Afternoon Outing

Whew, three posts in one day. The last time I did that was when I just started this blog and still had a ton of good things to share. But I have a nice glass of Cherry Pepsi and a caramel chocolate bar I bought from a Cub Scout, and I'm trying to put this sugar rush to good use before I die later this evening.

At work, my cubicle next door neighbor decided that he wanted Bob Evans pancakes for lunch today. He hasn't been there since 2003, but remembers that they have this unique sweet taste to them which he believes comes from vanilla flavoring. I need to mention that this guy likes solitude. It is nearly with pride that he states he has no friends. It's not that he is unfriendly or even doesn't like people, he just prefers solitude.

Okay at this point I also have to pause for another second. A few days ago I talked about a piece of art I recently got. Well I had entirely forgotten that I had already chatted on the artist. Funny how I talked about the same things, but at least I'm consistent. Which I find important in things like art, because if you are not consistent then what you buy today you may not like tomorrow. Anyway, I wanted to reference that past chat, and the two others in this blog, because of what I spoke about Bob Evans. In this case that I don't speak about Bob Evans.

The guy at work with the sudden craving for those pancakes knows this as well. He also knows about my attitude on chicken pot pie. So out of the blue, he decides we need to go immediately to Bob Evans so he can get his pancakes and I can get the chicken pot pie. This was actually quite the occasion because this would be the first time in 4 years working there that anyone would ask me out to lunch, other than the one I had as a new hire requirement with my manager. He told me it would be therapeutic. Given some recent changes in my approach to these types of things, it wasn't a big deal for me, and so I went.

The chicken pot pie and two biscuits were tasty but just a bit too filling and of course the inside of the pot pie was magma which destroyed the roof of my mouth. Our conversation was very varied. First we talked about the smell of bathroom chemicals in the morning. Then he, a Mormon turned atheist, wanted to hear my opinions on the practical aspects of Trinitarian theology. Then we talked a bit about the nature of angels. And finally we talked about the last time I went to Bob Evans, which was probably in 2006 to buy a banana-cream pie for my Mom.

I guess because it was his idea that we went, he felt obliged to pay. Being a former Mormon he kept all there crazy high standards of ethics and morals. Anyway, he did let me drive because he doesn't like driving So I drove. As we were walking in he realized he left his wallet in his car. So I drove and paid. This doesn't sound too funny, but understanding his high ethical coda and if you were there to see how adamant he was about paying and how my driving apparently had balanced things out, you'd understand the laughter that ensued when he found he could neither pay nor drive.

So in the end, after four years I finally got to go out to lunch, by request from the most solitudal colleague where I work, to the last place I ever would have suggested. Maybe 2012 really is the end.