Blog

Language change

April, 2011
After some deliberation, I decided to write my future posts in English only, to speed up my blogging freqeuency. Translation took up too much time, and in some cases prevented me from posting at all.

Remembering the Dead, 1

November, 2010
My grandmother could never throw anything away. Occasionally, my mom and her sisters would clean out the pantry, and my cousins, siblings, and I would stand by and bet on the oldest item.

New York I love you, but you’re bringing me down

December, 2009
Like millions before me, I arrived in New York with a sense of wonder. I had been reading on the train ride into Penn station, so my first glance of the city was when I stepped out onto seventh street.

Belated Birthday Wishes

December, 2009
Sometimes, you see things only from a distance. Birthdays, for example (whoever had their birthday lately knows that I need a little longer). When the Wall fell, I was eight. At that time it seemed nothing special.

Food Nerd

September, 2009
For some time now, I have been a subscriber to the magazine “Cooks Illustrated”. A friend described it as “food porn”, but the focus is less on sensual pleasure than on scientific analysis (you know that a food magazine is serious if they print in two columns, and only in B/W).

Summertime

September, 2009
And then, suddenly, it is summer. The days are only a little bit hotter, yet the nights are warm and mediterranean. If Angelenos sat outside, this is when they’d do it.

Science vs Engineering

August, 2009
There are two kinds of researchers: scientists and engineers. Faced with a problem, the scientist will say “How interesting” and proceed to abstract and classify it, develop experiments to reproduce it, and come up with a theory to understand it.

Bratwurst mit Sauerkraut

August, 2009
I love eating! And I love cooking. Perhaps even more than eating. Whoever is surprised by this does not know me well. Cooking for me is far more exciting than eating the final product.

Movie World

June, 2009
Apparently, I just live down the road from the bar that was the inspiration for Moe’s tavern in the Simpsons. I will check that out… Can I talk to Mr. Freely?

Insights of a travelling salesman

April, 2009
When I arrived here, my attitude was the same as every European’s fresh off the boat―a feeling of calmly assumed cultural superiority. The same kind of feeling you have towards high school kids talking about poetry, or the new guy in your office droning on about workflow.