coriander in pho

not a food blog

  • “If Anything Happens I Love You” — Will McCormack, Michael Govier, and Youngran Nho

    There are good books, and there are books that made you react like this.

    From what I can remember, there were two books that I have read in my life which make me react exactly like how I illustrated above.

    “Maus” (Art Spiegelman) and “The Handmaid’s Tales” (Margaret Atwood).

    And now, it comes down to three books: “If Anything Happens I Love You” (Will McCormack, Michael Govier, Youngran Nho)

    And no, the books are not not good. The books are fantastic, emotional, and they exude such strength which pulled you in and you are left with uneasiness on your gut because you know, you know, how the stories are not that far from our reality. You are faced with letters and pictures in front of you telling the truth and the horror, and you feel nothing but the immense urge to throw and slam the book down because you know the words inside it stepped a little bit too close for comfort.

    I was in Kinokuniya Suria KLCC when I saw the book “If Anything Happens I Love You” at the lower shelf in Young Adult section. Children’s and Young Adult’s book section are my favorite area. “When the story is too difficult and too much for adults, make it for children,” some said that. Well, actually Guillermo del Toro said that in an interview with a Tiktok user. I forgot the link, and Tiktok UI/UX is a nightmare.

    The book started with death.

    Everyone talks about the day I died, which is a shame.

    I love how the book does not glossed over life and death, and it just — wham — straight to the point. The book, however, celebrates life in all its glory through the eyes of death and talks about grief. At least that’s what I can take as a summary between me trying not to do ugly crying at the bookstore and having my eyes blurred from the tears.

    It’s a story about a little girl named Rose. Rose had a wonderful family — her mother, her father, and her cat named Arnold. Math was her least favorite subject but her Math teacher, Ms. Rivera, was her favorite teacher.

    Then one day, Rose died.

    I was hoping they were fireworks, and then we realized what they were.

    That’s when… … All the curses popped out inside my mind, you know. All the expletives went like a flood. Something bubbled, and I almost threw up.

    I want to throw this book because it’s that good. 10000000/10. Must read.

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  • “You be good to you, maaan.”

    I’ve been forgetting to update the blog.

    So, what’s new? I had my birthday, that’s a start. Nothing super fancy, though. The four of us — my husband, me, and our kids — rarely celebrate our birthdays with parties. It’s always a 6 AM birthday song with a cake and our sleepy faces and bedheads. Sometimes, we had a day trip to amusement parks or a nice lunch or dinner at an upscale restaurant, but most of the times, it’s always us looking for noodles because noodles represent longevity.

    We also have another Animal Crossing player in the house. It used to be me and my son, then my son decided to delete the game because “it’s too boring.” My daughter got her brother’s Nintendo Switch Lite, while my son got my Nintendo Switch — a pretext and an excuse for me to buy a new Nintendo Switch. And no, not the OLED version. I am still preferring Nintendo Switch Animal Crossing design.

    My daughter got hooked up on Animal Crossing in no time. She always watching me play, and she’s really happy she can finally play the same game like I do. My son, looking at his sister and his mom playing Animal Crossing, decided that “it’s high time for me to return to Animal Crossing” ?

    The kids visited my island, and we had a blast. We took a visit to Brewster cafe to chill and drink coffee.

    The year 2022 is coming to an end, and 2023 seems like another episode of uncertainty. I’m leaving you with some digital wisdom from Kapp’n and Pascal.

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  • Some sort of self-reflection

    I just remembered, and realized, I went radio silence after my last post about Covid where I literally grilled myself on my apartment’s rooftop in the noon-time.

    As you might all know, I am now Covid-negative. So, yay. The test kit shown that wonderful one stripe on Sunday, and I had to attend a workshop on the following week, so another yay recovery.

    Our workshop happened in Kuala Lumpur, so that was a huge plus for me. No timezone weirdness and no long-haul flight. With the Division Meetup and Covid, I don’t think I would be able to face through another long trip.

    During the workshop, we talked a lot about leadership and team dynamics. Interestingly, all those chats about leadership and management made me think on how I would like to close this year and open the next year.

    I really don’t want to “close this year strongly”, or as kids used to say: “With a bang.”

    I’m too tired for that. I don’t want to close the year of 2022 with a bang, pow, or anything like that. It has enough surprises already, so I don’t think I want to add more noise on it.

    I’m aiming to close the year gently and feeling content. I also want to open the next year feeling mindful and calm.

    I actually have this thing in mind: I want to eat less and more.

    Why “eating”? It’s one of our basic needs, and I love food.

    I want to be more mindful with my eating pattern, hence “eating less”. As in, understanding the food I consume and actually enjoying it instead of being a glutton (something I’m really good at, other than being a sloth.)

    At the same time, I want to eat more. With more gusto, more understanding of the food and the food’s history and story, more mindfulness, and more quality of life. This does not mean I will only look for expensive (in monetary sense) food, no. I’m looking for appreciating food more, and enjoying the process itself: Cooking and eating.

    Here’s for a more delicious 2023.

    Pavlova from Kenny Hills Bakery, Ampang

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  • Sunbathing

    Nope. Still no negative news. I also found my anosmia comes and goes — most of the times, in-between. Like, I can smell Vicks VapoRub, but I can’t smell anything from my shampoo (and it’s obnoxiously fragranced.) I can smell curry, but I can’t smell teriyaki sauce. It feels like my nose is a factory complex, and they shut down some of the areas and keep some stay on.

    Anyway! We have sunny day here in this wonderful Saturday, and since we FINALLY have a newly appointed Prime Minister after 5-6 days of no movements, next Monday is declared as a public holiday. KL-ites left the town in throngs last night to enjoy the long weekend, so I guessed the apartment complex will be pretty quiet.

    I decided to go to the rooftop to caught some sun. And yes, I wear mask on my way there — and I only removed it when I’m alone and outdoor.

    This is the outdoor fitness area. I personally like our gym, but this area is perfect if you want to exercise in the morning too.

    And look at the sun!

    I always thought I hated sun — born and raised in the tropics, I have enough of sun. After Denver, though, I appreciate sun — AND HUMIDITY — a whole lot more.

    Too bad I didn’t bring anything to drink. I was in a bad mood since yesterday, what’s with being confined and stuff. Having an alone moment like this outdoor definitely helps.

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  • And onwards to the next day…

    That T line looks really obnoxious, don’t you think?

    Today’s test

    Like, “HEH HEH HEH, YEA, THE VIRUS IS DEFINITELY A LOT MORE THAN THE CONTROL LIQUID.” It pisses me off.

    Anyway! No fever, although if we are looking at my temperature, science books would tell me that rather than fever, I would have hypothermia by now.

    (The normal average temperature of a healthy human being is 36.5°C. Below 36°C, medics usually looking at you with great concerns.)

    My sense of smell and taste came back, and I’m so glad. I never been this happy when sniffing Vicks VapoRub with all my might. Ah, yes, that sharp childhood-pain smell ?

    My appetite… Has been interesting. I know I want to eat food, but I never got actually hungry, you know? Like, you know when you feeling hungry, and you are actively looking for food? In my case, it’s more like a “ooh, chicken katsu curry would be nice. I want warm rice!” but there is no hunger. My friend told me to be aware of this and making sure I keep my appetite so my body will get the nutrients its needed. From my experience, this happens when my gut bacterias are disturbed (well, it’s Covid.) I should add yogurt and Yakult on my diet then.

    The headache has been less than yesterday too. I felt greatly helped by this fella.

    I just found out that in the western countries, this type of drink (we called it “isotonic drink” over here) is considered as sports drink.

    The drink helped me to keep myself properly hydrated. Sometimes, just drinking regular water won’t cut it and it even “flushed” out some stuffs that your body actually needs. This drink helps in replacing the loss. The only downside is, this drink is soda-like, and I… tend to avoid soda. It gives this funny feeling on my nose.

    A bit of TMI, I’ve been having runny nose and coughing more than usual today, especially earlier in the morning. I really hope this is a good sign as my body is actively getting rid of the virus.

    Also, I think my body is less inflamed than yesterday (I really can’t find better expressions on this. So sorry.) Yesterday, I sensed some tiny ulcers on my tongue. Also, when I gargled using mouthwash, yes, RIP tongue and my gums felt like it was on fire. Today, no ulcers (yay!) and no pain on my gums.

    Today’s lunch. Looking so fanceeeh with Japanese meal (chicken katsu curry bento, chuka iidako, and avocado veggie salad.)

    And yes, I know what you are thinking. That what I ordered when I didn’t feel hungry. When they arrived, I just realized I’m hungry. So, yeah.

    I might test myself again either tomorrow or the day after tomorrow (Saturday). Wish me luck!

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