Smorgasbord #50
Surrender
Last week, I talked about dreams, and a couple of days after that dream about stand-up, I had yet another variation of the same dream. This time, I knew I had to give a toast at a wedding, yet I didn’t know who was getting married. My friend
sent me a text, which helped me understand what they meant.I prayed about this during my holy hour on Monday. The common denominator is anxiety about performing when there are unknowns. As Benjamin Franklin said, nothing is certain except death and taxes, so I can’t nor want to be able to tell the future—as tempting as this would be.
What I got in response was an invitation to repeat the main prayer of the surrender novena as frequently and as many times as I need it when I feel overwhelmed. If you’re not familiar with Servant of God, Don Dolindo Ruotolo, author of the novena, check out this article from Catholic Exchange. The prayer goes like this: O Jesus, I surrender myself to You, take care of everything!
If you struggle with control, like I do, this may be a good novena to pray. It reminds me that worry does little to improve things and that God’s will should be our primary focus. Obviously, this is easier said than done, given that we’re flawed human beings. However, if we cooperate with God and give Him space to work, wonderful things can happen in our lives.
Hometown
Diana and I are planning to go to Monterrey for Christmas this year. The last time we were there was in 2018, and a lot has changed in the last six years. My paternal grandmother passed, we welcomed two children into our family, and I have come to realize I have a couple of core friendships that are still in my hometown.
I made a list of places to go, things to do, and people to visit, and I was surprised that—outside of my extended family—the list was very short. Some people I associated with my hometown have either moved out or lost touch, leaving a bittersweet taste in my mouth. I’m excited to show my kids where I grew up, but even six years ago, the city felt very different.
It’s like I miss a place in time. In my twenties, I had all these friends and experiences that revolved around Monterrey. They're gone but still with me. I don't experience nostalgia often, so it surprised me. Diana and I have intentionally built a community in Phoenix since we don’t have family near us. We’ve been at it for about a decade, and we love the friends we’ve made along the way.
I also know that my favorite taqueria is gone. I’ll have to find a place to get Tacos de Trompo. Stay tuned.
Flow
Do you ever rage-clean your home? I was so overwhelmed by the state of my desk that I took everything on it, moved it to my bed, cleaned it down with Clorox wipes, rearranged my monitor and microphone, and started purging and shredding all the mail, pieces of paper, and trash I had lying around. I got a high out of this purge and organized Diana’s nightstand. I was on a roll.
I make coffee every morning. I use a Melitta pour-over system that consists of a carafe and a plastic funnel. A third element, a #4 filter, is needed to brew my morning cup. As you can see below, all the components needed for brewing coffee were dispersed all over my kitchen. This made me think that I could consolidate everything in one place and make my life easier.
Now, instead of bouncing around my kitchen, I grab the kettle, fill it up, and get it started while I prep the filter on the pour-over and grind coffee if needed without moving from the same spot next to the sink. I’m very proud of this improvement.
The kettle and the grinder are on the counter. Over the counter is a cabinet with three levels. We now have coffee mugs at the top, a moka pot, Aeropress, mate (for yerba mate), and scale in the middle, a French press, the Melitta, filters, and the ground coffee jar at the bottom.
Needless to say, I’m excited to tackle one of our many junk drawers soon and see what I can organize and purge to keep my sanity.
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Sobremesa
Have you watched “No Retreat, No Surrender”?
Do you live in the place you were born? If not, what’s your hometown, and where are you now?
If you open a junk drawer in your house, what are three things you’ll find in it?
So many AUX cords but never enough scotch or duct tape.
I have too many drawers with junk in them! I really need to tidy. All of them tend to contain elastic bands, bits of "useful" string and band-aids for the various times I try to lop bits off myself.