A Weekend Wisely Spent

Plus Birthday Bells 🔔🔔🔔

I turn 30 in 3 days. It’s a unique feeling to be on the brink of a brand new decade of this life. The last time this happened, I was a teen. 😁

Now, to be honest, I used to be super scared of birthdays. Morbidly enough, I didn’t get the point of celebrating a milestone that brought you closer to death. On the eve of my 25th birthday, I got my head shaved - maybe as a means of showing life that I control it, and not the other way around, what with all these annoying birthdays, smh.

As time has passed, I’ve been able to find acceptance and happiness in this process. I see the value that each consequent year and decade bring to my life. And I am thankful for it.

Now if you are someone I hang out with in real life, you may know that I have spent this past decade being something of a “hobby nomad”. I have picked up several hobbies in this time, from playing a host of musical instruments (guitar, ukulele, harmonica, violin - not that I got any good at these), to painting, to swimming, to cooking. And of course, writing poetry 🤓.

Of these, the one hobby that never fails to delight me is cooking. I love it!

I make all kinds of food, and love feeding myself as well as my friends + family. It is a super rewarding experience to see someone’s face light up when they take a bite of something you’ve cooked, isn’t it?

Now you, dear reader, may look at the title of this post, look at all this reflective rambling above, and wonder, how are these two related? Well, the answer is as follows:

I distinctly remember how I used to dread The Weekend Before My Birthday™, back when I disliked turning old. I would spend it miserably, either deep in the sorrow of the upcoming event, or burrowing myself deep in some not-too-urgent work.

This time, I did the opposite.

I decided to bake some bread.

Yes. I went ahead, and baked myself some delicious bread. I baked home-made bread for the first time, and was DELIGHTED by the outcome. So much so, that I decided to dedicate today’s post to that experience.

So, without further ado, let’s get started.

Alright, poem starts in 3… 2… 1!

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Sugar, yeast,
salt, water, flour.
Mix them, put aside for hours.
⏲

Let it sit till
nicely risen.
Put it in a baking prison.
👨‍🍳

After baking 
forty minutes.
Put a thermometer in it.
🥵

Once it's at the 
right temperature.
Put it out to cool in nature.
❄

When it's cooled
just slice it open.
Add some melted butter golden.
🧈

Or maybe just add some veggies
Add some cheese - the kind that's stretchy.
🧀

Eat it up and feel content.
And that's A Weekend Wisely Spent.

😇😇

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That’s it!

Keep reading to see a different “Some fun stuff” section below.

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Some fun stuff:

It’s a bit different here today. It’s not the usual reading listening and watching treats. Instead, here are some photos and gifs of my bread-baking adventures:

1. The baking of the dough…

Patience is a hard virtue. 😥

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2. The slicing of the loaf…

Look at that incredible brown crust! 👆👆

And those luxurious air pockets! 😋😋

This first slice was eaten as is, with no butter or condiments. It was TOTALLY worth it.

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3. The resultant sandwiches…

Crunchy, tasty, melt in the mouth. I would pay good money to eat these at a restaurant!

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Before I sign off, I just want to share a token of gratitude with you, the reader. With a birthday on the horizon, I was naturally motivated to take stock of this past year of my life. And this beautiful community of 199 readers has quickly become a source of infinite joy and happiness in my life.

THANK YOU for reading my thoughts and poems every week.

As a birthday gift, I would be glad to know in the comments (or as a reply to this email) -

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF HELLO UNIVERSE?

What is the first thought that comes to your mind when you see my name in your inbox. What feelings do you associate with this newsletter?

That’s it from my end this week.

See you next decade (haha).