Hi! Come on in–it’s okay. Yes, yes, I know I’ve been gone for a few days…er weeks…okay, a month or so. But really, I’m up to my ears in homework and university keeps me busy. Talk to a college student. These days, the thing we all want the most is a little more sleep–and maybe some sanity! I’ve been a little short on both lately.

Anyway, ScriptFrenzy starts next week and I really want to have some of my ideas and characters hammered out by then. Are you participating in Screnzy 2011? I am! This will be my 5th year. Let me know in the comments below and I will gladly cheer you on! I’m excited for another writing adventure and in spite of my busy-ness, I’m really looking forward to it. I hope to actually finish my script this year, as I have an unfinished one from last year that is still waiting for me to complete the ending. ^_^

I also wanted to introduce a little “column” or rather, a weekly post theme. Chai Time is simply a rambly post, similar to “the random zone” section that used to appear as a warning before my regular posts would take off on an entirely different tangent. However, to keep it from traveling off on some weird topic, I am confining these posts to points and little things that happen in my day.

It will be short and quick–usually typed up in the moment of the day when I am drinking my Chai–aka–tea!

Today’s Chai Time is actually a normal topic on Chai itself.

Chai means tea, so for future reference when ordering in a cafe, don’t order Chai Tea. That’s redundant. Just order Chai and maybe a bagel or something. Bagels are good. So are donuts. Please excuse me for getting off topic here. ^_^

I was talking about Chai. I am not a huge fan of milk (well, unless it’s chocolate milk and even that is iffy), so generally I do not take milk in my tea. No sugar or sugar substitutes either. I like my tea light and flavorful and as straight up as it comes. I thought I’d try a flavored creamer by Coffee House and was pleasantly surprised. Real Indian chai is made from black tea, vanilla and spices, mixed 1/2 and 1/2 with milk. It is creamy, sweet and very addictive.

You can find an excellent Chai recipe here–complete with pictures and averages and ingredient substitutions. I usually add the ginger to mine and I prefer the milk/tea ration to be 1:1 instead of 3:4. Try it and let me know what you think. ^_^