Week 4 : No Relief In Sight

I completed one of the 5-hour courses on LinkedIn in two days and ended up feeling very overwhelmed. Not even remotely prepared to take the test. I might rewatch it for the next two days and give the first attempt of the test. What even is IT support? Who cares about routers, switches, and active directories? I rather sit in a corner and cry myself to sleep than work. So I gave the test and ended up with 80% and passed. Phew! I thought the test was much simpler and enjoyable compared to how the course went. The course had way too much technical stuff.

It’s going fine with Duolingo Super, I guess. I have been practising and brushing up on some of the grammar and pronouns, but learning sentence formation in German sucks bad and getting it right is such a difficult task. I’m hoping if I keep spending an hour or two everyday, I might be able to get it eventually. You can check out my progress or add me, the username’s panicparty.

Arya asked me how I was doing with not having a job. Honestly, there is a part of me which is relieved that I don’t have to log into work every morning and get started with work apps. It feels like a big portion of my brain got freed up and a weight has been lifted. I feel relaxed and at the same time there is this part of my brain which is constantly pestering me that if I don’t do anything I’m useless. Not just that, from where will I get money for sustenance? It could be a really long while till this blog even makes me money, which I’m hoping someday it will.

So this weekend, there was a plan for a nice outing with Arya and her parents. We were going to take her parents to Palladium, have a nice meal at Ishaara, do some bowling, obviously visit Bath & Body Works and Uniqlo. The outing got cancelled because they got roped into attending a family function. Now we’ll have to wait till next month for this. I had been kind of looking forward to going out with her and her parents for a couple months. Usually, I do a pop-in and see them when I drop Arya home after our outings.

I stayed over for a couple nights just this last month which was for the first time in a year of dating her. They’re such good folks; I like them. I remember meeting them for the first time which was 2 weeks before Arya and I’s first trip. We had barely known each other for 3 months and decided to take a week long trip for her birthday week. Her parents wanted to do a meet & greet to know with whom their daughter was going. The first meeting was so awkward, not just for me but for everyone. They’re pretty much reserved and introverted, so that helped. Over time it got easier and a little less awkward and well, she does say that her parents like me.

Broke My Girlfriend’s Le Creuset Mug

I absolutely love pretty crockery and utensils. Le Creuset has held a special place in my heart since I was a teenager considering how aesthetically pleasing it made my brain to look at their colours and shades. However, they cost a lot, especially with extra taxes, customs, import duties, and whatnot. One fine evening back in 2022 they had a half-off sale going on specific stock and I got a Cassis breakfast jug (purple). Haven’t used it once but it’s so nice to look at!

Anyway, for someone who always dreamt of having a Le Creuset collection of their own. I introduced the brand to Arya and we window shopped a few times, just browsing, day-dreaming about having 10 different things in different shades and colours. So just last month I had ₹2,000 off on any Le Creuset purchase which I got from one of my loyalty membership programs and convinced Arya if we could get something for ourselves. We visited and she chose two mugs - the Coupe Flint (black) and Coupe Sea Salt (light blue). The latter was for her. I felt so happy that day. We finally bought something from Le Creuset as a couple.

Here comes the dreadful part. While I was packing my bag to go spend a week at her place, I inadvertently broke the base of the mug not knowing there even was a mug in that place. The moment it happened I wanted to cease to exist. I gathered myself and you know what popped in my mind? You know that subreddit Help Me Find? I’ve come across so many posts where people have accidently damaged or broken something which is very dear to their partner and they need to replace it as soon as possible. I never thought I’d be one of them. Well, I joined that club. Took me a few hours but I found a website and ordered it immediately. The nearest Le Creuset store is 40 km away and they didn’t have it in stock at the time.

After everything, I had to hear Arya saying her “I told you so”s. Because she told me not to constantly pack it and unpack it, and just keep them in one place on a shelf. She absolutely loves saying I told you so. Fills my heart seeing her enjoy that she’s right.

Le Creuset Sea Salt Coupe Mug

Food Update of the Week

Arya has come over for the week since it’s her birthday this weekend. First day in and we ordered Pizza Express as they had B1G1. We tried the Spaghetti Pesto Pasta which turned out to be quite good. She liked it more than the Penne Alfredo Pasta we had last month. I personally love their Paneer Coriander Pesto Pizza; I think a lot of Indians might like it because of its flavours and it tastes amazing in a whole wheat Romana base.

She ended up scheduling two interviews on the day so we stayed indoors and decided to go to Mirchi and Mime for the birthday dinner. First thing we tried were the Stuffed Kulchas. They were perfect and reminded me of my college days when I used to frequent the place for their Kulchas and Apple Pie. She totally loved the dish and then I went on a different tangent for 10 minutes talking about the Pizza Kulchas and Dal Chawal Arancini at Farzi Cafe which we’re planning to go to next month. We tried the Paneer Makhni which honestly was a miss, it was more like Paneer Tikka Masala, there was less creamy flavour and a lot more spice-garlicky flavour to it. Family Tree’s Paneer Makhni still holds the top spot on her list followed by Shivaprasad in Thane and then Ishaara. We ended with the Strawberry Souffle which was okay-ish to good. She couldn’t have more than 3 spoons of the dessert as it ended up being too sweet for her taste. I’d say go for their Stuffed Kulchas for now, other dishes can be skipped.

Binge-Watching Update of the Week

I finally got around to watching Deadpool vs Wolverine. How good was the opening sequence! I totally nerded out on the references, all the third wall and fourth wall breaks, so teary eyed to see Hugh Jackman as Wolverine again. And wait a minute! Henry Cavill as Wolverine?! What a pleasant surprise! I have tried hard to stay away from spoilers and man was it worth it! A cameo from my favourite Superman, what an evening! I was barely 10 when I saw the Blade trilogy, totally revisiting childhood with this movie. The second half was alright for me and pretty much predicted the ending, but how good was the end-credit montage of the entire X-Men franchise!

I watched IF. Thank you, John Krasinski. Had a good cry sesh at the end.

Michael Schur is out with A Man on the Inside with Mr. Anonymous a.k.a Ted Danson starring (that’s a Curb reference for those who got disgruntled reading it). It was comforting to watch it with a bunch of familiar faces from the Schur-multiverse. Especially after the sob-fest that The Good Place was. The show’s starting was breezy and light, but by the second half it surely got quite emotional with the dementia of it all.

Thank you for reading :)

Catch you in the next one, peace.