Well, I had expected food to be available at the Fair, but I had absolutely NO IDEA exactly what kind of volume would be there.  Truly, it was overwhelming.  Once we walked past all of the giant buildings full of livestock that I actually decided to not gawk at, due to the many piles of poop that were apparently inside, if the scent wafting out of the buildings was any indication, we walked past the clock tower, and it was ON.  Food, food, food, as far as the eye could see.  I was awestuck, and didn't expect there to be quite so many choices.  At first, I was all, "HEY!  Apple dumplings with ice cream!  No, WAIT!  Smoked turkey legs!  Oh hold ON!  Caramel apples that are ALREADY SLICED for tidy consumption!!!!!'" but ultimately ended up just taking some deep breaths and reminding myself that we had to use moderation if we wanted to survive this thing, so we started out slow, with a bag of cotton candy.

We shared the first layer as we strolled along and gaped at the piles of food that glassy-eyed people were carrying around in search of a place to sit down and dig in, and we found ourselves being drawn towards an intoxicating smell that came from an enormous covered area featuring a giant grill that stretched for about 50 feet, and had many people manning each section of the grill.  There were sausages and chicken and hot dogs and hamburgers, of course, but there were also a million enormous steaks.  Steaks!  Many people were lined up to get themselves one of those there steaks, and at first I myself thought, "Mmmmm....steak", but then we both agreed that the steaks looked really, REALLY fresh, which is certainly good when you are going to eat meat, you want it to be fresh, but realizing that perhaps those steaks had just hours before been walking around in the livestock building, well...we decided to think on it for a while and not be too hasty with the steak eating just yet.  It's not that being faced with the harsh realities of slaughter had made us rethink our carnivorous ways, we just at that moment weren't in the mood to think that hard about the Circle of Life, so we moved on.

What we landed on instead still involved beef, but in a more lighthearted context - Roast Beef Sundaes!

I have been having lots of trouble with my main email account at work lately, and today it is apparently not functioning at all, so if anyone needs to reach me, here are a couple of alternatives:

theectons@netzero.net

or

lcecton@yahoo.com


Meanwhile, I nearly slipped into a coma from the tedium of trying to figure out YET AGAIN why my email account here is so dang fussy. I have lovingly deleted every message I can afford to delete in an effort to prevent my inbox from becoming full, and I have gently cleaned out my SPAM folder, and I have soothingly archived the last month's worth of must-keep items. I just don't know what else the bitch wants from me.

I brought leftover salmon from last night in for lunch today. That ought to fill up the office with a lovely scent. Last week I brought in a leftover mish-mash from Taco Night that involved more refried beans and lettuce than anything else, but overall the combination created an odor here that was probably not super pleasing to the nostrils of my co-workers. But,

Healthier Food Campaign

Plus

Save Money Campaign

Equals

Stinky Leftovers in Office


Still, however odoriforous my lunch may be, it's no match for the bombs the men drop on the bathroom here. My vengeance has long been overdue.

I'm going to visit my mother-in-law after work, and take her to dinner. I hope SO MUCH that she wants me to take her to PF Chang's. My favorite dish there is the:

WILD ALASKAN SOCKEYE SALMON STEAMED WITH GINGER
Served over stir-fried shiitake mushrooms, bok choy, tomatoes and asparagus.

Hoo-boy, is it ever good. We don't have a PF Chang's on our side of town, so any chance I have to go there is a big treat. If she wants to go somewhere else, I will do my best have only a small tantrum, but she loves it, too, so I'm thinking my odds are decent.

I just called their headquarters to find out if there are any new locations being planned for my area, but nothing in Georgia is coming. Dammit! The suburbs south of Atlanta are sort of the dregs when it comes to good restaurants. Mediocre chains we got, but the REALLY good stuff requires a commute.