Filed under: diary | Tags: emptiness, existentialism, loneliness, security guard, waiting for godot
160708
—
Working as a security guard is an exercise in existential despair. I worked shifts that lasts till my employer said it end. I guard a door and focus on nothing else. I pace the same square of marbled floor. I cannot sleep. I spend all my time waiting for lunch, a break, or my boss to come swaggering along with his walkie talkie to tell me that my shift was finally over.
220608
—
I should have never clicked on that post in Styleforum. Now I am addicted to the rugged good looks of a canoe pack and I am dying to get one.
220608
—
Why am I not surprised. Holland is out of Euro 2008 following a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Russia in the Quarterfinals. The most entertaining side which is tipped as hot favourites to bag the tournament is once again knocked out.
Watching soccer over the years have taught me one important lesson in life: the best does not always win, and success involves a large element of luck. So don’t be too proud when you win, because you were lucky. And being great does not translate to success.
Filed under: diary, the arts | Tags: carson mccullers, loneliness, review, the heart is a lonely hunter
180608
—
“They are all very busy people. In fact they are so busy that it will be hard for you to picture them. I do not mean that they work at their jobs all day and night but that they have much business in their minds always that does not let them rest…the New York Café owner is different. He watches. The others all have something they hate. And they all have something they love more than eating or sleeping or wine or friendly company. That is why they are always so busy.”
I must admit that I am a sucker for books with nice-sounding titles. Carson McCullers’ The Heart is a Lonely Hunter is one such book; the metaphor is so apt and the lyrical quality of the title made it necessary for me to read it. Its title hints at what the book’s themes are, and these themes appeal to me greatly because I can relate greatly with what McCullers had to say.
210608
—
It feels odd to chance upon a gem of a quote in a baking recipe book but I guess the process of creating food and the making of a choice regarding what to it is itself infused with the creator’s perspective on life. Brillat-Savarin said, “tell me what kind of food you eat, and I will tell you what kind of man you are.” Our choce of what to eat is an expression of our own worldview and attitude to life.
200608
—
A landmark day: I made my first ever loaf of bread today! Actually it is two loafs. The bread was pretty dense; it reminded me of chiffon cake. Next time I should let it rest for longer to get a less dense bread. The taste was there though. It is definitely better than the average Gardenia or Sunshine crap we get. My sister remarked that the bread is slightly too salty; I will add less salt next time.
A Roman standard, apparently.
My sister didn’t like the strong garlic taste. It is quite a spartan recipe. But I love garlic. I used fettuccine instead of linguine. Parmesan helped give the dish more flavour.
Cooking pasta
—
1) Synchronise pasta and sauce.
2) Boil 5 litres of water for every 450g of pasta in big pot. Use at least 3 litres of water if cooking less pasta.
3) Add 1.5-2 tablespoon of salt for every 450g of pasta when water boils. Water will bubble furiously.
4) This is the cue to tip in all the pasta.
5) Give pasta a brisk stir and cover. Once water boils, take off the lid and reduce heat slightly.
6) Let water simmer for given cooking time for pasta on package. Stir pasta frequently while cooking.
7) Drain and mix with sauce.
this is cool as heck, and I am just recording it here so that I can try it later. Got the tip to go find this recipe after reading a Sunday Times article about Mark Bittman.
090608
—
Ah crap. I ran my first run since my injury, and completed the entire 8km. However the tendon worked up halfway, somewhere along the 4km mark. It started to hurt, and I pushed on for the next 4km, albeit at a slower pace. I changed my running style such that my strides are larger and the impact fell more on the heel, and it worked as the pain was lessened. Actually it was avoided, because when I got home, I realised that I aggravated the injury. If I run again tomorrow, I can kiss my impending holidays and IPPT test goodbye. Good thing that my job stint starts tomorrow.
080608
—
Training is exactly the same as the previous session, with a minor change: the 3 round warmup run was reinstated. Pace of the run was very slow, because of the weakened and healing achilles tendon. It ached a bit, which is not very good news. Performance overall was good.
070608
—
‘Cause he gets up in the morning,
And he goes to work at nine,
And he comes back home at five-thirty,
Gets the same train every time.
‘Cause his world is built ’round punctuality,
It never fails.
- The Kinks, A Well Respected Man
The figure of the common man has recurred so often in so many aspects of human society and culture, under various labels which refer essentially to the same thing. For example, in the area of law, the common man the much-maligned and criticised “reasonable man” in tort law and the officious bystander in contract law. In literature, Arthur Miller portrayed the hardships and delusions suffered by a struggling salesman who lives on “a smile and a shoeshine” in Death of a Salesman. In music, Johnny Cash sang songs about the downtrodden, the common man living on the streets, eking out a living for himself and his family. The Kinks wrote this particular song, A Well Respected Man, which I found to be a particularly apposite description of the common 9-5 working man.
060608
A.C. Grayling’s use of the metaphor of Hercules’ choice between Duty and Pleasure resonated with me. In Greek mythology, Hercules was confronted by Duty, represented by a slender fair lady in robes, and Pleasure, a voluptuous siren, and he had to choose between the two. He chose Duty and the rest was history. Within the context, Duty was equated with Virtue and Pleasure, with Vice.
I find this struggle between Duty and Pleasure a central concern in my life, and a constant source of uncertainty and contemplation.
050608
Same regime as 030608, with two minisets included: Wide-arm pushups x 50, Leg lifts x 50. This is to compensate for the rest day tomorrow. Performance this time was pretty good, but I need to account for the fact that I had a late and heavier lunch (Subway!). The feeling of a lack of blood sugar is not as strong, which might explain why I felt better this time. I need to increase my sets soon. Exercises are getting easier, with the sole exception of the pushups at the end. Even floorwipers are easier now.
030608
Regime is the same as yesterday. Once again it is done at double quicktime to create the cardiac burn of an aerobic workout. This is to compensate for the lack of actual aerobic exercise due to my injured tendon. Surprisingly, my performance did not dip, despite the fact that I have done the same thing 24 hours earlier.
