2025-10-27 23:30:40
Yup, the colder weather has arrived. My days of sitting on the balcony, basking in the warm sun, are tucked away for the year. They’ll return next year, for sure.
After quickly getting the house cleaned out, I put it on the market. Less than two weeks later, I got an offer. I ended up selling for less than I wanted but a confluence of factors were at play. Before I listed my house, there were three other houses on my street, with nearly identical layouts to my house, up for sale. Two of them had sold. Then, one of them came back on the market listing for $10k less than they originally listed for. I don’t know the reason for why that sale fell through but it wasn’t helping me sell mine!
I’ve already moved into my condo and didn’t want to keep maintaining and paying for a house that was empty. It was worth it for me to accept the low offer and be done with it.
The house officially closes later this week but I’m considering it done. I’ve done everything I need to do for now.
Related but unrelated, I’ve had so many shed related conversations with my neighbours these past couple weeks. One neighbour offered to pay to have the shed between our two homes taken down because it ruined their view…of the beige vinyl siding of my house? I don’t get it. I let him take down the shed. Afterwards, he let me know they’d probably be moving which just left me even more puzzled as to why this shed was so important to remove. I still don’t get it.
October was also the month of my food writing class from UCLA. It was only four weeks long. The class size was small with 9 people having signed up and only 6 people attending.
The bulk of the class was working on an 800 word piece and iterating on it over the three weeks in between classes and receiving feedback from the teacher and classmates during class. Everybody was very supportive, friendly, and helpful. There were some talented writers in the group and I definitely wish to raise my writing to their level.
There were little tidbits that proved helpful and I wondered how I’d apply this to a regular writing routine, especially around restaurant reviews. It wasn’t until after everything was completed that I was struck with an idea for a new project that is starting to excite me. I’ve already started designing it!
It felt like a hectic month between just the house and class but there’s all of the other things with day-to-day life. I spent this month catching up on things I had been putting off and as a result, my to-do lists have been shrinking. It’s been very satisfying.
Interestingly, one of the few projects I’ve been putting off is “me”. I have a project labelled Self-care that I’ve been ignoring and with the weight being lifted from completing these other projects, it is perhaps time to lift some new weights and get into better shape.
2025-10-23 23:08:27
Life has been a bit hectic as of late. I don’t like the platform I have running my blog, which means I have a mental hill to get over before I can blog. Right now, I’m inside a coffee shop killing time waiting for a truck to show up and haul away a pile of junk I have in the garage. I decided to crack open the less than stellar editor to write this. Might as well make some use of my time—even if the writing experience isn’t ideal.
It’s 10:30 in the morning and I was surprised at how packed it is in here. Three different clusters of seniors. A couple people with headphones tethered to their laptops. And then a couple people like me, sipping their coffee, flicking away at their phones.
The house went up for a sale a couple weeks ago and a dozen showings gave me some hope an offer would arrive and sure enough, one did. Things are moving quickly but the house inspection still to happen might reveal something unbeknownst to me. Assuming no surprises, things will finalize by the end of the month.
My writing course has been going well, although it isn’t quite what I was expecting. At the end of the day, it’s helping me think about my writing process even though they aren’t really teaching us about writing process. As I consider embarking on a food writing journey, I want to make sure I’m not setting myself up for failure or giving myself too much work. I want this to be enjoyable, after all.
2025-10-02 09:10:30
My kid got moved into college. I originally typed “settled” but I think it’s going to take awhile before he feels settled. It’s a big change. A new school. A new city. It might be awhile before I feel settled, too.
On the way down, I stopped in Toronto to try Michelin-starred Kaiseki Yu-zen Hashimoto Restaurant that sits in the Japanese Canadian Cultural Center. It was a lovely experience, placed at a table in a room separated from the other diners. I suspect all of the tables are like this, which makes for a subdued experience—especially dining alone. The food was subtle and really focused on the ingredients. I received an email the next day with photos of each of the dishes (and a photo of me that they took before I left). The service was immaculate and friendly, even inviting me to contact them if I ever find myself on a future trip to Kyoto.
The experience felt very Japanese which had me thinking about “authenticity”. Was this experience authentic to Japan? What part and what time in Japan is this being authentic to? A “lack” of authenticity used to bother me. I’ve given up on caring about it because I couldn’t define it if you asked me to. I was reminded of that recently in a video talking about trompe-l’œil and how artwork was created to trick the eye. Would that be considered authentic? Are people walking around Italy talking about how this 1500s artwork isn’t authentic?
In any case, I enjoyed the experience at Kaiseki Yu-zen Hashimoto, regardless of any interpretation of authenticity.
After my return, I became focused on getting the house cleaned. Guests would be staying at the house for a couple weeks and I needed to get the place in decent shape before then.
Then, mid-September and another road trip—this time to Indiana to visit friends. Once again, I stop in Toronto for another restaurant. This time it was Michelin-starred Osteria Giulia. A couple friends joined me for this outing as we enjoyed a handful of plates.
In Indiana, I went to my first football tailgate experience and let me tell you, what an experience it was. It was very surreal to take it all in. So many people, all in great spirits and full of great spirits, with the beer and whisky flowing freely. It was such a vibe and I would totally do it again.
Now that I’m back, the friends have vacated the house, and it’s time to get it ready for sale. I’ve been cleaning windows, getting the place painted top to bottom, getting the patio fixed, and been pulling weeds. I met with a real estate agent and should have the place on the market by next week.
Autumn is the season of change but it has felt like an extended summer as the warm weather pushes its way into October. The leaves have started their fall display, though, and I’ll go through my own change, closing the door (literally) on a place that has been home for me and my kids for over a decade.
2025-09-09 22:17:35
As I am on the cusp of considering another culinary quest, I’ve been wondering how I want to present the experience. I could do something similar to the Fifty site, which felt more documentary. Here’s where I was and this is what I ate.
I had an Instagram account where I’d post photos of the food but their post format felt a bit constraining, being limited to 10 photos and a description. It amounted to little more than to say I was here.
Am I trying to tell a story? Am I trying to begin a dialogue? Am I trying to inspire interest in others to begin or continue their own fine dining journeys? Or do I just like eating and want to remember where and what I ate?
Matthew Smith has started blogging his trip to Japan. What’s interesting to me is following him on Instagram and seeing this layered approach to the experience. It’s like watching a TV show and then getting to watch behind-the-scenes footage. It’s been fun to see the coffee shops and restaurants he visits.
Last night, the girlfriend and I watched Tampopo, a Japanese film that was released in 1985 and dubbed a “ramen western,” a play on the term spaghetti western. It was, to say the least, a movie with something to say about the love of food—at times, literally.
One scene featured a homeless person breaking into a restaurant kitchen to make omurice. Due to the popularity of it on social media, I imagined it a more recent invention of the last decade or two, but upon reading up on it, the dish has been around for over 100 years. However, the popular version of the dish—with the omelette sliced open on top of the rice—was created for the movie. That’s still 40 years ago. That was neat to learn.
I signed up for a food writing course. My goal going into it is to develop some new techniques and ideas for how I write about food. Perhaps I’ll develop a stronger sense of direction in my writing, food or otherwise.
2025-08-29 20:00:00
His mom came to pick him up while he frantically tried to get tasks done that should’ve been done the night before, a night spent being out until the wee hours of the morning, soaking in every last minute possible with friends.
As he was about to leave, I noticed tears start to form in his eyes and then they start for me, in turn. A deep long hug and then he’s off. This’ll be the last time he’ll be in this house.
I descend into his room—a room that looked like a tornado might have rolled through—with piles of clothes, toys, empty cans, and half-empty bags of chips. The tears for me come more quickly and more abundantly. His leaving was predicted and known and yet it feels sudden and emotional.
I have a long road ahead of me: a drive to his school, six hours away, to meet up with him and his mom and get him settled into college. I also have a short road ahead of me: cleaning out his room. It’s the last step to closing this chapter of parenthood and starting a new one. The house, at one time filled with people, is now empty and ready for others to fill it with joy, heartache, and personality.
2025-08-28 21:09:12
Tomorrow, my kid heads off to college. It’ll take a few days to really sink in—likely in the process of cleaning up what’s left of his room after he’s left.
I am taking moments to be present. We had dinner last night on the back porch. It’ll be the last time we have dinner together in this house. The weather was pleasant. I could see a plane contrail left in the mostly clear but now darkening sky. Autumn feels like it’s creeping its way in.
But first, today.
