what do you do?

i can’t adequately describe how much work i have had to do this week. on monday i was breezing along, four deadlines to get on with plus some corporate stuff and my work for popgagdet, a brisk but manageable amount.

then on tuesday, CHAOS erupted. my email brought two last-minute offers of work for later in the week, and two for the next day, one of which came in at 3.40 in the afternoon — could i do 1000 words for tomorrow morning? er, no.

i mean yes. for that amount, yes, thank you, yes!

so i dropped everything, started finding people to interview (in which i was helped by louise and anne, who are stars, one and both, as is suzie hayman, lovely woman). i worked and wrote and finished my other piece in and around it all, and stayed up until 2am writing and polishing and proofing. then i got up at 6.30, finished proofing and editing and sent my pieces off.

it would have been really nice to have a nap then, but instead i had a 50 minute interview to transcribe, which took a lot longer than 50 mins. i also had to do an interview with someone in america and answer emails for work. but i was asleep by 1 am and didn’t get up until 8.30 today - luxury!

then i had interviews to prepare for and do, more emails to answer… and i now have one more interview to do then two articles to pull together this afternoon, one pretty much from scratch. i suspect i’ll be working late again, before getting up early to write another two articles tomorrow.

THEN on saturday i’ll be doing some corporate work and on sunday guess what i’m writing? two articles? go to the top of the class! more of the same on monday, and i have the nervous breakdown planned for tuesday. gurney please!
i’m taking life in one-hour increments at the moment. and i’m not complaining — i mean, this is pushing my health to the limit, i can’t remember when i last got dressed and if every week was like this it would give me a stroke, but it is still three MILLION times better than constant rejections.

so i’m NOT complaining, i’m just telling you how busy i am, in order to highlight the stupidity of my indulging in a meme right now. and yet that is what i am doing.
because it is clearly imperative that you find out what an unbelievably fussy eater i am. (yes, way more than you, gemma — i mean, seafood? wtf?)

it’s a list of unusual foods, and i have to say which i’ve tried. i’d love it if you’d add your thoughts/experiences in the comments section, and feel free to consider yourself tagged to do this on your own blog.

i’m doing the keris version TM (she added some stuff as four Qs were missing) but ms mac has done it too. here goes!
1. steak tartare - NO. bleurgh.

2. crocodile - no, but i have had alligator, and it was really fatty. bleurgh.

3. black pudding - a sausage made of BLOOD? i’d rather eat my own puke. not that i have…
4. peanut butter and jelly sandwich - i don’t like jam (which is what is meant by ‘jelly’ in this context). nor do i like jelly.
5. aloo gobi - i think i might have, at a buffet. whatever.
6. hot dog from a street cart - nope, i wanted to but my mum wouldn’t when we were in new york, and the ones in england don’t have the same ‘romance’. i used to practically live on hot dogs, though.

7. epoisses - i don’t like soft cheese.

8. black truffle - i don’t like mushrooms so i doubt i’d enjoy this. and at that price!
9. fruit wine made from something other than grapes - i don’t think i have.

10. steamed pork buns - hee, buns. and no.
11. pistachio ice cream - yes! yum.

12. heirloom tomatoes - i don’t like tomatoes.

13. fresh wild berries - i don’t like berries.

14. foie gras - the cruellest thing a carnivore can eat, so no.

15. rice and beans - no.

16. brawn - this really sounds unpleasant. no.

17. raw scotch bonnet pepper - do i look crazy to you? wait, don’t answer that. no.
18. dulce de leche - no.

19. oysters - yuk. no.

20. baklava - no, but i’d like to (really!)

21. bagna cauda - no.

22. wasabi peas - yes! they were HOT. never again.
23. clam chowder - i don’t like clams.
24. salted lassi - i don’t like yoghurt. and salted? ick.

25. sauerkraut - ugh, no.

26. root beer float - don’t like root beer. have had many a coke float, though. yum.

27. cognac with a fat cigar – no.

28. devonshire tea - yes, but only if the scones are plain (no raisins) and i won’t have any jam, of course. interestingly, they always call it devonshire tea in australia, rather than cream tea. do they even know where devonshire is?
29. vodka jelly - i don’t like jelly. but yes.

30. gumbo - i’ve a feeling this involves seafood, so no.

31. oxtail - no. have eaten tongue, though.

32. curried goat - no.

33. whole insects - not likely.

34. phaal - supposed to be the hottest curry ever. i haven’t but i’ve sat next to someone who has. men are stupid.

35. goat’s milk - no. goat’s cheese, yes (but only the hard kind).
36. malt whisky from a bottle worth £60 or more - ha, no.

37. chicken tikka masala - yes. it was a bit hot for me, though. i know.

39. eel - eew. no. eels freak me out.

40. krispy kreme original glazed doughnut - yes! in brisbane this year. yuuuum.

41. sea urchin - no way.

42. prickly pear - i don’t like fruit. or prickles.

43. umeboshi - i don’t like fruit.

44, abalone - sea snails! NO.

45. paneer - i don’t think so…

46. mcdonald’s big mac meal - i think so. i had a big mac once, i can’t remember if it was part of a meal or not, but it probably was. i didn’t enjoy it due to the fact that it was too big, covered in plastic cheese, strewn with gerkins and onions (neither of which i like) and had gone cold.

47. spätzle - no, but i would. looks harmless enough.

48. dirty gin martini - no. i don’t really like gin. or vermouth.

49. beer above 8% ABV - i er, don’t like beer.

50. poutine - fries topped with cheese curds? NO.

51. carob chips - no, but i used to eat a lot of carob-covered peanuts when i was off chocolate. they were okay.
52. s’mores - no, i’ve never been to an american cookout! i don’t like marshmellows, though.

53. sweetbreads - ha ha, riiiight.

54. kaolin - a mineral? no, that would be weird.

55. currywurst - no. it sounds a bit too spicy…

56. durian - don’t like fruit, keep up.
57. frogs’ legs - no.

58. beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake - churros, many a time. delicioso!

59. haggis - no. no no no.

60. fried plantain - aka: banana by any other name? no.

61 chitterlings - no way no how.

62. gazpacho - no. but i might.
63. caviar and blini- no.

64. louche absinthe - okay this is getting boring. no!

65. gjetost, or brunost - weird cheese! no.

66. roadkill - er, what do you think?
67. baijiu - no, but it sounds like surgical spirit. i’ve put that on my feet before.

68. hostess fruit pie - i’m not american and i don’t.like.fruit.

69. snail - oh yum. KIDDING!
70. lapsang souchong - i don’t like tea.

71. bellini - YES! mmmm.

72. tom yum - a what now? oh, thai with whole prawns in. yech, no.
73. eggs benedict - i don’t like runny eggs. and i could live without hollandaise sauce, frankly.

74. pocky - whaty? oh, it’s like a cadbury’s finger, so i’m going to say yes. kinda.

75. tasting menu at a three-michelin-star restaurant - ha! no. what’s the betting i wouldn’t like it, though?

76. kobe beef - no but i’d like to.

77. hare - no. used to eat rabbit as a child, but never really associated it with… rabbits. after that clicked, i never ate it again. (same story with tongue).
78. goulash - i don’t know. probably.

79. flowers - no, but i would.

80. horse - no. and i won’t be trying it.

81. criollo chocolate - no.

82. spam - of course! it’s best fried.

83. soft shell crab - i’ve had crab at a wedding, not sure if it was soft shell or not. it was edible but i wouldn’t have it again.

84. rose harissa - no, but i’m planning on trying a harissa on haddock recipe i saw in glamour.

85. no. i envision them as still having the whsikers on. yuk.

86. mole poblano - yes! haha.

87. bagel and smoked salmon - yes, with cream cheese too. it was vile.

88. lobster thermidor -no. i’ve had lobster soup, but i don’t think it had ever seen a lobster. it was nice, though.
89. polenta - yes. flavourless.

90. jamaican blue mountain coffee - no. i don’t like coffee.

91. snake - ewwww. NO.

92. tripe -no. my grandma loved it though, bless her.
93. heart - noooo.
94. kangaroo - no. i have fed a few kangaroos though, they’re gorgeous.

95. civet coffee - pre-pooped coffee? i don’t like coffee, and i wouldn’t if i did.

96. shark - no. aren’t they endangered?

97. chicken feet - noooo. but they were on offer in singapore (as was ‘pig’s organ soup’.)
98. tequila worms - ewww. no.

99. moussec - no.

100. any egg other than chicken - haha, yes! duck. and it was nice. pretty colour too.

now you…