Peace - <3 - Food

So you know you've got a obssession with food when...

...you lie in bed awake at night, even though you have to be up and dressed for work in about 3 hours, thinking about what you can do with an ingredient that needs using.

...in your free time (or in deep trance of procrastination) you scope out food blogs and look up British cityguide/yelp equivalents of where to go to eat.

...your idea of souvenir from each country you visit is chocolate.

...you make it your mission to sample the country's national dish when you travel.

...you pick what country to travel to based on their food.

...you have no shame in window shopping for food and giving it the once "over"

...your idea of relaxation is walking through a grocery store/food retailer

...the sight of an open-air food market makes your day 10x better

...you think about your next meal when you haven't even finished your current one.

I could go on and on and on...it's terrible. Others my age find peace and serenity in music, fashion, celebrity gossip, computer games and me? I find comfort in a warm bowl of stew on crisp, London day, will walk to the ends of the world to find outstanding, dark chocolate; and become overly elated when I bite into a perfectly, round, crisp green apple.

Today for lunch I had Cajun chicken gumbo stew over brown rice from soup and salad (http://www.soupandsalad.co.uk/home.html). For less than £5 I got a steaming bowl and a green apple. What made it phenomenal was the chopped Italian parsley, really brought out the punchiness of the tomatoes and spices and left the palate with a nice fresh, clean feeling. The one that I went to is on the edge of The City and East London. Being Friday, Spitafields Market was nearby and in full bloom during the business lunch hour so I headed over to browse through the vintage, the collectible records, local artwork, clothing, jewelry and other crafts. What I found and fell in love with was an organic bittersweet chocolate brownie from Flour Power City Bakery (http://www.flourpowercity.com/) which was, as they put it "£2.20 per indulgence" - yes it's an expensive price to pay for a slab (yes, that's right, a slab of brownie) but it truly was an indulgence that even the greatest of chocoholics could not finish in one sitting. Days in London where it doesn't rain is godsend. Being it overcast, cloudy, or ideally sunny - as long as it's not raining, it's a great day. I love being able to walk everywhere or catch the tube as needed, no worries about breaking traffic laws, parking, or crashing into something (heaven forbid!). Plus I think it helps me out on the food front, I would end up coming home as a whale if London didn't force me to walk everywhere.
This experience thus far, that is, all the little things about London, has reiterated what I've always known - that at the end of the day, you are ultimately the one who decides whether or not you are happy. Sure at the end of the day we've all got our own share of problems and our skeletons in the closet, but the length of one's life is so minuscule when compared in relation to the age of the world - why not cherish it? appreciate it? find joy - regardless of how big in size.

This past summer was really revolutionary for me in that I wasn't sleeping much, not because I couldn't, but just because I really didn't have the time (sleep is for the weak anyway...j/k!). My summer was essentially: class, work, class, homework, "sleep." All day and everyday. If I wasn't working, than I would be tending to my online class. Soon enough, I eventually lost myself in solid work. With Derrick & Lena in LA, Shelly in Seattle, Justin in New York, Tina shuffling around the bay area, and Shally, Olivia, and Cheryl working 9-5 themselves, the day left little for socializing anyway. So when I did find to breathe, I spent it with my mother.



My mom is one of my best friends. She is my source of inspiration. She motivates me to do my best. She is funny. She is a nut. I looked forward to our evening walks to do "yoga" and my days off when we would drive 40 minutes deep into San Jose to pig out on Vietnamese food and then curse ourselves for eating so much. I find the most comfort in her hugs and tells me about her day and the weird stories she's heard or people that she's encountered. She is also my reminder that the world is your playground and the sky is the limit given where she's been, what she's seen and how much she has accomplished. She is also the one that reminds me to breathe.

Somewhere within the last six months my whole point of view of the world shifted and changed. Others have brought it to my attention that I'm overly "chill." I'm no longer as uptight as I used to be, no longer feeling that I need to have every minute of my day structured and laid out in black and white, while still ambitious, yet spontaneous and willing to just "go with the flow" and see where life takes me. When my good friend from high school Lena pointed out my change in behavior, I have to admit that I was a little taken back and didn't quite know how to react. But you know, structure is great and all, but man is it easier than ever to breathe. You can plan as much as you like, but living life believing that something is going to go wrong isn't healthy.

So really...here's to life and the small pleasures that make it worthwhile, to the people that we maintain relationships with who care and love us unconditionally, to embracing every moment of every day, and not sweating the small stuff.

avec joie de vivre,
<3 Kimmie