IVI've never been to therapy.
My nonchalant reply of 'nope' seems to surprise people who ask me if I've ever been.
Given the (
many, many) circumstances under which I'd need it, I've always managed to keep the necessity at bay and find other ways to deal with my problems. These would range from things as simple as taking a walk to clear my head, to more complicated urges like resisting the temptation to reach for a bottle of alcohol. I turn to all these different outlets, expecting to find a quick fix. But I just end up being more frustrated than before.
I used to love reading, writing and drawing. I was even good at all three at one point in my life. But now I hate reading books, I struggle to write and I don't have the patience to draw. It's a miracle if I read any books from the set reading list for seminars.
Once upon a time, I was proud of how I could blag my way through uni.
Now?
Now, I just feel insanely guilty about it because I'm just wasting my time and money on something I don't even care about.
There are infinite simple pleasures in life and my disillusion is so chronic that I always manage to find reasons to get bored of them.
But, and yes there's
always a but, there is actually one thing which is the ultimate, classic mood booster.
...
...
...
Wait for it...
...
...
...
Yep, you guessed ri-
no,
not sex!
I was talking about
FOOD.
Food is love. Food is life. I doubt there's anyone out there who disagrees with that.
It's fact, not opinion.
What's more enjoyable than eating food though, is cooking it.
I find it
very therapeutic, thus it's a vital part of my road to real life.
It's easily a win-win situation because it gives me a good break from the internet
and extends my knowledge of the culinary arts.
Smugness aside, I think we can all agree that good food makes us all happy bunnies.
I actually started writing this blog at a very inconvenient time. It would've made more sense to start this after exams, when I'd actually have time to cook, go out, etc...not a week before an essay deadline and a month before exams.
But what's done is done.
Being a South Asian though, it would be a crime against my culture to talk about cooking and not mention our staple food:
curries.
I
love curry.
'Love' is an understatement. I could insert every single cliché known to man here and it still wouldn't be enough to explain my feelings towards curry.
So with this in mind, I did what I do best: wasted money for fresh ingredients. It was the last bit of cash I had to my name as well. Thank you Student Finance Company for giving me £££ four hours ago though . And thank you Barclays Mobile Banking App for giving me a heads up about it. I can now sleep with a full stomach and a not-so-empty bank account.
Let's get back to curry though. I cooked a Thai curry called '
massaman gai'. It was actually supposed to be butter chicken but admittedly, I was so excruciatingly hungry that I lost the plot halfway through and winged it. But I ended up with edible food that tasted
and looked good, so I'm not complaining.
Here's an Instagram-worthy picture as well:
tl;dr: focusing my energy on cooking was a yummy distraction from the marriage stress (see post III).
Of course, it helps that the oven here at my uni flat actually works (yes, home oven, I'm dissing you) and that the kitchen window overlooks the canal. Makes for an all-around pleasant, therapeutic experience.
Oh, before I forget, did I mention I
love curry?
It has the potential to take over the world.
Imagine though...
-
a new soap on TV called Currynation Street. I'd watch it.
-
a new nationwide school curryculum which taught you all about curry. I'd study it.
-
a new McDonald's menu item called 'McCurry'. I'd eat- no, I'm lying, that sounds gross.
Curry flavoured ice-cream?
What a
curr-azy idea.