Thursday, Sep. 25, 2008

Mixed opinions

I'm currently working on a story about bagels. Not just any bagels, but Some Bagels...which are delicious...x 100...

My friend used to work there back in high school and would tell me their most scrumptious bagels were the plain bagels. I remember staring at her, thinking "You've got to be kidding me!" A plain bagel over a sun-dried tomato bagel or a cinnamon bagel?

But as I was ordering my bagels the other day, I opted for 2 plain bagels. They were clearly more fluffy than the others and the taste...she was right.

So now I'm in love with plain bagels all over again. Usually I have to have melted cheese baked into them in order to be good, but these are pretty rad on their own.

I tried to hit up their sister bagel shop in Kennewick, but that appointment got moved. So then I headed to West Richland for Tri-Teriyaki. I used to go there when it first opened up in 2002. It was the first restaurant in the area to offer a bunch of Korean dishes.

The last time I strolled in there, the owner didn't want to do an interview. He was really hesitant, so he pushed the interview onto his daughter, who happily told me how she didn't want to work there. I decided to ask him again, since that story was now 3-years-old, and he happily obliged.

We sat there, talking about the past six years and the ups and downs he's experienced. He talked about his family, his daughters and how he enjoys being away from the busier neighboring towns.

He then paused..."Are you Korean?"

I answered him in Korean, explaining I only speak a little bit.

"You...you don't look Korean," he said. "You look...mixed...like half Mexican..."

I paused...I had never gotten that before.

Sensing my shock, he quickly covered with, "Still pretty...just different."

I scrunched my nose, letting out a fake "Oh, it's okay" laugh, when really I wanted to thank the man for starting my next identity crisis.

But I do get that a lot from Koreans. Half of them tell me I look Korean, the other half say I look nothing like them. It's all relative.

I didn't order anything from him like I had planned, though. Perhaps I wasn't feeling "Korean"...food. (that's a joke)

While I won't be quitting Tri-Teriyaki, I did quit Mountain Dew again. It's been three days since my last Dew and I'm on the verge of caving. Dew gives me comfort...it gives my taste buds something to dance for...it gives my stomach a bloated feeling of content. To sum it up, I already miss it.

The reason I quit so much is because of my acid reflux. When I start over-dosing on Dew, I get really ill, so I stop cold-turkey. After I start feeling better, I slowly introduce it back into my system and the cycle begins all over again.

I'm quitting this time because I'll be traveling this upcoming month. Mr. Big's friends are getting married and there's not enough room in my stomach to filter both Dew AND alcohol. After that, I'm heading to Las Vegas with my girlfriends. Who knows, I might sneak in a few Dews here and there. But for the meantime - or at least for this hour - I'm sticking to water.

This morning I had a hair appointment and my stylist always asks if I want anything to drink. "We've got wine, beer, juice, milk..." she always offers, but I consistently always ask for just water. She usually rolls her eyes. Today, she was pushing for me to have some snacks. "You eat breakfast? You should have something. You want some? If I bring it out will you eat it? I'm bringing it out," she said without me really answering.

It was a cute breakfast plate with granola, grapes and a brownie bite. It paired well with my ice-cold water.

And because I'm a nerd, I took a picture to share with you.