I’ve been looking forward to getting back on the groove of writing blog posts. Just sitting down and going through my notes and pictures, I start to bring together what I want to cover for the post. Whenever I would write blogs in the past, I would outline different topics in my notebook and see which ones would flow well.
I purchased a new notebook a week or two after I started kevinnissimo since I knew that I would get back into writing (after taking a break from blogging on my old site). Continuing from my discussion of changes to the site (as I had mentioned in the past few entries), one of the changes I will make regarding my entries is that I won’t overload too many topics into a blog post. For my past site, I remembered deciding to just post a detailed entry once a month to try to space things out; however, it ended up with me cramming so many pictures and topics into one post which made it a lot more difficult to navigate. I think having these bite sized posts would be more manageable, and I can expand a lot more on a few topics rather than brush several ones superficially.
I decided to choose a light-hearted topic from my past blog to start as my initial post in the blog archive section here. It will be on my visit to New York Comic Con in 2015. It was an incredible experience where I got to see the cast of Adventure Time and hear Rebecca Sugar sing. Her series Steven Universe was one of my favorite shows to watch (not to mention the songs on the show were incredible! “Giant Woman” and “Love Like You” are two of my favorites.).
Food and Reading
I was going through my book list and decided that my next little mini-review on Goodreads will be for My Life in France by Julia Child and Alex Prud’homme. I initially read this book on January 2010 and wanted to learn more about her life and background. I remembered watching her cooking shows, specifically Baking with Julia in the late 90’s. She had such passion for the ingredients and dishes (both in her cooking as well as the ones shared by guests chefs on her show). During the time period in the late 2000s, my interest in cooking and other food related activities was at its peak. I tried to cook new types of dishes and also started typing out handwritten recipes as backup (in the event, the recipes become hard to read or get misplaced). I also watched a ton of Top Chef and other reality shows haha.
One of my favorite things when I frequently blogged on my old site was that I would take pictures whenever I would cook to keep a record of different food recipes I had experimented with. You’ll see a lot of my food pictures from past posts in the blog archive section. Now that I’ve restarted blogging again here, I started documenting my recipe experiments again. I’ll be adding more food pictures along the way so keep an eye out for them! 🙂 Here is a little collage I made back in May 2015:
The udon noodles with edamame pesto came from an America’s Test Kitchen cookbook I bought during that time. It was absolutely delicious and full of flavor! A couple of the ingredients included basil, coriander, toasted pine nuts, and edamame. It was refreshing and light but very filling.
Significance of Experiences
As I had mentioned in my previous post (ACT 3), sharing moments with loved ones through food have been key highlights whenever we’d share stories and catch up. I remembered my 10th grade English teacher telling us a story about how she met up with her friend for lunch. She ordered a tuna sandwich which ended up not tasting good, but the outing was still a positive experience for her because they both enjoyed catching up and seeing each other again. She emphasized how focusing on positive aspects (in her example, company) can serve as the highlight / central component for an experience. However, it’s not just solely applicable for social components, but can also be applied to the importance of one’s individual experiences.
An individual might venture on a solo trip or take a “me day” to examine things without distractions. In this case, their personal goal and what they want to gain from the experience are what serve as the highlight. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed times having a solo meal or going to a museum for my “me day” to center myself. It helped me focus and gain insight into my own personal plan for that day.
With my loved ones (family and friends), we would usually gift each other food whenever we would meet up. It could be chocolates, snacks, or ingredients for cooking. One of my close friends (the one who I had dinner and dessert with in the previous entry – ACT 3) started our friendship on our love of food and dining out (we were talking about Indian food at that time). We told each other we would still continue our tradition despite not being able to do it in person this year.
It was such a wonderful surprise when I received a package from Levain Bakery which is known for its massive cookies. I had the biggest smile on my face and thanked her for the thoughtful gift. I received it on a Friday which was a nice start for the upcoming weekend. The cookies are really good when you warm them up in the oven for a bit!
Books and spa / self care gifts were also main items we would give each other. She introduced me to Lush products and gifted me one time with the Rosy Cheeks face mask which she highly recommended. Since it has to be kept in the fridge, it provided a nice coolness when you set it on your skin.
I sent her the Hello Gorgeous gift set, Sympathy for the Skin lotion, and Angels on Bare Skin cleanser from Lush. She loved it. If you know both of us, we’re big on symbolism and the gifts we give to each other (and to others) would reference to something significant (like an event or something we learned about the other person through conversations).
Art
Outside of science, my interest lies in art and design. I enjoy going to museums, reading books on art history, and learning about different types of crafts. One of my art history professors, Virginia Bower was a big inspiration for collaboration and developing my handouts. During class she would cover the time period and other important details for a piece without information getting muddled. Too many times I’ve written notes in the past where I wrote so much information that I might as well have read the textbook!
It wasn’t just her handouts, but her passion that was so refreshing in her class. The way she described each piece, the cultural significance of the work in relation to the time period, and her stories traveling around Asia (it was so sweet when she spoke Mandarin to us!) really engrossed us for the entire semester. I took it over the Summer of 2006 and it was twice a week for four hours in the evening from 6-10 PM — Kudos to Professor Bower for keeping us engaged the entire time!
Her notes had a conversational tone to them and reading through them felt like I was talking to her again. It brought back memories from when she would go up to each of us before class and start a conversation on art or ask questions about our major (ahh I miss Professor Bower!). Each experience afterward through cancer outreach and research built upon this foundation that I had learned from her. (I’ll elaborate further in the next few paragraphs)
I do have pictures from my past trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in July 2019 which I plan to include in an upcoming blog. However, I did attend a small art exhibition during autumn of that year which I will share here. My friend and I went to an art exhibition in the Lower East Side at Van Der Plas Gallery in November 2019. Many artists showcased and were selling their work on site. As you can see from the pictures, they are incredibly talented and have such unique styles. He and I grabbed a cup of wine and walked around and spoke with artists about their work. (We went to an Italian restaurant for dinner afterward but I’ll save that for another entry!)
One artist described a winter landscape which had been inspired from her childhood growing up. She had a big smile on her face and was very descriptive when describing the different elements of the piece. Similar to Professor Virginia Bower you could feel how much the artist enjoyed her work and wanted to share her pieces with others.
A major theme I had recognized from all of these experiences was how the delivery and presentation of information played a crucial role with how you engage with what had been presented. I still remember a majority of the art pieces I had encountered years ago as a result of the stories and vivid descriptions with which they were paired with.
When I was in graduate school, Dr. Cowart and I had a writing assignment for the students in the Culturally Competent Healthcare class in which students reflected on their background (covering facets such as their cultural, ethnic, and racial backgrounds) and how those influenced their approach to navigating the complex healthcare system in the United States. Everyone had such unique perspectives and we both learned so much from the class through their personal experiences. As all of you may know, with health it’s more than just preventive care or diagnosing an illness. There are many aspects which also play a role to provide a high level of care for these populations (e.g. understanding the importance of the family system, addressing language barriers, or taking into consideration cultural values when caring for a loved one).
Including the elements which I had learned from those past experiences in art and public health have been a strong influence for my current work. When presenting health information or working with populations to move their health in a positive direction, making the information accessible and relevant increased engagement and provided more successful outcomes. This made me appreciate how a course in another field unexpectedly played a major role in my subsequent work. (This is why I always try to keep an open mind about things 😉 )
I’m continuing to update more things on kevinnissimo in terms of pages and what types of topics to include. As I continue to write these posts, it has been helpful trying to preview different styles and see what works and what doesn’t. It’s a work in progress, but I am certainly loving it!
Kevinnissimo: Adventures and Inspiration 