"All of it, at the bottom of the sea"

[dorchadas]

The cicadas are out, the trees are screaming. Summer has arrived.

Slowly working my way through Chrono Trigger. I've played it over a dozen times, so I know it like the back of my hand, but playing it in Japanese means that it's a new experience. I have to stop and work through what people are saying, and I make sure to take to every townsperson because for the first time in twenty years, it's a new experience for me. Chrono Trigger is one of the games I really wish I could go through and play with fresh eyes, and while that's not possible, this comes close. There are old quotes that have new meanings in the original language that really can't be translated without a lot of difficulty. My favorite example in what I've played so far is talking to Spekkio, the Master of War, when he described the Kingdom of Zeal with the words:

おめーらの生まれるずっと昔……魔法でさかえた王国、あった。その世界、みんな魔法使った。けどその王国、魔力におぼれほろびた……。それから人は魔法を使えなくなった。魔族以外はな。
"Long before you were born, there was a kingdom that flourished through sorcery. There, everyone could use magic. But that kingdom grew proud and magic was its ruin... Since then, no one has been able to use magic. Except the Fiends, anyway."

The word I translated as "grew proud and [...] ruin" is おぼれほろびた, from two verbs. The second is 滅びる (horobiru, "To be destroyed, to come to ruin, to fall"), but the first is interesting. It's 溺れる (oboreru), which can mean both "to grow proud, to indulge in, to go wild over" or also..."to drown, to sink beneath the waves."

"Gone is the magical kingdom of Zeal, and all the dreams and ambitions of its people."

This morning was a department meeting that I was told I'd have to speak briefly for, on the adjustment process for working from home, and I mentioned the biggest challenge for me had been ergonomics. My home is designed for a floor-based lifestyle, to the point that I'll sometimes just sit on the floor with my back against the couch if I'm watching something, and I have my mouse arm and mouse propped up on some pillows as I sit on the couch with my laptop on my lap (despite the name, this is actually inadvisable). When I said that, I got messages from two senior managers offering to get me a lap desk. My setup now works for me, but I certainly won't complain about a lap desk.

Vegan Moroccan chickpea soup from Karl's Craft Soup, with chicken moruno sausage from Sausage König cut up and added in, along with some rosemary and thyme from last week's dinner. On the side are roasted beets from Piscasaw Gardens and sautéed "Bright Lights" Swiss chard from Gray Farms along with the greens from the beets.

The soup with herbs and sausage was delicious! A bit of a low spice, and unlike the last time I tried mixing herbs directly into soup, this soup was a little chunky already and the pieces of herbs were smaller, so the rosemary and thyme fit perfectly with the already-existing textures. The beets too were good, deliciously sweet and a little fragrant with the spices and oil I tossed them in.

Unfortunately, I can't say the same for the greens. I made a snap decision to throw in the beet greens along with the chard but I forgot how extremely bitter beet greens can be. The taste of the beet greens overwhelmed everything else, so I can't say whether this specific variety of Swiss chard tastes any different from the store-bought variety. I saved the leftovers, but I'm not looking forward to eating them. I am looking forward to trying the last bit of Swiss chard by itself, free of beet green flavor tyranny.

"Beet green flavor tyranny" sounds like a punk band album.

Tea bun from Lost Larson, described by them as:

Afternoon Tea Bun. We take croissant dough, add orange zest, and roll them in an Earl Grey sugar.

So, later afternoon here. I had it with a bit of black tea (Lovecraft blend), and only after I bit into it did I realize they might have been referring to the tea that's in the bun as well as the time when you're supposed to eat it. But the orange zest came through really well, and the sugar on the bun was delicious. The texture was much more like a bun than a croissant, though, regardless of the dough they used. I would have preferred something a bit softer and more flaky, but I'd get it again. Maybe with some kind of flavored ice cream, like with almost all of the farmer's market desserts I eat.


At meditation tonight, the new rabbi brought up Tisha B'Av, occurring next week, and the weird liminal space we're all in now. One of the people brought up how strange it is to mourn the destruction of Jerusalem when it's the current capital of Israel, and the rabbi mentioned how when she was a chaplain, one of her patients with dementia barely spoke at all except the occasional seemingly-nonsensical statement or fragment of memory, but once the rabbi started actually listening and engaging with her, she started talking more and more, eventually revealing some coherent memories of her past, and the rabbi tied it in to how it's important to acknowledge and remember the past even if your current circumstances are very different now. As someone whose current circumstances are very different than in the past, well. I can understand that. And this year isn't going to be anything like last year's Tisha B'Av event was. But this year, I feel that it's a lot easier to mourn.

It's okay to be sad.

Comments

[omnipotent]

That is deep and bittersweet about the kingdom of Zeal. Interesting how descriptive some Japanese words are.

It was nice of the Powers That Be™ to offer to get you a lap desk. I have one I use for drawing on my iPad, and the cushiony part is really nice. I also have one of those wooden foldy-desks for working in bed.

That soup looks amazing. One of the downsides of the Gunshine State is it doesn't ever really get cold enough here to enjoy soups--mind you, that's why I live here, but sometimes I miss that joy of a hearty soup and a warm beverage.

That bun looks good and that plate is pretty!

Indeed, it is okay to be sad. *gentle hugs*

[dorchadas]

I know!! I was so happy when I saw Spekkio's exact quote. It's such perfect foreshadowing, like when Lucca asks Melchior why his name is on the Masamune, he walks over and looks out the window, and "Corridors of Time" starts to play.

sashagee just ate the other bun that I bought and pronounced it "delicious" and asked me to get another one for next week, so she has a much higher review of it than I did!

Thank you Especially when there won't be any High Holy Days in person this year, and nothing in person through the end of the year...I am feeling sad. But that's okay.

[corvi]

I enjoyed your translation notes.

Do you do anything special to photograph food? Every time I try it comes out awful.

[dorchadas]

I guess the only really special thing I do is take a ton of pictures until it comes out exactly right. Both of those pictures above were one of up to a dozen that I took and threw away until I got one with good lighting, where my shadow wasn't visible, where the focus was correct, etc. It does require a lot of time before I actually sit down and eat...