There's just something about blood draw that somehow tend to create this block in my memory. It's a very specific block that prevents me from remembering to drink plenty of water before you go visit your local friendly nurse. I guess I've just always associated fasting with, NOTHING SHALL PASS THROUGH THE MOUTH other than words. I do well with remembering not to eat anything 12 hours prior just to be safe I tend brush my teeth 14 hours before and since I'm the lazy bum that I am, I don't eat after I brush my teeth. A) it tastes weird B) To re-brush takes to much effort. But at the same time I tend to forget to drink water...urgh...
So I started my day with sleeping in, yey! 1 extra hours goes a long way, the lab doesn't open until 9am and it really isn't worth for me to go into work for 15 minutes before I have to head back out again. So I arrive at the labs fashionably late (I do love my sleep) and found 3 other ladies there, the other 2 looks done and was waiting on the 3rd. Wow, the nurses were NOT having an easy time finding her vain, apparently the lady had not been drinking any liquid for the last century. They had to call in another more experienced nurse. The lady was not plump like me, she was thin so it was easy to see her vain, but getting the needle to GET to the vain was a whole separate issue, it was too flat. By the time I had arrived it looks like they've already been at it for a while. Lets just say 1/2 hour later I was still waiting for my turn. Finally 10 minutes after when I had originally planned to be at work by, it was my turn. I go to the back chamber, sit on the lovely chair while they clean up from the previous occupant. It looks like confetti littered the room, NYC's New Year Party in there. The nurse was a little, shall we say, frazzled, she was ready to just get my blood and get it over with. One minor problem I pointed out to her, "Erm, do you know what I'm being tested for." This stopped her for a moment, and you could see it in her expression "Oh yeah, I should check huh." She's young.
So for those who are not as familiar with the whole blood draw thing as I am, being the frequent visitor I'm turning out to be, I shall explain why I made a note of this in my blog. For blood works it's not as si
mple as stick a needle in and draw blood into some random test tube and send to lab, no no no... All those movies where they just randomly pull blood into a convenient tube of some poor hapless victim and can learn all these nifty things from just that is not ENTIRELY true. If you've ever seen the test tubes at the doctors office/nurse's kits where they have colourful and sometimes stripped patterned tube tops, they actually serve a purpose other than aesthetics like the cute and cuddly patterns on nurse outfits. Each colour or pattern represents how each tube has been tempered. Another reason why when you're doing blood works they may take several different vials. Thus for me, I had 3 tubes and 2 of them were this nifty orange/black tiger stripped one. I wonder if they can make them like when you go to 回転寿司, those conveyor belt sushi restaurants, where once you're done they just count yup the different coloured/style of plates to get your totally bill. It's easier to figure out pricing on my side that way. However, it won't work 'cause there's just too many types of tests out there and some uses the same type of tubes.
Anyhow, after being thoroughly confused as to what the doctor had ordered for my blood test, the nurse sent me back to the doctor's office to ask for clarification. When I got there, the doctor's nurse just rolled her eyes and told me she'd do it herself. (THANK π) I trust her more. I made my little confession before she started, but since no one has yet to NOT find my vein I didn't think much of it. Well, she found it just fine. . . but nothing came out of it (yeah it moved on her) plus the fact that she used a freakin' HUGE needle. Okay, not as big as the ones used during blood donations, but still relatively large. Before she pulled back out she felt around and determinded, yeah my vein went into hiding. I would have also had I seen that big needle. Good to know that my veins, if not my head has good self preservation mode. Anyhow, she went off to get a smaller needle before she attempted the other arm. Not finding a good one she went right to the one on the back of the hand. Now, I wonder why can't they just START with that one? Easy to see and works just the same. . . Anyhow, this brought up another point with me. I personally don't mind needles in my arm, unless we're talkin' local anesthetics then O U C H, but once the needle goes in I'm okay. But how do drug addicts DO this? it HURTS piercing the skin, why would a none masochist do it over and over again? It was a point I brought up to the nurse and she agreed. Then again, seeing as we're both in a health clinic under our own steam and not rushed here, we obviously don't have the mindset of an addict.
Anyhow, that's my story on what I did yesterday morning before I went off to work.
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Older sister...What can ya do with them? They get picky when you don't respond to their IM but they disappear on ya without a word mid conversation. They even go off to lunch without so much a "by your leave" with their husband right when you're talking with them.
Is an AWAY message so much to ask for?
Then they get picky about the colours of the font used in your blog. So what if you see bright yellow shooting stars after reading a blog for hours on end, it just adds spunk into the day, no? At least I didn't chose Hunter's Orange as a background. Now THERE'S a colour sure to burn holes into the eye.
So now, I've chose a new colour. I don't like it as much, but since all I do is write this stuff and not really read it, I'll do my best to make it easier for her to read. If she'd ONLY READ IT! ! !
After my cousin mentioned she had Shabu Shabu for lunch last week, I got to thinking. Mmmm sounds good.....So last night, after getting sick of eating junk for lunch AND supper I took myself to Mitsuwa for some long over due HEALTHY supper. No, that image up above was NOT taken of what I ate, it was just one I found on the net for those ppl who do not know what 火鍋 or しゃぶしゃぶ is. Since this is something traditionally eaten during the wintertime with family and friends there's tons of ingredients, I made the mistake once of preparing it as we would have at home and ended up eating hotpot for 2 weeks straight (URGH talk about overdose). Curbing it down to size has been interesting.
Called up my sister for recommendations as to what to put in there veggie wise. I tend to get stuck after nappa cabbage. Gotta love these Chinese Cabbages, they go so well in so many dishes!
So being the farmer's wife that she is she totally recommended this thing she called "Hot Pot Veggie". Hum, yeah, that didn't go too well. She described them as "short and leafy". I was in the produce department of a Japanese market, I wonder if she realized how many items fit her description. Lucky for me, the Mitsuwa I frequent is a relatively small one and I zeroed in on something that looks familiar and asked her to Google the word Mizuna. Indeed it was the mysterious "hot pot 
veggie" my sister mentioned. Delicious vegetable that I haven't encountered outside the realm of hot pots. Very distinct flavor, my sister warns that older ones taste somewhat bitter yet she didn't exactly give a clue as to how to spot an older one. The ones there were all longer than what she described them to be so I had my worries as to if they were going to be bitter or not. I'm not a fan of bitterness the 苦瓜 that my relatives always try to feed me scares me like crazy. Luckily, these were not bitter and I ate the stem also, my sister had told me just eat the leafy part but I found no issues with the stem.
Next came the white button mushrooms, no shitake due to my price conscious self, when shitake gets thrown into a hot pot I never can tastes it's flavor anymore, thus defeating the purpose in my opinion of having shitake. Wanting mushrooms just for it's fun texture, I stuck with the inexpensive button ones. They tend to take on a slimy feel when you wash them, has anyone else noticed? Oh *gasp* did I just offe
nd anyone with that last phrase "wash them"? Heh, reminds of an episode of Good Eats once where Alton Brown offended some fake French Chef when he said to wash them, apparently some cooking school of thought is that you're only suppose to brush off the dirt with some funny looking brush. Eh, me too lazy me wants easy me washed them is what I say to that.
To finish off the fungus family, I chose 金针菇. These suckers have a tough root bottom that totally wigges me out so I chop them off before I wash them, which causes a problem of them separating, but since I'm the only one eating it that's not too much of a problem.
As I was 
meandering my way through the rest of the produce isle, I happen to glance and see one of my favorite gourds ( not sure if they're really in the same family but you get the point) かぼちゃ. Let me tell ya, these little delights are NOTHING like it's American counterpart, the big orange fruits we carve during Halloween and make jack-o-lanterns or pumpkin pies out of. These babies are sweet and meaty and able to be used in SO many dishes. Only found in Asian markets, these puppies can cost a little more than your average Pumpkin, but if you get the chance, please give it a try. Yes, it's suppose to have a green skin, no it does not mean that it's under ripe.
After that, I called it good for the "greens portion of my meal. It's been a while since I've bought fresh veg
gies and I was quite proud of myself for it. Couldn't wait to sink my teeth into it all, I was having a green craving. I could have left it there and called it good, but I wanted flavor in my hot pot. One of the uniqueness to hot pots is that No Two Pots are alike. The flavor of the soup which often lends its flavor to an otherwise bland veggie or fungus (the mushroom) comes from the other stuff that it's cooked with and the longer you cook the more your soup has flavor. Cheap or as we tend to say "not very good" Shabu Shabu/Hot Pot restaurants offer water to start off with. I suppose that's okay, it is the very traditional way of cooking the thing, some family may have spent a few hours cooking up a stock for it as my family used to do. However, we're short on time, we want flavor, we're only cooking for one. Let's do it the right way shall we? I welcome you all to the wonder of: Swanson's Chicken Broth! They make all kinds: Organic, Low Sodium, Beef, Low Fat. I'm telling ya, these things are TIME SAVERS! Not only do they cut down the prep time, they really add flavor! I often use it as a substitute for rice. If you're on a brown rice kick, try it. Cook your Uncle Ben Rice with this, or even your couscous.
Having solved the problem of my soup base, it was time for the meat! This adds flavor, plus it's just plain yummy. I went to
a Japanese market vs. a Chinese market because of just this issue. The Japanese knows what the customer wants! Convinced, instead of just selling blocks of meat and expect their customers to slice it at home, they offer them pre-sliced for so MANY occasions. Shabu Shabu, Sukiyaki, Chinese Stir Fry, way beyond the stew or fajitas cuts they offer at western markets or having to wait in line at the butcher block in the Chinese Market. The smell and the noise not to mention having to look at so many parts just confuse me. I want the convenience of seeing a nicely packaged sliced meat with a label "Sukiyaki" or "Yaki niku" or in my case "Shabu Shabu". Back home, since there's really no major Asian Markets that does that, we have a meat slicer. Very handy things. Scary as heck having to clean, but handy.
Next came the taboo food for me. I personally don't care for it in my hot pot because I think they tend to get over cooked and all leathery, not to mention I'm allergic to them. However, SHRIMP is a must have item. I 
can't explain it, I dislike them but they really do add flavor. I'm not against shrimp, far from it. I love them pan fried with ginger carrots and leek, however they don't like me as much. Just this year I went to visit my uncle in China, I couldn't resist, regretted my glutenous self for 3 days. My most sever allergic reaction to date. Nothing to send me to the hospital, but I'm sure they would have if I insisted and the hospital staff would have given me something to calm my swelling, itching, and tummy aches. Swelling and aching I can handle, but the itching! WOW, it was like this major need to itch UNDER the skin which we can't do so nothing can relieve it. Even now, I dread coming in contact with them. However, I digress. I picked up a few unfrozen, but not fresh shrimps. Nothing like these beauties that's pictured. Mine was farmed in Malaysia. Just enough to flavor the soup and hopefully not KO me.
And there you have it. My Supper. All washed up, thrown in the largest pot I own and boiled away for some UBER WHOLESOME GOODNESS. Once boiled to perfection (which is basically just boiled) scoop out what you want to eat, be thankful for the invention of chopsticks, dip in some light Chinese BBQ Sauce and we're good to go. Of course, some folks like a raw egg scrambled into their sauce, I personally get wigged out so I left that portion out.
Of course, I have left overs for tonight's supper. So easy to just cut up some more veggies and throw it in there. Tonight I'll be adding tofu a
nd some 冬粉 which literally translates as winter noodles, I've never bothered reading it's English name 'cause I always recognize them at the market on site due to it's bright pink fishnet style packaging. Once I see it and made sure it's not made ANYWHERE other than Taiwan, I'm a happy camper. My parents instilled in me the fear of China made food since I was young. Even some Taiwan brands they made sure my sister and I know if there's ever been any scare on the company's products. Of course, being me, I don't remember all these names, I just look for the ones that matches the items we had at our house. Hey, if it's in my parents kitchen the only thing I'd have to worry about is the expiration date. My parents medicine cabinet frightens me, but that's another story for another time.
Oh I feel so unproductive this weekend. All I've done was laundry and shopping for food. I've begun a cross stitching project as for my father's Christmas present. (>_<) it's going to take a long time at my speed. Christmas '08 more like it. Mother's coming for a visit soon. I really REALLY need to clean my flat and put some organization to the kitchen if she wants to cook in it. Right now, I know where everything (well most thing) is but it's put in such a Tappy way that no one else would think to look where I put it.
My poor sister's been wracking her brain trying to find this blog. Funny considering I begun this blog at her place. She's even read it while I was writing in it...yet she has no recollection of it.
mple as stick a needle in and draw blood into some random test tube and send to lab, no no no... All those movies where they just randomly pull blood into a convenient tube of some poor hapless victim and can learn all these nifty things from just that is not ENTIRELY true. If you've ever seen the test tubes at the doctors office/nurse's kits where they have colourful and sometimes stripped patterned tube tops, they actually serve a purpose other than aesthetics like the cute and cuddly patterns on nurse outfits. Each colour or pattern represents how each tube has been tempered. Another reason why when you're doing blood works they may take several different vials. Thus for me, I had 3 tubes and 2 of them were this nifty orange/black tiger stripped one. I wonder if they can make them like when you go to 回転寿司, those conveyor belt sushi restaurants, where once you're done they just count yup the different coloured/style of plates to get your totally bill. It's easier to figure out pricing on my side that way. However, it won't work 'cause there's just too many types of tests out there and some uses the same type of tubes.
