Leftover chicken shwarma platter

I know I could totally wear my functional Speedo one-piece on the white sandy beaches of southern California, and besides, isn’t a preoccupation with looking cute on the beach completely absurd in the face of the crushing force of global capitalism? Yeah, well, anyway. MBWF took forty minutes out of her remarkably busy day to usher me in and out of the swimwear section of the Cross County Macy’s with Bronx-native efficiency–quick steps and brisk imperatives and absolutely zero nonsense. I ended up with a kicky little number that made me feel like a frothy-yet-sportif cocktail myself, even under the fluorescent lights and dingy makeshift walls of the Cross County Macy’s dressing room. And with only a whiff of Cathy Guisewite. Then we sped back to the library and I scarfed down the remains of last night’s dinner with CK  with the haste necessary to make it to my desk shift on time.

 

Red lentils with lime over rice redux, plus a cookie and a half

M. and I met at the Pub–me with my dish of lentils, she with her chicken fingers–and sat at a round table in the corner and talked while the room filled up with summer writers having their way with their lunch buffet. M. runs the best meetings I’ve attended on campus, hands down, and she is just as good at lunch. We talked about nieces and nephews and potential children of our own, how weird high school was but how it’s probably even weirder now, prom, Division I athletics (I wowed myself by knowing the Winthrop mascot off the top of my head), and southern California weather. Flik staff were just pulling a batch of chocolate chip cookies out of the oven when M. placed her chicken fingers order, so she brought three warm ones, and we each ate one and a half. This is quite a thing to do with a new lunch friend over your first lunch together–split a warm cookie with your hands.

 

Red lentils with lime over rice, redux

I ate my dish of lentils with MBWF, S., M., and S. down in the cool of the staff lounge. The coffee machine is leaking and S.’s examination of the user manual indicates it’s just plain broken, which occasioned a spirited debate about whether or not we’ve had this machine for a long time. Then MBWF surprised me by taking me on a mystery errand, the content of which she would not reveal until we turned right into the Cross County mall parking lot. We went to Zales! To shop for a new wedding band! For MBWF’s husband! To celebrate their fifth anniversary! Because my life is unlikely to contain much in the way of these sorts of heterosexual rituals, I got really excited. We picked out the very nicest one and found ourselves in unlikely agreement that really, in this case, despite our mutual commitment to bargain-hunting, the more expensive the better.

 

Black and white beans over rice with fixins, redux

Trying to calm down from an excessively aggravating morning and an anticipated equally aggravating afternoon, I took my final helping of rice and beans with fixins out to the alcove with my copy of this week’s New Yorker. I did some breathing in and breathing out and focused on a tiny ant crawling around on a tiny leaf–I always feel better when I go really, really small. D. (happy birthday!) and B. popped in unexpectedly, scoping out locations for Monday’s MLA meeting, and D. said, “If you play your cards right, you might get a free boxed lunch!” He really knows how to get me excited! Later I heard tapping on the glass–B. was on the other side, wanting to know if the chairs were movable (they are). I also had a mini Cadbury dairy milk chocolate bar, one of the many perks that accompany S.’s return from Hong Kong.

 

Leftover chicken tikka over rice

MBWF (peanut butter sandwich and an applesauce cup) was finally free to have lunch with me again–she’s been taking job candidates to restaurants–so I reheated my leftover chicken tikka from last night’s book club and we sat outside in the alcove and talked over work stuff: status of the ASC, campus-wide strategic planning, a coworker’s recent bridal shower and her wedding this Sunday. A chipmunk stopped on the ledge and looked at us for awhile, giving us a chance to mull over why this li’l guy is so darn cute but a rat would not be (MBWF locates the difference at the level of habitat; “chippies don’t live in sewers, do they?”). MBWF also helped me decide on a big Broadway show appropriate for my younger sister’s visit this weekend. Cool and breezy in the shade, it was awfully hot in the sun.

 

Spinach, chickpea, and tomato stew over rice, redux

Ate the last remnants of this stew for lunch today, and am glad to see it gone–four meals in the last three days is just too many. This is why I need a lover or an exchange student or a friendly neighbor. If it doesn’t freeze well, I feel compelled to go all completist on it. MBWF is back but had other lunch plans so I took my dish outside to the smoking alcove behind the library and sat warming in the sun while a breeze chilled me out a little (and I am currently in dire need of chilling out). I watched a wasp clean itself on the chair opposite me while the wind blew through the Japanese maple and a little chipmunk scurried past me being his little chipper self. Also had a brief phone call with J., and he agrees that my best strategy is probably to channel M.’s four-year-old logic: “This is mine… right?” After yesterday’s minor fork-related kerfuffle, I ate the stew with a spoon.

 

Meat salads and buttered rolls, redux

If you’d told me this morning I’d be facing another table-full of meat salads, I’d have said you were crazy. This time we were subject to a shrimp-and-pasta number than I skipped entirely, a chicken salad that I thought was tuna (K. said he wouldn’t eat it if it was tuna, and he ate a whole scoopful, so I believe him), and a meat-free Greek salad that mostly had going for it the lack of meat. I also had a buttered roll, but only one: I was mysteriously seized with pleasure and excitement and couldn’t keep much down. (Sometimes I get too excited. See also: 300.02.) A., L., R., K., and R. shared our table, and R. talked to A. and I about putting a contract together. Full of good news, and another turtle cookie bar.

 

Yam chili, redux

So I had the yam chili again today, this time with brown rice I made last night while doing my laundry. The rice was definitely a good addition–bulked it up and soaked up some of moisture. A. (MBWF) and I ate outside because the day is absolutely gorgeous. I’m already pretty tired of the chili, and am looking forward to giving it a rest tomorrow. But that’s not all! Because my life is particularly, wonderfully blessed, A. took me to the car wash! (Cf. prior car wash trip.) I couldn’t imagine a better way to celebrate than with a vanilla-chocolate dip cone from the Mr. Softee truck out front. A. made me finish eating it before she’d let me sit in her car.