Thursday, June 30, 2011

On Sadness

Is it truly a feeling of loss? A lack? Ten years have passed. Do I still know what I'd be missing? Do I understand what life would be like, otherwise? Am I missing what-might-have-been?

Or is it merely a memory of how I felt ten years ago?

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Summer Fun and Rum Punches

Well, it hasn't really been that fun. I won't go into details, but there are lots of things I should be doing, which I'm not always on top of. This tends to ruin the fun I have when I am doing things that are supposed to be fun.

So far, I've been doing a lot of reading, and a lot of biking (I'm changing routes en-route now, and making directions up as I go along, which is cozy - thank goodness I have an excellent sense of direction!). I have also been going to Moth Up's with a friend of mine. These are events at pubs, where a few people from the "audience" get up to the mic and tell stories. Some have been prepared in advance, while some are off-the-cuff. Some are better than others, but they're definitely fun events to go to.

I'm in the process of burying (deeply) memories of the summer course I took, that ended earlier this month. Those things I'm supposed to be doing include my research assistant research, my volunteer curator supervisory responsibilities, and planning the next student conference. Oh, and making money.

Anyway, to get down to business: My friend from home introduced me to her family's traditional Barbados Rum Punch recipe, which we used to drink while watching The Tudors and eating Trader Joe's frozen foods (I miss TJ's.) The original recipe, (from memory, so it's probably not exact) goes like this:

1 shot dark rum
2 shots pineapple juice
2 shots orange juice
dash of bitters.

Mix/Stir, Serve. (If you want it fancy I'd add an orange slice or a pineapple slice, or both!)

I don't buy pineapple or orange juice, because I find I just never drink them.

I do drink Ceres' Fruit Medley mix (with tropical fruits like passionfruit, guava, pineapple). Well, I haven't been making rum punches, because I figured it would be better with the original ingredients. Until today. I tried the Fruit Medley, added a half-shot of Triple Sec for orange flavor. So my new Rum Punch - Canadian Variation:

1 shot dark rum
4 shots Ceres Fruit Medley
1/2 shot Triple Sec
2-3 dashes bitters

Mix/Stir, Serve. (If you want it fancy I'd add an orange slice or a pineapple slice, or both!)

It's marvelously tasty. I dare you to try it! Or, try both, and tell me which one you like better.