Jehovah never says no. He either says yes, not yet or I have something better for you.

How pretty is that?!

OMG.

Those were the words of LEM who I had dinner with last night and it touched my heart. Jehovah knows what’s best for us and when exactly to give it to us.

So I should stay patient and work on my spirituality. 🙂

I wonder what Jehovah has in store for me?! Sometimes it’s so hard because I’m an impatient person by nature and I want things done yesterday.

well. I just really wanted to write that saying down from yesterday before I forgot about it-as it is, I had to ask Lbear again because I forgot.

Sometimes it seems I have alzheimer’s.

And it’s worrisome.

ANYWAYS. So speaking of LEM, he’s going to Hawaii in October for a friend’s wedding and OMG it’s the exact same time I was wanting to go-especially since my family will be in Korea during that time for, well, you know.

And because Daddy always gets the free tickets to Hawaii around that time-he went with Mommy last year and the photos were absolutely beautiful (but man! has it already been a year?! OMG)

And it would have been perfect but now my parents are like, it’s just going to be you with a whole bunch of brothers?! NO. 

Never mind that I was going to go solo even before I knew LEM and his friends were going.

ARGH.

WELL.

Maybe I can finally go to ICELAND instead then?! OMG. I’ve never travelled solo but I feel like it would be a good first trip for me, either Hawaii or Iceland. I want to be like HY-solo and travelling the world like a boss and being well cultured and experienced and just give in to wanderlust.

And I know I should save Europe to go with my sisters.

GRR. And I really, really want to go to Hawaii too! I’m not even going to see them a lot because they’re going to be hanging out with the friend that’s getting married and I’ll probably be hitting up the beach and sightseeing and taking photos like a tourist and eating and OMG can I just say I really, really, really want to go?!

(although by that time, i would like to just go to somewhere cold and look cute in my jackets and coats and scarves and boots-and anyways I need to be pale for wintertime, ykwim?)

Meh.

Maybe I’ll just see if I can get 2 weeks off and go to stupid Korea.

Or! Maybe I’ll do a week in Korea and a week in Japan?!

OMG

That also sounds fabulous!

I guess I’ll have to discuss it with my family and see what they think.

xoxo

They delivered the ramen on small wooden trays, along with a pair of disposable wooden chopsticks and a small wooden ladle that did not look disposable.

The ramen itself was presented in large china bowls, fanned out so that the top was much wider than the bottom, a healthy pile of sliced scallions placed on top of chewy egg noodles and half an egg boiled just so swimming in the exquisitely rich broth.

A sip of the broth and the flavors hit your palate in an explosion. Your eyes widen from the taste and again a few moments later when the spice hits.

It’s a creeping kind of spice, and it warms you up to the very bottom of your core.

The slabs of thick pork belly melt apart in your mouth and the savory fat is a welcome reprieve against the heat.

You almost don’t even need the gyoza.

Almost.

But not quite. After all, every self-respecting Asian knows you can’t have ramen without the crispy panfried gyoza.

Those little pockets of love are cooked perfectly, soft and juicy in the inside with a crunch on the outside. And the little soysauce bath you subject the dumpling to prior to taking a bit into it?

Nothing short of magical.

But even better than the food is the association and you bask in the warmth that fills the room. There is so much love and affection for everyone there and you know the evening wouldn’t have been the same without such stellar company.

You even appreciate the small tables, the way your knees rub gently against his, well, that is a whole other subject in itself.

And even though you sit there wishing time would stop, it goes by all too quickly.

You sit there, your chin supported by your hand as you muse over the conversation topics with happy sleepy eyes.

It’s the sodium in the broth-it makes one sleepy-and it truly feels like a dream.

The conversation is about paradise and you’re almost there already, gazing into eyes so soft and beautiful and warm-like hot chocolate after you’ve been shoveling the whole day.

So you tell him so-he says it’s the first time anyone’s called him beautiful.

You are amazed. How is it that no one’s ever told him he’s beautiful!

You are, you assert. After all, he’s a pretty good looking brother.

And now it’s been almost two hours. They’ve cleared the plates.

I’m sorry but we need the room, the owner asks. She’s very sorry but it’s true.

The restaurant is very small indeed.

But it’s the best ramen in New Jersey.

Only now, you’re convinced it’s the best ramen in the whole world.