that was the week that was
Sep. 4th, 2015 09:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kindkitHave survived first week of new job responsibilities. It was a long week.
I owe comments/replies to a bunch of you, but right now I'm tired.
About all I've done this last week that wasn't work-related was watch The Great British Bake Off.
The last episode didn't enthrall me as much as they usually do, because gluten-free, sugar-free, or dairy-free baking isn't my thing. (And my pedantic side must note that a cake made with honey or agave syrup or whatever is "sugar free" only in a very narrow sense.) I was happy to see Nadiya win star baker, though--she's one of my favorites.
Last week Ian became another of my favorites. He's so quiet and unassuming that at first I didn't really notice him even when he was winning. But last week he was so geekily charming with his wanting to dance joyfully on trains that I fell for him at that moment. And he's a very very good baker. If I were betting, my money would be on him to win. Also, because I am me, I've kind of started shipping him with Paul Hollywood. (It's not my fault! It's the fault of those frequent moments when Paul gives him The Look and then a smile and Ian blushes!)
My other favorite (apparently I have lots) is Flora, for her cookbook collection and her dry wit. ("The most feminine version of plastering imaginable," she says as she spreads meringue on the sides of a cake.)
And then there's Alvin, who seems like a really lovely man . . .
And Tamal, with his clever ideas and his fondness for injecting things into cakes . . .
. . . yes, I am embarrassed to have been sucked into the personalities and reality-show aspect of the Bake Off as well as the baking aspect. But I have been, and I will be sad as some of my favorites are inevitably eliminated. There's no one left that I really dislike and would be glad to lose (there was only ever Stu, kicked off in the first round, and I wasn't entirely crazy about Ugne with her terrible taste in cake decorating and what seemed like a refusal to learn from what the judges kept telling her).
Hmm, I must check AO3 to see if anyone's written Ian/Paul Hollywood fic. Surely I can't be the only person who sees it?
I owe comments/replies to a bunch of you, but right now I'm tired.
About all I've done this last week that wasn't work-related was watch The Great British Bake Off.
The last episode didn't enthrall me as much as they usually do, because gluten-free, sugar-free, or dairy-free baking isn't my thing. (And my pedantic side must note that a cake made with honey or agave syrup or whatever is "sugar free" only in a very narrow sense.) I was happy to see Nadiya win star baker, though--she's one of my favorites.
Last week Ian became another of my favorites. He's so quiet and unassuming that at first I didn't really notice him even when he was winning. But last week he was so geekily charming with his wanting to dance joyfully on trains that I fell for him at that moment. And he's a very very good baker. If I were betting, my money would be on him to win. Also, because I am me, I've kind of started shipping him with Paul Hollywood. (It's not my fault! It's the fault of those frequent moments when Paul gives him The Look and then a smile and Ian blushes!)
My other favorite (apparently I have lots) is Flora, for her cookbook collection and her dry wit. ("The most feminine version of plastering imaginable," she says as she spreads meringue on the sides of a cake.)
And then there's Alvin, who seems like a really lovely man . . .
And Tamal, with his clever ideas and his fondness for injecting things into cakes . . .
. . . yes, I am embarrassed to have been sucked into the personalities and reality-show aspect of the Bake Off as well as the baking aspect. But I have been, and I will be sad as some of my favorites are inevitably eliminated. There's no one left that I really dislike and would be glad to lose (there was only ever Stu, kicked off in the first round, and I wasn't entirely crazy about Ugne with her terrible taste in cake decorating and what seemed like a refusal to learn from what the judges kept telling her).
Hmm, I must check AO3 to see if anyone's written Ian/Paul Hollywood fic. Surely I can't be the only person who sees it?
no subject
Date: 2015-09-05 05:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-09-05 05:42 am (UTC)And the rivalries that do develop are gentle and tinged with humor and a sense of proportion--after Ian's third star baker win, everyone clearly wanted to knock him off the top spot, but nobody seemed to hate him, nobody tried to cheat or sabotage him. Everybody just tried to make their baking even more delicious and beautiful, which is a good thing.
Paul/Paul is full of interesting potential, I agree. But for me there's something very disarming about how blushingly delighted Ian gets when he's praised that also has, er, interesting potential if I were going to write fic. Which I probably won't, because at bottom I'm a little uncomfortable with the idea of explicit fic about a real person who isn't a public figure in the usual sense. (I feel like Paul H. and Mary and Sue and Mel are fair game, the contestants less so.) And yet I do like the idea.
no subject
Date: 2015-09-05 08:52 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-09-05 11:30 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-09-07 10:34 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-09-06 09:37 am (UTC)And I hope you had a great birthday!
no subject
Date: 2015-09-07 10:35 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-09-07 08:23 pm (UTC)I had my hours cut recently due to cost-cutting. I'm hanging in there but though I work from home most days, I'll resign once I know when we're moving and get something better (free of arrogant rude marketing person) and local.