Passages, marred by frailty

When I look at the past several weeks of my blogger history, I see nothing but uninspired equivocations and forced ramblings. Hopefully I can change that in the upcoming weeks.




In an effort to live up to my generously bestowed title, here's a picture of my dinner for tonight. Chicken curry (don't ask me what kind, I used garam masala and fenugreek and some other stuff) and garlic naan. No rice since I'm still lacking a rice cooker, and no side dish because I don't need that many leftovers. I bought the naan since I don't have a tandoori oven, but that chicken is all me. It was earth-shatteringly delicious, except for one hiccup. That red chunk you see on the chicken is a piece of tomato. Publix foiled me and carried only stewed tomatoes when the recipe called for pureed tomatoes. Alas. Next time (you better believe there will be a next time), I will do right by Indo-Asia and use the right kind of tomatoes. Additionally, I will also use ground cashews instead of cornstarch.

I'm currently battling the first signs of the flu. Not a good thing, since I'm supposed to be visiting Canada this weekend with these fine gentlemen. Wish me luck.

One lesson in taste

I cannibalized this article from the Nomadlife homepage.

http://www.salon.com/mwt/food/eat_drink/2008/09/25/jennifer_mclagan/print.html

This woman speaks the truth.

Sometimes always, sometimes never

I received this message from a fortune cookie today.

"Someone in your life is in need of a letter from you."

First of all, I think it's incredibly ironic that I'm blogging about letters, since they've all but been replaced by internet media.

That aside, I can't help but wonder if this is implying that there is someone in my life that I need to reach out to. I feel like it's saying that I've been too superficial in my interactions.


I need to stop right there or else I'll launch into another diatribe on the merits of the lost art of letter writing.

Vexing sense of futility

Watching someone for whom you care suffer is difficult.

But knowing that there is nothing you can do to ease their pain is agony beyond comprehension.


Postscript: Wow, talk about a premonition. Seven hours after the original posting, it actually happened. Before careful what you wish for, especially when the collateral damage extends beyond yourself.

A serial vantage point

I passed this sight on the interstate in my car, and it nearly ran me off the road. Isn't that a gorgeous view?

I don't know what it is about pictures like these, but if I stare at them long enough, inevitably I feel wanderlust creep into my veins.

Life, death, and renewal

It's a strange realization to know that someone can be the cause of so much of your life's agitation.

When you first realize that the attraction exists, usually you might wave it off as a silly crush, or even just passing admiration. But as time passes you realize it goes much deeper than you originally thought. Your gazes linger just a little bit longer, you smile just a little bit warmer, you go out of your way to be just a little bit kinder. You do things that you would never do for anyone else, you go places you would never go normally because they're waiting for you there. Ultimately you're faced with the prospect that you've become a blubbering idiot. And you couldn't be any happier.

But this is where life becomes something less than a sappy movie with a happy ending. Circumstances prevent the two of you from ever coming together, and you know it. It's one of those absolute truths that cannot be fought. And woe to those who think they can convince their heart otherwise. Once it has made its choice, it cannot be swayed.

So what do you do? Your heart has been anchored to an unreachable shore. All you can do is flee in the other direction, and hope that distance, a bit like absence, will not make the heart grow fonder. And sometimes, as luck would have it, it works. But the joke's on you because it only works if you maintain that distance. And if you keep relying on running away as a defense mechanism, where will that leave you after you've chased your demons across the globe? And what about the rest of your life? It's virtually impossible to transplant your job, your family, your friends. Your secret heartache isn't the only thing you would abandon.

So you're stuck.

Your love life, your ultimate happiness is suspended in purgatory while there. While you accept your fate as being simply "just a friend", you nevertheless feel you are a prisoner of your own emotions. Your only chance is to risk everything and escape, a prospect that becomes more and more appealing with each passing day as you come to the further realization that life moves on, whether or not you're ready for it.




So what do you do?

Sweet surrender, vague indifference

There's no greater burden on the soul than the specter of disappointment, and the fear of ultimate unworthiness.

And there's no greater sorrow than the promise of inevitable loss, especially the loss of something (or someone) that you could never make your own anyway.


The next months and years for me will be interesting. Suffice it to say, this is not where I expected to see myself, though I must admit I am neither too surprised or too anxious. Then again, I've been known to suffer from fatal underwhelming.

But the beat goes on...

My silly invasion: 6

Ming tombs.







The Overrated Great Wall.




West siiiiiide.


Umm. Yeah.

My mythical reprieve: 5

Minimalist with words today. Captions present only when absolutely warranted.
















Katie's run-in with a local. Read more about it over at her blog.








I almost sprouted a little wood when I saw this metro stop ;)


Gift for the office. Yay pandas!

My stolid exploration: 4

Time for another addition to the Pu-China-2008 soundtrack. This is another one that's been stuck in my head. Keep in mind that if you are in no way, shape, or form a fan of anything trance related, do not press play. The rest of you, enjoy.




Leave it to me to go through an entire day and get nothing but pictures of food.

Nothing really happened though.

Laundry list:
Flew to Beijing
Hotel shenanigans
Getting reJECTed (hand to face) on trying to get into the Olympic Village
Walking all over Tianamen trying to find food
Napping for 4 hours
Dinner
Blogging






The plan was to go to the Olympic Village (denied) and then shopping (naps happened). Hopefully tomorrow will be more eventful (read: it will). And until then...