I would like to wish all those celebrating the Lunar New Year happiness and fortune for the Year of the Pig. I am especially pleased because it is supposed to be an auspicious year for academic pursuits (my day job!) but in all, pigs are generally placid and prosperous creatures so everyone should benefit from its excellent placement in the celestial order.
My Wiser Half features in my blog every now and then, but today I would like to discuss why I appreciate him so much. As I have prepared to welcome the New Year, I have considered all the aspects of my life, and he is a tremendous joy (and occasional source of amused frustration -- since we are both academics, we sometimes disagree onabout the most banal things). It is also unusual, in my humble opinion, that we get along as we do because despite some outward similarities (professional goals, dark humor, love of two darling cats), we have overcome one major difference. That is, Wiser Half (master of the www.xanga.com/marshaln) and I enjoy different forms of caffeine. I was born and raised a coffee drinker (first sip at 15 and never turned back) and Wiser Half loves tea ("love" is an understatement, but the most direct verb I could think of). My mother admonished me two months ago saying that she hoped that my romantic proclivities would not make me turn my back on my roots (that is, stop drinking coffee), and well, Wiser Half does remind me how noxious coffee smells and how bitter it tastes. I fully agree but when one has experienced premium expresso (like the Lavazza Oro in the tin in the featured picture), there's no turning back. Wiser Half has also treated me to many to-die-for teas so I would say that the "other side" has many enticing options as well. But in short, we are a "dual-caffeine" couple.
It may seem laughable or trivial that this would strike me as an important difference but after 3 years of learning about and compromising with one another, we have come to accept that some things may never change and that we are, in all, two completely different people. Wiser Half has occasionally joked that coffee will cut years off my life (quite possible) and I have yet to attain proficiency in tea appreciation to his level. In the picture above, you will see my coffee of choice, an espresso press (gift of my best friend), a set of tea tools, and a tea tray. I arranged these objects to signify our relationship -- we will drink our respective caffeinated beverages (sometimes together -- I appreciate his tea service and lessons very much) but we can co-exist very well. In Hong Kong "tea houses" (restaurants serving HK-style "Western" dishes and some fast-food style Chinese fare), there is a drink called yuanyang, combining coffee and black tea. Neither the coffee nor the tea are particularly fine in quality but put together with some cream and sugar, you get an orange-brown beverage that I find quite potable. It goes very well with a spaghetti bolognese or a clay pot with pork and vegetables. You can drink it with some French toast (HK style -- with a liberal addition of peanut butter and lots and lots of butter). I could even drink it straight as I take my demitasse shots of espresso with dense crema.
What I like best about "yuanyang" is the name. It refers to two mandarin ducks that supposedly are paired for life (it can also mean an affectionate couple). The contrast in gender is a no-brainer but to me, it also signifies the combination of two alien elements, sharing a cup or in the case of humans, a life. Wiser Half and I are never going to merge stomachs or palates, thus creating a literal yuanyang but through mundane experiences, including good-humored spats about whether coffee or tea delivers more of a caffeine punch, we do our best to blend parts of our individual lives into our unique yuanyang.
Happy New Year!
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