I piaceri del cibo

To my dear self (and anyone else interested in reading this)

as you may or may not know, the post title is in Italian and stands for 'The Pleasures of Food'. During this week alone, I've had more time to reflect about food and my sometimes conflicting thoughts/actions regarding such food.

My own experience has taught me that food isn't a mere necessity to survive, but one of the finer pleasures in life. I chose the title in Italian because in that particular country, food has been elevated to an art form in both its preparation and presentation, far more strikingly so than most other countries I've been to.

Yesterday I skipped lunch, having it replaced by a full box of chocolate pralines. I could argue that as long as it satisfied my basic need for food and wasn't poisonous, then it was perfectly fine to do so. Yet the relief I felt in the evening when I re-heated some frozen home-made vegetable soup was immeasurable. It almost felt like my conscience was nagging me and saying 'You should have prepared something decent for yourself, even though you were home alone'. This morning I woke up thinking of grilled mixed vegetables and seasoned tomatoes. You are right, my dear conscience.

Sure it takes time to prepare food, and patience to stay there and watch over it during the cooking, but the best experiences in life all require patience. I'm no stranger to it, and I'm now bent on creating exquisite meals, as a sign of respect to myself and out of a real love of good food. An additional perk for those I know is that I enjoy it even more when I can share such food. God bless you all!

V-day (not Victory, but Valentine's)

Har har harrrrrrr!!!!!!!

It's been a while since my last post, interestingly both today's and my last post were written on well-known calendar dates. I won't be looking for any special reasons as to why that may be, I simply blog when there is something I'd like to share.

So today is Valentine's day, and as far as a regular work day goes, today was simply smooth. It feels good to begin tying up all the loose ends that come with delivering study courses, not to mention the slightly lighter workload and reduced number of classes to be teaching ;)

I even gave in my bound research work, and it's a funny feeling to have when I look at my bookshelf and realise I've already published 2 pieces of research. Come to think of it, I can actually see myself doing research work on a professional level, publishing, attending conferences and the whole keeping up-to-date routine with what's happening elsewhere. I seem to get a real kick out of making discoveries or investigating the mysteries of the world we live in.

Even writing the reports of my findings gives me a great sense of accomplishment... imagine if it could lead to any huge breakthroughs? Let's not even think of fame, personally I'd like a quiet life just doing my thing. Some recognition in my own field would be greatly appreciated regardless ;)

That's one of the things about carrying out one's own research. You really are THE only defining limitation of your own success, that and your sponsor where applicable.

I think I'll end my ramble here for today. Back to enjoying V-day with my cuddly :)