I’m sitting on my twin bed mattress after having my queen size bed moved back home. And next to my bed there is a French window that pretty much sits directly above my downstair neighbor’s balcony, meaning I could always hear every conversation when the neighbors come outside to talk or party. I try to let them know several times when my all-male-athlete-neighbors hosted parties throughout the semester, but I’m really not sure whether the message came across successfully. (So far I’ve heard gals and guys stupidly flirt to each other, countless phone conversations, and two men sob.)
So this is the thing. I have never sat so close to the floor to realize that I can actually get a really clear view of the balcony without making any effort. So finally my neighbor came outside for another talk on the phone again—apparently to his mom—and this time I’m actually seeing him having a conversation, wearing only a speedo and nothing else. I’m not complaining for the noise anymore. #swimmersbodyftw
我：因為要從疫區美國帶回非疫區台灣要花很多時間
爸：真的，她想出國嗎？
我：拉拉嘛？
我：她應該想吧。
爸：她會幫忙捉老鼠，或蛇嗎？
我：她會抓蟑螂 我有自信
我：但是老鼠就不一定了
爸：沒關係我來訓練她
爸：她會變成山林小英貓
我：（山林小英貓是什麼啊？）
爸：後山歸他管
我：她是家貓耶，要是他出去受傷我會大哭。而且爸你知道她幾歲了嗎？今天算了算他應該有七歲了，你不要逼他。我們要養狗
媽：不要
爸：好吧！那都給拉拉，待在你房間。
我：後山小英貓拉拉會很開心 她很喜歡在外面
我：但是怕她被蛇咬
爸：不會吧！蛇都很怕四腳的動物，你有看過動物頻道嗎？
爸：當然大蟒蛇例外，台灣只有中、及小蛇
We spend the hour with Michael Pollan, one of the countryâs leading writers and thinkers on food and food policy. Pollan has written several best-selling books about food, including “The Omnivoreâs Dilemma,” and “In Defense of Food: An Eaterâs Manifesto.” In his latest book, “Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation,” Pollan argues that taking back control of cooking may be the single most important step anyone can take to help make our food system healthier and more sustainable. “There is a deliberate effort to undermine food culture to sell us processed food,” Pollan says. “The family meal is a challenge if youâre General Mills or Kellogg or one of these companies, or McDonaldâs, because the family meal is usually one thing shared.” Pollan also talks about the “slow food” movement. “Slow food is about food that is good, clean and fair. Theyâre concerned with social justice. Theyâre concerned with how the food is grown and how humane and chemical-free it is.” He adds, “Slow food is about recovering that space around the family and keeping the influence of the food manufacturers outside of the house. … The family meal is very important. Itâs the nursery of democracy.”
Some really great quotes I got from the interview! Highly recommend people to watch the whole interview! It’s not only intellectually fun to watch, but also wholeheartedly inspiring!
“…when we acquired the control of fire and the ability to cook meat especially over fire…we unlocked this treasure trove of calories, of energy, that other animals didn’t have, because when you cook food, you basically predigest it outside of the body, so you don’t have to use as much energy—your body doesn’t have to use as much energy to break it down. You don’t have to chew it as much. And it’s a huge boon, and it probably led to the larger brain…”
“Ed does whole hog exclusively…he does it in—over wood and charcoal very slowly…the key to making barbecue is getting the temperature consistent and low, like 200 degrees. None of us cook at 200 degrees. That’s like a hot tub—I mean, it’s a hot hot tub. But when you do that, the fat kind of slowly renders into the meat, and the meat gradually breaks down. And after 20 hours or so, you could pull the whole thing apart with a fork, and it’s really delicious.”
“slow food is a movement…that arose in protest against fast food. And it begins in Italy in the ’80s, specifically when McDonald’s was coming to the Spanish Steps—you know, this kind of hallowed part of Rome. And Carlo Petrini was a left-wing journalist who was outraged that this was a challenge to Italy’s brilliant food culture. So he had a great idea. Unlike José Bové, who kind of, you know, drove his tractor into a McDonald’s plate glass, he did a much more Italian protest, which was, he set up a trestle table on the Spanish Steps outside the new McDonald’s and got all the Italian grandmothers he could find to come bake their—cook their best dish and say, “Here’s real food. What’s better? What do you really want?”
“Those home meal replacements are full of ingredients that no normal human ever has in their pantry. Polysorbate 80, do you have that in your pantry? I don’t think so. Soy lecithin? Carboxylated—I forget the other two words”
“…the food industry recognized there was an opportunity here. And what they did was they leapt in with an advertising campaign directed at women, and it was symbolized by this KFC billboard. Kentucky Fried Chicken runs this huge billboard all across America, big bucket of fried chicken under the words “Women’s Liberation.” And it was brilliant, because they associated not cooking with progressive values, and it had never been so associated before.”
這個學期完全沒有機會好好在家裡享受完全做自己的時光。直到今天:)
繼禮拜六一整天的鬱卒，過了午夜我決定和瑞晶上山看夜景。上山大約三十分鐘後，聊著計劃突然想到還沒和王同學好好交流過，所以打了電話給剛去找朋友下完圍棋的詹姆士，問他有沒有興趣去Oakland吃宵夜，他說好，三人就衝到China Town了。
在金牌餐廳的談論得到一些啓發，決定回家後要馬上寫起來。搞到最後四點半快五點才上床睡覺。
不過六個小時候就醒了。洗個早決定去買些菜在家裡做早午餐～
用洋蔥、香菇、玉米、甜椒、菠菜與羅勒做了omelet，還煎了意大利早餐腸。
吃早餐的同時月經來了～實在是很得意啊：Ｄ
下午繼續寫計劃案，但是同時聽了一大堆張惠妹和王菲。
五點半開始整理廚房、準備晚餐。七點開飯時志媛剛好趕上，晚餐是意式燉飯、玉米炒菠菜和煎香腸～頓飯成功實在有夠開心。休息片刻志媛開了紅酒，堅持要做餅乾。
把東西準備準備三個小時候好幾十個酥脆巧克力薄餅和海鹽穀類餅乾就出爐了！太久沒有烤餅乾實在有夠好吃<3
繼續透過google doc和朋友交流，計劃案生產50%完成中。
敬請期待！
（不過大馬民主的事情令人憂心。希望下個禮拜能和傑民聊聊～）
