but they love him

have you seen humans of new york? i had seen it skipping around facebook a little bit, but i looooveee it so much. i guess one of the best things about traveling is that it makes you want to devour every culture and find the common thread. and/or realize the differences.

friends get angry when i tell them i don't have any desire to visit NYC, but i just don't. although HONY has been very interesting. fun to glimpse into their lives.

the other exciting thing on the internet is that smitten kitchen is releasing a cookbook. if i hadn't just spent $54 at the j crew outlet that wasn't part of my budget this month, i would definitely order it. that, and if i had any time to cook. though i did make potato salad (without a recipe) and polenta (also without a recipe) this week.

that's kind of an interesting side note. did you know that when you google polenta recipes, you'll find recipes ranging from a 1:2 corn meal:liquid ratio, all the way up to 1:4? i ended up with 1:3 and it's delicious. 1 cup corn meal, 2 cups chicken stock, 1 cup half & half, plug a sprig of rosemary from majjy's, two pinches of red pepper flakes, S&P and 1/4 c of parmesan that i had to scrape off of some previously cooked butternut squash.

you can mix anything into polenta though. next time, i think i might add little chunks of cooked zucchini or something to make it a little healthier. and more cheese. for added calcium. ...

green eyes

this is from becca's baby shower a few weeks ago. those are my friends from high school.. rachel, bec, stacy and natalie. stacy is due may 26th with baby #2, allie ann.

busy weekend and even busier week next week with interviews for our next round. should be fun and exhausting.

wildflowers

this is the prettiest time of year in the tx hill country

we spent all weekend at the lake, and my legs are actually sunburned. 

there's beauty in your eyes

2:30 am this morning, my phone rings. i fumble in the dark to get to it.
lady: is this megan?
me: yes
lady: this is the travis county jail, we've got jeff here and he listed you as his contact
me: (oh greeeeeat) ok
lady: he's been arrested for driving under the influence and two counts of possession of an illegal substance. he won't be able to leave tonight, but let me give you his case number for tomorrow when you can pick him up and post his bail
me: ..grabs my laptop to record the number
lady: 1005677 (lots of noise in background)
me: sorry i can't hear you
jeff: APRIL FOOOOOLS!
me: (lots of bad words i would never say in everyday life.)

so then this afternoon..
(on a group text with mom, jeff and matt)
mom: at el lago paying the guy who serviced the boat and then headed to round rock. anyone who wants to eat we'll spring for dinner. who's in
me: i am, i can bail jeff out of jail
mom: surely you jest!
matt: i'm down for dinner!
me: DWI and possession of an illegal substance
he can't get out until 6 but you guys will be back by then
mom: honestly?
me: april foolssss!
(he did that to me at 230 this morning)
mom: really he in jail?
make my heart stop you creaton
me: welcome to my world

:)

since you've been gone

first, a story..

so i bought a groupon for this tea shop way up on the way to my parents' house. since i was up there this morning, i decided to stop by on my way to work to redeem it. it was worth $10, so i ordered 3, $3 teas: two pearl milk teas and a jasmine green tea, no ice. 

the guy says its $6. i was confused, but not going to argue, so i ordered a jasmine rose tea and another jasmine tea. $12 (somehow). 

i hand over my phone with the groupon barcode info, and the guy says it's for the other location. oops. but they had already made half of my teas, so i said whatever, i'll pay the $12 and redeem the other one another time since it expires in june. 

so thenn he tells me that it's "tea happy hour" and since i bought 3 teas, i get another one free. so at this point i just start giggling out of control and order a hot rose milk tea. 

so now i have 5 teas waiting in my fridge. not a bad problem to have, i guess. 

(turns out it's almost impossible to take a picture of the inside of a fridge).

second, i'm just going to be honest. writing this blog makes me so happy and i love to share random observations with my family who are far away and people like lori and ruth who i haven't ever met, but who i feel some connection with anyway.

but i just don't have time, and there isn't a lot to say that doesn't have to do with work or my dating life. and since this is an open blog that everyone in the world can read, including people who i don't really want to know those details, i'm going to stick to posting silly random stories like ordering way too much tea and cats appearing in my bed. just know that everything is lovely, and we'll catch up in december.

until then, you might check out my friend marisa's blog, or this blog from a woman who's about to have a new baby soon, or my favorite design blog, or, if you need a baby fix, these videos of sweet baby ruby from joy cho. 

monday class

every once in a while i go back and read some posts from blonde in taiwan. the ones at the top are the roundups of people i got to know and goodbyes to my classes.

tonight my heart aches thinking about my students and how much fun we had together. the girls in jasmine's class (above) were some of my very favorites. beryl, [purple] maggie, betty, kitty, grace and jennier. sooo much fun. i used to get there really early and we would sit at the top of the stairs and talk about all kinds of things. they would quiz me on words in chinese and ask about my life at home and tell me about their lives at school.

miss them and taiwan today. and danbing.

on falling in love

have nothing to say of my own today, but i did love this post from a cup of jo (one of my favorite blogs). sometimes we all need a reminder.

She writes:

Back in 1958, John Steinbeck, author of East of Eden, The Grapes of Wrath, and Of Mice and Men, got a letter from his teenage son Thom, in which Thom confessed that he had fallen desperately in love with a girl named Susan at his boarding school.

Steinbeck wrote this wise and wonderful letter back to him the same day...

New York
November 10, 1958
Dear Thom:

We had your letter this morning. I will answer it from my point of view and of course Elaine will from hers.

First -- if you are in love -- that's a good thing -- that's about the best thing that can happen to anyone. Don't let anyone make it small or light to you.

Second -- There are several kinds of love. One is a selfish, mean, grasping, egotistical thing which uses love for self-importance. This is the ugly and crippling kind. The other is an outpouring of everything good in you -- of kindness and consideration and respect -- not only the social respect of manners but the greater respect which is recognition of another person as unique and valuable. The first kind can make you sick and small and weak but the second can release in you strength, and courage and goodness and even wisdom you didn't know you had.

You say this is not puppy love. If you feel so deeply -- of course it isn't puppy love.

But I don't think you were asking me what you feel. You know better than anyone. What you wanted me to help you with is what to do about it -- and that I can tell you.

Glory in it for one thing and be very glad and grateful for it.

The object of love is the best and most beautiful. Try to live up to it.

If you love someone -- there is no possible harm in saying so -- only you must remember that some people are very shy and sometimes the saying must take that shyness into consideration.

Girls have a way of knowing or feeling what you feel, but they usually like to hear it also.

It sometimes happens that what you feel is not returned for one reason or another -- but that does not make your feeling less valuable and good.

Lastly, I know your feeling because I have it and I'm glad you have it.

We will be glad to meet Susan. She will be very welcome. But Elaine will make all such arrangements because that is her province and she will be very glad to. She knows about love too and maybe she can give you more help than I can.

And don't worry about losing. If it is right, it happens -- The main thing is not to hurry. Nothing good gets away.

Love,

Fa