Shantiwallah

Shantiwallah is moving

2010-07-07T12:37:00.001+09:00

Ta da! Shantiwallah has finally moved to a new location.
Come on over to Shantiwallah.com and have a look. I can't wait to see you there!

Marie

I love...

2010-06-08T07:17:00.002+09:00

Early morning writing, originally uploaded by Shanti, shanti.

my home office.

Since it has become cold and rainy, my little office is quickly becoming my sanctuary. I've got a small heater that only takes about 5 minutes get it really nice and warm in here. I can't concentrate when I'm cold! As I'm slowly getting things organised so that files, real paper dictionaries, flash drives, cookbooks, language reference books, the printer/scanner and the internet are all in one room, I really only ever have to go out to get a cup of tea and a snack every now and then. Sometimes I even keep a secret stash of dark chocolate, but don't tell anyone. It's my secret weapon.

I love...

2010-05-31T14:45:00.004+09:00

I haven't had time for blogging as I've been busy starting up a couple of new projects which shall be revealed soon. But I can say that one of them is moving my blogs over on to my own server and restyling them both. This has been much more difficult and time consuming than I thought it would be but I've had some amazing people helping me and cheering me on. Where would we be in this world without friends and family?

I can now see the light at the end of the tunnel and I really hope to relaunch my blogs soon so I can do a proper catch up. Until then, I hope everyone is doing well and hasn't given up on me. And if you ever want to set up your own webspace, my advice would be to do a lot of cooking for friends in the know.

I love...

2010-05-24T13:50:00.002+09:00

Young coconut juice drink, originally uploaded by Shanti, shanti.

Asian drinks with bits in them. This one is coconut with young coconut pieces.

Embassies in Bangkok: contact details for travellers

2010-05-17T09:22:00.001+09:00

Things have become unpredictable in Thailand and I thought I'd just put up a quick contact list of embassies in Bangkok. This is hastily typed up and is not comprehensive, however, most travellers should be able to find their relevant contact details here. I'm also including a link to some major English-language news pages at the bottom of this post that tend to have comprehensive reports.

It is usually possible to register your whereabouts with an embassy and, at the very least, give a contact number if you have one.

The city code for Bangkok is 02. If you are dialling from outside the country you need to dial you international exit code, if there is one for your country, then 66, then 2, then the 7 digit number.

Australia
+66 2 344 6300
austembassy.bangkok@dfat.gov.au

Canada
+66 2-636-0540
bngkk-cs@international.gc.ca

Colombia
+66 2 254 5105-6
embcolbk@actions.net

Croatia
+66 2 266 6911, 848 2209 (press 2)

Czech Republic
+66-2-255 3027 or 255 5060
bangkok@embassy.mzv.cz

Denmark
+66 (0)2 343 1100
bangkok@um.dk

Finland
+66-2-250 8801
sanomat.ban@formin.fi

France
+66 2 657 51 00
ambassade@ambafrance-th.org

Germany
66 2 287 90 00
info@german-embassy.or.th

India
+66-2-2580300-05
indiaemb@mozart.inet.co.th

Ireland
+66 2 677 7500
ireland@loxinfo.co.th

Israel
+66 2-204-9200; +66 2-204-9237; +66 2-204-9226-7
info@bangkok.mfa.gov.il

Italy
+66 2 285 4090
ambitbkk@loxinfo.co.th

Japan
+66-2-252-6151

Korea
+66 2 247-7537 – 9
koembth@gmail.com

Malaysia
+66-2-6296800
malbangkok@kln.gov.my

Mexico
+66 2 285-0995, 285-0815 al 18
mexthai@loxinfo.co.th

The Netherlands
+66 (0)2 3095200
ban@minbuza.nl

New Zealand
+66 2 254 2530
nzembbkk@loxinfo.co.th

Norway
+66 (0)2 204-6500
emb.bangkok@mfa.no

Pakistan
+66 2 2530288/9
iftikhar@loxinfo.co.th

The Philippines
+66 2 259-0139 to 40; 258-5401
bangkokpe@dfa.gov.ph

Portugal
+66 2 2342123, 22340372

Saudi Arabia
+66-2-6392999/+66-2-6392960

Singapore
+286 2111, +286 1434
singemb_bkk@sgmfa.gov.sg

South Africa
+66 2 2509012-14
saembbkk_admin@csloxinfo.com

Spain
+66 2 661 8284
embespth@mail.mae.es

Sweden
+66-(0)2 263 72 00
ambassaden.bangkok@foreign.ministry.se

Switzerland
+66 2 253 01 56
ban.vertretung@eda.admin.ch

Taiwan
+66 (2) 670-0200 – 9
tecoinfo@ji-net.com

Turkey
+66 2 274-7262 – 3
tcturkbe@mail.cscoms.com

United Kingdom
+66 (0) 2 305 8333
ukconsul@loxinfo.co.th

United States
+66-2-205-4000
bangkok.usembassy.gov/consulcm/

CNN
BBC World
Aljazeera
Bangkok Post

I love...

2010-05-10T06:11:00.007+09:00

Happy Mothers' Day to all those Mums out there!, originally uploaded by Shanti, shanti.

...my Mum!

I know Mothers' Day was technically yesterday, but I wanted this to be this week's "I love Mondays" post. You can click on the photo to take you to the original, full-sized photo or watch this video of the building. This display was up all weekend and not one person vandalised it (I love Aucklanders!) unless you count the person who wrote "I love bacon". Happy Mothers' Day, Mum!!

I love...

2010-05-03T19:02:00.004+09:00

chocolate is medicine, originally uploaded by Shanti, shanti.

...chocolate.

I love...

2010-04-26T11:20:00.004+09:00

Mongolian barbecue, originally uploaded by Shanti, shanti.

...Mongolian barbecue.

(This one was on N. Sepulveda Blvd. in Manhattan Beach, CA)

Love, roses and books

2010-04-23T09:16:00.000+09:00

I’ve never quite been able to put a finger on why I have a slight aversion to St. Valentine’s Day. I’ve tried to like it, really. Maybe it’s the forced aspect and thinking it’s all about marketing like many of our festivals. I do like chocolate…but then I can eat chocolate any day.

Having lived in England for many years, to me St. George's day has sort of a vague definition as a holiday. While Wales, Ireland (Northern and Southern), and Scotland all have their proudly celebrated Saint’s days, people in England were never really big on St. George’s day. You might see a few places flying the St. Georges cross, or the odd person or two wearing a ribbon or some other vague reference, but it’s pretty much business as usual. This could be owing to the debate as to whether St. George was actually born in England, as some believe his place of birth to have been Turkey. I suppose that one needs some investigating.

Little did I know, however (with my enormous ignorance of all things saint-y), that St. George is someone who is celebrated in many other European countries with festivals falling on either the date of his birth or that of his death. Countries included are Spain, and here is the good part, where the saint is associated with roses, love and, books. A festival about love and books? Now that I can get into.Throw in the fact that both Cervantes and Shakespeare died on the 23rd of April and you have a nice little group of literary and romantic heroes to honour in celebration. Just don’t forget to get the roses after the arduous task of choosing just the right book for your love.

Simple recipes

2010-04-21T06:24:00.002+09:00

Flour, water, salt. It seems like a recipe would need more than this. Are my readers going to believe that this is all it takes? Perhaps I’ll add something at the end. Nothing tastes exactly the same as it does in situ, but the anticipation I feel during this meditative action of kneading certainly takes me back to a cold hillside where nothing is more welcoming than steaming, hot bread. Are three simple ingredients enough to transport my readers?

Although my eyes took a while to adjust to the darkness of the room, and I immediately had to get my layers of down off for fear of melting in the smoky warmth, I knew my husband and I had happened upon one of the best places in Darjeeling. I could just sense it. Nothing was pretentious. The walls were wooden, the floor too. Even the tables and chairs were made of wood which, of course is not very unusual, but I’m guessing they were handmade. And then, the all-encompassing wool. Wool embroidered with wool became oval-shaped, carpets on the floor. The same carpets were used as chair covers or formed into cushions in the window seat for lounging on. The draughts from the door were caught by the felted woollen blanket that was tacked up haphazardly with rusty drawing pins so that you had to open the door from the outside while simultaneously pushing through the musty curtain in order to enter. What else? Buddhas. The end wall had a thanka, the Mahayana Buddhist tapestry, which just about covered it while exchanging grain for golden threads.

As I was looking for a tissue for my, now running unstoppably, nose came the deliverance of flatbreads to our table by a woman with very old looking turquoise and amber hanging from her ears and around her neck and just about everywhere else. In her free hand was a bowl of something white.

“Do you like yak cheese? Put inside, you’ll like it.”

That we did. And we did.

The next day, while visiting a Tibetan women’s collective I spotted a woollen rug that would fit nicely in my backpack. I couldn’t take home a kind-faced Tibetan woman, or fresh bread and yak cheese, nor a smoky, wooden room but a lightweight rug would be just right. It would be a souvenir that would not only serve as a good memory for me, but also as a donation to the collective.

I carried that little rug all the way home from the Himalayas and now it’s covered in flour. The only reason I can think of for keeping my treasured rug on the floor of my kitchen rather than preserved somewhere safe is that I wanted it to be alive and used as a part of my life like it would’ve been in its ancestral home. What good is it preserved forever if I can’t look at it and enjoy it and drop flour on it? A lesson in impermanence.

My water highly treated, straight from the tap and the flour bought pre-ground from a supermarket. I don’t even know where the salt came from, perhaps the New Zealand briny.

Her water fetched from the well and boiled, flour brought up from the Indian plains on over-decorated noisy trucks threatening to tip over the edge at every turn. Himalayan salt, a very grey variety.

Flour, water, salt. Wood, wool, Buddhas. Most of the recipes I write have more details, but I don’t think I’ll add anything.

You can find another version of this story as well as the recipe here.

I love...

2010-04-20T08:53:00.002+09:00

looking out, originally uploaded by Shanti, shanti.

sneaky-peek views.

Words that refuse to be written

2010-04-16T11:53:00.003+09:00

My brain is working already but I refuse to open my eyes and commit to the day until my alarm goes off. The flood of ideas begins as it does every morning. Sometimes it is things I would like to make or places I could go to compose a photo, but mostly it’s ideas for writing and I’m already mourning those that will never be written.

Some stories are able to be jotted down in skeletal form and revisited later to be built and nurtured into existence. Some are just topics that may turn into any number of possibilities, but there are others that I know will never exist outside of my mind in this moment in my sheets. Those are the ones I am sad about.

When these ideas come to life, they are in full colour and I can see the actions happening as if I am there. I may feel calm or my heart may race depending on what’s happening, or I may even feel the emotion of the situation and wonder if tears will well up. Sadly I know that these words are so perfect that I will not be able to recreate them with my fingers along the keyboard. They are asking to be enjoyed now.

There is no time to get a computer or even paper. To do that would be to interrupt the story and lose the ending forever. Computers have to power up, which takes an eternity when you want to get something down. And to start to write would be to distract my brain with details such as crispness of paper, graphite against white, or curly lettering that encourages my mind to drift towards images of feathers or dog tails.

I thought I’d come to a conclusion that I am meant to be writing this stuff down. After all these years of writing for myself and suffering somewhat ill-fitting careers I finally had the epiphany that this is what I was meant to be doing. The words have been trying to tell me this, but I haven’t listened until now. Now I am listening. I’ve shifted my entire life’s vantage point and have given up a regular income. All these sacrifices have felt so right, so why wouldn’t all of the words want to be written? What is the purpose of these stories that refuse to let me reproduce them? Is it the brain still dreaming from the previous night? Is it just processing and filing thoughts and the format just happens to be beautiful? Is this my brain’s way of saying, “Don’t get too cocky! You don’t get to show everyone the best stuff, you know.” ? Perhaps they are only gifts intended for me. How wonderful a notion.

I won’t be dissuaded. I’ll continue on with writing those things that want to be written. I feel rewarded by those good little stories that comply with the physical conventions of my life. Should I mourn the others? I somehow feel there is a different lesson to learn from those, but I haven’t found out what it is yet.

I love...

2010-04-12T12:30:00.002+09:00

Sunset over the neighbours house, originally uploaded by Shanti, shanti.

being home after a long flight and seeing the sun set between the houses.

I love...

2010-03-30T11:13:00.002+09:00

Mackerel sky, originally uploaded by Shanti, shanti.

dreamy mackerel skies.

I love...

2010-03-22T06:51:00.002+09:00

Where I'd rather be!, originally uploaded by Shanti, shanti.

travelling!

And, for the first time in many years, this time next week I will be in the United States. I'm very excited!

What I learned about myself by going to see the Pixies

2010-03-17T13:39:00.008+09:00

1. I am old.
I was looking around and thinking that this is a very old crowd. I was looking at the band and thinking how they’d got old (Even older than me, of course. Sorry Pixies.), but probably do yoga and eat healthy food in an effort to maintain their youthfulness like many of us. Then I realised that the crowd was probably mostly my age. Damn!

2. I sat in the seats.
In the old days I would’ve made sure that I queued, overnight with a sleeping bag in the rain if necessary, to get tickets for the floor so I could be in the mosh. But it didn’t even occur to me to do that this time. Actually, a friend was the first one to find out about the tour and kindly offered to organise the tickets online. Good on her too, because this was about four months ago. I’ve never been that organised.

3. I find it hard to be at a gig and sit still.
I never understood the restraint it would take people to sit and watch a gig nicely in a seat. But then, I’ve always been a bit of a dancer. However, being up in the stands, it does feed the vertigo if you dance with too much movement, so I did a sort of half-dance thing so I could at least feel the music. The women in front of me were quite drunk on glowing cocktails, however, and were unrestrained by the vertigo monster.

4. I’m prone to bouts of nostalgia.
In the old days, every gig I went to would’ve been in a small venue, heavy with the scent of smoke and marijuana, sticky underfoot from spilled beer and rum and cokes, crowded, dirty, young, and with sweat raining off the ceiling. I would’ve been high on adrenaline, screaming every word from the top of my voice and felt one with the band and the crowd, never worrying about the fact that I’d be hoarse, deaf, and a couple of kilos lighter the next day. And I would’ve loved every minute of it.

5. My gig-going behaviour may or may not be changing (it could just be society)
At this show I put cotton in my ears to make things clearer and to save my, probably already damaged, hearing. I sang every couple of lines or so unless it was one of my favourites. I thought about getting hydrated before I went and didn’t end up having a beer at all because I was driving (and actually paid out for safe parking). The numbers on the floor were controlled with wristbands and each person was directed to their padded seat by a smiling usher. The venue was non-smoking (I’m not a smoker anyway), shiny and new, air-conditioned, and sold the aforementioned cocktails in plastic glasses that glow in different colours and make me think of Lady Gaga. No, I didn’t have one. I drew a line.

6. I’m not that old.
I found myself watching the floor crowd much of the time and wishing I’d thought to try and get tickets for that. I was totally jealous of those people jumping as a huge amorphous unit and becoming ensconced in the music like in the old days. I even saw a couple of people make an attempt at crowd surfing. I should’ve made more of an effort to get onto the floor. I might be old, but I’m not sure if I’m ready to sit down yet.

And here is 1 minute of Debaser for your viewing pleasure from a very long distance and in very poor quality. Enjoy.

Auckland's West Coast Beaches

2010-03-16T09:29:00.019+09:00

All you can do is follow the lines on the twisting road while you’re surrounded by walls of native ferns and the occasional house of some lucky soul who has dropped out of city life. But, you know you are getting close when you start to get those rewarding glimpses of the big space you are looking for, the open sea.

A nice little bonus of staying in Auckland is that you can get to a number of beaches within a short drive. The pick of the bunch are less than an hour’s drive to the west. Piha, Karekare, Bethells/ Te Henga and Muriwai are four beaches, each with their own character, that are well worth the drive over the Waitakere Ranges. It’s easiest to think of the beaches in two pairs.

Piha and Karekare

The dramatic thing about arriving at these two beaches is that you drop down from above. At Piha, there is even a popular place to pull over check out the view before descending. Make your own postcards here. And, you may recognise Karekare as the beach that The Piano was filmed on.Although the West Coast beaches are known for their volcanic sand, here it is a mix of black and the more usual brown sand that provides a tiger-stripe effect in some places and is very soft underfoot. The pounding waves that produce this fine sand are also the reason that these beaches are a perfect venue for the surf competitions that happen throughout the year. Surf comp or no surf comp, it’s great to soak up the atmosphere and have a picnic. If you aren’t keen on loading up the chilly bin with your own eats, at Piha there is a small takeaway place where you can get burgers, chips and ice cream.

To get to Piha and Karekare, you point your car in the direction of Titirangi village, which is nice place to stop for breakfast, lunch or a coffee en route. There is also a small supermarket where you can pick up picnicking supplies. Immediately after Titirangi you will come to a roundabout where you veer on to the second left known as Scenic Drive. After a short drive you will see the Arataki Visitor Centre on the left which is the gateway to the Waitakeres and provides good information on local flora and fauna as well as directions to the various walks and tramps in the area. From there, keep driving until you see the turnoff on your left for Karekare, or continue on to Piha.

Muriwai and Bethell’s/ Te Henga

Muriwai is characterised by the gannet colony that exists here. You can climb up to the outcrop and look down on the migratory birds from a viewing platform. Depending on the time of year, the birds may be sitting on what seem like impossibly large eggs or flying off and back to feed the fluffy chicks, which is always fun to watch. Fishing off the rocks is fairly popular, but it is not recommended as people regularly get washed off. Instead, take a walk along the dark black, sparkly, and very hot volcanic sand. Or simply just relax and watch (or join in with!) the kite surfers.Te Henga looks and feels very wild. You emerge between two large dunes to come out to a wide, and often windswept, beach. It’s great for surfing or a dip in the briny, but do have a look at the surf lifesaver’s board before venturing in as the conditions can be a bit rough sometimes. If in doubt, there is a great lagoon that is especially fun for children. Just bear in mind that if you choose the beach on the far side of the lagoon at low tide, you may find yourself on a bit of a hike to get back at high tide. You generally need to bring your own food here, but at some times of the year there is a little caravan café that serves up good coffee and snacks.
Muriwai and Te Henga are the northernmost of the four beaches and can be accessed by going up Scenic Drive as you would for Piha, and then taking Waitakere Road to Te Henga Road for Te Henga. For Muriwai, continue on to Kumeu and travel west until you run out of road.

As with all beaches in New Zealand, on the west coast beaches what you see is not always what you get in terms of calm waters. There are a lot of dangerous rips and undertows. Be safe and swim between the flags. And if there aren’t any flags or lifeguards, it means the beach is closed so don’t risk a swim. But with a bit of common sense and a slathering of sun block, New Zealand’s clean, beautiful beaches are an experience not to be missed.

Note: While writing a recent article on Matador.com about What NOT to Do in Auckland, I realised that I really wanted to expand upon the information I gave regarding the west coast beaches. Since I'm now a student at the virtual campus of Matador U, I thought it'd make a great assignment topic. So, here it is. Fire away with feedback!

I love...

2010-03-15T12:36:00.002+09:00

Power breakkie!, originally uploaded by Shanti, shanti.

Natto !

(I apologise to all those whom this offends)

I love...

2010-03-08T12:41:00.003+09:00

Lao text, originally uploaded by Shanti, shanti.

typography.

A little mid-week relaxation

2010-03-03T16:39:00.001+09:00

powerlinerflyers from wes johnson on Vimeo.

Happy Wednesday!

I love...

2010-03-01T18:05:00.006+09:00

the way my city embraces Chinese New Year.

I love...

2010-02-22T09:48:00.003+09:00

jandals- choice holiday footwear, originally uploaded by Shanti, shanti.

jandal* days.
Please let us have a few more weeks of summer. Oh please, oh please, oh please, oh please, oh please, oh please...

*New Zealand English for flip-flops

language

2010-02-18T13:13:00.007+09:00

Before you can read, your discoveries revolve around bright colours, noises, touch, taste, and love. And then you get language. Language that helps you express your needs and wants. Beautiful language that allows you to understand the stories that your parents read to you before tucking you up for the night. Then you start to gain more control of language and, if you're lucky, you learn to read. When you start to read you get to add the element of wonder about those other places and people that, for now, only exist on the pages. Even when I was small I remember wanting to meet people from other cultures and go to places that I read about in books.

Before I began my life of wandering, it was language that helped me to find out what I liked and didn't like about school. It was language that allowed me to learn about myself through journalling and reading Anne Frank's Diary and Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. The stories of others informed my own.

It was also language that helped me through my teenage years. Song lyrics, important scribblings on covers of notebooks about who liked whom that week, and notes to pass in class (probably also about who liked whom). These writings were crucial to me in those days. Words of dire importance that made or broke friendships.

My favourite use of spoken language in those days was to make carefully scripted yet inevitably naff videos with friends on the giant VHS recorders of the day and to talk in "outrageous French accents" as dictated by Monty Python. These silly little linguistic episodes tied some of us together for life and much of the language re-emerges whenever we converse.

Who knew then that our interest in manipulating language for a laugh would be the thing that indicated our alike-ness? Language won over career choice, political or religious views, or any of the other things people think are important. It's a pattern that has repeated itself over the years whenever I've met new people. I seem to warm instantly to people that enjoy a similar interest in manoeuvring language for effect and those are the friendships that have lasted.

I'm blessed to have been born into a situation that allowed me to take action on my dreams to explore. My love of language, my own and that of others, has been the foundation and that which has allowed me to connect.

Everything is beautiful today

2010-02-17T13:05:00.005+09:00

I had full intentions of coming home and writing something, but on the way everything just looked so beautiful today that I couldn't resist taking a few photos.

I love...

2010-02-15T06:27:00.007+09:00

Tết markets and night time flower displays.
Chúc mừng năm mới!!

Trapeze lessons

2010-02-11T16:33:00.013+09:00

I'm struggling with the need for money versus the need to feed my creative soul. I don't think I'm special. Everyone who creates in some way knows this dichotomy. Although I'm a wee bit spooked by swinging on the trapeze without a safety harness I'm about to leave the edge and do it. I've got three more weeks on the teaching contract I've taken on and then it's sink or swim. The teaching safety net is there, but it's a long way down and to be honest I'm hanging on tightly to the bar. I want to be up here. I love swinging through the air and kicking out this story and that. I love the idea of letting my stories support my life. I love the idea of doing something on my own terms without a ringmaster.

But there are people, creative ones, who've been teaching me how to hold on. I'm not sure if they even know who they are or what lessons they have taught me. Some of them are bloggers or colleagues or writers or photographers who I've been in touch with for a long time. Some of them are family or friends. Some of them are people I've met recently and have maybe even only had the briefest of interactions with. Many of them I have never met in person.

Is it in our nature to look for ourselves in others? When I find someone who holds the same things dear that I do and they are doing what I want to do, I'm inspired. I'm lifted.

She is doing this thing?

Then I can do this thing!

Lately there have been many of these people. I don't know where they are coming from or how they are finding me (or am I finding them?) but I'm extremely grateful. I'll thank each of these people in the little ways that I can, but until I can get round to all of my amazing teachers, thank you. Thank you for your the trapeze lessons that you don't even know you've taught.

I love...

2010-02-08T07:54:00.002+09:00

wooden blessings, originally uploaded by Shanti, shanti.

wishes and blessings and people thinking about other people.

I love...

2010-02-01T14:28:00.002+09:00

Bush track to a sandy surf beach, originally uploaded by Shanti, shanti.

three day weekends that allow time for tramping through native bush to discover remote sandy surf beaches.

Happy Auckland Day!!

I love...

2010-01-25T04:33:00.002+09:00

silence in the afternoon, originally uploaded by Shanti, shanti.

tea breaks

I love...

2010-01-19T05:46:00.002+09:00

tendrils, originally uploaded by Shanti, shanti.

nikau blooms that hang in tendrils of pink

The little shiso that could

2010-01-17T14:34:00.001+09:00

The little shiso that could, originally uploaded by Shanti, shanti.

What follows is a story of seredipity. Two things I really miss from Japan are mioga and shiso. Actually there are more things, but for simplicity let's just stick with these for now. And...actually, I think I need to give up on finding mioga so...OK, here's the story.

I've been looking for shiso since we got back and really don't understand why we don't have it here since it would easily grow in our climate. I even went on an internet hunt for suppliers of rare seeds to see if I could grow my own. Happily, I did find a supplier, but before I could place an order I realised that I'm not doing very well at keeping the herbs I've got happy. Rather than buy more expensive seeds and probably not get round to propogating them in my current busy state, I sort of gave up for the time being.

I did, however put in a lovely courgette plant that a friend gave me only to find that the slugs enjoyed the entire plant before it could produce anything. Hurumph! I also planted some radishes, which I figured were low maintenance. Even though the slugs chomped holes in the leaves, most of the radishes were OK save the fact that we had a bit too much to-ing and fro-ing of spring weather and so they kind of bolted and got all woody. Whatever! I was determined and planted another row. Bear in mind that all of this is in an expansive plot of about 40cm by 80cm.

This time I dumped some coffee grounds on the soil which not only kept the slugs at bay (unless they were just too full to eat anymore, that is!), but cleared the way for a couple of random herb-y looking plants to pop up.

I stupidly pulled the first one up thinking it was a weed but then realised that the leaves looked a bit like a mint or lemonbalm. So I just let the other two be and didn't get back to check on the "garden" for a week or two. But when I did I thought the shape of the leaves looked a bit familiar. Could it be? No way...could it? I pinched one of the leaves and it smelled most definitely of shiso!

How can it be that the very thing I wanted manifested itself in my own garden despite being a rarity in these parts? I'm convinced that we often try so hard, that we don't just let the magic happen.

I'm trying hard to take this attitude to my teaching. I've just finished my first week of 5 and I'm completely and utterly knackered! Am I trying too hard? Am I forgetting to be in the moment? I'm going to excuse myself because the first week in any job is always about organising and settling in. But now that I'm planned up for most of the coming week, I'm going to try to take a step back and just enjoy being with the students and see what happens.

I'm also thinking that there's a lesson here for my writing. For the past few months I've been intensively researching the who, what, why, where and how of writing for a living. At first, I thought of this teaching gig as one of distraction from what I'm trying to do albeit a necessary one in a monetary sense. But now I'm thinking that I'm supposed to be doing this so I can distance myself from all the research, remember another facet of my identity, and just meet people. There are living, breathing people out there! There are people who hold valuable information and connections out there! People who pop up like surprise shiso plants!

There are also ideas and inspiration out there. Things I can write about. Places, people, things, Japanese herbs! Why is it so easy to feel you are in a creative space when, really you are in a rut? All the amazing books I've been reading and all the cool people I've been talking to on the internet, and even rented DVDs are inspirational. But sometimes you need to change your vantage point for just a second in order to see things more clearly and to let the surprises pop up.

I love...

2010-01-12T04:26:00.002+09:00

handmade BBQ warming up, originally uploaded by Shanti, shanti.

Homemade, bodge-it-together, barbeques.

I love...

2010-01-04T16:29:00.003+09:00

Oh happy day!, originally uploaded by Shanti, shanti.

the smell of Vegemite in the morning.

" I love Mondays " will be my new photo series. What do you think? A bit of positive thinking at the beginning of the week has never hurt anyone, has it?

After Christmas detox breakfast

2009-12-29T08:48:00.001+09:00

Quinoa porridge with almonds, Brazil nuts, dates, and dried apricots, originally uploaded by Shanti, shanti.

Here's a quick way to deal with all that merriment you've been embibing in over that past week or two.

Quinoa porridge with almonds, Brazil nuts, dried apricots and dates

1 cup quinoa
1.5 cups water
.5 cup of milk or soymilk (Any mix of liquid is fine as long as it equals up to 2 cups. I sometimes like more milk to make it creamier.)
half a handful of slivered almonds
5 or 6 of each of the following:
dried apricots chopped
dates chopped
Brazil nuts chopped

Rinse the quinoa a couple of times and sort out any tiny stones.
Bring quinoa and liquid to a boil and then add the other ingredients.
Turn down the heat to a simmer for about 15 minutes until all of the liquid has been absorbed.
You can tell when quinoa is ready because the little tales start to show (Yes, this is still a vegetarian recipe!)

At the table you might want to add more milk like you would with regular porridge/ oatmeal and possible some honey, agave syrup, etc. but it tends to be quite sweet naturally from the dates.

Serves one or two depending on how hungry/hungover you are.

Enjoy!

Happy Christmas and New Year to everyone!

2009-12-24T07:14:00.002+09:00

I hope you all have a fantastic holiday and get some major relaxing in!

Feeling write-y

2009-12-17T06:28:00.004+09:00

Itchin’. My fingers are itchin’ to write sommit. But they can’t do it without my brain. Where’s my brain? Where’s my head? C’MON BRAIN! Tell my fingers what to do. C’mon eyes! Give my brain sommit to think about so it can tell my fingers what to do. What do I have to do to get through to you lot? We want to write sommit here. We’re feeling creative. Channel. Channel. Maybe they are all feeling unloved. Forgotten. Taken for granted. OK, loving kindness meditation sending out some vibes. I love you eyes. I love you brain. I love you fingers. Anything? Look out the window, eyes. Maybe the muse is walking by. Typing. Typing. Typing…nothing. Doodle in your Molskine. What does it look like? Does it look like sommit to write about? Damn! Big breath. OK, now you’re ready to write. Readyyyyyyyyyyy GO! Damn!

Waiting for the Shinkansen

2009-12-11T13:59:00.003+09:00

I'm waiting for the Shinkansen. Waiting for the starched suited man to salute the driver. Waiting for the engine hum to dull. Waiting for the white glove to point at alignment. Waiting for the rush of cold from the opening door. Waiting to walk through the cloud of smoke and into the non-smoking cabin. Waiting to settle and tuck in to an ekibento. Waiting to be whisked off to somewhere exciting.

Social networking-How it would work in real life

2009-12-07T12:09:00.006+09:00

When I start reading a blog or a Tweet by someone I don't know and then click on one of their contacts' blogs or something else on their page, it seems I inevitably end up on the page of someone I know from Flickr, Twitter, my own blog readers, Matador, etc. How is that? Are we all getting our contacts from each others pages or is it just that the people you are friends with just have the same taste as you? I'd really like to see a drawing of the map I take when on the net and how it matches up with the map of others. Do they have that yet? I'm sure I'd be going round in circles and eventually passing through the circles of others. Anyway, I can see it in my head even if I can't explain it here. But what if social networking worked in the same way in real life?

Imagine this. In real life, I walk up to a friend who is talking to someone I don't know. But, hey, I really like how they think.

"Can I be your friend?", I ask.

"Sure" they'll confirm. And then we'll go on our merry way.

A couple of weeeks later I'll be watching a gig with my brother and a mutual friend of ours when I run into my new friend from the last conversation who is with her other friend that I don't know.

"Wow, how funny to run into you here!" she'll exclaim. It's like we're really old mates now.

"Yeah, this is my brother and our friend (who is really just an aquaintance we are doing a favour by taking to the gig)"

"Cool. Your brother's hot. Can I be his friend?"

"Probably, just ask him."

"Can I be your friend?" she asks my brother.

"Sure", answers my brother.

Then our aquaintance wants in on the game and he asks new friend, "Can I be your friend too?".

New friend: "Um,maybe not." and walks off.

Now, my brother is out one time and runs into the new friend and my original friend.
"Hey new friend. I like your friend here. New friend's friend, can I be your friend?"

"Sure", she replies.

Then the next time I'm out with my original friend, my brother walks up to us saying, "How's it going? Wow, I didn't know that you two knew each other."

I'm starting to think that there are as few degrees of separation on the internet as there are in New Zealand...and that ain't many. Do you ever end up on a good blog and think you want to follow it but then see someone you sort of know from another site you frequent is also a follower. But you don't want that person to think you are stalking so you don't follow the new blog, just in case? No? OK, I guess that's just me then.

Catching up

2009-12-01T13:40:00.002+09:00

Souvenirs safely stowed in the overhead compartments, trays and seatbacks upright, my parents have finally taken off back to California and I am soon to be back on the blogging circuit. But for now, some well-needed sleep as I'm totally worn out!

Visitors landing soon!

2009-11-20T07:31:00.001+09:00

View from Mt. Eden, originally uploaded by Shanti, shanti.

I'm not sure how much blogging I'm going to get done in the next two weeks as my parents are flying in from Los Angeles tomorrow morning. We are frantically tidying up things and generally making our house into a place for four rather than two!

We haven't seen them since they came to visit us in Japan although with blogs, Skype, Flickr, email, Twitter, etc. it's easy to forget how long it's been. We'll definitely do some fun tourist things, but I'm pretty sure there's going to be a lot of NZ wine and food ingested. I'd better get one last visit with my treadmill before this happens!

So, see ya later bloggies and readers! In the meantime you can enjoy this view of Auckland from the top of Mt. Eden. It's a dormant volcano in the city and I love walking round the crater rim or taking a picnic up there when it's warm.

Marie

P.S. Ireland were robbed! I hope they get that sorted out. how ridiculous!

Love

2009-11-16T13:05:00.001+09:00

Love, originally uploaded by Shanti, shanti.

Just sending it out there to all you bloggers in the blog-o-sphere!

Thank you Carol!

2009-11-08T12:42:00.006+09:00

We recently had the pleasure of having two houseguests, one from Japan and one from Seattle, Washington in the US. An amazing time was had by all as we waxed lyrical about the beautiful things in life and spent a lot of time laughing and imbibing in lovely food and New Zealand wine and tea and more tea!

So, last week when a parcel arrived from one of the guests, Carol, I was really excited. What a great surprise! How the hell am I going to wait until Mr. P gets home to open it? Or should I peek now? Nope, I waited (although it almost killed me!).

When we finally cracked into the package we found a beautiful tea cozy, handmade from batik fabric. Being avid tea-drinkers, a tea cozy is something we've really been needing since we drink the stuff by the potfull. How thoughtful of Carol to remember this little detail about us and to spend time making such a nice, personal gift.

But wait, there's more! We couldn't believe that when we looked inside it was lined with...can it be?... sock monkey fabric!

Thank you Carol! We love it!

More pining for Vietnam

2009-11-08T11:40:00.003+09:00

I really wish I was in Saigon right now. I want to go to my favourite coffee spot and pho shop. I want to drive round past the cathedral on a Sunday on my Honda Wave, and I want to go shopping in my favourite vegetable market.

Anyone else missing anywhere?

The Single Story-Chimananda Ngozi Adichie

2009-11-05T12:45:00.003+09:00

I saw this woman speak aat The Auckland Readers' and Writers' Festival this year. She's a great speaker and I was so impressed that I bought her book. This really resonates with me as having lived in so many countries and heard the "single story" so many times. My favourite part is when she said, "The problem with stereotypes is not that they are true, but that they are incomplete.".

Frequent Flyer Freaks

2009-11-03T12:49:00.003+09:00

I love airports.

I used to go to Auckland International for coffee sometimes just to see people come and go, listen to the islanders singing relatives off, and just soak up the atmosphere in general. But these days you have to pay for parking and it pretty much makes for an expensive coffee.

Every day that I go to work I drive past the turn off to the airport and on the way home I sometimes have a hard time keeping my car on the route home. Last week I actually did plan an afternoon in the airport. I decided that I'd use my laptop to catch up on some writing and have lunch.

Well, it turned out that the internet was not free (and I refuse to pay!)and my battery had died anyway, so I really just had an expensive lunch once you add in the parking. Ironically, it was good Japanese ramen though. I haven't even had ramen like that since I'd been back in NZ although the portion was a bit stingy.

When I started watching this doco I was surprised to find that Pico Iyer was in it. Apparently he is a frequent flyer mile geek, but he also stated that he'd spent a considerable amount of time in and around LAX at one point. Since I've always admired his writing and can relate to the way he sees things this sort of affinity with airports makes sense.

I know the frequent flyer phenomenon is something we miss out on living in a small country where you can't get much for short flights, but we do win big when going abroad since we're so far from everywhere. However, I would say that the people on this film are extreme. I really wonder what they do for a job. How do they have so much time for all this flying around to accrue miles? It's interesting nonetheless and just goes to show that there is a regular version and a geek version of everything, even travel.

Do you make use of air miles?

Frequent Flyer from Gabriel Leigh on Vimeo.

Remembering the little things to remember myself

2009-11-01T14:33:00.002+09:00

It's been a crazy week and I can't believe it's Friday. You know things are hectic when you go to bed on Monday night and then suddenly realise the week is over. It's easy to forget yourself. My husband and I moved to New Zealand 10 years ago and after a few years abroad in Vietnam and Japan we realised that New Zealand was calling us back. We missed the green and the fresh air, and the more relaxed lifestyle that doesn't happen in Japan and Saigon where life is quite full-on most of the time. Time to come home and start living at a healthy pace again. However...

A couple of days ago I read and commented on David Miller's article about raising chickens and it got me thinking about how, in the craziness of re-settling it's like my husband and I have forgotten why we came back. We spend our days rushing round to work, on errands, getting the shopping in, doing washing (Well, OK, he does most of the washing.) and pretty much occupying our time with thinking about the next jobs we've got to do. So, what the hell? I mean, we're living a Japanese style life right here in New Zealand.

I have this old photo of a tree covering our room in a guest house in Malaysia. A severe storm had passed through during the night and when we woke up, we had to remove this bloody tree that had been strewn across our entrance in order to get out. After all the hard work, we settled in to breakfast at a local cafe and then on our way back into the room we noticed a hornet on the wall outside. We only noticed it because we could actually hear it crunching. Loudly! We both stood there mesmerised by this hornet crunching on the wall and then spitting it up in order to make its nest. After about 5 minutes of this we decided to get comfortable. We pulled a couple of stools out of the room and sat ther for no less than 45 minutes watching this little thing work. It's the kind of situation that you emerge from feeling like you've had a nap. You are aware that your blood pressure has gone down and there is a clarity in you thinking.

Why did I write this? Well, that's where I want to be. Back in that mindspace where time is elastic and the smallest things encompass the brain to the point that you realise all this stuff we occupy ourselves with is not necessarily what we need. I want to regain a clarity of thought and a relaxed feeling about life. I know me. I know I get this from meditation or creativity.

This afternoon I'm leaving my computer and all the stuff in the house behind to take some closeup photos. Then, when I get home, I'm going to find that photo of the guesthouse room with the tree covering it to remind me that what I can't see is the little hornet that taught me how to return to myself.

Beware of dodgy commentors!!

2009-10-28T12:05:00.002+09:00

Someone new commented on my blog today and I, as usual, followed their link to see what their blog was like. It appeared to be an older Malaysian gentleman and all or most of the blog was in Bahasa Malay with a load of followers shown right in the centre of the page. I'm describing this in detail because if you come across it, get out of there quickly!
I think it was when I clicked on his profile that it sent a stupid annoying virus to my computer which turns the volume right up and moos and baas and whistles. I don't know how to get rid of it and I'm bloody annoyed as I just bought this new computer two days ago. I hope one of my IT mates can help me sort it out. Until then I've got a stupid barnyard going on on my computer.
By the way, I do have anti-virus software installed and I also use comment moderation. But it happened when I clicked on the commentor's name to go to his blog. Sorry I don't have the name because I deleted it before I thought to report him, duh!
Be careful!

Why I should never write poetry

2009-10-27T13:39:00.006+09:00

Oh green tea,
how I love thee.
Your antioxidant power,
makes me stronger by the hour.
For good health, surely, you are the key.
(Along with a little dark chocolate)

Nostalgic food #356. Pizza Toast

2009-10-23T12:40:00.003+09:00

Pizza toast!
Originally uploaded by Shanti, shanti

Remember the days of living on nothing but beer, chips and tea with the odd kebab thrown in for stamina on a night out? In England we had pretty much anything on toast and cheap (yucky!) white bread was only pence a loaf.

I used to go round my (now) husband's house and they'd be eating "sauce sarnies". Yes, you've guessed it, any sauce they had in the fridge like brown sauce, tomato sauce, and/ or salad cream would go between two slices of Spar's cheapest. On a good night they'd buy a bag of chips between four of them and a few of those would go into the mix.

At my house we were civilised in that we used fire. By that I mean, we toasted our bread. It's be toast with tomato puree and cheese. But, if we were lucky, someone would have some cheap dried "herbes de Province" and those would get sprinkled on. Pure luxury!

So the other day I was in the mood for a bit of nostalgic eating but I decided to make it a bit more posh. Wholegrain toast, leftover tomato sauce from spaghetti, real cheese and fresh toms with a bunch of herbs inside. On the side I had, shock horror, some green salad. Both the nostalgic me and the grown up me were satisfied.

Two days later Mr. P made me this. I guess he's grown up too!

Sand animation

2009-10-16T07:17:00.003+09:00

only I want to call it 'sandimation', but I'll resist. This video is so amazing that I had to steal it from Tina's blog, who I think might've stolen it from someone else's blog, and the love goes on...
Kseniya Simonova was the winner of the Ukraine's Got Talent contest.

It's about time...

2009-10-10T11:45:00.005+09:00

...for me to learn how to use my camera properly. Seriously, I've never learned how to use it properly and just fumble round with buttons until I get some sort of result, or worse, the opportunity is gone. I've somehow picked up this vague notion of adjusting for light conditions, but it was a few years back when I used film. In fact, I guess that's my problem. I was just getting the hang of film and then I got my DSLR in Japan and made the changeover about 4 years ago, but have never got to grips with the technology. And this extends to Photoshop.

I like to joke that hey, my photos are all natural. None have been touched up. The truth is it's only because I've got no idea how to use Photoshop. I've got a digital camera in my mitts, but my head is stuck in the film era.
The final straw was when I needed to write a bio and send a photo of myself for an article I recently wrote for matador.com. I looked in my files for a pic of me and proceeded to search for Photoshop on my computer. It had pretty much buried itself in the 'never used files' basement of my computer.

OK, I've got the thing open...OK, I've got the photo on the table...now crop, crop...hmmmmmmm? Right! I've found it! God, I'm such a dork! OK, I've cropped the photo to the needed size and save. Shit! No! Dammit! I fricking went and rewrote the original file, didn't I? Since it was a photo a student had taken of me in Thailand I guess I now have to practice some serious Buddhist non-attachment and say goodbye to that one.

There are two community ed programmes within driving distance of my house and I hope one of them has a teacher who is up for a challenge.

A little something for the writer on the go

2009-10-08T11:31:00.003+09:00

One of my Twitter contacts just Tweeted this. If you live in the normal world, you can get it as an app for your iPhone. If you live in New Zealand where we are afraid of such high fallutin' technology mumbo jumbo, you can just use it on the net so that you don't have to look after random flash drives. Basically it means you can write or blog on your work computer and not have to email it to yourself, which is what I tend to do.
Check it out here.

Do not adjust your set

2009-10-07T15:16:00.002+09:00

The following is a test...

Fighting the cold with grated apple and Brazil nut porridge

2009-10-05T12:22:00.001+09:00

It's gone cold again! Time for porridge.
Originally uploaded by Shanti, shanti

Yesterday I didn't even need my cardigan, but today it's 12 degrees!? I hope this is the last cold spell before summer is well and truly here. I'm ready for the sunshine. I've even had to put the heater on again so it started off smelling of burning dust. Normally I associate that smell with the beginning of the cold days of the year, not the end. And I've just brewed my fifth cup of tea for the day!

Tsunami

2009-10-01T12:00:00.004+09:00

I've been here before. Very lucky not to have been directly involved, but deeply affected all the same. Flashback to South East Asia. I knew something bad was happening before my students as yesterday morning I saw the earthquake on the morning news before heading off to work. My students start at 5am so I knew they had no idea. It seemed that the shaking was all a bit scary, bit there was no reported damage and there was no tsunami. By the time I got to work, the reports were getting mixed with some saying there was nothing to worry about and others giving eyewitness accounts of villages being flattened. Of course, student after student came and went and I never mentioned a thing. I didn't want them to be upset at work all day if there was no reason for it. But, by the time I got home and checked the news the mood had changed completely. The death toll was already rising and many were missing.

This morning when my first student arrived in my room (I teach one-to-one)I could just feel the sadness before he sat down. I asked if he was OK, no answer. When I asked again, with as much English as he could muster, he said, "I don't know what has happened.". At that point he pretty much broke down crying and although I'd been practically holding my breath until that point I, too, started to tear up. I got up to get a box of tissues out of my drawer so we could each partake.

His Aunt, either his sister or sister-in-law, and his 5 year old niece are missing, but since his village has been wiped out he's already decided they are dead. I felt ridiculously helpless...and sad.

I think he just wanted to sit down for a while and talk about life in Samoa. In effect, his reflections seemed to be asking why he is here in New Zealand when he should be back in Samoa where life is simple and you don't have to pay for food, housing, and water. You just build your house, grow your food, and spend time with your family.

Later I found out that another employee has heard that his father is dead and one more has a brother who is in critical condition. There's also a lovely young guy who is always singing in the cafeteria. He was reading the paper this morning at work and recognised three names in the headlining story about the deaths. Those were his three little cousins. Shocked, he changed into his street clothes and headed off home in his car.

I really don't know what to do. I know there's nothing I can do to fix this, but I guess it's human nature to keep thinking it through as if you could actually come up with something. All I can do is write this. Write to process, write to inform, and write as a memorial to those who are so loved and missed.

John Key in the U.S.

2009-09-25T13:45:00.003+09:00

I don't like National, but at least John Key (our Prime Minister) did a good job on Letterman.I thought this was really cool of him to do even though most of us were really nervous about how it would come out.

Drunkenness is my potential new teaching methodology

2009-09-21T06:36:00.004+09:00

Full thanks to Matto for sending me this.

Undress Me in The Temple of Heaven

2009-09-19T12:50:00.003+09:00

Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven by Susan Jane Gilman

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Not judging the book by its title, which might lead you to believe it is quite a sexy book (it’s not), I really just expected this to be another backpacker’s account of her jaunt through Asia. As someone who, like many others, has “done the jaunt” herself, I found a lot to relate to so, excuse me as I write this review from a very personal viewpoint. The book is set in China in the mid-eighties, a couple of years before my own first, brief encounter with mainland China. Susan Gilman and her not-very-well-known friend, Claire Van Houten hatched a plan on the back of a paper placemat while out late one night of conquering the world on a trans-planetary trip. They decided to start in China and the descriptions Gilman writes of encounters with bureaucracy, once grand but now falling apart ships and other transport barely held together with spot welding, hotel and travel agent staff who tow the party line as far as only presenting what was allowed to be presented…and no more, not to mention other backpackers, is spot on. Anyone who travelled to China in the late 1980s right up to the mid-late 1990s will relate to this book on some level and probably really enjoy it for the nostalgia factor. Places too, ring true from freakishly tiny and sparse, swimming pool tile-lined guesthouse rooms in Chunking Mansions, a backpacker icon that is still existing in that ‘state’ as far as I know. If you haven’t been there or read the book yet, I don’t want to give anything more away as her expectations versus reality play-by-play about the place is brilliant. And this is just the first part of the journey.Yangshuo is another centre of the backpacking world in China and, in those days, was one of the few places foreigners could go and decompress from all the experiences had during travel in China. To have been struggling, quite out of your depth, with renegade bus drivers, unknown animal parts served up in soup, and language barriers for weeks on end then, finally coming upon the then little village of Yangshuo with its rows of cafés serving Western-style food from English, French, and German menus just seemed like a godsend. I really liked how Gilman placed their visit to Yangshuo in the story as sort of the beginning of the end as that is exactly how the place feels to many who’ve travelled there. You get a sense of having slogged your way round in relative hardship and this is the intrepid backpackers’ reward…banana pancakes all around! Don’t get me wrong. It wasn’t just the reminiscing factor that I enjoyed about the book. There is also the storyline of what it is like being with someone you barely know, 24/7, for weeks on end. In this case, the increasingly bizarre relations between Gilman and her friend Claire whilst travelling in a country with a high difficulty rating, as far as backpacking goes, make for an interesting thread that runs throughout.Call me non-imaginative, but I do like books that go back and tie up lose ends. Gilman does this in her Afterwards chapter really well. For readers who haven’t travelled to China, you could easily get a sense that what the book describes is how it still is to travel around the vast country. In some places it really is still like that, but China has been hurtling towards a developed travel infrastructure at an alarming pace. Even 10 years after the book was set, it was sad to my Western nostalgic sensibilities to already see beautiful old temples crumbling or being replaced by white tiled square boxes of buildings. In fact, the first time I went to Shen Zhen on the mainland near Hong Kong in 1989, it was a small village with dirt roads. I remember an old man pulling his cart full of pigs past me. The next time I went there in 1998, it was full of gleaming white sky scrapers. I actually had to check my journal to see that I was indeed thinking of the right place. I was. In 9 years the place had become unrecognisable. Gilman’s modern description of the places her and Claire had been to really expresses the changes that have taken place. Changes that would have to be seen to be believed otherwise.In short, although I had low expectations of the book, I was pleasantly surprised. I would recommend this to anyone with an interest in travelling independently in China. And I would strongly recommend this to those who have already participated in the backpacking rituals associated with travel in China. You will be reliving much of that experience!

View all my reviews >>

Dreaming of Vietnam

2009-09-19T11:51:00.001+09:00

Lanterns in Hoi An, Vietnam
Originally uploaded by Shanti, shanti

Ever since someone made a comment here about my time in Vietnam I’ve been really pining for those days. By sheer coincidence, I noticed a little file on my computer marked “Vietnam”. Hmm!? We lived there before I started blogging and way before I had a digital camera or even this hard drive that my photos are kept on, so I thought all the photos were in slide form. But we must’ve had some put on disc and at some point I uploaded them. I’ve spent an entire Saturday morning reminiscing about those days. I would love to go back there although I think I’d try living in Ha Noi rather than Ho Chi Minh City, just do get a different perspective. Ha Noi, you are calling me!

A little technical hand required

2009-09-18T12:15:00.004+09:00

I'm confused about Blogger comments. I have comment moderation activated and it works just fine. I open the page and OK any new comments. But then they disappear from the list and reappear on the relevant entry. Fine. But if someone comments on an older entry, is there no way to find out which entry that person's comment went to? I'm not making sense and I know it.
OK, someone comments on a blog entry I wrote a few months ago, only I don't know which entry they are commenting on because there's not a date on the comments awaiting moderation. Is there any way to find this date? Any old Blogger hands know??

In other news, it's gorgeous and sunny and really warming up. Without saying this out loud and jinxing it for everyone...shhhhh, I think summer is coming, shhhh... And, do you know what else? It's Friday so I'm off to the pub to enjoy it!

(Photo randomly selected from the ones I took out our window in Osaka)

Well...duh!

2009-09-14T12:08:00.002+09:00

So THAT'S what it means! Before I tell you what I'm talking about, a little disclaimer. For the past five years I've been living in Vietnam, where every page of the internet is painfully downloaded pixel by pixel so that it can be screened by the government before you're allowed to view it. Not conducive to doing anything other than letting friends and family know you are alive and well and eating too much pho. Then I was in the inaka (countryside) of Japan where the connection speed was great but I didn't have a technically minded group of people around me to discuss the latest in technology. And then, finally, I've been back in good ol' NZ but had a really crappy connection speed even though I did soldier on to the best of my ability. Now I've got broadband...which is a relative term down here, but it's useable, and a three day work week that allows me time to spend doing "research". OK, so here it goes...wait for it...

"WEB 2.0" just means interactive web pages!

I swear to God I had never thought about what that meant before. Yes, I'm ashamed to say that I live in cyber space as much as the next blogger. Can they take my blogging rights away from me?

World of confusion: Writing

2009-09-11T15:04:00.004+09:00

That's it! I've decided. I'm a reasonably intelligent woman, who thinks she can write reasonably well, and who doesn't want to work for other people any more. This was some of the thinking that prompted me to launch my food blog in order to get something out there. So, I thought I'd give myself until the end of the year to research the possibilities of freelance writing. I mean, the actual writing is one thing, but I'm the first to admit that I know nada about the industry.

The universe tends to provide, methinks, as all of a sudden I've met two writers in the past week. It seems I need to start building up a portfolio of work and commercial writing seems to be a way to do it. I was thinking that could be my bread and butter and anything else I do would be a bonus at the beginning. Do I know what I am talking about? Hell no!

I'm not sure how you get to know just what types of opportunities and avenues there are out there, but I've started reading everything I can get my hands on. Still hoping for that 26 hour clock to set in. I've always worked with words, but I guess I'd have had a better feel for the market if I'd studied journalism or some such at uni...well, too late. But I'm thinking that my knowledge of travel, food and education can be channeled somewhere.

Yes, this post is me thinking out loud...and maybe a cry for help...and full of bad writing (This won't be in the aforementioned portfolio!), but I'm determined. OK universe. Bring it!

social networking as a means to spying on students

2009-09-11T12:57:00.001+09:00

Sadly, I imagine this is actually true for some people!

Facebook, Twitter Revolutionizing How Parents Stalk Their College-Aged Kids

How to relax (even when you don't know that you are wound up!)

2009-09-08T13:59:00.005+09:00

1. Take a week off work.
2. Air out your sleeping bag,waterproofs and boots.
3. Pack up the station wagon.
4. Get out of the city and into the wilds.
5. Make a small plan but be open to changing it completely.
6. Put boot to Earth and breath the fresh air in deeply.
7. Put ski to snow and hurtle down a volcano.
8. Spend time with old and very dear friends drinking wine and laughing.
9. Observe the beginning of spring.
10. Revel in the feeling of calm and contentment!

Into the wild green yonder

2009-08-28T09:11:00.002+09:00

So, the main reason I wanted to come back from Asia was because I missed the wide-open spaces of Aotearoa. I also missed seeing green and having enough room in my flat to swing a cat. Here comes the irony. I‘ve only recently moved out of a small, city apartment that was surrounded by concrete and noisy neighbours. I’ve also been made to think about the last time I went out of the city because a friend, who visited from England, 1 year ago, sent an email entitled “Has it really been a whole year?”.

It seems that the only time we make it out of the city is if we have guests to entertain. Why? Isn’t this why we came back to New Zealand…to be in New Zealand? Après epiphany, Mr. P and I decided that, since he’s being forced to take the holiday he’s been saving up, that we’d take off and do a bit of a road trip.

We’re headed south. Our original plan was to spend the week in the Tongariro National park skiing on the volcanoes, but when we found out how much they add on to accommodation prices for the ski season have thought again. We still plan to go skiing mid-week when we can get a cheap pass that includes a free lesson. I need it, he doesn’t. But first, we’re going to set off Saturday morning and try to get all the way to Napier. We’ve never been there and we were joking that it’s going to be a bit of a busman’s holiday since it’s the most art deco-ed town in NZ. But that’s not why we’re going. We’re going because we need a road trip. We need to get out of the city. We need to get far away from work, looking for work, and all the other stresses of everyday life. Most of all, we need to go to New Zealand. Don’t get me wrong, I L.O.V.E. love Auckland. It’s, in my opinion one of the best places to live in the world, but we need to get out and frolic in the rolling hills, so to speak.

I reckon we should pretend to be backpackers. We can shove all the needed accoutrements into our long-neglected packs, fill the station wagon with pasta, teabags, low temperature sleeping bags, and tramping gear, and take off. Zip off trouser/shorts and English optional.

Procrastibaking once again

2009-08-25T13:30:00.005+09:00

I should be unpacking boxes so our upcoming guests have a place to sleep...I should be getting materials ready for my students tomorrow...I should be on my new treadmill...but no, I'm procrastibaking again.

These little biscuits are pretty amazing. Apart from the chocolate chips they are vegan and sugarfree. They also have no flour and must be as "low-carb" as you can get as far as junk food is concerned...although a hate to label these "junk".

I got this from Heidi Swanson's 101 Cookbooks website which seems to have an awful lot of things on it that I want to eat. She got the recipe from a friend. Check out her story and recipe here...and I highly recommend the recipe, especially if you are meant to be doing other things.

And the moral of the story is...

2009-08-08T15:17:00.001+09:00

And the moral of the story is...
Originally uploaded by Shanti, shanti

…always shoot in RAW. Dammit!
I was contacted through Flickr by someone who wanted to buy one of my photos. It took me ages to work out how much to charge for it and then draw up a contract. The buyer was a group of art students who were contracted to do the art in a cruise ship owned by Norwegian Cruise Lines. So, she told me that my photo would be enlarged and hung in a tryptich with one from another photographer, and one from a photo library. The bad part is coming…look away now if you are squeamish.

I finally located the external hard drive that had the photo in question and found that it was a Jpeg. WTF!? It was a photo I’d taken quite early on and I had no idea about these things then…in fact I don’t know enough now, but I’m learning quickly. So, to make a long story longer, there was no way a Jpeg could be enlarged to the size they needed so I lost the sale. Bugger.

I’m trying to be Zen about it all. I really did learn something here. It’s pretty impractical to take photos in RAW all the time since I haven’t got the capacity to save all of that stuff, but the next time I’m travelling, or at least “in the zone” as far as taking photos, I’ll be sure to switch over. You never know what could happen.

Pho-king awesome!

2009-07-30T13:56:00.004+09:00

Excuse the swearing, but take a look at this fantabulous pho bowl! I think I NEED this!Please click on this link to see how it works.
yanko design pho bowl

A time to Flickr, a time to blog

2009-07-25T13:35:00.001+09:00

Flickr how I've missed thee!
Originally uploaded by Shanti, shanti

It's taken us ages to get all moved in and we still have a long way to go to make this place look like a real home, but we're getting there. We've had so much fun finding all of our stuff that has been in storage...especially all the cool Japanese pottery we went mad on buying before we left Japan. We've also bought things...big things like dining room tables and giant bookshelves. I'm still not totally comfortable with all this "permanant-y" stuff. I'm scared that we are settling in even though it's fun to make a really livable place. A dining room table, HA!

I'm a P.A. for myself

2009-07-10T14:38:00.002+09:00

We're finally in our new house. We had to give up on the 'owning dream' since nobody has job security these days, but we've rented the biggest place we've ever lived in. It's really cool to be able to spread out(heating this place is another matter). Plus, I'm opening boxes of cool stuff we brought back from Japan that have been in storage until now. Christmas in July!

The past two weeks has just been about processing jobs. Change the address on this and that, buy a washing machine and get it delivered, chase up the phone man who can't seem to find out address to put the phone in, chase him up again...and again, pack boxes, clean, clean new lace, unpack boxes, eat MORE takeaway until we can find plates and pots, the list goes on.

Tonight is the first night that I am not totally obligated to meet someone, go somewhere, or clean something. Mr. P asked me to meet him and colleagues in town for a drink but the last thing I want to do is get on a bus only to fall asleep at the bar. So, I've put my foot down and I'm staying in. Well, as a compromise, I'm giving him a lift home and we're going to get some food on the way. But then I'm REALLY staying in!

Would you share your last rasgulla with your best friend?

2009-06-30T13:45:00.001+09:00

Would you share your last rasgulla with your best friend?
Originally uploaded by Shanti, shanti

I did.

Currently obsessed with: spicy chocolate

2009-06-18T14:47:00.001+09:00

Currently obsessed with: spicy chocolate
Originally uploaded by Shanti, shanti

Louis and Nancy Dupree Foundation

2009-06-15T07:35:00.002+09:00

This woman has been living in Afghanistan since, I believe, the 1970s and does some amazing work there. This is a little snippet in which you get to see her "in action".

Love

2009-06-09T08:27:00.001+09:00

Love
Originally uploaded by Shanti, shanti

Jasmine tea after work

2009-06-05T14:30:00.001+09:00

Jasmine tea after work
Originally uploaded by Shanti, shanti

I brought this little teapot back from Japan and it's just the right size for after work tea.

Funky little Japanese MAFF video

2009-06-05T08:11:00.001+09:00

Make your own: Banh mi

2009-05-25T12:41:00.001+09:00

Banh mi, originally uploaded by Shanti, shanti.

Banh mi are those lovely sandwiches you get on the street in Vietnam that cross from east to west. Lovely crisp French bread stuffed with more Asian style meats, pickles, herbs and vegetables combine to please the palette.

The trick is, if you can't get a baguette that is COMPLETELY fresh and crispy, you have to sprinkle it with water and put it in the oven until it becomes crisp (but before it becomes toasted!).

My filling here is tuna (tinned) with chopped chili and lemongrass, plus a little bit of mayo or sesame oil. Homemade Vietnamese pickles since I've never been able to find them to buy, and fresh coriander/cilantro.

If you wanted meat, you could just use any leftover roast (esp pork), or luncheon meat. The food-stalls in Vietnam always have some kind of mystery meat or a mystery homemade pate/compressed meat kind of thing which is popular. Bon appetite!

Flickr

2009-05-25T12:26:00.001+09:00

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

What can fix a rainy winter's day?

2009-05-22T13:47:00.001+09:00

What can fix a rainy winter's day?
Originally uploaded by Shanti, shanti.

Cardamom green tea!

So confused!

2009-05-20T19:06:00.001+09:00

So confused!
Originally uploaded by Shanti, shanti.

Mr.P woke up and I found him staring into space and looking a little upset.
"What's wrong?", I asked.
"I feel a little upset ", he replied.
"I woke up with two watches on."

For some reason, and at some time during the night, he somehow managed to put a second watch on his wrist...and even managed to tuck the strap in! And, no, he hadn't been drinking the night before.

Later in the day he still had that glazed look on his face and told me that he was still a little freaked out.

New Look

2009-05-16T05:10:00.000+09:00

What d'you reckon?

I have a soft spot for old, chipped enamel things

2009-05-16T04:40:00.001+09:00

I have a soft spot for old, chipped enamel things
Originally uploaded by Shanti, shanti

I'm really just testing my blog-sending button on Flickr. This should be on Threespoons...but I'll bet ya it's on Shantiwallah!

The best rice pudding ever!

2009-05-13T13:09:00.002+09:00

The best rice pudding ever!
Originally uploaded by Shanti, shanti.

Imagine yourself in the following scenario. You’ve had a hard day at work and the drive home took longer than the usual hour due to heavy traffic. Summer’s long gone, and you get drenched from the rain and wind while trying to get your laptop safely out of the car and into the flat. After a quick change of clothes you eat some leftover soup from last night (better the second day!) and cozy up in a blanket on the sofa to watch whatever TV comes on because you just want to be warm, and it’s either this or go to bed.

Soon your partner, the love of your life, jumps up saying, “Wait here! I’m going to make you a pudding.”, and disappears for an intensive 5 minutes of surfing the net. Eventually smells start wafting across from the kitchen, gorgeous smells. These are smells of, what is that…coconut?...butter?...something Thai? Yes, it smells like those little Thai coconut jellies. How could he be making those? I wait patiently. This is where we differ. He’d let curiosity get the best of him and look. But me, I like the element of surprise.

Voila! Rice pudding? School days and university residence hall dinners revisited. But wait…this is the best rice pudding I’ve ever tasted. It’s not too sweet, creamy as all get-out, and buttery and rich. NOW I’m warm! Thank god for the internet!

Recipe here
Note: He left out the golden raisins, added cinnamon, and used jasmine rice. He also sprinkled a bit of cinnamon on top.

"You'll be ow-wight, Humpty!"

2009-04-28T12:17:00.001+09:00

Missing Bill for one year

2009-04-22T14:33:00.002+09:00

The world is still benefiting from your actions, Bill. We all miss you and are thinking of you!

About Bill

Flickr

2009-04-14T18:22:00.001+09:00

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

Currently obsessed with:comb honey

2009-04-03T12:32:00.001+09:00

Currently obsessed with:comb honey
Originally uploaded by Shanti, shanti.

Seriously, who could resist this?

World's coolest flight attendant

2009-03-23T07:07:00.001+09:00

It's a bumper day for video!

Is reality a matter of perception?

2009-03-23T06:23:00.002+09:00

From one of my current favourite blogs, soulpancake.

Domo-kun eats Reeses

2009-03-15T06:49:00.001+09:00

Domo-kun eats Reeses
Originally uploaded by Shanti, shanti.

I just think we live in the most amazing time. A time where you can get in touch with long lost friends...and they send you stuff! My most awesome and excellent mate from high school sent me this fluffy Domo (Yes, the NHK guy. I love him.) and a giant bar of my very favourite American junk food. After all these years, she still knows me. Just warms your fluffy little heart doesn't it?

Chocolate chai

2009-03-09T11:58:00.001+09:00

Chocolate chai
Originally uploaded by Shanti, shanti.

One of those things that just comes to you one day and you wonder why you'd never thought of it before.

Here's what I did:
In a pan over medium heat, I lightly roasted (about a minute or until getting fragrant but not burnt) a few spices. These included a couple of pieces of cinnamon bark, five cloves, two smashed green cardamon pods and about an eighth teaspoon of mixed spice because I was afraid that it wouldn't be spicy enough. Just experiment.

Then I added about a tablespoon of cocoa powder and let it heat through with the spices in the dry pan. You'll be tempted to add more cocoa as if you are making hot chocolate, but think of the cocoa as just another spice in the chai. You don't want anything overpowering anything else and upsetting the balance.

Finally I added 2 mugs full of milk and three teabags or three teaspoons of loose tea. I used semi-skimmed (half fat) but if you use full fat it will be creamy and lovely. You might want to substitute a bit of water for some of the milk if you go the full fat route.

If you want to add sugar, add it at this point so that it melts in the tea. I waited until after it was made and served the sugar on the side s people could have as much or as little as they liked.

Be sure it doesn't scald. When heated, strain and pour into cups to enjoy, MMmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Currently loving

2009-02-27T09:54:00.002+09:00

A little inspiration

2009-02-27T09:35:00.003+09:00

I've recently come across these two blogs.
The Urban Muse give brilliant practical advice to bloggers.
And Tim Ferriss's blog, The Four Hour Work Week, based on his book is just what someone like me who is always looking for another way to do things needs.

Please help me think of a name for my new food blog!!

2009-01-29T12:42:00.001+09:00

Flickrbuddies,please help me think of a name for my new food blog!!
Originally uploaded by Shanti, shanti.

It's going to be about the multicultural aspect of food in New Zealand and I really want to get it going, but I'm absolutely stuck for a name. Ask your friends, ask your family, ask the bloke who sells you your morning coffee. Any ideas are good ideas. I really need a giant brainstorm going on!
I want it to say something about New Zealand, food, and multicultural-ness. I'd appreciate any ideas you may have, even crazy ones. Muchas, muchas gracias!

La Tour Eiffel

2009-01-29T12:35:00.001+09:00

Did you know the Eiffel tower had its own website? I didn't.
http://www.tour-eiffel.fr/index.html

I love New Zealand

2009-01-19T17:46:00.000+09:00

...but why are there no jobs here?!

Current musical interests

2009-01-10T10:44:00.003+09:00

I may not have any money for music but this morning I'm taking advantage of the fact that my internet connection seems to be somewhat bearable (she says whispering so as not to jinx it!)and finding lots of good stuff. But if I DID have expendable cash,I'd buy something from either of these two discoveries.

Dengue Fever

Checkout the documentary trailer about thier trip to Cambod

Sa Dingding

Shark's Fin and Sichuan Pepper by Fuchsia Dunlop

2009-01-08T10:28:00.002+09:00

Shark's Fin and Sichuan Pepper: A Sweet-sour Memoir of Eating in China by Fuchsia Dunlop

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book has 'me' written all over it. So much so that I wish I had bought it rather than borrowed it from the library. I may have to invest. Fuchsia goes abroad under the intention of studying Chinese and having a nice cultural experience. After becoming disillusioned with the Chinese way of teaching language and realising that she's not learning a thing, she chucks in her course and starts hanging out in cafes and restaurants, chatting to the locals about what they are cooking, and eventually wheedling her way into a somewhat prestigious Sichuan cooking school. This sets her on a learning curve that ends with her becoming one of the few non-Chinese experts on Sichuanese cooking.

The part I loved the most was her slow progression from one who could not even look at a thousand year egg, to one that would happily chomp down on goose intestines and duck tongues. Personally, I haven't made it that far yet. And my experiences have been mostly of a Japanese nature. But having been a vegetarian for 25 years and then slowly starting to become accustomed to eating flesh in the form of seafood (and the unavoidable bacon that is in EVERYTHING in Japan)I felt an affinity to Ms. Dunlop when reading this.

I think anyone who has gone abroad to study and/ or work and has lived in a foreign culture for a period of time could relate to her stories. If you are actually interested in Chinese cooking and the history of said cuisine, all the better.

View all my reviews.

Christmas in Japan

2009-01-08T10:00:00.003+09:00

What can I say, I wish I'd found this two weeks ago so it would be timely. But, it's still worth posting. I have to say, I really didn't know about the chicken thing. I must've lived in the "countryside" for too long. It doesn't surprise me, though. These kinds of things just start to make sense and, in fact seem normal, the longer you've been in Japan.

expat bars

2009-01-05T13:24:00.004+09:00

Matthew Guttentag over at Brave New Traveler has posted a list of the 6 characters you meet in expat bars around the world. I have to say, amongst a few others, you really DO meet these people. In fact, it's amazing how consistent it is that you meet these people.