The Jackfruit

So, as you all know, Michael and I are really into other cultures, but this is how things can go way wrong when you get too adventurous. So, we are at the local asian store we always go to buy some of our staples (dried seaweed, peeled garlic, kimchee, lop chong, etc.) and we see this new fruit we have never seen before. It is marked as a "special" for $1.29 a pound. Almost everyone in the store (mostly Asians) has one if not two of these in their basket. I mean they are going crazy over it. So, we think, why not give it a try, so we buy one. Now, mind you, these are HUGE fruits, so our "special" jackfruit costs us $30, but at that this point, we are already checking out and don't want to return it. :) so, we get home and get on google to find out how to cut this and what to do with it. It ends up it is a big, sticky mess to cut these things up. When you cut into it, it oozes this sticky white stuff that google says people used to use for glue. So, you have to put oil on your hands and on the knife to cut it up. So, we start the task as follows.

The table prep.

The oil prep.

The inside of a jackfruit. The only edible part is the yellow stuff surrounded by all the sticky white stuff. just imagine how fun cleaning this fruit was. :)

The finished product.

Michael rinsing before we put it in ziplocs.

Thank goodness, people of google gave us the forewarning to protect our butcher block from the stickiness. We were able to just wrap all the remains up in the trashbag and throw it out. Overall, it was a very labor intensive process, but we have found some cool recipes already. As I write this, I am trying to make some Jackfruit chips, which everyone online says are delicious. I will keep you posted.

Father's Day Fun

Dad and I crossing the finish line.

Mom and dad crossing the finish line.

Group photo after the race.

All cleaned up for dinner time.

Well, this weekend was much more fun than last. :) The 5K this weekend was tons of fun. It was so great to run it with my parents. We all did so great and we got some beer and BBQ afterwards. Mmmmm. After the race, we went to the Dallas Arts Festival for a bit. Then, we headed to my parent's house and hung out by the pool. I got my hair cut, then we went out for a nice father's day dinner. overall, it was a very fun day. I will write more later, but enjoy the photos.

Just take deep breaths

that is what I keep telling myself. So, I spent the entire weekend, I mean the ENTIRE weekend, studying. It was pretty hard to stay focused, but it was worth it. I don't really feel caught up, but I think since I have the research to do every week and the preparation for my Teaching Assistance class each week, the work just starts over every week. All this to say that I have 8 weeks of this craziness left. I am going to try to wake up early and get in an hour of studying before work each day. hopefully that will help me not have to do as much work on the weekends.

In other news, I am teaching my first 3 hour course ever this Thursday. the topic is religious diversity. Here is the lesson plan in a nut shell. I am having a guest speaker come speak about Islam and some of the similarities and differences in relation to Christianity and Judaism. I think this will be so relevant right now in the current political climate in regards to terrorism and such. also, we are going to watch a video on religious diversity in America. then, I am going to attempt to facilitate an open discussion about religious tolerance and acceptance. My goal is to have an open environment free of judgement, but I fear that might be quite challenging, but I am always up for a challenge. :) then, there are a few assignments that we need to go over. hopefully, it will go great. I am really enjoying the students, they are a good group.

Also, my parents, michael and I are doing a 5K this weekend in dallas. It is in support of a local domestic violence shelter in the area. Hopefully I can beat my previous time. :) anyway, i just finished more studying for the evening and i think i am going to reward myself with a cold beer and maybe hitting the sack early. Peace out.

Overwhelmed

ok...so we all remember that I don't do well with "overwhelmed". I think for the first time in a long time, I might have bit off more than i can chew. At least it is only for 10 weeks. i keep telling myself that anything is doable for 10 weeks. :) so, learning how to teach graduate level courses is very time consuming. i basically have to do everything the class is doing except the major assignments and i also have to be preparing to assist with teaching for each class. It involves a lot of time and mind power. it is a different kind of mental strain because i am having to be creative to figure out how to present information to the students in a way that is fun, interactive and yet passes along what they need to know. also, i am doing 5 hours of research each week in the hopes that the professor i am working with and I can publish a paper at the end of the summer. i think i may have set my sights too high with this goal, but i will keep chugging along and see what happens. we were out of town this weekend for my cousin's high school graduation party, which was tons of fun. congrats rita!!! but, since i was out of pocket all weekend, i spent each night last week, except friday (we had a date night at the new piranha, good times) and each night this week after work studying until about 9 or so. it has been pretty overwhelming and i think my brain has turned to mush. anyway, michael is working all weekend and i have cancelled some fun things i had planned in order to get some much needed work done, so next week is not as tough. i am actually teaching an entire 3 hour course next week on religious diversity so i plan to spend a good portion of my weekend prepping for that class. sorry to vent on here, but just needed to let it all out. thanks for all your well wishes on school and work. all this to say, getting a phd is hard work, but i guess that is to be expected. anyway, i am off to the gym, then home to do more studying.