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 :|