the cook in me.

You Are an Excellent Cook

You're a top cook, but you weren't born that way. It's taken a lot of practice, a lot of experimenting, and a lot of learning. It's likely that you have what it takes to be a top chef, should you have the desire...

Are You A Good Cook?

you gotta love these surveys. apparently i'm a really good cook. Some of you don't know this but when i was in highschool, I actually wanted to be a world famous cook. I thought it would be such a neat job because you get to combine artistry with practicality. I love the idea of viewing cooking as an artform! But anyway, after a summer of washing dishes at Earls restaurant in Vancouver, I figured that I could still enjoy cooking and be a good cook, without working in a restaurant...

Nowadays i mostly cook for myself, and thats not always fun cos its boring to cook for one person. Although, recently i've been enjoying my cooking times. its been relaxing and therapeutic for me when i've needed a break from school. Crank up a little norah jones, or louis armstrong, or alison krauss and cook away. i cook in batches so its lasts a few meals at a time, and i just freeze stuff after.

Once a week a group of close friends here at school get together and hang out. its a wonderful time of relationship. We talk about our lives and pray for each other and other people. this week, its my turn to cook. I've got pasta and meatballs on the agenda - from scratch. woohoo!

Northern Ireland.

After a whirlwind journey through the Republic of Ireland and Scotland, I arrived early Saturday morning at Belfast International Airport where my friend Dave Shepherd picked me up and played host for the weekend along with his lovely wife Hilda and baby Anna. It was a super weekend to enjoy the idyllic life in Ireland. Dave took me on a tour of the city and explained all the historical signficance of the grafitti, and how it related to the political unrest in the city. We even soaked up a football match between Arsenal and Manchester United at the local pub, where I enjoyed a fresh pint of Guinness. it was wonderful.

Sunday, we headed up north to the Giant's Causeway, one of the more impressive sights of Ireland, and soaked in the great weather and seaside views. Here's a snippet of the afternoon...

The rolling green pastures of northern Ireland


Where the fields end and the cliff begins.


Oh! the view!


Self Portrait in Ireland.


On Monday morning i flew back to Amsterdam for one more night, and then I flew back to Vancouver early Tuesday morning. Phew. Six weeks later, I got home and was just amazed at the things i saw in India and in Europe. Probably could not find two more distinctive places in the world. Places that i would love to go back and visit...in order of preference: Paris, London, and more of Scotland,

places that I missed but need to get to soon: Northern India, and Wales.

So yea.. thats the end of the travelogue. Hopefully more to come but I'm probably not going anywhere significant for a long time. Gotta finish my degree and start working...! woohoo.

fumbling through

about five years ago, I was in a video store with someone i was dating at that time, and we were picking out a movie for the evening. I asked:"So... what kind of movie do you feel like tonight?", and she replied "Something that will make me cry..." It seemed like an odd goal to have for the night...to cry. and so i logically replied, "Why in world would you want to cry? sounds kinda depressing...". and then she gave me a really short answer which i have never been able to forget since. She said "because if it makes you cry, its gotta be good. don't you think?" I had never thought about it in that way before, so i just sort fumbled through some sort of a "i guess" response.

Its true though isn't it? Wise words for a 19 year old i think. Well, these days she's 24, graduated university and working and living up life. We're not in touch anymore, but those words have still kept its life, even as the friendship has so obviously fizzled. It still is a bit of paradigm shift for me. maybe when something makes us cry, or makes us feel anything at all is always a good thing. Good not because it somehow just speaks into our lives, but good as in it gives us an opportunity to express how we feel. Much like fine arts can do for some people. In today's context, emotion and expression are often considered to be a bit of a taboo activity. Thank God for stories that remind us that we aren't emotionally-bereft robots, but people who were made to feel and express.