FIRE UPDATE
It’s day 11 of LA fires and I’m trying to write a blog post even though I don’t know what to really write about. We are now down to 2 main fires. At the time of writing (7pm on 1/17), the Palisades Fire is 39% contained and the Eaton Fire is 65% contained, which is great progress, shout out to our firefighters! It will still probably be a while until they’re completely out, but I finally unpacked my fire evacuation bag. I had thought I had to do laundry today, but I realized I had packed a bunch of socks and underwear in my backpack.
The most recent concern is air quality. People are saying that the toxins from the ash and what’s burned in a city fire can cause cancer and the particles are so small that a KN95 mask isn’t good enough. So I’ve been mostly staying inside. My Apple Health and Fitbit apps are sending me notifications that my cardiovascular levels and step counts are down compared to last month. Thanks for that.
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The pandemic felt easier than this because at least you could go outside. My windows are so incredibly thin, I’m glad I impulse-bought an air purifier for my bedroom a few years ago. I am tempted to go home to Washington just so that I can go on my morning walks again. I’m hoping the air quality improves quickly, but if it doesn’t, well, catch me in Bellevue. When given the choice of fight or flight in historical times of crisis, I’ve learned I am flight all the way. Alaska Airlines or C’pool Air preferred.
While I have doomscrolled for longer than I have since 2020, there is a lot to be grateful for. All of my friends are safe. The community has been rallying in a way that is so incredible to see. Everyone wants to help. I tried to find a place to volunteer last weekend (especially since volunteering is one of my 2025 New Year’s Resolutions), but everywhere I checked was turning people away, so I settled for just donating to GoFundMes and other organizations.
I am so inspired by a 14-year-old girl named Avery Colvert in Pasadena who started @AltadenaGirls on Instagram. In 4 days, Paris Hilton and Mindy Kaling shared the page on their Instagram stories and Avery had filled up a warehouse with brand new items donated by hundreds of people in LA, brands, and celebrities from the likes of Charli XCX and Ariana Grande, so that teenage girls who had lost everything could come get free clothes and makeup and haircare items. It’s so inspiring to see the youth (I don’t think I qualify as a youth anymore, tragique) make such a huge difference. There’s hope for Gen Alpha! It’s also crazy that this is the second big disaster Avery’s been through. Her family had lost their house in Nashville in a flash flood a few years ago. Read more about her story in this Time article.
Another refreshingly good thing arose from social media this week. My friend Kellie has lived in Pasadena since we graduated from Chapman University. She evacuated for a couple days at the beginning of the Eaton Fire, but her apartment is fine. On Sunday, she was shopping for items to donate to various organizations helping the victims of the fire, like Altadena Girls and the Humane Society. She posted her Venmo account on her Instagram story in case anyone else wanted to donate. I sent her money and then re-posted her story.
On Monday afternoon, she texted me to thank my friend Brent Johnson for sending her $200. I was shocked. Brent is my elementary school best friend’s dad. We don’t talk that much anymore and I don’t think I’ve seen her dad in ten years. I didn’t even know he followed me on Instagram. I sent him a message on Instagram and then like an hour later, Kellie texted me that he sent her a second donation of $1,000! We could not believe it. This is just a reminder of the power of loose ties, you never know who’s watching, and your people will surprise you with their kindness. Thanks Brent, you rock!
WHERE TO BUY A MAGIC 8 BALL IN AUSTRALIA
My roommate, Jordan, is a social media producer for Tennis Channel (follow @tennischannel on Instagram). You can read more about his job in this blog post. His team was prepping to make social content for the Australian Open and had an idea to have the players ask questions to a Magic 8 Ball. However, they learned that they don’t really sell Magic 8 Balls in Australia? His co-worker in Australia called a dozen different stores and they couldn’t find one and were thinking of scrapping the video since they were supposed to shoot the next day.
But I know you can find anything on the internet. So I did some Googling from my couch in LA. There was a board game that incorporated a Magic 8 ball that was sold at Target, but it was sold out at the stores near the arena. Then, I browsed the websites of a few game stores in Victoria, Australia and quickly found one at a store called Mind Games (Moonee Ponds location)! Jordan’s co-worker called the store just to confirm it was in stock, then Ubered there and picked one up. Below is the final result! Even though I’ve helped with other social media posts (including helping Jordan buy stuff at Dollar Tree for this video from a few years ago), I’m adding “Global Sourcing Coordinator” to my resume and declaring this is my claim to Tennis Channel fame.
View this post on Instagram
MY FIRST ORIGINAL RECIPE?
I am 27 years old, an age where I’ve found myself getting too excited about household appliances. I bought myself this little Cuisinart food processor after Christmas, and it’s the perfect size for making a container of hummus!
I made a pretty basic hummus with chickpeas, but then I wanted to make something with black beans too. I Googled some recipes for black bean dip, but they all involved onions and cilantro and things I didn’t have in my kitchen, so I took a look at my fridge and came up with my own. In my mind I think I invented this, but I’m not sure.
Why do I own a jar of pickled jalapenos? I make some fire nachos.
Pickled Jalapeno Black Bean Dip
1 can of black beans, rinsed & strained
¼ cup of tahini
Juice of 1 lemon
2 cloves of garlic (you can do 1, I just love garlic)
4 pickled jalapeno slices, can add more to make it more spicy
1 tablespoon of pickled jalapeno liquid, can add more to make it more spicy
1 tablespoon of olive oil (can add more if you need more liquid)
Salt to taste
This dip was surprisingly good. It kind of tastes sweet at first, but then the heat kicks in at the end! I ate it with carrots, crackers, and pita bread. Let me know if you try it!
Great blog. I’m glad you’re doing ok. I’m going to have to try your black bean receipe!
Author
Thanks! I’ve made the dip again and added some cherry tomatoes for some freshness.