My favorite ... in February
Travel
Over the long weekend (MIT gives at least one three-day weekend per month during the semester - a delightful decision that actually significantly impacts wellbeing) we drove down to NYC to check out suburbs where my partner might live as he’s taking a job there. I felt very excited about going back into the city, it had been a while since the last time I was there. My social media algorithm does this very predictable and annoying thing where all the recommendations only come after I’ve already left the city, so I’d been saving the recommendations from last time until now for this trip. Sadly, a lot of the places I wanted to visit were closed on a Sunday - a couple of Japanese kitchenware stores and an art gallery - but all the more reason to come back! The city always makes me feel so excited about walking, and through the 15,000 steps I felt delighted around every corner. Look! There’s a store I never thought I’d see outside of Tokyo! That Taiwanese tea shop has a store here? The unexpected surprises in NYC make me feel so alive and connected with the world, and I am convinced that there is nothing you cannot find in this city. What a magical place to live. Some of my repeat-favorites are: Kinokuniya (a Japanese stationary/book store) and Front General Store (DUMBO, imported home goods and vintage - they recently opened a second, bigger location in the loft next door). New finds that I’ll definitely visit again are: Natural Selection (DUMBO, handmade ceramics and home goods - they carry a new-to-me Icelandic perfumery called Fischerund which describes their scents with poems) and Marumi (lower west, serving homey Japanese comfort food).
Media
No spoilers
During a long-weekend trip to New York City, I devoured The Wedding People by Alison Espach, and felt so strongly about that book that I wrote a review, which you can read here. A perfect blend of humor and tender insights, this novel was inspiring and reaffirmed my belief that life is best lived through action. Restaurants
New York is full of amazing food. Even though I had to brave a 45 minute wait in the rain, I was so thrilled to finally try Cho Dan Gol in Midtown, a Korean restaurant renowned for their fresh tofu that they make in-house every day. Call it placebo, but I do think this was the freshest, silkiest, delightfully bouncy tofu that I have ever had. The rain was coming down pretty hard in just-above-freezing weather, so a maesaengi (a fun Korean seaweed that grows in delicate webs) oyster tofu soup was perfect. The first sip of this broth was so sweet and briny, like how I imagine the sea in my dreams would taste. I got their house-special eggplant rice that comes in a little stone bowl with scallions and bean sprouts. They gave me warm tea and five plates of sides included in the meal in classic Korean service fashion. While I was starving (I ate at 2pm), I couldn’t finish everything but was happy I got to take the leftover rice for breakfast. Best horchata of my life so far was consumed in Xochimilco, a family restaurant in the Bronx whose name is an Indigenous word meaning “beautiful flower”.
Hobbies
This month I started ceramics again after successfully getting into MIT Arts’ semesterly offering - no easy feat as this class sold out in 45 seconds, and getting in is probably the hardest part of the whole course. We made test tiles from 3 pounds of earthenware clay, opening down to the wheelhead and pulling a thick ring of 10” wide by 3” tall. I learned to use a wooden bat for the first time by throwing concentric rings and sticking the circular board down onto the clay, so that it can be popped off (almost broke a knife here) and dried without taking it off completely. I went in on Saturday morning again and opened the studio - I love being the only one there in the mornings, it’s so serene and the smell of clay is so calming to me. After a 3 hour session, my wrists were quite tired but it felt good to practice after being away from the wheel for a whole year. My centering wasn’t too horrible, and I was pretty pleased that I was still able to throw similarily tall and thin as the end of last year.We’re headed into lidder jars and pitchers next month, and I’m excited to practise more complex forms. It’s also great to finally get back into making, and I have lots of inspiration saved up on my pinterest for matcha bowls, cups, and underglaze details. My friend’s wedding and another friend’s birthday are coming up, and those are great goals for me to work toward as I rarely want to keep anything for myself these days (too much clutter). Some skills I’m excited to work on are centering more efficiently (always), pulling thin and consistent walls, and tapping to center.