The Week's Tales, Part 1

Ok, I know what you're thinking. "Laura Beth, where were you?? We haven't heard from you in ages." I know, I know, I haven't been to the blog recently. Things have been a little stressful around here what with the computer failing, which completely changed the tone of this summer. Getting online takes more time, and I have to consider if my flatmates need the flat's desktop computer for anything. But I'm making it work-- usually we have to sit on the (hard) wooden coffee table to access the computer, but I've figured out how to move the screen, keyboard, and mouse so I can sit in an armchair and still be online. It's not too bad.

Alrighty, so in the process of losing the computer, I also lost my pictures from the weekend. I'm going to try to retrieve them when I get home, but that's two months from tomorrow (plus, I may not be able to get to them regardless). So I'll have to just describe what I've done over the past week or so. This'll be in a series of posts so you don't get too bored, I hope. ;)

Let's begin with last Friday night, June 6. Azeema, one of my friends from First Session, was getting ready to leave on Tuesday, and one of her goals while in London was to go to the Absolut Ice Bar. The Ice Bar is just that, a bar made out of ice in a room of ice with a big ice chair surrounded by ice sculptures. Ice, ice (baby)! Patrons reserve a time and receive a 'designer parka' to wear during their 40 minutes at the bar. Now, I don't drink and I'd never been to a bar before, but a room of ice is pretty cool (bad jokes abounded that night...) so I opted to go along. Maneeza had to loan me some suitable bar apparel as I had absolutely no idea how to dress. :) Anyways, £15 pounds later and there I was, chillin' in my parka in a relatively small ice room. Maneeza doesn't drink either so we walked up to the bar and ordered our 'Ice Heists' virgin. We watched as the bartenders, wearing furry Elmer Fudd hats, poured some juice into blocks of ice with cylindrical holes bored through them (these were our cups). Why anyone would pay £6 pounds for a shot of vodka and two shots of juice is beyond me. The juice was good, and we got some neat pics around the room. It was neat, but something of a novelty. Plus, the bar scene doesn't really jive with my own, so that's probably one of the last bars I'll make a point to visit.

On Saturday we had a quiet day at the flat as we rested from the previously busy week. Knowing that my flatmates would all begin work on Monday, I settled down to work out some sight-seeing plans. I made a (lengthy) list of all the things I want to see in London and started figuring out just when to make it all happen.

Oh yeah! Saturday night was also my first experience cooking a real meal for myself. Before, I had been relying on precooked chicken kievs and frozen dishes for most of my meals, but I thought it was high time I cook an actual meal. Earlier in the week, I had looked up some easy recipes and, after a quick trip to Sainsbury's for ingredients, locked myself in the kitchen to try my hand at 'Chicken Cacciatore with Penne.' First thing was to pan fry the chicken. Hm. I've pan fried fish before but not chicken; perhaps the process is similar. I plopped some chicken breasts into a pot with a little drizzle of olive oil and watched expectantly as the pieces began turning white. Now that looks more like chicken! After the chicken was done cooking, I added the remaining ingredients (chopped pepper, onion, and tomatoes, chicken stock, garlic powder, oregano, and whole wheat penne pasta) and let the pot simmer for 15 minutes. I opened the kitchen door and settled down at the kitchen table to read a little.

Within minutes, I heard cries from the living room. My flatmates came rushing in, noses working in overdrive, wondering what on earth smelled so good. I just about died laughing as they lifted the pot's lid and declared that my food was making them 'incredibly hungry' and 'desperately needing to eat.' Because I couldn't smell much of what I was cooking, I left the kitchen and returned. A rich, warm scent greeted me as I smelled the combination of peppers, tomatoes, and spices. It really was very good. ;) My flatmates left soon afterward to get their own food.

Again, because I require a strangely high level of aesthetics from my food, I arranged a colourful salad on my plate along with a helping of the chicken pasta and a piece of garlic toast, with Parmesan cheese freshly grated over everything (with my new hand grater from Ikea). It was fantastic! And so easy! I took a picture, but it might be from the ones I lost. Hm, ah well. In any case, not too bad for a rookie!