Really great day!

Yesterday was a really great day!

First, I got some really great news. Unfortunately, I can't write about it on here....yet.

Then, something that I was really worried about at work went really well. Talking about work is boring though, so I'll leave that at that.

And finally, Hung made it through to the second part of the finale on Top Chef!

I seriously am on a TV high this week - all the new episodes of Heroes, SVU, Top Chef, Private Practice, Grey's Anatomy, the Office, Desperate Housewives, Brothers and Sisters... It's all just too much for me! I'm on new TV overload!

Moon Cake Madness

Apparently in China, there is a famous festival at this time of year about the moon (today actually). And during this time, everyone eats these special cakes called moon cakes.

During a program that I facilitated at work last Friday, a bunch of my students from China told me about this festival, and since they know that I can cook pretty well, challenged me to make the cakes for next Friday's session.

It seemed easy enough, so I said "sure!"

Well, it turns out that these cakes are incredibly complicated to make, and most people just buy them from the store because they are so complicated! Regardless, I never back down from a challenge! So, I went online and found some recipes, and headed down to the Asian grocery store to buy some special ingredients.

The things I do for my students! Not only did I brave the dangerous streets of Worcester, but I also actually walked into a store and uttered the words: "Excuse me ma'am. Could you please tell me where the sweet red bean paste and salty duck eggs preserved in mud are?" (FYI, the woman's words told me where they were, but her eyes said "silly white boy...the Gap is over there!) haha

Anyway, I tried a test batch tonight to see how they come out before I serve them to people on Friday.

Preserved duck egg (for the center of the moon cake)

Preserved duck egg yolk - looks kind of like an eye ball

Actual moon cake I bought from the store.

And this is the moon cake that I cooked. As you can see, mine came out looking more like a muffin than a cake. But the taste is pretty much the same.

Anyway, I'm going to refine my techniques and try again later in the week. Either way, both versions taste really good!

test results

Well, the lab results from the 11 blood tests I took a few weeks ago for my black eye problem came in the mail today.

Everything is normal, except the doctor thinks that I "may have an allergy to milk." He suggested the I avoid milk and see if it goes away.

Well, I know that I'm allergic to milk. I've been allergic since I was a baby, and I haven't had a glass of milk since I was a child. I'm careful about avoiding dairy products, and I only have a little when I do eat them. And most importantly, I told my doctor all this when I went to see him!

Thus, clearly, my allergy to milk is not the problem!!

Oh well...I guess I may never know what caused it. At least it hasn't happened since.

Good week

Last week was pretty terrible.

I just really hope that this week will be better.

P-Town

Yesterday, I co-chaperoned a student trip to Provincetown. For those of you that may not know, Provincetown is a resort town on the far tip of Cape Cod, and is home primarily to rich people, gay and lesbian couples, and their dogs.

I’d never been to P-town before, and based on stories I’ve heard and pictures I’ve seen, I was totally expecting to open the van door and be surrounded by thousands of tanned and toned shirtless hedonistic gay men frolicking on the beach. Not so much the case though. Actually, P-town was just this cute little town by the beach with lots of shops, restaurants, bed and breakfast type inns, tons of older gay and lesbian couples, and a handful of foreign tourists that appeared confused and probably got on the wrong tour bus by accident.

I had a really nice time and ate at some really great restaurants (I LOVE lobster!!), went shopping, relaxed on the beach, and even got winked at a few times. But for some reason, as I walked around there, I felt strangely out of place. There are so many stereotypes of gay men, both good and bad: neat, organized, fashionable, etc… And as I spent the day in P-town, I saw all of them. The thing is though, that as a gay or bi or whatever-my-sexual-orientation-du-jour-is man, I don’t really fit into any of them. I’m just this messy, laid back, lazy guy that can barely dress himself and couldn’t dance to save his life. Of course, stereotypes are just stereotypes, and everyone is different. But it was interesting that I felt like such an outsider in a community that I theoretically should have felt right at home in.

Yay! It's fall!

This week really has been filled with some pretty drastic ups and downs. One of the “ups” is super top secret for now, but some definite downs include black eyes and blood tests! One other “up” for the week is definately the beautiful fall weather!

Autumn is by far my favorite season: temperatures in the 70s, the return of sweaters, beautifully colored leaves, Stove Top Stuffing, pumpkin pie, apple pie, sweet potato pie, pie in general… What’s not to love!

But, this newfound fall weather is making me really miss living in Japan. It’s hard to explain why exactly, but there is something really special to me about this time of year, and I remember autumn in Japan most fondly of all:

Riding the train and looking at all the leaves changing color through the windows;
Relaxing in onsens and watching steam rise off the warm water;
Riding my bicycle through the crisp country air;
Hot drinks and pizza man from the convenience stores;
Sitting under my kotatsu and eating soup to warm up after being outside;
Christmas “illuminations” at Nagoya station;

Thinking about these things makes me happy. Even 9 months later, there’s such a huge part of me that still wants to just pack up, flee my hectic schedule, and live a simple life there teaching English. Sigh… Why do I always realize I’m happy after the fact??

Anyway, I was listening to a mix CD that someone I once dated had made for me and I heard a song that I really liked. It’s strange: listening to this CD, it seems that in the one or two months that we dated, this person somehow got to know the real me better than maybe anyone else I’ve ever met. At any rate, the song is by Natasha Bedingfield and is called “Wild Horses.” It's as if the song is written about me: the metaphor she uses describes me so perfectly! Listen:

Top Chef Scandal!!

So at the end of Top Chef, it says that the judges consult with the Bravo production team when making decisions. But, check out this tidbit from an interview with CJ (who was kicked off on Wednesday for serving some bad brocolini) from the online blog Grub Street:

So what happened with that broccolini? How could you send something like that out to the judges?

Well, I didn’t blanch it very much. I knew it had to go in those weird ovens and I didn’t want it to get overcooked. But they did, and looked bad, so I didn’t want to send them out. I said, “I’m not sending these out.” But they said, "You have to send them out."

Who did?

I can’t tell you specifically. But it was production. I said, “I lose if I send these out,” and I did. In retrospect I should have said, "Screw you," but I did send it out so it is my fault.

HMMMM....That's dissapointing to hear. I guess it makes for better TV, but it makes my favorite show a lot less credible.