start of winter

Hey, winter seems to be just around the corner... been getting chilly lately. This morning for breakfast I had the world's best instant oatmeal. This coming from me is surprising. I usually dislike oats since they're so grainy. This kind is unusually smooth though--almost tastes like cream of wheat. I like the Maple and Apple varieties.

Also, it's easy to make: just fill half-full w/ hot water, then microwave for 30 seconds, then 20-s increments so it won't overflow. Then add milk. What could be a better no-brainer than that?

Heheh, irish oatmeal from Trader Joe's--the perfect complement to any winter-chill morning. [End commercial.]

chocolate: experiences

Recently, I bought a bar of Meiji 99% cacao chocolate, thinking it would make a surprising gift for mom, right? Well, it did surprise her all right, but not quite in the way I expected it to. It was bitter, which was expected, but it also tasted dead, almost salty! Argh, this happens because it's in Japanese! I should've seen some of the writing I could read, but I decided to ignore those. Well, there're always times when you buy something totally unedible. You just have to let it go and treat it as a learning opportunity. I used to freak out about mistakes, but these days, I'm beginning to think that an adequate dose of wrong decisions brings you closer to your desired destination.

But sometimes you take a detour. Some days later, I bought a Dagoba organic chocolate bar, "infused" w/ lavender and blueberries. "Cool," I thought.

Or so I thought.

Yes, it was very good dark chocolate, but afterwards I had a splitting headache! At least it felt like one because I haven't had one in ages. I even had to sleep w/ that headache. What a bother. Sometimes spontaneous purchases/food experiments leave you worse off than before. However, courage in trying new things in itself should be applauded.

good news

Praise Him that He has been working mightily--my cousin's cancer has shrunk a good deal, and the doctor says it's pretty much a miracle. The hospital staff will be monitoring the tumor to see if they can arrange for a liver transplant to be done. Praise God for answering prayers!!

Life really is so fragile. It's a good time to pause and ask what's real important in life, then go ahead and pursue those things. I've decided to cut all the crap that takes up my time and leads to nowhere. Then pick up on the projects I've neglected, even if it means dragging my feet a bit in the initial stages.