too many dishes

You might wonder why I chose to call my blog 'too many dishes'.

 In Asia, we tend to use a lot of small plates for different side dishes, pickles, etc

...so when I have friends over for dinner, it sometimes looks like this:

which means my sink very quickly looks like that ^^

 

But that's not all! The first time I went to a restaurant with my colleagues in August 2007, I got really confused because people were saying my name all the time although they didn't seem to be talking to me nor about me. It turned out this chinese character '皿' means plate or dish and is read [ sa ra]. 

Since then, I often introduce myself to Japanese people that way:

'My name is Sarah. I like cooking and eating. Remember me as 皿.'