I’m Shahgol

Welcome to My Zig Zag Zen Blog:

I like to find positive good days of sunshine, feel all the moments, and show you there is good in the world! Let’s do this together.

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• • •Bastille Day 7.14.23

Zig Zagged through Tyson’s Corner this morning for my first 9:30 am session at Honest Soul Yoga with Alex. I haven’t done yoga since late 2020.

I loved how she led the class with breath flows and allowed positivity to radiate through with every motion.

I felt like it was a twister session since I was a little bit rusty in my yoga game. But all in all, I’m glad I’m back on my mat with my feet planted firmly on the ground. I feel very free again and most important, gaining my center.

I zig zagged my way back to Bethesda since my mom; Shahla had a hair appointment with Damien. He was our hair stylist over 20 years ago and he was the first person I allowed to highlight my hair before my brother’s wedding in December 2002.

Of course he didn’t remember us but thanks to the web and social media we were able to find him again.

I also went to this small business next door called Blue House. If the name is not correct, I will correct in new post. But they have all these fun cookbooks including Stanley Tucci’s. I love to collect cookbooks even though I don’t cook. My mom calls me “The Undomesticated One”

Who needs to cook these days when there are so many amazing restaurants in the DMV which stands for D.C., Maryland, and Virginia.

Another must is to have dessert before dinner. I went to this Gelato place next door to OISHY. I had the chocolate hazelnut gelato.

Then I finally had dinner at this Ramen place called OISHY. I’ve been trying to go here since seeing the location on my birthday last November. I had the tonkatsu ramen which is my favorite thing even on a hot summer’s day! I could dive right in and drink it all if it wasn’t so pipin hot. They made it just right too since it was not that salty like other ramens. OISHY was a well suited name for the Ramen place since it means delicious in Japanese. But in Japan we would say “OISHY DESU” which if my memory serves me right means “This is delicious”

Well, the last part of my day, I had to zig zag zen back home in a thunderstorm which brings me at the perfect space to write more for my blog. Feel free to follow along more!! Until the next zig zag time: Have a Good Weekend and don’t forget to smile and enjoy the views!!

…Wednesday: July 19, 2023

Lessons I wish I knew at 25:

1: Don’t be late

2: Don’t Judge a book by its cover

3: Stay Consistent with Diet and Exercise

4: Stay True to yourself and family

I wanted to do another yoga session but due to 495 south traffic I was 6 min late and learned the hard way, yoga means business. Just like anything else in life, you have to be on time for the mat practice. They lock their doors due to security purposes right at 9:30 when class starts.

So rather than sulk, I decided to go get some coffee right next door at the East West Cafe. Keep in mind, it’s not that fancy from the outside, but once you go inside it feels like you are transported straight into Istanbul, Turkey. The walls had paintings of Turkey all over it.

It was filled with the smells of pastries and Turkish coffee. Little did I know when Essie; (the waitress who has only been in America for four months) gave me the East West Cafe Menu that it had a plethora of omelette and sandwich options. I ended up getting the salmon omelette with London fog coffee. It was such a delight, even though I missed my yoga session I was happy to nourish my body and soul with protein.

…Thursday: July 20, 2023

Had an 8 am dentist appointment in Vienna, Virginia. I was late again, but the dental hygienist; Tracy was very welcoming and gentle as we tried to navigate this new machine that scanned my teeth for an X-ray. It was massive and not like the old way when they put the iron cape on you and take a picture, cone again to change the angle, and take another picture of your mouth. This was a big scan and although they had to keep lowering it to fit my 4’9 frame, it was all good. It felt quite strange and scary at the same time with the scanner circling your head but I had to stand still, breathe and it was all done.

Dr. Pham came; a new very young dentist who seemed like a gentle old soul as he was humming to the great, Nat King Cole singing Rambling Rose! I asked him who he was the singer just to make sure, and he said “ You don’t know the great Nat King Cole”? Of course, I do! But, I wasn’t expecting a young dentist cleaning my teeth humming to NKC. I guess it calms him down and also calms us down as he revealed I have a moderate cavity and have to get a new crown on December 22nd. It’s at the end of the year before my insurance ends.

After that, I had a-lot more time before I got to work so I went to Manhattan Bagel in Vienna, Va. and ordered an avocado bagel with a cold coffee brew. It was alright but I learned the vegetable ranch cream cheese spread is the bomb. Then, with a little more time to spare, I went to treat myself to some self love with a pedicure at Allure nail spa. The ladies were all so cheerful and all had a bright smile on their face on a sunny Thursday morning. I was their first customer.They all dressed up in hot pinks and red especially; Sami who helped me get my toes so pretty in Red #13. We watched some best of the X factor and America’s Got Talent and it was all about comedy and not taking life and yourself so seriously.

…Friday: July 21, 2023

On Friday, I met up with my great friend; Erin who is more like a sister I have known since 2006.

I worked with her sister; Leilani in Tokyo, Japan and we found out that we both had family living nearby in Maryland. I was able to meet her entire family and siblings; Erin and Marc when I came back home to America in 2008. One thing that will never change is our love for Japanese food so we went to this new place called Gyuzo in Rockville Town Square.

We got karage (Japanese fried chicken) as an appetizer but as Christopher said, “it looks just like the nuggets we get at Chick Fil Et”

I ordered the bento lunch box for $25! It had salad with seaweed on top, rice bowl, and two sushi tacos. Just the right portion. Then we went to this new Kung Fu Tea in the area for some bubble tea but I ended up getting a refreshing raspberry spritzer with no sugar. This Kung Fu had a cool concept with video games and play box station.

We then went to the Montgomery County library and got three books!

1. Here I Am by Jonathan Safran Foer

2. East of Eden by John Steinbeck

3. The Art of Racing in the Rain Garth Stein

I want to read Sapian but it’s on wait list.