Nov 13, 2009

1000 Recipes. 2 Months. Conclusion: Sanity and sleep are fickle friends.

At Last. At long last!
I have finally finished editing a thousand Indian recipes. After almost two months of insomnia, paranoia and never-ending stress, the cookbook is out of the frying pan (Although, hopefully not into the fire!). I will not say it has been a joy ride, sarcasm at this point really isnt worth the trouble. A sense of tranquility had descended upon me. The Heavens above have finally decided to show us some mercy.
The last two months seem like a long gone nightmare, even though the cookbook was transferred from my plate less than 24 hours ago. I can sleep through the night without waking up in sweats wondering if I had forgotten to end a complicated chicken recipe with 'Serve hot'. I can actually face the thought of going through another day without wanting to wail and crawl back into the warm covers of my welcoming bed. I can look around the office and see people pulling their hair out over critical deadlines without stressing over my own. It has finally left me.
My boss said I might experience withdrawal symptoms once the book will cease to haunt me on a daily basis. It may be a little too soon to say this, but I disagree. I have shared an extremely confusing love-hate relationship with the cook book, but I am glad to see it go away, and I will keep my fingers crossed for the book to stay as far away from me as possible.
My colleagues insisted I have a Thank you speech ready, and I do have one, as this task makes me feel like I deserve an award. For a 'barely-out-of-their-teens' person with an attention span less than that of the very wise Homer Simpson, I have achieved the impossible. So here goes - I would like to thank AS, my partner in crime, who stood by me all the while and went through the same hell. We may laugh and come up with crude jokes about the cook book and identify the innuendos in the plainest of instructions, but deep down, we feel the excruciating pain and the humungous effort we put in to create this 'fat monster'. We feel like we have done it all, and we can confidently take on every editing project that comes our way, no matter how challenging (That doesn't mean we will, no more cook books for us, Thank you very much.).
I would also like to than Mr. H, the dear old man who provided us with a never ending supply of tea - the only addictive substance consumed by us through this nightmare.) RR - for bearing with us and coming up with innovative recipes for us to edit. SK - for being a real source of comfort and a shoulder to cry on. DM and AD - for the constant witty comments that helped lighten the burden with a much-needed laugh, as tempers were flying high. KM - for putting up with the pathetic yet valid excuses we came up with to push the deadlines. SM - for the encouraging words and the promise to take us out to dinner once we were done with the edit. Last but never the least, My dementor - who bargained for deadlines like you would at a roadside stall on the streets of Mumbai, and yet bribed us with food and encouraged us when we refused to so much as look at another recipe. We have disgraced her name and called her things and yet she greets us every morning with a smile on her face saying 'How's my favorite team doing today?' Thank you, dear dementor, for putting up with the mood swings and tantrums and ranting and whining.
For now, I feel like I am floating in a peaceful meadow. There are other projects that now demand my attention, but I doubt if any of them will have me as involved as the beloved cook book. If only I could finely chop the memories and serve them to the devil :)