In Which It Is The Only Thing We Find Reassuring

Abundance

by MIA NGUYEN

My mother grew up on a tea and coffee farm in Vietnam before immigrating to the United States. I learned about the importance of drinking hot green tea or chrysanthemum flowers on a daily basis. The calming properties within each hot mug are my safe haven. Mom told us stories growing up on how she used to hide stashes of tea and coffee in her knapsack in order to smuggle them into Saigon on her bicycle. These tricks were of course forbidden and illegal, but the important thing was that they worked.

A 25-pound bag of rice isn’t something that can be purchased at an American grocery store. After selecting the type of rice from the counter which is usually classified by type and year. The heavy sack is usually carried out with a dolly and loaded into a trunk. Keeping stocks of rice has always been commonplace in my household. Up until I was 8 years old, I thought families in my neighborhood kept an abundance of rice in their pantry for meals. The bag has its own closet and a large bin filled to the brim.

For the most part, grocery shopping is a cathartic and therapeutic experience. I find myself wandering into the produce section to caress the perfectly stacked apples, avocados, and the crates of blueberries. Dancing from aisle to aisle to search for something I’m not quite sure looking for always feels like dangerous game. Supermarkets and grocery stores are intimate and enticing.

Asian supermarkets are not a commonplace concept for the average American. There’s an art in maneuvering through the aisles. I’ve had to navigate my friends through the bakeries, gift shops, and food markets nestled in Boston’s Chinatown. The idea of going alone without any form of assistance was intimidating and taxing quest for my friends. I opened them up to world an entire world they might have not found themselves. They got to experience not being carded for Sapporo pitchers, fanfare of sushi making supplies, hot pot, drunken karaoke, and cheap produce. My entire college experience can be narrowed down to the summation of teaching people how to use my rice cooker as a means to prepare spicy ramen.

The tea aisle is a tantalizing and mysterious human experience. You’re stepping into a world of countless possibilities and combinations from strange herbal remedies to miso pastes and powders. Walking down the tea aisle of any Asian supermarket is especially daunting, mortifying, and exciting. I feel like an instant yogi looking for a euphoric buzz.

There are thousands of boxes neatly stacked with mystical clip art and questionable outrageous medical claims with little or no scientific evidence. I find my eyes darting in every direction with a strong anticipation of finding something special, maybe worthwhile, if I’m lucky. The cheap and affordable sachets of tea are appealing, and speak to any tea lover’s soul in an exuberant manner. There’s also a fair amount of self-control and caution that needs to be exercised if you don’t know how to read Chinese characters.

Menopause has the potential of being made “easy”, a good night of rest is guaranteed, weight loss is promised, and a clear voice can be achieved. The thought of achieving an ultra hot body and a good night rest is the ultimate dream and goal.

The strategic public relations and marketing method of tea lies within its reputation, which has been built on a utopia of eternal promises of beauty, youth, and longevity. The reassurance feels phony, and at times, comical. A part of me actually believes this stuff will work fully without any repercussions. Drinking tea is attractive and it makes you feel cool depending on your tastes.

My cupboard is currently filled with a plethora of tea including: matcha, chai, honeysuckle, green, oolong, rooibos, chrysanthemum, darjeeling, passion fruit, and many others. The abundance of boxes and flavors makes me wonder why I don’t welcome more visitors over. The rotation of tea depends on the season and mood I’m in; it means I am usually opting for oolong and green tea all year around.

My mom didn't fixate on finding romance until she was in her late twenties. When she met my father in Monterey Park, California in the early '90s it was one of her first dates. My dad bought her a carnation and she knew she was going to be happy for a while, but not forever. 

"It's hard being with one person for the rest of your life," she said as we made our way through the supermarket. She believes it's going to be harder for me to find someone who is monogamous. My father has lost part of his hearing and that's what she struggles with on a daily basis, someone who doesn't understand or listen to the thoughts and feelings she tries to communicate. 

Growing up I wasn't allowed to go out on dates, and my parents never met or found out about guys I saw. I was too ashamed of what they would think of me. My mom didn't want me to waste my youth fixating on this one thing that seemed to be the most important to me, finding mutual love and understanding with another person. 

When I compare myself to her life choices, there always seems to be small things I carry from one event in my life to the next, especially when it comes to romance. My mom sees the possibilities of removing the abundance and starting over.

Mia Nguyen is the features editor of This Recording. She is a writer living in Rhode Island. You can find an archive of her writing on This Recording here.

"Whatever You Want" - Dot Hacker (mp3)

"First in Forever" - Dot Hacker (mp3)

In Which They Can Slice Through A Stale Baguette

Angelina Jolie's Face

by MIA NGUYEN

Maleficent 
dir. Robert Stromberg
97 minutes

Angelina Jolie's cheekbones should be placed in the second slot of the rolling credits when Maleficent is digitally remastered, as each warrants a nomination for best supporting actor. They're multipurpose: they can slice through a stale baguette or be used as a citrus reamer. 

"The whole time I just wanted to go home and watch Game of Thrones," my brother said. I had to agree with him on this point. He spent $30 on our tickets. "It was good, but not $30 good. It was like $4 good. You have to pay me back."

Director Robert Stromberg relies heavily on CGI to build the magical world of the moors with fairies, goblins and intricate tree things. Maleficent has moments that contain stunning sights of splendor. We spend a lot of time watching Maleficent (Angelina Jolie) soar through the sky with her glorious wings, looking malnourished. We see the potential of glimmering hope when she finds love with a human boy named Stefan (Michael Higgins), which temporarily fullfills her. The romantic scenes make up for Maleficent’s lack of dialectical art. 

There are two different types of guys in this world: guys who wear rings and guys who don't. It’s an intuitive and impulsive sartorial reaction. The young version Stefan (Sharlto Copley) is definitely the ring wearing type. He finds pride in it, but it doesn’t hold him back.

Maleficent warns Stefan about her allergic reaction to iron, claiming that it will seethe her porcelain skin, so he wistfully tosses his rings into the open field in order to prove his devotion. We see their love mature and grow like a 10-minute time-lapsed video of a blooming flower. They mature physically, which allows them to be comfortable enough to spoon.

They share a kiss on her sixteenth birthday, which was one of the best scenes in the movie. Swoon worthy. After this, everything goes downhill. Stefan retreats back to the human world of the castle and slowly stops visiting Maleficent. We spent 15 minutes with her wandering in silent sorrow. Of course, the pressing question we ask ourselves throughout: is true love real?

Your jowls are coming in nicely, Stefan.

On King Henry's (Kenneth Cranham) orders, Stefan returns to the moors to murder Maleficent in order to be crowned the next king. They meet at their “spot” and they’re cozy, cuddly, and spoony. He slips her a "sleeping potion" and cuts off her most prized possessions, her wings. The betrayal is clear with his weapon of choice, an iron chain. He takes the wings and carelessly tosses them in the back of his pathetic cart, showing no sign of remorse. He glares into the darkness wishing he had multipurpose cheekbones. (As if!) By the next morning, he is gone without a trace and she is left screaming in agony. We’re whimpering with you, Angelina.

Needless to say, she seeks revenge, and shows up announced with a deadly spell to cast. This is where Angelina truly shines as an actress. We get to see her powerful cheekbones in action and allow ourselves to be vulnerable with her. 

After casting her infamous spell on baby Aurora, Maleficent ditches the scene with satisfaction. Stefan becomes paranoid and orders everyone in the castle to burn every spindle in sight. He’s invested, and enters a dark spiral of manic delusion. His wife ends up facing death from falling ill, but he is too distracted by his “hate quest” to even care.

He ends up sending Aurora away to live with the three good fairy godmothers portrayed as pixies: Knottgrass (Imelda Staunton), Thistlewit (Juno Temple), Flittle (Lesley Manville). As well as undercutting the talents of the actresses themselves, they made them out to be completely ignorant in their roles. It felt a little cheap on Disney’s part. Maleficent is seen lurking in the shadows until Aurora turns sixteen.

Aurora propped up and looking super adorbs. 

Aurora (Elle Fanning) is the epitome of a meadow child, the essence of a Free People lookbook. She finds out about her origins and becomes some kind of Hot Topic rebel foraging back to her native habitat. She pricks her finger on the needle and falls into a deep and underwhelming sleep totaling 5 minutes.

In the meantime, Maleficent is trudging through the forest with her shape-shifting crow apprentice, Diaval (Sam Riley) to bring Aurora back to life. Instead she is faced with a feeling of remorse and pain like Taylor Swift’s MP3 of “I Knew You Were Trouble." In all actuality, Angelina Jolie channels heavy tones of T-Swift’s personality traits into Maleficent’s character when she watches Aurora sleep. It’s a lonely, dark, and sad feeling, not for the faint heart.

The three fairy godmothers insist on enlisting Prince Phillip (Brenton Thwaites), to plant a kiss on Aurora to wake her, but he fails. Maleficent hovers over Aurora's bedside, letting out regretful tears of misery. She bids Aurora a goodbye and kisses her gently on the forehead. She wakes up! It's a Disney miracle! 

There's a bloody battle between Stefan and Maleficent in the end, which is saturated in misogyny.  He has no problem with barricading her around iron shields. He even goes as far as striking her down with an iron net and chain. Triple burn. How dare he? While Maleficent is being held down by heavy iron, Aurora stumbles upon Maleficent's wings and releases them. They reattach on Maleficent’s back, showing everyone who’s boss.

On the whole, Maleficent strays away from normative gender roles. It brings in the strong notion of women supporting women, which verifiably proves Disney is taking a proactive approach to instilling feminism deep inside young women's brains. The prince doesn't save the princess and true love can be felt in a number of ways, not just the standard feeling between man and woman.

Mia Nguyen is the senior contributor to This Recording. She is a writer living in Rhode Island. You can find her twitter here and tumblr here.

"Far Beyond" - Charlie Betts (mp3)

"Lost in the Wilderness" - Charlie Betts (mp3)

In Which We Travel Much Too Far Back

The Other Inbox

by MIA NGUYEN

The act of writing a letter, or even receiving one in the mail, has become almost obsolete in an age where technology has taken over the majority of our precious time. These last years I found myself being drained from the lack of romanticism in receiving empty e-mails and text messages. I wanted something to hold onto.

In 2011 I started exchanging handwritten letters with strangers online, incubating long distance friendships. The intimate exchange of handwritten letters lets me connect authentically and compassionately with others on a level to which we are no longer accustomed.

Location: Preston, England

Dearest M,

This letter will take some explaining... As you know, I wrote this letter originally some months ago – how time flies! – but it was lost in the transcontinental mailing system. I'm hoping for better luck this time.

This was the original letter I sent. I am glad I make drafts!

"I received your letter an hour before writing the first draft – I wrote drafts! –but this likely won't be sent out before I return from Devon because it is a long way to the post office, now that my local one has been shut down for refurbishment.

As you can probably can probably tell, I am trying out a new letter hand – I decided I should at least be proud of the handwriting in these things, if not the content! 

It pains me to hear your persistent downing, and I so wish I could help in some capacity other than the written word, so marvelous, as it is... I guess that is our luck!

The perfume is sublime, honestly. I will have to badger my girlfriends to buy it! I now love three girls' perfumes: Ghost Deep Night, that Vera Wang one, and one I still do not know the name of...

I'm writing outside and it is still not cool at 9:30 in the morning and I can hear magpies – which are terribly ugly-sounding birds and very loud.

I do indeed like your little sketches and doodles. Would the time machine you're suggesting double up as a teleporter? Because otherwise if you travel back too far then you'd just end up in the pre-1600's in America, which wasn't so hip and happening!

Your Faithful Friend,

and Kind Stranger,

E

P.S. I am listening to Beach House and drinking coffee and thinking only of you while I was writing this.

P.S.S.S. I so hope you are well by the time you read this and I wish you all the luck and happiness in the world.

Location: Boston, MA

M,

As you may have guessed, I've been running around like a mad woman because of my new position as editor of the literary magazine. Regardless, this semester has been quite rewarding.

I've been reading a lot more lately, particularly my assigned books from feminist philosophy class – very, very enriching. Even now, one Valentine's eve – I'm beginning to actually enjoy the freedom of the single world. It's taken me a while to get to this point, but do you remember the man from Providence named Jagdish? The one who likes the long, "delicious" hugs? Yeah, I've taken a lot of what he said to heart – sometimes you really just need to hug yourself.

So...I've taken this opportunity to more or less date myself. Anyway, I apologize for the somewhat late response; I completely forgot to check my mailbox for a good two weeks. But I had a lovely, unexpected surprise when I checked it twenty minutes ago – a perfect addition to Valentine's Day; there's nothing more poetic than sharing your handwriting the good, old fashioned way with a good, old friend.

I hope you're still doing well and I also hope by this point you've painted some lovely pieces with your new canvas and paint. Let's make a habit of corresponding with each other, this way of enjoying a long-distance friendship that I've never experienced before. By the way – THAT OFFER IS STILL VALID – PLEASE COME VISIT ME! I'd love to cook dinner with you, I think that would be so much fun. Enjoy your night and I hope to see you soon!

Sincerely yours, 

S

Location: Preston, England

Mia,

A few things have changed since then, as you know. I'm not writing outside for a start, and I have moved into my university room for the first time. I have had a different room every year for four years. I have grown accustomed to moving around, I suppose. I don't know how I am going to feel about returning to Birmingham next year and staying there. For the formidable future, at least. Moving around has given me a sense of stability. Does that make sense? Probably not...

I have changed my letter hand since then, and I am still not happy with it, but perhaps I just need some time to get used to it. I hope that is the case; it is getting out of hand!

We have fallen apart a little, as you said we would, sadly. It was one time I truly hoped you were not right. I won't let this ruin our friendship, or whatever this is, for you are an amazing person and I feel I need you in my life. Is that coming on too strong? Ah well, probably but I mean every word.

This has taken me a very long time to write, and I am going to stop and send it before I decide I want to change my handwriting again!

I do this finds you well, I hope for nothing more than that! If it takes me a long time to reply it is because I have run completely out of money and am starving through pride of not wanting to borrow any from my parents.

Yours earnestly,

and with love,

E

mwah xxx

Location: Providence, Rhode Island

M,

I am writing this to you in the middle of the Blizzard of 2013. Hopefully we both make it through unscathed. I have to help out with shoveling for my girlfriend's business because they plow and shovel during snow storms. I am not looking forward to it. I wish I could just stay in and watch movies and drink hot chocolate. One of my favorite things about big snowstorms is that they remind me of being a little kid and having to just stay inside for the day. I'll be making $20/hr though so at least there's that.

I am proud to announce to you that I have accepted a job offer! The position that I was hired for is an Energy Advisor, I'll be going to people's homes and determining where they are losing energy and how they can be more efficient with the energy they are using. I start training on February 18th so my days of unemployment are coming to an end. It's in Boston so for now I'll be commuting, but I'm hoping to move out there. I'm excited to start and get my life going!

Are you pumped for the summer and California? It's going to be great! Sorry this is short. For some reason ideas of things to write aren't coming to me today. I mainly just wanted to tell you about the new job. Hope school is going well!

A

Location: New York, New York

Dear M,

Someone ordered green paper by mistake at work ­– how much are your eyes hurting right now? It was neat to get a letter. The mail I get is mainly postcards from horrifyingly shitty illustrators, work so bad it calls into question their sanity. When I was in high school I had many pen pals. I was big into ska and punk music, and read a lot of zines and had for flung friends with the same interests, but very few real live humans in my life with my tastes. You know…high school.

My current favorite album/musician are Dirty Projectors, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, and Fiona Apple. I listen to all of them incessantly. I love pop music, too – I sing karaoke every single Friday, and we do puite a lot of Katy Perry and 90s alternative rock. My all time favorites are definitely The Beatles, particularly Abbey Road. How about you?

Anyhow – tell me what your major is and what your favorite crappy movie is and a thing you are great at cooking.

Sincerely,

L

Location: Los Angeles, California

Dear M,

Thank you so much for the Cliff bars! I look forward to my next adventure in anticipation of trying out the blueberry crunch in a desperate moment of nutrition. By the way, I couldn't be happier about writing letters as a form of communication. Even though it is a dead, or dying, form of correspondence, it is a great exercise for training the brain to write in an entirely different circumstance. Already having written what I just have, I immediately have a need to go back, change words, or strengthen sentence structure. Naturally, this comes from being too familiarized with word documents, Twitter, e-mails and other formats where we can edit and re-edit everything we write. Admittedly, there is a tremendous amount of anxiety that I am experiencing without being able to change things up, but for now I will continue with romanticizing the liberties of irreversible expression like the giddy tool that I can be sometimes. Having just hyphenated "romanticizing" brought me back to my grade school days and now I am already relishing the benefits of making this decision to write! Granted, I do journal my life's progress on a weekly basis, but writing in a journal is very dissimilar. Do you journal? It's a great way to track your trajectory. 

So anyway I do miss the East Coast, regardless of how cold it might be over there right now. I grew up in Haworth, NJ, a very small suburban town with not much to do. So when I moved to Boston when I was 18 you can imagine how happy I was to be in an active setting with a lot going on around me.

Sorry to hear about your eczema, but it seems like you have everything under control. As I'm sure you are aware, it is problems such as these that can lead you to discover new things unexpectedly. It also teaches you, new things. That keeps you young. Well, that and kombucha! Favorite flavor? Mine's ginger. Apparently you can brew your own, which I want to learn, because otherwise it's so expensive. But getting back to what I was saying, I'm glad your perspective has changed on health. Having what I thought to be crippling anxiety only helped me get better as a person and learned new things once I was willing to take on the challenge. I had to change the way I think and act and in doing so learned some very interesting ways to help improve brain functionality. Therefore, I work regularly at trying to repress any anxiety by challenging my brain to do new things. Adventuring is only one of many, exercise is another. I've ran half-marathons, completed triathlons, and now I'm trying to compete and finish a half iron-man in July. They're a lot of fun, good luck with your race come March! 

You seem like a very interesting person to get to know. That's why I wanted to reach out to you. I'm glad I did. I really enjoy reading myself, but I haven't read Bukowski yet. Many people I know have recommended him so I have added his books to my reading list. Any recommendations? My favorite author is Douglas Adams, he has had the most impact on my writing style and even on the way I think. Others include George Orwell, Kurt Vonnegut, and the comedic styles of Larry David and Jon Stewart. I also enjoy non-fiction. One book I became fascinated by was this one called Imagine by Jonah Lehrer; which details everything that makes someone a creative person. Great read.

I feel as though we've only just scratched the surface and that there's so much more to delve into, but I will save that for later. Tell me, what do you do for fun? What are your passions? What are your inspirations? Maybe even your flaws?

Looking forward to your next letter, and please take your time if there are other things you have to do. I would even prefer if these letters show up randomly and unexpectedly. All the best.

Sincerely,

T

Mia Nguyen is the senior contributor to This Recording. She is a writer living in Rhode Island. She last wrote in these pages about her ex-boyfriend. You can find her twitter here and her website here, and her instagram here.

Photographs by the author.

"Woe Is You" - Hunter & Wolfe (mp3)

"Somebody New" - Hunter & Wolfe (mp3)