Tuesday, March 28, 2006 | by nathan

From Japan, to Ireland…and Back!

Brian and I were in Borders on Sunday looking to see if there were new magazines out. We do not subscribe to any publications because we enjoy taking some time out of our weekends to go to bookstores to see what has come out that week. We read The Advocate and Out when they come out, and I tend to really enjoy Vanity Fair, although I have not picked it up in awhile. Brian got me hooked on Ready Made and Dwell because he is into modern architecture, and although I love the Economist and Atlantic Monthly, I almost never buy them. I was looking at all the craft magazines while we were there.

When I was a kid I was into, like, every gay thing a little boy can be into; I watched the scene in Cinderella where all the woodland creatures make Cinderella a new dress, and for years after that I wanted to be a fashion designer. Here and I was nine! I learned how to sew, and my Aunt Betty taught me the basics of knitting. I taught myself how to braid, and one Christmas I made hair ribbons for all the girls in my class.

God, I just had no chance at all, did I? HA!

When I was in fifth grade my music teacher, Mrs. Isch, turned me on to origami. She took a few students in and taught us how to make little things out of folded paper - cranes, boxes with lids, ladybugs, flowers. My favorites were the boxes, because they were useful. Mrs. Isch would also sell special origami paper in her room, and almost every morning I took a bunch of change in there and bought things. When we would watch filmstrips in class, or have to stay inside for recess because of rain, or when I was bored - which was a lot in elementary school - I would whip out the paper and start making my little things.

So this weekend I was looking for an origami set in Border’s, as it seemed like the type of thing they might have. I was feeling crafty, and I did not want to take up knitting, as a) it doesn’t interest me, and b) I mean come on - I’m not gay enough? It seems like everyone is knitting now. It’s the cool thing to do, and that’s fine, but I just wanted my own thing.

"I need a hobby," I kept saying. "Even if it’s just for today, I need a hobby."

I hate it when I tell people that I write, and they say something like, "Oh, wow, what a great hobby."

So I was feeling crafty. I wanted to make something simple and beautiful with only my hands a little paper, because I did not have the money to get all the supplies to paint and decorate my office, which is what I should have been doing. But Border’s did not have any origami sets, and so I went to look at the bargain cookbooks, which are a favorite thing of mine.

I do not consider "cooking" a hobby as such, because you have to eat. You need food; you do not strictly need little paper cranes or knitted caps. I do enjoy cooking, and though I do not think I would like to do it professionally, I could do it for long, long stretches of time if you give me the time and the money to get all the stuff.

So I was looking through the bargain cookbooks and came across a $5 book of Irish cooking. Now we’re talking.

Brian and I kind of stepped away from the creativity with this last Family Dinner - although it was definitely the most fun we have had at one so far, due in no small part to the presence of the three Soulforce peeps who dined with us. It’s the Flynns’ turn next, and then mom, and John and Crystal. But four weeks from now, you had better believe that I am going to be dishing up some Irish.

Finding that book made me miss Greystones, and Waterford, and the fact that it was almost six years ago that I lived there is very, very weird and creepy. There was a recipe in there for beef and Guinness pie, which we used to always have at Poppy’s in Greystones, with mint cous cous and - duh - a pint of Caffrey’s.

Jaye and Laurie brought me four cans of Caffrey’s from London. It made me want to nominate them for sainthood. Two cans remain, and they are for very, very special occasions ahead. So in the meantime I suppose I will practice with my Irish cooking.

I am looking crazy forward to this, though I still would like to have a few paper boxes scattered around the house.

Then I get to work this morning and listen to my messages. One is from Mrs. Isch, my old elementary music teacher, saying she saw one of my articles in the Gazette and wondered if I was the same kid she used to teach twenty years ago. I need to call her back and ask her if she still has any of that old origami paper.

Also, I updated the Sounds page. Check it out - good stuff. Good stuff.

Food