While the visa news certainly took the wind from my sails, I took a day to feel my anger and grief (and take an extra long bath), and now I’m feeling all right. I’m still unhappy with the situation, but embracing the bad feelings rather than bottling them up helped me get on with my days without them festering.
Here’s a fun little reflection. Let’s talk about some more differences between life in London vs. in Louisiana: Food Edition. There’s so much curry in London. Curry and kebabs are the go-to drunk food there. I’m more accustomed to greasy burgers or diner food for drunk munching, but then there is no shortage of greasy junk food in the UK either. A Cornish pasty is a little hand pie filled with peppered steak and potatoes. I love these! A Scotch egg is a hard-boiled egg inside of sausage meat, which often has a light dusting of breadcrumbs. These are nice, but they’re amazing when done with chorizo. The sausage roll, which is pretty much the UK’s favorite junk food as far as I can tell, is sausage meat inside of flaky pastry. Most are pretty bland (sorry UK!), but M&S Best Ever sausage roll is really delicious. Great texture in an air fryer, by the way. The UK’s crisp (chip) flavors are fantastic: roast turkey dinner, sizzling steak, pigs in blankets, aged Angus beef (omg). Brown sauce, which Brits primarily use for breakfast, is what Americans call steak sauce. It’s the same thing. Mystery solved. HP brown sauce is just A1 steak sauce, but they don’t use it on steak. I do. I don’t care. Sundays are reserved for roast dinners with the family. Roast a chicken (or whatever) with carrots and parsnips; make “roasties” (boil potatoes, let them drain for a couple hours, toss them in oil and seasonings, and roast them to get the outside crispy while leaving the inside fluffy); Yorkshire puddings (cup-shaped bread items) and green veg are optional (We like peas or tenderstem broccoli); and gravy is required. There are certainly more food differences to discuss, but this seems good for today.
Tuesday is the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia, or Don’t be a Bigot Day. We all have challenges in life. Other people imposing their values on how a person self-identifies or on what goes on between consenting adults shouldn’t be one of them. Take care of yourself. And if you’re feeling bold, challenge the bigots when they spew vitriol in front of you. Be safe, obviously, but there should be no room for their hate.
Here are this week’s suggestions for fun and enriching activities:
- Relaxing Music: “Relaxing Flute Music” by Body Mind Zone. You can listen to it on YouTube.
- Soothing Sounds: “The Lady of the Manor” by Moonlight Cottage ASMR.
- Puzzle: Mahjongg. You can find the game here along with everything you need to know about how to play.
- Movie: Ferngully: The Last Rainforest (2004). You can find it on Amazon or on a streaming service.
- Creative Prompt (write, draw, paint, sculpt, photograph, or collage something based on this subject): nature
- Mythology Lesson: Apollo. Read about him here, and do a little further research if the mood takes you!
- Short Reading: “Gold-Tree and Silver-Tree.” You can read it here, or you can listen to it on YouTube.
Try one activity per day, and you’ll be well on your way to enjoying a more vibrant daily round.
Magical Musings 