For years the kitchen had been an alien territory to me. Except for a swift mission to sneak in, grab a handful of whatever I could my get hands on, fill my mouth and sneak out again. But accomplishing the mission without getting caught by the watchful eyes of my mother, remained a mission forever. Years went by and I never let that habit go.
Two years ago, when a job took me to another city, the excitement of the start of a new life and new opportunity had me on cloud nine, and then the reality dawned upon me. Not only will I have to survive a new city, but also deal with the daily household chores which were so well taken care of at home. The numero uno on the list was cooking. I had never even made myself a cup of tea. And the best i could do was make myself a treat of cup noodles by adding some hot water and waiting and hoping that things turned out to be edible.
I moved into an apartment with room mates who coincidently shared the same fate as mine and so the big question was, who would be the first one to actually start using the kitchen?!. I was certainly the worst at the culinary skills, others were a notch above me, if not the best cooks in the world. It had to be a team effort and soon we had it all sorted out. Every one would have to assume a responsibilty and carry it out a 100%. Things ranged from chopping, dicing vegetables, to kneeding the dough for fresh bread to making some rice. And after the dinner, came the most important job which none took up voluntarily : dish washing!!
I was still wondering where would I fit in all this. And since I wasnt good enough at any of the former tasks and so had to take the last one. Dish washing was something that i could do, but certainly not what i liked.
After a few weeks of laborious dish washing, I was certain of one thing, if I were to get out of this misery, I had to rise up the ranks. Starting with washing vegetables, chopping, dicing and slicing carrots and raddish for salads, I started making myself comfortable with the cooking world.
I thought maybe next, I should try my hand at eggs. Omlettes, boiled eggs, half fried - I was trying my hand at each one at a time. Few were well made while others good enough to be tossed into trash. But I guess, I was learning better as I experimented with more and more stuff in the kitchen. Then came the time to try my luck at sandwiches, salads before actually taking the plunge for more complicated food preparation. I excused myself from the elite things like cakes, pastries as I certainly know where my forte lies.
Time went by and I was getting better at managing more things at a time. Sometimes room mates used to be out for the evening, returning back late. These were the times I had to manage all on my own. Nevertheless, it was a boon in disguise. My cooking got better and now I can manage a dinner for myself. After a good, lip smacking dinner, I can pat myself for a job well done!
Oct 31, 2006
I dreamt one night...
It was one of those fine experiences when you just cant be sure whether it is the reality of the dream or the dream itself, that is more fascinating.
I was driving a car along an endless road. The curves and the winds of the road would last till eternity, but what made the trip worth remembering was the mesmerising slopes of snow clad mountains on one side and large mass of ice cold water on the other side. The reflection of the mountain slopes in the water would, occasionally, be distorted by ripples through water, created by the cold breeze that was blowing through the valley.
Though not alone in the journey, most of my driving was aimed at leaving the other guy far behind. Yes there was this other guy who would look at me and laugh every time he overtook me. I was determined to overtake him the next time and leave him so far behind that he would never be able to catch up.
Thus began the need for speed, cruising at amazing speeds, negotiating every twist and turn in the hostile environment where snow and cold water were equally fatal. And all of a sudden I have this co-passenger, a girl whose face i couldnt possibly relate to anyone I know, who opened the door of the car to have a look at the view outside and feel the breeze as I manouvered the vehicle through another turn. But the speed and the force was too much I guess, because she got pushed overboard and rolled along the road bruising badly.
I stopped the car and ran back to see whether she was OK. Obviously she was not ok. Having bruised badly and blood gushing out of her forehead and arms, she required immediate medical help. All I could do was gather her in my arms, bring her back to the car and stare helplessly around in the hostile environment for help. The other car fellow was long one unaware of the mishap.
In retrospect when I think of this dream and wonder what made me feel this way, I really dont have an answer. Usually one would dream of someone already known or atleast "dream to know". But this was not the case. The girl that fell out of my car never really had a face. An absolute stranger and for whom I took all the pains and efforts I could, to save her.
Never had an "act two" of the dream again. But here is just some food for thought. What are dreams anyway? I would say its just the subconscious mind at work doing some serious thinking. Pondering endlessly over what goes around you in the conscious world, and these things will eventually make their way into the subconscious arena and be visualized as a dream.
I was driving a car along an endless road. The curves and the winds of the road would last till eternity, but what made the trip worth remembering was the mesmerising slopes of snow clad mountains on one side and large mass of ice cold water on the other side. The reflection of the mountain slopes in the water would, occasionally, be distorted by ripples through water, created by the cold breeze that was blowing through the valley.
Though not alone in the journey, most of my driving was aimed at leaving the other guy far behind. Yes there was this other guy who would look at me and laugh every time he overtook me. I was determined to overtake him the next time and leave him so far behind that he would never be able to catch up.
Thus began the need for speed, cruising at amazing speeds, negotiating every twist and turn in the hostile environment where snow and cold water were equally fatal. And all of a sudden I have this co-passenger, a girl whose face i couldnt possibly relate to anyone I know, who opened the door of the car to have a look at the view outside and feel the breeze as I manouvered the vehicle through another turn. But the speed and the force was too much I guess, because she got pushed overboard and rolled along the road bruising badly.
I stopped the car and ran back to see whether she was OK. Obviously she was not ok. Having bruised badly and blood gushing out of her forehead and arms, she required immediate medical help. All I could do was gather her in my arms, bring her back to the car and stare helplessly around in the hostile environment for help. The other car fellow was long one unaware of the mishap.
In retrospect when I think of this dream and wonder what made me feel this way, I really dont have an answer. Usually one would dream of someone already known or atleast "dream to know". But this was not the case. The girl that fell out of my car never really had a face. An absolute stranger and for whom I took all the pains and efforts I could, to save her.
Never had an "act two" of the dream again. But here is just some food for thought. What are dreams anyway? I would say its just the subconscious mind at work doing some serious thinking. Pondering endlessly over what goes around you in the conscious world, and these things will eventually make their way into the subconscious arena and be visualized as a dream.
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