Fortune Cookie

Rule #2

2009-10-28T15:00:00.000-07:00

Fortune Cookie Rule: You cannot pick your own fortune cookie.

Okay, I know I didn’t make this rule up because, to me, it doesn’t make sense (and also because I heard it from my co-worker). According to her, you can’t pick your own fortune cookie because it’s like picking your own destiny. And destiny isn’t something you pick. It is assign to you.

Now, first, I believe we all are in charge of our own destiny to some level. And since we can’t control every bit of our destiny, we should at least try to control small things like… selecting a fortune cookie. If we can’t even control which cookie we eat (therefore which fortune to get), what can we control?

And, second, I have an issue with this rule because it doesn’t tell us what happens if we don’t follow the rule. Does the fortune become invalid? Does the opposite of the stated fortune will happen? If there are two of us, each picked our own fortune cookie, does the fortune of the other person really was for me? Who knows.

For these reasons, I decided to disregard this rule. (Also because my frequent fortune cookie eating companion (my sister) picks her own fortune cookie and start eating it before I finish saying this rule.)

Now I wonder… Has anyone else heard this rule before?

Rule of a Fortune Cookie

2009-10-25T11:31:00.000-07:00

I always thought it is a common knowledge that one has to finish an entire fortune cookie in order for the fortune from it to come true. However, judging from the reaction of my sister, this “knowledge” wasn’t as common as I thought.

“What?!?”

Was the exact word from my sister’s mouth when I told her to finish the cookie or the fortune will not come true.

“What kind of theory is that?!?” She started to laugh as she looked at me in disbelief.

I was shocked to realize her lack of knowledge about the world of fortune cookie.

“It is a common sense.” I told her. “You must finish the cookie in order for the fortune to take effect. So if you don’t like the fortune, don’t finish the cookie. But if you want the fortune to come true, you got to finish it.”

My sister continued to laugh, and after nearly a minute of a good laugh, she finally calmed herself down enough to ask,

“Where did you hear that?”

“…” I couldn’t answer. Come to think of it, I can’t remember when, where or how I acquired this knowledge. I tried to remember how long I have known this *rule*. I think I heard someone else said it in the past, but I couldn’t remember who. In fact, I’m not even sure if I wasn’t the one who told this person about the golden rule.

Is that mean I made this rule up??? But it makes perfect sense… I wonder if anyone knows the origin of this rule is… I wonder if anyone else heard of this rule (aside from the ones who heard it from me…)

Message within the fortune cookie

2009-03-22T13:44:00.000-07:00

Lately, I have noticed increasing number of rather negative message from fortune cookies.

If I remember correctly, a message in a fortune cookie used to be either fortune or pseudo-wisdom, but not a negative comment. My friends and I used to joke about "bad luck" fortune cookie only when there is no message (thus no fortune) in the cookie. But the last few "fortunes" I got were either "You are doing something wront"-type comment or "Life is difficult, but there is a reason"-type wisdom. Either way, they just left me with a bad taste in my mouth.

Sure, I can refuse to finish the cookie (thus the "fortune" will not come true), but I do like that vanilla cookie... Maybe it is that particular brand... I don't know, but now come to think of it, I don't think I had ever seen that particular package of fortune cookie until a few months ago. I guess I have to try different restaurants to find out if that particular brand has the negative tone, or if the entire fortune cookie industry is shifting its message-writing pattern...

Party and Gift Ideas

2009-03-20T21:57:00.000-07:00

I am one of those people who enjoys fortune cookie for both its taste AND entertainment factor. Sure, what's written on a piece of paper in the cookie is just a "made up" stuff, and I don't let it run my life, but I always enjoy opening a cookie to see what it tells me. But I never even thought about all the different types of fortune cookies that are available these days until I did some searches for fortune cookie stores online the other day (I was craving for a fortune cookie).

There are different: flavors, colors, decorations, designs to match theme (e.g. holiday, occasion), packaging, and size. They even custom-make fortune cookie and let you write your own message (or fortune, of course). I didn't know how fancy a fortune cookie can be! For more party and gift ideas involving fortune cookies, try this page (http://www.kabukencafe.com/articles/fortune-cookie.htm).

Here are some of the fortune cookie stores I found:
http://www.fortunecookiestore.com/mall/c100/s2935/
http://www.goodfortunes.com/
http://www.fancyfortunecookies.com/

If you know of any fortune cookie store that you would like to recommend, please let me know.

Craving for a Fortune Cookie

2009-03-20T21:32:00.000-07:00

I, for some reasons, was craving for a fortune cookie the other day. I know, "fortune cookie" isn't something people usually crave for - it is something that just shows up at the end of a meal (usually chinese food). But that day, I just wanted to eat that crispy vanilla cookie. So, like normal people, I decided to go to Chinese restaurant (which brings a fortune cookie to the table with bill at the end of the meal), but then I started to think. I wasn't in a mood for Chinese food. I just wanted to eat a fortune cookie. Actually, I wanted to eat several fortune cookies...

At that moment, I started to think of another way to get a fortune cookie, well, fortune cookies. Well, after some exploration, I concluded that following is the ways to get fortune cookies without ordering Chinese food.

1. Go to a Chinese restaurant and just order fortune cookie (without meal). Yes, you can do that at many of the Chinese restaurants, and this probably is one of the fast way to get it.
2. You might be able to find fortune cookie at some of the Chinese grocery store. The trick is, you need to go to CHINESE grocery store. If it is Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese, etc. grocery store, they are much less likely to carry fortune cookies.
3. Order online. There are number of fortune cookie manufacturers who have online store. One downside is, you have to wait a few days minimum for the cookies to arrive to your door.
4. You can make your own fortune cookies. There are number of fortune cookie recipes online, so if you have time, energy and ingredients to make them, go for it!

If anyone knows other ways to get fortune cookies, please let me know.