Friday, July 31, 2009

Midnight Madness Eats

**
The art of the late night snack.

Dinner taken between 6-8PM. A full belly.

Midnight rolls around and I get the hankerin' for a bit more food before beddy-bye. To ignore the notion of a snack would mean going to bed a tad hungry. It would mean visualizing food whilst lying in bed awake. Only to get hungrier.

I crave a small hot meal. A wee dish of something savory would be best.
I decide to head for the kitchen. Something warm and savory across the palate and into the tummy would be nice. However, due to the late hour, a cold offering from the larder would be quicker and easier. Cold cereal or a some fruit will have to suffice.

Late night snacks were the norm when I was growing up. My family-of-origin made no bones about partaking in the 4th meal of the day: 'siu yé'. And yes, the food would always be warm and savory...

Great memory of late-night eating:
The family would eat an early dinner. After post meal dishes were taken care of - Mom, Dad and one or more of us kids would head out for a movie. We'd walk a few blocks down to Chinatown to one of the Cantonese movie theaters. Sometimes there was a recent film release that Mom or Dad had in mind to see. Other nights, we'd take in a double feature of whatever happened to be playing. It was after sitting through two movies that we'd reward ourselves with some Midnight Madness Eats.

When the show let out around 11PM, it was an unspoken rule that siu yé was next on the evening's agenda. Even if it happened that I'd nod off by the end of the second feature, San Francisco's cold night air, plus the promise of a hot tasty midnight snack would jostle me awake good and proper.

Siu yé? I am sooooo there.

The Chinese restaurants we frequented were all within walking distance - another block or two, maybe three if we wanted to go 'out of our way' for a particular dish. Upon arrival at the chosen eatery, we'd usually find the joint fairly jumpin' with other late night diners. A waiter would motion us to a table or booth, we'd peel off our coats and pass the menus around.

Typically, our late night food choices would be simple ones: a bowl of jook (congee), won ton (soup) or noodles (fried or in broth). The food - tasty. The company - convivial.
I always felt happy and secure taking these midnight sups with family.

For me, Midnight Madness Eats translates to yummy food, laughter and going to bed very much satisfied with life.

That was then and this is now.
These late nights I settle for a bowl of cold cereal with a splash of milk.
Perhaps a sliced banana over top for some real excitement.
Then I sit and eat alone.
Satisfaction of life rating: all things considered and sans jook = still A-OK.

)) sigh ((


** Photo of 'jook' aka 'congee' from this yummy website.**

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

ROAR!!!!

Today I am (once again) obsessed with Eric Burdon!
Gonna haul out my Animals LPs and 45's circa 1960's!!!



Here is the 'See See' variation favoured by my Mom, who adored singing and dancing:


Dad could also carry a tune and loved to sing. My brothers and I do our best to carry on in the family tradition by following suit - singin' n' dancin' whenever the spirit moves us.

See 'Ruminations' sidebar for another early Burdon video.

Monday, July 20, 2009

the neverending story


On B's blog, I post with increased frequency bemoaning my accumulation of stuff.

The truth is that at times, my stuff fairly overwhelms. When one has spent a lifetime in the hunting/gathering of cute things, fun things, sentimental things, both necessary and extraneous non-essential but delightful things - it adds up. Big time.

When one is short of storage space, those items that once served to please, accessorize and embellish a humdrum existence quickly morph into excess baggage that can bog down one's lifestyle.

Too much stuff! is the bane of my existence. It is also my mantra. My rallying cry.

The urge to purge is constant, a chronic condition. Though fond memories can be readily recalled of how good it buoyed the senses to acquire this or that, it feels equally, if not better, to let go of what has amounted to a ridiculous number of belongings**.

Fact: the powers that be in the advertising world are largely to blame for convincing us to get more stuff. Advertising drives and defines our consumer existence. Every ad that convinces us to consume MORE MORE MORE is a well-thought out bit of propaganda. Each is a brilliant example of brainwashing: you want it. Need it. Gotta to have it. Show it off. Validation of self through the acquisition of stuff appeals to a basic human need: to feel significant. It isn't wrong - some of us just take it too darn far.

Therein lies the irony: To have, to hold, to feel good for a moment, to become overwhelmed with, to fret over, to get rid of. To replace. The cycle really is endless - that is, until the end of funds or life..

Day by day, as I am faced with caring for my stuff, I pause to take stock. I have every intention of cutting back and simplifying. But how? Perhaps it is more important to ponder the question of 'why'.

Understanding WHY I/we (note: this is where I involve you, dear reader) need more stuff is a big step towards achieving, if not the ideal of Simper Living, at least a reasonable goal of Less Stuff is More. Such a learning process, this.

Taking baby steps, we move slowly. Distractions, numerous falls and even going backwards is part and parcel of the process. Yet one step at a time, we edge towards our purpose.

WHY requires taking pause each time before considering something else to add to our stuff. It behooves us to ask ourselves whether this or that new thing fills some void, improves our lot in life or makes us more at one with the universe. Will our friends enjoy us even more because we've got more stuff? (Some will, but those are friends we might also consider purging.)

WHY is a valid question. We should ask it now and again.

I am proud to make the statement that I am not the shopper I once was.
Hallelujah for that.

Purchases and acquisitions of late tend to be only what is needed to extend and enrich my current hobbies/interests (I must confess to having far too many hobbies) or to replace something in the house that is oft-used and now worn out. Case in point: my vacuum cleaner. The one I have is a cheapo which now sports a duct-taped electrical cord. The vacuum spits out more dirt than it sucks in. Moreover and much more alarmingly, there is a distinct smell of burning rubber that emanates from the machine when it's been on for more than 5 minutes.
I asked WHY and the answer is 'The damn thing is broken. Get rid of it and buy a new one.' Not the most philosophical of WHY questions, but practical is applicable as well.

It's recently occurred to me that I possess an organizational skill that has proved somewhat counterproductive to effective purging. It is the ability to tidy, stash and stack to the point that a lot of stuff looks like not-as-much-as-all-that. This has to be kept in check in order to achieve the state of simplicity which still eludes me.

Accumulation of stuff: links like this and this are terrific reality-checks.

** Collections of pretty dishes, yarn stash, paper-crating supplies and a plethora of cooking utensils are not to be considered excessive. Ahem.

Wednesday, July 08, 2009

go dhani go



the latest from Dhani Harrison.

Tuesday, July 07, 2009

Monday, July 06, 2009

Still Life



the 2006 film by Jia Zhang-ke.
Life and times during the creation of the Three Gorges Dam.

Things hoped for in viewing the film: a statement on the rapid industrialization of China, great visuals of the Yangtze River landscape and transformation of what once-was to what-will-now-be and insight into the lives of displaced locals.

Subject matter very solid and the film delivers visually.

Acting and direction, however, left me looking around my living room for
something more interesting to do....like dust the furniture...
or stare at a cobweb on the ceiling.
(If one of the main characters ceremoniously filled her water bottle again after the first 4 times, I was gonna run
screaming... then again, it could be that I totally missed the metaphor.)


One word movie review: BORING