11:00p.m. | 2004-04-26 Lunch. Yeah It Can Be Complicated. Lunch used to be easy. Pretty much I ate my lunch at work, or we (meaning FormerBoss, Colleague and I) went to regular places. Honestly, I�m really not picky. I just want to eat. However, I have to say that since I�ve landed at my NewWorkPlace, lunch has become more complicated. Colleague is a �franchise�, regular place kind of guy, while the rest of us like to check out the local places. Let me just say that, notwithstanding the fact that Colleague grew up in MyTown, he�s quite ignorant about the best places to eat. At the risk of sounding like Simon, he always chooses a �safe� place. Safe is good, but it�s never great. That said, one of NewBoss� missions is to take Colleague, and the rest of us (OMC and I), to places we�ve never been. What�s funny is that NB, OMC and I have been to most of those places. Hence, only Colleague is �initiated�. So to speak. So, everyday, NB�s goal is to take us to a place we�ve never been. It�s only funny to me because it�s usually only new to Colleague. He gets that �dumbfounded� look every time. And, I know that�s only funny to us. But, really, it�s priceless when you see it. Especially since he grew up in MyTown. Notwithstanding restaurant choices, there�s also the �sharing� element. I have to digress here just to let you know that people have been randomly eating off my plate for years. Only those that know me well, though. Everyone I eat with regularly knows that I can�t finish a meal, so they scavenge. And, I have no problem with that. I have no food aggression issues. Other issues? Sure. But, not that particular issue. NB is very much into sharing food, and it works well within the Lunch Committee which consists of NB, C, OMC and I. Normally, we split things on a two-to-two basis. Today, since OMC was unavailable, we attempted to split things into thirds. Not a good idea, and we ended up splitting them into fourths. Yet we all still managed to eat what we�d normally eat. And, that�s way more than you want or need to know. I do realize that. Trust me, my diary is way less exciting than my life. I�m not happy about that at all but, sometimes I just can�t share stuff. And, that my friend, really pisses me off. Yet, it�s a fact. It�s become difficult to write here because of that, actually, which pisses me off even more. There it is. On another note, as soon as I received my lunch plate I noted, in my head and out loud, that OMC would LOVE the fries. And, the first thing OMC said to me after lunch, noticing my open �to go� box, was that he�d LOVE the fries. Then, there was the awkward moment when C asked me if I put milk in my ice tea (I know, I shuddered and then wondered where he�s been for the last several years), in front of the waiter, because C thought it might be a �flavored� iced tea or something because it was �cloudy�. Fortunately, the waiter and I both knew that iced tea can get �cloudy� when it�s freshly brewed and mixed with ice. Ironically, the restaurant was trying out a new brand. Hence, the waiter was quite relieved when I verified that it was all good. Honestly, I sometimes wonder about Colleague. Really. I never put anything in my ice tea besides lemon, while NewBoss puts mega sugar and honey in his. Yet, Colleague has never questioned the �cloudiness� of NB�s tea. Trust me, his tea has been cloudy. And, that�s not a euphemism. your thoughts? seed flower