Chopsticks...

Last week I received an invitation from my colleague to spend a Sunday evening with her family up in the hills. My roommate and another colleague from the office were also invited. Before, leaving this baking place (115 deg F) for a little time in the hills, everyone decided to stop for lunch at panda express… okay now that you all have the back ground information as to why I ended up at that place; looking for some non existent vegetarian options.. finally settled for an eggplant and tofu option… for one thing it took for ever to come by.. and by the time it got prepared.. my companions were almost done eating and I just had two bites into the bowl.. when I saw they were done with the food and were packing up… being too polite they waited for me to take in the clue and either finish up quickly or pack up. They chewed on the cookies… all the Chinese eating places will give free wafer fortune cookies… so I closed my bowl and grabbed the still unused chopsticks.. making a mental note to teach myself eating with those things…

 I tend to feel very conscious while eating in public… I think everyone is paying attention to how I eat.. God! the chunk of food.. they provide.. I keep wondering to myself.. should I cut it with the fragile plastic fork n knife that I have.. which probably would end up in a battle of strengths for the food and the knife. I am equally sure I am going to embarrass myself in this battle of wills.. when at this my every instinct is persuading me to simply use my fingers to hold and teeth to bite in.. it would be so simple..haina?.. I am not sure of the appropriateness of this method in public.. so try to avoid these type of freak situations..

So this bowl of food ended in my refrigerator this evening, and looking for sustenance in the refrigerator I discovered this bowl hidden in a dark corner.. and that’s when I decided that I would like to experience the total joy of Chinese cuisine with chopsticks and all… An hour and half later after several small accidents and aching fingers.. I was unsuccessful in capturing more than 4 grains of rice on the sticks…which fell back in the bowl and I ended up licking the wooden sticks for the umpteenth time.. I abandoned the project chopsticks and attacked the food with a vengeance.. 7 spoonfulls finished the job that had me struggling for the past 40 minutes.. and having a weird aftertaste of baasa food… :(  I decided to share my experience with all those who care to come read all the gibberish… he he..

By the way.. I did finally manage to hold the chopsticks in the correct way at point … but soon after I lost my hold again.. I am saving these chopsticks to try eating rajmah chaawal from a bowl … I would like to practice… it was fun too… as during my struggle I also remembered a serial that used to be telecasted on DD some years back.. “Oshin”.. about a Japanese orphan girl.. and her struggles.. how poor they were and ..they used to eat just a bowl of boiled rice. I liked the serial very much!

That’s all I can come up with..  if this post bored you to sleep.. please get some… as I am myself too sleepy to type.. he eh..