How to Cook Pasta in the Microwave
where i've been #8: the most chaotic day of my life
As you might’ve noticed, I’ve been rather lacklustre in the amount of articles recently. Once you’ve read this newsletter, you will understand my incredibly hectic lifestyle. Therefore, to keep my writing muscle working and my readers entertained with my goings-on, I have opted for a monthly format. If inspiration strikes, I may upload mid-month, but for now, this is what I’m sticking to. Enjoy!
October simultaneously felt like the longest yet fastest month of the year. An unbelievable amount of things happened and before I knew it, it was Halloween week and pitch-black at 4PM. However, there is one day that sticks out in particular, simply because I think it could quite possibly be one of the craziest days I’ve ever had. One that Ferris Bueller could be proud of.
Let me recap Tuesday 17th October.
As per normal on a Tuesday, I woke up bright and early to get myself ready and my bag packed for uni. However, I left my flat much sooner than usual, in order to meet my friend at the local Waterstones, for a week prior to this day, I had seen on Instagram that comedic legend Miriam Margolyes would be there signing books.
We arrived at the bookshop at 9:30, where the queue was already snaked around the shelves (this is York; nowhere is spacious). We bought our copies of Miriam’s latest book, adequately titled Oh Miriam! and flicked through it as we waited. It was as hilarious as you can imagine, with her prose feeling like you are talking to her on Graham Norton’s sofa. And yes, some parts will take your eye out!
After an hour-and-a-half of queuing, we got to meet Miriam, who was absolutely lovely. I can’t complain about the wait time, as she took time to speak to every single person in the shop. It didn’t feel like I was meeting a celebrity, but rather like a kindly grandmother. An anecdote I will cherish forever was when I told her I was running late for my lecture and she said – in her warmest of tones – ‘well, you better piss off then!’ Thank you, Miriam.
What I said about the lecture was very true, so me and my friend hurtled from Waterstones to uni and made it only twenty minutes late for a two-and-a-half hour lecture. It was a really interesting lecture, as we had a guest speaker who is a camera operator on The Yorkshire Vet. He showed us how to operate handheld cameras to their full capacity, instructing us what to focus on and when to move the camera when filming live conversations. Whilst my strengths do not lie in the camera department, I still found it very fascinating how films and series are shot to retain the audience’s attention. Mind you, he made it look very easy!
At lunchtime, I spent my time in the students’ union sorting out an upcoming trip to London. More details about that will hopefully be in an upcoming newsletter! As I was busy scouring Trivago for cheap hotels, I received an email that I would be going on a trip with my university course to the Lake District. I was elated. Even though I am certainly not an outdoorsy kind of girl, I love a good trip away, especially when there’s a pub involved! So, then I had to sort that out, particularly my food choices. Fingers crossed, it’s good – or at least edible!
After lunch, I had a workshop in which we had to separate into different groups and film a scene inspired by The Yorkshire Vet, using the filming techniques we learnt this morning. And I know what you’re thinking: no, I didn’t have to shove my hand up a farmyard animal’s arse. But, I did have to act like a stuffed bunny had a stomach bug. I think I gave an Oscar-worthy performance.
After uni, I had to dash home, for I had booked to see The Full Monty play at the Grand Opera House that evening. My class finished at 5:30PM and the show started at 7:30PM, so you could say that I was pushed for time. But, I had it all figured out: I was going to make pasta, go in the shower, get dressed, head out, be there for 7PM. Good plan, right?
Well, it should’ve been.
Something about me is that I like to cook my pasta in the microwave. I know everyone uses a kettle or the hob, but I like to use the microwave. I got the idea last year from this recipe I read and have used it ever since. And so, like normal, I put the pasta in the bowl, set the microwave for 15 minutes and headed into the shower.
Following my shower, I got dressed in time for the timer to go off. When I returned to the kitchen, the whole place was shrouded in smoke. Frantically, I ran in to see that my pasta was cremated. Literally charred black. And my bowl had split in two. Physically split in two down the middle.
I had forgot the water. I’d put dry pasta in the microwave for 15 minutes.
And so, I opened the windows, grabbed what I can only describe as a ‘girl dinner’ from my fridge, warned (and cried to) my flatmate about the smoke, then ran upstairs to see if my friends had any toast I could eat. They did, and I calmed myself down.
Upon returning to my room, I realised there was nothing else to be done about the microwave, so I decided to head out to the theatre. My head was still spinning and I wreaked like a smoker, but I met up with my friend who handed me two gin tins.
It was my first time in the Grand Opera House, which is a nice little theatre, with ornate designs and soft green seats. It was smaller than the Theatre Royal in Newcastle, but that gave it a more tight-knit feel. My friend and I had the cheaper seats closer to the back, in which the overhang was in view, but that didn’t obstruct our view of the action on-stage.
And what a play it was! I was a tiny bit apprehensive, as I really love the film and honestly prefer musicals to plays, but it was excellent. It kept and added upon all of the comedic element of the film, and tied in modern-day topics into its political discussions, whilst still remaining relevant to its late 90s setting. And of course, the finale was everything. Really glad I went, would highly recommend for anyone wanting a good laugh after a (very) long day!
After the play, my friend and I had one in the Stone Roses Bar next to the theatre, then headed our separate ways towards our homes. Once I entered my flat (which still smelled strongly of smoke), I flopped onto my bed. As you can probably imagine.
There were plenty of highlights in October: going to see 42nd Street at the Theatre Royal, watching Killers of the Flower Moon a day before its release, dancing the night away on Indie Tuesday: Halloween Special and witnessing Newcastle United batter Paris Saint Germain 4 – 1. I wouldn’t recommend the shot of jaeger I did after the latter, though.
However, the 17th doesn’t half stick out in my mind when recapping this month, as you can probably gather by now. And if the 17th of November is just as jam-packed, I will be just as lucky (if you know, you know)!