Tag Archives: memories

Granola with Yogurt and Banana Slices

October 25, 2025 Kasanje 1 Comment

I had a couple of Zoom meetings this morning at NC time (-4 UTC). So I woke up at 5:50 and logged in for those. They ran for just under 3 hours.

Afterwards I ate a light breakfast of granola and banana slices in yogurt. I added some hazelnut milk to balance it out.

Around eleven a friend of my mother’s, Julia, came and picked me up and we went downtown to Tommy Knockers for brunch with another friend of my mother, Ruby.

I had the Scotch Egg, a hard boiled egg wrapped in ground bacon and spices, topped with mustard and paprika. The eggs lay on a bed of garden greens quite stylishly.

To drink I ordered the tap cider, Alpenfire. I didn’t care for the cider, it was a bit like light beer. It didn’t have much body or depth of flavor. It was maybe like a semisweet apple juice.

It was a very nice opportunity to meet up with old family friends. Ruby’s son, Cedar, was my best friend growing up. I still consider him my best friend, that’s a position that could never be replaced.

Julia’s daughter, Nina, was another young friend. I can remember playing together with dolls and LEGOs. Her father raised stick insects and had games on his computer.

I recall watching the premiere of Powerpuff Girls at Julia’s house. They had a special event running on Cartoon Network with some prize giveaway you had to call in for.

Fond memories. I got a chance to inquire about the other children I had interactions with. Kali lives in Tennessee, Cherese is in Florida, and Becky is in Oklahoma. Rebekah is still local and something of a sports prodigy.

After the meal we must have chatted for an hour and a half. All sorts of topics. Quite pleasant.

I was able to get a phone number of another friend’s sister, Lily, and I left her a voicemail inquiring about her brother, Lang. Hopefully we can meet before my flight home on Monday.

During the drive back to my father’s house we stopped at Laurel Groves, the cemetery, and I had a chance to pay my respects to my best friend, Cedar. He was just a year younger than I. It’s been 13 years since he passed. I wish I had kept in contact with him more.

There are many people I have lost contact with. I recall my first email was a Hotmail address. I lost the password sometime around going to Job Corps on February 5th, 2005.

At the center I had a Yahoo address and I was introduced to MySpace. I recall connecting with mostly students at the center and maybe someone from Port Townsend.

Sometime in 2006 the kids around me started talking about moving to Facebook. I remember logging in to MySpace and someone snorting and saying, “you still use that?”

I’ve always been regarded by others as being good with computers, but I’ve never been good with keeping up with trends. I expected Social Media to be a fad that would eventually go away.

Anyways, Facebook was quite effective. I was able to put in my schooling history and it brought up the profiles of several friends. That was quite impressive compared to MySpace.

I used the Yahoo email until I moved to NC. At some point the account became inundated with spam and I made an Outlook account. I initially try recovering my Hotmail, but I couldn’t quite remember how it was spelled, Aquila13 or something.

I still use the Outlook account these days. I tried getting back into the Yahoo, but it’s totally gone. I think Yahoo went away at some point. Been sold off or something. But the email address wasn’t recoverable.

So, unfortunately, I was never able to copy my contact lists over between any of the accounts. Additionally, I had multiple technology scares that led me to purging my social media accounts time and again over the years. Now I don’t use it at all.

Now with all the AI stuff going around I just don’t feel like I understand computers anymore. The last technology hurdle I successfully passed was Bitcoin. I chased the mining game from 2013-2020.

I should have just held with the HODL crowd. If you count all the Bitcoin and Litecoin I ever bought, I would have a multimillionaire by now. Thousands of coins to pay for GPUs and then ASIC mining rigs that were soon obsolete.

My last mistake was liquidating my last coins to cover the EIDL loans and other bills. I did it two months before Bitcoin hit $10k. I could have paid my debts and had plenty of cash left over.

Went off on a tangent again, sorry.

Daily Writing

My oldest thing? Pride, fresh from the dryer.

June 16, 2024 Kasanje 1 Comment

What’s the oldest thing you own that you still use daily?

I had the privilege of attending the Tongue Point Job Corps Center in Astoria, OR back in 2005-07.

During my time at the center I completed two basic vocational certificates in Landscaping and Facility Maintenance.

Having reached the highest rank, three times in a row, I received a monogram sweatshirt and a ring that I still wear 18 years later.

Ranking

The Center used a scoring system with ranks to determine the various privileges or limitations set to each student (Red, Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum).

If you got in trouble (misconduct or rule breaking) you could get written up and possibly bumped down a grade.

But, if you performed well, either in your vocation or the dorms, then your average score could move you up in the rankings.

Everyone arriving at the Center would start at Silver and some might drop to Bronze after their first evaluation.

Some students struggled with conforming with the structure. I had an advantage in having been in Boy Scouts and possessing a “follower” mentality.

Limitations

I think Red was an average of 1.0 and you would be on the cusp of termination unless you improved by the next evaluation period.

If you were Red you were not allowed to go to town. I think Bronze could only leave on the weekends.

Silver could could go any day and was the standard that most students hovered around.

Privileges

If you managed to reach the high rank of Gold then you would get to stand at the front of the line for the bus to town.

You could even bump someone else off the bus if it was full and you arrived late. The “bumped” individual needed to be lower rank than you.

You had first dibs on events held by the recreation facility.

I remember going to my first (and last) Monster Truck rally, without ear plugs, thanks to my Gold status. I also attended some Ice Hockey matches in Portland at the Rose Bowl (Quarter).

Lastly, if you somehow reached Platinum, the first time you received some points that could be exchanged for items in a gift shop located in the main office.

Sometimes if a student did something really special they would be awarded points. I think we also received points each evaluation that resulted in Gold/Platinum status, but I could be mistaken. 18 years is a long time.

Another prize was getting a seat at the restaurant run by the culinary students for lunch. The Center’s Director would often buy a meal ticket and bring guests from the community to show off the students hard work.

Instructors were also able to nominate one of their students to have lunch at the restaurant. Other staff members would often buy a ticket to eat there.

Upon reaching Platinum a second time, students were eligible to redeem their points to get the monogram sweatshirt which has the school’s “Bridge to Success” motto on it.

Finally, we come to the third Platinum prize.

The coveted school ring with a blue stone for boys or a red for girls. You still needed to have enough points saved up to buy the ring, but I think it was worth it.

Achievements

After completing my trades I applied to and was accepted into the Centers college program which allowed me to attend Clatsop Community College for three semesters.

I successfully ran for student government and was the VP of Residence 3 for half a term before moving up to Dorm President.

I also had a stint as the floor leader and as a Student Ambassador.

I took part in a local radio program featuring student voices.

I had the opportunity to attend a conference in Washington DC with other student leaders.

I volunteered with fellow students in a restoration project for the Lewis and Clark trail and the construction of a playground in downtown Astoria.

I was the first student to request and complete an 8-week internship with the US Coast Guard at their Air Base and Family Housing.

I received a plaque for overcoming personal challenges at the 2006 Youth Recognition Awards Banquet in Clatsop County.

After TPJCC

After I left the center I went on the classic “European Trip.”

I got visit family in England, tour castles in France, and ride the trains in Spain.On

Upon my return state-side, I settled in North Carolina and I’ve been here ever since. I’ll probably stay another 7 years before moving back to the Pacific Northwest.

That’s all for now. Thanks for your time.

Questions and comments please put them below and have a great Father’s Day.

Daily Writing

My most dear possessions

May 23, 2024 Kasanje Leave a comment

What personal belongings do you hold most dear?

That would have to be my photo albums and greeting cards. I keep these in a safe and dry location in the house.

The albums include photos from my childhood and from my parent’s travels from before I was conceived.

They are precious memories that could not be replaced. They are also representative of my families history on both sides. I can trace my roots through the images seen on every page.

We pay respect to our ancestors every year by way of the Korean Jesa ceremony (제사), which my family has adopted.

Ancestor worship is rarely present in either cultures of my heritage. So, I was quite thankful to find a way to honor my forebears.

Daily Writing

Collections? They’re hidden.

May 22, 2024 Kasanje Leave a comment

Do you have any collections?

In drawers, in boxes, and stashed in closets. My collections, which started in childhood, and continued through adulthood are now simply nostalgia and a glimpse of fond memories.

I can still recall that fateful day in third grade when my older classmates brought out their Magic: The Gathering cards. It was still early 1995 and Magic was making a splash with the release of the Ice Age expansion.

I had up until this moment been happily paging through Archie comics during my break periods. However, Magic was a whole new world that I felt driven to explore.

I convinced my parents to give me the money to buy a booster pack. Once I got back to school the next day, I traded all the cards in the pack to my classmates. I left that day with enough cards for two decks.

I continued collecting Magic cards and playing matches with my friends until the end of Summer when I encountered a fellow who was nuts for Baseball cards.

Having contracted a similar strain of sports fever, I traded away my Magic collection for Baseball cards.

I must say, In my adult life I have often regretted that decision.

Later, when a friend was visiting from Canada, I got to see his Magic collection. This was the spark that reignited my love for Magic cards.

Sometime after getting into Magic, the Star Wars Trading Card Game (TCG) was released. My dearly departed best friend Cedar and I both collected and played Star Wars TCG.

I got my Executor Star Destroyer card from Cedar. Later I pulled an Executor variant from a booster pack. I still have the two cards in a hard case back to back.

In late 1996 I joined legions of aspiring Pokémon masters as I took up the Pokémon TCG. I had been quite enamored of the Gameboy game and the cartoon and so was more than happy to shell out my allowance for some more cardboard.

With Pokémon, I didn’t have anyone to play with so I taught my mother how to play and then bothered her whenever the mood struck.

After Pokémon it was Yu-Gi-Oh!, I pulled the foil Gate Guardian from my very first booster pack. That got me hooked.

This repeated with a few different card games that I don’t recall the names of and that likely no longer exist.

Aside from trading cards, I have an extensive collection of domestic and foreign coins including quite a bit of silver coinage.

Some coins came from working in retail while others have been gifted to me by relatives. I inherited my maternal grandfather’s coin collection and I’ve purchased some coins myself.

Notably, I purchased 5 sets of the Pride of Two Nations silver coin set which features Liberty and the Maple Leaf of Canada. I’m selling 3 of the sets on eBay.

To a lesser degree, I have dabbled in collecting bottle caps, stamps, liquor bottles, (photos of) custom license plates, stones, jewelry, and seashells. Oh, and the PEZ dispensers. I have the Star Wars, Lotro, and Harry Potter Limited Edition PEZ sets.

While I no longer possess them, I had a moderate collection of heavy blocks of sediment filled with semi-ancient shells and bones. I was quite enthralled by fossils for a period after an excavation when I was enrolled in Cub Scouts.

I’ll leave aside my digital collections of Pokémon, literature, and Internet Obscurity, and call this the end.

Thank you for taking the time to read my response to this writing prompt.

Questions or comments? Please leave them below.

Have a great day!

Daily Writing

Camping? Not since childhood.

May 4, 2024 Kasanje Leave a comment

Have you ever been camping?

I think my last time camping was when I in the Boy Scouts. We had a big meet up with the other area chapters which included the Sea Scouts.

I recall that on a different camping trip, I had left the tent door open and it rained. The tent and all my belongings were soaked through.

If my tentmate is reading this, I’m very sorry for the wet night.

My Hometown is Pretty

I spent the night and the next day shivering in my Long John’s near the campfire. A sorry sight indeed.

I also forgot that I had packed my spare (dry) clothes in the bottom of my pack. I was struggling with ADD back then and was often spacing out important details. I only noticed the clothes after I returned home and was unpacking.

Earlier camping trips included visiting the natural hot springs in the Olympic Mountains of WA. Skiing trips at Mount Rainier and Mount Baker.

There were a few camping trips that included my mother. We camped in the designated park area at Fort Warden. She preferred the comfortable surroundings of home for the most part.

One season, while on a beachside camping trip, in our small sailing skiff, my father raided a seagull nest for eggs. He fried them over the fire on an old steel barrel lid that he found washed up on the shoreline.

I experienced #Vanlife early on. My father had outfitted his old dodge van with a bed, wood stove, a gas cooker, and various other comforts of home.

We would sleep in the van when he went to craft shows like Best of the Northwest and to the Barter Fairs in Eastern Washington out near Tonasket, Yakima, and Omak.

Actually, I was born at the general hospital in Tonasket. Although my family eventually settled in Port Townsend, after their step van broke down, the sagebrush and scrub land was always a second home for me.

That’s it for today. Thank you for reading.

Questions and comments, please put them below, and have a great day.