Journey of a Thousand Dumplings, part 1

Our lives are beginning to sound like Kung-Fu theater. We've resolved to sacrifice one day and devote it to making our entire stock of dumplings. Heaven help us. What started out to be a good theory was not so simple in practice, because we ended up making dumpling well into the evening. I did learn an important lesson, however, and that was that if you get two pans cooking, the job goes twice as fast. Wow, it's a good thing I studied math in college.

The weekend was complicated by the fact that we had other things we needed to do, but what else is new? Our good friends from Africa were graduating from the medical school, so we attended the graduation and I had to not only wear long pants, but a button down shirt, as well. Talk about being out of character, though I did enjoy the compliments from my kids. Every now and then a real-man has to break out with a little style and panache.

I have to confess that I wasn't thrilled about going to graduation, mainly because it meant crowds and a day spent away from making dumplings, plus the weather was terrible, but as usual, we had a really nice time. It was nice for the kids to see all the pomp and circumstance, and it felt nice supporting our friends at such an important time. They also had a nice lunch (though it would have benefited immensely with some dumplings), and we got to sit around and talk to some of the graduates, not to mention mingle with many of our friends with whom we work with.

Afterward, we went to the library and then off to run errands, including a food trip to the Coop. We also had to get more dumpling wrappers, 1000 of them for all you math majors out there, and then went over to BJ's to find chafing dishes. We are currently borrowing our chafing dishes from our good friend and neighbor, K&BJ, who for the record are some of the nicest people I've ever met. We were slated to buy these fancy serving dishes when they offered to lend us theirs. They aren't fancy, which is good. They run under $10 for each setup, a price range that is right up my alley. Not cheap, but frugal, as my wise Mentor would say.

It was our first time at BJ's, which was an interesting experience, as well. We didn't know what to expect, though I got a sense that they try to promote themselves as the antithesis of Wallyworld. Personally, I didn't see that much difference. They are both like massive warehouses with no windows, and the prices weren't that great. It's just that you get to buy things in bulk, and they sell you this image of privilege through membership. Members only, as the saying goes. Like Wallyworld, they are cathedrals of consumerism.

We were able to get a temporary membership, and of course they tried to get us join for the long haul with all these promotional goodies, which fall on deaf ears when you're a frugal fanatic as myself. So when they go on about how you can get a 14 month membership for the price of a 12 month membership, all I hear is, "We want your money."

Thanks, but no thanks. Either way, after browsing around, I wasn't blown away by their prices, and for certain things, they weren't cheap at all. It reminds me of the her mentality you see at tent sales for higher end items. The prices are still terrible, but they are "cheaper" than usual, so people come out in droves and buy the stuff up. It gets to be a frenzy.

I don't mean to knock BJ's, they have good deals, though I wonder how they compare to Wallyworld, which doesn't have membership. Both places are incredibly huge, making it easy to get lost and almost impossible to find things, compounded by the fact that you can never find someone who works there, and when you do, they have no idea what you're talking about. We did find the chafing dishes, however, and for that, we are grateful.

From BJ's, we went to the Asian market for dumpling wrappers. We had other errands, including home improvement supplies, but we were tired, and there was work that needed to be done. So we came home and got some rest. It was a long day, and we still a great deal of work to do, but that is for another time.

Until then, thanks for reading, and thanks to Jean Scheijen and mantis wong for the pics.