Time, Tide, and Tet

I was watching this show on Discovery Travel & Living last night called "My Greek Kitchen" and while I'm not really wowed with the recipes (from very limited experience, Greek food sometimes looks better than it tastes), the chef said one line that struck me.

"Life's too short to be boiling beans."

And it is true - beans takes too long to cook, you have to keep stirring and watch over it like a shepherd watching over sheep. If you leave it too long, it could explode into a giant mess of mushy stuff all over your kitchen. And when you're done, you have something that- at best - is food substandard in taste. And beans are not stand alone. You HAVE to eat it with something else, and season it well to bring out its flavor. Don't get me wrong - I like ginisang monggo and with fried fish it's really a great dish. But when i think of the effort I need to put into making the beans just right, I think it's still too much work, for such a simple dish.

So my point here is time. Is it worth spending time over beans that take too long to cook when you know in the end you'd get something so-so? Should you just settle for canned beans, because as the chef in "My Greek Kitchen" says, it doesn't make much of a difference? OR - and this is harder to accept at first - Is there more to cooking beans than what meets the eye - is it exactly the time that you spend achieving a simple dish that molds you into having more patience and seeing the beauty in simplicity? I haven't figured it out. But I'm inclined too think it's the last one...

***

I've been reading what they say about 2008 for those born in the year of the Horse and survey says ... it's not good. Health, Career, Love, Finances - name it and they all say "Be careful" My first reaction is to write it off. But who am I kidding? Of course I am a little bit worried. Who wouldn't wish for a good year? Today at lunch Adrienne and I had a talk about astrology and how it all says it will suck for those born on the year of the horse (she's a horse too). She learned to read tarot and gypsy cards when she lived in the Czech Republic (trivia: Czechs hate Milan Kundera because he abandoned them and has lived in France - and writes in French - for many years now) - how cool is that? And aside from the Chinese horoscope she warned me that the next 2 1/2 years won't be great because Saturn is in Virgo. It all sounded like. well, greek to me so she explained: It means things will be weird for me and I'll feel a little confused. On the brink of 30 also doesn't help because she says i'll keep asking myself now what I want to do next and it won't be comfortable. She is right about the last part - and it has started already for me since the middle of last year. I've been questioning why I stay in this job when it doesn't hold much meaning and I'm not particularly happy. On a wider scale, I also think about going home, which I long for every now and then. I told her about my fear about getting my fortune read because I'm afraid it will burst my little bubble of a world, which seems to be relatively in order. But she reminded me about free will and how fortunes are just a guide. Makes us more self-aware, though she also admits that whatever we hear sometimes plants a seed in our subconscious and how we act is probably because of what we read or heard but are not aware of it. Or maybe that's how things should really be. Who knows? It's all very mysterious, disturbing, but also quite exciting. For the record, my worst year ever was 2004. Everything was in shambles. And I don't remember reading any warnings at the end of 2003 back then. Or maybe I didn't read any of that back then? :) I told Adrienne I'll consider having my fortune read. Maybe after the holidays I'll be a little bit braver (albeit more curious) as to what the impending tide is.

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Tet - or in other parts of the world is simply called Chinese New Year - is coming up really soon in Vietnam. The streets are all abloom literally with flowers, lights and well, rats. The Year of the Water Rat starts officially on February 7, 2008. Normally dull Nguyen Hue street is what my friend Danreb would now refer to as "Nayong Pilipino" as it has turned into a theme park overnight. Dong Khoi street is just glowing with red and yellow lanterns and light galore. Le Loi street is reminiscent of the 80's disco era, with big blue balls hanging throughout its stretch, you can see it shining from afar. All of Saigon is ready for the new year. As for me, it's the first time I'm celebrating new year twice. I'm not complaining. If I can feel new beginnings twice, I'm all for it. Chuc Mung Nam Moi everyone! Or Kung Hei Fat Choi, whichever you fancy. :)

Pictures of the beautiful streets just mentioned to follow.