Similar to the decrease in quality of water, as I may have mention, when transitioning from not college to college, there is a decrease in the quality of the food. My dad is vegan cook, and makes the most amazing meals, which at the time of eating them, I under-appreciated. Now that I am in college, I appreciate them to their full effect, and the chance of eating some home cooking may be the most anticipated part of my visits home during breaks. However, I have developed a coping mechanism for this withdrawal. Of the food I now dine upon, I have become a connoisseur, and appreciate each item far beyond the intended level of enjoyment the culinary masters at Trader Joe's frozen food lab thought possible. Take for example, cereal. Pre-college it was just breakfast- I ate it because I was hungry, and there was an auspicious lack of pie and cake for my morning meal. But now, I eating cereal in the morning can be the best part of my entire day. Its not just food- their is a whole mental state that defines cereal, or breakfast in general. Breakfast is usually define as a time for a certain task- eating, and less often, but often more interestingly defined as a time for not a certain task- homework. A guilt free time to not do homework, even if there is a major paper due in 20 minutes. I mean, what am I going to do? Not eat the most important meal of the day!? Not on my watch. Another thing I love to do is read- lots and lots of books, however when I have tons of homework to do, i feel guilty reading. But not when I'm eating! So I eat and read, read and eat- one and the same. I salivate when I see books, such is my mental conditioning. This time of eating is thus sacred, and just as one would not insult the lowly dung beetle in front of a pharaoh, you would not debase the lowly bowl of cereal in front of me. My cereal of choice is always the same- Autumn Wheat. It is like shredded wheat, or rather unlike as it is lighter, crunchier, sweeter, tastier and better. When it comes to cereal, it must be crunchy, not soggy, not even a little bit. If you call me in the morning, and I act less then completely gracious, chances are I am sitting at my desk, book open in front of me, and my crunchy cereal slowly drowning a horrific death in the milk I just poured on them. To maximize crunchiness, I eat several tiny bowls of cereal for breakfast rather than just one big one.
Of course, you can infer that my dinner is just as sacred and ritualistic. I have eaten countless frozen burritos, and after a while I developed exact ways of preparing them. 1st, wash dirty plate. Slit open the plastic cover with a fork. Flip cardboard carton with burritos upsidedown onto plate- to retain moisture (nothing like a leathery burrito). Microwave for either 4 or 5.5 minutes, depending on if it was frozen or refrigerated. Read book while microwaving. carry finished burrito up to room and consume. Use fork to slit open first burrito (2/package). Scoop out contents with fork, savoring individual black beans. Neatly cut up tortilla and consume. Repeat for second burrito. Deposit dirty dish on shelf. Repeat in 24 hours.
AH- forgot the bit about the tea. I'll get to that latter
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