Work and Apples are Good Things

Yay! I got called twice this week. Double yay, as both times the calls were requests from teachers I worked with previously. I returned to one of my fav schools. The students were happy to see me. Four of them said I was their fav substitute. Now, I don’t know how much of a compliment it was coming from 12 years old, but I’ll take it. The rest of the week, I found a language exchange partner, worked at my other job, sorted out my courses for the winter, and baked.

These were the best tarts I’ve ever made. Honestly, they were the only tarts I had ever made. The crust melted in your mouth and the apples were perfect balance of tart and sweetness. Absolutely deeelish!

Great Produce

Van has great produce. There are many family run grocery stores that sell the freshest fruits and vegetables. And the prices are superb. One of my favorite places is Kin’s Market. It isn't the cheapest in comparison to stores on Commercial and Broadway, but it's organized and clean. Another thing I like about it is that they have one dollar bags of bruised items. Usually by the time I get to Kin’s all the one dollar bags have been picked over. This afternoon I came out with 2 kilos of organic bananas and a kilo and half of tomatoes. Today’s dinner is inspired by a bag of ripe tomatoes.



Stewed Tomatoes and Pork

Tomatoes
Pork
Onions
Garlic
Fresh herbs from my garden
1 cup of red wine
water

I travel alone no more

Fifth day and still no phone call. The disadvantage of not working other than not having a paycheck is that you get to do things you don’t really want to do such as learn about teacher’s pension plans, ironing, and washing the cupboards. But on the bright side, you have time to go to book stores, read and sip tea all day, have extra long lunches with friends, and plan for future trips. A week ago I wrote about Egypt. Well, Egypt isn’t going to happen. The same night I booked a flight to Cairo, my partner told me that he put a deposit down for our ski trip in January. Since we couldn’t be at two places at the same time and no deposit was made for Egypt, it whimpered sayonara.

Today I’m back on the planning mode. I started thinking of uncomplicated travel. I used to browse for seat sales, look up the country and decide within a day or two my destination. Determining where, when, and what I did on my vacation was liberating. Even though I remember my lone travel fondly, I wouldn’t want to go back. Along with good times partying, and exploring, there were days of loneliness. I remember spending New Year's Eve in Chiang Mai sitting by myself in central market; in Malaysia I passed 3 nights watching waves break with no one to share the most beautiful sunsets. Perhaps, the emptiness I felt then is a rite of passage. For the most part I think, you can’t feel love unless loneliness has been your companion.

Domesticity

Third day and no phone call. All I have to show for three non working days are 2 clean bathrooms, a closet full of clean clothes, washed floors, and an inventory of dry and can goods in our cupboards. My partner came home last night, saw our clean dwelling and said, “Staying at home isn’t that bad.” I can analyze his comment and break it apart. Impose meanings on his words and attack him for mildly suggesting that women’s place is at home, or, I can listen to his words and hear that his language is neutral. I decided to push politics away. So on this rainy Wednesday afternoon, I chose to be creative. Since Jon and I moved together our pantry is cluttered. We have too much food and too little space.

While I was growing up, my foster Mom had a cooking routine. Every two weeks she used to clean all the content of our fridge to make mystery casserole. I was fond of her cooking, but not her casserole. Come to think of it, neither were my siblings. But we showed respect by keeping our mouth full and shut. My bf had a similar tradition. During his bachelor years, he and his friend Andrew used to have Frankenstein dinners. They would pick any can goods in their pantry that is about to expire, wilted vegetables in the crisper, and frost bitten meat. Throw them all together and eat. After all, they're engineers. Food is low on their priority list.

So last night as I sit waiting for the phone that didn’t ring, I told him about Frankensserole meals. I told him that I’m not going to buy groceries till our pantry is clean. He shivered and said, “Well, if it’s bad, we can always go out.”

Red bean and lentil soup.

Bag of lentil
Bag of left over red beans (circa Sharad bought them 4 years ago)
3 fresh tomatoes
3 celery stalks
3 cloves garlic
1 Spanish onion
½ cup red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper
Oregano
Bay leaves
olive oil
8 cups of water

September

Second week back to school and I haven’t received my first call. I expected this and was looking forward to relaxation. During the summer I worked at another restaurant. Like all my previous restaurant jobs, it was okay. It paid the bills and kept me sane. It also made me thankful that I don’t have to serve full time for the rest of my life. Honestly, I think I would slit my wrist. The restaurant industry is a difficult business. For the most part it attracts transient demographic shifting between careers, unstable self destructive people, and unskilled laborers. For small business owners, they work long hours in stressful conditions. It really makes me question why people get involved in the business. I now have worked for three family-run restaurants. I would say that each one is dysfunctional and unorganized. They seem to not understand the value of hiring a manager to make the operation smoother and to increase revenues.

Ah well….fall is here and I’m lucky to be able to leave the serving business.

oh traveling, yeah traveling

It’s Saturday afternoon. I have the whole house to myself. Rain falls softly. I watch black dots enter and exit the train station from my office. The sound of our main computer hard at work blends with swooshing wet tires on pavement. I’m hunting down cheap flights to Cairo for Christmas break. Not having much luck. I don’t know much about Egypt except for things I learned in grade 8 social studies. The next month or two maps of the region will start to form in my head. I’m excited with the thought of exploring new places. It has been way too long.

Gardening

The last time I had a garden was in Chino, so I decided to start again. I love growing my own herbs. I found that it was such a waste buying them at the store as I could never use them all up and they just end up rotting in the fridge. This way I have fresh herbs anytime I want them.




Tomatoes are loving the heat in the solarium.






Strawberry plants brought fruit flies in and refuse to flower.



Basil, the only one I started from seed... Can you believe that this is 2 months old?

mint and oregano

I killed my rosemary plant last year by over harvesting, which I didn't think was possible. I'm being more careful about this one.

Cilantro and Dill chillin' in the patio.

Summer Time and living ain't easy

Weather is gorgeous! Vancouver trees are in bloom. Pink cherry blossom petals hit your face as you cycle down the streets. Aaahhh….life would be much grander if I have a steady job. Every spring brings uncertainty. Currently, my teaching job is slow. I’m frustrated and annoyed. I need to hit the pavement and look for a summer job. I’m too old to waitress and too poor not to.

Being a substitute

Being a substitute teacher is the best on the job training I’ve ever received. I get called the night before or first thing in the morning with my assignment. I drive to work and majority of the time, I enjoy myself. The best part is the students. They make me laugh. They challenge me. They make me see that the world is wonderfully filled with imperfections. Some of the bad things are cold receptions from other teachers, poorly planned lessons that I have to administer, unqualified teachers, and dealing with crying parents.

Yesterday, I had a bad encounter with another teacher. The teacher stopped me in the hallway as I transfer my primary students from the library to the gym. She needed to see the new student. She asked for an assessment of his language ability. It was his first day. I thought he did a great job introducing himself to the class and answering other students’ questions. He showed no problems with spelling and following Math instructions. I told her all of these in the hallway. My words didn’t convince her. She turned around and started talking to him so slowly and loudly but without lowering her vocabulary. The way she spoke, I thought she developed speech problem. In the span of 30 seconds she labeled him as needing full language support and asked that he is to report every morning for ESL. Poor kid, he’s going to be so bored. I hope his regular teacher and his parents advocate for him.

Sunday Smiles

Jon found and shared this with me. It made my cherry blossom bike ride disappointment go away. Hope it warms your heart.

Day 62: 漢字

I started attending 日本語classes three weeks ago. It’s on every Tuesday. I needed help staying focus and paying for a course always does the trick. My class is located at a gorgeous location by the dock in East Vancouver.

Today’s 漢字 is 商 (しょ、あきなう）. It means trade. The book explains this character as hands dealing behind the curtains. Works for me!

Favourite Places to Eat

1. Shiro on Cambie
2. Vancouver's #1 Dosa
3. Congee Noodle House on Main (please re-open soon).
4. Cito Cafe on Marinaside Crescent
5. Jade Garden in Chinatown.
6. Goldfish for their yummy soup (Yaletown)
7. Cellar in Kits (jazz and aperitif).
8. Uncle Fatih on Commercial (best budget pizza joint in town).
9. Salsa Agave in Yaletown
10. Kinos on Cambie (Flamenco nights are awesome).
11. Menya on Broadway and Yukon
12. Trix crepes on Cambie.
13. Fritz on Granville (nights on Granville with Anya isn't complete without Fritz)
14. Liberty Cafe on Main St (best pie)
15. Sweet Revenge on Main St (the best server and raspberry cake).

Hmmmm.....I think I eat out way too often!!! Maybe, I need to read Jen's food blog more often to get inspired about cooking.

Arcade Fire

to slay January's boredom.

Day 14: busy writing papers

I'm taking a break from Kanji to write papers. Also, I'm finding my flashcards boring. I need to start using my Kanji creatively. I hope my two new books help: Read Real Japanese: Short Stories by Contemporary Writers and Read Real Japanese: Essays by Popular Authors.

Day 9: 義 （ぎ）

I picked this 漢字 because I like writing it in my work book. It makes me feel like I know what I'm doing when I practice 義. It means justice, integrity, and loyalty. Also, it looks pretty.

Wondering why I'm studying Kanji now? Well as a teacher on call, I often get called to teach Japanese. Ninety eight percent of the time my Japanese is fine. The two percent of the time it doesn't sit well. Majority of my students are awesome. They are young motivated teens that are passionate about anime and Japanese culture. Basic Japanese goes along way, except when I have students that are Japanese Canadians and Chinese Canadians. Those kids often ask me how to write a certain kanji or give them a reading for a character they encountered in manga. My reply is always, "I don't know, go look it up." Embarrassing. To do something about it, I've decided to learn. I want to take the second level Japanese test this September. The test is difficult. I don't know if I'll pass.So as my soccer students in Japan used to say, "GANBARO!!"

Day 8: 勝 （しょう、か「つ」）

I’ve known two parts of 勝　for a while. The first radical is 月. It means month. The one underneath 力　means strength. I've still yet to learn the radical that sits on top of strength. These three radicals together in this specific order means a flesh cut by the powerful. The おん　reading is shou and the くん reading is ka[tsu] and masa[ru].

Day 7: 漢字

漢字of the day is 接(setsu,se[suru])。接 means to touch or adjoin. The explanation for this 漢字 is neat: strokes 1-3 join hands, and 4-8 is a standing woman. So when I see 接 I think of the desire to be close to someone I like.

Day 6: 漢字

Today’s kanji is 殺 (satsu, koro[su]). In Essential Kanji, P.G. O’Neill provides pictographic explanation of 殺：strokes 1-2 is an animal, strokes 3-6 is a tree, 7-10 is clubbed to death. To memorize this character I think of an animal sitting in a tree that has been clubbed to death. Essential Kanji is an awesome book. It gives you characters by stroke count, simple and frequently used characters are given first, the おんand くん readings, and English names of radicals. This book makes me want to study 漢字. I love it!!!

Day 3: Maligayang Bagong Taon!!

It’s 2009. New hopes, new dreams, new goals are in the horizon. This year I’m actually setting goals. Small goals to keep me busy and active: spend more time with friends, snowboard, use my snow shoes frequently, learn to be a better swimmer, take the 日本試験二きゅ, and work on my PDP +15.