since you've been gone

In case you didn't know, Drew has been in Beijing for the past 2 weeks. He will be there for another 5. He's there for a language program at Beijing Normal University. So far things seem to be going well. He lives in a dorm and has a roommate that also happens to be a student at UCI. He is busy with class in the morning and homework in the afternoon. Drew goes out with friends from the program for dinner and such, and I think there is sightseeing involved, but I think the most noteworthy thing thus far is that he got an iced coffee from McDonald's. And instead of cream, it had soft serve vanilla ice cream in it.

So here I am, holding down the fort and tending to the garden. I've been tending to the seedlings, but I'm apparently not doing enough tending because I've lost some more and now we are down to 3. I go to the garden nearly everyday. I've planted beets, onions, sweet basil, thai basil, garlic, and beans. I've transplanted tomato plants and planted an eggplant plant. This weekend, I'm going to plant some romas. But do you know what I have not done? Watered this plant:

The irony is that the garden, though not far from our apartment at all (it's about a city block), is still obviously farther than this plant. This is Drew's plant, and I'm supposed to keep it alive while he's gone. Despite the fact that it sits perched atop a bookshelf in the living room, I haven't watered it. Lest you think this is a conspiracy against Drew, I am responsible for the 2 plants on the porch and I can't remember when I last watered those. I am tempted to see how long this plant will live without water. So far it's been at least 2 weeks. We'll see if it makes it another 5.

Flying solo hasn't been difficult to adjust to. I've been keeping busy with school, and most of my friends are around for the summer. Even so, it's been pretty quiet around here. The biggest adjustment has been going back to cooking for one. I haven't gotten the hang of it yet. I ate udon noodles for 4 days in a row, and I ate potato salad today for the 5th time within a week (and I'm gearing up for the 6th and last time tomorrow). And somehow I have to find it in my stomach to eat 3 more servings of eggplant parmesan in the fridge. I definitely need to start halving recipes.

It's been only 2 weeks, but Drew is already tired of Chinese food (or as they would call it, just food). He's already craving Mexican food. I told him about this Chinese restaurant here that reputedly serves up some great dumplings, and I told him that we should go when he gets back. He said I should go now without him and reminded me that last summer, after having been in Beijing for a month, we didn't eat Chinese food for at least 2 months. Maybe 3. Seeing as how he'll be there for almost 2 months, I guess I don't expect to eat Chinese food when he gets back for about 6 months. Well, then I guess I'd better go ahead and make this while he's away. But I'll be sure to cut the recipe in half.