It was time. Half a million honey buns, packs of instant noodles and peanut butter-jelly sandwiches later, my taste buds had given up and my stomach was threatening to quit. I sat there, my eyes switching between the clock and the recipe book, knowing that it was only a matter of time till the grumbling down below started. That recipe book was a parting gift from a hopeless mother, and by now it had gathered as much dust as a book of chemistry in a childrens' museum.
The kitchen till then was more of a room meant more for storage than for cooking. Something that had made it so alien a place, that when a friend came around asking for salt, I promptly handed him a jar of sugar. Which, by the way, he promptly used for his "spicy" fried rice recipe. We still argue about who is the greater genius between us. So it was only a matter of time then, till I decided to venture into it for what the room was meant for. Trouble is, I did not have a good feeling about it. That feeling you get when the thought of knowing something is going to go wrong is bashing up the thought of hoping it won't.
What followed was an endless discussion with the roommate about what is make-able. The list was not too long after we narrowed down our options, mostly on the basis of not being able to identify the ingredients.
"Ofcourse!" we sighed in unison as the book opened up to a recipe of the potato curry, probably the easiest thing there is to make. There we were, two fully grown guys, massive on appetite..clueless about cooking and hungry as if we hadn't had so much as a snack bar for years, all ready for battle. And battle we did. Jars flying off the shelf, clouds of powdered spices and vegetables being cut as if maniacs are having a go at them. At the end of it all, we stood in a place that seemed ravaged by a small storm. And what we had on the stove was nothing that remotely resembled potato curry.
"Umm..Smells nice!? We can call it tomato curry with potatoes and onions?".A trying-to-be cheerful me.
"OR! We can call it it tomato-curry-with-potatoes-and-onions-only-you-will-have!" shot back by friend before stomping off to his room. I could hear him a tear open a honey bun pack and chomp on it furiously. His face was that of a desperate man who had thought he found an oasis in a desert, but only learnt later that it was a mirage..
So as I enjoyed that dinner in sweet solace, I had one thing firmly decided in mind: Learn how to cook and be good at it. And although it was far from smooth sailing, full of more solitary dinners and new not-so-perfect "inventions", I can now safely say that I am not half as bad a cook that I was then. I can't say it is my favourite thing but I do enjoy it at times. After I moved and got a job, I actually started watching that food channel they have on telly. I can't imagine being a part of those cook-master-in-your-face-shouting shows though. A year ago, I would have probably faced his wrath by being tied to a rotating overhead fan.
So anyway, what starts like a nightmare doesn't always end like one. All's well that ends well isn't it? Experimenting in the kitchen has taken a whole new meaning now. It does not mean "Try cooking". Rather, it means "Try cooking something differently".
And when you have that odd bad day in the office,a pack of instant noodles awaits!
So it's been a while since I have written again. Out of ideas? Nope. Short of time? Yep. But that's not an excuse when a certain someone has "tagged" you to answer questions about yourself and warned you that if you don't, you will probably end up inside a can of smoked tuna. This person is very dangerous, especially when a few pints down. So here goes:
1. When you looked at yourself in the mirror today, what was the first thing you thought?
"Damn..Can't see!ALL THIS MIST!" (I only have a mirror in my bathroom)
2. How much cash do you have in your wallet right now?
A 2 dollar bill (seriously, very genuine) and a 50 rupee note :)
3. What’s a word that rhymes with DOOR?
Mother-of-four.
4. Who is the 4th person on your missed call list on your cell phone?
OoH! Unknown number. Dang telemarketers!!
5. What is your favorite ring tone on your phone?
Paper Planes - MIA
6. What are you wearing right now?
Jeans and a Tee
7. Do you label yourself?
What am I a store item?
8. Name the brand of the shoes you currently own?
I'm not into brands. Those Look-I'm-so-sporty-light-I-can-be-called-feather and I'm-more-fashionable-than-you brands are not my thing. I like the If-I-kick-you-with-this-you-will-be-horizontal-forever brand though.
9.Bright or Dark Room?
Bright. Interesting question. Answer would have been different two days ago but I ran into walls in a dark room on three separate occasions and my face did not enjoy that.
10. What do you think about the person who took this survey before you?
I think I answered this already! If I remember correctly, I said she was nice. Nice person, yes.
11. What does your watch look like?
I'm a big watch-loser. I almost drove my dad to bankruptcy buying new watches and losing them. So now I use my cellphone. My watch looks like my cellphone.
12. What were you doing at midnight last night?
Planet of the apes! I was the ape leader leading the ape army. I remember because my assisstant said "Sir, it's midnight! Time for a midnight banana snack!"..hm! I think it was a dream.
13. What did your last text message you received on your cell say?
"Pay your cellphone bill by this date or you will incur such a huge fee that you'd rather bury yourself" or something on those lines from my network provider.
14. What’s a word that you say a lot?
"the"
15. Who told you he/she loved you last?(please exclude spouse , family, children)
Ape-women. Three of em. Yes ape army leaders are in demand on that planet.
16. Last furry thing you touched?
My...head? Fur = Hair so Hair = Fur methinks.
17. Favorite age you have been so far?
15-16. Tenth grade. Breaking voice. Confused souls. Multiple cases of mischief in class. Exasperated teachers. Laughs. Friends.
18. What was the last thing you said to someone?
"The" :P
19.The last song you listened to?
Learning to fly - Pink Floyd
20. Where did you live in 1987?
Bombay, India.
21. Are you jealous of anyone?
Yes. Birds.
22. Is anyone jealous of you?
Yes. Assisstant leader ape-man.
23. Name three things that you have on you at all times?
Keys, phone, happy thoughts.
24. What’s your favorite town/city?
Bombay
25. When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper and mailed it?
This quiz is just too long and this question, I think, is irrelevant so I'm ignoring it.
26. Can you change the oil in a car?
Yep.
27. Your first love/big crush: what is the last thing you heard about him/her?
My acoustic guitar, Rose. She is back home in Bombay, missing me :(
28. Does anything hurt on your body right now?
Brain.
29.What is your current desktop picture?
Office laptop - Photo of the Gateway of India.
Personal laptop - Changes. Now its random parabolic images in blue. Bumble bees. Eiffel Tower. Golf Range.
30. Have you been burnt by love?
Nope.
