A Tale of Two Illnesses

First, I got a cold a couple weeks ago. It was no biggie and I didn't feel physically too bad so I didn't rest very much. I did end up losing my voice completely for a couple days, so that was fun having to communicate everything by writing in a notebook (e.g. "Sorry, I've lost my voice. I'll have the noodle pancake and a cup of hot water with lemon and honey. Thanks."). Then, just when I was getting back into dance club and karaoke condition, it hit. The FLU! Last week, I didn't leave my house from Tuesday evening (when I went to bed with a very slight sore throat and a bit of a nagging cough that I thought was left over from some too enthusiastic singing in a bar the night before) until Saturday afternoon, when I finally ventured out to my local Denny's for some grub with my dad.

Emails went unanswered. Books went unwritten. Papers went unedited. But, I was not all unproductivity - I did get caught up on Cashmere Mafia, Lipstick Jungle, Project Runway, Make Me A Supermodel, Boston Legal, Medium, Law and Order, and I watched all 14 episodes of the British series Spaced (which, p.s., is hilarious). The main barrier to doing any actual work was my inability to actually sit upright without feeling like either my head was going to detach itself from my neck and roll backwards onto the ground or that my sinuses would explode, thus sullying my computer screen and keyboard and essentially making work impossible in any case.

Anyway, there's still an excess mucus situation, but things are looking up: I can sit up all by myself now and I went to Japanese class last night. I'm actually doing okay, but I have put the official pause on partying until Friday (my friend's leaving Japan party).

Watch this space - it will soon be mucus-free! Hurrah!

Julia Childs... maybe not

So, recently, I've had this issue with my dishes. Since January I've had this mental block against doing them and have been basically using every plate, bowl, spoon, fork, knife, chopstick, most of my frying and sauce pans, and paper plates until my entire sink/kitchen area (they're basically the same area - the sink is half my kitchen) is literally covered in dirty dishes. Eventually I get around to spending the 3-4 hours it takes to wash everything. Part of the reason this takes so long is because my kitchen is so small, I have to do the dishes in shifts to let one round dry (or I hand dry them) before I've got room for the next round. Today, I begged my friend to come over and shame me into washing dishes and to do the drying. For your information, she was pleasantly surprised that my apartment did not smell, thank you very much.

For those of you who are thinking, so Miki's being messy, where's the breaking news in that (this means you, Ashley), I have two words: shut up! This is waaaaay beyond my usual messiness which generally is just clothes and books and purses and bags thrown everywhere until you only know the floor is there because it's holding up all the junk. This is serious and it disturbs even me. If you get a call from the psych ward about the girl who threw all her dishes out the window, you'll know who they're talking about.

Anyway, sort of the point of all this info (besides informing you on my current mental state) is that because of my recent lack of not only plates and utensils but also space to cut on and the fact that all those dishes also covered my stove, I had to be creative with making "meals" (you'll see why the quotes are necessary in a minute). The other night I was hungry, it was cold outside, and probably about midnight. I had no kitchen, but I did have one last clean bowl and spoon, and a microwave. Here's what I came up with:

Ghetto Risotto*

1 package microwave rice
1/2 jar spaghetti sauce, any kind
some olives, cut with a clean knife if available
olive oil for drizzling
Parmasean cheese, Kraft powder style (though mine is from Trader Joe's)
1 bowl, clean
1 spoon (or other eating utensil), clean
1 microwave

1. Microwave rice.
2. While rice is heating, open can of olives. Eat a few straight from the can. Then use clean knife to cut olives directly into the clean bowl.
3. Pour spaghetti sauce over olives.
   
4. Stir sauce and olives with clean spoon. Find a clean place to put the now sauce-covered spoon.
5. Remove rice from microwave.
6. Place sauce mixture bowl into microwave. Heat for a few minutes, stirring every once in a while.
   
7. Remove bowl from microwave and spoon rice into bowl. Mix until rice is fully covered in sauce.
8. Cover in Parmasean cheese, stir, and put back in microwave for a minute.
   
9. Drizzle olive oil.
10. Eat while lying on bed/couch (small apartment allowing) while watching a "Cashmere Mafia" marathon or some other show that helps you forget you're eating Ghetto Risotto.
    
    *Much love and props to Alisa for naming this recipe.

This would not sell in a restaurant. But, I have a feeling that someday my kids will list it among their favorite "Mom's cooking" recipes, along with my potato salad and anything else I make that doesn't contain eggplant, since I'm sure they'll be sick of eggplant by the time they're adults.

Most likely to succeed?

Mirror, mirror, on the wall
Who is the most popular of them all?

The above photo shows the final results of an exit poll conducted by a Japanese TV channel outside Tokyo's polling place for the Democrat's Global Primary on Tuesday. Dare I hope that the trend follows in the rest of the primaries?

I think it's no surprise that the average American abroad is just a smidge more liberal than the average American at home - what with all our exposure to those crazy Socialist systems out there in every other industrialized country in the world, with their radical ideas of everyone having access to affordable healthcare and education. Those pinko Socialists are really such a strong, bad influence. (In case you didn't pick up on it already, please add a heavy does of sarcasm to the entire preceding paragraph. I'll be applying for my French or Canadian citizenship in November if a Dem doesn't get into the White House.)

Vote. For. Change.

I don't know if you've made your mind up yet or not, but whatever you decide, remember to vote on Tuesday. Of course, as the video below tells you, I've already made my choice. I'm voting for change because I DO have hope for a future that does not have a fallen America at its center. I've said it before, but it bears repeating. The choice I make, that you make, as an American, in this coming election is not one that affects only our 50 states. This is a global choice and we have a huge responsibility in the vote we each cast in this primary season (not to mention in the general election). We are responsible to ourselves, our families, our neighbors, our friends - and, given the nature of society today, not all of these people live in the States and, certainly, not all of them are American. We are responsible to the people living in places we've never heard of or ever thought of going to, and to the people who never cross our minds, but are still there, regardless, everyday, as our fellow members of humanity. Without remembering and recognizing the weight of that responsibility in addition to the privilege of that right to choose our president, how can we make the best choice?

So, on Tuesday, as you put pen to paper or finger to voting machine button, remember that choice is bigger and more important than any one of us or even the 300 million of us. We all matter, we all deserve a chance... we all deserve change.



p.s. Thanks to Lauren for sharing this video with me. :)

Salaryman boogie

Just another Friday night out belly dancing with the co-workers for this dedicated salaryman.

What's that?!?!

The last few days, I keep feeling phantom earthquakes - meaning, I don't know if they're real but very small earthquakes (a definite possibility in Japan) or if they're just me thinking there's an earthquake because we haven't had a big one in a while and I'm just anticipating it.

Things that make you go hmm...