There are some days when a person shouldn't wake up. I mean it. It would be so much easier for the world, if the people could be notified through a per-notification, say through the Precog mechanism, that they simply should lie in bed today and do nothing, nothing at all, since what will be done will be undone at the end of the day. An utter waste of time, money and energy could be the only possible outcome of such a day.
And so I don't jest when I say that the Precogs should have notified me of today. I would have gladly remained in bed, doing the worst job in the world 'nothing'. Atleast, I wouldn't have lost much on the day, considering...
My day started with the sun, unusually shining outside and a happy hymn in my head. It was the first time I was baking with a friend, a cake to celebrate the last day of a 6 month long course, a way to say sweet good bye to all the new friends made in a foreign land. Alas, the cake had a mind of its own. It wouldn't bake without burning, the meringue worked my hand-mixer until it died, the rich frosting refused to un-curdle regardless of the number of times we ran the heat-beat-cool routine and the wonderfully moist looking cake layers wouldn't stack on top of each other without breaking into halves and then halves again!
And if one thought that this was the end of the revenge the cake had planned for us for thinking to bake on this fine day, she would have to stand corrected. But until then, the cake finally agreed to stack with a sandwiched frosting in between and the frosting melted enough to be poured like a liquid white not-a-chocolate ganache. It looked nothing like the cake we had in ours minds but it looked presentable enough. And I learnt a simple lesson then and there, a-straight-forward carrot cake with a cream cheese frosting doesn't really exist. So, the next time I see a person bringing a self-made cake to a party, I would definitely appreciate their efforts.
A delayed travel from home to the course room was just one another way that the cake protested, but we made the bus journey without any events. And I have to mention this here, the cake did get a couple of happy stares on the way in the bus. Who would have thought! My happy mind couldn't believe that a task that looked achievable 4 hours ago turned into a disaster 2 hours ago and then turned into completion at this very moment, on its way to be tested for its level of success.
Psyched is the only word I would have used, would I have asked to describe my feelings that moment. Confused is the next word that would have popped up in my mind. Horror. Incredulity. Ludicrous. Yep, those would exactly describe the order of feelings in the situation we found ourselves in when the cake was lying upside down on the cobbled footpath. If you havn't guessed already, the cake decided to finally dump us and fly and lie of the road rather than be munched by eager mouths. I think 4 hours down the drain should be a made a recognized synonym for a cake lying face down on the road. I realized that moment, nothing is always as it seems to be. It doesn't take a wink to change the fate of a cake.
And what did I do next? I laughed my head off. We took a picture of the deceitful cake and laughed until I ran out of breath. I stooped to pick the debris and laughed till my stomach ached. I threw the unrecognizable mass away and laughed till I had tears in my eyes. We made the walk of shame to the course room and laughed some more and then more, until I couldn't anymore. It was the most I had laughed in 11 months and 11 days. I simply hope now, my loud laughter wouldn't jaundice one against the other Ausländer. Anyhow I realized then, that I would rather take a good laugh over a tipped over cake that petty time, money and energy spent over an unappreciated cake.
And so I don't jest when I say that the Precogs should have notified me of today. I would have gladly remained in bed, doing the worst job in the world 'nothing'. Atleast, I wouldn't have lost much on the day, considering...
My day started with the sun, unusually shining outside and a happy hymn in my head. It was the first time I was baking with a friend, a cake to celebrate the last day of a 6 month long course, a way to say sweet good bye to all the new friends made in a foreign land. Alas, the cake had a mind of its own. It wouldn't bake without burning, the meringue worked my hand-mixer until it died, the rich frosting refused to un-curdle regardless of the number of times we ran the heat-beat-cool routine and the wonderfully moist looking cake layers wouldn't stack on top of each other without breaking into halves and then halves again!
And if one thought that this was the end of the revenge the cake had planned for us for thinking to bake on this fine day, she would have to stand corrected. But until then, the cake finally agreed to stack with a sandwiched frosting in between and the frosting melted enough to be poured like a liquid white not-a-chocolate ganache. It looked nothing like the cake we had in ours minds but it looked presentable enough. And I learnt a simple lesson then and there, a-straight-forward carrot cake with a cream cheese frosting doesn't really exist. So, the next time I see a person bringing a self-made cake to a party, I would definitely appreciate their efforts.
A delayed travel from home to the course room was just one another way that the cake protested, but we made the bus journey without any events. And I have to mention this here, the cake did get a couple of happy stares on the way in the bus. Who would have thought! My happy mind couldn't believe that a task that looked achievable 4 hours ago turned into a disaster 2 hours ago and then turned into completion at this very moment, on its way to be tested for its level of success.
Psyched is the only word I would have used, would I have asked to describe my feelings that moment. Confused is the next word that would have popped up in my mind. Horror. Incredulity. Ludicrous. Yep, those would exactly describe the order of feelings in the situation we found ourselves in when the cake was lying upside down on the cobbled footpath. If you havn't guessed already, the cake decided to finally dump us and fly and lie of the road rather than be munched by eager mouths. I think 4 hours down the drain should be a made a recognized synonym for a cake lying face down on the road. I realized that moment, nothing is always as it seems to be. It doesn't take a wink to change the fate of a cake.
And what did I do next? I laughed my head off. We took a picture of the deceitful cake and laughed until I ran out of breath. I stooped to pick the debris and laughed till my stomach ached. I threw the unrecognizable mass away and laughed till I had tears in my eyes. We made the walk of shame to the course room and laughed some more and then more, until I couldn't anymore. It was the most I had laughed in 11 months and 11 days. I simply hope now, my loud laughter wouldn't jaundice one against the other Ausländer. Anyhow I realized then, that I would rather take a good laugh over a tipped over cake that petty time, money and energy spent over an unappreciated cake.
