writing a new chapter

The last time I wrote on this blog was two weeks before I gave birth to my daughter. Fast forward to 3 years, a new venture is about to begin. Last June, I decided to take a leave of absence from teaching and open my own salon. 

too much tea

The amount of tea I have is ridiculous especially since I've become a coffee drinker and space in my tiny kitchen is prime. 

Peonies

Absolutely love their sweet scent and the way the petals open.

Egypt

Jon and I left Egypt 10 days after the first protest in Tahrir square happened. Today as I watched the news unfold, the protesters are under attack by pro-Mubarak supporters. The pro-Mubarak supporters are not average people. Cairanese don’t travel around Cairo on camels and horses. Traveling around Cairo, we didn’t see a single camel on the streets. The only people we saw on camels are tourists in Giza and Egyptian police. The people on the streets claim that the pro-Mubarak protesters are organized by the regime. This carries weight as the armed pro-Mubarak protesters throw Molotov cocktail to the crowd to polarize the nation and diffuse the crowd. This is the response of an autocratic regime to the people that are demanding their universal rights to freely choose their leader, to have freedom of speech, and to be able to feed their families.

While we were traveling around, we saw poverty in Egypt. People are on the streets trying to make a living. They do jobs that barely pay enough to buy them their daily bread. I hope genuine change is in the future for Egypt. It is the change that Egyptians deserve. I hope that a military Mubarak like leader does not replace the current Mubarak.

When the protests are over, and the people victorious, I encourage people to visit Egypt. Egypt is a wonderful country. Ancient Egyptians built remarkable monuments that still stand today and modern Egyptians are the warmest people I've ever met.

July 15: Beijing

The buildings here are big, really big. They mirror China’s ambition and rise to power. In all my travels, I’ve never seen roads in the heart of the city so large. Their size tells a tale of newness. The first thing you ask yourself as you drive the first ring road is, “Where is the old part of the city?” This is an ancient city. Yet, a glimpse of its age and history can’t be seen. They’re there, hidden behind sky scrapers, tucked between massive projects, staring up at construction cranes.

In my early 20s I read somewhere that you’re not a serious traveler unless you’ve done China or India. I couldn’t grasp this idea. The only places I’ve been were Manila, Winnipeg, and the surrounding areas around the muddy city. Now, I get it. The crowd here is thick. It takes patient and a lot of assertiveness to get things. I now fully understand the pushiness of the elder Chinese living in Vancouver. You need to be aggressive, otherwise the crowd tramples on you.

Yesterday we saw The Forbidden City. It’s massive. The scale fits that it was the home of Emperors. The big buildings have been restored. They have been given fresh lick of paint, but the charm of the Forbidden Palace lies in the small buildings that housed the concubines and empresses

July 13: Beijing

I’m in Beijing. I arrived last night right in the middle of rush hour. I was picked up by Jack and Nancy. Nancy has been employed by Sino for one month. She’s a recent university graduate of some technology school. I couldn’t catch 20% of what she said. Phonetically, Chinese is one of the hardest language I've encountered. Usually when people speak in another language, the letters appear in front of me and this time it didn’t.

Jack is a young man from Inner Mongolia. I don’t think he has hit his 20s. He’s thin. He maneuvered in traffic with precision and confidence. There was only one time that he slammed on the break so that we wouldn’t hit the car in front of us. I was impressed because driving in the second ring road required nerve of steel. Cars and pedestrian competed for space on the road. I tried tipping Jack when we arrived at the gated compound. He brushed away my wrist. I was impressed by the strength of this skinny young man. As he pushed my hand away he said, “No, no, no.” He continued to say this and Nancy joined him in saying, “It’s our pleasure.”
We were greeted by Ms Wu at the apartment. She showed me the place. It’s nice. Fully furnished and clean. The apartment is western style.

Work and Apples are Good Things

Yay! I got called twice this week. Double yay, as both times the calls were requests from teachers I worked with previously. I returned to one of my fav schools. The students were happy to see me. Four of them said I was their fav substitute. Now, I don’t know how much of a compliment it was coming from 12 years old, but I’ll take it. The rest of the week, I found a language exchange partner, worked at my other job, sorted out my courses for the winter, and baked.

These were the best tarts I’ve ever made. Honestly, they were the only tarts I had ever made. The crust melted in your mouth and the apples were perfect balance of tart and sweetness. Absolutely deeelish!

Great Produce

Van has great produce. There are many family run grocery stores that sell the freshest fruits and vegetables. And the prices are superb. One of my favorite places is Kin’s Market. It isn't the cheapest in comparison to stores on Commercial and Broadway, but it's organized and clean. Another thing I like about it is that they have one dollar bags of bruised items. Usually by the time I get to Kin’s all the one dollar bags have been picked over. This afternoon I came out with 2 kilos of organic bananas and a kilo and half of tomatoes. Today’s dinner is inspired by a bag of ripe tomatoes.



Stewed Tomatoes and Pork

Tomatoes
Pork
Onions
Garlic
Fresh herbs from my garden
1 cup of red wine
water

I travel alone no more

Fifth day and still no phone call. The disadvantage of not working other than not having a paycheck is that you get to do things you don’t really want to do such as learn about teacher’s pension plans, ironing, and washing the cupboards. But on the bright side, you have time to go to book stores, read and sip tea all day, have extra long lunches with friends, and plan for future trips. A week ago I wrote about Egypt. Well, Egypt isn’t going to happen. The same night I booked a flight to Cairo, my partner told me that he put a deposit down for our ski trip in January. Since we couldn’t be at two places at the same time and no deposit was made for Egypt, it whimpered sayonara.

Today I’m back on the planning mode. I started thinking of uncomplicated travel. I used to browse for seat sales, look up the country and decide within a day or two my destination. Determining where, when, and what I did on my vacation was liberating. Even though I remember my lone travel fondly, I wouldn’t want to go back. Along with good times partying, and exploring, there were days of loneliness. I remember spending New Year's Eve in Chiang Mai sitting by myself in central market; in Malaysia I passed 3 nights watching waves break with no one to share the most beautiful sunsets. Perhaps, the emptiness I felt then is a rite of passage. For the most part I think, you can’t feel love unless loneliness has been your companion.

Domesticity

Third day and no phone call. All I have to show for three non working days are 2 clean bathrooms, a closet full of clean clothes, washed floors, and an inventory of dry and can goods in our cupboards. My partner came home last night, saw our clean dwelling and said, “Staying at home isn’t that bad.” I can analyze his comment and break it apart. Impose meanings on his words and attack him for mildly suggesting that women’s place is at home, or, I can listen to his words and hear that his language is neutral. I decided to push politics away. So on this rainy Wednesday afternoon, I chose to be creative. Since Jon and I moved together our pantry is cluttered. We have too much food and too little space.

While I was growing up, my foster Mom had a cooking routine. Every two weeks she used to clean all the content of our fridge to make mystery casserole. I was fond of her cooking, but not her casserole. Come to think of it, neither were my siblings. But we showed respect by keeping our mouth full and shut. My bf had a similar tradition. During his bachelor years, he and his friend Andrew used to have Frankenstein dinners. They would pick any can goods in their pantry that is about to expire, wilted vegetables in the crisper, and frost bitten meat. Throw them all together and eat. After all, they're engineers. Food is low on their priority list.

So last night as I sit waiting for the phone that didn’t ring, I told him about Frankensserole meals. I told him that I’m not going to buy groceries till our pantry is clean. He shivered and said, “Well, if it’s bad, we can always go out.”

Red bean and lentil soup.

Bag of lentil
Bag of left over red beans (circa Sharad bought them 4 years ago)
3 fresh tomatoes
3 celery stalks
3 cloves garlic
1 Spanish onion
½ cup red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper
Oregano
Bay leaves
olive oil
8 cups of water

September

Second week back to school and I haven’t received my first call. I expected this and was looking forward to relaxation. During the summer I worked at another restaurant. Like all my previous restaurant jobs, it was okay. It paid the bills and kept me sane. It also made me thankful that I don’t have to serve full time for the rest of my life. Honestly, I think I would slit my wrist. The restaurant industry is a difficult business. For the most part it attracts transient demographic shifting between careers, unstable self destructive people, and unskilled laborers. For small business owners, they work long hours in stressful conditions. It really makes me question why people get involved in the business. I now have worked for three family-run restaurants. I would say that each one is dysfunctional and unorganized. They seem to not understand the value of hiring a manager to make the operation smoother and to increase revenues.

Ah well….fall is here and I’m lucky to be able to leave the serving business.

oh traveling, yeah traveling

It’s Saturday afternoon. I have the whole house to myself. Rain falls softly. I watch black dots enter and exit the train station from my office. The sound of our main computer hard at work blends with swooshing wet tires on pavement. I’m hunting down cheap flights to Cairo for Christmas break. Not having much luck. I don’t know much about Egypt except for things I learned in grade 8 social studies. The next month or two maps of the region will start to form in my head. I’m excited with the thought of exploring new places. It has been way too long.

Gardening

The last time I had a garden was in Chino, so I decided to start again. I love growing my own herbs. I found that it was such a waste buying them at the store as I could never use them all up and they just end up rotting in the fridge. This way I have fresh herbs anytime I want them.




Tomatoes are loving the heat in the solarium.






Strawberry plants brought fruit flies in and refuse to flower.



Basil, the only one I started from seed... Can you believe that this is 2 months old?

mint and oregano

I killed my rosemary plant last year by over harvesting, which I didn't think was possible. I'm being more careful about this one.

Cilantro and Dill chillin' in the patio.

Summer Time and living ain't easy

Weather is gorgeous! Vancouver trees are in bloom. Pink cherry blossom petals hit your face as you cycle down the streets. Aaahhh….life would be much grander if I have a steady job. Every spring brings uncertainty. Currently, my teaching job is slow. I’m frustrated and annoyed. I need to hit the pavement and look for a summer job. I’m too old to waitress and too poor not to.