"Curver"-container exploded during first attempt to cook Thai

"Everything is impermanent", say the Buddhists. And so is my "Curver"-container (similar to Tupperware).
After having watched several videos on Thai cooking at youtube.com today, I decided to give it a try myself. The big advantage of videos in comparison to books is that you can actually observe the whole cooking procedure. Makes it easier to avoid mistakes.
Thus, highly enthusiastic and looking forward to my delicious Thai dessert tomorrow(sticky rice dessert), I started cooking around 9 pm (didn't get very far though).
I love sticky rice and I was quite surprised to hear that you do not have to soak it for a couple of hours as I always used to do. It is enough to leave it for 20 minutes in water, rinse the water but leave enough to microwave the rice in the following for about 10 minutes.
Quick and easy. Good news for me!

I made a very good start: the soaking went well! No problems (well, ok, I could have taken a larger bowl, but apart from that, no problems).
Then, I put the rice into the "Curver" container and closed the lid, which already seemed a bit odd to me, because as far as I know, the microwave heats up from inside and thus causing a big pressure if the air cannot exhaust anywhere. I remember what happens to "Super Dickmann's"



when you try to microwave them.

However - I trusted the Thai cook as she was the expert! So I closed the lid, set the clock on 10 minutes and started the microwave on full power (about 800 watt). After about 3 minutes I heard the first plopp. The lid popped up.
"Well", I thought "I knew this could never work. But well...now that the lid is open, everything will be fine. Yummy sticky rice is about to be ready soon!"

Instead of waiting in front of the microwave, staring into the window which - as mum always said - is not good for my eyes, I decided to go and brush my teeth in the meantime.
Being in the bath, I heard another plopp. This made me think...My feeling and the smell which did not come from my incense stick, made me go to the microwave and STARE INTO THE WINDOW.

Now that was fun. I could not at all remember having used my black sticky rice...

But this was not all. When I wanted to get the container with the burned rice out of the microwave, I got to know that it had actually melted and was glued to the microwave...The bottom was a big whole, the rice was black and reminded me of a brick. I assume, I could menace students with it if they do not do their homework properly ("Teacher throws sticky rice at student. Student dies!").

I wished I had a digicam on hand - I should post a picture to you AND THE THAI cook.
However, I still wanted to have this nice dessert and having destroyed one good container already (which is a big loss for me, because living in my first own appartement, I hardly have any kitchen utensils), why not giving it another try ;) .

The second time (400 Watt, 4 minutes) worked! :)
And my "curver"-box is the best example for the impermanence of things. As a monk once taught me: "Imagine you have a nice cup. Consider it as being broken right from the beginning, because once it breaks, you do not suffer from the loss."
So be it....

Nun or no nun, that is the question

Well, it has been quite a while since my last post and many things happened in the meantime.

First of all, I turned 29 years *wooohh*...old..However, I do not fall into midlife crisis or anything like that. At least not since "Dove" have produced "pro age" products. I belong to the type of women who become older without regrets and who associate age with growing wisdom, knowledge, life experience, INCOME, inner stability, growing fat depots that don't matter because nobody expects a women with kids to have a slim figure (the best thing is: I do not have kids, but growing fat is still allowed...) - become unattractive is widely accepted. It is nearly a have-to! Women who are in their 40ies and still try to look like 20 are considered to have little self-confidence and superficial. I am not like that. I am fully aware that wrinkles are to come soon. My hair has started to fall out a year ago already. But I don't care. I am prepared to get old. I know, I can do it. I will survive. Yeah me.

Second very important point to mention is my new flatmate. We get on quite well. He is easy to handle, that's what I like. The only disadvantage is that he keeps me quite busy so that I do not find the time to prepare lessons for school as planned. But I love him anyway...my new Hp compaq nx6310 . And the mouse...sweet...

Finally, I should mention my trip to Thailand.

Lindi and me in Tuk Tuk in Bangkok:





This has been the third time that I went to Thailand and - as always - I went to a Wat again. Even though I had more mosquito bites than leg and I fell ill in the last days, I did enjoy my stay. I love temple life. Don't ask me why. In fact, if people ask me about my holidays, the only things I can tell them is....:

- getting up at 4 in the morning
- one meal a day
- extremely humid weather
- lot of mosquitoes
- I basically lived on a construction site, as the temple is not finished
- we got jackhammer sounds every day for lunch
- whenever it rained (every day) I could not close the door to my kuti, because the wooden door expanded when getting wet
- I fell awfully sick in the last days, that I nearly slept 35 hours in the last two days.

Construction cite on temple area & a new Buddha delivered:







So, all in all: yeah, it was great. I enjoyed it! Don't ask me why, but I really do feel well there! And I will go back. I have announced my becoming a nun to my friends and relatives already (which would solve the problem with my vanishing hair...). Well, I am not 100% convinced, because teaching conditions in Germany are pretty good and I am not sure whether I want to abstain from further world trips, a nice comfy bed, a hot shower, etc....There are a few things I would miss on a long term, I assume, including the fact that - as a nun - I would not be able to donate anything to the temple. Working in Germany, in contrast, would allow me a fairly decent living.
So here I am, not knowing what is more important: money and financial security or to life in a place where one feels at home in the present moment. How far should one make plans for the future? Should we care about tomorrow, about next year? Where does courage end and stupidity begin?
I do not know and I guess, I will never find out...