Posted in A Moment in My Life

“The One About Firsts”

A Moment in My Life – Thursday, July 1, 2021

Jeannie Yee Davis

Lately, it seems everything I’m doing I’m doing for the first time. That reminds me of the old saying, “There’s always a first time for everything,” and it’s true. It’s true. That’s why someone probably said it, and someone coined it, and the rest of us repeat it.

For the first time, I unplugged from FB over the weekend. I’ve been so socially active on FB that it became overwhelming, and I needed to dial it down. I didn’t know what was wrong at the time I decided to unplug. The only thing I knew was that it was no longer fun because it felt more like a job. When FB begins to feel like you’re reporting into the office for a job, you know you’re burnt out. The weekend of silence was just what the cyber doctor ordered. It gave me clarity that my system had been overtaxed by cyber-stimulation. Removing myself from the cyber-world identified what wasn’t working and what was. It also revealed everything about FB that I cherish. Unplugging was a huge success. I returned refreshed as if I had come from a weekend spa retreat with a new game plan in hand.  

I’ve always loved drums, but not until recently did my enthusiasm come out of the closet. I have my buddies from the FB Doo Wop (DW) group to thank for that. The members from DW have such exquisite and diverse taste in music. They tickle my musical fancy every time I visit. And, who knew that I’d meet a real live drummer there? When I first shared my love for drums with Edmond Toy (ET), I felt this connection between us—I got this vibe from him that I couldn’t explain. One day, it clicked. It was our mutual passion for drums that connected us. And, then, I discovered he’s a drummer—not only that—I learned he’s the drummer from the renowned Chinatown Soul Band, Jest Jammin’. Holy moly, you can imagine how embarrassed I felt learning that a nobody like moi, who knows nothing about drums, was carrying on a conversation with a real live famed drummer. ET, not only being a talented drummer, but he’s also humble as cherry pie, and I mean that in a good way—I love cherry pie. He never once let on who he was or made me feel smidgen-size. Instead, he took me under his wings and had broadened my horizons with his drum expertise and musical knowledge. I adore the man. He’s just the sweetest and kindest guy.

I have never enjoyed as many “drum” songs as I have lately, thanks to a couple of my other DW buddies, Michael Mar (MM) and Dennis Yee (Big Bro), who, after noticing my drum fancy, enlightened my world with delicious songs heavy on the drums. There is only one path with them—Do not pass go, go directly to drum heaven. MM spoils me rotten. He feeds my “more drums, please” request. What a guy! Big Bro introduced me to Hal Blaine, the father of all drummers, who has been like an old friend to me, doing nothing but filling my world with joy in the music I grew up with.

Another DW buddy Warren recently took me under his wings and taught me what I call “dance and song pairing.” I love his comments, which center around his passion for dancing. He’s a talented dancer, and I’m grateful to learn from him. I think it was meant to be that I’d connect with him now because I forgot that one of my birthday goals was to learn line dancing this year. Birthday quickly approaches, and I forgot about this goal until Warren brought up line dancing and a lightbulb turned on. Thanks to him, I’ll get to check that one off my list.

My niece, Kathy, and I hold a standing phone chat every other Wednesday evening. This week, we did a first—we baked a new cookie recipe to critique on our call.  She and I are fascinated about living a healthier lifestyle, so when “Giada’s Chocolate Chip-Quinoa Cookies” popped into her newsfeed, she passed me the recipe, and the game was afoot. The “quinoa” caught her attention. 

It was so fun baking these cookies knowing that Kathy was doing the same thing in San Diego. We compared notes, which turned out very similar. It was hilarious that we both thought to do the same thing—bake only six cookies first and freeze the rest. What are the chances we’d do that? That’s my baby niece! We are family!

I look forward to experimenting with new recipes with her. As for this recipe, we both agreed that these cookies were a bit too sweet. As I scooped the 1 cup of coconut sugar, I thought that was a lot of sugar, and I was right. I plan on baking these cookies again with some modifications. For starters, I’m cutting the coconut sugar to ½ cup and see if that makes it more palatable for my liking. Baking time was 13-15 minutes. I went 13, but I’ll go with 14 next time because the cookies came out incredibly soft. Maybe a little longer would firm them a tad more? The problem with coconut sugar is that the product looks darker, appearing burnt, but they’re not. That’s the tricky part. Otherwise, I would follow the rest of her recipe exactly. Since quinoa is a complete protein, these would make an excellent protein bar replacement, so I’m hoping to make these cookies work for me. I included the recipe link if anybody wants to try it. If you do, please comment back and let me know how they worked for you.

It’s been a hectic week. I’m grateful to get on the page today. A few other firsts kept me occupied, but none were as noteworthy as the above, so I’ll spare you the details. And that’s pretty much the highlights I have for you regarding the one about firsts.

https://www.today.com/recipes/giada-s-chocolate-chip-quinoa-cookies-recipe-t223097

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