Our First Menu...

Finally, the cookery practicals began after a lot of hoopla. The menu, which was assigned to us, included Minestrone(starter); Irish Stew, Beetroot Salad, Buttered Rice(main course) and Caramel custard(dessert). Although the number of items seemed to be small, we took about three and a half hours to complete, and we were three of us. This was mainly due to improper planning and carelessness. Anyway, finally it turned out this way....



Minestrone was hopeless, with absolutely no taste except that of pepper. After all it's Italian. I personally like the buttered rice and Irish Stew. Although it had to be thickened using flour, it came out to be perfect. The salad had too much of mustard paste, and we got a kick when we had it. The custard was okay, although it had more of vanilla essence(!), but while unmoulding it, we messed up a bit.

On the whole, I would give our group 3/10 points. Not bad, for first timers...

Was I Suffering From Blogging Fatigue?

At last I'm writing a post. All these days, I was feeling too lazy to post, and participate in any of the discussions in forums, BlogCatalog, to be precise. Everyday, it was the same story - check the mail, log in to Blogger, take a peek at all of my blogs(for comments of course!), then log in to BC and DP forums, check out all the discussions, and close the windows. I found most of the topics either lame or too boring. Yeah, this can indeed be, what can be called as 'blogging fatigue'.

Recently, when I discussed this in BC forums, I realised that many of us undergo such a phase wherein we tend to ignore blogging and related activities. Initially, when we're new to blogging, we are so enthusiastic, that we end up posting more than twice a day. When the problem of traffic comes, we participate in discussions across forums, and leave comments in other blogs with a lot of vigour. As time passes, we normalize, and blogging becomes a part of our routine. Friends are made, the exposure increases and both the sides are contented.

The major deviation occurs when we find something more interesting, and are engrossed in it. Slowly, our mind clears itself of blogging. Then a stage sets in when we completely denounce blogging, but this stage may be short lived(I can't generalize it though). But after a while, it finally becomes a thing of the past, and slowly, as it had begun, the fatigue starts fading away.

When college started, I was so excited about it, that I almost gave up blogging. Instead of hanging out at BC forums, I began browsing more sites related to the hotel industry, tried out new recipes, and was actually mad about going to the college. The everyday travel, the friends, and the assignments weaned my mind away from the computer. Secondly, the BC forums were full of discussions related to the US presidential elections, which really irritated me. This was the scenario, until I realised that I have a couple of blogs that are waiting for my support. Recovering was tough, and I had to pull myself up. But finally it's done and I'm up and running.

Now that I've finally woken up from my stupor, you can find some really exciting posts in the coming weeks. So stay tuned...