distractions...

once in a while, i succumb to the lure of distractions... big and small. often, this lack of self-restraint re-surfaces just about the time i finish something wretchedly exhausting... no prizes for guessing the recent ordeal horribus.

friday... the deadline... for weeks on end i had been staying up late and returning over the weekends to run series of number-crunching, hours by day and night... the poor computers suffered as much RAM as i did... and i am beginning to notice the symptoms of burning out; the very idea of programming rekindles the ever familiar: "i hate-programming" sulk... and it takes me forever to do something seemingly straightforward.

yet, the sloth-like pace in stringing together bizarre mathematical syntax metamorphosizes, in an instant, into sprightliness when there's the excuse to engage in, for example, conversations over a cocktail, browsing in B&N just around the corner from my apartment, cleaning and tidying the apartment, or trying out new recipes... anything... anything to get away from programming!!!

and so i joined a couple of my colleages for a drink at an uptown bar-restaurant after work on friday; they didn't have much difficulty coaxing me this time, like they usually do... and i ordered a B52 -- a concoction of Baileys Irish Cream, Grand Marnier, and Kahlua, served layered like a pudding (or sometimes, mixed over the rocks)... it was actually not on the cocktail list... ooops... but i have my way to what's real yuuum... although on hindsight, i should perhaps have tried something new... my other favourite cocktails are Piña Colada and the Singapore Sling... well, i suppose there's something i am patriotic about! ha.

then, i made my way home from uptown by bus, and via Barnes&Nobles... i count myself lucky to live very near 2 bookstores (the other being the HalfPriceBookstore with a lot of great bargains on used books)... but of course... this proximity comes with a price... a literal one! so, along came these new friends...

in the hope that they will inspire me to get started, with the bones of my thesis, even if the draft will be crappy. i also found a copy of Secret of the Senses which included works of some eminent scientists i have recently heard in the Presidential symposium... and others whose renowed names i happen to recognise! fascinating stuff.

then, i found myself trying to rekindle the taste of a decadent chocolatey pear cake-tart... i must say, i am intrigued by how taste-buds link our conscious eating experiences into some form of stored memory... because they get replaced nearly every week or month!

and i made the zabaglione sauce for tiramisu, which i completed this morning... i am bringing the dessert for the farewell party on monday evening! yes... and i have a lot of liquor-infused coffee left from the "pick-me-up" affair... which i need use up... hmmm.

as if that wasn't enough fun... i just made myself a surprisingly beautiful shrimp-bisque... inspired by a recipe from the Soup book i bought myself the other day... it is gorgeous with Carr's cheese-melts, which lucy gave me to bring back to usa... because, lovely british crackers are so hard to come by... oooooh.... yums.

can there be enough distractions in a day?! nope nope nope...

posted by ~overacuppa~ on Sunday, 24 September, 2006 at 23:54 hrs