Cooking under the tin roof the humid rains will pitter-patter, the chef remains aloof to the oil’s sizzling splatter;
The house becoming eager; the wind’s historical waft, a heritable recipe keeper; a plate that’s quickly scoffed;
A herb of refined taste, enhancing by its bright flavour; no tall stalks to waste, tightly chopped to savour;
I like it! But what is this? the dish has been disguised, a little ginger, a little citrus, my taste buds smile, surprised.
Written (after the fact) for the GloPoWriMo Day 6 prompt: write a poem describing the taste of the item in Column A, using the words that appear in that row in Column B and C. For bonus points, give your poem the title of the word that appears in Column A for your row, but don’t use that word in the poem itself.
Lemongrass
Pitter-Patter
Eager
Today’s Daily Stoic poem:
The Long Way Around
Some days the long way around rewards But you miss everything close to hand Everything you were working towards Was far simpler than you had planned
Like it’s a happy Friday. I’m pretty tired but knowing I have two reasonably easy classes to finish the week I came to work feeling comfortable. This time last week Amy was still in the air and I was watching the kids enjoy Japan Day. We both agree that it has gone quickly. Last night I blamed Amy for this as she rushed straight into cleaning up the house and running around to get things done. That’s good though. She still has energy!
Today I’m grateful for:
The Spinning Visions blog, which is written by an early twenties American girl. She has a great way with words and I’m finding so much inspiration within them to write poems all the time. She possesses a wisdom, and others who comment on her posts seem to agree, I find myself wishing I had at that age. I guess I also associate her words with what must be going through my student’s heads here in my high school and the reminder of my own memories of those times.
The best thing about today was:
Amy’s seafood dinner of salmon sashimi in green chilli sauce, air-fried battered squid and air-fried fish with garlic and Chinese celery. I sat watching TV for about 30 minutes after getting home and was then surprised by these three dishes appearing. Amazingly, I’m losing weight. I guess my microwave meals followed by junk snacks don’t help when I’m by myself.
What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?
I’m out of energy and not excited about running around here and there tomorrow too. It’s 8.30 pm and I just want to fall asleep listening to jazzcore.
Something I learned today?
I watched highlights of the recent men’s tennis final at Wimbledon and was happy to see a new face on the scene. A handsome youth from I don’t know where called Alcaraz, I think. I saw another video of his top twenty shots and he’s quite a talent. I never enjoyed the last two decades of men’s tennis champions because they were boring to watch. This kid seems to have some magic that I’m quite happy to get behind.
What colour best reflects my personality? Why?
When I was young my favourite colour was blue. I do not know why. I felt like I chose this without even considering why I liked it.
In my teenage years and twenties, I was stereotypically all about black as I reflected my inner feelings.
As I moved to warmer climes, black became a bad choice to stay cool even if it looked cool.
After succeeding in an office job, I rejected regular white shirts and chose to stand out with beautifully ornate flowery shirts.
Over time I felt like red and purple reflected my personality in some ways. Sometimes subdued but also able to stand out in a sea of mediocrity.
I took this picture because this was the amazing dinner my amazing wife served up this afternoon. Did I ever tell of my amazing wife and her amazing food skills?
Similar to yesterday. Heavy eyes but body set to go. Waiting for my brain to catch up. Coffee and kids will do the trick.
The kids will be disappointed this morning as the playground is closed as another one of the sails covering the roof has ripped and fallen down in the storm yesterday afternoon. I wonder when they will decide to give up on this design and put in something more practical instead.
Today I’m grateful for:
Being able to watch Seven Kings Must Die via a dodgy Thai gambling website on our big TV tonight. It took me a while to get back into the story from the TV series (The Last Kingdom) but I enjoyed it a lot.
The best thing about today was:
Getting home, hungry as hell and Amy said ‘ok, I’ll cook now’ and the smells from the kitchen that I haven’t smelled for a long time. It’s the best! My microwave TV dinners are no comparison.
What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?
It took me about half an hour to watch a five-minute video this afternoon because Amy kept talking to me, asking questions that required attention. When I felt confident that she’d finished I jokingly asked her if it was possible that I might be able to finish watching this five-minute video that I started watching thirty minutes ago? Thankfully she was in a good mood!
Something I learned today?
The phrase ‘taking the mick’ came from cockney rhyming slang. Mick is Mickey Bliss hence ‘taking the piss’. But now I’m wondering who was Mickey Bliss and where did ‘taking the piss’ even come from?
I was actually conscious of learning this while reading it hence writing it here. I love language play.
What is a cause or issue that is important to me?
Increasingly it is education as this is my field of employment.
Over the long term, it is animal welfare and food use. Slowly the world is changing and the abuse of animals for food consumption will hopefully keep decreasing and instead of wasting crops to feed animals, we can just remove that part of the chain and use those crops to feed other humans.
Increasing production and consumption will bring down prices of vegetarian products and drive up meat prices so they become less affordable and desirable. There are still lots of things holding back this change but it feels to me to be the most virtuous way.
Whilst this issue is important to me, I’m not evangelical about it. I do what I can by myself. Other people’s choices are out of my control.
I took this picture because this is how I found my students when I came to the classroom. I woke them up with my phone alarm and greeted them good morning. I’m curious what schools are like in other countries now. South America, the Middle East, and other parts of Asia.
This cracked mirror shows The holes in the heart Pieces drop to the floor As the jigsaw falls apart Put back together again It’s never quite the same Like a missing memory It’s difficult to explain Reorder, reimagined Ghosts fill the floors A handful of smoke Rushes through closing doors Voices in the distance Are illusions of the past Clear out all the cobwebs These confusions will not last
Today I’m feeling:
Sad, down, and a little lonely. Our two Aussie cats are lovely but they never come and rub me nose-to-nose or come and settle on my lap. Kim Chi is everywhere in my memory but I want her here in my house. Sigh.
Today I’m grateful for:
Finding olive oil in the kitchen so I could roast potatoes, pumpkin and onion for lunch. My first proper meal since Friday. I didn’t see the bottle where I was expecting but later found it on top of a cabinet. It saved me a trip out. I’m not much in the mood for going out though I know I should . The best thing about today was:
Despite what I said above about having no mood to go out I can’t stop myself from coffee. At Utopia Boss was hungover so Noey made my coffees and though she’s still practising they tasted fine. I chatted with her for a bit, conscious that I was just distracting my thoughts.
When I got home I called Hayden and asked him just to talk to me to distract me too. He is sounding good and seems to have come around to the offer of taking a permanent part-time position with his work. He’s starting to listen more to the advice Bronwyn and I give him though we know it can take a few days for him to run it through his mind. He asked if I wanted to talk about Kim and I said maybe next time and after hanging up I couldn’t hold back the tears.
As I imagine many people reading this, some will think what is the big deal it’s just a cat, and other cat owners will understand. But I ask myself, why am I so upset? I often consider the fact that we are all going to die and have talked with Amy about being prepared for our cat’s passing. So, something was special about the love I have for Kim Chi. I’ve always rooted for the underdog and when she came into our lives she was very lucky. She could’ve ended up at a temple totally defenceless against other cats and dogs. Instead, she got to spend her short life in relative happiness with us. For some reason, she attached herself more to me than Amy and after Amy went to Australia I guess I was pouring all my love into little Kim.
I cried out for her. Where are you, Kim? I pretended she was in her favourite box in the walk-in and was rubbing her head and tickling her tummy. I opened a gap between my hanging shirts hoping to see her little face once more, looking out sleepily before settling back into a new position. Where are you, Kim?
I know your body is in the ground here. But where are you?
What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?
Apart from my grief, there’s nothing in particular out of my control today. I’m also not really doing anything either.
Something I learned today?
Apparently, Zelensky has said that if Bakhmut falls to Russia then Ukraine will have to sue for peace. This whole war was a waste of time and lives and some people have gotten very rich from it. Humans can be shit.
What is something I love about this season?
In north Thailand, there is nothing much to love about this season. The forecast is for a heatwave for the whole month which likely means no rain to clear the poisonous smoke. I guess there are still good strawberries around but it’s little consolation.
I put this picture here because this is the last picture I took when Kim was alive. One of the spots she loved to sit and annoy Cap from, or to launch herself off around the house on a mad chase.
Not understanding consequences The future impossibly vast Fire the only guide With no lesson from the past Naivety is nature For kitten and the pup A world set in wonder To drink from this cup Bitter-tasting tears Wiped from cheeks so red Whispered-coated rumours Of words perhaps not said Blind lead blind in battles Swords laid to the heart Voices deepen in anguish As the youth set to depart Wisdom-thickened skin Hardened by the aches Practised and repeated Then learned from those mistakes Where did they go Those sadder lonely days? Reminders of a time Enjoyed in so many ways.
The truth I believe is that silence – like darkness – is a little unnerving but unlike darkness, the apprehension comes not from the fact that it conceals but in that it reveals.
Thomas J Bevan
Today I’m feeling: Exhausted, a little happy but a little down. Today I’m grateful for: Amy being back in the kitchen and cooking up a storm. Before we got home we went shopping and found some vegan pork belly cubes and Amy cooked them and they were delicious. The best thing about today was: Chilling at House after a reasonable first-thing morning class. The kids were fairly well-behaved and most got their work done. I got a few things done whilst drinking coffee and enjoyed relaxing. What book are you reading right now? Quite a few different ones but the main one is 100 Selected Stories by Anton Chekov. Only just started yesterday but the first two stories were great.
I took this picture because everyone loves a chilled dopey dog. Tokyo can get pretty bitey but I’ve learned to keep her happy and she’s often found like this.
This forbidden love wasn’t designed to last We both realise that now it’s gone The savage betrayals, a reflection As the threads of hope all come undone
It’s a timeless story, always repeated Because passions cannot be denied Dreams of forever just fall apart Ever quicker the more it’s tried
The victims suffer the recognition As their cities of dreams are burned Eyes open to once blinding mistakes A war from which much was learned
Gratitude Journal
I am so happy and grateful to my mother who somehow managed to instil in me an interest in reading, which I fought against for many years – not on purpose but just interested in other things instead.
Starting writing in a fresh new book is a nice feeling. As was finishing up on the last page of the previous book.
Life feels somewhat in a holding pattern at the moment. Maybe time to get myself into doing something different in my spare time, which really just means adding more things to do and having less and less spare time, but that is my privileged status that I need to learn to enjoy.
It was great to see Amy happy, busy and productive yesterday as she has found a quiet niche for baking cinnamon scrolls that look and taste amazing. As soon as pictures went on Facebook, people started asking to order. I think it’s better for her to be concentrating on this whilst it’s fresh for people and can inspire her on to more for future cooking endeavours.
As we both always say, we are lucky to have many different options available to us.
We marched ever onward Til we conquered all around Spilled blood, spread disease Put generations in the ground Now the march is inward To conquer our own mind What then becomes of us After what we find?
Godsnake
Some absurd things make us laugh While others they offend But if you cannot laugh at yourself You’ll be angry until your end You can have your faith and eat it Not everyone feels the same Our beliefs are as absurd as each others Let’s not apportion blame
Legacy of GG
Ugly is art, all the same No judgement on defect It deserves respect Only opinion, it’s in the name It could be a mistake Art for art’s sake Like it or leave it Opinions aren’t facts So just relax If you don’t believe it Existing is real Whatever you feel Fame can be fleeting Soon passing on by Even after you die Those people you’re meeting Will return to the sky Just as you and I
Gratitude Journal
I am so happy and grateful for the delicious smells coming from the kitchen this morning as Amy prepares me my lunch – chilli jam fake duck. The fake meats here are many and varied and I’m grateful for all the choices.
I am so happy and grateful for our air fryer and Amy’s new batch of cinnamon scrolls which she is heating up now. I realise how useless I am at cooking, having not really done any for the last ten years or so. One day I will have to find out how to use the kitchen again.
I am so happy and grateful for this delicious cinnamon scroll that I am about to eat. Amy made them earlier this week and she nailed it. Better than any store-bought scroll I ever tried.
1994ever 