Giving Thanks...

Happy Thanksgiving!! (I'm a little late, I know... =( ) Just wanted to say thank you to all of my readers for taking the time to visit my blog, all three of you. Ha ha. Just kidding. Hope there are more than that! I want to say thank you to my family and friends for all of the good times, laughs, support, and love. Life wouldn't be worth it without you guys. Love you all!! Hope you had a fabulous weekend!

Strange Foods 2

It never occurred to me that this would be on my strange foods list, but I guess the majority of the people I know have never tried birds nest soup. Don't be confused with a regular nest. This nest is not made of leaves and twigs, rather, the bird's saliva. Yes, saliva. Certain species of swiftlets from Southeast Asia build their nests high inside caves, and collectors climb up dangerous bamboo scaffolds and pick them off the walls. Many Asians believe these nests provide many health benefits, "such as aiding digestion, raising libido, improving the voice, alleviating asthma, increasing concentration, and an overall benefit to the immune system." Because of the high demand for these birds nests which unavoidably causes the swiftlet population to dramatically decrease, the government has tried to enforce regulations on harvesting these, but I guess this is difficult to enforce. With all the effort and danger involved, these nests don't come cheap. A pound of white birds nest can can set you back more than $2000! (Red ones are cheaper.)

Anyway! I had a nice big bowl of white bird nest soup tonight. Very generous amounts of birds nest was steamed with some dried dates, raw sugar, and water to create a wonderful dessert. You're probably thinking, "Hmmm... I've always wanted to know how does bird spit taste like?" I can certainly answer that question! Yummy!! It tastes like tasteless, slippery, gelatinous chunks, some parts kinda stringy, most parts in chunks of varying degrees. It's sort of weird. I can't think of any food in the American culture that is comparable. Sorry.

Here's a pic of the nest before the preparation takes place. "Borrowed" this from a site. Too bad I didn't take a pic of my bowl of soup. Oh well. Next time.

Josephine zee Papillon #1

Below is a list of things you probably didn't know about me.

1. I like to run my nail over the ridges of my front teeth.

2. The mole on my arm is named Mimi, after my old devilwoman Chinese school principal. Oops, correction. The single HAIR on the mole of my right arm is named Mimi.

3. Eight of my front teeth were pulled out in one sitting when I was four years old, and none of them grew back until four years later.

4. I was in a Power Rangers movie. Forgot which one. All I know is there is a baseball scene in there, and I'm one of the fans. You can totally see me. I was paid $75 for my time.

5. One time, in band camp... Just kidding. One time, in band camp. Ha ha. Okay, one time, I drank so much orange juice, I threw it back up. The contents on the ground was orange and frothy. Looked so much like orange sorbet, I wanted to eat it. (This was when I was little.)

to be continued...

Simple Pleasure #3

(Wow. I didn't realize I haven't written in two weeks! Sorry. I've been extremely busy during that time and to make matters worse, I wasn't feeling well. Still getting over an itchy throat and cough, but much better now! =) There are many things to share, but a little at a time...)

I'm sitting on my bed, warmed by my down comforter. It's almost 2am and is raining outside. The steady beating of raindrops in the backyard and dripping water from the rain pipes is so soothing. I wish I had a mug of hot cocoa or hot tea in my hands... I love the rain. It makes everything so beautiful. It makes everything grow. It sustains life. Imagine how life would be without fresh water or a very limited supply of. The first thing people would do is dig deeper into the earth to find more water, but this is not a long-term resolution and will be very expensive. Some are also looking into recycling household water. This technology sounds risky and unappetizing, but I think it's a great idea. To hinder the threat of a drought and to give developing technologies the time to mature, we should all practice to save our fresh water. Don't let the faucet run when you're not using it directly. This is something EVERYONE should already know, but I still see people leaving the faucet or hose on when not in use. Did you know that some people still water the lawn when it's raining? What's the point? I've been turning off the shower when I'm lathering to save water. Doing that everyday will accumulate to many gallons of water per month... I've digressed again. Simple pleasure #3 = rain.