1) Cooking
While I know the basics of how to cook things and do so at home, it has not been until now that I have really had to cook a lot for myself. I’ve concluded , over the past few weeks, that cooking a good meal can be such a pain!
Take today, for instance. I decided I wanted a meal involving chicken and avocado. So after I got back from school around 7pm, I took out chicken breast from the freezer and started to defrost it. However, the chicken breast I wanted was completely frozen to another piece of chicken breast, so I had to wait for it to defrost slightly before I could pull the two apart and put the other one back in the freezer.
While I was waiting on that, I decided to make a salad so I wouldn’t eat myself before I could cook the chicken. Since two of my housemates, Marieke and Dayal, also decided to cook at this time, I had to wait around to use the limited cutting boards and sharp knives that came with the house.
Finally, I made my salad, ate it and moved on to cooking the chicken which I defrosted in the microwave before frying it a giant pot which I had to use because Dayal was using the only skillet. I also fried up some onions to go with the chicken. As it turned out, the avocado wasn’t ripe so I ended up just having the chicken, seasoned with mustard and curry powder, and the onions.
All of this, hindered slightly by my housemates, took about an hour and half and this does not include to the time I had to spend washing up which I will get to later.
After having to do all this for a yummy and simple meal makes me further appreciate all the people in my life who have ever spent time making me dinner, simple or special, because making dinner can really eat up a lot of time!
So time for the grateful shoutouts to all lovely people who have ever cooked a nice meal for me, in particular: Mom, Dad, Laura, KKy, Mr. & Mrs. G, my aunts and uncles, friends and their families, and of course, Chef Rose Dolly. Thank you sooo much!
2) Dishwashers
We don’t have a dishwasher in the house. This isn’t a problem because it’s very easy to wash dishes by hand. Yet, I don’t think I appreciated the convenience of having a dishwasher and just popping dirty dishes in it and running it as I go about the day instead of having to take extra time out of my morning before I go to school and washing my breakfast dishes. Feel lucky to have one.
3) Laundry Dryers
We also lack a laundry dryer here. For the most part, Townsville is super hot and humid so things dry quite easily on the outside line. But, then we get those cloudy, rainy days when I’ll really need to do laundry and then I will have to hang my things on various chairs and tables inside because we don’t have a portable laundry rack yet and hope that it dries soon. I also miss how clothes feel after they’ve been dried in the dryer versus the air.
4) Car
Like I mentioned in my last post, it gives you so much freedom! Also, having an automatic car, because manuals are a pain to drive!
Cooking: Yes! I love it when people cook for me. I really need to learn to do it for myself though. It seems like it does take a lot of time and effort but I’m also finding that it doesn’t have to be as difficult and complicated as I think it is. For instance, it’s pretty easy to cook up some rice and lentils with curry powder. Sara has been cooking up a storm! It’s inspiring. I guess even if it takes a long time cooking for yourself is worth it, especially for someone like me who likes good food!
Dishwasher: My family got rid of our dishwasher and it’s not bad at all! I’m glad that I’ve gotten to learn how to do dishes w/o one early on, esp. cause I think it takes even longer to rinse and wash dishes in the dishwasher!
Laundry Dryer: All I can say is, that has to be hard. Line drying is so much better for the environment, I know, but I’ve noticed, too, that clothes don’t feel soft afterward – in fact they can be kind of rough and crusty, which I really hate! But after you wear them a while they loosen up.
Car: Well, I’ve never had one, but it’s getting harder and harder not having one, so I think I understand how difficult it would be for someone who’s used to having a car to not have one. It’s great that your roommate has one now, though! I’d say the reason I most want to drive is to go to the grocery store.
My dad says everyone should learn to drive a manual and he won’t drive anything else! I think I’m going to stick to learning to drive a regular automatic car first though!