It's been a little while since I've posted, and not a lot is happening. I'm trying not to screw up too much at my new job...a few days ago the machine in the back said I took $91,000, so that wasn't a lot of fun. It took three days to fix and I had to convince my new boss I didn't shove the cash down my shirt. I really am enjoying the job, and am hoping for lots of hours. Our friends from WY are coming up in a couple of months, and I'm very excited about that. Other than that, it's just been life. Wake up, go to work, come home, eat, do laundry, watch the latest addicting tv show, go to bed. So here's a little look into my neurosis lately as I have nothing more interesting to write about...
I'm a big believer in trying nearly anything. And I am an emotional person who becomes very easily attached to the idea of something. Everyone is a little like this, I think. For example: nobody likes their first sip of coffee. (Except Robyn who downed cups of it ice cold with the cream making those little oily swirls on top at the ripe age of three.) Everyone is surprised at how bitter it is and usually doctors it up, or starts drinking Starbucks Frappaccino's first. They slowly ease their way into it. I find it difficult to believe that a 14 year old guy likes his first sip of beer. But we like the idea of coffee in the morning, and a beer on a hot day with the boys, while you're hammering up drywall or something equally masculine...so we figure out a way to like it. I'm big on this. Most people would say there's something a little fake about this. Not me. If at first you don't succeed, squelch the gag reflex until you love it, or at the very least, are good and addicted. There's plenty of things that I didn't like at first that I can't imagine living without now.
For example:
I love sushi. I don't like plain white rice, I really dislike seaweed, and I don't like fish, and certainly not raw. I don't like much of what they put in there, avacado and other such nonsense. But I ADORED the idea of sushi. It looks so fresh and healthy and it looks so pretty on a plate. You get to eat it with chopsticks, which is a pretty big bonus to me regardless. I once ate wedding cake in Japan with chopsticks, no kidding. I really think it tasted better. Since my first trip to Japan, over six years ago, I've been trying sushi. The first time I nearly threw up. I spat it out and tried to think of anything than the crunch of raw eel between my teeth. A year or so later I tried again. No luck. I've been doing this again and again, for the longest time, and over the past two years have upped it to trying every three months at least. I really wanted to like sushi. About four or five months ago, we went to this sushi place and I ordered noodles (mediocre) and tried a piece of Peter's sushi. It was fantastic. I loved it. All of a sudden, just like that. I swear to you, the other day I ordered sushi with raw tuna and avacado. It was delicious.
Who wouldn't want to drink that? It's beautiful. Because I watched everyone I know drink coffee, I never thought I would be one of those people who honestly wouldn't like it. I of course didn't the first time, but I kept trying and now I'll get a headache if I don't have one. Brilliant. There's an emotional tie to my morning coffee, to coffee related things in the house, mugs and coffee colors that I'm just not willing to part with. The first gift Peter ever got me was a pretty coffee mug. My friend Loren honestly doesn't like coffee. He's a tea man. I think that's silly and he should just try it until he loves it and can't live without it. But he also drinks carrot smoothies.
I used to say, "if it swam, I don't like it" but that was when I was stupid. Peter took me to Bubba Gump's in Kona for my birthday a few years ago, and we ordered this. I actually peeled the legs off those little suckers and ate them. LEGS! They were fantastic and I was shocked. Robyn was once paid sixty bucks to eat a shrimp, which she gagged down and she now loves. Good for her, I say.
Ahh, and my greatest achievement. The first time I drank red wine I was told to describe it (wine tasting training for Olive Garden). I said that it tasted like the remnants of my McDonald's breakfast and nail polish remover and had a lovely dirt finish. I choked a little. Then the guy gave us this vegetable soup and told us to take a bite. It tasted like ground beef and tomatoes, even though there was lots of other stuff in it. He took a shot of wine, dumped it in the soup and told us to try again. The first thing I could taste was veggies. Carrots and celery and onion. I was amazed. Food really does taste better with wine. I didn't care it if tasted like paint thinner. I wanted to love it. So I started with Boone's and then Wild Vines Raspberry Merlot, then blush, white, and then red.
I wonder if I'm really crazy. I actually wonder this a lot. The wine and coffee thing I think a lot of people do, but maybe I'm over the top with seafood, sushi, pumpkin pie (had my first real piece without gagging this thanksgiving, yippee!) avacado, rice, etc... Ahh well. I figure my life must be that much richer (or poorer, wine is pricey) because of my relentless pursuit of things I want to like but don't. I figure there's got to be a good life analogy in here somewhere but I couldn't be bothered right now.
I'm a big believer in trying nearly anything. And I am an emotional person who becomes very easily attached to the idea of something. Everyone is a little like this, I think. For example: nobody likes their first sip of coffee. (Except Robyn who downed cups of it ice cold with the cream making those little oily swirls on top at the ripe age of three.) Everyone is surprised at how bitter it is and usually doctors it up, or starts drinking Starbucks Frappaccino's first. They slowly ease their way into it. I find it difficult to believe that a 14 year old guy likes his first sip of beer. But we like the idea of coffee in the morning, and a beer on a hot day with the boys, while you're hammering up drywall or something equally masculine...so we figure out a way to like it. I'm big on this. Most people would say there's something a little fake about this. Not me. If at first you don't succeed, squelch the gag reflex until you love it, or at the very least, are good and addicted. There's plenty of things that I didn't like at first that I can't imagine living without now.
For example:
I love sushi. I don't like plain white rice, I really dislike seaweed, and I don't like fish, and certainly not raw. I don't like much of what they put in there, avacado and other such nonsense. But I ADORED the idea of sushi. It looks so fresh and healthy and it looks so pretty on a plate. You get to eat it with chopsticks, which is a pretty big bonus to me regardless. I once ate wedding cake in Japan with chopsticks, no kidding. I really think it tasted better. Since my first trip to Japan, over six years ago, I've been trying sushi. The first time I nearly threw up. I spat it out and tried to think of anything than the crunch of raw eel between my teeth. A year or so later I tried again. No luck. I've been doing this again and again, for the longest time, and over the past two years have upped it to trying every three months at least. I really wanted to like sushi. About four or five months ago, we went to this sushi place and I ordered noodles (mediocre) and tried a piece of Peter's sushi. It was fantastic. I loved it. All of a sudden, just like that. I swear to you, the other day I ordered sushi with raw tuna and avacado. It was delicious.
Who wouldn't want to drink that? It's beautiful. Because I watched everyone I know drink coffee, I never thought I would be one of those people who honestly wouldn't like it. I of course didn't the first time, but I kept trying and now I'll get a headache if I don't have one. Brilliant. There's an emotional tie to my morning coffee, to coffee related things in the house, mugs and coffee colors that I'm just not willing to part with. The first gift Peter ever got me was a pretty coffee mug. My friend Loren honestly doesn't like coffee. He's a tea man. I think that's silly and he should just try it until he loves it and can't live without it. But he also drinks carrot smoothies.
I used to say, "if it swam, I don't like it" but that was when I was stupid. Peter took me to Bubba Gump's in Kona for my birthday a few years ago, and we ordered this. I actually peeled the legs off those little suckers and ate them. LEGS! They were fantastic and I was shocked. Robyn was once paid sixty bucks to eat a shrimp, which she gagged down and she now loves. Good for her, I say.
Ahh, and my greatest achievement. The first time I drank red wine I was told to describe it (wine tasting training for Olive Garden). I said that it tasted like the remnants of my McDonald's breakfast and nail polish remover and had a lovely dirt finish. I choked a little. Then the guy gave us this vegetable soup and told us to take a bite. It tasted like ground beef and tomatoes, even though there was lots of other stuff in it. He took a shot of wine, dumped it in the soup and told us to try again. The first thing I could taste was veggies. Carrots and celery and onion. I was amazed. Food really does taste better with wine. I didn't care it if tasted like paint thinner. I wanted to love it. So I started with Boone's and then Wild Vines Raspberry Merlot, then blush, white, and then red.I wonder if I'm really crazy. I actually wonder this a lot. The wine and coffee thing I think a lot of people do, but maybe I'm over the top with seafood, sushi, pumpkin pie (had my first real piece without gagging this thanksgiving, yippee!) avacado, rice, etc... Ahh well. I figure my life must be that much richer (or poorer, wine is pricey) because of my relentless pursuit of things I want to like but don't. I figure there's got to be a good life analogy in here somewhere but I couldn't be bothered right now.
1:24 AM
i understand a lot of the things you were mentioning there moni... i however, didn't start drinking coffee until i was 16 and working with dad... and i drank it black... i have never put cream or sugar in my java... i don't like beer... but i love whiskey... and vodka... i usually mix them, but have and can drink them straight... the first time i had wine was at a friends place... we added sprite to it and drank it like that... i was big on it until shortly after we got married... now not so much... oh well... i've got my whiskey... so i'm good...
i do not like sushi... which is weird... because i am a big fan of white rice... it's good stuff... just not cold, and not with raw fish, or seaweed, or cucumber, or anything else you want to pollute it with... i like shrimp on pizza... and that's pretty much it... i used to order it all the time at bonanza... cindi and jen would get the chicken fingers, or the cheese burgers, and i would get the shrimp... but i don't do it that well anymore... mind you... i've been turned off by a lot of seafood after i got food poisoning off a crab salad... kinda ruined it for me... unless it's super fresh, or i catch it... i don't eat it... that's my rule of thumb when it comes to creatures of the deep... anyways it's super late out here... i should go to bed...
6:29 AM
I understand the coffee thing. We used to soak toasted bread in it with cream and salt on top. It really was great. I didn't start actually drinking it until I was trying to be cool and impress someone. I added about 2 heaping teaspons of sugar and cream. yuk! Now I drink it black or with hot chocolate. Raw fish . Not interested in trying it and don't want to like it. It just sounds gross.
But you do need to influence your Uncle Marv on your "trying it till you like it" theory. He needs to eat raw veggies and ONIONS. It would make cooking much easier and more fun for me.
10:09 AM
You know what's funny? I'm the kind of person who, if I don't really like it, I'm probably not going to go out of my way to have it again. I figure, there's lots of food out there that I like, why should I waste my time trying and forcing myself to like something that I don't? I'm willing to try pretty much anything to see if I like it, though.
I'm not sure if I like ACTUAL sushi, but I like the fake stuff. You know, the kind with imitation crab and smoked salmon and shrimp. I LOVE rice and cucumber, and when it's with sushi, even the seaweed. But you won't see me eat them with wasabi or that pickled ginger. And I get the ones without the avacado because, let's face it, that's gross.
I rememeber as a kid, waking up really early in the morning, and drinking the old cold coffee that my parents left in their cups last night before they could come and clean it up. And my dad drinks his black. At the moment, I only like coffee if it's a mocha. And it has to be GOOD coffee. Starbucks or Timmy's, or that Bailey's place in Qualicum.
I've always loved seafood. Growing up eating my mom's tuna casserole and my dad's pan-fried jack fish... it doesn't get any better. Like Trav, I also ate those popcorn shrimp at Bonanza. The only kid in my class. Mind, there were only 20, but still.
Dude, I love your description of what wine tasted like. THAT was sweet. I'm still not big on wine. I only like sparkling wine or a white zinfandel. And even then, about 3/4 of a glass is LOTS for me.
Still don't like pumpkin pie. Or whipped cream. Or peaches. And I'm perfectly fine with that.
10:09 AM
Crap. Sorry there, Melanie.
1:38 PM
There are things in life, that you just have to try. As a kid, I remember loving green beans. Then I hated them....and then I loved them again. It's amazing how your taste can change.
I have always loved wine, and seafood. Coffe was something I didn't start drinking until I started my first job after high school. My parents were both born in England, so tea was the beverage I grew up with.
5:34 PM
I don't remember ever not liking coffee but I remember not liking dry red wine. Now I love it. I can't stand the sweet stuff.
I remember thinking as well that if it used to swim, I wouldn't eat it. I guess that's where you got it from. Now I love seafood of every kind except oysters. They are just nasty.
Sushi is the best. I even like the raw stuff. And with wine? That's to die for.
5:45 PM
I used to hate any kind of shell fish. I would almost gag watching someone else eat shrimp. The only way I could stomach it was if it was coated with dough and deep fried and then smothered in sweet and sour sauce. Now the only shell fish I still don't like is oysters and snails. I know it's called escargot, but it is still a snail. Both feel like you're eating a fried runner and don't taste much better.
I love wine as long as it's a sparkling wine. I also get headaches if I don't have coffee. I don't remember not liking coffee. Those "coffa brukin" were so good. Every now and then I still have them. Mmmm.
6:06 PM
ah yes. i was once paid 60 dollars to eat shrimp. BUT i did have to peel the legs off of it, which i still think is totally revolting, and now i really do love most sea food.
i love sushi, but i hated the ginger that came with it, but i loved the texture of it(weird i know). i eat and hope that i will learn to like it.
As for coffee, as lorelai gilmore puts it, "i only like coffee with my air"
and if you put sugar into my coffee it makes me so mad. i am not sure why but this is a bit of a soft spot for me.
Alcohol, i wish with everything in me that i liked it. there is something so fancy and sophisticated about sitting there with a martini or a glass of wine.
i keep trying it but the chances of me ever liking the taste of that crap is slim to none, which totally takes the significance out of being old enough to drink.
robyn
11:15 PM
I love your posts Mel. Learning more about you.
The first time I tried sushi, was when Gavin introduced me to it when we were dating. I was sketchy at first, the thought of raw fish made me gag instantly. But with the soy sauce made it addictive.
Now coffee is another story ... funny enough Gavin is in it too. The first time I tried coffee was when I started working with Gav at Tim Horton's. I thought it was the best coffee I have never tasted. But now I am addicted to Blendz coffee. Not sure if you have tried it, if not, you should and tell me what you think of it.
I am not a huge fan of red wine. The one wine I absolutely love is rose wine. I was introduced by an ex-boyfriend on Valentine's day. I just fell in love with it! For me, red wine is too strong, and the white too weak. Maybe Im odd.
Great post, darlin'!
10:21 PM
I keep trying to like green olives. I love how they look. Especially with the little red things stuffed in the middles. But I can't like them. I've been trying for YEARS and nothing but wretching every stinkin time. It's so frustrating.
11:00 PM
There is one thing I wish I liked, and that's cooked carrots. They're in EVERYTHING, and I always feel like a little kid picking them out. But they're yucky. I love raw carrots, but not cooked ones. I made stirfry yesterday, and I had to add the carrots to make it look pretty. I tried a piece. It was gross. I just picked them out. It kind of made me sad.
6:34 PM
Becky! I have the cure for your olive dislike, as I feel the same way about them. Make tapenade!
2 parts kalamata olives
1 part green olives (with the little red things)
a teeny bit of garlic (fresh or granulated)
some olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
toss it in a blender, spread it on sourdough bread and dive in.
WARNING
this will look unbelievably disgusting when made correctly. Like dark purple barf. It will taste fantastic.
11:09 AM
the captain lives.