I dislike spring in Baltimore. Here is the reason why:
This tree is outside my porch and emits pollen into any open window in my apartment.
Archive for the ‘Baltimore’ Category
Source of my allergies
Wednesday, April 20th, 2011Goodbye.
Friday, March 4th, 2011My grandfather passed away yesterday at the age of 85. He lived a long and full life and left behind a loving, spirited wife, four healthy, successful sons and daughters-in-law, and 7 grandchildren. I remember my grandpa steaming man tou buns at my house in Richardson, Texas. I know he took care of me when I was a baby and crossed the Pacific Ocean to visit as often as possible during my youth. The last time I was able to see my grandpa was in 2007 when I got to introduce him to my husband, Ben. I feel very blessed that my grandpa lived long enough to see me become a successful young woman, celebrate my graduation from college and know that I had found my life partner. Since he lived in Taiwan, I didn’t spend too much time with him, especially in recent years, but I knew that he loved me, prayed for me and thought of me. Besides happy memories of my visits with him, I will always carry with me his physical presence. My stature (height, size) resembles my dad’s parents more than any other family member. To honor my grandfather’s memory, I plan to eat a tasty Chinese meal the next time I go visit Ben in Salt Lake City. While I cannot celebrate Grandpa’s long life with my family in Taiwan next weekend at the funeral, I will take some time to remember how much my grandpa enjoyed good food and good times with his family and friends. I think I have inherited his whole-hearted enjoyment of God’s bountiful riches.
Reflections on 2010
Friday, December 31st, 2010This year has been difficult for me both personally and professionally. I am looking forward to bigger and better things in 2011. However, I did learn a lot of life lessons in 2010 and want to reflect upon the good things that I experienced this past year.
One major life lessons that I am still learning is how to live in the moment.
A second (related) lesson is not to base my self-worth on other people’s praise of my performance. I am learning to be content when people aren’t pleased with me. I find that in my job sometimes, no matter how hard I try to make people happy, my boss may not be content with my performance. It’s a frustrating experience, but I am trying not to base my self-worth on other peoples’ judgments of my accomplishments and intelligence.
Happy memories of 2010:
Last January, Ben and I enjoyed our first trip to New York City together (Ben’s first visit to NYC ever). We had a great time and ate some amazing food. Our shared experience in a NYC made me realize how we have similar taste in travel and culture.
In February, I visited my brother in Los Angeles. I was very happy to see his apartment, eat some delicious Asian food and attend a biochemistry conference in Ventura.
In April, Ben and I attended Joyce and Timmy Wu’s wedding in Dallas, TX. It was a very busy weekend, but very nice to return to the city where I grew up.
In July, I turned 30 and Ben and I attended a second wedding. Ben’s cousin Elliott married Kayla in Madison, WI.
In August, we spent a week relaxing at Lake Kusel in Wild Rose, Wisconsin. We celebrated Ben’s getting a job at the University of Utah after a very intense interview and visit. The rest of the year was spent preparing for his completion of his Ph.D (completing the experiments necessary to submit a final (Ben’s fifth 1st author) manuscript and writing an NIH-NRSA proposal with his new postdoc advisor).
The last two months of the year were spent moving Ben out of his apartment in Chicago (so we don’t have to pay 2 rents anymore). Now our cat Waverly lives in La Crosse, WI and after Christmas, Ben came to Baltimore to live with me until he moves to Salt Lake City in mid-February.
I took 8 round trip flights to/from Chicago in 2010 (not including my trips to LA, Boston, Dallas and Minneapolis). How much money did I spent on airfare in 2010? Let’s just say that if you have stock in Southwest Airlines, I have single handedly helped increase your stock value. In 2011, I will be traveling FAR less and planning to move to Salt Lake City (permanently) in May.
We have much to look forward to in 2011. First of all, Ben will complete his Ph.D. thesis defense next month. We are itching to get a fresh start in a new city. It will be nice to be geographically closer to the west coast, where my brother and grandparents currently live. I plan to attend my brother’s law school graduation in May (which is another big accomplishment!)
Who know what else may happen in 2011? But I am looking forward to it all! Happy New Year!
Learning to wait
Sunday, December 12th, 2010Life seems to require a lot of waiting. It’s very hard for me to be patient. I love to plan out my life 10 years in advance and constantly be in motion. However, in the past two years, I have learned that “doing” and “planning” is not the best course of action. Sometimes, it is necessary to live one-day-at-a-time and see what happens next. Today, I walked to Cathedral Episcopal Church (about 0.5 mile from my house). I enjoyed a sermon about Advent and how Advent is a time we wait for Christmas (the birth of Jesus). I am waiting for Christmas–so I can see my husband. I am waiting until spring when I can see my parents and my brother. I am waiting to leave Baltimore. I am waiting to start a new life and a new job in Salt Lake City. I am waiting to “settle down” and start a family. I am waiting to get old and die. I hate waiting, but I’d better learn to do a better job of it.
My trip to Italy in 1999
Thursday, November 18th, 2010Over 10 years ago, I traveled to Italy with the Stanford symphony orchestra. I was looking through my old journals tonight to see if I could find entries where I describe the places I went because my friend Joyce and her husband Timmy are going there on Saturday for a vacation. I managed to dig up the itinerary (but it’s all written in Italian). I will attempt to translate the programs I found. While I couldn’t find the journal I kept while in Italy, I read some of my old journal entries (from as early as 1996) and realized what a privileged life I’ve led. Even in high school, I had stability and happiness and endless blessings. I’m certain that I am not where I am today–with a loving husband, good-paying job, elite education, and marketable professional skills–by my own hard work or intelligence. I truly don’t deserve all that I have and have experienced in life–so much joy and very little suffering or pain. I need to keep this all in perspective when I throw my weekly Friday night pity parties. Anyways… back to Italy of 1999… I wish I could remember more details about the cool places I visited. I guess you can read the wikipedia entries listed below. I remember seeing the Catacombs in Rome, the Roman Forum (I didn’t understand what that was–until I watched the Rick Steve’s videos), the Colosseum, and the Sistine Chapel. My favorite memory from this trip was listening to some monks chant evening vespers at a monastery somewhere in the Tuscany countryside. I remember marveling at how peaceful, quiet and old (well-preserved) all the small towns were which we visited. I also remember trying a sip of limoncello for the first time and hating it–burned my throat like whiskey. Although I enjoyed my trips to Italy in 1995 and 1999, I think the only place in Italy that I would be interested in going back to visit would be the Lake Como area. It’s the setting for crazy Ernest Hemingway’s book A Farewell to Arms (a book both Ben and I really enjoyed–before we even met!) and reminded me of the setting of a fairytale.
Itinerary:
June 20, 1999 concert in Jesi
June 22, 1999 concert in Montepulciano
June 25, 1999 concert in Fiesole and Fierenze (Florence)
June 27, 1999 concert in Brescia
June 28, 1999 concert in Verona
The music we played included Verdi’s Overture to his opera, Nabucco. We also played an original piece written by the assistant orchestra conductor, Giancarlo Aquilanti called “Jesi in Festa, La Fiere di San Settimio.” We played Stravinsky’s “Suite di Pulcinella” and Brahms’ 4th symphony in “Mi Minore,” opus 98 (which according to wikipedia= E minor).
The orchestra conductor who led the trip, J. Karla Lemon, passed away this year. I think she had cancer. She was a fiery, passionate musician who died too young.
While we were in Florence, some members of the orchestra played a concert at the US Consulate General. They put together some quintets of the best players and I got to enjoy the music and eat a buffet dinner. I have very little memory of this experience, but it’s not everyday that you can attend a concert at the US embassy in Florence, Italy.
After my trip to Italy, I flew to Birmingham, England to visit my father’s cousin, Winifred. She had just completed her Ph.D. in English literature and was a great inspiration and role model for me. She was very generous to open up her life to a naive college student. She took me to London to watch a theater production (Blood Brothers), eat fish and chips, stay in a dorm at the London School of Economics, and watch an “off-broadway” production of Les Miserables in Birmingham. All fantastic experiences! My favorite memory of my “british” visit was going over to my “auntie’s” American friend’s house and watching Wimbeldon on TV (live) since I was finally in the same time zone/ country where it was being played. What a weird kid I was–enjoying a tennis match on TV when I was in an exotic foreign land. I also remember eating radishes from my aunt’s garden and drinking tea with cream and sugar for the first time.
My vitamins
Sunday, November 14th, 2010One year ago, Ben and I were taking vitamins regularly. Currently, I only take vitamins on a sporadic basis, motivated by the fact that I have Costco-sized bottles of vitamins that I’d like to finish off before leaving Baltimore. Today, I found a table that Ben gave me last year. Motivated by the “possible effects of low intakes on the brain,” I decided to take 1/2 tsp magnesium, 1 beta carotene pill, 1 selenium tablet, 2 vitamin Ds, 1 flaxseed oil pill and 1 vitamin B complex this morning.
Here are a few entries from the table:
“Diet of disaffection: Nutrient intakes from a sample of disadvantaged young people”
(Aside: I am not a disadvantaged young person, but my diet does not consist of a wide variety of foods. Mostly sweet potatoes, ground lamb, arugula, apples and sardines. Ben and I thought that sardines should provide most of the nutrients listed in this table, which is one of the reasons I stopped taking vitamins regularly.)
Nutrient (% getting adequate intakes): Possible effects of low intakes on the brain
Vit B-12 (94%): Pernicious anemia, spinal cord damage, raised homocystein: this has been linked to cvs disease and hostility
Iodine (33%): Thyroid hormones–low intake of iodine is the commonest cause of mental deficiency worldwide
Calcium (28%): Neural hyperexcitability, paresthesia, impulsivity
Iron (22%): Anemia, also required for dopamine synthesis. Low iron is associated with impaired cognitive development in humans and aggression in animal studies.
Magnesium (17%): Involved in glycolysis and cerebral blood flow. Low intakes are associated with hyperexcitability and in animal studies with the severity of behavioral deficits.
Selenium (0%): Low intakes are associated with reduced cognitive function.
Omega-3 from fish (0%): Impaired attention, impulsivity, reduced memory, impaired cognition, depression, excess inflammation.
Return to quinoa
Saturday, November 13th, 2010
This morning, I was planning on eating ground lamb which I purchased from the Farmer’s Market last Saturday. However, I just wasn’t in the mood for meat. Instead, I ate a mixed green salad topped with a hard-boiled egg and homemade salad dressing (olive oil, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, ground black pepper, 1/2 minced shallot).
In addition, I was looking through my freezer and found two large containers of quinoa. I decided that even though quinoa is a grain (which is a no-no on the paleo diet), I would cook it up and eat for breakfast. My motivations were three-fold:
1) I wanted something interesting to cook (that requires more than 1-2 ingredients)
2) I wanted to empty out the quinoa container so I can store my laundry baking soda in a smaller container.
3) I purchased mushrooms and veggie stock at Whole Foods last night and thought this would be a perfect opportunity to consume those ingredients.
Here is the recipe I followed.
I used veggie stock instead of chicken stock and added a few threads of saffron just for fun (and garnished with parsley instead of parmesan cheese). I consumed almost all of the dish (1 cup of quinoa), since it was so creamy and warm. I think my carb craving comes from my exercising. I jogged about 1 mile this morning–2 laps between my apartment and Cold Spring Road.
Mint tea
Wednesday, November 3rd, 2010In college, I began drinking tea more regularly. I enjoyed Earl Grey. I also learned to appreciate jasmine and green teas (this was around the time that pearl milk tea was a big craze in California). Through my tea drinking experiences, one flavor I disliked intensely was peppermint tea. I love peppermint hot chocolate and I like mint-flavored foods like ice cream and candy. I even enjoy a mojito which is a drink made with mint leaves. However, the smell of mint tea made me gag (reminded me of hot toothpaste). My husband and cat both love mint tea (my cat likes to lick the tea bags). However, this weekend, while Ben was in town, I decided to taste the mint tea that he was enjoying… and I decided it wasn’t so bad! It was actually quite tasty. The smell is still kind of weird to me, but the taste is different than the smell. Ben said it tastes refreshing and cool in spite of it being a hot drink. Lesson learned: my tastes can change and I should try things I think I don’t like. Things like boats (seasickness), scary movies, abalone, sea cucumber, chiles rellenos?
Happy Birthday, Ben!
Saturday, October 30th, 2010
Today was Ben’s 28th birthday. We enjoyed a quiet day of home-cooked meals, making progress on work-related writing, and an outing to Fell’s Point for grass-fed milk gelato at Pitango. In addition to the flavors we ate at the store (stracciatella and coconut for Grace; crema, black tea and cinnamon for Ben), we also brought home a take-home container full of chocolate hazelnut, chocolate chocolate chip and vanilla. We will enjoy these gelato with our gluten-free pumpkin pie from Sweet Sin Bakery. For dinner, we are stewing up some lamb shanks in red wine with an assortment of aromatics and fresh herbs (thyme, rosemary). For breakfast, we enjoyed a rabbit with mustard sauce. We have leftovers that we can enjoy throughout the upcoming week. Yesterday, we cooked up a large bowl of butternut squash soup using my handheld blender to puree the contents. We’ve also enjoyed a pan-fried duck breast. We sliced up the leftover breast meat and served it over a salad with vidalia onion dressing from Tennessee (Thanks, Ashley!). We are both making progress in our work this weekend. It’s so much more fun to do it together. I hope Ben’s health will be restored by the time he returns to Chicago this upcoming week.
My butternut squash soup in progress (and final product):
How I stew lamb shanks
Sunday, October 24th, 2010
My lamb shank recipe is based on this recipe. First, I season the lamb shanks with a little salt and pepper. Then, I brown the lamb shanks on all sides for about 5 minutes and remove from pan. I then heat up 1 Tbsp of olive oil or butter in the pan saute one onion (diced) with 5 cloves of garlic (minced) and then I add 1 cup of chopped carrots (2-3 carrots cut into 0.5 inch cubes) and chopped celery (2 stalks cut into 0.5 inch cubes). I saute these aromatic vegetables over medium high heat for 6-8 minutes until the veggies are softened. Then I add 2 cups of red wine and simmer for 10 minutes on medium, until the wine is bubbling. Finally, I add 1 bay leaf, 10 black peppercorns, some sprigs of thyme or rosemary (optional) and 4 cups of chicken or vegetable stock and the browned shanks. I boil all this goodness for 1.5 hours on low heat. Then I remove the lid and the shanks and allow the broth to condense on high heat for 20-30 more minutes. I pour the hot broth/sauce over the shanks and serve.