watergirl82

I made a soup recipe today that I found in my soup bible cookbook II. It certainly has its own taste but it’s really yummie – if you like a bit of bitter and chewy. I love miso soup with many possible ingredients beside the classic tofu and wakame or scallions. I want to become a miso shiro expert…:)I’ll post it sometime, slightly altered.

I was window-shopping for a new purse/wallet at Macy’s when the saleslady at the shoe department asked “Can I help you with anything?” So I told her how my purse was stolen. I had been really distraught and embarrassed about it earlier, so I was really proud of myself for telling someone. I didn’t go overboard, I just made fun, animated conversation. The saleslady sympathized with me (“Oh, this is just the worst of luck”) and I didn’t get irritated at her for it either. Usually I can’t stand those kinds of sympathy statements because I can’t stand being pitied. But this time, I didn’t feel hypersensitive. I didn’t feel pitied. I took her statement for what it was – genuine if removed sympathy. I mean, what can you say in those kinds of situations?

This incident tells me that it’s true: It all depends on how you think about a situation. I could have gotten upset at her statement about bad luck. I could have interpreted it as pity and condescension. Since learning some new techniques, I see situations in a better, more beneficial light. It really helped me connect to a complete stranger. Yay for me!

It was one of my childhood dreams to learn to play the piano. A year ago I bought a relatively cheap digital piano but I couldn’t afford to take lessons. I got a few pieces of sheet music of children’s songs I knew well, and started teaching myself. It took me a while because I really never learned to read music, at least not very well. Bar by bar, I finely wrote in pencil the letters for the notes I remembered next to each note. Then, I tried to put my fingers in the right places on the keyboard. I was able to correct myself by hearing whether the sound seemed right. After a few weeks I was able to play two-handed, and now I play easy to intermediate classical pieces.
Two things enabled me to learn the piano. First, I was able to explore on my own. Second, I had had early exposure to classical piano music. My grandfather and other relatives played regularly and well, but they never taught me. Whenever grandpa played I sat on the sofa mesmerized. I stored all the melodies in my head and could sing and hum entire Brahms and Chopin pieces without being able to read the notes or play them. I never thought this kind of musical storage would ever be of any use to me, but it definitely helped me learn this instrument.