The Joy of Giving

On Thursday, I made a radical move…

I cut 14 inches of my hair. It was waist length previously, and then, chop chop, my hair was short as a boy’s. I put the ponytail into a sealed zip lock bag, and donated to Hair We Share - a philanthropy that gives free human hair wigs to people suffering from hair loss due to medical conditions, mostly cancer.

The idea came a year ago, when I read somewhere on how wigs of real hair made a huge difference in the life of a cancer patient, helping her feel normal again and giving her strength to fight the disease. That was when I learned about hair donation, and it planted a seed in my mind.

Over the last few years, I’ve encountered some brilliant memoirs of cancer patients, including Paul Kalanithi’s When Breath Becomes Air, and Julie Yip-Williams’ final letters to her daughters. I couldn’t help but empathize on the enormous challenges they faced at such young age (30s and 40s), and admire the bravery they had fighting cancer. It’s since been my wish to help cancer patients cope with their illness in any way I can.

The opportunity came during the pandemic, when I would go to the barber’s less and less frequently. Last September, when my hair was shoulder length and ripe for another haircut, I recalled the time when I read about human hair wigs and cancer patients. I decided to let it grow for another 6 months and for the first time, donate my hair.

The experience of giving was very thrilling, almost like a ritual. I picked a lucky date on lunar calendar - a day when cutting hair is supposed to bring good luck - and decided to take action. Standing in front of my bathroom mirror, I tied my hair into two ponytails, and used my scissors to cut them off. The ponytails broke free, set for a new journey of their own.

And just like that, there went the hair that I grew for the past 1.5 years. All 14 inches of black, long Asian hair, hair that received a lot of compliments, hair that had never been dyed or permed - I’m giving them away. They accompanied me everywhere I went during the pandemic - biking up and down to explore New York City, hiking in the west coast mountains, going to parties, dates and art exhibitions. They witnessed a job change, an address move, a few short relationships and a few episodes of sickness that have since been cured. And now, I am sending them away to accompany another person’s life journey. Hope this hair that has been through a fun and challenging period of a girl’s 20s will instill some normalness in another person’s hard-fought battle against a terminal illness. I wish them best of luck.

And for now, my hair is short, but my heart is full.

*Title photo from clipartmag.com

Get Inspired with These Interior Designs at Hudson, New York

During the President’s Day long weekend, I went on a trip to Hudson, New York. It’s a quaint town in upstate New York, and they have so many lovely mansions and antique stores, you can’t help but dreaming what your future home might one day look like.

So, today, let me guide you through some beautiful interior designs, for your inspiration….

First Stop: Frederic Church’s Olana

Olana is the previous home of the famous American artist, Frederic Church. Born in 1826 to a wealthy family in Connecticut, he studied to become the central figure of American landscape painting at a young age of 20. In 1870, he began constructing Olana, a mansion located on the hilltop of his Hudson farmland in upstate New York, overlooking the Hudson River. He would later raise his four children with his wife Isabel here in this estate, which he established as his primary home.

Their guest waiting room. Imagine drinking tea here, while appreciating the magnificent views of the Hudson River.

One interesting character of this house is that it’s Arab-inspired. Frederic Church was an avid traveler, and he spent months traveling across the world with his family during his lifetime. He and his wife got especially taken away by the beautiful Islamic designs in one of their Middle Eastern trips, which made them decide to build their house in the same style. An Arab mansion in the middle of upstate New York, how unique is that?

Islamic designs in the corridors, which accentuate Frederic’s landscape paintings as well.

Their indoor greenhouse. The family would open it in the summer to create a little garden, and close it in the winter for warmth. Photo from Olana.org.

Part of the living room. Photo from Olana.org.

To better entertain guests (and themselves), the Church household incorporated a mini stage underneath a staircase that connects to the living room. This way, they can host small performances at home, such as plays and poem readings. Such a cool idea, would you like a stage in your living room?

Frederic’s studio and show room. Photo from Olana.org.

Another look of his main studio. Note the oriental vases from Asia, and a Mexican painting he bought on a trip to South America. Photo from Lehman Maupin.

Their dining room is also a gallery of Frederic’s art collections, easily capturing attention from guests as they dine.

What a quirky home, don’t you agree? I particularly enjoyed the mix of cultures you can see in their collections from all these traveling. Though Olana is a mansion with a lot of history, it is definitely not sleepy. You can tell the Church family lived a rich and happy life in this estate.

Second Stop: Beekman Arms & Delamater Inn (where George Washington had slept)

During our trip, me and my travel companion stayed at the Beekman Arms & Delamater Inn, around 30 minutes away from Hudson. This historic inn has operated since 1766, and it is said that George Washington had previously slept here!

It is a very cozy place, and we enjoyed our stay. Here are a few peeks into the inn -

Colonial style in the main building.

Antique situation in the hallway.

And a library next to the lobby.

And that concludes our trip. We were amazed by all these beautiful designs we saw over the weekend, and they inspired us to imagine what our dream homes would look like. My travel companion said he would love a historic, classic home library with fabulous woodwork. It would be the perfect environment for him to read and write. For me, I need to have a gigantic kitchen with a marble island. Sunshine would stream through the kitchen windows, lighting up the flowers I have on display, and I will be working on my weekend cooking projects in a delicious aroma.

I’m curious, what does your dream home look like?

If you are in the New York area and want some interior design inspirations, I highly recommend spending a few days at Hudson!

*Header photo of a Hudson antique store by Architectural Digest.

How Many Days Can You Go Without Takeout Food?

To UberEats or not UberEats, it’s a question many of us frequently struggle with. Sometimes, there seems to be endless work and no time to even relax, let alone cook. Before we realize, we have ordered food delivery one week in a row, and we feel greasy and bloated.

Is time so scarce that we’re too busy to cook? Would it be possible to eat homemade meals almost everyday, even if we have to work, say, 12 hours every weekday?

The answer to the last question is, of course, yes - because when there is a will, there is a way! Yet, how can we regulate our energy level to balance both long working hours and a lifestyle as healthy as possible, without feeling exhausted? I gave it a little try, and here is a schedule of my week:

Monday:

Lunch: Didn’t get to buy groceries during the weekend, so I had to order takeout (bimbimbap) for lunch. Bought Whole Foods groceries online to deliver to my apartment.

Dinner: Made stew beef with instant pot and seared some vegetables. No time to make rice, so I ate these dishes with bread. Cook + eat time: 1.5 hours.

Tuesday:

Lunch + Dinner: Yesterday’s leftover + rice.

Wednesday:

Lunch: Finished all leftovers and didn’t make any new food. Frozen dumplings for the rescue.

Dinner: Originally planned to make chicken wings, but I forgot to thaw meat. I quickly thawed some shrimp, then made creamy shrimp and veggie fried rice with the cream cheese in my fridge. Cook + eat time: 1 hour.

Thursday:

Lunch: Yesterday’s leftover.

Dinner: Noodles with green beans and pork ribs, Cantonese style. Cook + eat time: 1 hour.

Friday:

Lunch: Yesterday’s leftover.

Dinner: Ordered takeout from a ramen place. TGIF!

I was still working 12 hours every day, but I cooked three times that covered most of my weekday meals. Eating homecooked meals that contained less oil and sauce than restaurant takeout, I no longer felt greasy and bloated. Most importantly, I wasn’t feeling exhausted by this extra task outside work, as I simplified the process as much as possible. Here are some tips of going through a demanding week, while also having energy to cook:

1. Make simple dishes.

Weekday meals are supposed to be easy. That means using less than 5 ingredients, but also cover most of the nutrition. Usually, I make sure there is one kind of meat, 1-2 kinds of vegetables, and 1 kind of carb. I eat my meals with some yogurt and finish with a fruit. That’s it.

2. Use some seasoning so that simple dishes do not taste simple.

It’s easy to get tired of your own cooking, as it may not be as tasty as you’d like. Having a few great go-to seasoning formulas changes the game. Try a few versions of recipes for the same dish, and pick your favorite one. Here are my usual seasoning combo:

Asian dishes:

Chinese stir fry: soy sauce + oyster sauce

Instant pot meat stew spices: 3~4 tablespoons of soy sauce + 2 star anise + 1 bay leaf + 7-8 sichuan peppercorns + some water

A few other store bought sauces: Teriyaki sauce for Japanese-style fried rice, curry chunks for Japanese curry, and fermented chili bean sauce for Cantonese steamed pork ribs.

Pasta:

Cream cheese/boursin cheese for white sauce, or tomatoes + ketchup for tomato sauce. Also, always have garlic, ginger, salt and pepper in your kitchen.

3. Follow food bloggers and magazines for recipe inspiration.

A key to improving the flavor of your home cooking is to learn from the best chefs. I have learned so much from my favorite food magazines and influencers, and a lot of their recipes become my go-to way of making a certain dish. If you haven’t yet, I highly recommend following Saveur, Bon Appétit, NYT Cooking, RecipeTin Eats and ZoëBakes. I have never failed drawing inspirations browsing these accounts when I don’t know what to eat, and they are a great help for adding variety to my cooking.

4. Use the help of technology.

During weekdays, I use instant pot to make stew meat. It reduces cooking time of an otherwise time-consuming dish from 1-2 hours to less than half an hour. I also try to buy good knifes, peelers and graters, since high quality in these utensils significantly reduce frustration during food prep. Lastly, befriend the dishwasher! This goes without saying, lol.

5. Keep some frozen food handy for a quick lunch.

I always have dumplings in my freezer, in case for a quick lunch. When I finish all my leftovers from the previous day and have nothing else ready to eat, I throw together some dumplings and go back to work. It’s a meal that requires basically no effort.

6. Still have some quota for takeout food.

Sometimes, nothing seems to lift our spirit other that delicious but greasy fried chicken from down the street. In that case, go ahead and order it! Life is too short to not eat as you wish.

All in all, it’s all about balance. When you only have 3 or 4 hours of your own time each day to relax, it’s easy to just lie in the couch and order takeout. However, it is possible to live your life as healthy as possible, even with a demanding job, without having to exhaust all energy inside you. Have some discipline, but also give yourself some room to slack. By making effort to eat clean and take care of your health, your journey to achieving excellence in whatever you are working on in your career and study becomes more sustainable.