Eating Cheetos® with Chopsticks

Greetings Dear Readers

I love eating with chopsticks. I just do. I have pondered why and I do not know. I used to be really bad at it and then I did something, I bought some stainless steel round chopsticks. They are awesome. You can stab almost anything with them. They will skewer veggies and meat without so much as a by-your-leave.

Their only drawback is that they are round. Once they get a little moisture on them (think sesame chicken sauce) they get very slippery. Yes I realize that skewering is cheating. So I started eating odd things with them that would be hard to grasp with round stainless steel chopsticks. Cheetos® are very hard to eat with chopsticks. The same cheesy oil that coats your fingers forces the two round surfaces to osculate quite liberally. What this means is that the challenge is in play.

So I sit there, wrestling cheesy cylinders from the bowl, between the chopsticks, into my mouth. They slip under too much pressure. They slide under too little. It is all about applying the proper pressure to each piece of differently shaped cheesy goodness. Each Cheeto® in the mouth is a small victory. All too soon the bowl is empty. I have dropped and lost a few cheesy logs of crunchiness but my skill has improved. The next time the Cheetos® are in the bowl, they will stand less of a chance. I will win.

As a final thought, this process of eating slippery things with stainless steel chopsticks has had a side bonus that is amazing. When I go out to eat and use paltry squared wooden or plastic chopsticks, I am a chopstick god. I can eat almost anything. I think I may almost be ready for the test of the chopstick Jedi. Right now, as I write this, I am looking at the online catalogue for Titanium Chopsticks. Dare I try them? Am I ready? We shall see. We shall see.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Cheetoes® and Chopsticks Revisited

Greetings Dear Reader,

About eighteen months ago I wrote about using odd things and round stainless steel chopsticks to master eating with these challenging utensils (Challenging to westerners that is; A billion people in China do this as naturally as we use a fork.). The post is Eating Cheetoes® With Chopsticks if you care to revisit it.

Last night at dinner all the effort paid off. We were dining at a local Chinese buffet and I was enjoying beef and broccoli, general’s chicken, and some steamed vegetables. When Christmas went to get more food a gentlemen from Hong Kong approached me. His opening words were, “You use chopsticks like you grew up in China. How did you attain this skill?”

I was surprised and delighted. I explained how I had practiced with difficult to use chopsticks for years so that when I used wooden ones in public it would be much easier. Our conversation moved from chopsticks to other things rapidly and I have begun the path to a new friendship. We talked for a bit and learned about how he came to the United States and what his interests and vocation are.

The gentleman proved both interesting and kind. His life is one I wish to know better and we agreed to meet for lunch soon. More so, the efforts in learning, the dropped shrimps, and the fumbled fruits were all worth to be prepared to encounter this one soul on a journey similar to mine.

It causes me to wonder what else I can add to my being to become more approachable; more drawing to those who may need a friend. The very next thought is that I must simply continue to be who I am and those the Father wishes me to find will cross my path. This is always the way it is. God knows me intimately and he knew I would be quirky and often a misfit, but not rich enough to be considered eccentric. Those who are drawn to me are also almost always misfits and the out of step.

Everyone draws someone. Everyone is designed by God so that who they are can reflect his love and grace to others. So much of our society will tell us to be things we are not. It is only in following that which emanates from our Christ-centeredness that serves as the loadstone that will draw those who need our uniqueness to point them toward Christ. It is when I am genuinely who I am that things can truly matter for others.

I will be laughed at. I will be misunderstood. All that I can do is focus on Christ and follow him in everything. If this means that I appear foolish or unsophisticated so be it. What matters is the journey and where it takes me. What matters is seeking every moment to express the love and grace of God in my mind, body, and spirit. What matters is realizing that God made me who I am for a reason and in seeking Christ I can discover that reason and so make the journey richer for myself and others.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn
Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a home owner. He brings new and old things out of his treasure store."