I have this particular friend. He was always willing to appreciate the
beauty around us in all shapes and sizes, if you know what I mean
(nudge, nudge, wink, wink).
He had a rare and peculiar wisdom.
One might even call it obscure at times. But on one particular day when
his wisdom was more obvious, a woman passed him by. The woman was
gorgeous by our American standards. Lovely eyes... blond hair styled
oh-so-right... with those well-proportioned... hands! (What did
you think I was going to say?!) But she had this scowl on her face that
could crack open a bank vault. This wise man turned to another friend
of mine and said, "Beauty is skin deep; Attitude is to the bone."
Personally, I think he was quoting a song.
I'm not a bad person. Really. Well, ok, I might have a few moments of
evil chuckling at the sight of a cat being chased by a cute little rottweiler, but that's only because I know the cat won't get caught.
Probably.
But I want to be better. I want to be one of those
people who everybody is happy to see. I want to be one of those people
who light up the room when they walk in, one of those people who looks
happy even in those strangely lit surprise pictures. You know the ones
I mean, those pictures taken when you were busy minding your own
business picking the nuts out of a brownie, pretending you understand
what auntie Jane is blabbing on about when you mother suddenly yells
your name causing you to look around only to be blinded by the flash of
her camera as she memorializes that precious moment for all eternity.
And
I think I've found the secret. It's almost too slight a thing to
believe it could be so key. In fact, it almost feels like one of those
dream ideas that seems so great while you're asleep... but no, this one
is real. I've tried it, tested it, proved it. It's surprising
sometimes, but it works.
Just smile.
We're a small crew at the place I'm working nowadays. There are only 8
of us on the R & D team. We sit in a sort of bull-pen type area,
all around the edges.
In the middle of our bull-pen is a table
with a bunch of snacks on it. We buy bags of chips and crackers and
trail mixes and what-have-you and throw them all on the table to share.
At some point over the weekend a bag of Mango Tortilla Chips has magically appeared. Yes, you heard me correctly, Magically appeared. It must have been magical because nobody is admitting to bringing them. And yes, you heard me correctly, Mango Tortilla Chips.
It was a few hours before anybody got up the nerve to open the bag.
If
I can take a moment here to reflect: After spending some time in
Southeast Asia I can honestly say I've had some very delicious savory
mango-based dishes, like chicken in a mango sauce, and a fantastic
mango chutney. And I can certainly imagine a yummy mango salsa type
dish. Mmm. This is making my mouth water.
But mango corn
tortilla chips just sounds wrong. Wrong. Indeed, it tastes wrong too.
It's a strange combination of undefined sweet overlaying otherwise
plain corn tortillas. Even as a novelty, it's pretty weak.
. Topher
