Sapped

As most of you will have noticed, I haven't been posting very often. As I type this, I am going through just one of the many phases of my life, a phase which most of you will go, are going or have gone through. University's not bad, especially not the one where I'm at now. I've done a lot of fun and crazy stuff over the course of the past two weeks. I went through orientation, met tons of new faces, went to two ice cream socials, heard three concerts, jumped a gorge twice, swam under a waterfall, took a French placement exam, got just the score I wanted, went to a few frat parties, got totally wasted and still was able to get up that next day for classes. So, it's a totally "work hard, play harder" life, the way life should be, the way my youth should be.

In a way, ever since I started doing this food blog, I've been really creatively sapped. Writing one post isn't easy - it takes a lot of effort. And thanks to the perfectionist in me, it makes it many times worse. It's not that I don't like writing, and I definitely won't stop eating (trust me, I love the food here).

I knew this day would come. This is definitely not the only thing I have to do. Even over my vacation, when I didn't have any schoolwork, I was doing a lot of writing (and reading) projects, like helping my aunt with here basket selling website and trying (unsuccessfully) to write a book. But the thing that really got me was how blogging affected my journal writing. I have ardently kept a journal for three years already, and ever since I began blogging, my journal writing has been really affected.

I never wanted to keep a conventional blog, where I shared my day to day happenings, and what I feel about my (rather shitty) life - that method is so voyeuristic and for a personal journal. That's why I decided to do a food blog instead. And having to write the food blog meant a trade off in time for journal writing. I feel quite pissed at the fact that I haven't written a journal entry in three months, my last entry being the one just before I left for Hong Kong. Starting that Hong Kong excursion blog on top of the flog was a mistake on my part - I just didn't have the time.

But now that I have lectures and sections to attend, I don't know what I'll be doing with my life. It's fun and all, but it's really just school again. So, with much regret, I will have to say that this blog will become inactive. I'm not going to give up food blogging totally, but the fact is, I don't think I can keep up with myself if I did a review for every meal. Besides, the dining halls here are like buffets, so there won't be much to review, because I'll be essentially eating the same food over and over again. I will, however, try to post infrequently (perhaps around once a month) because the university has these traveling chefs come in four times a year to cook great food for us. And I can always go to Collegetown for some food and drink on the weekends.

So with that, I bid you au revoir. I will see you again, just not as often as before. I hope you guys will still come visiting, 'cos it's a great feeling seeing all those numbers on my statcounter. I really love you guys.

Inflight Meal @ UA882, 40000 feet in the air

Unspecified meal

• Green Garden Salad with Italian Dressing
• Cold Grilled Chicken salad
• Dinner Bun
• Roast Beef chunks with Potato Wedges and Steamed vegetables
• Sponge Cake with Icing
• A Can of Canadian Dry Ginger Ale
• Mineral Water

This is probably the best inflight meal I've tasted yet. It was on the flight that left from Tokyo, which just goes to show how much better the Japanese are at cooking inflight meals compared to the Singapore or Hong Kong airports. The dinner bun that came with it was actually warm! So was the butter, which was creamy and soft, and not half frozen and unspreadable. And I was flying economy!

The chunks of beef tossed in a thick brown gravy weren't all that good, but then again, you can't possibly expect much at 40000 feet in the air. They were passable, and at least they tasted good after I sprinkled some of the pepper that came in a little paper sachet with the plastic utensils. The potato wedges were soft and disintegrated upon hitting the roof of your mouth, though I never did have a taste for potato wedges, or potatoes of any kind for that matter - frenched or otherwise.

The cold cut dish was a rather odd combination. There was the chicken breast, which was rough but tasty. Then there was the Japanese beans which I had to squeeze with my fingers to get out. The taste was truly special, though I can't say I liked to, nor did it leave a lasting impression in my mind. I know it tasted like something I'd had before, but just couldn't put my finger on it (which were currently on the beans). As you can guess, I don't eat these beans often - not even at the sushi belts - though my parents just adore them. Separated by a plastic piece of artificial grass from the chicken was a slice of winter melon, which also didn't go with the overall dish.

Yes, it wasn't that good, but taste buds are suppressed at such altitudes. And this just goes to show that even though United is in Chapter 11 mode, it can still have good service.

Total cost: Included
Rating: aaaaa

http://www.united.com/