Talking to Myself

Last week in the middle of a work day, my co-worker turned to me and said, "I'm glad I'm not the only one who talks to myself." 

I have been talking to myself ever since I can remember, and it comes so naturally that I thought everybody talks to themselves too. Obviously, they don't. And I do felt slightly defensive when someone comments, "Wow, you talk to yourself a lot." Yes, because that's usually how I think: sometimes my voice and my brain would have a healthy debate, sometimes they have a calm discussion, sometimes my voice tell my barin what to do, and my brain would follow word for word.

So as you imagine, when my co-worker and I are in the office, we would seem to be having a conversation with each other. But once you listen closely, we are actually both talking to ourselves, figuring out work.

I'm glad I found someone with the same quirky habits :)

On a side note, Ming and I ate Indian food for dinner tonight, we haven't had Indian food for a while so I was really excited! Long story short, BEST Saag Gosht I ever had! I like saag gosht but I never order it because there' ten thousand delicious things to order. This time it was love at first bite, all the spices and flavors exploded in my mouth, turned into fairy angels and danced around me throughout my meal. And if you guys want to try it, you should visit me :) 

Jiro Dreams of Sushi

I took this Monday off so we can have a three-day snowboarding vacation :) And last night we casually flipped through Netflix and watched a great movie: Jiro Dreams of Sushi
This is a documentary about Jiro Ono, a master sushi chef who dedicated his whole life to make perfect sushi. When the documentary was filmed in 2011, he owned a michelin three-star restaurant, he was 85 and still oversaw every single detail of the restaurant everyday. From the quality of ingredients, customer seating, atmosphere etc, he loved his work so much he detested holidays. For someone who just ran away from work, the movie gave me the right dose of motivation I needed.

To Master Jiro, he doesn't work for money, nor fame, but to strive for improvement, and perfection. He started as a sushi apprentice when he was 9, and at 85, he still does not think his sushi making has reached perfection yet... and he is thrilled to challenge that goal everyday.
Apart from having a motivating message, the movie also have enticing food scenes, featuring his works of art. Many friends or classmates from my old marine biology class know I have a connection with the tuna, I am passionately in love with the animal, for its speed, size, robust structure etc. Because of my love and respect for them, and also knowing it has been severely overfished in the past 3 decades, I refuse to eat it, even though I know it's delicious. Watching that movie torn me apart, the lean tuna sushi, aka akami nigiri, glistering soy sauce, looked like a shining red ruby. I have never seen anything like that before, and I can't get that image out of my head. Oh! The temptation...
So after watching that movie, I'm inspired to give my all in everything I do, one of them is becoming a chocolate connoisseur. I know it sounds like a joke, but in my case I think it would take some work. I wasn't born with a sensitive palette, there are people who gravitate towards good food since birth, I eat everything. I remember when I was an adolescent we went to army camp, and during mealtime one fellow commented that the food sucks. I don't remember how I responded but I'm pretty sure I just shrugged my shoulders and kept eating. I wasn't aware of taste until I started eating out with my friends. Then when I started cooking, I started being more sensitive to flavors, smell, and texture. Obviously, my sense of taste is a result of learning and training rather than a natural talent. And so I think it's time to eat more chocolates!

Chinese New Year, Yay!

Roughly two weeks ago, I started a new role at work. It is a very exciting time, things to learn, people to meet, projects to design... Unfortunately that also means, I gave up a lot of my free time in order to settle into my new job. Time that I used to make dinner, lunch, clean, fold clothes (at least I still do laundry :P)...

So when my mother asked me, what was I going to do for Chinese New Year, I thought, let's have minimal expectations.

I mean, it is our first year Ming and I are going to spend Chinese New Year as a couple and of course I want to do everything right: have a spotless house, new clothes, decorations, and THE FEAST...

But face it, Chinese New Year is this Sunday, and Valentine's Day the week after! What does Valentine's Day have to do with me? Hello! I work for a chocolate shop. 

Thus, I think this week, I will allocate a little time each day to work on tidying the house, maybe get some flowers after work, buy some oranges (symbolizes good health), if we really push it, we can get get some pomelo leaves from Chinatown (bathing in it at New Year's Eve washes bad luck away). It's really late starting preparations now, but better than never :)

Side note: I bruised myself pretty badly snowboarding last weekend, thank god for helmets. But I did get something positive out of it, at least enough to stop people trying to talk me out of playing this sport. If you fell really hard, it meant you were probably up pretty high, or riding really fast. And isn't that great after all? Because most probably you'll be back up there in no time again.