Hopeful Fall

Things were a little hectic for a bit there. I'm not saying it's all clear skies now, but at least I can see a bit beyond my next step, which is hopeful. Difficult family issues, the stress of finding a new apartment and then moving, no job prospects...things like this can stop all creative flow for sure. I can't work well in a disorganized environment but I still managed to try while we were in the process of moving (making cupcakes for my friend's son's birthday as well as another friend's engagement, trying to practice music and dance). Ideas came to me for a blog post during this patch but I didn't have easy access to a computer since ours was unplugged and ready for a new home, and since then I've forgotten what it is I wanted to talk about. Oh, well. Now that the dust is settling after having moved into our new two-bedroom (still in Astoria!) I'm back up online and trying to make up for lost time.
The other night I cooked for real and it was so great. Finally, counter space! Room to keep all my baking pans and tools and accessories! And a shelf for my cookbooks! Of course, the first room I finished was the kitchen. Eating is a necessity, and it saddens me to eat subpar food. We ordered Thai from a local spot one of the first nights in the new place and boy, was it terrible! (Trust me- don't order from Spiced at Ditmars and 35th.) It's so satisfying to make something with my own two hands that I can feel good about and enjoy eating. One day I'd like to apprentice under a master of every kind of Asian food...I know this might take forever. I feel Asian food is the hardest for me to conquer: for starters, I'm not familiar with all the staples I'd need to stock in my cabinet. Placing that job in the hands of someone more qualified for the time being, we redeemed ourselves by ordering Thai the other night from a much better place (Thai Elephant on 31st btwn Ditmars and 21st Ave).

I haven't picked up the bass in far too long. My musical attention has shifted to Gamelan Dharma Swara, the Balinese group I recently became a part of. It excites me to belong to a group like this again- the last time was 10 years ago at CalArts. Luckily I can practice on my Suling (flute) anywhere...it's so portable! Back to the indie rock world, El Jezel will be playing an all-covers set at the end of the month, which gives me a good deadline to force me to pick up my bass.

I really should unpack some more now. I'm itching to work at my desk in our new office and can't see the top of it at the moment.