Trying to collect pictures of myself with egg creams is so 2007 of me, so I’m thinking a new additional personal meme should be pictures of me with tubs of cheese balls. The thing is, tubs of cheese balls are equally elusive and rare (and delish) as egg creams. And in case you were wondering, the pictured Simplify brand is way too salty but the Target brand rivals Planter’s. And yes, this is the kind of piddling stuff I think about on the eve of my 30th birthday while my peers are procreating and buying homes and being Adults.

Mom found a new hobby:

My sis and I couldn’t stop giggling from delight. We were stunned that our mom’s nimble fingers created these darling little gems, but she’s always had an artistic streak. She’s obviously got a way with clay. Looks like rose petals are no problem, and the peas-in-a-pod piece continues to astound us. She kept remarking, “These are just practice ones. Not the real ones!” Can you imagine these as earrings? The possibilities are endless. One thing though, we need to get her more colors.

Saw the old man recently too. Can’t stop smiling at these two videos. Watch and learn — this is how you make a gatdamn Peking duck wrap! The technique is all in the precision of the laying down of ingredients. Notice how he does it.

Favorite lines: “How come you guys don’t tell me any information?,” “No, too fattening for you” and “Can I make one for you? You need it”

Can you imagine how difficult it would be to name your favorite desserts? You’d get into a categorical confusion. Do candy bars count as dessert? Or should desserts be expanded simply to “sweets” to make room for all things that can fit under that umbrella term? The faves I can rattle off the top of my head right now: Tartine Bakery’s banana cream pie, egg creams, stone fruit or berry galettes, root beer floats, anything juxtaposing chocolate and peanut butter together, Goody Goodie’s namesake cookies, gas station / convenience store brownies (chewy, cheap, perfect), Polly Ann’s green tea ice cream, chocolate croissants, mint Its Its, cereal, cafe sua da, banana milkshakes, salted caramel, Olea’s gateau breton with amarena cherries, chi chi dango mochi, cannolis…

What are yours?

This photo’s been chillin’ on my desktop for awhile. It really illustrates my undying lust for chili. Taken during an overnighter on Mt. Tam a few years ago. That was a fun trip.

I went to Baltimore with Peggy in April. The impetus was her prospective student orientation day at Johns Hopkins Public Health School (you gotta lingual-train to pluralize “John”). It’s no surprise that she got into the #1 program in the country.

We tried the famous jumbo lump crabcakes at Faidley’s in Lexington Market (a rough n tumble place), saw Edgar Allan Poe’s grave, hung out in a scotch bar owned by a tough older Asian lady who likened her rescue dog to Cujo, and Peg had her first authentic east coast blue crab meal.

It was a whirlwind handful of days filled with nights of reality TV I’d never seen before, and we were so lucky to be able to crash in Jenelle’s ultimate bachelorette pad. Was lovely spending quality time with her. Walking around Old Town Alexandria, VA in perfectly comfortable, sunny weather was just unbeatable. Colonial architecture, a clean and sane waterfront area (only one portraiture artist!), and an old torpedo factory converted into a sensible art center…topped off with my first Five Guys experience, and almost even better, the most incredible, dreamy collection of vintage jewelry I’ve ever seen .

Here are some favorite shots from a lunchtime quickie assignment today. Perbacco asked if I would take some pictures for them to accompany a Reuters NY piece on it being one of the busiest lunch destinations in the world. Sorta true; it’s a real power luncher’s dream, and I wholeheartedly vouch for the food. I wasn’t particularly pleased with my entire album, but what can you do. I’ll be grateful if any of the photos get used.

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A good friend will occasionally sing “cherry pie” in the slowest, saddest way, steeped in ennui and maudlin tones. It usually happens at night, when he’s lazily surfing the web, laptop propped atop his supine chest. It’s probably not how Warrant ever intended their hair-rock sex anthem to be presented.

Still, it’s pretty adorable.

One of my favorite things about fall is the sudden overflowing abundance of persimmons. Any stand at any farmers market proudly boasts baskets and boxes bursting with them. Persimmons are one of my beloved fruits. They are so delectable and autumnal. Just a few weeks ago, I started eating them with the skin on for the first time. “Like an apple,” as some farmers market vendors have said.

ps – speaking of persimmons, here’s a gorgeous haunting poem that features them somewhat. Introduced to me by Peg. Here’s an excerpt:

“Some things never leave a person:
scent of the hair of one you love,
the texture of persimmons,
in your palm, the ripe weight.”

I’d like to start filling entries with drawings but I can’t since I don’t have a scanner. It’d take forever to get things converted. My big backlog includes some stuff from college (frightening).

I’d like to write about recent activities and what’s on my mind, but I don’t really have time right now. I can divulge however that I’ve been on a DVD-watching roll, thanks to the library (mostly old flicks).

Whatever the case, I don’t want to neglect this thing, so I thought maybe I could do a daily entry as part of a countdown to my fall trip.

I leave for Korea, Japan, and Taiwan on September 3. My itinerary is in that order. I’ll be abroad for about 18 days. It’ll be another bittersweet solo trip. I’m grateful that it’s happening, but anxious. When I think about my travels alone two years ago, I get strange, vivid feelings of nervousness and joy. It was a rewarding and challenging experience. Thankfully, I have a host in Seoul and Peggy will of course take care of me in Taipei (yay). But Japan will truly test my character.

So anyway, each daily countdown entry will be a pic from my China albums. The hardest part will be digging up photos I haven’t already blogged about during my time there (since I almost broke the internets with my stupidly staggering long entries). Yikes.

To inaugurate this commemorative countdown series, here you go. A scene from a basement food court in a mall in WangFuJing, I believe. A stunning display of bites. How do you choose?