Olympus Pen Mini E-PM2

I acquired a micro four-thirds camera while in Japan this past spring. One of the main justifications included being cheaper in Japan even with the then-atrocious exchange rate. Another is that it's much more compact than the Canon Rebel DSLR. A relatively minor but still important one is that it's cute, and so is the girl who advertises for it. 

Requisite shoe/foot "selfie" with fallen sakura petals. I had never seen Japan during the cherry blossom season, and my timing was perfect. I arrived as they started to bloom and left as they fell. So I got to enjoy quite the spectacle. Also, these Liberty x Nike Sky High Dunks are the greatest things ever. There's a hidden wedge, so you get a little boost in height and leg length, if they are exposed. It might be good, if this sort of thing can ever be good, to "practice" for wearing higher heels at all. I think Nike knows that these are too popular not to make any more, so I'm waiting for the right print to appear to grab another pair.  

I planted radishes in late April. This past weekend, about a third of them were ready to be consumed with slices of buttered baguette and a sprinkle of salt.  According to Ina Garten, this is how French schoolboys snack. 

While basketball and hockey linger, baseball begins and its headlines are routinely ignored for Miami Heat news. Here, we went to a Tampa Bay vs. White Sox game in late April. Of course, it was freezing. We went a month later, just this past weekend. Of course, it was freezing. At least we got to see fireworks both times. This Olympus has a lot of settings, including a "fireworks" one, so I got this semi-decent shot. Semi because the fireworks look fancy, but the rest of the stadium makes you feel like you might be a little tipsy. There are other "art" settings, or modes, you can use to take pictures. I don't know the details, but I think it's like using a filter (yes, like Instagram filters, what other filters would I be talking about) without saving a raw, unfiltered form of the image. It's kind of unnecessary but fun to have on hand. 

On chilly days, I wrap her up in her tiger blanket. I'm not sure she cares. I think she at least appreciates the pillows, particularly the blue one with the now-old school Doraemon print. As usual, Mitsu is a happy camper!

My most recent obsession right now is the historical drama series "Yae no Sakura." So, I'm also interested in the collapse of the Tokugawa regime. It makes me think about Japanese identity in a way than I've ever considered before...but I think about it like, ALL THE TIME. I have had to read the chapter on the fall of the Tokugawa bakufu in a book I used in a modern Japanese history class back at Grinnell with Professor Hshieh. I'm even re-reading some sections because so much drama went down in Tokyo and Kyoto during this time, and it's hard to keep track of all the details. It's funny, I used to care more about World War II, but I realize now how terribly ignorant I was of Japan's modernity and how it came to be. And all I had to do was get sucked into at least ONE historical drama. Best believe I'll be studying up on Kuroda Kanbei for the 2014 series. It'll star my favorite Johnny's actor, Okada Junichi. I knew his time would come! Or does being in an NHK series mean you're done? Anyway, there are homework materials to gather in the next six months!

And in two weeks, we will be taking a trip to Japan where I serve as the main guide and translator for Mordecai's family. But all I can hear in my mind is olde [sic] style Japanese language used in higher courts among lords, nobles, and their advisors, and in either a western or northeastern dialect, on top of it all. None of these forms of Japanese are useful for me in present-day Japan! Anyhoo, I live, the blog lives; expect some more posts on Japan or Japanese things, the only thing I will spend extra time to blog about!  

A Week in Food

In an attempt to keep better track of what I can cook--well, not so well, with what seasonal ingredients, given certain time frames or lack of time limits, when we go out, and so on--I tried to keep track of what I made and consumed this week.

[Imagine French Onion Soup as you wish]

I had recently seen Laura Calder make French onion soup on her show, which I'd never made, so I decided to try it out on Monday. Everything about the soup is pretty straightforward, but I found there were two big "excepts." Except you need, as Ina Garten likes to say, "really good" beef stock (when she says that, she claims to mean that you try as many whatever product you're testing as you can and decide which one you like best; in the case of stock, I think she means "make it yourself; how easy is that?"). I could understand this point, as the instant beef stock thingie I used tasted fine, but perhaps simple, so I might try making my own stock in the future. The other big "except" is producing the signature French onion soup look--broiling the cheese sprinkled on top of the soup. You need soup bowls that can withstand broiler heat, and I couldn't find any at Bed Bath & Beyond or at Crate and Barrel. So I just melted the cheese in the soup, and bought these for future use. One other "except" might be that you're supposed to have some good bread to layer on the soup before the cheese, but if one follows this bread recipe religiously as I do, it's not so bad. I know I vowed not to use this updated version of the bread but it's been fine and I try my best not to dislike people, including Mark Bittman. I watched Alton Brown make this soup, and he put slices of bread under the broiler to toast, placed them toasted side down in the soup, and then layered cheese on top. My mom warned me not to use regular white bread for this (some experiment of hers in high school went awry and she's never made French onion soup again), so I stood by Brown's advice and it worked out. The bread isn't as soggy as you might expect. So, the soup was good, but not at all photogenic, so we'll just skip Monday's photo. For our "green" food, we had a Green Monster smoothie, but Mordo adds random things on hand to make it better--this time, frozen pineapple and watermelon. Delicious!

Tuesday's menu was white bean and kale soup and grilled pesto sandwiches. I like this soup because it's easy to make, though I adjust it by cooking the vegetables longer (I haven't tried using canned vegetables with this recipe; I just use tomatoes and carrots), and I also add as much cilantro as I have on hand. The cilantro gives a little bit of a tom-yum effect, which I don't consider a bad thing, but some might if you want to keep that "Tuscan" theme going. I wanted to make pesto, and planned to make pasta, but Mordo suggested grilled pesto sandwiches using Hippo bread. Grilling anything in Hippo bread is always a winner.

Wednesday was our third wedding anniversary. We went to Four Farthings in Lincoln Park for dinner. The inspiration behind this dining choice was Andy's wedding--there was a pit stop at Four Farthings to watch some college sporting event after the ceremony and before the reception and the location was selected because of Melinda's parents having gone there since forever, or something like that, being Lincoln Park locals. Mordecai and I did not go to Four Farthings then, but I liked the idea of there being some local joint for the people of Lincoln Park. I like to rub my butt in places where I don't quite belong, even if it doesn't matter in many ways. I liked the place a lot though--it's somewhere between slightly-fancy (for me) and casual, and seemingly reliable. Here's my softshell crab, which I'd never had, and whose flavor reminds me of something maybe-Japanese, but I couldn't quite place my finger on it. That sweet potato with brown sugar on top was a gem, too. 

On Thursday, for the second time in my life, I made gyudon. I mostly followed this recipe, adding as much mirin as sake and using about a tablespoon of Ninben soup base instead of worrying about dashi. I produced my mom's gyudon in terms of flavor, but I should've let it simmer for longer so the taste would be a little stronger. I'm afraid of failing any donburi dishes, as it seems a cultural crime to be a Japanese woman and fail to make what children love and remember forever, but I think I just need a few more rounds of practice and I'll be okay. 

On Friday, we went to a White Sox game. It was a nice way to end the week--I'm done teaching the summer course and can try harder to focus on my own work. The Sox won in extra innings with a beautiful walk-off home run by Alex Rios. I was mostly looking forward to a White Sox game because Shaun always gets a bratwurst, sometimes two, and I wanted to try one. It was delicious! Why would anyone ever get a regular hot dog?! Even I could've had two. 

Last night, we met up with Kentaro, his wife, and his ever-growing young son. Hibiki is almost two years old, and apparently, all he does is eat rice balls, edamame, and citrus fruits. He may eat more than I do. We all went to Wasabi in Logan Square. That tonkotsu ramen was goooooood--I prefer it over any variation of Takashi's (Slurping Turtle and his station in the food court above Macy's) and it gives Mitsuwa's Santouka a run for its money. It's a little pricey, but it's nice to have that option so close by. We also tried Heavenly Gelato near the Blue Line; they offer vegan flavors, which is good for little ones who are allergic to dairy products. I was disappointed that the gelato is not really gelato--at least, it doesn't have that sticky texture I like. I obviously don't know what the necessary and sufficient conditions are to be gelato, but I know what I like.

And today, because of having too much zucchini from our CSA farmer and not even being a big fan of it in the first place, I made zucchini fritters using Korean pancake and "flying" (frying) flour mixes. For reference, I used this recipe, but it was mostly useless. Whoever wrote it is right that you just have to eyeball it and you most likely can't fail if you know what to look out for. I also used more onions, because fried onions make everything better. I like the chewy texture of the Korean pancake mix, but adding the frying flour mix helps to achieve that crispy texture. I think you're supposed to make these kinds of pancakes when it's rainy and cool, not when it's hot and the last thing you should do is turn the oven on.

This coming week may be raspberry week, since Smitten Kitchen has a pink lemonade bar recipe, and I'd like to finally try Giada's raspberry vanilla smoothie. I really like the flavor of raspberry, even when it's sour to the point of cruelty, but why hasn't someone engineered them to get rid of the seeds?! 

Day Sixteen

Day 16 – Your celebrity crush.

Can you see my heart fluttering?

On a maybe-related note, I remember in eighth grade when Ms. Crushshon said that she was in love with Sydney Carton of A Tale of Two Cities. I'll never forget how seriously I took her words and feelings, and how it did not matter that Carton was a fictional character. It was admirable; I remember wanting to feel that way for something or someone, with such strong conviction, the kind that dumbfounds a naive thirteen year old kid.

Day Three

Day 3 – Your idea of the perfect first date.

Perhaps these '30 Day Challenges' are meant for young, free spirits, i.e. unmarried. In any case, I guess my idea of a perfect first date (or a place to receive your engagement ring) would be the Art Institute of Chicago. If I get tired, you (Mordo) can take me across the street to Bennigan's. Or we can walk the rest of the block and you (Mordo) can take me to McDonald's for an even cheaper, more satisfying  meal.

Ideally, the museum would not be crowded, and would be soothing, like Ando Tadao's Museum of Modern Art in Forth Worth. You wouldn't have to wait in a line that wraps around a giant cement upside cone thingie and then snakes its way up the escalators, like I had to last summer at the National Art Center in Tokyo for an exhibition of stuff from the Orsay.

If you are not Mordo, and you want to take me out on a date, a perfect one would be to a White Sox game. But I think the only other 'dude' who is permitted to take me out, by MordeKei standards, would be Southpaw.

My Miggy Moment

On Tuesday night, Mordecai and I attended the White Sox game. The promotion was a "Hawkisms" t-shirt to honor White Sox announcer Ken "Hawk" Harrelson. If you've never heard Hawk call a game, I suggest you tune in. His overt bias towards the White Sox is amusing, if not entirely endearing. This anti-Hawk site is actually really informative; it even has audio clips of the Hawkisms that are on the back of my new t-shirt. The Sox were also scheduled to play the Tigers, so Mordecai and I got tickets kind of spontaneously. Little did I know, not only would I get my awesome t-shirt, but I'd experience one of the greatest moments of my life. Read on!

I was anxious to get to U.S. Cellular Field early to secure our Hawkisms t-shirt (only 10,000 of them!). It had been raining all day, too, so I was afraid that the game would be postponed as well as the t-shirt giveaway. We were like, 20 boxes of Hawkism t-shirts away from not getting one. I saw Tigers fans using it to wipe their wet seats. Anyway, we got to the park around 5:30PM for a 7:10PM game. We were wandering around the 500 sections, upper deck, looking for food, when we remembered hearing about a new Wow Bao concession stand. Mordecai decided to ask Guest Relations since our memory kicked in right in front of their booth. They knew about Wow Bao and recommended Burger Barn as well, and they gave us an elevator pass to the field-level area. 

When we got down there, I noticed that no one was checking tickets for people who wanted to linger near the White Sox or Tigers dugouts. I remember Mordecai asking me if I wanted to go, and I said, "...nah, it's OK." But there weren't a lot of people, so I was like why not, and we trotted down to the front row seats. There were about ten other young boys dressed in navy and orange, waiting for Tigers players with baseballs, autograph books, and Sharpies in hand. No one was out in the field except for crew members pulling the tarp off of the field. But then I noticed a Jose Valverde-like person at the opposite end of the dugout, listening to music on earphones, all "in the zone." 

Then I saw catcher Alex Avila look out on the field briefly before going back into the dungeon.

Before I could start thinking about how long I'd have to stand around until someone from the Tigers hitting well below .200 or with an embarrassing ERA equivalent to my perceived or actual age would come around, my peripheral vision sensed movement from the White Sox dugout. It was none other than MIGUEL CABRERA. My most favorite baseball player was walking towards me (or his dugout) and he was smiling (or laughing at Valverde). 

Once he saw us asking for autographs, he stopped smiling. But he diligently signed baseballs, autograph books, and my card. When I was in Japan recently, I carried his and Felix Hernandez's card with me in my purse every day for two weeks. I almost brought my 2010 Finest red refractor of Miggy to the game, which I recently got in the mail, but I made a last minute switch and brought one of my favorites, Miggy's 2008 Stadium Club base card. I have many Miggy relic cards (jersey swatches and morsels of bats), but I don't have any autographed cards. This is my first one!

Mordecai kept egging me on to say something. What does a mere commoner like myself say to THE LORD MIGGY? Especially an idiot commoner decked out in White Sox gear? (I had briefly contemplated stacking my White Sox and Tigers hats to the game. For Mordecai's sake, I decided against it.) I had nothing to say except that I was totally starstruck, shaking, and fearful. When you're in the presence of someone you admire so much that you don't even think to soil their presence with your own pathetic existence, you tremble. Tremble I did, but mixed with a kind of rare, pure elation.

I believe it was Ryan Raburn who had also emerged from somewhere by the time Miggy signed my card, and then they started walking to their dugout. Mordecai said Miggy didn't sign very much after my card. On the way down the stairs, they stopped and started pointing at Valverde, laughing and making jokes (above). Then they disappeared. We went to Burger Barn, decided against Wow Bao, and returned the elevator pass to Guest Relations.

I AM SO BLESSED.

Happy Friday

Today I had one of my sections observed by faculty. Each semester, observation day causes me great anxiety despite the fact that things usually go fine, if not quite well. I was so happy when everything was over. My afternoon nap was very pleasant.

I picked up Mordecai after work and we went to the Grandstand. I wanted a Marlins hat, and since they have a wall of all sorts of hats, we thought there might be some selection, but I guess the one I want is only available on the New Era site. I noticed a nice seafoam green-ish White Sox hat that I'm eyeing now, too. Wanty, wanty.

The Grandstand is just west of U.S. Cellular Field on 35th Street.

Giant White Sox Lubie!

We were heading to Taqueria El Milagro in Pilsen but then we saw a bright green roof and red and yellow parasols. This could only mean: White Sox-approved Vienna beef hot dogs!

Read more »

Mounted Memories Sports Memoribilia Show

Baseball season is over, but the pursuit of baseball cards continues. Yesterday we attended the Mounted Memories show out at the Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont. Part of the highlight was an opportunity to meet Carlos Quentin. Mordecai had the added bonus of meeting Gary Carter, a hero of the victorious 1986 Mets. This was a good week of meeting stars!

Gary Carter

First we met Gary Carter, who was very friendly. Mordecai introduced himself as a Long Island native, so they exchanged some words about that and the Long Island Ducks. Supposedly, Gary Carter is known to be particular about what he signs and for how much, though you wouldn't get that impression from actually interacting with him. Mordecai explained to me that it might be his agent who is picky. I took a picture of what seemed to be Gary Carter's Agent.

Sweatpants!

While in line, you can catch glimpses of other famous people who are greeting fans and signing things. We saw Rollie Fingers to our left, so I tried to snap some non-blurry pictures. This is the best, clear view of his famous mustache. Johnny Knox was signing things to my right, but his facial hair wasn't as interesting. He did have some powerful eyebrows. That's about all I can remember.

Carlos Quentin

While in line for Gary Carter, I saw Carlos Quentin come out from behind the curtains. He is so rectangular! His head is also kind of boxy! He may have had a bone spur in his foot and subsequently contributed to the White Sox failing this past season, but if you haven't noticed, he's also the tall, dark, and handsome type.

Here is Shaun with CQ. Notice Quentin's Chris-Getz-like shirt. This shirt isn't bad, but someone needs to dress athletes more regularly, especially for signings. What's that red trim on his shirt? Anyway, look at Quentin's impeccable eyebrows! Look at Shaun's GRIN!

When I met Alexei Ramirez and Chris Getz, I was star struck, but I think I may have been more star struck meeting Quentin. I have the impression that Quentin is a bigger star than Alexei, perhaps only because he is physically bigger than Alexei. I just kind of stammered and floated about in front of him until Mordecai took our picture. By the time it was Shaun's turn to get his ball signed, I lost my opportunity to shake Quentin's hand. Mordecai reports his handshake was a little moist, but firm. I missed out! Shaun asked about his plantar fascitis; Quentin said it's a lot better. Luckily, Mordecai doesn't seem to be attached to having Quentin on his fantasy team. The Poppersteins will gladly take him into the family next year!

Others

I like this portrait of the rest of the card show gang--Dan, Joe, Bryan. Dan got a box of basketball cards, Joe got a bunch of loose jersey & auto cards, and somehow, Bryan is uninterested in cards (!!!). Someone needs to get that boy a box of cards and experience the thrill of the chase. Maybe he's not into chasing things, though. I've only seen him excited about Kobe Bryant, Rock Band, and playing softball.

Mordecai noticed an empty box labeled "Mets." It appears the box was for pink mini helmets. For the ladies, perhaps? Maybe this is a good time to segue into a few words on my experience as a female at the card show.

Since I began collecting cards last spring, it's become apparent that many card stores do not have a big female clientele. This is not surprising, but what does surprise me a little is that people are quite vocal about a girl coming into their store, not merely there to accompany their male friends. I'm not bothered by this or anything, but I find it interesting that people are not at all shy about the matter. In fact, I like collecting these little experiences. If there was a photo capturing the essence of each one, I'd try to make cards out of these anecdotes.

So yesterday, the old man collecting ticket stubs at the entrance made a few remarks about why I was there and jokingly/creepily said he wanted to see me after the card show. Later on, while perusing $5 jersey cards, the vendor came over to me, Mordecai, Joe, and Shaun and he said to me, "I'm sure you had to drag these fellows to the card show!" I said that yes, they were kicking and screaming about it. At another vendor's set-up, Mordecai and I picked out a few cards to purchase and I went to pay. I reported to Mordecai that the vendor gave us a $2 discount. Mordecai said, "Yeah, that's why I made you go pay." (Hmm. How can I exploit Mordecai to get insignificant discounts?)

Maybe none of this would happen if I looked more like the Greg Olsen woman. This lady wearing a Greg Olsen jersey was as wide as she was tall, thereby being pretty much completely round. For some reason she was sitting by herself on the ground next to the escalators by the empty entrance of the convention center. She looked like a fat stray cat, contently lounging in a place where she didn't quite belong. Later I saw her with what seemed to be her family, and they looked like they appeared from the mountains, but wearing Greg Olsen jerseys. But I guess I wouldn't have my little anecdotes to collect, so I will continue to bumble about these card shows, letting Mordecai think we're getting $2 discounts because I paid for the cards. Yes, surely, those four Mike Piazza cards from the 90's are worth $11.

Pack Wars

Last weekend Joe, Mordecai and I went to the Bunny Hutch for a baseball card event. The event involved miniature golf, batting cages, and pack wars, which I can best describe as something like sports card bingo. Lots of sun, heat, raffles, giveaways...AND SOUTHPAW!!!

I asked for a photo and then asked about how he/it distracts opposing pitchers by doing dances behind home plate in the first row. Then he/it did some dances for me and signed a magnet for me.

This is John of Elite Sportscards and Comics. He is our go-to man when it comes to baseball cards. He is our Baseball Card Uncle.