back right

we've been on the run
driving in the sun
looking out for number one
california here we come
right back where we started from

well, hustlers, grab your guns
your shadow weighs a ton
driving down the 101
california here we come
right back where we started from

california...california...here we come

on the stereo
listen as we go
nothing's gonna stop me now
california here we come
right back where we started from

pedal to the floor
thinkin' of you more
gotta get us to the show
california here we come
right back where we started from

california...california...here we come

home

time to go back to school! and it's not leaving home that makes me afraid. i also get this feeling on leaving school at the end of the year, or LA, or hong kong ... i got it on leaving DC. and after all, home is certainly not the place. i will come back here over and over again. it's leaving that makes me afraid. it's passing. things passing. people passing. time passing. and i've always been afraid. the day i turned nine i cried as we sat around the cake. i cried because turning nine meant that i had only one more year before i could never -- NEVER -- be a single-digit age again. oftentimes i tell that story laughingly. but it's a marker of fear ... the first time i realized this longing for the present and past that i always have. this is something that is supposed to set in as you get old ... and i had it as a child.

food for thought

so one of the produce stands in chinatown that i go to (they sell the best papayas...) is apparently a haven for miniature vegetables. they had miniature mangos smaller than my palm, minature bittermelon, miniature 節瓜 ... the only other place i've ever seen that specialized, if you may, in miniature vegetables was a pavilions supermarket in LA, so i'm pretty impressed at this chinatown stand cum specialty foods nook. and as for food, i went to this place called shanghai bistro on friday & rather liked it. apparently i know the owner too...the mom of one of my former punahou and kilohana (my preschool! good gosh!) classmates. they have really fantastic 小龍包 ... and we met chef chang, who kept running out to give me cool treats, like his new green tea custard filled pikachus, and his yet-to-debut mini manapua. they were so absolutely adorable.

i'm on my last strawberry pie of the summer...i made three last weekend, gave one to harry&millie (our elderly neighbors across the street) and now there's one left. sigh. i really can't complain about harvard dining hall food, but sigh. :) i learned to make creme fraiche today too...three cups cream and two tablespoons buttermilk shaken, then set cool overnight, and refrigerated. creme fraiche is awesome because it'll never curdle when you whip it up or boil it in a recipe. and as you can guess from all the fat, it's delish.