enigmatically vain handwriting and pragmatic rice pudding
unsnackable vol. 77
As a modern woman, keeping a few options open for an enigmatic late-in-life pivot is prudent. Even in the bleakest of times committing to a passing whimsy with a directed sense of enthrallment is a path towards reinvigoration. I keep a full roster: Japanese snack gashapon virtuoso ( wholly inspired by her account and this book that I will soon own), an in-house candy development researcher and strategist, a cosmetic chemist who only develops duo-chrome pigments (they are all that matter to me), a media commentator on millennial teen television across Western nations (I'm currently 30-plus episodes into watching this, simply for the sake of cultural dexterity) and last but not least, someone who is really into writing with an inkwell and quill.
Does that last one seem a bit out of left field? It might not when you see that my handwriting looks like this.
I drafted part of this newsletter by hand because I hoped I could find a way to incorporate it into the final product. I know you can't read it so I typed it out below:
My vainest fixation isn't makeup or clothing, it is maintaining my status as a person with beautiful handwriting. It is singular, haunted, and mostly useless but a source of superiority nonetheless. In fifth grade, our teachers forced us to write a report in erasable pen, five or ten pages or some other measure of length fully inconceivable for a ten-year-old to write in cursive.
Led by my own measures of the futility of effort, my marks were fair. My efforts multiplied exponentially the next summer when I decided good handwriting was a worthwhile trait to have. Pages of languid scribbles filled my notebooks and I always feel the echoes of that muscle memory when I try to write with anything other than a ballpoint pen.
Maybe I should take a break from my notes app and write some more notes to myself. This was oddly calming. Maybe you'll feel a similar sense of relief after this assortment of unsnackables.
the unsnackables
sweet
Occasionally, I like to slip a pragmatic unsnackable into the bunch. Less of a unique and life-changing revelation, and more of a simple treat that I know would earn a regular place on my grocery list. This single serving of instant rice pudding fits the bill because rice pudding is not hard to make by any measure but it is annoying to batch down into a single serving. Instant rice pudding is the perfect solution to many of the questions I have in life like "Is there joy to be found in memories or simply longing" or "I made a quick jam because the fruit on my counter is on its last legs, how do I turn it into a dessert without turning on my oven". Rice pudding is the answer to both.
savory
America deserves the terrifying things that happen when our "cuisine" is gastronomically refracted into "American-style" restaurants abroad because our national identity should reap what our policies have sown. Any mention of an "American" sauce on one of those menus would likely pantomime either ranch or barbeque sauce only to be rendered as mayo or extra sweet ketchup. All of this is to say that I would hope these Bugles could nail the sweet-spicy flavor of Algérienne sauce because they are made locally, instead of abroad.
thirsty
I'm not sure that I like coffee enough to buy a "coffee-flavored mineral water" but an Extra Coffee Flavored Mineral Water made to attract customers used to the distinct and rich flavors of Turkish coffee is probably pretty special.
boozy
I have set myself on a path to drink more makgeolli after we crushed one of these wandering the streets of Chicago as a pregame to the Aespa show. Now I'm very fixated on Yakult-flavored variety and its adorable packaging.
I’m still figuring this out, but hopefully, you enjoyed v.77 of unsnackable.
If you didn’t please don’t tell me, tell your friends to subscribe because they hopefully have better taste than you.
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I want you to know that as an American in Germany, my current favorite snack is Dr. Oetker High Protein Milchreis, 8 jarred dark cherries, and a generous handful of cacao nibs.
Omg your writing is gorgeous