35 Pieces of Pasta

It was one of those mornings today. 

My maid (cook) called in sick at 6:20am.

Good news - I was awake and reading an unputdownable book.

Bad news - it was "Bad Mothers United" by Kate Long.

I didn't even work out 'cause I was lazy. 

And she had early school today. 

I ploughed on, I am 43, I can deal with one measly lunch box.

'How many farfalle does she need?' I mused aloud.

'35' he answered promptly. God bless him.

Sometimes your questions need precise mathematical answers.

'How do you know how much sauce to add?'

'Well, I just do' 

Sometimes I surprise myself with how good I am at food.

I blundered on after, all a-tizzy, 'cause today was going to be a good day.

I was going to make up for last week's unproductivity at work. 

The sambar thingie splattered down as I picked it from the fridge.

There was sambar (small onion) pretty much everywhere.

Including the ceiling, oh heaven help me. 

I calmed down as I cleaned. 

I think I deserved it 'cause I was whining. 

About the fridge which is over-flowing with stuff. 

Shouting in my head at the maid (cook).

Anyhow the kitchen got a good wipe.

The cloths are all done for & I found sambar in the MnMs.

But order prevails, generally! 

As for the lunch box? 

It went with a long note from her father.

It was all ignored. 

She shared the sandwich with a small boy. 

She rolled the used fork in the cloth napkin.

She brought back 10 farfalle, if you must know. 

Gone up in smoke

The last couple of weeks of non-teaching summer time are here. I have been dreading the second half of July this entire summer. One reason is that I didn't feel like I got a good break this year. Yes, we had a bit of a vacation in Yelagiri back in May. And I have been spending time at home on domestic tasks and fixing the cracks in the wall. But my 'me' time - involving much decompression, focussed running, bunch of reading, bit of writing, well I haven't had that this year.

I am not saying that such luxuries are mine every year. Something or the other crops up for sure. Like I remember one summer when my sole goal and focus was on getting an air conditioner fitted in my office. Uff. At least when the semester rolled around I was like 'Hells Yeah Bring On The Undergrads! With AirCon In My Office I feel Ready' - so it was something.

I had hopes for this summer, I swear. I was going to be in fit fighting running ninja shape (hello, Plantar Fasciitis). I was going to go miles ahead in my writing project (well, the universe conspired to delay it enough that I just got Step 1 done last week. Forget the miles). I was going to be Domestic Goddess and get the house painted (Where the hell are my paint samples now, dammit?). I even downloaded the paint app on my phone (It sucks royally as well, pun intended, crashes every 3 seconds). I was going to move offices (this is a long tale that will follow anon).

Anyway, here we are. Trying to count the positives. My foot is feeling better today. I have overcome the laziness and started cycling a bit. I am stretching like it's going out of style. I am done with all the left over grading, evaluating and other stuff as of this afternoon. And I am 30% of the way through my office move, which I finally started yesterday. There is this circular Indian problem that I often encounter.

Thank you Arun 

(from Photographs of IITM)

In this case it goes like this: To move the air-conditioner from Office A to Office B involves:
1. Removing ac from Office A
2. Cut window in Office B
3. Board up window in Office A
4. Affix ac in Office B
These tasks cannot be done in linear fashion, because, monkeys. The crew for steps 2&3 is different from the crew for 1&2. I didn't want them to do step 1 till step 3 was assured, as I have my stuff in Office A still and I already had a bit of a monkey attack 'cause I left the window slightly open and they squeezed their adept fingers in and stole my cloth purse with play-doh. Last week.

Office B is part of a wider lab with tons of equipment and students. They don't want step 2 done before step 4 is assured. Also because it is on the ground floor, and not just monkeys, but snakes. Besides, we discovered while fiddling around with the window, that there was a beehive or a wasps nest of some sort. The creatures starting bzzing around the lab and it was like OKAY NOW.

In the middle of all this, I am demanding that they clean the fan. Trust me, it needs cleaning. And my student says the floor is sloping (I don't care about this one as much as I should). I need a new table 'cause my current table is from the British era and is constructed from concrete or iron though it looks wooden. And the best part of it all is that the switches for the light and fan in my office cabin are located miles away at the entrance to the lab. Dimwits.

I mean, the Tiger, Bangle, Brahmin problem's got nothing on mine, I tell you. I almost regret I started this whole thing. But I have to get this done before the semester starts - I am determined. This is good for me. I know. 'Cause it's so darn hard and so darn dumb, it has to be character building. Without doubt. Meanwhile, let me go and dream about how my new office is going to look super cool and neat and be the talk of the town.

Breakfast of Champions

August is Blog Month. Oh yes.

This morning, I woke up. Early. My entire being was concentrated on one thing::

Must Buy Oats.

Oats? Yes. Oats. You heard me. What don't you understand now? No, its not euphemism. (Sow your wild oats, anyone?). I do mean the kind you eat, typically at breakfast. I haven't, not in a long while, but thats not the point.

I boiled milk. Threw the curtains into the washing machine. Crossed my fingers and hoped that the orange wouldn't run into the yellow. Cursed my guy for using up my precious machine washing powder for random cleaning round the house. My house looks unclean anyhow, go use the cheaper powder, you. I told him in my mind. I have to catch him this evening and make this sentence out loud.

Mustn't Forget Oats.

I changed into my running stuff. Trusty Timex. Pink Nike Running Shirt (purple-ish, actually, very comfy and awesome blossom). Cotton Sports Bra (Its a new one from Jockey, works well, I find, though I cannot imagine longer runs in it, thanks to the wetness part. Support-wise, its great. So for normal day exercise, I highly recommend it, girls). The only pair of shorts I could find (Nike, Mens, my 'race' pair, the one I have for years and wear at every race). Vibrams (Ah-Ha What a glorious day, when you are going to run <1.5 hours, and don't need socks). Ratty towel. Red bottle of diluted Gatorade.

Oats, Baby. Take Cash. Rs. 500.

Quick kisses. One stubbly cheek, one soft tiny one. Bye you guys (in my head, I said). I groped in the dark for my bike keys and house keys and let myself out of the house. Still dark outside. Perfect. Hope the guys are there. Of course they will be there. They are rock solid that way. And the nicest guys, really. Most sweet. No hang-ups or airs about them.

So, Oats On My Way Back? Yeah.

We ran the usual Thursday route, which is about 12 kms in length (urk, Distance). I still stumble about - though I think I am finally clear on the directions - today. KP suggested mixing it up. 4 mins slow. 1 min walk. 4 mins fast. 1 min walk. It felt good. I could push on the fast to a reasonable pace, finally a happy pace, comforted that a walk was upcoming. KP would call out 5-4-3-2-1 to stop and walk. Those were most welcome words, I swear. Vibrams made me a quiet runner today (leave only your footprints behind types). The first sight of the Sea at Elliots beach, gosh, its a beautiful thing. Waves breaking. We continued on though, gasping a bit on the fast, catching our breath on the walk, chatting on the slow.

Bye You Guys. I Have To Buy Oats.

Biked over the smelly bridge. Hit upon another idea. Turned left and meandered through the new running route that my new running friend has shown me. ZiggyZagged to the store, which was open, how awesome is that? I have a funny walk in my Vibrams. I am sure if my stubble-cheeked, sleeping giant of a husband sees me walk in them, he will tease me about it. But hey! Guess who was asleep and guess who was in the store. First customer of the day. Oh yeah.

Oats: Rs.125. Not-Cold-Minute-Maid-Orange-Juice: Rs.20

I fixed up everything on my bike thing. The carrier. Yes. Wrapped my sweaty towel and tied it up good. And, narrowly avoiding honking motorists, I made my way back to the house. Fished key out but the door was open anyhow. In I went. All pink (or purple, depending on how you view it). And jubilant. And endorphined. And just a tad hurting - just enough - to remind me that I had a good run.

The Oats? Were boiled to within inches of their life. Which is how my parents-in-law like to consume them. I did good and handled a domestic situation alongside obsessive running, like a true pro. No one in the household knew that I (& the cook) had messed up and not put oats on yesterday's list (We just forgot yaar). And somehow I felt like Batman when I walked up to my bedroom and the monsters were still sleeping...

Good Housekeeping

Have I mentioned that I absolutely suck at setting up a home? One major reason for this is my innate taste runs toward a minimalism that bothers other permanent and temporary residents. I like the walls bare. I like to sit on the floor, so I think couches are unnecessary. I hate the television so would rather not own one, if that were a possibility. If Kenny were not a social ant, who has a family, and guests (all of whom she loves) her house would have the following:

1. Mattress for sleeping
2. Refrigerator
3. Washing machine
4. Bookshelves
5. Boxes of books
6. Ten-piece stainless steel cookware set
7. Computer + Table + Chair
8. Spoons
9. Cupboard with clothes

Thats it probably. I LOVED this flat when we first got here. Bare white walls. Nice flooring. All thoroughly empty. Slowly, over the years, we have acquired couches, entertainment center, TV, several bookshelves, two beds, two cupboards, kitchen cabinets, another cabinet, end tables, dining table (huge ass one) with six chairs, center table, shoe rack, a DVD player (which works once in a while), and a gazillion toys. The niece and the monster daughter have contributed tons of art to the walls. Numerous photos and so on have been stuck here and there as decoration, including a particularly red pillayar thing that I got for being a judge once. The husband's constant whine requesting a huge Geetopadesha for the living room wall has so far been stalled, but I know its only a matter of time (I particularly dislike things in the house that are fat, big, or red, oh yeah, and I hate artificial flowers).

One day I declared to the husband, look, I am going to become a domestic goddess soon. He burst out in laughter. I bought a magazine (got a Mills & Book free with it, and read it quickly). It was unhelpful. I got more magazines. I took out a note-pad to jot down my thoughts. I got the Argos Hypercity catalogue as the nearest thing to IKEA for IDEAS. They all went nowhere. Meanwhile the husband has challenged me. He says its not in my DNA. Despite the fact that there is my mother's house (which is quite spectacularly organised, and clean beyond compare). I hate to turn down a challenge. So, I have, technically, at least in my mind, taken it up.

Currently though I am struggling with-
1. Lack of system for folding clothes and putting them away promptly
2. The losing battle against fine dust
3. Unidentified boxes of stuff (I suspect they are class notes of husband - I never took any notes, thankfully, err I make up for it now but thats all in my office)
4. Monster-related Lego, Toys, Jigsaws, Books
5. Wires - this stuff is horrid. Chargers. Connectors for: Phone to PC + Camera to PC + Videocam to PC + DVD player to TV + lots of other strange looking things I don't dare throw
6. Laminated photos (we have nearly fifty on the wall - don't ask - and probably fifty elsewhere)
7. Useless light fixtures and parts that have broken off them over the years
8. Tooth brushes belonging to the monster, who has a tooth brush fetish (in addition to a pink fetish)

I am going to devise a strategy, find my gloves and apron, enlist the monster, and go at it. Watch this space.