alot of elderly Vietnamese people enjoy this dish immensely. Bitter melon is as its name suggest incredibly bitter. It's bitterness is so overpowering that it manages to surround  your whole mouth. Reportedly, bitter melon has cooling properties which makes it very healthy for you.

*I have eaten everything on this list numerous times except number 3.

** All pictures are from Wikipedia except the bitter melon picture.