This weekend was busy! I spent a majority of my time cooking and styling shots but also had time for a bunch of other things like going for a movie, eating out, and spending some quality time with my dad (since I ditched him the previous week). In a way, this weekend was precise, effective, and to be honest — perfect.

In the past, I have stayed away from calling things perfect. I think it's too much of a superlative to adorn anyone or anything. It kind of adds this pressure by being a standard placeholder of excellence. “Nothing can be better than this since this was perfect.” Hence, if you try to replicate the event and it doesn’t match the emotions felt by the perfect event, you get disappointed; sometimes to a point where you just don’t want to try it again at all.

It took many so-labelled perfect experiences to understand why giving something such a high honor can be damaging. There have been family trips that I always called perfect, which made subsequently replicated trips a disappointment. While I still loved time with my family and the memories that we created, I always looked back to what I thought to be a more joyous time. In the second grade, I went to Goa for a family vacation which till date is the best trip to Goa I have ever had (I have been there three other times after that). I bumped into a school friend on my first trip and our families got along so well that we did almost everything together. We went to beaches, saw dolphins, parasailed, and ate butter garlic prawns for the first time. Every other time that we went, we stayed at a better hotel, ate a lot more food, and did all the same things. But, I still missed the first time. I always ranked every experience with the one I had before and was constantly disappointed that this was not as perfect.

This superlative has seen its way into relationships as well. While I haven’t had many long term romantic relationships, the couple that actually spanned years were ones that I attributed with their own elements of perfection— to a point where moving on became a challenge and any new connection staled down to comparison than an exploration of fresh thoughts and ideas. This became challenging. An introvert became more introverted as he met new people. Why? Because they didn’t compare well to the imperfect perfections he had experienced in the past.

The search for perfection changed however as I moved life stages. As I molted from a college student, to a (somewhat) working adult, I began redefining what perfection means to me. It's not a measurement of how close you are to your expectations but an acknowledgement of an experience that lingers on your mind for hours after its finished. It's not (and I’m still working on this) comparative but simply the value of the emotion you felt at that given time. I have a friend who has the same response to when I tell her how I’m doing which I think is apt for this moment: “As long as you’re living your best life.”. This always made me laugh but it lingered on to a point where during times of perfection, I question myself, “at this moment, are you living your best life?” And most times, in that moment the answer is yes! I’ve moved from counting experiences to now just counting when I question myself with the hope that one day nothing is left to comparison and everything is left to the moment — to the now.

So what have been moments of newfound perfection? Seeing how Indians rave in a tier 2 city with a tier 1 human; soaking the winter sun through the Delhi smog while sitting in old ruins discussing global politics & vulnerabilities, eating middle eastern food and sipping on spiked orange juice; and of course, this breakfast burrito.

A perfect burrito consists of fluffy, scrambled eggs cooked on low heat, caramelized potatoes and onions with cumin and red chili powder, a fatty protein like pork, fresh Pico de Gallo, and a touch of cheddar cheese. Spicy and refreshing at the same time, what else do you need? 😊

Preparation

Ingredients

2 medium par boiled potatoes

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

150 grams bacon

2 eggs

Shredded cheddar cheese to taste

Juice of a lime

Salt and pepper to taste

2 tortillas

For the Pico de Gallo

2 medium tomatoes, cubed

1 medium onion, chopped

1 green chili, thinly sliced

Handful of cilantro, roughly chopped

Salt and lime to taste

Methods

Step 1

In a pan add 2 teaspoons of olive oil in a pan on low heat. Add two eggs and slowly mix well until you achieve the size of eggs you want.

Step 2

Add some more oil on medium high heat, add onions and salt and leave untouched for 4 minutes. Stir well and add potatoes. Add cumin and red chili powder and cook until potatoes are well done. About 5 minutes.