Would You Like to Know What My Favorite Dishes Are?

Here they are in no particular order.

Chinese New Year HotPot taken by author.

Anyone who knows me knows that I love to eat. I particularly love sampling cuisines from around the world. I have had the great opportunity of living in Penang, Malaysia, which is known worldwide for its street food, and its diverse culture.

I grew up in upstate New York, which, at that time, was not known for its diversity of cuisine. It was Italian, meat and potatoes, or Chinese food from the only Chinese restaurant in town. The food was good, and I had no complaints.

As I attended college and began to travel more, I discovered a whole new world of food. I found out I liked spicy food and food with intense flavors. I wanted to try foods I had never had and, in most instances, never heard of. I didn’t ask what was in it before I tried it. I just ate it. I realized that there is so much I can learn about a people’s culture from their food. To deny a person’s food is to deny their culture.

Here is a list of my favorite dishes, in no particular order. I have included a link to some dishes explaining what they are for those who may not be familiar with them.

Photo by Amanda Lim on Unsplash

Malaysian Curry Mee

Chicken Butter Masala

Seafood Crispy Fried Noodles

Peking Duck

Eggplant Parmigiana

Malaysian Hotpot

Lobster

Cajun Fried Catfish

Crawfish Etouffee

Dim Sum

Chicken Mole Enchiladas

Carnitas with Salsa Rojas

Thai Basil Minced Pork (I make this every summer with my homegrown Thai basil)

Massaman Chicken Curry

Thai Peanut Sauce with Chicken Noodles

Sushi

Gyoza

Chicken Makhani

Pizza

Spaghetti and Meat Balls

Greek Dolmades

Baklava

Fish and Chips

Just about all Cajun and Creole Food

Chocolate — all kinds of chocolate desserts.

Homemade Apple Pie

I guess you could say any dessert would be the perfect ending to a perfect meal.

I’m sure I have left out many dishes I love, but it would take too long to list all the wonderful foods from so many cultures. I am fortunate to have had the chance to sample foods from around the world. But I am most lucky to have a Malaysian-Chinese husband, born and raised in Penang, Malaysia, who loves to cook and does most of the cooking.

I hope you have enjoyed reading about what I like to eat. You may even click on a link and learn to love some of my favorite foods.

Photo by author.

Photo by author

Dim Sum Photo by Author

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. This is where I ate frequently while living in Penang, Malaysia

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Yes, this is a shameless plea to promote my stories

Author’s Image

I have no shame. I don’t care. I merely want to get more eyes on my stories. That’s why I created a newsletter outside of the Medium platform to let my subscribers know I have published stories.

I know Medium has an Email subscribers option, but in my experience, it does not work well. First, every time someone publishes a story, an email is sent. If a writer publishes multiple times during the day, multiple emails are sent out, clogging up subscribers’ inboxes. Second, this function does not work. Many times, subscribers were deleted for no reason at all.

When I created my newsletter, Steve Sovie’s World, I intended to send it once a week, on Sunday. It includes links to the stories I wrote the previous week, plus an occasional message or photo I have chosen to share with my readers. Instead of receiving multiple emails throughout the week, you only get one!

I don’t sell courses or products, and I don’t try to entice you to view a YouTube video or click on mysterious links. However, there is a donation button at the end of the newsletter if you want to chip in a few cents to help put me in a higher tax bracket.

I’ve sent out six newsletters thus far. I don’t know how effective they have been. Either they go into your spam mailbox, or the recipient simply deletes them. Some, but not many, are opened, as my statistics have revealed. The good news is that no one has unsubscribed.

What puzzles me is that people continue to subscribe to my stories by using the Medium subscribe icon instead of my signup link in my rather large image at the end of every story.

I apologize for shamelessly trying to promote my articles, but sometimes, we older people act without shame. I worked hard on creating my newsletter, and it may not be comparable to a professionally designed newsletter. But it is 100% me.

If any of you have any suggestions for improvement, or if you have any complaints, please let me know. At least click on the link to see what it looks like, you don’t have to subscribe.

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Why I Feel Guilty About Not Reading All of Your Stories,

I hope you understand why.

Photo by Richard Horne on Unsplash

There are just so many hours in a day when I read stories on Medium. I prioritize the stories from writers I frequently engage with and subscribe to. However, there are times when they publish something that does not pertain to me. I don’t want to give them fake engagement, so I don’t read the story, and then I feel guilty about not supporting them.

I am retired. I don’t have to work to supplement my Social Security and pensions. I am enjoying my “Golden Years”—or, what time I have left. Part of being retired is the freedom from the unnecessary stress that often comes with a full-time job.

I have chosen writing on Medium as one of my hobbies, but not the only hobby. I write to share my thoughts and opinions and, most importantly, to keep my mind active. I don’t need the money, but who doesn’t like a little extra spending money?

But like many on this platform, I get caught up in the rush to produce, earn more money, compete with the “big” accounts, or solve the mystery of the Medium algorithm. I don’t want to get back into another rat race, and I get upset with myself when I begin to stress out over what I am or am not doing on this platform.

I don’t need to worry about any other goals other than staying healthy and alive. I don’t need to improve my productivity or set any new career goals. I also don’t need self-improvement courses or self-help tips. I am not saying stories about these topics are not helpful, but they are not for me.

As far as “side hustles” go, I guess you could call my Newsletter, Steve Sovie’s World, a side hustle. But for me, it’s like an experiment or a new toy. It will not make or break me as a writer or content creator. I do enjoy reading what others are doing regarding their efforts to improve their writing or earn a little extra money, but I don’t intend to change direction at this point in my life.

When I don’t read specific articles on the topics I have mentioned above, I feel guilty, but I am not inferring I don’t support the writers or that what they say is unimportant. I’m just an old guy passing the time of day, spouting off about politics or whatever is on my mind on a particular day, maybe wishing I had the youth, energy, and abilities to write for a career. So please don’t take offense if I don’t read every one of your stories. I hope you understand. Thank you.

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There’s One Person Who Could End World Hunger,

But would he do it?

Photo by Tucker Tangeman on Unsplash

According to the UN World Food Program, it would take $40 billion a year to end world hunger by 2030. That’s a lot of money. But it could be possible if the wealthiest countries in the world and the billionaires of the world contributed.

There is however one man, who could afford to wipe out world hunger, all by himself, and still have enough money left over to remain a billionaire. Yup, you’re right, it’s Elon Musk. But would he do it?

According to Investopedia Elon Musk is estimated to have a net worth of $335 billion. After contributing $240 billion over the next six years, he would still have $95 billion left, even after paying $130 million to have Trump win the election.

Musk, in 2001, has set up the Musk Fund Charity, but according to Philanthropy News Digest, Musk hasn’t even given away enough of his $7 million charity to qualify for tax breaks. His charity doesn’t even have any employees! According to Forbes 400 List of the wealthiest Americans, Musk gives less than 1% of his wealth, the least of any of the contributors. This is like a person earning $500 per year donating less than $500 a year to charity.

I just thought I’d point this out to people who think billionaires running our government will have your best interests in mind when they get their big tax cuts. Remember him when you file your income taxes.

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X is Sinking Faster Than the Titanic

Are you jumping ship?

Photo by Jason Mavrommatis on Unsplash

X, formerly Twitter, is one of the largest social media sites on the Internet, but it is undergoing some changes. Since Elon Musk bought X and turned it into a misinformation platform, exposing extreme Conservative and racist rhetoric. After Trump’s reelection, X’s membership has been dwindling at an extraordinary rate.

I have been on X for quite some time and had 14K followers at one time. I wasn’t an avid follower, but I checked political happenings there on a regular basis. I occasionally created a post, which usually went unnoticed. I also shared my Medium stories on X, which, once again, fell on blind eyes.

Today, I checked the number of followers I now have and noticed they have dropped to 12K, having lost 3K followers. I am not bothered one bit, as I plan on soon leaving the site. I have signed up for BlueSky Social Network, which is similar to X but a more comfortable platform for me to share my political and societal views. I probably won’t do much better sharing my stories here than I did on X. I also don’t plan on spending much time there.

Are any of my fellow Medium members also members of X, and do you plan on staying or leaving?

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Have You Ever Wondered About What Your Fellow Medium Members are Really Like?

Profiles can’t reveal everything.

Photo by Julia Fiander on Unsplash

Last night, having trouble falling asleep, I began thinking about some of the people I engage with or have engaged with during my many-year journey on Medium. Do I really know who they are or what they stand for? Do I know how they spend their days, on or off Medium? Do I really want to know?

Most people I knew or interacted with when I first started writing here have vanished. I don’t know if they went elsewhere to write or quit this platform. I have remained in touch with only one of my acquaintances from the early days.

Presently, I can count on one hand the number of writers I would consider to be “friends” with, much like most of my Facebook “friends”. I think they know who they are.

I mostly learn about people through reading their profiles, but many times, these profiles don’t give an accurate picture. I truly get to know people when I read what they publish or through their comments.

I have discovered that a few people are not who they say they are. In one instance a fellow writer I read and followed, turned out to be rather homophobic. I am gay and liberal, and I don’t try to hide that fact. After publishing a few posts advocating gay rights, I noticed this person quit engaging with my stories. He suddenly started publishing stories where he pointed out that he was a “normal straight person”—a red flag.

Conversely, I got to know a writer, by whose profile, appeared to be a quiet and meek individual. But, in time, after reading her stories and comments, I found out she was really a liberal firebrand. I’m so happy I connected with her.

Sometimes, I wonder what some of the people I engage with do when they are not on Medium. Do they have a full-time job, a family, hobbies, etc.? There are writers who seem to be on Medium all day and all night long. They seem to be pumping out stories like a machine gun. Are they real people? Are they one person or a combination of people?

I didn’t intend to mention any names here, but I feel I must do so. I often wonder if he eats or sleeps or if he is a real person. He is quite a prolific writer, editor, reader, highlighter, and commenter, if he does indeed exist. I’m talking about Marcus Musick. He is what his writings and profiles say he is.

There are many wonderful people on this platform who we will never get the chance to know. I only wish there was a way to connect directly to them, such as a direct messaging option, other than leaving a private note on one of their stories. It would be nice if we could follow someone by seeing what interests or passions they have, instead of Medium suggesting articles to read. But I guess that is asking too much of Medium.

What do you think?

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How Do You Ruin a Perfectly Good Day?

Contact the DMV!

Photo by Yosh Ginsu on Unsplash

Today started off well. The rain had stopped, and the sun started peeking through the clouds. I felt energetic and made my way to the gym. 

When I came home for lunch, everything started going downhill. My husband told me that we never received the new vehicle registration for one of our cars. Since it was registered in my name, he asked me to contact the New York State DMV and get a copy. This sent shutters down my spine. Contacting the DMV is like running full speed into a brick wall!

I got onto my laptop and pulled up the DMV site. I logged in, and naturally, it said, “Incorrect user name or password.” Okay, I’ll say I forgot my password. Good. That didn’t take long. Finally, I was able to sign in.

All of my personal information, including my phone number and address, was correct. Great, I’m back in business. Now I have to check my registration. I click on “Vehicles,” and guess what? According to the DMV, I don’t have any cars! 

Then I remembered I had this same problem two years ago with the same registration. At that time, they discovered I had two DMV accounts, one with my middle name spelled out and the other with just my middle initial. The DMV representative told me she would merge the two accounts so I wouldn’t lose any information. Well, apparently, that never happened.

Now, I have to start all over with the same bullshit. There is no way to address the problem using the website, so I have to call. Calling the DMV could take years! After several unsuccessful attempts, I realized today is Veterans Day, and the office is closed! Oh great, tomorrow’s ruined too.

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