What I’m grateful for, week 16 of 52

April 26, 2021 Jody AlarvaLeave a comment

1. Being able to make my first banoffee pie. It wasn’t super great, could be more balanced, but enough to make me want to make it again. One of my favorite desserts (of which there are many to be honest), made better when put in the freezer and eaten like ice cream.

2. Connecting with a colleague over musicals. Made me miss the theater, and watching talented people act and sing and dance. Reiterated the need to watch The Book of Mormon, and now adding Hedwig and the Angry Inch to the list. Who knows when theater will be back, but I will be filling the seats.

3. Butter Bakery’s fat macs. Ordered a box of these yummy macarons, and it made me feel a bit more civilized than usual. What is it about macarons that needs a nice cup of tea and a quiet corner?

4. Minari. It felt quietly depressing, but also real. Steven Yeun was beautiful in it. Then again, Steven Yeun is beautiful, period.

What are you grateful for this week?

What I’m grateful for, week 15/52

April 19, 2021April 20, 2021 Jody AlarvaLeave a comment

I only went to work 3 days this week, but it felt like an insanely packed three days nonetheless. So here’s what I’m grateful for:

1. Another trip around the sun. Since this is my second quarantine birthday, I will count them as both a non-entity and have also 10x aged me more than it should. I am immature, I didn’t say aging has helped me on that end.

2. Birthday surprises. It is no secret that I love birthdays. Not even mine, but everyone I love. I think, as a middle child, and the third one in a month’s time, and fourth in 2 month sequences, people lose momentum when they get to me. So the fact that a few people actually sent over things or just remembered, means a lot.

3. Cooking more. I was able to cook longganisa from scratch, chili, spaghetti all last week. For fun. I like the instant reward of cooking, and hope to keep being able to do it.

4. Amazing food delivery. I don’t know how much longer we’ll be stuck in lockdown but the fact that most of our favorites have pivoted to delivery options have been a godsend. I have been ordering a ton of Dong Bei dumplings, Cochi Loco food, and found out our old favorite Tokyu can do all deliveries.

5. Pulling off a creating a team from scratch. It was a finicky, weird project that I’m handing over soon, but to pull it off, building the flows, processes, etc is an adrenaline rush. It is still like a newborn baby alien that we don’t know will do, but I can’t wait to build on it. (Also don’t you love the beginning of things when everything is full of promise?)

What are you grateful for?

Jodythinks

What I’m grateful for, week 14/52

April 12, 2021May 1, 2021 Jody AlarvaLeave a comment

1. I ordered handmade resin and acacia wood coasters for my new work desk and they arrived exactly like they were advertised. Beautifully done, they remind me of the salty air, the sound of the waves, and fresh seafood. Well not really, but since they’re the closest I’m getting to the actual ocean for a while, they’ll do.

2. Posole I made and ate over the course of a week. Hominy nixtamalization worked and I have enought for about three batches of posole and that makes me happy.

3. Working through something I was stuck for a bit, and finally have something that I don’t feel sounds idiotic (so far. Version 1.0 is fine, but could get better)

4. Almost cry laughing at work at something I made a mistake on. It was an innocent misunderstanding but I am still chortling about it.

What are you grateful for?

Gratitude · Jodythinks · welcome · Work

What I’m grateful for, week 13/52

April 5, 2021 Jody AlarvaLeave a comment

1. I got a new workdesk last week as a gift. It was so mindblowing to me, that it’s still sinking in. I’ll write about it in a separate post because I am so flabbergasted by the whole thing.

2. I bought a nixtamalization kit, which is step one of having my own hominy, which is also the key to making myself happy. Posole is one of my favorite comforting things, and it’s really not the same without hominy. If I get this right, I’m going to keep making posole rojo and hopefully attempt posole verde.

3. Midweek catch up with a few friends that also surprised me, like so surprised I think coffee was redundant for my workday. I’m still shaking my head and laughing to myself about it now.

4. Learning new things at work. Work is not perfect, not by a long shot (because what workplace is?), but I am enjoying mostly learning about every cog in the machine. And working with really smart people keeps me on my toes, especially the ones that are funny too.

What are you grateful for?