I'VE MOVED!

Great news! I have moved my blog to WordPress, which is so much easier to navigate - for me AND my readers! All of my old entries have been moved there as well.

Please change your bookmarks to maplesstraveler.wordpress.com. See you there!

The Mapless Traveler

H Mart (Gaithersburg, MD)

No trip to Cat and Rob's place is complete without a visit to H Mart, a Korean American grocery store and marketplace chain. H Mart carries tons of imported East Asian goods and food, including live eels, crabs, turtles, and fish (for consumption), and also has a nice selection of Latin American items. Here's some of the things you can find there.


Some of the ladies hawking chocolates in the store had me sample these, explaining "Japanese chocolate sweeter than American chocolate, but no sugar!" It definitely tastes less sugary. If you like pocky, you will love these - biscuit sticks dipped in huge blobs of chocolate to look like mushrooms.

This stuffed Flying Goomba caught my eye in the imported goods shop at H Mart. Now he angrily waits for us to get back to Super Mario, already!

These are packages of veggie and sweet red bean buns, respectively. You keep them in the freezer, microwave them for about 50 seconds, and you have a delicious, steaming hot mini-meal. The buns are larger than they appear, and you get three per package.

Cafe Bustelo espresso is unbelievably yummy, and it will wake your sleepy behind right up. I like mixing mine with soy milk and a little bit of sugar. Eric's family drank this when he was growing up. Unlike most of the other items shown here, you can probably also find this one in your local supermarket. (We buy our cans at Giant, in the ethnic foods section.)

Another drink from Eric's childhood that we enjoy is called Malta Goya, which is probably best described as a super-malty, dark soda. (I've found most people do not enjoy the taste of it.) We typically purchase it from the local grocer as well, but at H Mart we found this six pack of "Pony Malta" which is supposed to be the super energizing version. Eric doesn't like the taste nearly as much, and I think it's just okay.

I love tea! I picked up a big box of oolong, a "Special Relaxing" herbal infusion with valerian, scullcap, catnip, and chamomile, and a brown rice green tea.

Meltyblend chocolate cubes, which literally melt away in your mouth and are ridiculously yummy. Mmmmmmmmm.

I've always loved wasabi peas! This particular brand is very crunchy, but not quite as spicy as I prefer.

Nestle Milo is a chocolate drink mix powder with added vitamins that was originally Australian and is very popular in some Caribbean countries, and probably others. I saw it standing next to some of my favorite European Ovaltine and couldn't resist giving it a try. It's more chocolately than European Ovaltine, but not as sweet as American Ovaltine. It is very hard to mix with cold soy milk, but like Ovaltine, there are many different ways to drink it. Maybe I'll make some hot Milo in a minute. :)

This is a cat.

Glowelle

One product I've been very interested in lately is Glowelle. I was excited to try a 3-stick sampler pack of their product recently, but disappointed when only one stick was included in the little Glowelle carrying case. And the flavor they sent, pomegranate lychee, tasted like chalk mixed with fruit flavoring, and was just as gritty. I'd really like to try their 30-day pack, but it costs almost 90 bucks. Having had problems with my skin for the past couple of years, I took a look at the ingredients after reading how well other people fared with this product. It seems I can find most of these in basic vitamins or, you know, fruits and vegetables, and of course drinking lots of water every day is always great for your skin. So what's so different about Glowelle? Nothing that I can tell, other than making it easier (but way more expensive) for me to get some of my vitamins and minerals. My skin is doing much better ever since I all but eliminated dairy from my diet, but some part of me would still like to try the product again.

The Book Thing of Baltimore

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a ridiculous bookworm. I will try to read just about anything, and I have a stupidly huge collection of books that takes up way too much room. Some people collect coins or stamps. I collect books (and lip gloss). It's easy to see that this hobby is inherited from my parents (especially my dad), that my sister also inherited it, and that my brother-in-law shares our "problem." (My aunt is probably only safe from this syndrome because she has a Kindle.) Now, my sweet boyfriend is way too patient for his own good and did not even roll his eyes when I excitedly informed him that we would be visiting The Book Thing with Cat and Rob as part of a litany of Valentine's Day weekend events. He deserves much credit since he has tripped over, stubbed toes on, cleaned, moved, and glared at literally thousands and thousands of tomes. He even smiled at me when I told him I would be painstakingly giving away 30 books that I have never read and probably never would (because they look pretty bad) away to The Book Thing.

Uh, so what is the big deal if we go to a book store? Well, The Book Thing happens not to charge anything for any of its books. They are mostly used, but many are in fine condition, and you can take as many as you like. Uh oh! This particular visit, we wound up with 45. (Six of those were Eric's.)

Well, enough babbling. Let's take a look at a few of the funkier things we got this time. And please visit The Book Thing's website at http://bookthing.org/index.html.

I was really excited to see this book. Unfortunately, it's mostly just lists of things people believe, not explanations of why they believe. It's still fun, so I took it! (Snopes.com does the dirty work of debunking many of these for you anyway!)
I have always had a thing for old textbooks (okay, math, not so much). This is a fourth- or fifth- grade level reading text. There was a huge box of them next to the kids' books bins, where a man ran up and frantically threw books up in the air as he plowed through all 10 bins. Hmmm!

This is an independently published collection of essays about society's view of women's beauty, and how companies push their beauty products on women, among other things. There were about 50 of these in a box. It was published by the Center for the Study of Responsive Law and has a 1986 forward from Ralph Nader.

This book is part of the Opposing Viewpoints series, which presents exactly what it sounds like. This edition focuses on the hotbed topic of abortion and the many and varied opinions of the subject. One of my favorite parts of the newspaper has always been the letters from people who feel differently about various topics than I do, so I was drawn to this like the proverbial moth to the flame.

In my youth, I had a hard time knowing how to tell someone something negative. Working in certain difficult environments and going to college certainly changed that, but I could always use help with less-than-pleasant situations. But some of the suggestions sound rather ... well, scripted. This book is guaranteed to at least be entertaining!

I had heard of this book, but never bothered to check it out. I certainly could've used it at a certain point in my life. It's based on the idea that people go through a quarter-life crisis along with a "mid-life" crisis. People in their early- to mid- 20s face uncertainty about what to do with their lives, and how to "figure it all out." I still face this at 28, as do many people I know who are far older than me, so I don't think it's restricted to any one age range. There's a corresponding website: http://www.quarterlifecrisis.com/.

I LOVE old pulp fiction art! Yes, this is a collection of tawdry paperback covers from yesteryear! And, they are all magnetic postcards! I can't get any to stick to my fridge though. Despite the cover's appearance, nothing in here is really dirty, just funny!

I loved Anna Quindlen's newspaper/newsmagazine writing, although I've never read any of her novels. This ought to be a cool read.

We also got various other books on science, animals, philosophy, psychology, physics, health, travel, crime, and mythology, as well as several novels. It's like Christmas! ;)

Traveling to the Land of Nod: Dream Water

As an a devoted lover of the Land of Nod who sometimes has trouble getting there, I am always eager to try new products that promise a safe trip there. Dream Water is an interesting twist on the concept: flavored water with a few extra ingredients to help you sleep well. With flavor names like Snoozeberry, Lullaby Lemon, and I Dream of Kiwi, I would hope no one would grab one of these thinking it's a good thing to chug before working out ... or driving. I had the chance to sample a 2.5 oz. "shot" of Snoozeberry (blueberries and pomegranate flavor) Dream Water (also available in 8 oz. beverages for a slower route to relaxation) and enjoyed its sweet, slightly tartish flavor. I wasn't sure if it would do what it said it would, so I just forgot all about it ... until approximately 30 to 40 minutes later, when I was about to pass out cold. I couldn't even keep my eyes open, I was so sleepy. I conked out and slept for a good 9 hours straight, and had pleasant dreams about kittens. This stuff does what it says it will.

The lowdown: Dream Water has zero calories. The label states it will take about 30 minutes to work, but times may vary. Since I wasn't paying attention to time, I have no idea how long it took for me to get sleepy, but I think 30 minutes sounds about right. Its ingredients are filtered water, L 5-Hydroxytryptophan, Gamma Amino Butyric Acid, Natural Flavors, Sodium Acid Sulfate, Sodium Citrate, Citric Acid, Melatonin, Sucralose (the same thing as Splenda), FD&C Red #40, and FD#C Blue #1, in that order. It's available in Duane Reade drugstores all over New York, so if you live where I do, you will have to order it off the company's web site, www.drinkdreamwater.com, for now. You can also try a "shot" of Lullaby Lemon for $2.95 shipping and handling. And, while none of these ingredients are particularly strange or out of the ordinary, Dream Water asks that you please check with your doctor before you try it if you are taking any other medicines or supplements, or are pregnant, nursing, or ill. And for the love of all that's holy -- DO NOT take this before you do anything but go lay down. It will knock you out, sucka.

A Few Things

Thank you for your comments about Blogger. I have to agree it's not really working out for me or my readers. I'm currently researching Wordpress.com (thanks Evan) and it looks like an easy option. I really just need to take the time to play with it a little, and I also want to see how hard it would be to switch all of my old entries over to the new server; I hate to leave them behind. I'll let you know when I make the switch and post the new address here.

Second, the snow is melting away. As much as I love it, I'm secretly glad so I can get out and do some stuff this weekend -- like getting my oil changed, and seeing my sister. I also hope my textbook will get here today or early tomorrow -- uggghhh.

Third, check this out! Eric spent a lot of our snowed-in time working on new artwork. Here is his interpretation of the 2010 Monster Blizzard, which he's also placed on overpriced mugs and T-shirts at Zazzle: http://ericdanerd.deviantart.com/art/Monster-Blizzard-2010-153663962

(Blogger hates my HTML tags and is somehow blending them with the middle of the blog, but I swear I'm doing it right. I'm too annoyed to screw with it right now, and I have to get back to work anyway!)

Blizzardous

It's a full-on blizzard out there, AGAIN, with wind blowing up huge snowdrifts in our parking lot. I'm still not complaining, although the dreams of a biscuits and gravy breakfast at the local diner that I had last night were totally out of the question when I woke up this morning (although still tempting...). I am permitted to telework today, which is awesome because there are some things I really needed to get done.

The cats are snug and warm and have no idea how lucky they are. Occasionally they will park themselves by a window or the balcony door and stare at the sheets of white outside, but even that has started to bore them. Domino is presently chowing down at the food station and Sumo is curled up in my fake-suede jacket, which he adores more than I do.

These are Eric's version of snowshoes for trekking around outdoors. They hold up pretty well and keep his feet dry. The first day he went out like this we got lots of stares, but now we're running into tons of other people who had the same idea.

Time to go take some medicine and get back to work.

Séamus, 2006-2010

Roughly two weeks ago, I came home from a dinner out with Eric (at Jaleo, which was absolutely delicious), to find my pet Betta dying. I was devastated. He had been acting a bit stranger in his old age, but now it was clear he was on his way out. I was relieved when he was still alive the next day, but he died by lunchtime. As the owner of more than 50 fish over the past five and a half years, I'm well aware that the little guys don't always last so long. Bettas are hardier than most when properly taken care of, but even their time is pretty short -- a typical normal life span is about two years. Yet Seamus's loss hit me hard.

It would probably be pretty difficult for anyone who has never loved and lost a little animal like a fish to understand what is so special about a pet this tiny. After all, fish have no memories, no personality, and can't even feel pain, right? Wrong. Studies have proven all of these statements are not true. You can even train some fish to swim through hoops! And Seamus knew who I was. At times, he would swim into my hand for me to flip him out of his bowl during his water changes. Other times, he'd get mad and go sulk behind one of his favorite bamboo leaves, and only come out when he saw the net in the water. He learned that the sound of the food container shaking meant little pellets were about to drop. He would even come out from a nap curled up in the bamboo plant's roots just to watch me when I came in the kitchen to wash dishes, sometimes bobbing his head out of the water as if to say, "Well, where's my lunch?" I loved his cantankerous, spirited personality. Even as he was dying, he still made it up to the surface to peer at me when I checked on him.

Granted, as a bleeding-heart animal lover, I am probably more sensitive than most. When I worked as a bookstore cashier, a big beetle flew onto my register. Afraid that one of the people in line would see it, freak out and smash it, I quietly herded the beetle into my drawer, then carried him outside on a break. It's probably that softie nature of mine that caused me to get Seamus in the first place when I saw him at the Christiansburg Wal-Mart in summer 2006. I am not a Wal-Mart fan anyway, but it broke my heart to go in there with my friends and see all the sick, dying fish. I even sent them an angry email once about the way their stores treated the fish. (A litany of similar complaints caused them to abandon the practice not long after I bought Seamus.) When I saw Seamus, he was the lone healthy Betta for sale. I couldn't stand the thought of this gorgeous creature meeting the same fate as the others, and I took him home. Yes, I knew I was just supporting the practice with my dollars, but his zippy personality begged for a better environment, and that's what I gave him. Now, there are many theories regarding the proper care of Bettas, but I personally believe it to be a complete falsehood that they live best in tiny, shallow puddles or cramped containers. Sure, a Betta COULD live that way for a while, if he had to -- but you see those long fins? Those aren't meant to be confined. Seamus lived far longer than Bettas who have almost no room to move about, which gives them fin rot anyway. He was stunningly beautiful, and he brought me much joy.

Seamus lived a good life. Rest in peace, buddy.

Photo by Evan Valentine

Cabin Fever ... literally!

The snow stopped days ago, but my parking lot is a complete and total mess. We got the car shoveled the rest of the way out yesterday, but after seeing the number of vehicles getting stuck -- including a large pick-up truck and the garbage truck -- I said, "Forget it." We walked down Columbia Pike to the pharmacy and then to CVS for some overpriced groceries for the NEXT storm, which should hit sometime today and continue through Wednesday. When we came back, we looked for the guy to whom Eric had lent our sole good snow shovel, and of course he was gone and the shovel wasn't in the back of his truck the way it was supposed to be. So much for being a good Samaritan. I'm not surprised someone took it though -- whether it was the original dude or somebody else who saw it in the truck, who knows? (Our landlord also purchased 12 shovels to loan to residents who were too silly to go buy one ahead of time, but I'll give you one guess how many of these residents actually returned their borrowed shovel! That's right, zero!) Realizing that there weren't any shovels within easy traveling distance of us to purchase, and that with another 5 to 15 inches headed our way (depending on which weatherman is talking) we'd be hosed, we decided to try to get the car out to store in Suzi's building garage. We were certain my car would get stuck in the huge snowbanks and icy ruts all over the lot, but to our shock, Frankie prevailed where the others had failed miserably. A simple tap of the gas and he pulled right out of the space, past numerous other stuck cars and six foot high snowpiles, and out on to the road he went. (Yes, my car's name is Frankie and yes, I refer to him as a "he".) Go Sonata Go! He doesn't even have 4-wheel drive! Is it possible to be proud of an object? Hahaha.

Where others complain of cabin fever, I have a bad sinus infection instead. The headache it gave me was one of the worst I've had in my life! Bleeaugh! Thankfully, my doctor lives right downstairs and so I just marched down there and was seen right away. He is awesome.

The weather has caused a lot of people to make snarky comments about global warming. Well, this weather actually is a sign of our changing climate, which causes cooler air to wash over the Gulf Stream. It's not part of a "liberal agenda", it is science. For some reason many people seem to despise science.

I'm not eating much today because antibiotics make me feel sick. Suzi had cooked a delicious-smelling casserole at her place, but I really couldn't eat anything at the moment. I just ate some Total cereal with soy milk and a sprinkling of sweet Stevia in the Raw (made by the folks behind Sugar in the Raw), which was very delicious. Total was never one of my favorite cereals, but we always seemed to have it around when I was a kid. They do have some tasty fruit versions out now. Maybe I'll fire up some Dinty Moore beef stew later on, or walk over to Bob and Edith's. Some of their biscuits and gravy would be good for dinner. I do admit that being inside so much is finally starting to get to me, so I try to get out and get some fresh air when I can. Eric and I have been playing cards, video games, watching documentaries, and making JiffyPop on the stove, and of course I'm always curled up with a book the rest of the time. The roads looked awful this morning - many roads are reduced to one lane and you can find pedestrians walking right in the middle of the street - and I'd prefer to be off of them as much as possible.

What do you do to combat cabin fever? New poll on the right :)

Cabin Fever ... yeah, not really

I love snow! We've got something like 30 inches over here now ... and counting. I just got back from Bob and Edith's with Eric and, as with the last blizzard, there were people out and about all down Columbia Pike. Unfortunately there were also people who insisted on driving, and we saw numerous cars and, yes, 4WD vehicles getting stuck in giant snowbanks and cussing furiously as though they were shocked this was happening. Even as I type, someone is outside furiously jamming on the gas and trying to pull out of their parking space. (The picture at right shows the view of the parking lot from my balcony a few hours ago -- you can see where two people have cleared their cars. One was a fella from the Coast Guard.) For all I know, they really did have somewhere important to go, but I'm guessing there will be even more accidents tomorrow when people insist on getting out to go to Super Bowl parties. As for me, I'm perfectly happy curled up on the couch at home. When I felt a little cabin fever setting in, E. and I just dressed up and went outside for a while. My knee-high boots did a good job of keeping the snow away from my legs -- good since it went up past my knees at points -- and Eric's do-it-yourself plastic bag shoe protectors kept him dry. We tromped across the street to Bob and Edith's, where unfortunately my half-smoke was cold, and then around the neighborhood searching vainly for a copy of the latest Washington City Paper. The view of the surrounding neighborhoods was too gorgeous for words. I think Eric got some pictures. I lost my balance and fell in the snow at one point, but I didn't mind. The roof garden is closed -- too bad!

Our balcony is covered in huge snow drifts. The decorative lights Eric brought home from his work two months ago are almost entirely covered up, and they almost reach my hips! We could easily build a snowman out there -- thinking about it :)

At times, I almost feel guilty being so happy about a snowstorm when so many other people are affected negatively. At Bob and Edith's, the servers were dismayed when the news reported that the buses had stopped running. But I truly love a good snowstorm. And, since I work at home, I have a different perspective on these storms coming during the weekends. I would have to work anyway -- so it's nice to be able to enjoy the snow on a day when I don't have to do anything else (other than my laundry -- ran three loads last night and still have two hampers stuffed full of dirty clothes. Gross!).

In sadder news, my beta fish, Seamus, passed away a while back. It's always tough to raise a little creature for several years only to lose him. He was definitely a tenacious little fella. I'll have a tribute post up for him soon.

I'm kind of sick of Blogger already. Stupid things like posting pictures and getting spacing to show up the way I entered it are way more difficult than they should be. I've never been great at formatting and whatnot anyway, so maybe I should switch to another blog site. We'll see!

Mariani HoneyBars/10 Days Is Better Than None!

I'm still in the process of organizing all those travel photos, but I just wanted to plug a delicious product real quick -- and go off a little on something that has bothered me for a while. Let's start with the good stuff -- Mariani HoneyBars! I had the opportunity to sample a Trail Mix HoneyBar not long ago and I was blown away by the taste. The Trail Mix bar consists of nuts, seeds, and raisins held together by just a touch of honey -- and that's it. The sweet honey flavor dances on your tongue and complements the slightly salty -- but all natural -- tang of the other ingredients perfectly. I can't wait to try more varieties of these. Some places you can purchase include Giant, Wegmans, Safeway, Shoppers, Kroger, and Ukrops. You can read more about Mariani and their varieties of snack bars (and delicious fruit snacks) here: http://www.worldpantry.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/CategoryDisplay?cgmenbr=1279011&cgrfnbr=1647230.

Now for the less-than-good stuff. One thing that bugs me about travel (other than not having enough leave to travel as much as I would like) is the "travel snob." I am finding out more and more about this phenomenon the more I travel and the more I talk about my travels with other people. People ask me all about where I've been and what I saw, but then they start to wrinkle their noses when I answer their questions. They hear that I was only in Paris for three days (because it was in the middle of another trip) and they act like that is insane. Never mind that I went there in the middle of a larger trip and found it a fun opportunity to explore a different city. They say, "Oh -- well, that's too bad" when they ask how long I was in Ireland and I say, "Oh, about a week." They act like my fabulous, but brief, road trip through Brussels, Luxembourg, and Koln (Cologne) that I took from a friend's Netherlands home was ridiculous and that I couldn't have possibly seen anything worth mentioning. (Guess again!) They go on and on about all of the good stuff I SHOULD have seen and done in Las Vegas and imply that I didn't "do it right." Gee, thanks! My response to this is usually, "Oh, how long were you there?" and their response is, with two exceptions so far, "Oh, I haven't gone there." No, not at all? 10 days in Amsterdam is much better than no days in Amsterdam! Thanks for letting me know how inferior you feel my trip was! Talk to me when you get there yourself, for what I presume will be a full month since you apparently have endless amounts of leave and cash! But seriously -- does anyone else ever encounter this? I'm curious. I've just never been inclined to inform someone their vacation wasn't long enough while they're telling me about all the great things they have seen -- I'd rather shush and listen to what I can learn!