How Did We Get Here?

Anna doesn't like swiss cheese, she told me that she'll only eat it when it's thinly sliced and on a sandwich. I know from past experience that her favorite cheese is Gouda, dressed in red wax, it's slightly more sophisticated than the common "American-cheese" that you can find at any grocery store. However, I should point out that Anna would compare Gouda with the renowned Italian cheese "Mozzarella" (Mott-ser-el-a). I think the relationship between Gouda and "American-cheese" can be seen in their unique packaging. "American-cheese" comes in packages of 24, 38, 42, and 58 slices, a slice is a portion controlled serving that is wrapped in its very own clear plastic film. This easily removable film makes "american-cheese" a great snack food all by itself. A few generations up the family tree, refined by fewer instances of inbreeding, we find Gouda. It sits squat and plump when placed on a table, a very sturdy cheese. If you took a perfectly round clay ball, and flattened it out with a book until it looked like an overly plump hockey puck, you would have the ideal shape for a wheel of Gouda. With dynamic flavor characteristics, Gouda tackles complex flavors such as butter and salt. Traditionally presented in a red-wax skin, Gouda can be seen as slightly larger, more filling, more sophisticated version of the good-old "american-cheese".

Despite this relationship between the two cheeses, and Anna's disapproval of swiss cheese, my breakfast at 7:00-am on the morning of May 16th (Monday), was composed mostly of other, more sophisticated cheeses that probably came from France or Italy, some dried apricot, walnuts, a few grapes, and a portion of a baguette. I enjoyed eating most of the cheese on torn of pieces of baguette. After a few chews of the bread and cheese, I would put a grape and maybe a piece of a walnut in my mouth along with the bread and cheese that my mouth was in the process of devouring. The combination of flavors was excellent and soothed my tired feet. I almost felt bad for Anna and her deceivingly buttery croissant, for it was motherwateringly buttery, but far too unsophisticated for my highly developed taste palate.

Although I finished most of the cheeses that came with my cheese and fruit plate, I left some swiss cheese behind, I myself don't really care for it all that much. I washed it down with a fancy bottle of orange flavored sparkling water. I thought to myself, "this is what it must be like to be a Frenchman". At the same time this realization had come to me, Anna and I decided to to leave our breakfast spot near the entrance of gate B39 and head out into the main terminal area in search of a movie rental and bathrooms. Our flight was going to be boarding in 30 minutes, so we didn't have a lot of time to choose a movie. After a quick session of people-slalom through the inner terminal area, we arrived at the movie rental kiosk. Staffed by an elderly woman who was clearly ungrateful of our patronage, we inquired about "Date Movie" and were met with the response, "that movie hasn't been released yet", this response was accompanied by a dumb-evil glare, and we sensed that she hated us, we hated her too. Taking our business elsewhere, we boarded our 8:00-am flight to San Francisco, I closed my eyes, and prayed for a merchant in the City by the Bay that was waiting to appreciate my business.

We were on our way to a New World of customer service!