October 5, 2016 – Life @ U of T

ALT="A photo of me standing with my family at my mom's mandolin recital." — My brother, mom, sister and I together at my mom's mandolin orchestra performance.

When I was younger, my parents used to make me a special Vietnamese warm drink any time in the winter. They would spoon sweetened condensed milk into a big mug, then pour hot water into it, stirring all the while. And after adding enough condensed milk as necessary to my preferred taste, they would finish it off by giving me bread to dip as I sipped my drink. While this was definitely before my university years, I still find myself unknowingly craving the drink then ultimately making it any time life (at U of T, especially) gets crazy, gets chaotic, gets stormy, gets sad. And, well, I also crave the drink when I miss my family.

This summer, I was enrolled in full-time classes. I would be on campus several days a week from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m.. As a commuter, unwilling to burden myself with more heavy things to carry, I bought pasta every day for lunch. By September, I had twelve dollars left in my bank account. It hadn't taken me long into first-year to realize that I often had to choose between healthy eating and cheap eating. Loaded with extracurriculars, my days spanned twelve hours; I would subsist off snacks, water, or cave in and buy a sandwich or pasta. When I first discovered food trucks, I had been delighted -- finally, a filling meal for under five dollars! But I soon realized that each poutine -- however cheap, hearty, and delicious -- made my body feel bloated and uncomfortable for hours afterwards.

Day: October 5, 2016

In Which I Miss Warm Drinks and Warmer People

The Rocky Road to Healthy Eating