Dinner Date

The long-awaited dinner date finally took place at Tung Fong. :) :)

Meet the stars of the night:

Smoked Lamb

Chilli Garlic Crab Claws

Half-eaten, yes.

Llama Proverb: Good food does not wait for the auto focus.

Today has been a good day. Managed to complete a story that I'd actually want to read. It is just the right degree of silly too. :)

Plus, there is a possible weekend vacation in the offing. :D Fingers crossed.

Yes, I am smiley today.

The Cat's Whiskers

The meows loved Whiskas - Ocean Fish Flavour (They are fish-shaped too). Had no clue they'd go this gaga over it. Even the dog had a taste. Liked, but didn't love it.

Meanwhile, I loved these two songs. They really are this cat's whiskers for the day.

and

Yayness

Finally, a start-to-finish storyline, with smaller loopholes. Yay! Who knew that skipping a rerun of Masterchef Australia for A Model Life With Petra Nemcova held the answer! Strange how ideas strike when you least expect them.

Again. Yay! This could be my key out of the gotta-work-for-a-living rut. :D

Llama Tip: Head to the Monet Kitchen on Garfield.com for recipes to the famous feline's favourite foods.

What can I say, I'm a Garfield geek!

Gooey Chocolate Fudge

Made it again. Improvised on the butter. Added Hershey's white chocolates for thickness (because non-cook me added too much milk). Worried that it was too sweet.

Carted most of it to RR's. A sort of apology gift.

Came home. Ate a piece. Ate another. Loved it. :)

I impress myself.

Here's a photo. Not a very good one:

Gooey Chocolate Fudge: All that remains

Hates This Spoon-Feeding Business

Why is it that so many working people need to be spoon-fed? Why is inefficiency so widespread in Calcutta? And  why do people just assume things and not ask questions when needed? :|

Llama Tip - If you don't ask questions at the right time, here is what happens:

False Perceptions & Happiness

People will say anything.

Like how thin you've become (not in a good way), when actually you've gained 5 kilos. It doesn't matter that your double chin is now the size of a watermelon slice. They have decided. Reality can go to hell. Perception is where it's at.

Another good day - low on stress, high on happiness. Is it the regular blogging? The frequent-er RR diet? The return to chewing gum (mainly to destroy double chin)? Or the ever wonderful Dairy Milk chocolate? A bit of everything?

And this is something I have always wondered: What is it about Dairy Milk chocolate, that strange legal mood enhancer? How does it make the world seem all right? And how does it taste so perfect, every single time?

Maddy Monday

Health fright in the morning, followed by panicked cancellation of all work, followed by a lazy, chatty day with Maddy, followed by braving the rains for fish fry @ South Pole (they weren't that good), followed by still more rain.

It has been a good day. :) The kind that's perfect for this song:

Sunday Shaker

I woke this morning to a lazy Sunday. No work. All the time in the world to read the newspaper cover-to-cover (minus a few sports stories). Chicken curry lunch. Bits and pieces of superhero movies - The Dark Knight, Spiderman II and Harry Potter III - followed by the perfect Sunday afternoon movie, It's Complicated (Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin, Steve Martin).

It's Complicated

Meryl Streep runs a restaurant/bakery in the movie. So plenty of beautiful food - roast beef, mashed potatoes, chocolate croissants. Gave me some serious munchies. Post-lunch I've eaten papad chaat, Dairy Milk, and gone scouting for more food. Chewing gum has since stemmed the eat-streak.

But this Sunday had a surprise in store. A 6.8 magnitude earthquake even as I got to writing this post. It struck Sikkim. There were tremors in Kolkata.

You're not supposed to get excited at the prospect of natural disasters. But this was my first tremor. I was on floor, resting against the sofa with the lappie on my lap. Suddenly, I feel my head bobbing like those wobbly-headed dashboard toys. I close my eyes, and the sofa's trembling behind me. I call for the dog, "Sugar, are you scratching behind the couch?" Far from itching behind the three-seater, she is catching forty winks on the other couch.

I close my eyes. Place the lappie on the floor. Move away from the couch. Is my head spinning? I imagine the building tottering on its pillars and go "Nyaaah!" Sure, I've experienced one of Mumbai's worst floods ever. But earthquakes don't happen to me. It's probably that dormant heart condition acting up. Or is it?

Within the next few seconds, the tremors struck Facebook:

"Just felt earthquake tremors in Kolkata!"
"Who felt the quake?"
"Think there was a mild earthquake in Kolkata just now."

(Thank you Zuckerberg & Co. for Facebook. I wouldn't have suspected a quake otherwise.)

Since I last checked, there are a few panicky messages as well. Case in point: "God save us from earthquake." (NB: this would not be funny in North Bengal, Sikkim and other heavily-struck areas. )

Today is also Biswakarma Puja. But the god of craftsmen and architects seems unfazed by the tremors. His devotees are still playing music and dhaks to the aftershocks.

[NB: Hope damage and casualties are minimal in all the quake-struck areas.]

To-Do List Successes

Chicken Wanton Noodle Soup - Done
Chilli Roast Pork - Done
Stray Doggy Hunting - Done
Date - Done
Blog post - Done

Today has been productive.

Chicken Wanton Noodle Soup

The wantons are hiding under the noodles.

Bad lighting = not-so-hot photo :|

Doggy Hunting

Tomorrow we go doggy hunting. No guns. No knives. No woomeras. Just the friendly neighborhood shutterbug and I.

We will be hitting all the canine hot-spots. Hope to catch a good-looking gang of four-leggers for a quick photo shoot.

STRAY DOGS ONLY!

Think you fit the bill? Let us know.

Pretty doggies like the one below will get preference:

Photo Courtesy: Rishi Roy

Bored Out Of His Mind

Thomas has been meowing all week.

"I am bored," he meows. "Bored of lazing, chasing the other cat, sneaking a nap, eating liver-and-rice. Bored bored bored!"

It began last Tuesday:

"I need excitement in my life," meowed Thomas.

"Catch rats," muttered the dog, his housemate.

Thomas was not interested, "Too much work." So saying, he curled up on the sofa for his eighteenth nap of the day.

He woke from the nap with an idea: "The stupid dog was actually on to something."

***

He has been meowing since. Says he wants a rat "to pet and cuddle and play with".

As if. :|

Hate Post

Sympathy seeker, I detest you. I loathe your attention seeking tactics. I can't understand why you walk around with "Poor Me" printed all over your oily forehead. I don't believe in sympathy. I don't dish it. I don't need it. I don't want it.

And I am not alone.

Garfield agrees with me:

  

Must be a Gemini thing.

Course Correction Day

Today was Course Correction Day. The day you take a step back, study the game board and re-plan your strategy. I don't know a lot. But I know what NOT to do.

Sadly, my Chicken Wanton Noodle Soup date might have to be postponed tomorrow. But just you wait CWNS, my greedy eyes are watching you:

Hard Times

"T'is a hard year," I said to him. "Not necessarily an unhappy year, just a hard one."

There's too much work. Too much stress. Too little time for silliness.

Too much loss. Too much growing up. Too much disillusionment.

Neverland seems so far away. So does Costa Rica with its endangered green sea turtles.

So do Candy and Mini and Maxi and Ebby. Strange how you popped off like the ten little Indians one after another.

Candy

Maxi

Mini & Ebby

You will be missed.

Along with Mammam, who is probably instructing celestial chefs on the fine art of rolling the thinnest rotis. The older I get, the more I miss you and your wonderful mangshor jhol.