We�ve instituted these biweekly potlucks at the office, now. Since Fridays are typically low-key, what with only the administrative staff being in and all, it�s the perfect day for everyone to bring something, kick back, and enjoy a nice, leisurely meal. Well, �leisurely� within the time constraints of our pre-ordained lunch period, after which we have to get back to work and stuff. But it�s a nice change of pace from bag lunches or the occasional (expensive) meal out on the town. During our miniscule, pre-ordained lunch period, during which time we need to find a place, order our food, wait for our food, get our food, eat our food, and beat ass back to the office before we get in trouble. Potlucks are just far more relaxing, you know?
By the way, can I just ask why fast food costs so much these days? I mean, I know that those stupid little "Value" meals are only, like, six or seven bucks�but if that�s all you�re eating, your still spending $30-35 every single week on lunch alone! That�s over $100 a month! And for what? The convenience of not having to make a grocery-store-grade sandwich yourself? The whole situation makes me want to take Jack in the Box by his stupid-ass pointy hat and ram his big round head through a plate of glass. Well, okay, to be fair, I want to do that anyway, but I like to think that when I�m in court I can cite the whole "exploitation of the working man" thing as just cause.
But anyway, potluck. We decided as a group that it�s a clever way to promote unity and interoffice bonding, as well giving us all a chance to one-up each other and prove who can make the best dish and who�s just a worthless sot. We have also engineered these potlucks to adhere to a theme -- last month we did one where everyone had to bring a dish that started with the first letter of their last name (people took some creative license with this rule, bringing dishes like "Great Coffee" and "Rcookies") -- but for the most recent one (just this past Friday, organized by yours truly), everyone had to bring a dish from their personal ethnic heritage.
Of course, some people took some serious liberties with this theme as well. Frankly, I still refuse to accept Carla�s "New England Clam Chowder" as being a dish representative of her ethnicity, but given that it was at least an attempt to tie the food in with her upbringing, I�ll let that one slide a bit. Although, she is partly Irish, and I don�t understand why she couldn�t just make something all tasty and Irish-y, like potatoes or whatever. But, like I said, at least she tried. Unlike Tony, who decided to barbecue. Like, what does that represent?
For my part, I honored my Scandinavian heritage by making a Swedish dessert of champagne infused strawberry soup, which was quite delicious. It also called for a weensy bit of champagne, and let me just tell you that once you�ve opened a bottle of champagne for any reason, you can�t very well cork it back up and set it aside for later. No, you pretty much have to drink the whole thing right away. I warned my colleagues on Thursday that I might come in the next morning with a hangover and a big pot of mushy, boiled strawberries, with wrappers and foil and shit floating in it, but they seemed okay with the idea. Probably because we were at Happy Hour when I told them.
Anyway, the potluck was a rousing success, the strawberry soup was a big hit, and nary a shred of plastic made its way into my concoction. Not that I recommend tipsy cooking in any event. It helped to have people around with whom to share the champagne. Between the potlucks and the happy hours, though, we�re all becoming one big, (mostly) happy family here at Arts-Friendly now.
[Ominous Chord�]
Someone Got Here By Searching For: "buy a fucking sweater" I�m Watching: North Shore, because they promised me Shannen Doherty. Now, where the hell is she already? I�m Reading: The Entertainment Weekly TV season preview, and being largely disappointed by the Fall slate.