30 Mad Thursdays - Buy a Suit

So, my plan was that by the time I'm 30 I should own at least one stonking good suit. This will likely be the result of various other 30 before 30 challenges and projects (not least saving the money to buy one!) - but in the meantime I had a fun time this week getting suits for my brother and me for his wedding in September.

He and his bride-to-be are extremely well-organised, and in keeping with this I had the whole thing organised in about 90 minutes. Including trips to several shops and department stores! But the suits that we found are lovely, and will look great on the big day.

Now, back to saving to buy THIS - or something comparable. Why are Boss suits so outrageously expensive?!

30 Mad Thursdays - Tutankhamun

First of all, Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Now, a confession. I have been utterly obsessed with ancient Egypt since I was in Miss Caffrey's 2nd class and had to do a project on the pyramids. I was mad about it all - am still fascinated, admittedly, but so many other great things have captivated my impressionable imagination in the last 22 years that the ancients have had to move to the back of the mental filing cabinet!

Over dinner in Santa Monica recently, Orla mentioned that a big Tutankhamun exhibition was coming to Dublin, and I suggested that we should go - despite the fact that everything in it is a fake. Well, meticulous reconstruction is probably more approrpriate - you wouldn't believe how good these 'fakes' are!

My mother trekked across to London in 1972 when King Tut's treasure trove toured the world in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of its being discovered, and she was always very indulgent of my fascination with Egypt. So, it was quite bittersweet to 'see' them all - certainly as close-up as I will for a good while before they are viewable again in Cairo - without her.

And no, I didn't buy any tat while I was there. I sold more than a lifetime's worth of King Tut Tat in Past Times all those years ago, TYVM.

http://www.kingtutdublin.ie/home/

30 Mad Thursdays - Give Up Chocolate

As part of my whole 30 Before 30 growing up self fulfillment project, I have been seriously considering giving up Chocolate. Clearly not forever, but for a specific length of time. Not because I feel I am addicted, or because necessarily I eat too much of it, but mainly because I've been reading a lot about the effect it has on people - serotonin and all that - and I'm very curious to see if I could at least go without it long enough to cleanse myself completely of its influence. And then see how I feel.

But CLEARLY I won't be doing any such thing until after my trip to Dublin. A fortnight without even a taste of some lovely Cadbury's would be a fortnight wasted. If you don't know what I mean, you're missing out.

More on the chocolate-free lifestyle in April - provided of course that it doesn't kill me. Or anyone else, for that matter ;)

30 Mad Thursdays - The Man With the Flower in his Mouth

In continued translator-spirit, I finished another piece this week - a short but wonderful play by Luigi Pirandello, 'The Man With The Flower in His Mouth'.

Any takers???

UPDATE - In Dublin this week I learned that it was in fact the first play that my hero/mentor directed. Fancy that!

30 Mad Thursdays - Modern Noh Plays

So, I did a manic bunch of work this week and finally got through my translation of 'A Requiem for Genji', the one outstanding Modern Noh Play by Yukio Mishima that hasn't been translated into English. Major coup, I'm very proud of it. (Most fun 'independent study' ever!!!)

I have been working on translating ALL of the MNP for several years now - about five, I think? - and it's definitely been one of my 30before30 to get them done, at last. I think I'll try to publish them, too!

30 Before 30 Thursdays - Palm Reading

Ever since a Greek woman called Poppy recoiled in fright and told me, several years ago, that my palm was so complicated that she couldn't possibly read it, I've been curious to get it done. Alas, the White Witch of Cobh doesn't live in Santa Monica, so she wasn't an option, but instead this week - on Valentine's Day, indeed - I splurged and got a reading from Anna, on Santa Monica Pier.

Straight out of the gate she told me I was a writer. And that I'm reaching a time in my life that things are starting to make more sense - everything from hard work to criticism to life's general purpose. (Pretty vague.) She also told me that she sees Massachusetts in my future. Go figure!!

She was right about a bunch of other stuff (that clearly I'm not going to write here) - if nothing else it was a fun few minutes on a Monday evening! Definitely worth the few dollars she charges - she's great company!

30 Before 30 #8 - BOSE!

I'm not really sure at what point I fixed on the idea of getting a pair of Bose Noise-Cancelling headphones. I think it was probably sometime during 2007 or 2008, aka the Airmiles Years, in which I was back and forth - lucky me - to London, Budapest, Athens, Tokyo and LA with quite substantial frequency, and seemed to see people everywhere with these wonderful headsets. And for Christmas last year I got a pair, at last! They are everything one might dream of, and more.

I think they make a rather strange status-symbol, though. Wearing them on a plane really is tantamount to being able to switch off completely, and ignore safety announcements, flight attendants, children, drunks etc. Admittedly the technology is such that the headphones are not in a position to block fully the sound of someone talking to you - probably just as well - but the reduction in low-level hum is little short of miraculous.

As for the sound quality - the first thing I played through them was Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto, and it was quite an experience. This is a piece I know pretty well, but it was like listening to it entirely anew. The colours that these babies bring to your ears are astonishing!

30 Before 30 #7 - Green Card

This is probably the most difficult item on my list - to get a Green Card for the USA. But I don't think it's impossible! I'm curious to know if anyone has one, (has a spare one!), got one, finagled one, etc. There are numerous ways to make it happen, of course, but I'm not sure which is the best or most efficient to do so just yet.

It's ironic to think that the merit system in my primary school was also a green card (well - a carta glas) and that you filled it with stickers called molanos (from the Irish phrase "mol an oige agus tiocfaidh se - praise youth and it will advance).

Would the USA like to put the sticker on my carta glas, perhaps, and mol this youth?!

30 Before 30 #6 - Learn 'Opera'

Originally the plan was that I would learn German as one of the dread 30. It still might factor in, somewhere. But for now I think it might prove more useful to acquaint myself actively with the opera repertoire. Being allowed to sit in on masterclasses at UCLA opera is very eye-opening. There's a whole history out there that needs my attention!

I learned 6 weeks of German early in my time at Belvedere, but instead chose to study ancient Greek for my remaining years there. And look where it got me... So certainly I'll come back to German (and Italian. And then probably Russian...) eventually. Since one likes to be able to communicate.

As well as the languages in which the libretti are written, there's the whole other language of operatic performance. I now know my Schwa from my fermata, and a whole bunch of other things. Thank heaven this opera is in French, otherwise I'd be totally sunk.

30 Before 30 #4 - Cirque du Soleil

When I was first in LA in 2002, I bought a book of photographs by Veronique Vial, behind the scenes of Cirque du Soleil's "O" at the Bellagio. It's been a big, big dream of mine ever since to go see it.

When my Dad and I visited Vegas last year, we went instead to the Beatles Show - fair enough, since it was something that we were both very eager to experience. And it's tremendous. But I still really wanted to see O.

And this weekend I did! Thanks to a great bargain I found on the internet (be clever, and resourceful, dear reader - I managed to find 40% discounts!) I managed to get seats in the 3rd row centre. What could be better??

I have to say that despite the awesome sound and music of the Beatles show, the astonishing technical design of Ka, and all the rest, there is a romance and a sadness to O that I found really captivating. By far my favourite Cirque show - and absolutely worth the 9 year wait!!!

It being Vegas, restraint is not an option or even a notion, so Traci and I saw Le Reve and Ka also - both superb shows, and really entertaining and exciting, but I loved O so much that nothing really could compare.

BUT - the item on the 30 Before 30 list was to see all 3 of these, and so it can be crossed off. Hurrah!

30 Before 30 #5 - VEGETABLES

I have a dear friend who absolutely LOVES to make fun of the way I eat. Has done for years. I won't mention her name here because she has no means of defence against this diatribe, but I'm sure anyone who knows me (and her) will know precisely who I mean. And if not, it doesn't matter - the only reason she got to me was because - despite her less-than-decent way of drawing attention to the issue, she was absolutely right. Her major issue is/was with the fact that I seldom show any sign whatsoever of interest in eating vegetables.

And - loud and clear - may I state here that this is only partially true. What I hate are the vegetables with which I am presented in restaurants. Pickles. Coleslaw. Sad-looking lettuce posturing as a 'salad', with a few anaemic tomatoes or something. Disgusting. If I want any of these things, I promise, I will order them. When I don't, I feel it only right to request that they not be brought - it's wasteful, and I'd be much happier knowing that they might end up on the plate of some other, less crazy diner.

I also hate salads. Hate them. I am not a rabbit, and I somehow cannot see the point of eating leaves. It has even reached the point where I've considered seeing a hypnotist, in the hope that s/he might be able to reprogramme me to think that leaves and peppers (to which I am borderline allergic - not enough to be sick, just enough to be uncomfortable and therefore cranky for up to a full day after eating them) taste like chocolate. Wouldn't that make an enormous amount of sense? Intellectually, if not physiologically - I'm sure that what chocolate does to the body is not entirely in the mind. And therefore I'd still be craving something else after snacking on leaves.

Long story short (well - shorter) - I actually love vegetables. But only when I prepare them myself. This makes me weird? I don't care. For this 30 Before 30 insanity, I decided that it would be only good and proper to come to terms with 5 new vegetables - a) in order to have something to say to Ms. X, and b) because I'm interested.

I did a vague search on the interweb to find something like a 'Top 10 Healthiest Vegetables' list. (Y'all know how much I love taxonomies and lists...)

What I found was more of a Top 10 healthiest KINDS of vegetables. So, I've taken one from each list and developed a nice recipe for each. These top ten include relatively familiar vegetables - I cannot in good conscience say that learning to cook carrots was 'something new' for me - but what I did WITH them certainly was.

[I am blogging about cooking vegetables. Where are the Four Horsemen???]

1- Cruciferous Vegetables

I cooked broccoli. I steam it and serve it with fresh lemon juice and capers. The Mexican also taught me a recipe to make with broccoli stalks (the bit that you normally try to remove at the shop, or else feel that you're being cheated when it's sold by weight...)

I even ordered cauliflower in a restaurant recently!

2- Carrots

No real innovation here - they are my favourite vegetable. I don't like them raw (unless accompanied by mandarins and balsamic vinegar) but any other way is great. I got an immersion blender for Christmas and have used it to make a variety of soups since, but the best so far has been my version of a carrot and coriander soup. Delicious. And dirt cheap!!

3- Dark Green Leafy Vegetables

The majority of items on this list don't inspire me much, they being leaves, but I love spinach. Again, cooked with some lemon. Baking it in filo a la grecque isn't really in line with the whole self-improving notion of this post, but the fact remains that spanakopita is the best (only?!) way to enjoy spinach. As for collard greens - I shall wait until I visit Savannah and have a Deen cook it for me. I'm sure it's best with butter.

4- Tomatoes

Again, not exactly foreign to me - although tomato soup is the next thing on my agenda. I also love making stuffed tomatoes - also a Greek recipe! I bought some heirloom tomatoes recently for the rataouille I made at Christmas. They were almost too beautiful to chop!

5- Beans and Peas

What to say? Beans are such a broad range of things. I like some, not others. Peas - best with miso.

6- Asparagus

Antoher likely soup candidate in the near future. Also great izakaya-style, wrapped in bacon and served with beers, tofu, fish, all that good stuff.

7- "Allium Foods"

I think this means onions, shallots, scallions, garlic etc. These have all become staples of my cooking - none moreso than garlic - since I went 'foodie', so they can all go on the list. I'm not a very big fan of shallots, which taste somehow stronger to me than regular onions, but they were a hit with my maple candied sweet potatoes at Christmas....

8 - Bell Peppers

Non-negotiable. I won't eat them raw. But they improve so much with cooking that I'm being adventurous. I had a chile rilleno at a Oaxacan restaurant recently, and thanks to the advice of Marcella Valladollid, I'm trying some new Mexican recipes, which clearly demand peppers galore. But gently. Pass the Tums.

9- Sweet Potatoes

Side dish triumph! The whole US thing of serving these with marshmallows I find rather gross, but they are really good baked and fried and served as a savoury piece. And easy to prepare!!

10 - Squash

I am using the ratatouille here again. It had aubergine, courgette, yellow squash in it, so covers all the items under this rubric. And turned out rather well, by all accounts.

Wow. I have overachieved with my vegetable enthusiasm. I set out to aim for 5 new ones. I have managed over 10. Chocolate comes from beans. Making it a vegetable too. Win win.

30 Before 30 #3 - Soda

I went to see a play at the end of the summer holidays last year and spent the entire first half craving a Diet Coke. I felt like Elaine Stritch having an attack. (But without the vodka stingers and the lifetime of Sondheim and hooch.) Having ascertained that I wasn't diabetic, and having sated myself with a 7 Up during the intermission of the play, I spent the second half still craving more soda. After the show I had dinner with some great people, and probably drank enough Diet Coke to fill a hip-bath. And this was at DENNYS. Shame squared.

The following day, feeling unwell after so much carbonated sugar, I pronounced (to myself) that I was going to go cold turkey. Mainly just to see if I could. Boy has it been rough. It's only when you stop acquiescing to the constantly-available nectars that you realise just how omni-present they are. Coca Cola advertising becomes immediately more visible and distasteful when you stop drinking it. (Despite REALLY wanting to.)

I had heard many years ago that Sprite is officially 30% sugar - I suppose it's no wonder that it was my favourite drink, for which I was notorious in Greece. My friends there were ashamed that I would order it, nearly every night. It's still delicious, I'm sure - it'd want to be - but I'm done with it. When I turned 29 last summer I toyed with the idea of stopping drinking sugary sodas at some point in the future - but now that it is fully a quarter of a year since I touched a drop of it, at all, I am happy to put it out there as another of the 30 Before 30 achieved. I do not drink soda any more.

A New Look!

Well Hello!

I'm sorry I didn't make it into 2011 with a blogpost, but I managed to pick up a cold between 8pm and midnight on New Year's Eve (or possibly a strong allergic reaction to cats, but I doubt that) and so I've spent much of the year so far in bed, medicated.

Regardless, I am HERE, and happy to announce that, as one of my New Year Resolutions, I have decided to blog every single day for 2011. Even if it means that I wind up posting digests if/when I'm away from computer access. Just a little something every day.

In the hope of focusing my posts this year, I'm proud to be telling y'all that every day will have a different 'theme' this year, and they're gonna be something like this...

Spice Sundays

In my new career as a foodie, I'll be trying out a new spice every week - or re-examining one - and trying to cook something with it. Mild to wild...!

Movie Mondays

I watch a lot of movies. Some of them are so weird you may never have heard of them, but I'll be happily introducing what wonders I come across as we go through the fifty-two weeks of this new year.

Tune Tuesdays

Likewise I go through a bunch of music. Maybe it'll be an album, a song, a piece of classical music or maybe even an artist that I wanna talk about.

Wild Card Wednesdays

Just you wait and see!

30-Mad-Thursdays

I'm going to turn 30 on July 11, a little less than 200 days from now. As has become quite a popular blogger meme, I have put together my list of '30 before 30' - admittedly later in the game than some enterprising souls! Stay tuned as every week I let you know how I'm progressing. (Although I am cagey about posting the whole list. It's handwritten and posted on my wall above my desk - I'm gonna do it, but I probably won't post it until the big day!)

Foodie Fridays

As well as my own experiments and adventures in the kitchen, I'll be sharing food adventures and tastings in Los Angeles. Despite my status as a cash-starved graduate student, I manage to get around a bit here in LA, and there are lots of fun places I've discovered that I'm gonna tell y'all about. (And failing that I'll just comment on whatever madness is going on on the Food Network....!)

Seasonal Saturdays

This blog's title comes from the Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon, who wrote so many pithy entries documenting life in the Japanese court. Another favourite of mine is Liza Dalby's truly beautiful 'East Wind Melts the Ice' (buy it here) - a book that guides through the seasons of the Japanese (and, indeed, Northern Californian) year. As an homage, I am hoping, every week, to note something special - or note-worthy - of the time of the year, so that the daily beauty, the ordinary plenty, of 2011 does not go unnoticed.

Are you excited?

Stay tuned, add me to your RSS feed, leave comments, get in touch, let me know if even one single soul out there is reading any more!

(I'm gonna be posting regardless. But I hope you'll be coming along for the ride!)

30 BEFORE 30 #2

I have had a book published. Well, it's ready to be published. My aim was to have it in my hand by the end of 2010, but the timing of these things seems to be somewhat elastic. I'll DEFINITELY have it by the time I turn 30, and my work on it seems to be complete. So it can go on the list.

If you would like to buy a copy, email me! ;)

30 BEFORE 30 #1

I went on this rollercoaster! It's on Santa Monica pier.