I’ve been reading for pleasure more than usual lately, I think because I’ve had to read a lot of dense research papers for my classes and my brain has really longed for something to balance that out. I just finished The Color of Water and have been working on Haruki Murakami’s collection of short stories, Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman here and there. Next on my list are:
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows I never finished it in 2007 for a variety of reasons, and I still don’t know what happens. So don’t tell me. I’m committed to finishing now!
Eclipse Third in the Twilight series. The Twilight series is a guilty pleasure and my mindless reading. They read quickly and I don’t have to put much thought into reading them. Reading Twilight is sort of like watching TV but I don’t feel as unproductive.
Botany of Desire One I’ve started several times just never got around to finishing. Maybe I will this time?
A Million Little Pieces This is my current bus book. I used to do my reading for class on the bus, but the sometimes long papers I have to read in really tiny print have started making me kind of sick on the bus (I think I’m starting to have eye problems…need to do something about that haha…) so I’ve picked A Million Pieces as my current bus reading because a) I have the paperback and don’t have to lug around a big heavy thing like HP7 and b) I feel like it is acceptably intellectual enough that any potential cute boys will not pre-judge me for reading Twilight.
Anyone have recommendations? Also on my to-red list that I don’t have my hands on yet are The Wind Up Bird Chronicles, After Dark, and East of Eden.
Blah, I rewrote this post three times and kept having issues with some of my code not working and half of the post got deleted every time I submitted it. You will just have to trust me when I say that I had a wonderful Thanksgiving instead of reading all the details of our fabulous menu. It was so delicious and I am still full! I made mashed potatoes and sausage balls. The turkey was great and so was the pie. I am thankful that I was able to spend the day with such great people. I truly missed everyone back home, but grateful I could experience Thanksgiving in a new place with amazing new friends.
I recently finished The Color of Water by James McBride. I bought it a little under three years ago (wow, time is flying) in a used bookstore in NYC across the street from Magnolia Bakery. My mom and had just gobbled down our cupcakes and wandered in, so upon the recommendation of my mom I purchased The Color of Water. For some reason I just never read it. I could only fit a limited number of books in my bags to Seattle, so I picked only ones I hadn’t yet read. This one came along for the ride. For whatever reason I picked it up to read on Sunday, and finished it last night. It is simple and reads quickly, but eloquently written. For some reason it just spoke to me and I really enjoyed it.
Today was rainy. And cold. Ohhh the cold. But my shuffle has be ON FIRE lately! These songs made the rain and cold not so biting. And getting to wear my new electric purple H&M toboggan helped too.
I love the show Man vs. Food on the Travel Channel. I recently discovered that it is watch instantly on Netflix, and also found out that there was an NC episode! I got so hungry watching the host, Adam, at the Pit. I want REAL bbq right now. Someone get on a flight with some bojangles and smithfields RIGHT NOW. k thanks.
Anyway, as Adam was cookin’ up a whole hog with Ed from the Pit, I noticed that he had on a shirt from one of my favorite Seattle restaurants, Beth’s Cafe!
At Beth’s, the challenge for Adam was to eat a 12 egg omelet. My roommate and I split the 12 egg omelet, and brought leftovers home. It was so so good. Ours was onions, mushroom, and CREAM CHEESE. yum. All that on top of a huge pile of hashbrowns. so so good. Plus, how could you not love a place that sells t-shirts with a slab of bacon on the front?
Speaking of cream cheese, Seattle loves it. The hot dog stands sell hot dogs with a strip of cream cheese. This may sound weird, but take my word for it: IT IS AMAZING.
I’ve learned that one key to success in the rain is having a good soundtrack. An iPod and good songs makes the walk back from the bus stop in the cold rain a great experience. I would highly recommend improving your rainy days with some music! Some of my favorite rainy day soundtrack songs are…
I’ve been completely neglecting blog writing. So far my Seattle experience has been one great adventure. I am making wonderful friends, having old friends visit, and learning a lot about myself (and in school, of course!).
I am quickly finding my way in Seattle, and getting a feel for some of my favorite places, so I decided I would compile them into a series of entries. Seattle is packed with locally owned businesses and there is always a new place to try, which I love. We’ll start with the obvious choice for Seattle, coffee shops!
There are so many great coffee shops in Seattle, all with so much character. I’ve been to tons and love them all, but here are a couple of my favorites.
Cafe Van Gogh
This is about a 5 minute walk from my house. Their latte foam is to die for. And they have delicious food too! I love to study here since it is cozy and there are recreations of Van Gogh paintings all over the walls.
Cloud City Coffee
This is Sara’s favorite coffee shop in Seattle, so she brought me here twice! I had their Chai both times, and both times it was great. Their bacon, spinach, and feta quiche is incredible.
Top Pot
Ohhh Top Pot! Top Pot is a short bike ride from my house, and offers delectable doughnuts and coffee. I really like to study here since the seating area walls are full floor to ceiling with books. The old-fashioned cinnamon sugar doughnut dipped in a good cup of black coffee sure does get my studying done.
Mr. Spot’s Chai House
I found this place on one of my Ballard adventures. I love Ballard! I found Mr. Spot’s when I went to get stuff for my Halloween costume, and had some homework to do. I happened upon Mr. Spot’s and had the best chai tea I’ve ever had. Spicy and delicious! I want to go back on a night where they’ve got some live music!
Stay tuned for places, stores, bars…and who knows what else!
There’s a lot to say about my first days in Seattle. Much of it I’ve said through facebook and twitter, so I feel sort of redundant. Nonetheless, I began collecting some first impressions and observations I have about Seattle. I’ve been there for two weeks. Here’s what I have to say.
People love their pets. Dogs and cats are “allowed” on the bus. I asked my roommate about this, and she said that the bus driver isn’t supposed to ask if the animal is a certified service dog, because that would be discrimination. I’ve seen many dogs of all sizes and breeds on the bus. I also saw one cat. With its head sticking out of a backpack. The homeless population, which is pretty significant, really like pet cats.
Speaking of homeless, they have really creative signs. Some I’ve seen include, “Spare change for a tampon” and “Help. Aliens in my brain.” I’ll be sure to take note of any other good ones I see.
Recycling is fun! There and tons of recycling bins all around the city. The recycling truck comes to our house every other week, and collects almost everything! I’m amazed at how much more is recycled here. We even have a food and yard waste bin. They make compost for local parks from the waste. You can even put food soiled paper (i.e. greasy pizza boxes!) in the food and yard waste, as well as the new fashionable “compostable” plastic goods, which are completely pointless if you throw them into the normal garbage. As you can tell, I like the recycling habits in Seattle!
Bus drivers are pretty grumpy and not that helpful. Grocery store checkout clerks are very nice!
I saw a guy riding a huge unicycle. the wheel was probably 2.5 feet.
There is asian food a plenty. Really any kind of food you would want, actually. There is this Vietnamese deliciousness called Pho (pronounced “Fuh” as in umm…fudge!). Wow it is so good. Everyone in Raleigh should run to Dalat right now and look past the Dalat pork (the best thing ever, too) and see if they have Pho. A big bowl of yummy noodle greatness. Perfect for a rainy day! Of which there has only been one, so far. And we had pho that day.
University Way aka “The Ave” kills Hillsborough St. Hillzy will always have a very special place in my heart, no doubt, but it’s hard to compete against tons of restaurants, thrift stores, bars, American Apparel AND Urban Outfitters. And an H&M and Anthropologie a 5 min bus ride away.
I desperately need to develop a budget for shows. Fast. There are so many. All the time. Crap!
It’s been sunny! And warm! And I’m enjoying it while I can, waiting everyday for the rain!
My roommates are great. My house is great! We have huge trees in the front yard, a huge deck, plenty of room to plant some things, great kitchen..etc etc. And I have officially abandoned the twin bed for a full. I sleep like I’ve never slept before! My room is almost 100% furnished with stuff from IKEA. I like my room a lot, I just didn’t think I have would have so much blank wall space, so it looks pretty bare right now. I need decorations asap!
Ok that is all for now. I promise to write more soon. I have an overnight orientation for school tomorrow and Friday. Great fun! I will have some more academic obersavations asap, seeing as that’s why I moved out here!
Drink milk. There’s a protein found in milk called casein that acts like a detergent against capsaicin. It’ll actually pull the capsaicin compounds away from the nerve receptor binding sites in your mouth. Drink at least a half cup, making sure you rinse your mouth well first. You can spit it out, but you won’t get as much relief in your throat that way.
The colder the milk is, the more effective it is against the burning sensation.
If you don’t have any milk, you may be able to soothe your mouth with the casein in cottage cheese, cold plain yogurt or ice cream.
Drink sugar water. Mix a tablespoon or more of sugar with a cup water and use it to rinse out your mouth. Cold sugar solution (10%) at 20°C/68°F is about as effective as whole milk at 5°C/41°F[2] but the relief only lasts while the mixture is still in your mouth[3] so you’ll need to keep rinsing and spitting until the pain subsides.
Drink alcohol. Capsaicin is soluble in alcohol, so drinking a beer or a shot can help wash it away. It’s not nearly as effective, however, as milk.
Rinse your mouth with oil. Capsaicin is also soluble in vegetable oils[4] so swishing some around in your mouth might help. Keep in mind that oil has been found to be only slightly more effective than water in relieving pepper burns, so use it only if nothing else is available.
5. Eat some chocolate. The capsaicin in peppers is more soluble in fat than aqueous based solutions (ie beer, water, even low-fat milk). The high fat content of most chocolate bars will help to remove some of the capsaicin from your mouth. Milk chocolate generally has a higher fat content than dark chocolate and therefore should give better relief.
Unverified Folk Remedies
Try any of the following folk remedies, but keep in mind that these methods have not been verified in a reliable third party source.
Cheese, for the same reason as milk.
Eat some cucumber. This is in fact a common way to deal with too much heat in the food in Indonesia and Thailand.
Curries and other hot dishes are almost always accompanied by copious amounts of rice in India, because all starchy foods combat the burning sensation. Potato will work as well, as will bread. Chew well, so that the tongue is “washed” by the rice, potato or bread.
Use salt. Salting the food or eating salty chips can soothe the burn.
Try honey. Sopapillas with honey are served with spicy foods in some restaurants.
Pepto Bismol may stop the burn.
Try taking a tablet of Benadryl.
Try eating a raw carrot. There’s no trick to swishing it around. Just take a bite and the burn will significantly diminish.
White toothpaste can significantly reduce the burning from habañero oils on the skin. It will likely work in the mouth and/or with other peppers.
Coconut milk works very well to cut the burn and modulate the heat level of a spicy recipe.
Bite into a slice of lemon, orange or other citrus fruit or drink a citrus juice. The acid in the fruit will relieve the burn.
Ice Cream for the same reasons as cold milk, and it has sugar
