A look back, and forward

I seem to spend my whole day writing. Whether it's here for you and me, work for me and the stuff I seem to need money for, or a little email to let people know that I'm not quite dead, I seem to spend my whole day writing. It's ok. I enjoy it. It just seems to be in a place where It's all to serve another purpose and less for the sake of just doing it. So maybe it's time to try.

It's dangerous to tell people that you're going to try and write something. Everyone wants to know what it is, and how long it'll be, and if they're in it. It's hard because once you tell people you're suddenly accountable for producing it. That little voice in my head starts screaming "But what if it sucks?!..." The what-if guy is my worst enemy. When he shows up I have to put down my pen/laptop (gently) and put on my running shoes and go for a run. I do a lot of work when I'm running. It's like picking at a knotted piece of string. Some times the string has been knotted for so long that dirt has embedded itself in the ruts and you have to clear years worth of mud to even see where the problems are. Some days the string is unsalvagable no matter how much work you've put in to it, and begrudgingly you have to put it aside and pick up a new thread. And then the what-if guy shows up again just to mess with me.

So I've decided. Yes, I've decided that I'm going to give this a shot. If I can write a few hundred words a day for this site, and a few hundred emails a day for work, I can surely write a few hundred more words for me in a larger piece to someday share with you. That what-if guy will be there too. He will. I know that he will. And it's ok. He's the one that brings glimpses of reality in to the room, reminding me that I do have a day job, and prodding me just often enough to make me go and run until he's out of my head. I'm training for Ironman and so I can use one more run.

I'm ready to tell some stories... I'll keep you posted. -dean

Inventor of the instant ramen noodle passes

Momofuku Ando, who founded the predecessor to the Nissin food products that we know today, and who invented the instant ramen nodle product passed away. He was 96 years old.

The first instant ramen product was the chicken flavor ramen, one of my favorite standby foods. The journey didn't end with a packet. The first of it's kind in 1958, the cup noodle (Cup o' Noodles as many people know it today) was introduced in 1971. Innovations have continued over the decades, introducing a myriad of flavors, sizes of carby sodium filled meals even up to today. In 2005 a special packet was developed so that they could be taken in to space and eaten aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery.

On this day of rememberance I'd like to share a ramen related recommendation.
If you enjoy a good bowl of ramen, happen to be in or near Yokohama, and don't want to traipse all over Japan to sample all the local specialties that can be found in the various regions might I suggest visiting the Raumen Museum in Shin-Yokohama. It's incredibly worth the price of admission. Upstairs there are exhibits, fun facts, and games. But the prize is downstairs. A small labyrinth of lines and ticket machines await hungry travellers in search of excellent ramen. Some of the best and most famous styles of Japanese ramen are represented in every style from Shio (salt) to Shoyu to Miso. I'm getting hungry just writing this. Go hungry, come out happy. There are lines at meal times, but they are pretty managable. The challenge is to sample a "mini bowl" from each shop and still have avoided your food coma long enough to make it back out to daylight.