Food Review: Fat Fish

The last time I ate this much fish, I didn't want to even look at sushi (my favorite food) again.

I think there's something really good about being poor and eating sushi because then you savor each bite, share two rolls and a miso soup with your date, and feel light and satiated inside.

Tonight, my cousin treated me to sushi at a place that looks like Pink Berry sushi land. In fact, Fat Fish is in the same building as the Ktown Pink Berry. Dear God, we ate sushi off a revolving bar until our bellies were hanging out, and I could not bear another bite. Along with ginseng soju (surprisingly perfect and refreshing with sushi).

She comes there every week and her friend who joined us goes there 2-3 times a week. Apparently after 9pm everyday, every single color coded plate is $2.

we ate:

yellowtail

halibut

raw shrimp sushi (very interesting. it was creamy and nutty in flavor)

a roll with cooked salmon on top

dynamite?

salmon, mango, and cream cheese roll (this was pretty good)

tuna

salmon

toro

eel

spicy tuna rolls

lobster rolls

and of course, edamame and miso soup. these girls are crazy. they kept taking three at a time off the bar saying, ok, let's all share! i could never go drinking with them. they would get me drunk with all their peer pressure consumption.

the fish was fresh, the rolls were nice, the atmosphere was casual, modern, funky. i'd definitely bring my friends here.

Daily Song: Harp in My Heart

From Kevin Prosch's album, Palanquin. I was inspired to dig it out yesterday after our world music mass at church. He's such a fantastic lyricist and singer of the heart. The funniest part is that he rhymes Presbyterians with lesbians.

Food Review: Annie Chun's

Annie Chun's carries many different products. In the last week, I've tried three from Trader Joe's for lunch at work. Here are my thoughts below.
Miso Soup--really nice. I think making my own would taste better but it still hits the spot.


Udon: This one is my favorite. It's surprisingly so tasty. The broth is yummy.


Teriyaki: Not so good. It has a thin salty soy based sauce and the veggies aren't as buoyant as the others. Go with the udon or miso noodle soups.

All her noodles are fresh packed so they're nice and chewy and tastes fresh. $1.99 at Trader Joe's.

June 28, 2008

A momentous day, full of joy in the heart, unexpected peace, and exactly what I needed.

I started off with yoga in the morning and did some housecleaning.

Then I drove down to Lomita, CA to hang out with my friend Jeannette. She lives down there with her hubby Rocky who is a former bartender, pro beach volleyball player and youth pastor of pubescent jr. highers at a mega church.

J. and I ate junk food, walked around Hermosa Beach, slurped frozen yogurt by the ounce, shopped, went to Redondo Beach, ordered big juicy burgers, ran to the car screaming, turned on the heater, drank stellar margaritas made by Rocky, played with her weird loopy cats (we swear one of them was a crack kitty), watched an intense CIA movie, and laughed a lot.

I spent the night there and slept in, eating chips and dip, watching some more Korean dramas, and then going to the beach to walk around, listen to God, and enjoy the sand.

What a lovely lovely day. It was exactly what I needed.

GAS X

I need this asap.

Holy Shit

Holy shit. I just had a holy shit moment.

Sarah asked me last week, what is the feeling you get when you are closest with God?

For her, it was feeling absolutely free, as if she was on the top of a cliff with her arms stretched out wide facing the ocean.

I had a difficult time answering that question for a number of convoluted theological reasons. But after a while, I mustered up some words that seemed true.

I said, I think that it's feeling completely accepted. Completely loved. And because of that acceptance, I am free to be myself. But initially, it is about being completely accepted. Nothing is fundamentally wrong with me.

I walked away from that conversation genuinely intrigued and perturbed. What did I feel when I was closest with God? It had been such a long time since I had had an emotional experience with God. Centering prayer does wonders for walking with God but it's not about overwhelming feelings.

The last time I had a really emotional encounter with God was when I went to Taize, France in April 2007. I thought about that time, how I had sung in Latin, French, and German, and burst into tears. How I had sobbed and sobbed because the love of God just surrounded me in that place, penetrating all of my deepest fears and worries and hate. I felt absolutely accepted. I felt absolutely safe. In the end, I left France a new woman. Free to be herself, bathed in the light of God.

I was just talking with Ben now about something completely different. He was saying how he is very analytical and logical and loves creativity but lacks it. That's why he looks for creativity in a partner. That made sense to me. Of course we would look for something we lack in a partner.

What did I look for in a partner? It wasn't creativity. Was it rationality, stability? And then it hit me. Holy Shit. I look for safety. Not a stagnant comfort zone. But a person who will completely accept me and make me feel safe for who I am. That was one of the first things that drew me to J. I felt safe to be myself with him--safer with him than anyone else in the world. Free to be myself. The thing that broke me away from him was that I didn't feel safe anymore. I didn't feel free.

I suppose this may not seem that groundbreaking to folks. But it is to me. I never realized how I was looking for what I needed from God in a partner. Or that both are connected. I don't know what the implications for this are. But it was definitely a lightbulb moment.

musings 6

it is possible to love yourself and be happy about yourself but be sad about something else

taking care of yourself could mean getting a divorce but it could also mean initiating a relationship  (learned that from codependents no more)