I really felt when Rue said Cassie “fell in love with every guy she ever dated.” because maybe I don’t understand love but I do believe in it. I have fallen in love with every guy I ever dated and even some that didnt love me back. That’s not to say they deserved it or even wanted it. I don’t know if it’s that I am too sensitive or that I just get attached. I also don’t know if that’s good or bad because I think it’s good to put yourself out there but it hurts so much more to realize you fell in love with someone who is hurting you. I absolutely believe in love at first sight. I don’t think enough people act on it though. I think people should be bolder with things like that, including me. In fact, that was my new year’s resolution. To be bolder and more confident.
For the dough: 6 cups All-purpose flour, 1 tbsp Sugar, 2 cups Water, lukewarm, 2 tsp Yeast, ½ tsp oil
For stuffing: 2 lbs Ground pork- (1.5lbs lean), 1 clove garlic, finely chopped, 1 tsp fresh grated ginger, 2 small spring onions (whites), finely chopped, Water, Soy sauce, Sichuan pepper powder, White pepper powder, Salt
Making the dough
Measure out flour into a large bowl.
Mix 2 tsp yeast, 1 tbsp sugar, and 1 cup of lukewarm water into a measuring cup.
Pour the water into the flour and mix.
Add more lukewarm water gradually if necessary. Generally, the ratio of flour to water is 2:1, but it can vary.
Begin to knead the dough, incorporating the dry flour. If more water is needed to incorporate all the dry flour, add more, but do so sparingly because the dough should not be sticky. The sign of a good dough is a clean bowl and clean hands.
Coat the inside of the big bowl with a small amount of oil, to prevent sticking. Place the dough back in the bowl, cover with a wet towel to preserve moisture, and put the bowl on top of a bowl or pot of hot water. Allow the dough to rise. This may take a few hours, depending on the room’s temperature. (To check if the dough is ready, poke a hole in it with your finger. If the dough bounces back to fill in the hole, it needs to rise more. If the dough deflates, it has risen for too long. If the dough does not move, it is ready.)
Making the stuffing (While waiting for the dough to rise, begin making your stuffing)
Put the ground pork into a bowl.
Put the chopped garlic into 1 cup of warm water to make garlic water. This will distribute the garlic flavor better. Set aside so that the garlic can release more flavor.
Add the ginger, garlic water (with the garlic), the two pepper powders, salt, soy sauce, and green onion to the pork and stir in one direction.
Add water to the pork and stir.
Wrapping/steaming the baozi
Take the risen dough and knead the air out.
Separate the dough into 20 balls and flatten them slightly by rolling them out with a rolling pin.
Roll the edges thinner.
Wrap the meat into each one.
Let the baozi rest for around 1 hour, or your baozi will deflate.
Steam the baozi for 15 minutes after steam starts coming out of the steamer. Remove steamer from heat and leave baozi inside the steamer until the initial hot steam is gone. Otherwise, your baozi will also deflate.
I have probably spent an hour a day this whole week trying to write my blog post. And it is still late… I never realized how bad I get writer’s block until I must turn it in. I am getting writer’s block right now. I deleted everything I wrote periodically throughout the week too. So I could not even turn any of those rough drafts in. Its not that I can’t find a topic. I just don’t know how much of my life I really want to share to anyone who reads what I write. Or if I write something fictional but really depressing I don’t want anyone to think I am actually talking about myself. I have noticed that on the days I don’t feel like talking to people I can write a lot more. But on the days I talk alot I can never seem to fill the blank page staring at me blankly. I also tend to drift to separate topics while I write or repeat myself again and again. At least I can be aware of it. My life has been pretty bland lately. Well anyways there is me trying to write something while having writer’s block. I hope I have enough words.
Coming back from Winter Break is always a struggle. Before leaving, you’re in a routine and have got everything nailed down. When you return it feels like starting everything from scratch. It’s hard to get back into school mode. This concept is what makes part of the second semester harder as a whole. Although we get more things to look forward to and more breaks, the academic part is more challenging. All of these beautiful breaks we get make the school part all the harder once the break has ended. In the first semester, despite it feeling like a never-ending marathon of school work, you find a nice rhythm in the consistency.
Additionally, what makes the back hard is having to come and live again by the school’s sleep schedule. Over the breaks, I consistently go to bed at around 3 am and don’t wake up until the afternoon the next day. Bering back at school and having to wake up at 7 am or earlier is a harsh reality check. All I want to do is sleep.
You know what’s interesting? All California high schools are required to have an 8:30 start time now. Go figures it began the year after I left. Anyways, I would much appreciate this enacted at OVS, after all, it is what Gavin Newsom wants and how can we be OK with disappointing him?
The year-ending and New Year’s holidays are always very busy. Three weeks fly by and I wish I had one more week off. I saw my family and many friends during my vacation. I feel a sense of relief when I go back to my home country. Eating delicious food, going shopping, and sleeping in my own bed all make me happy. At the beginning of this year, I participated in my old school’s New Year’s kickoff party, and it was a great time to see friends I haven’t seen in a year and teachers I haven’t seen in a long time. The most fun thing I did during this vacation was going skiing with my family. My brother and I went snowboarding and my sister, dad and mom went skiing. I hadn’t skied since the 6th grade, about 6 years. At first I was very worried if I could ski well, but when I finished the first run, the old feeling came back. I had a few sore muscles, but more than that, I was able to spend time with my whole family, and everything was fun and we had good times. Next time I see my family, I want to go on another trip to a different place. I have wonderful memories of this vacation to see not only my family but also a lot of friends. When I was in the second year of junior high school, I had a takoyaki (octopus dumpling) party with five of my best friends from the same class. I also met friends from my current school when I went to my grandmother’s house. It was such a busy vacation that no matter how much time I had, it was never enough. I am already looking forward to going back to my home country and seeing my family again.
This break my best friend joined me and my mom on a trip to Big Bear. The trip was a mess from the start we planned it 2 days before we left. I had gotten a new snowboard and decided to put the bindings on myself which was one of my first mistakes. Mieke spent the night at my house the night before and we got food poisoning so going on such a long drive the next day with an upset stomach was definitely an experience. I had only seen a few photos of the house and was not sure what to expect. As we got their this house looked like something out of a trailer park. My mom nicknamed the house the “shameless shack” and it did live up to the name. Mieke and I explored the house to find old burnt bread on the porch. We walked through the backyard where the hot tub was supposed to be and it was a shed blocked by cinderblocks with a padlock. We went to our room and it literally smelled like feet. To turn on the heater you had take off thee panel of the heater and light a match. Luckily my mom is a d1 complainer and was not happy so we switched places. The second place was so much better and bigger. We still had a super fun time but personally I would not recommend booking.com
Recently, the weather has been horrific. I don’t even know what I’m supposed to wear. It’s too hot to be wearing puffers and lots of layers but it isn’t warm enough to wear just pants and a top. In the morning it is literally in the thirties and I’m forced to go outside to go to the bathroom to get ready and to go to breakfast. The warmth of the classrooms always varies so if I decide to wear pants, a long sleeve, and a jacket but when I’m in a warm classroom, I’m dying of heat. The air is also making my skin so dry and red and it’s not it. Most of my clothes are meant for warm weather so this is horrific. All I want is for the weather to be in the seventies and to start dressing normally. I only have so many hoodies in my closet and at this point, I feel like I’m wearing the same thing every day.
Recently I have found a special satisfaction in photographing chaos. There’s something about the disordered mass of cosmetics, trash, or whatever else that resonates with me. I see something incredibly organized within these piles, as if they are exactly where they are meant to be. Throughout my life, my parents scolded me for the mess in my room, and I always obediently cleaned up after myself.
But what’s so bad about my disorder? I know exactly which pile contains the needed top or blouse, so what’s the problem with my things being exactly where I want them to be? In essence, our entire life is a disorderly sequence of events and people, from which we choose those that suit us. Throughout my life, I have never been a fan of perfect plans and schedules; they suffocate me. I choose chaos for myself, letting everything be wherever it wants to be, no other way.
OVS Journalism Blog 