| 19/1/2010 I'm writing this as I'm drinking hot chocolate. Somehow having a fencing session in the evening followed by the walk down that long hill followed by hot chocolate is making me sleepy. Although the combination does actually make sense. But this hot chocolate I'm drinking is no ordinary hot chocolate, oh no. I first had it yesterday. I followed the instructions and opened the foil to find...white powder. I wondered if Sajida had been duped when she got it for me, so I checked the cylinder again and it was labelled 'White Hot Chocolate'. I had to laugh. It was sold as a Christmas gimmick with the 'White Christmas' theme. And wouldn't you know it, it actually tastes like white chocolate! It also came with a packet of marshmallows to sprinkle on top. That seems to be the new trend at the moment: hot chocolate topped in whipped cream and marshmallows (except I don't have any whipped cream and can't be bothered to buy any). Now I found it surprising that Sajida got me a present including marshmallows. You see, as a Muslim and a devout follower of the halal practice (chiefly, avoiding certain foods) she can't have any marshmallows, since they're made from gellatin (spelt how?), from pig bones. Of course, when she bought it, she probably thought something along the lines of: well Ruth has no problem eating pork-products, so she won't mind. The reason I find it strange is because people's habits and lifestyles are so ingrained that this gets expressed in their presents. In my case, I personally never use those bath lotion/shampoo/aromatherapy kits, which tend to be a bogstandard gift recommendation for womenfolk, so for that reason I never buy it for anyone else. While my Mum has a habit of browsing on eBay and through catalogues, which means she'll find a necklace I might like (and always do) and voila, it's among my presents. If you're wondering what I'm up to well, it's exam time. I had my first one yesterday. The other 2 are next week but I didn't spend any time revising today. I will start again tomorrow. Honest! |