Back and wonderful lyrics!

I'm back in New York. As I thought, the damn snow delayed us. *makes a face* It was only an hour so I guess it could have been worse...

Plane ride was okay but it would have been better had there been no delay, I had gotten some actual sleep before we left and if I didn't have to sit in the middle seat for both flights.

But I'm back. I've only been gone for three weeks but already it seems like it was a lifetime ago that I was here last. Why is that I wonder? Hmm...

Anyway, my mother sent me along with a ton of food, of which I'm sure I'll be eating until the end of the semester but it sooo good! Pork chops in a ketchup sauce, lotus root, and some kow yuk. Oh my god, if you had never eaten kow yuk, you have not lived before. I mean sure, it's made with pork belly but don't let the name fool you! Pork belly is basically bacon! It's incredibly fatty as hell but when cooked in kow yuk, it is so mouth-watering delicious... It's made with red bean curd and taro and anise and god, I love it so much... And my parents sent me so much of it because they knew I love it to death. I also brought back more soup recipes and the makings of a nice grass tea... I made some tonight and it was yummy! I placed a whole slice of sugar (brown candy) which was a lot but it was the perfect sweetness. Next time I'll have to add more of the grass though... It wasn't grassy enough.

Today, I downloaded Angela Aki's Warning a few hours ago from svz_insanity and while I normally wouldn't put up lyrics (though I have in the past), I found a couple lines that were especially poignant. I would have transcribed the entire song but there are a couple lines that I couldn't hear very well so instead of having it incomplete, I just did the two lines that I particularly liked:

Blinded by contentment and refusing to see truth at all
Denying that I'm flying to the edge will never stop the fall

Isn't that so very true? Sometimes you can't help the fact that because things seem okay, doesn't mean they really are. I'm hoping to break this cycle as well.

What a start to MLK Day...

It's a bad start to MLK Day actually... It's 4 PM, I've just woken up (because I stupidly stayed up to 6 AM even though my body protested like made and took revenge by not letting me fall asleep when I finally went to bed) and the day is practically over. If we're talking daylight that is.

Anyway, it's cold outside right now. And windy. And from the looks of things, icy as well. I had planned on going down to Staples, buying some supplies for the Kimeru Valentine Project but it looks like it'll be a little cold for that. I might go anyway since it's just around the corner...

But damn it, I had planned on going to the supermarket too and getting omurice supplies! :( I thought I would be eating omurice today and I got all pumped up... But right now it's cold and windy so I'll probably have to postpone it. :(

Yesterday, a newbie Kimeru fan asked me for some stuff on Streamload. *shrugs* Since I had them, I thought it wouldn't hurt. But it surprised me that she replied to a post that was from the summer! It was such a long time ago! But I think I agree with her methods, it definitely was better replying on that post that was relevant to her point instead of my latest post, which had nothing to do with it. I think had she had posted on the latest post, I would have thought she was a greedy leecher who thought too much of herself and would have ignored the entire request. But since she didn't, I was wonderfully surprised and found myself amiable to sending things her way. ^^

Rice

The differences in white rice sizes:

Long grain rice is long and slender and they stay separate and fluffy after cooking. Jasmine, Basmati and white rice are all long grain rice. My family has eaten long grain for as long as I know (either as Jasmine or white rice) but Chinese people eat long, medium and short grain rice. But long grain does count for about 75% of all rice production and if you go to Chinese restaurants, it's probably a long grain white rice they're using. I personally like Basmati rice, which is an Indian aromatic long grain rice.

Medium grain rice - shorter, plumper. It's also stickier than long grain rice. The Kohoku brand of rice is a medium grain rice. Also black glutinous rice goes in here as well. Medium grain rice can be used for sushi but short grain seems to be more popular.

Short grain rice is almost round with moist grains that stick together when cooked. Can also be used for sushi. As such, glutinous rice is a type of short grain rice. Japanese and Korean rice are also short grain rices.

So, that's rice. I've been curious lately about rice because I didn't realize there were so many different types of rices and the differences between them. At home, we usually would eat Jasmine or white rice, which are long grains but this year, Xiao decided to get Kokuho, which is a middle grain and is so different from what I'm used to. For one thing, Kokuho takes less water too cook and is a stickier rice than I'm used to. At the beginning of the year, I bought so Basmati and I was absolutely hooked on it. As opposed to the Jasmine rice, it's a little less sticky, which is nice and it also retains it's white fluffiness. As a long grain, I think I like it the most.

The Kokuho rice is running out and I think I might go for a normal Jasmine rice after it's through. Middle grain just isn't cutting it for me... I just can't seem to cook it well... :( Looking at it though, I can see why some people would use this brand of rice to make sushi. It really has a nice sheen when it's cooked and I don't really mind all that much. I just want to go back to a less stickier rice!