Typical

I didn’t bring my computer to work because I have 6 classes in a row, my long day, no break time ‘til 8 PM. But unlike last night, I’m in the mood to write. So I’m on one of the work computers, which we all have to share, so I can’t be on this that long.

In my mission to bring my rosacea under control, I have gone full paleo (except peanuts. I am still eating peanut M&Ms). This is an enormous undertaking in Asia, and Korea in particular, due to the ubiquity of wheat, which no one expects here, and of course rice. I read on Quora about a Chinese guy who was talking about readjusting to China after years in the W, & he commented on how terribly unhealthy Chinese food is: really high in fat and carbs, and very low protein. Substitute really high fat for somewhat fattening occasionally & spicy, minus the prevalence of vegetables, & you’ve got Korean cuisine. Oh yeah, plus smelly (can we talk about people bringing dried seafood/kimchi on the train? It reeks. Why can there not be laws about this?). ANYHOO, I’ve decided to go full paleo. I’ve only had rice twice in about 10 days, have twice baked paleo goods on the weekends, but the true evidence that you’ve gone full-bore is making your own bone broth. Supposedly Koreans have been consuming this regularly—hell, I even bought a bag labeled beef bone broth at Lotte Mart, though it was milky white and really had no flavor.

In real, true, paleo form, the above bone broth was made with nonpesticide chicken (the best I can do here), & organic produce. I had a cup after I got home yesterday, and it was great. Then the not-so-great part happened: I put the Tupperware full of bone broth on the edge of the kitchen sink… and somehow knocked it, spilling my slow-cooked-for-26-hours broth almost completely down the drain.

While upset & swearing up a storm and cursing Korea & life for a good 10 minutes, it wasn’t accompanied by my full-on screaming. So this qualifies as a somewhat tempered, calmer reaction from me. I wondered why that was, ‘til I realized while washing the dishes what would have resulted in the usual screaming and a tirade that would have lasted at least 15 minutes: the chicken broth went down the drain, instead of spilling all over the floor, so I’d have had to clean it up on top of losing it all. The ONE upside is that I had another non-pesticide chicken carcass in the fridge, and given the teensy size of my fridge and especially my freezer, it would have been impossible for me to freeze half of it (Aaron is particularly amused by my basically not having a freezer, because believe it or not, the frost wall got BIGGER, mainly in the back, so I couldn’t even fit my fist in the back), & storing both at the same time takes up 1/2 my refrigerator. So, there’s that.

There’s also my usual penurious state at the end of the month. I never go out because I’m always cooking, eating, and frequently bitching, so where was my money going? It was going to Lotte Mart, the most expensive place to grocery shop (but it’s the thing closest to me & one-stop shopping), and I’ve been buying organic stuff whenever they have it. My bank account & I jointly determined that I would have to start going to 1 of the fruit & veggie places sprinkled closer to and on my way to work for produce, and try going to some of the butchers I’ve seen as well.

So in that spirit, I’ve gone that route, & stopped in a butcher shop across the street from work. The guy was SO nice, & the bonus was that, while I spent the same amount for the pork neck there as I would for the same thing @ Lotte Mart, I got 2-3 times the servings from his that I’d get from Lotte Mart.

I also found a woman with a stand down the street from me in the back, & there are 2 mom-&-pop type grocery stores I go to too, which are both cheaper. So, there are options. I did also stumble upon a completely organic place, but can’t tell if it’s a co-op or not.

Since it’s the end of the month, I’m counting every damned won($) because I have 60,000 to get me through this week. Saturday I went to the nice butcher guy near work for some more pork neck, but he recommended some other cut of pork. Then, he started indicating a thing of the pork neck. I wasn’t sure if he meant I should get it too, or he was giving it to me. I finally acquiesced, since I was pretty sure he meant it was a gift, but could afford if it not, & thankfully, yes, it was free. I was JUST delighted & SO happy, particularly since I needed the free meat! So of course that guy has got a customer for [my] life [here].

So it has now been 2 weeks since I’ve done strict paleo, but it coincided with my getting sick, so I skipped my workouts. And wonder-of-wonders, look at the difference. I started feeling a little better, so did some short HIIT workouts, & naturally, my chin started getting a bit red & there were the faintest shadows of what I know would be the bumps. My last real option for exercise that is rosacea-approved is swimming. Anna, the head teacher at my school, swims every morning, so I’ll ask her where to go.

I know I'm WAYYYYY behind, sorry kids. With the start of the new school year, but honestly? Going paleo in Korea and having to cook EVERYTHING I eat, having to stop at the store to refill on veggies that I run out of even faster now means there's just no time left for much of anything. Like blogging.