 |
Cheese tastes nasty in the mouth when you first eat it. I first
ate cheese when I was about twelve, the taste was lactic and earthy and I felt
like throwing up. Given that I had said I had once eaten it, I had to keep up
appearances while cursing why I had even said I ate cheese. I remember it was
red cheddar courtesy of an uncle who had got an attachment to work in a certain
creamery within our hometown while still a beverage and food student in a far
way college. I had to struggle eating a piece then, but now, I can consume any
kind of cheese. Obviously there is a caveat; apart from those that have live
maggots that I once saw on a certain TV station which should be cozy and
reserved for those whose appetite has pandad a plane.
Ideally, when you need to taste cheese, the first taste organ is
your eyes, then nose and lastly tongue because the initiation should be done
carefully. Again you need to ensure that you chew it slowly and note how
it feels in your mouth. When you eat cheese (or drink
wine) there are very specific physical sensations associated with taste: sweet,
salty, sour/acidic, bitter. But your mouth is actually quite limited. Most of
the romance of food comes after it’s been swallowed. You exhale. A breath of
air rushes up the back of your nasal passages and out your nostrils and
suddenly there are a million sensory impressions, most of which have to do with
smell: grass, hay, stone, soil, leather, soap, perfume, swimming pool, lead,
pencil eraser, and on, and on.
Tasting is experiential, there are dozens of ancient and far
distant smells, instantly, magically, recalled by a cheese. Once you have
swallowed the cheese does the taste stay. That lingering flavour, often different
from the first is called the finish. Which can be; nutty, acrid, soapy,
piquant, silky, brothy, tangy and the list of taste is endless. Cheese is a
great place to start when learning to isolate and identify different flavours.
Highly complex, cheese at its best is a true terroir food; one that is deeply
influenced by the subtle nuances of the land from which it is produced.
I am not a foodie. However, I love food. My immediate manager has
noticed this and she told me that I eat a lot. Which I never disputed because
it would have ended up being raucous given that I sometimes have those ‘tu
mafeelings’. The only abnegation is that the chow is not manifesting itself
in my body weight, which has been the same ever since I left high school. I
tried to recall instances in the workplace where I eat so much but those
thoughts have become elusive. Given that I only partake of a full meal once in
a while (mostly rice with some queer beef). Most of the time, I usually take
snacks which cannot be as satiating as real food.
We normally eat on our desks in the office, breakfast and lunch
and for some bachelors, the evening tea serves as supper. Though it’s kind of gross.
That is how she managed to realize that I eat so much. But I have never
consumed more than two mandazis, or chapatti. The most I have ever eaten is a
boiled maize, a sausage and a chapatti. And there was a day I did eat an omelet
served with four slices of bread. Is that too much? If it is then I need to
reduce on the uptake of calories I do in a day.
So you see, I am not a heavy consumer when it comes to food. In fact,
I have some tooth cavities that make eating meat and some food quite a hurdle.
Perhaps the reason why I end up consuming too much victuals is because I have
this mutating dry cough that has been quite resistant for a while. There is a
theory that eating aids in contributing towards eliminating diseases when done
dietetically given that there are some meals full of cholesterol and those
adipose and oxytocin that should be eliminated from the body.
I hate coughing. It's irritating and piquing. I have to bear with
it though. It’s what life has bestowed upon me even though that should not be
the case. I was told by an aged medic that it has something to do with allergy,
dust or smoke. In that regard, I have been trying to be a stickler to some drugs.
I was even given a jab in my left arm to ease the cold. The aged nurse told me
to keep my arm relaxed to prevent the contents of the jab from spewing from my
body. This cough will mark its first month or more given it has overstayed its
welcome. It becomes debilitating when I sleep at night especially when the nasal passage is compromised, I seriously choke so much so that I sometimes
feel like I am going to meet my creator the next minute. Thank goodness I did some first aid some eons ago. When such instances arise, I ensure my head is elevated in position
where the airway is not compromised. In the meantime, I am also trying warm water
therapy, a combination of lemon and tangawizi
(ginger) albeit the process has
not had a desirable breakthrough. Luckily given that I am on drugs, I presume that
they will not let me down at the end of the day.
Thank goodness, I chose to work where systems are adhered to. Someone
cannot just wake up one day and decide that you are up for termination without
a proper procedure for dismissal. When changes in the banking sector were
taking effect, there was tension and though our actions are tantamount to the
act of an ostrich burying its face inside sand, we are surely left exposed.
However, loss is the side of loving they never warn you of. It comes like
death. Amid the possibility of job loss or continuity, there is still a month
in store for me.
I remember updating my profile on LinkedIn having found a new job.
A job that sometimes is frustrating, fulfilling and exciting. When the axe man (hr
in charge of dismissal) came to notify us of our department being thinned, it
came as a shocker to many. It was barely a week after updating my profile on
the professional media platform and I had got so many likes which was elating.
Then the unexpected news came. Though I was moved, I was quite disillusioned by
the hurry it had taken me to tell the world that I had found yet another job.
Naturally, it’s not only embarrassing but also demeaning to have lost a job
within few months. Already, we are still waiting for communication so that we
can be able to find out whether our time is nigh.
What’s more, when you call a client with the intent or notifying
him or her about revised rates which they are not aware about, they usually give you time to explain to them without them rubbishing you off. In fact, selling paper
money as opposed to plastic money is more appealing to the average Tom, Dick and
Harry because they can be able to plan and use the income for the purpose they
intend from the lending facility. Clients are even more receptive. Even when
they never take something, they give you hope of calling another individual
without the feeling of discouragement of persuading a client to take a credit
card.
What’s a plus is that the skills harnessed in one stage is still
effective for use in another. I used to hate it when a customer would out
rightly tell me before selling that if it is a card I was pushing for, then I should
not even think about further going into deeper detail. While I used to take
time to even get a customer who would call back, it’s now a reality. Some are
calling back requesting for a top up of a loan in most cases. Those who do so have apparently not qualified for it though. They easily give
their pay slips without worry and I think I am loving it that they trust even a
person they have not yet seen.
The cheese has moved. The industry looks quite buoyant in the
coming days. What I know is that most people still think that banks usually
have hidden charges that they never tell their customers about. For example, if
you apply for a loan of 1 million, there is no way you will get the whole of
it, close to 5% of that amount will go towards paying taxes, catering for
insurance and negotiation fees which part of is used to pay the sales guy who
brought the loan to the bank.
Sales people survive on commissions. They are the only people with
irregular income. The number one salesperson is usually the chief executive
officer (though the person has pay protection because of holding vital company information). All other staff play such role but their pay is fixed. Sales is
challenging. It is tactically the only job where a person can multitask. As
long as you have made your money, you are good to go. But it’s tough and interesting. Finding a
niche can be quite perplexing. But when you get your true grounding, I swear,
you will be reaping big, influencing people positively and never complaining of
doing the job that you initially took up as a pastime or one to reduce on being
idle in the digs.
Hasta La Vista Baby.
[Picture
Source: My own]
