I’ve been trying my best to reassure myself that I’m only experiencing allergies, but after two days I might have to concede this is something other than. What is certain is that my mind has taken on the thinking capacity of the oodles of snot that are leaking out of my nose. Great time for watching Youtube as that’s about all I can process, though it is triggering my online shopping buttons. A couple of weeks ago I stumbled upon Guga Foods, an enthusiastic steak gourmet, and I must have watched 20 videos of him aging and cooking all sorts of amazing cuts of cow including some pricey pieces of wagyu. Then on Monday night, I discovered The Food Ranger, this Canadian guy who speaks fluent Chinese and is traveling through China capturing the flavors of some incredible-looking dishes.

Some background to all of this: On Monday I saw a podiatrist to finally deal with an on-again, off-again ingrown toenail that has vexed me for over 35 years, so I needed to stay off my feet. Getting congested then simply added to the need to stay off my feet. Back to Trevor James at The Food Ranger: this foodie will try anything from water bugs to intestines, lungs, and the stinkiest fermented green mush that failed to impress him. Along the way he dives into some seriously amazing looking dishes I can only dream of trying as Arizona is NOT known for authentic Chinese food. While I do a fair amount of shopping at Lee Lee Asian Grocery, even they do not have everything I could need and so seeing all this preparation and slurping of chili noodles I have been impulsively buying everything I need to replicate some of the dishes I have been introduced to.

There are more than a few things I need to get done, but I’m not feeling it and so I’m languishing in the pit of I don’t care. I’ve napped twice today and watched all the videos I can take so I needed to get out and do something, such as typing up this brief blog entry that ends up being an admission that even I can indulge in mindless entertainment when it suits me. Feeling mindlessly blah sucks. Can’t wait to pick up Caroline so I can start whining about how bad I feel. Sympathy is a dish that tastes best through the hack of exaggerated illness. I wonder if there’s a show for that?