Just as we finished the last 10-day meditation course, a new student yells, "Oh man, I really miss ice-cream." On hearing that statement, I cracked up.

For the last six months, our diet has been ... well, not much of a diet. Not one sip of Thumbs-Up, Mazza, or Pepsi. Not one ice-cream bar (except for one night stay in Mandvi three months ago, where our host insisted we have two ice-cream bars each after our 42 kilometer walk). And most importantly for me, no regular input of sweets!

Now, the menu at the monastary here is set. Every four or five days, you can expect the same item. No onions or garlic or tasty spices either. Since I don't eat after noon, sometimes I wonder if the good stuff is saved for dinner. :)

But then ... but then, there's this one breakfast item served every alternate four days ... sweet "laapsi". Oh, I love it! I would look forward to it everytime. And then right before I take the first bite, I would pause for a moment just to smile right before I dive right in and just before ending my feast, I would setup a countdown timer for my next dose. Sometimes it was day or two off, and I think I started having withdrawl symptoms. ;)

One time, I got real greedy and took so much that I could barely finish it. As I was trying to finish it, I said to myself, "Don't you love this item? Why are you stopping now?" Then, I started analyzing the mathematics of it all. I waste so much energy in hyping up to the dish of 'laapsi' and then when I get it, it's almost a let down. Kinda like the good movies that get awesome reviews and you are left expecting something more.

So, two months of laapsi ambivalence later, I don't think I really look forward to it anymore. I still enjoy having it, but I don't count down or get greedy when I see it.

Until I walked down the street two days back ... oh, the aroma of so much tasty stuff. And I saw a bakery proudly showing off a chocolate cake. Hahahhaha. I will never learn. Life is so much fun, isn't it? ;)