Sunday Post-It

Did the spontaneous thing. Bought tickets for N's wedding. :D

Next up: Must get new sari and things. Shopping. Ughs.

Now: My instant noodle addiction is acting up. I'm off to test (and taste) the new Thai / Chinese / Japanese / Vietnamese noodles I bought the other day. 8)

Meanwhile: Do the Garfield thing. (Jim Davis - thank you for that wonderful cat.)

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.

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

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 :|

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:

Llama Turns 27

Time: 1:27am. Date: 07/06/11

It is past midnight, which means that I am now officially 27-years-old.

But since I was a 1:00pm baby, I still have approximately 11-and-a-half hours of being-26 left. There are no grand plans for these final hours.

***

Apparently, afternoon babies are born foodies. Is that why spent the last two hours sifting though an 11-page menu and wondering what I should order at my Cafe Basilico birthday dinner? After 120 minutes of ogling at dish after dish after dish after dish, I have selected 2 finalists:

1.





and 2.




Yes, pasta is my first choice on Birthday No. 27.

But just in case tomorrow does not smell like Pastaday, I have been eying some non-pasta dishes as well. These are:

1.




2.





3.





For desert I'll be going with the Baked New York Chocolate Mousse Cake. If that is unavailable, I'll try Crunchy Chocolate or Gooey Chocolate or (if I'm feeling really really adventurous) Chocolate Cheese Cake.

While we are at it, a little ice-cream wouldn't hurt either!

N.B: Do NOT drop food on new Ritu Kumar blouse!!