Music, food and broken bones ...

Music:
My carnatic vocal lessons started in May 2007 (despite original plan to start in May 2006, but has it really been a WHOLE YEAR!) and I'm so happy to announce that I'm officially done with phase 1 aka 'Githams' (Penguin, if this is factually incorrect, be a darling as always and DON'T correct me, im in the clouds and i really don't wanna crash land onto reality!) and phasing into Varnams slowly.

Sadly, with a lot of travel and the much awaited holiday season coming up in the next 2 months, classes will be suspended until I rejoin in Feb 08. But until then, a big hurrah to having completed 6 months of vocal training, something that had stayed on the 'to do before i die' list for WAY too long! :D

Practice shall continue with the wonderful Penguin crooning along (and leading in most cases, her expertise on carnatic vocals having been established decades before mine even kickstarted) and substituting for my 50 something teacher in the meantime :)


Food:
Tired of cooking same-old-Indian khaana and stubbornly refusing to settle for anything less than exotic, today just had to be uber-special in the kitchen.

Inspired by Penguin (what isn't nowadays!) and many many mentions of Spain in the last 2 days (apparently some training college for my old business team is happening in Barcelona and junta's flown to Spain for that .. some ppl have ALL the luck bleddy!) and inspired by my last successful foray into foreign cuisine (Pasta and Bruschetta, remember?), today was when I ventured further North in Europe in my culinary adventures and dug up a recipe for Spanish Paella.

Dug up recipe, and cooked to boot! :D Simmered in tangy tomato and bell pepper broth, in a base of sauteed onions and garlic, garnished with lemon and mint, here, here ... I present to you ... Spanish Paella!!!

Cool no? :D Now all those who declined my invite for dinner this evening (You know who you are!) pls to feel TERRIBLE at having missed THAT. It tasted a zillion times better than it looks. :-) Nyahnyahnyah loserrssss! :D

Broken bones:
Not literally. But seriously, every limb in my tiny (FINE, my 5' 8" giant self! Happy?!) being hurts like mad.

(I'm sending this link to my mom so she can feel proud of my cooking and all, but guess what's the one thing she'll remember and fret and instantly call me about?!)

Amma's potential 3rd degree notwithstanding, possible hypothesis on how this achy breaky situation might have happened:
1. Sporadic running. Not warming up properly? (not true, not true!). Getting back to it after too long breaks sometimes.
2. Not gymming properly? Lifting weights in ways that not only lessen fat but also grotesquely twist muscles all wrong! :(
3. Body massage that the self was subject to 2 weeks ago. Maybe, just maybe, one of the many many cracks I heard was a legit bone breaking :(
4. Amateurish feeling foot massage that I got done at the art exhibition a week ago. But can a bad foot massage affect everything from the bottom of my neck to the tip of my finger? Someone pls to enlighten my ignorant soul!

I put my money on 3/4 (obviously coz i get to blame someone ELSE!). Any vishesh tippani (special tips) from my beloved reader?

So if you see me squirming in the next few days, it MAY be coz ur pissing me off really bad (lets not rule that out too soon!), but more likely its coz im hurting all over and going ooh aah ouch under my breath!

I'm off to another night of sedated sleep and potentially another morning of waking up with creaky joints. Good night and hope ur having better luck! :)