breakfast

sketch journal
Originally uploaded by daveterry.

Sometimes I get up at 5:00 a.m. I don't know why my body does this to me. I just take advantage and have breakfast at home.

This morning I had bite-sized shredded wheat. There were a few squares left over after so I decided to draw my bowl, spoon and the cereal.

It's strange this drawing phase I'm going through. When I draw I lose track of time. In just a few minutes it was time to rush off to work. I leave at 6:18. No earlier. No later.

I like sketching facing pages like this. It gives me a chance to do an initial sketch and then enhance it the next day. Or if I don't get a chance to to sketch a day, the next day I can catch up.

I really like the combination of sketching and journaling. Words and images appeal to me somehow. I'm not sure why.

I've done a few washes over the ink but always come back to pure black and white. I'm sort of a binary kind of guy I guess. Maybe it's somehow connected to my tech background?

I'll post a wash tomorrow to give an idea of what appeals to me if I I'm not feeling strictly binary.

Until tomorrow.

...dave
If you're supposed to live each day as if it was your last, when are you supposed to do laundry?

Remembering Kalua

We lived in Hawaii for 15 years. We still miss it today. Although the cost of living is very high, it is of course the most beautiful place to live in the United States. Well, at least as far as I'm concerned. I have lived in New York City, Northern San Francisco area, Atlanta Georgia, and Hawaii. Hawaii no ka oi! (This means "Hawaii is the best" in Hawaiian.)

But you may wonder: Where do people who live in Hawaii go for vacation?

Good question. We always went outer island. In other words, we'd visit another island in the Hawaiian chain. I remember an especially great time we had in Molokai. And the reason I bring it up will become obvious in view of yesterday's post.

We stayed in a friend's home while they were visiting the "mainland." (Mainland refers to the continental United States.) They lived on Molokai with only 6,000 other people. And they lived right on the beach. We walked out from the front door just a few steps and we were at our own private beach. We'd go out and explore each day. The friends next door would bring over food for us. Live food like this taco, Hawaiian for octopus.

One morning while preparing breakfast we heard some snorting. Pig snorting. We looked out our kitchen window and there just in front of the door was a black bristle backed hog. The grass blades tickled his belly, his girth the door's width. It turns out he was looking for a handout. He must of smelled us cooking breakfast. I was frying bacon. Was that wrong?

He was the neighbor's pet pig. They called him Kalua.

Now there is a tradition in Hawaii wherein you cook pig in the ground. It's called an Imu (pronounced ee-mu). The result of this all day crock-pot-like approach is Kalua pig. It's what they serve at luaus. It's steamed pig wrapped in banana leaves. So it was sad to think of Kalua's eventually. But I digress.

Kalua was like a dog to us. He'd root and snort. He'd lay down and let you rest your head on his huge belly while you read a book. He loved to have Eric clean him with a broom. He'd follow us around the yard like a puppy. He got a bath each day by his owner right in the ocean. Who said a pig's life was hard?

Anyway thinking about yesterday's post made me miss Kalua.

...dave
Man is the only animal that can remain on friendly terms with the victims he intends to eat until he eats them. -Samuel Butler

Some more sketches

Just a few sketches. One a composite sketch compiled over several days. Another of my lunch sandwich.

...dave
A drawing is taking a line for a walk. -Paul Klee

Early to bed, early to rise

I climbed into bed early and was out within a few minutes. But that means that my body woke me up at 4:00 a.m. Arrrggghhh.

So here I sit and type at our kitchen counter eating Shredded Wheat with blackberries. I love blackberries. They have got to be my favorite fruit now. I remember passing blackberry bushes on the way to school when I was a high school kid. They are green prickly bushes that you don't want to tangle with. So it was always a graceful dance, plucking the blackberries when they ripened. I never thought that the bushes might belong to someone. Like, for example, the homeowner who watched me pick their fruit from their window.

But I digress...

When I as a kid, my favorite breakfast cereal was LIFE. Great stuff. Now? Now it's too sweet for my taste. Shredded Wheat is like LIFE without the sugar. The wafers are slightly bigger. I get the three-in-one packet kind of Shredded Wheat. They're not bite sized. You have to break them up as you drop them into the bowl. That's part of the fun. I like to breakup the "hay rolls." That's what they remind me of: hay rolls. You know the kind I mean. They are those huge rolls of hay dotting the green fields off the long stretches of highway in the country.

Anyway, I went to bed early and now I pay for it.

It's been insane at the Enterprise. I'm drawing ever more frantically. Every minute the diagrams change because someone wants me to add this or that to make it complete. I've got another new boss. How many have I had since I joined in 2002? Six or seven? I burn them up very quick. I guess I push my bosses pretty hard.

It's time to get rocking...it's 6:20 and time to book!

...dave
My formula for living is quite simple. I get up in the morning and I go to bed at night. In between, I occupy myself as best I can. -Cary Grant

Time for Tea

Maybe I haven't mentioned this before but . . . I really love White Tip Earl Grey tea from specialteas.com.

I was first introduced to it by Kevin Walker in California. I was telling Kevin that I have to get off of coffee, at least for a while. My system was shutting down and I needed a replacement.

He said: "Wait right here and I'll be back in five minutes. You'll drink something that's fantastic!"

He was gone in a flash while I sat outside in under his trellis of posies. The sun was setting, his outside water feature was calming and I began to close my eyes and rest.

I heard Kevin say: "Try this."

I opened my eyes to a carmel colored cup of hot tea. It's fragrance was divine. Kevin had placed a very small amount of sugar to give it a sweet honey taste.

Kevin told me he has this tea each morning before starting his day. I was hooked.

In appreciation of Kevin's suggestion and gift of some of his tea, I wrote this poem.

Some six years later I'm drinking the same liquid.


I use a simple tea infuser, a 10 cup white tea pot, electric tea kettle, electronic tea timer, and of course, White Tip Earl Grey.

It's great any time.

I still drink my Peets Coffee in the morning and after a heavy Italian meal (Blend 101 is fantastic), but I still have my tea anytime.

...dave
Thank God for tea! What would the world do without tea? How did it exist? I am glad I was not born before tea. -Sydney Smith

Licorice and White Tip Earl Grea

It's cold outside. The temperature is about 50 or so. The air is foggy and misty. The storm passed over a few hours ago.

I've just steeped some tea and I have my bag of licorice here next to me. The combined smell of licorice and Earl Grey is heavenly.

Some people call Red Whips "licorice" but it's not. It's just candy.

Licorice is made from licorice extract, it's sweat, and it's black. Not red or purple.

I remember the licorice plants that grew on the corner of Lake Chabot and Seven Hills road. I'd get a whiff of them when I rode my bike up to the house from school. I loved that smell.

I remember that I used to buy licorice and pour cherry Pixy Stix inside. I never ate Pixy Stix the regular way. Pixy Stix was a powder that had the consistancy and sweat taste of Jello extract. You can still buy them here. It makes a cool wallpaper.

But licorice is better with Earl Grey tea. It's the ultimate.

...dave
“Candy Is dandy, But liquor Is quicker” -Ogden Nash

Mentos and Cola

Eric and Jason created a little experiment in our driveway. They dropped a bunch of Mento candies into a bottle of cola. It creates Old Faithful. Here's a picture of their experiment.

Now I ask you, where do they find this stuff out? Who knows? Maybe from the Internet?

If you want see a video check this out Mento into a bottle of cola (you might want to turn your volume down or off, the sound is irritating).

Ahhh, what fun this is.



...dave
Help beautify our dumps, throw away something pretty.

D70 Nikon Purchased

Well, I've done it. I went ahead and bought a used digital Nikon D70 camera and lens. Never mind that there are a few snags with the final sale but it seems that the seller is making it right.

He used an advertisement for the sale but the stuff he was selling wasn't exactly what the ad said. Anyway, he's offered to give me the lens for free if I still want the camera. That's a very good deal I'd say.

That means I need to get cracking on selling the rest of my manual camera stuff. It's a bitter sweet experience. While I know I need to come into the 21st century and embrace the digital world of photography, I'm fighting it. What happens if I can't recharge the battery for the camera? What happens if I lose the images in the card? At least with my current equipment, the camera still works without the battery and the images are recorded on film. Even if I loose one roll, I have all the rest. The digital cards for these machines can hold 500-1000 images. That's putting a lot of eggs in one basket.

So now I'm obliged to download the images to my notebook for safe storage. Then I have to burn them to some CD or upload them to some Internet site for safe keeping. It's so complex. Do I really have the time for this?

But here's the great thing about digital and the reason why I'm loosing my grip on film. I can take any number of pictures without cost, I can upload to travel blogs, and I can be creative in Photoshop. Since I like to write, taking images and writing stories provide a publishing outlet for me. It's great fun for me and enjoyable for others too. (Well, if the writing and images are good that is.)

Update March 28th 2010:

I'm moving up to the D300s and the 11-16 f/2.8 super sharp Tokina . Way cool.  You can read about the new Nikon D300s & Tokina 11-16mm combo here.

...dave
All I want is less to do, more time to do it, and higher pay for not getting it done. Is that too much to ask?

Jellyfish Lunch

After the study and service we got invited over a Chinese family's home for lunch. Things were going well for us until I asked what was in the delicious dish I was eating.

"Oh, that's zhe." (pronounced jha) she said. Then turning to her son she asked what this word was in English.

"Jellyfish" the son said.

Hmmm, yeah that's great stuff. I've never had jellyfish before. Hopefully, it's not the poisonous kind. Come to think of it, I'm AM feeling a little tingly.

It has the consistency of noodles but it looks clear. It is fairly tasteless. She had mixed it up with thinly sliced cucumbers and served it cold.

Marty, her husband made grilled pork after first soaking it in milk. Other dishes included a cold dish of celery and peanuts, a piping hot plate of dumplings (Jiaozi), and a spicy hot plate of peppers and shrimp. It was awesome.

Afterward we all talked about the keys to learning new languages. Marty has the most difficulty with English and our Chinese isn't what we want it to be (Women de zhongwen buhao.). Jeff, their friend, had a suggestion for learning more Chinese when we visit China in April. He suggested taking to the streets and talking with the locals from sun up to sun down. He gave the illustration: "If you want to cross the stream you've got to get wet, you have to dive in. You'll never get across if you try to keep your clothes dry. You'll meet people that are rude and brush you off. You can't fear rejection. If you are afraid to be embarrassed, your Chinese will never get better."

Next study with them will have to be completely in Chinese.

I'm looking forward to it but I don't know if they are.

...dave
My life is based on a true story.

Time for Tea

I know it sounds silly but I think I may have gone too far with my tea habit. I'm starting to leave cups all around the house. This may cause a divorce.

It's really innocent forgetfulness, really. But my wife finds evidence of my "habits" all around the house. I'll go to the guest room with a book and a cup, put the cup down, and leave it on the side table. I'll go back down the stairs, get another cup, walk up to the bathroom and leave it on the counter.

But it got really crazy when I started to walk into the shower with a cup of tea. I was actually looking for a place to set it. The soap alcove worked well. It was kind of nice to drink some tea while showering. Problem was, the sugar didn't mask the soap that splashed into the cup.

I may have gone too far this time.

...dave
I always fear that creation will expire before tea-time. - Sidney Smith

Starbucks

I'm at Starbucks on this foggy day. There are a couple folks here busily engaged in conversation. A kind of country tune is playing overhead.


Foggy today

I've found me a big green chair to enjoy a tall Mocha Valencia. There's a frosty glass coffee table in front of me here where it sits while I type this into my Blackberry.

And I am flying blind doing this on my Blackberry because I'm not using my trusty spellchecker. I feel like I'm skydiving without a parachute. Thanks to Ruth's coaching I've improved some. But without the spellchecker I feel exposed, like I'm walking around without my clothes on. Anyway I digress.


Starbucks in Atlanta on a fogless day

There's something comforting about going to a Starbucks (or any coffee house for that matter) on a rainy day. I love hearing the steamer whirling in the silver pot. And the grinder, how I love to hear the grinder. Wow. Hearing the grinder whine and getting a whif of the strong coffee aroma is like being in heaven itself.

One of the girls here has hair like Phyllis Diller. Looks like it got caught up in one one of the coffee grinders and she couldn't untangle it so just pinned it up as is. The tangled mess is as big as the head itself. It truly looks painful though she's smiling, she looks friendly enough.

Finally they've change the music to Carlie Simon. Well, it's better then country. Country music in a Starbucks? What were they thinking? That's just plain wrong.

They have a new drink I've been unwilling to try. It's called Chantigo. It's pure chocolate. But I just can't break away from the Mocha Valencias I've become addicted to. Maybe someday when I'm forced into rehab.

I'm doing better now than I've done before. I used to need 2 or 3 fixes a day. Now it's only when I have a strong urge and I can't concentrate that I come here. I don't have a problem. I have it under control. No, I haven't gone cold turkey but there's been no family intervention. I'm fine, really. I could stop anytime.

Coffee break's up. I've got to go. We'll talk about this another time. It's time to go back to work.

..dave
Rehab is for quitters.

The Ultimate Restaurant Experience

A workmate of mine decided to check out the new Per Se Restaurant in New York City. So he flew his fiance� and himself and went with a couple of others to check it out.

This is a world renowned restaurant that serves 5, 9, and even 15 course meals. You can order from the menu or just take whatever the Chef Thomas Keller prepares. He took the latter.

He explains the experience as unbelievable, never having the same waiter twice. The meal lasted three and a half hours (they started at 10:00 p.m. and left at 1:30 a.m.). He describes truffles brought to the table in a humidor. Two of the truffles were grated into their meals. I guess these things alone cost some bucks.

He was having a great time until he got the check. He knew the regular meal was about $150 per plate. He thought the Chef's choice would be a little more. But was blown out by the final tab. It came to fifteen hundred dollars. You read that right, fifteen hundred bills for four people. (Keep in mind that he first flew to NYC before sitting down at the table.)

That's right just $300 bucks per person. What a deal, yeah?

...dave
A mentally challenged person is said to be a few fries short of a Happy Meal.

Lunchtime

It's lunch time and I've got to find something to eat.

I didn't bring anything since my wife is away in Hawaii. She always fixes me something and puts it into a brown bag. When I get up and leave at 6:20 I just reach in to the fridge and grab the brown bag, stuff it into my Lands End canvas, and drive off. Now that she's not here what am I going to eat. And I'm out of cash. Ruth usually gives me an allowance at the start of the week but she's not here and....never mind.

I do carry a cafeteria card but it only has 98 cents left on it. I used it this morning for breakfast. I charged a whole $1.04 for a cup of oatmeal but with the new balance I can't afford anything in the cafeteria until I recharge the card. These are tough times. Let me look around the office to see what I can dig up. I could make a sign and hold it up near my cube "Will work for food." Wait a minute I AM working.

Wait, there's some cheese in the small fridge we keep in the side office. Hmmm, no chips, no sandwich, what else do I have here. Hey, here's some microwave popcorn. Yeah, popcorn and cheese, a little tea, that could work.

So here I relax with popcorn (using chopsticks so that I don't get the keyboard greasy), slices of cheese and a cup of tea. A well-rounded lunch fur sure.

...dave
One Cannibal to the other: "I hate my mother-in-law."
Reply: "Well then just eat your peas and carrots."

Chinese Lunch

We were gallivanting yesterday and got a little hungry so stopped by a huge Chinese shopping center. There are endless rows of produce, rows of products, and lots of Chinese. I also saw many Caucasian men shopping with their Asian wives. We went to the back where they were passing out samples just like at Costco, er, well, except the samples themselves were NOTHING like Costco's.

A man in a butcher's smock was handing out small, warm Tortillas and motioned to his little table of hot sauce and fish. Ruth made a wrap for me while I looked for a cart for all our stuff. When I got back everyone is standing around munching. I took a crunchy bite. What is this? Ruth whispers she doesn't like it. It felt as though I was grinding fish bones. I kept grinding.

I thought of what a friend said that spent five years in Taiwan:

"When I first went to the Chinese market I was appalled at what these folks were eating. But then I thought: They are surviving. No one's is dying here. Once I came to that conclusion I was fine."

So I kept chewing, what could I do? There was no spit bucket and I didn't want to offend. But I was looking for something to clear my palate. We passed two Chinese kids and their mom viewing the tank of eels.

Sushi. A Japanese man was making sushi plate lunches. The way the Japanese arrange their food is half the pleasure. He was making large sushi plates of twenty or so sushi slices. Some of this even my dad would like. Like the one that was simple rice sprinkled with sesame seeds stuffed with cucumber and avocado.


Shopping Chinese style

It didn't last past the parking lot.

We tore open the plastic wrap, emptied the shoyo, mixed the wasabi, laced a sliver of ginger on top, dipped and downed each mouth-watering bite.

...dave
Never eat more than you can lift. - Miss Piggy