littlewonderlog

I’m almost at the end of season one of the Japanese-dubbed Culinary Class Wars that I’ve been watching as a way of learning Japanese.

There’s something engraved in my mind, other than the Japanese words and phrases I pick up from the show, and that’s the perfectionism of fine dining chefs.

I’ve always thought a little bit that fine dining was all about making classy, beautifully decorated food, yet I’ve realized that fine dining chefs seem to take a much more sophisticated and calculated approach, from ingredient prep all the way through plating. It was rather an eye-opening experience for me to see the show’s judge, Chef Sung Jae Ahn, insist on having a specific reason for adding each ingredient in a certain shape or texture. It even seemed philosophical from time to time.

The funny thing is that, after watching this show, while cooking I’ve asked myself certain questions such as “Are these ingredients all harmonized?” or “Does this sauce work well with this food?” Learning Japanese is the main reason I’m watching this show, yet I get the added benefit of changing my attitude toward cooking for the better.

And sometimes I have this thought as well – “What would Chef Ahn tell me about this dish?”

I think I know the answer.

It must be “Da tsu ra ku de su.”
(“You are out” in Japanese).

These days, I have managed to secure 1.5 hours a day for learning English. Oh no, isn’t it too hard for you?

No, no, not at all.

You see, I read.

I start reading right after I wake up around 5 a.m., and finish the day by reading right before bedtime. In this way, no matter how busy the day is, I can secure at least 1 hour for reading every day.

In addition to this, I listen to audiobooks. My favorite times for it are when I walk or do the dishes. For audiobooks, I don’t need my eyes or hands, only my ears. I definitely spend some time walking or washing the dishes every day, so I can secure another 30 minutes.

Now, during those 1.5 hours of reading and listening to audiobooks, I can turn it into my English-learning time by reading English books and listening to English audiobooks.

On a light day, I can even secure two or three hours a day for reading. Also, reading doesn’t really feel like studying, so it feels good – yes, I hate studying. Hate it. Hate it.

It’s incredible to combine an activity I enjoy such as reading with learning a language.

For Japanese, although I haven’t reached the level where I can read or listen to audiobooks (at least without any translation or agonizing dictionary digging), I’m looking forward to a day when it will be possible. So, I’m happily focusing on learning basic phrases and grammar.

Another useful and enjoyable day passes. Ciao.

There’s a hot issue with a Korean celebrity who uploaded photos of a library book she underlined while reading on social media.

Library books go through a lot. Not only do people underline, they add meanings under certain words, mark grammatical errors, write notes with their own thoughts in the margins, or fold the corners of pages.

I’ve always thought that these kinds of people must be sociopaths. They don’t care about other people, right? They don’t care how much inconvenience they create for others, right?

It’s pretty meaningless to ask this question – ‘How could they do this?’. If you understand why they would do it, it means that you are also not normal. Normal people are not supposed to get it.

Then, I realized something today.

Ah, there’re people who actually don’t know this is something they are not supposed to do. They don’t have the concept of the harm they cause to others.

God must have a blast.

How fun would it be to watch this colorful and dynamic human world? I mean, seriously.

I was selling something on a secondhand marketplace app called “Carrot”.

I was supposed to meet the buyer at 4:00 pm, but I got a message around 3:30.

Although our conversation was in Korean, it went basically like this:

“Hello.”
“Hello.”

“I’m coming now.”
“Oh, will you arrive before 4 then?”

“No, warning upon arrival.”
“Ok. I will be there at 4.”

The reason her replies tended to be a bit slow was probably because she was using a translation app. “Warning” upon arrival?

I was dumbfounded for a second, but immediately and casually replied like nothing had happened. It was a bit funny though (and cute), and got me curious. What language does she speak that she would got that word out of the translation app?

I arrived at the meeting spot, and she was indeed a foreigner. She only said two words in Korean – her name and the word “money” as she handed me an envelope. From her use of words, I thought she really couldn’t speak Korean.

Yet, she had a higher sales record on the Carrot app than me, and it made me wonder how tiring it must be for her to use a translation app every time she wants to say something.

For me, that’s why I learn languages. Really.

The sky was grey, yet we headed outside anyway. We felt like walking quietly, so our choice was Gimpo Jangneung, a royal tomb park.

Although I didn’t expect to see much greenery since it’s still winter, it was quite greenish due to the pine trees. The parking lot was rather empty, probably because of the cold and gloomy weather.

Since the main purpose was to walk in nature, we spent most of our time strolling along the paths, except for stopping by Jaesil, the ritual house. It was fun to watch the ducks in the pond, and 40 minutes easily flew by as we walked along the main path around the park.

It was quite a treat for KRW 1,000 (less than $1). Since we also enjoyed visiting Jungneung or Seooreung before, the Joseon dynasty royal tombs could be a good destination for a weekend. It would also be nice to revisit those places since they look different depending on the season and weather.

Since it was quite a chilly day, a bowl of Sundaeguk (Korean blood sausage soup) was a great choice for an after-walk meal, and we luckily got to look around the local traditional market (Kimpo Bukbyeon five-day market) nearby.

Overall, it was a very satisfying choice for a laid-back Sunday.

We got 100 sheets of dried Gopchang laver (Gim) as a Lunar New Year holiday present. It has this great touch of sweetness at the end of the bite, yet chewing it is not very pleasant because it is just dried, not roasted. After agonizing over it for a while, I decided to roast them all, all at once. It’s just one day’s work, and it will be good for the next several days or weeks.

Standing in the kitchen, I roast one sheet of laver at a time in a pan. With the heat spreading through the whole sheet, it turns from brownish to dark greenish. One by one, those laver sheets stack up on the plate.

It feels like such a waste of time. I mean, really, yet I’ve got a plan.

With earbuds in my ears, I listen to English audiobooks while roasting laver. Time rather flies by as I enjoy listening to my current audiobook, “Market Wizards”. Focusing on the color changes of the laver makes me miss words from time to time, yet I take this obstacle as an opportunity to hone my multitasking audiobook listening skills while roasting laver with the least amount of consciousness.

As roasted, crunchy laver piles up, investment insights pile up in my brain (hopefully).

Avoid the work you can’t enjoy, and make the unavoidable work somehow useful.

Today, it’s another success in that way.

My reading selections have been mostly for practical learning rather than leisure, covering nonfiction books such as business, economics, marketing, and investments. I of course get to have full leisure time while reading those books, yet when it comes to the main purpose, leisure comes after learning.

Still, I’ve recently had some reading time mostly for leisure – the bestselling memoir “Born a Crime” by Trevor Noah.

How he came to be able to illustrate life under the infamous apartheid in South Africa, the sense of not belonging anywhere as a child of white and black parents, and a family life filled with abuse and threats in such a witty way is remarkable.

It’s serious yet entertaining, and entertaining yet serious. Time flies while following Trevor Noah’s storytelling.

It was quite an easy read as it was all written in a conversational tone, like he does it on the stand-up comedy stage.

Reading for learning is good, yet reading for leisure can be precious from time to time as well.

It’s not like we do all those ancestral rituals or have a large family. We have a somewhat large family, but with less than ten members, which could be a joke compared to families of more than ten, twenty members or even more.

One point five bowls of rice a day. One meal of only fruit. A light dinner with some fish or meat. These simple eating routines change dramatically during the holidays. Constantly eating, with more meat, more sweet foods, and more greasy dishes.

My efforts to eat moderately are never enough. I feel tired while preparing all those dishes with my family, and then I feel tired again while digesting all the food that I have eaten.

I’m not the one who faces the heavy workload, but my stomach is.

My efforts to free my stomach from the holiday after-effect caused by heavy eating are not enough and have never been enough. Make it happen, next time. Keep going.

I do ride the exercise bike, obviously.

I sit on the exercise bike with a broken display in my parents’ house, prepare myself for the coming hardship, and turn on the Japanese-dubbed Culinary Class Wars. Repeating what I hear from the show (shadowing), cycling for about twenty minutes makes my back start sweating.

It’s not that tough a workout, yet I can sense this tightness of my thighs afterwards.

Those twenty minutes can easily slip away if I look at my phone or something, yet this time for those minutes, I get my heart pumping, break a sweat, and learn some Japanese phrases.

Minimal workout routine, done.

We made fish “Jeon (Korean pan-fried fish fillet)” today. It’s been a while since we last made it for the Lunar New Year holiday. I’ve been quite successful in avoiding it as we don’t necessarily “need to” make it unlike those who conduct ancestral rites. I’ve also been in a long battle with my mom to make the cooking process as light and slim as possible.

Still, it’s just one dish – fish Jeon, and four of us worked on it.

The first person sprinkles salt and pepper on the thinly sliced fish, the second person coats the fish in starch powder and puts it in the egg wash bowl, the third person places the egg-washed fish on the pan, and the last person flips the fish. Then the first one, who worked on the seasoning and happens to have a certification of the professional organizer, arranges the finished fish on the plate.

It was effective and efficient. My mom was quite impressed saying how we had done it so fast.

This is what’s called industrialization, Mom.

The art of focusing on only one thing, achieving one task – the division of labor (except for the first person who has to work with salt and pepper, as well as final arranging.

After experiencing the core labor of industrialization, we also get to taste life as an employer.

By chewing those puffy, hot fish Joen, savoring all the flavors.