Soap boxes

I was recently asked to write a guest blog for the new website wacofork.com. Wacofork.com is a new restaurant review website for my town, and my friend is one of the co-founders. The request for a guest blog was in response to my questions about having some sort of symbol or designation for restaurants who are gluten-free friendly. Chad responded by asking me to write about it. Now, if you read this blog you realize that I am not a very "professional" writer. I don't follow any rules (except for the attempt to convey sarcasm through the internet as often as possible. It's a rule.), have terrible grammar, and can't usually follow a thought to completion. However, I wanted to try, mostly because I like to have people pay attention to me and this was one more outlet for that.

Once I started writing I realized a couple of things. One, I'm not actually very knowledgeable about eating gluten free, or, more specifically, eating out gluten free, and two, I desperately needed an editor. Even with the magics that are (is) the spellchecks, I still misspell things. Also, I often create my own words and my own unique sentence structures. It's a gift. Luckily, I have a very best friend who is more highly educated than me and has a willingness to correct me lovingly (the only way I like to be corrected).

Rereading this guest blog, I'm not entirely sure I knew what I was talking about. I haven't been living gluten free for very long. I'm not even sure on the hyphen that I some times place (and sometimes don't place) between the words "gluten" and "free". Is it necessary? Did you know there is gluten in some envelope paste? Lick them cautiously.

I've been thinking a lot about how a glutenless life is different from a normal life. I think something interesting, especially regarding restaurant eating, is that before the goal of going out was to eat something special, that you couldn't make for yourself. Now, the goal is to find something as close to what I make for myself at home because then I know it's safe.

I realized this when we went to Food for Thought the other day. It's been years since I've been to this restaurant because I worked there (briefly) and I knew for a fact that everything there can be easily recreated at home for much, much cheaper (also, I didn't like working there very much and was begrudging them my patronage. I am an adult!). Now, however, I am thrilled to be able to find food (like nachos?) that are close to what I would make for myself if I had time to run home at lunch and make my own food. Even if it does cost $10. But really, what doesn't cost $10 these days? Has anyone else noticed that? Lunch anywhere? $10. I think that is ridiculous. Taco Cabana? $10. Bangkok Royal? $10. The difference in quality? ASTRONOMICAL. I keep trying to impress this on D. We go out to lunch a lot (but are going to cut back. We promise.) and I pull for Bangkok almost every time. Yes, it is a sit down restaurant. Yes, it could, conceivably, take longer than your 45 minute lunch break. Has it ever? No. No, it hasn't, because no one eats there at lunch. Do you get to get a drink for $10? No, not really. And you have to tip. But the food is incredible and I love it.

Okay, this was not intended to be a rant about Bangkok versus Taco C. Still, I think I am right. And lunch is overpriced.

On a semi-connected note, I was listening to NPR this morning as they talked about the Shuttle Program (this is connected to lunch prices, I promise). Does anyone else think it is hilarious that we ever thought (and some still think?) that space travel was going to become as common as airline travel? Where did those scientists in the 70's think all those resources were going to come from? Things, historically, have only become more expensive and rare, not less. In the future, which we, presumably, are barreling towards, we are all going to have personal hover cars. We will have holographic televisions. We will have machines in our living rooms that scan our retinas and produce the snacks we are craving. And when I say "we" I mean the same 1% of the United States population that is currently hoarding all the wealth. Everyone else? We will be dead. Or living underground in community hovels where we eat our recycles waste. There is no way that there are enough resources to promote scientific advancement to that level. Do you know what there are enough resources for? Sustainable, agrarian, communal lifestyles. Everyone living sustainable, agrarian, communal lifestyles. Or everyone in underground hovels eating recycled waste. See how this ties into lunch?

I also believe that our grandchildren will never fly on planes. We can't really afford air travel (and I don't mean tickets. I mean the industry.) as it is.

Soap boxes!!!

I just started reading Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. So, you know.

I went to a really fun, farm wedding this weekend. It was outside and it was hot, but no body died and we all had a blast. Favorite part: during the vows, Jonathan repeated "For richer or for poorer" as "For richer, but probably poorer." Ah, farms.

Also, the republic of South Sudan is officially three days old today. Happy birthday, baby country. We're rooting for you.