Back in C-U

Just a quick blurb.

I recently went home for a week to visit my family and to meet up with friends who happen to be in town, as well as to sample the excellent food that is present. It was a nice trip home, marred slightly by the fact that I couldn't actually go home ``guilt-free'' and not do any work. Nevertheless, the home trip was much welcomed and refreshing for my psyche, in fact.

I would spend some time to write more about the trip back and what I have done, just as a means of chronicling what I believe to be one of the more important aspects of my life this year. No, I don't think that I am predicting anything bad to come, but it is rather important that I go hom for a visit, however short it might be. Maybe over this weekend, when I can tear myself off work and do some ``recreational'' writing.

Anyway, I am safely back in the US, continuing my ever struggle towards understanding the craft that I had chosen as my career path.

Till updates to come.

...

Something a little more classic:I don't know why I am suddenly craving for this piece of music. Perhaps it's the realisation that I'm heading home for a visit soon enough that is making me thinking about such things.

*shrugs*

The Scribbles gets some updates

And so it begins again, yet another week. I'm wondering if I'm really ``suffering'' from some kind of mental disturbance, but really I think that it is much easier to dismiss that thought and focus on more pressing issues.

So far, the most active blogs that I have are this one and the poetry one. I do have one more blog, and it generally contains various fictional prose. That one has a rather low update frequency because of the time investment needed to write anything like that, but that's of course due to the fact that I wasn't trying to make use of my favourite blitz writing tool---WriteThis. The premise of that tool is simple: pick some parameters, set a time limit, click the generate button and start writing!

But anyway, what I wanted to say before I digressed is that I have spruced up the prose blog a little, shifting all my NaNoWriMo win banners from the main blog to the prose one (you'll notice immediately that the ``NaNoWriMo 2011 winner!'' image is now gone from this blog). Previously, I set the banners to point to the user tracking tool on the NaNoWriMo website, but now, I have altered them to link directly to the draft manuscripts for the entries instead. I think that this is a little more streamline than before and conveys more information too.

Alright, enough blathering in the morning. Back to work I go.

Marmite Soup Base FTW

So the thing about instant noodles is that underlying MSG-laden ``soup packet'' is often not very nice, particularly if you are getting your instant noodles in the US. But instant noodles are a cheap and plentiful source of carbohydrates, not necessarily a good source, but a source nonetheless.

The way that I sometimes make my noodles is to capitalise on two things: my Marmite and the ground pork that I buy from the store and keep in the freezer till needed. Let me first talk about the ground pork.

The ground pork that I get from the store is not necessarily the highest quality money can buy (that's just plain expensive), but at the very least, it doesn't look too old or too artificial in colour. Once I bring the pork home, I split it into 3 portions that I store in plastic containers. I used to not do anything else with them, but I realised that by massaging in some light soy sauce and pepper, I can enhance their flavour. I learnt the hard lesson of splitting them before putting them into the freezer, because really, the thing is rock hard when completely frozen and makes it neigh impossible to split up. Since I don't cook often enough to justify a large stash of meat in the fridge in general, the meats generally stay in the deep freeze compartment until I so decide to use them, and under those circumstances, I will take one container and place it outside to thaw. I would use a microwave for convenience and potential hygiene purposes (microwave thawing is faster and thus reduces the amount of time for bacteria to multiply), but I currently do not have such an implement.

So when making the noodles, I like to use a quarter teaspoon of Marmite to act as the broth base, with a little bit of ground black pepper, some crushed red chilli peppers and parsley bits for flavour. I find that the Marmite base provides enough savoury flavour worthy of soup while at the same time providing the vitamin B complexes that I am generally missing in my diet. The meat always goes in first when the liquid mixture is at a boil, and then I toss in the instant noodles to top it up. Stirring it around for a bit makes sure that nothing boils over and overflows the pot. A few short minutes later, food is served.

It's a nice combination that provides me with the protein that I need. I don't really worry much about fibre in general because I eat out often enough that I do get enough roughage.

[Ed: This article started a while back, but it is only now that I have some time to finish it up.]

Lamentations

I think that it is starting again. That sinking, empty feeling within me. The kind of feeling that one gets when one feels... alone.

I have my friends, I have my running, my jujitsu, and perhaps my writing. I have people I can talk to, to chat with over instant messaging tools, to summon over IRC for a talk or a beer, to video chat if I have to.

I have stuffed toys to mumble to, research papers to keep me thinking and wondering about my problem, news magazines to keep me abreast of world developments, comics to tickle my funny bone, horror stories to keep me on end.

But these are all... not enough.

I crave the touch, the deep understanding and care that only a family or a lover can give. I crave the fussing and adoration that accompanies that care, to feel loved and important, as opposed to this generally ignoble existence I seem to have gotten myself into. I crave the warmth of an embrace, the intimacy of the cuddle, the familiarity through proximity.

I miss being human.

June

Ah June. The month of supposed carefreeness, the month of freedom, the month of Summer and all its associated greatness and dullness. For me, it's just another month in the calendar, something to sort of look forward to, but not really to relish.

I am really looking forward to my home trip this month. Partly because I miss the people back at home, and partly because well I'm just so damn lonely here. Yes, I have some friends here, but somehow, it just feels different. I suppose as one gets older, one realises that one's old friends are just irreplaceable; they've been through too much to be the same as any other new friend that one makes. It's something that is a little hard to explain, but easy to feel.

Anyway, I don't really have much to say except that June is upon us. Till the next update.