Tales from the Steppes

2006-03-27

12:50 a.m.
Monday, March 27

So where is the passion when you need it the most
Oh you and I
You kick up the leaves and the magic is lost
- Daniel Powter

Sometimes we think we are jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire. But then it turns out that the fire is just the same damn frying pan in disguise. We repeat the same mistakes over and over again and seem to learn nothing, while we tell ourselves that is not what we are doing.

For me, that lesson was brought home in the form of a burrito.

Earlier tonight, I went to my secret lair to work on my thesis in a last minute attempt to get more done before the meeting tomorrow. Or later today, depending on how you think about these things. My secret lair is not actually a secret and I guess it isn't really a lair; I just like to call it that. Some kind and generous friends are allowing me space in their house to work and a key so that I can come and go as necessary.

So, anyway, I was trying to get some work done and got hungry. The night was nice enough so I set off on foot to find some food but, it being Sunday night, all the restaurants I passed were closed. But there was a 7-11 open so I went there for food.

And there were the burritos. A whole line of them, in more varieties than I thought possible for something prefabbed like that. And I should have known better but I still bought one. When I was in junior high and high school, I spent my Saturday mornings gaming with my geek buddies at the local library. Lunch was usually a burrito from 7-11, as I never really had enough money to go to the Pizza Hut. Or maybe I was just being cheap. Or maybe it was faster, so I could get back to my gaming quickly. Those burritos sucked then. There was no real reason to think that they would not suck now.

Except it was a different brand of burrito. And that really was a long time ago. Fast food has come so far in the intervening years. Are you buying this? Heh. That burrito sucked but I still ate half of it. And it tasted just like the ones from my youth. Ah well, hope springs eternal. I'd rather be a forgetful optimistic fool and end up eating a bad burrito every decade or so than miss a truly important advance in convenience eating.

I am not certain my GI system agrees with me on this point.