coney island and khao mun gai
I finally got out to Coney Island today, and as expected, there was not that much to do. We didn't swim or even touch the sand (the water looked less than clean, to say the least), and since none of us are crazy about roller coasters or American fast food, we headed back to Manhattan after a short jaunt on the boardwalk and beer & darts at the local brewery.
It feels so strange for me to be back in my apartment at 6 PM on a weekend. I don't remember the last time this has happened (if ever). Of course, when I'm living with my parents I'm at home more often than not at this time, but in New York there's always things to do and friends to see on the weekends. I must say there's something very pleasant about coming back so early and having a pocket of time to spend writing, reading, and relaxing. I feel like I've completely lost my sense of time recently, which might be a symptom of extreme mental exhaustion, so I'll grab any chance I can get to slow down.
I've been thinking a lot about emotional fragility recently, since in the aftermath of my breakup many things will remind me of my ex and then proceed to make me sad for hours. My instinct is to avoid these bittersweet memories, a tendency I find uncharacteristic for me because my past self would have encouraged me not to run away from them and assign them more negative emotion in doing so. This reminds me a lot about mei's post "harmless things can look like threats", except in my case it's probably better written "many harmless things now make me very, very sad". I don't know how to deal with it—on one hand I don't think running away from things that remind me of my ex is a very sustainable way to deal with my fragility. On the other I don't think trying to desensitize myself to them has been very healthy or productive either. I guess I'll try writing about it? I always extol the benefits of airing these things out, so maybe it's time I took my own advice.
a list of things that once brought me joy, but now make me want to cry:
- miffy
- green hats (esp. bucket hats)
- her favorite kpop groups, notably SEVENTEEN and DAY6
- the New York Times crossword, of which we did something like 100 together on our dates
- Taylor Swift (though I never liked her, sorry Swifties.)
- UNIQLO's round mini shoulder bag, in particular the cream one she used to have
- Stardew Valley and Don't Starve Together, games we played together for more than a hundred hours. I can't even bring myself to open Steam anymore, which, while sad, is probably good news for my other hobbies.
- our song, by my favorite singer
Highlights
- ⭐ ME CHICKEN RICE (120 W 3rd St, New York, NY 10012)
- The khao mun gai, or steamed chicken over rice, is the Thai version of Hainanese chicken over rice. The menu describes it as "boneless steamed chicken, slow cooked liver and gizzards over ginger rice, served with ginger sauce and daikon soup".
- The meal blew me away. I haven't had steamed chicken and rice like this in more than a year and I forgot how much I liked it. Chicken soup is good for the soul, and their daikon/chicken soup is the absolute best I've ever had. I love how hearty and filling the khao mun gai was without feeling heavy or greasy.
- Georgian Corner (626 Sheepshead Bay Rd, Brooklyn, NY 11224)
- I wish I had 8 more friends to share this acharuli khachapuri with, because the bread was tasty but I could hardly make a dent in the salty mix of egg and cheese.
- Coney Island Brewery (1904 Surf Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11224)
- The dart board they have is great and their beer tasted alright, but I wouldn't recommend ordering any food (I know, very sad).
thank you for reading; write to me at yourstiramisu 🐌 proton dot me