One of the first books I read was Winnie the Pooh. I have no idea what it was about because to be honest, I hated that book. It was excruciatingly boring to me. So someone got the great idea to give me My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett instead when I turned 6. I absolutely loved that book and the rest in the series, and still remember the adventure I went on in it's pages very vividly and happily. Somehow I became instantly addicted to books. I would do anything for a new book. I'd even clean my room or practice the piano if only my poor single mother would take me to the most magical store in the world, Barnes and Noble.
Older now, I wonder why she wasn't more appreciative of having such an incredible child. Hahaha. She laughed at me when I said that once, and said she would've gone broke if she'd bought me all the books I wanted. It's probably true. The school sent home book catalogs every few months or so and only about a fourth would be left undesired. I remember adding up the prices of them all, and it definitely came to over a hundred dollars. My mother usually rolled her eyes at me and would only permit me to buy TWO. Oh, how it crushed the poor 6 year-old me. Luckily I had a very enabling grandfather who would basically take me to the holy store of books and let me pick out whatever, but I wasn't always near him.
So the years passed. Many books have come and gone through those 14 years, and I gobbled them all up as if they were food. I don't know if anyone else feels this way, but the satisfaction I get from books is always very similar to the satisfaction I get from different kinds of food. Some books "taste" like a Big Boy's hamburger, some like a virgin Strawberry Daiquiri. My favorites were always the more complex flavors like those instead of plain things like simple corn, a banana, or noodles. One book made me think of corned beef on fresh baked Irish soda bread with a side of boiled eggs sprinkled with coarse salt. Delicious.
Then tragedy.
After I came back from Japan, I entered into the most rigorous year of my high school career. I had three AP classes and who know's what else that kept me busy. I read a few books, but I was down so far from where I'd been just the year before. Then I started a summer internship, and didn't have as much free time again. Then it was school at Bellevue College, and somehow I didn't have time yet again! I've still managed to read a few here and there, but really, it was no where near like my prime reading years in middle school and early high school. I didn't really know what I was interested in and it was so hard to find anything that tasted good anymore. I managed to find The Song of Fire and Ice series by George R.R. Martin (which is best described as Greek yogurt with some exotic honey and spices- essentially crack to me), but I still didn't have my same drive to just find and read a bunch of things. When I started school at Mount Holyoke it was even worse. I didn't get to read a single book for pleasure or even just leisurely until after finals. Finally yesterday I started The Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb. It's DELICIOUS. Like hot spiced apple cider on a cold and misty autumn morning in the countryside.
So yay for me rediscovering the magic I once felt through books, but that's not actually the point I wanted to make. What's super crazy about all this, is that this book satisfied my legitimate craving for something to eat. Hahahahahahaha. When I get a craving, I don't always know exactly what it's for. I have to pull up memories of different foods and see which one matches the most. This time I also thought of this book (and two other books I'm reading), and realized that I didn't want to eat food, I wanted to eat a story. Hahahahaha. By the way sometimes songs do the same thing for me, but I have to be in the right mood. Currently Within Temptation's Hand of Sorrow (which is inspired by the Assassin's Apprentice) is actually just making me really want to get back to reading that book. I swear, these things are seriously like addictions. I just absolutely have to finish this book otherwise I won't be able to think properly about anything else for a reasonable period of time. I used to take breaks from classes or work just to get in an extra five minutes of reading when I was in the middle of a book I loved. I really don't know how people take more than three days to read a book of any length. I'm bad enough doing anything else during those three days. Ughhhhhh! It's all I can think about!!!!!! Maybe this is why I stopped reading so much... I have no idea how I'd be able to get any school work done feeling like this... I just have to go read this book some more!
But first I'll get to the tea part of this post. Ended up finishing 2898 today instead of earlier because I got busy with moving between Portland and Seattle and stuff. It was AMAZING in every way possible. I'm just so sad to see it go. Since it's now left me, I only really have one cooked pu-erh in my possession. You all know how much I love cooked pu-erh. You all know how much I drink of it. 2 freaking tiny oz of loose leaf pu-erh is not going to cut it for this entire summer. I'm not sure that'll even last me until my birthday!
I decided to use this lack of supply as an excuse to scout out the local tea shops in the Portland area. I went to my trusty pal, Google and...
COST PLUS WORLD MARKET?!?!?!!!! Words do not describe.
There were about five other independent stores that I found too, but only about 4 had pu-erh. I was extremely disappointed with all of them. One of them said that pu-erh was like Darjeeling in that it wasn't actually pu-erh unless it came from Yunnan. (For those of you who do not know, this is incorrect as although pu-erh is kind of named after a particular lake in Yunnan, it actually means something more like oolong or black in that it is stating the tea has gone through a particular process. Anyone who has any disputes with this, please correct me, but seriously. We all know that there are real pu-erhs that come from many provinces and even countries besides Yunnan, China.) Another was a restaurant and only served it, and the others only had a maximum of 3 choices general, not so awesome looking choices online.
Oh, Portland. You've disappointed me so. My only hope lies in the possibility that the person who owns my fantasy store is in Chinatown and is internet-disabled.
Please wish me luck. I hate paying for shipping.
M, Your posts are always fun to read. I'm sure you'll find a few good tea shops in Portland... and if you ever get a chance you should visit J-Tea in Eugene, OR.
ReplyDeleteI'll dispute you on the puer issue... I've always learned that REAL puer tea is only from Yunnan, China also. But "puer style teas" can be made anywhere using any tea leaves. That may be the source of the confusion.
Of course there would be a reputable tea shop in Eugene... Hahaha. That's U of O Duck territory. I have quite a few friends who go there. I'll see about it, but it's much more likely that I'll just pop on up into Seattle instead eventually. Hahaha.
DeleteHrm. With the international expansion of puer techniques, wouldn't it be more correct to just attach the location to the tea and just keep in mind that the origin of the style is Yunnan? Kind of like Dan Cong Oolong vs. Alishan Oolong? I feel like it's a marketing thing to try and get people to see Yunnan puer as "REAL" puer, but that discredits the delicious puers that can come out of other provinces or countries and all the hard work put in to creating them as well. Yunnan should certainly be praised for being the origin, but as times change, it can't steal all the credit any more. Maybe?