One of my goals over the last couple years has been to learn how to cook. I started out with some pretty basic skills in the preparation of frozen pizzas and apple butter sandwiches. I am also an expert on cereal. With over twenty varieties of cereal in my pantry, it is easy to just skip cooking and have a bowl of Cheerios. Therefore, in order to force myself to cook, I have been inviting friends over with promises of fine dining. I make up the menu after I make up the promise.
So when I ran into Alice the other day, I couldn't resist inviting her over. I first met Alice when I subletted her apartment in the summer of 1996. Anyway, it was just kind of random that I ran into her again. I don't really know why I invited her over for dinner. I guess I think she is just so amazingly beautiful that I wanted to get to know her somehow. More amazingly, she accepted my invitation, thereby totally breaking the rules of truly beautiful women. I started thinking perhaps her personality was more of the kawaii-type than the bijin-type (as my Japanese friend would call them). Anyway, I was excited.
I went out and bought some special ingredients for the big Japanese dinner that I was planning. I often make soba (buckwheat noodles) for myself. I have also mastered miso soup and cold tofu (yeah, you just eat it cold-no cooking involved here). Anyway, my new entrees for this meal were a tuna salad (difficultly level 4) and sushi rolls. I managed to put it all together in only about one hour's time. I was impressed. I was also very tired. I feel sorry for all of the moms who toiled over dinners every night and never got any appreciation from their families. I can't say that I would want to prepare a big dinner every night, but once in a while...
So then I waited. Alice called about seven and said that she was going to be a little late. Cool. I did the dishes and waited. Then I watered my plants. Then I made some lemonade. Then I watched some tv. Then I washed more dishes. Then I started cursing beautiful women and their ability to just be really inconsiderate of poor helpless males.
Around eight o'clock she showed up. She apologized as I opened the door. She was dressed in a black skirt and tan sweater that made my sweat pants and flannel seem just a little under dressed. She was holding a bottle of wine and glasses to go with it. It didn't take me long to forget about the last hour of waiting.
We had a really good dinner. Luckily only the soup needed to be reheated. The rest of the stuff was pretty good as is. We discussed the sort of random things that near-strangers discuss before they know each other well. The conversation was not really going anywhere, but it wasn't really forced either. It flowed like a steady river over rocks and falls, carried by its own momentum.
I showed her some of my pictures (okay, I made her look at all of my prized photo albums of my travels. Being a former photography major, I am sure that she was not impressed with any of my work. However, she was very polite about everything. It kind of surprised me that someone could be that beautiful and not have the beautiful-person's syndrome. Anyway...
It was a fun night. I tried to get some work done today, but I have squandered my time emailing and writing journals. Cec is coming over at seven for a Mexican dinner. I have to see if I remember how to make corn tortillas. Actually, I better get started on that. We are supposed to watch the tv movie Into Thin Air. That reminds me that I really need to finish up my Nepal travel page. I also need to write a speech for Rotary about my year in Japan. Then there is my paper due Tuesday and my exam on Wednesday. At least Thanksgiving, and the end of the semester, will be here soon.