Author Archives: mathdreads
Happy St. Patrick’s Day 2019
As a child who attended public school, I always knew I had to wear something green on March 17th whether I was Irish or not, rather than run the risk of being pinched. Even as an adult, I love not just wearing green on St. Patrick’s day, but dressing up for an occasion despite not … Continue reading
Dietary Adventurer
En route to my mother’s surprise birthday party, which happened a full two months after her real birthday, one of my cousins, who carpooled with us, was reading “The Plant Paradox.” Essentially, the premise of this diet is to eliminate, or at least seriously restrict, the amount of lectins in one’s food. Lectins are proteins, … Continue reading
Uzbek Dinner
For my second time participating with this ethnic dining Meetup, I had the opportunity to try a Uzbek food that was touted as being the ultimate fusion between Chinese and Middle Eastern. Most of the dishes on the buffet I’ve made some version of at home. Yet, I’d never made all of them at once … Continue reading
Diurnal Ear
Nearly ten years ago when I moved to the Music Capital of the World, I thought I was allergic to beestings and had no problem with pollen. I’ve learned some things since then. There’s this seasonal Welcome to Austin condition known as Cedar Fever that makes newbies feel as if they’ve come down with the … Continue reading
Decomposing Zebra Mussels
I first noticed the smell in the bathroom. Having just flushed minutes ago, I lifted the lid. Nope, nothing there but a damn near sparkling clean toilet bowl. Then I refilled my drinking glass with tap water and smelled it again. I brought the glass to my nose and there it was. I dumped out … Continue reading
Why Do Men Always Fuck It Up?
So, if I’m a straight, single woman who has her own money, doesn’t want children, but wants male companionship, why do men always fuck that up? I’ve already gotten over the fact that most men don’t read as much as I do or juggle as many interesting activities, but ever since I started dating when … Continue reading
White (Fragility) America
I love serendipity! I’d just picked up Robin DiAngelo’s book White Fragility from the library and out of nowhere, I got behind this truck for a couple of miles en route to yoga. It’s always shocking to see a display of conservative Americana in Austin although I know this city is a liberal island within a … Continue reading
Chips na Mayai
I cannot believe that it’s taken me this long to come up with this crowd-pleasing dish. The “crowd” being only myself at this point. I’d first had chips na mayai (fries and eggs) in Tanzania as a Peace Corps Volunteer. In that case, the thick-cut potatoes were fried in a deep skillet of grease and … Continue reading
Karmic Messages
On a surprisingly cold December Thursday night here in Austin, a friend and I searched with our smartphones where we could find a decent nearby restaurant that actually served food and wine at 10 PM. After striking out both online and in person at one restaurant, which claimed to be open until 11 PM, but … Continue reading
Reinvented Butterfly
Throughout your lifetime, you’ve got to stop doing some things in order to have new beginnings. It’s a sign of maturity. At the very least, it’ll keep life fresh and interesting. On a serious note, the ability to adapt to the changing environment keeps you on the right side of natural selection. Nowadays, instead of … Continue reading