for the love of having a hobby you’re bad at
a look into my pottery monstrosities and a review of Wusong Road in Harvard Sq
The beginning of this month was hot for September and all I wanted to do was lounge in front of the AC, but today it rained and the bike path to Harvard Square was littered with yellow leaves, the first to hit the ground this year. I’m a summer girl through and through, but I can’t help being charmed by New England’s dramatic introduction to autumn.
Beyond the gorgeous change in scenery, I can always depend on September to get me into an academic mood. Even though I’ve been out of school for five years (RIP me) I want to shop for stationary, I want a blazer, I want to knit a beautiful scarf and buy that one perfect candle that captures the magic of the ~fall feeling~. After a lazy and self indulgent summer (and spring, tbh), my brain is itching to be stimulated and challenged in new ways.
My favourite way to quell my idiotic urge to maybe consider getting a master’s degree is to enroll in lower stakes (and cheaper) local or online classes. This year, I’m thinking about taking up French classes again at the French Cultural Centre, I’m keeping a hawk’s eye on Gather Here’s class calendar for a chance to learn how to sew a quilt, and I’m considering a subscription to either Mubi or the Criterion Channel to delve into classic and indie films.
Taking classes is also a great way to connect with the local community and maybe make new friends. It’s a great time to take a wine class (look for one offered through your favourite local wine shops, wine bars, or wine-focused restaurants), take adult education classes at a community centre, or start attending a free speaker series at a university near you (hello, Harvard Science and Cooking Lectures and BU’s Pepin Series [webpage outdated]).
For me, it’s also time to dust off my copy of The Artist’s Way (thank you for the gift, Willow!) and a book of photography prompts to motivate me to continue creating as we head into the dreary months. Heck, I want to go the DIY route and assemble a mini syllabus comprised of a couple of food books and cookbooks on my bookshelf (plus maybe a podcast and some articles) into a “food education” class, just for myself to help with writing this newsletter.
Beyond getting better at a skill you value, have you considered picking up something you’re bad at and just doing it anyway? A friend brought this up a few weeks ago during a creative group I’m a part of, that kids are dropped into brand new situations (new schools, new classes, new after school activities) and expected to do their best and just go with it. As adults though, there’s a sense of embarrassment about being bad at something. We have limited time and limited finances and we’re expected to spend these precious resources on career advancement, family, home. But what about just finding something that isn’t tied to your self-esteem and giving it a shot for a year?
For me, that thing is pottery. I started taking pottery classes in the winter of 2021 and later became a member at the same pottery studio, and let me tell you, nearly 2 years later and I’m still really bad at throwing clay. I wasn’t very good for the 6 months of classes I took and I’m still not good, but pottery as a hobby has only had a positive effect on me.
But, as a kid who was a “pleasure to have in class,”* how is it possible that I’m ok being so obviously terrible at something?
The reality of having a hobby that you’re bad at as an adult is that it’s SO freeing. At the pottery studio, there are no stakes. I don’t depend on my ceramics for an income and I’m not employed by the studio either. Robert, my instructor, can’t do anything negative regarding my too-heavy bowls and wonky mugs: he can’t grade me nor fire me. Nothing depends on this hobby, especially not my self esteem.
Pottery, unlike my writing, photography, and video skills, is not something tied to my self worth as a creative person. I need my writing to be adequate but I’m ok throwing some more unstable vases and weird cups for another year. It’s delightful to play with mud and form clay like a deity, both of which were things I did as a child for play. Coming back to “mud” as a medium as an adult has been revitalizing.
I’m a huge fan of the concept of the “third place,” or a spot you can hang out that is not home (the “first” place), or work (the “second” place), but ever since the onset of the pandemic, most of us have lost our third place(s) — either due to the closure of so many local businesses or due to our own lack of comfort for being indoors in public spaces. Heck, some of us even lost our second space, the workplace, and started working from home full time, turning our apartments into true live-work spaces. The pottery studio offers a chance to get out of the house and make things for myself. Through the classes I took, I made a friend, and the studio has become a genuine “third place” where I can hang out and escape the obligations of work and home.
Do you have a hobby that you’re not that great at, or a hobby you’re too scared to take up because you might not be perfect at it? Let me know below!
*Olivia has a brand new newsletter and it’s lovely! Check out her first post, an ode to shower fruit, here!
Delight at Wusong Road
In short, at Wusong Road, the vibes are excellent, the food is mid, but that’s not going to stop me from going in again to try more of their tiki drinks and Chinese-American fare.
Wusong Road in Harvard Square embodies almost everything I want out of a restaurant — an affordable menu, cohesive decor, fun drinks, great service, delightful food presentation, and fun little surprises along the way — except for great food. In short, at Wusong Road, the vibes are excellent, the food is mid, but that’s not going to stop me from going in again to try more of their tiki drinks and Chinese-American fare.
Wusong Road may just be my new neighbourhood cocktail spot. It seems as good a place as any to grab a weekday post-work drink (RIP Our Fathers, where Olivia and I could reliably head for cocktails in Allston). The music isn’t overwhelmingly loud, there’s tons of dishes and drinks for under $20 a piece, and just because the food doesn’t blow me away doesn’t mean it’s bad. The restaurant is gorgeous with a great atmosphere that’s worth coming back to alone. The concept for this spot is heavily inspired by Chef and owner Jason Doo growing up in his parents’ own Chinese restaurant in Malden in the ‘90s, a time when “there was a strong and largely unspoken connection between tropical fruit forward cocktails (the Tiki or ‘Polynesian’ aesthetic) and American Chinese restaurants,” according to the restaurant’s “about” page.
I don’t want to give away all the surprises for you, but there’s delightful little touches that made the meal into a special occasion. I visited with my partner on a misty Tuesday night without a reservation and we still had to wait 25 minutes for a table. The interior really does transport you to another world, albeit a fictional one: the decor is a mishmash of Chinese paraphernalia, Tiki motifs, a stairway built to resemble a Japanese monkey sanctuary, and Hawaiian themes throughout. It’s the sort of restaurant decor that expects patrons to just agree that the restaurant is decorated in a generally “exotic” Asian theme, without naming the exact cuisine or the actual countries where the decor originates. Doo explains on the restaurant’s website that “Wusong Road is not intended to be a ‘political’ or ‘social’ commentary on Tiki culture. Our aesthetic is tropical and has been inspired by trips to Asia, and though we may not have actual ‘Tiki’ carvings in the restaurant, Wusong Road does celebrates the diverse tableau of the Asian American restaurant experience.” In short, just go with it.
I’ll leave it to someone else to call out whether this is problematic, but for me, I just adore a restaurant that picks an extensive theme and sticks to it—there’s a severe lack of places like that in Boston, where only a select few places pay full attention to their interior decor and food (while some places pay attention to neither!).
The food itself has a mix of a few classics you would find at your favourite Chinese restaurant (RIP Gourmet Dumpling House :’( ) like scallion pancakes and “peking ravioli,” a cheeky reference to when Chinese food was first popping up in Mass and legendary business owner Joyce Chen was trying to sell Italian immigrants on her food. The baos (choose between pulled pork, crispy fried chicken, or a halloumi cheese bao duo) ($14.88 for 2) are adorable and artfully made but lack the dainty, melt-in-the-mouth quality that my favourite baos espouse. The SangSom Sparerib ($16.88) I ordered lacked tenderness and sauciness and my partner’s Uncle Quan’s Fried Rice ($14.88) (modified to be vegetarian) was flavourful but had an imbalance of a lot more rice than veggies.
Despite all this, the prices are fair and the portion sizes are generous, allowing me to take leftovers home to make a quick lunch the next day. The menu works if you’re solo but would be better for sharing a rice or noodle dish alongside a meat dish with your companions.
For me, the tiki drinks really made the meal. The cocktails have cheeky little names with a helpful rating underneath of how strong each drink is. There’s three options for Mai Tais, each from a different decade when the drink was popular, with one option even served in an actual Chinese takeout container.
Overall, the restaurant succeeds at what it intends to do: the food is affordable and nostalgic, the drinks are fun, and the atmosphere does transport us back in time to when tiki drinks were in fashion. I don’t believe that every meal out has to be mind blowing, but if time at a restaurant could be at least beautiful and entertaining and fun, then that’s good enough for me.
Love this so much! Definitely looking for that thing that I like doing that I don’t have to be good at. Think I’ll try crocheting! Also, you are a fantastic writer, LaLa!
I love this! I found myself picking up my watercolors again recently. The return "to mud as a medium" is so apt, squishing my paints around like a little kid again making weird shapes 💖
RIP Our Fathers 💔