Day 35:

Blueberries are the solidest food I can eat. I braved eating a chickpea curry stew the other night. While delicious, I imagine I looked like a cat eating in slo-mo as I chowed it down.

Knuckle tattoo idea: SOUP LIFE

I’ve become so skilled in pureeing hot food that I was able to repay a friend in soup for making a cake.

Three days before his birthday, I asked the roomie about his favourite cake. The clearly troubled middle-aged lad answered, “Carrot cake.”

I’ve never made carrot cake. I’ve never officially created a list of my top ten cakes, but it wouldn’t be there. I didn’t have eggs or the time to bake a cake unnoticed. Instead, I asked a few friends for recommendations on where to get a good carrot cake, hoping none of them would answer Costco as that’s far away, and I’m not a member.

Claire had my favourite answer, “I could bake you one.”

The others in the group chat had glowing endorsements for Claire’s baking skills. Even with the bartering of homemade soup, I felt the need to personalize the cake to transform it into a gift from me rather than from Claire. I used the garden as an excuse to hang out in the backyard while awaiting the stealth cake hand-off. The roomie was hanging right outside the door of our suite as Claire walked through. Happily, it passed under the roomie’s nose undetected.

I was unsure how to decorate it, much less how to decorate it secretly. I put the box containing the cake in a paper bag, stuck the bag behind my box of Bubly sparkling water, and went to bed. I didn’t think the cake decorating was going to happen.

That night, I dreamt up the perfect cake decoration that did not require using the kitchen.

Continue reading “Scary rides.” →