:::Daddy Boy:::

Whilst talking with my parents one night last week, my dear mama informed me that she and papa were eating pasties for dinner. :( = sad face.

Have you ever had a pasty? They are one of my top five favorite foods. Ever.

There is a shop close to my home in California that makes and sells nothing but pasties, and every once in a while my dad would come home with gigantic, delicious pasties for dinner. Mmm. Pasties. Pastiiiiiiiiiiiiiiies.

So, I told my mom that dad should send me one.


Wuh?

Um, he actually did.

And not just one, but two.


My dad bought two pasties, froze them, wrapped them in his signature foil+plastic bag wrapping, boxed them up with freezer packs, and sent them FedEx overnight all the way across America, from one edge of the country to another, all the way to me.


I called my sentimental father and told him that I hadn't smiled so much in months. I think he thought that I was exaggerating, but I was dead serious. I've been in desperate need of smiles lately. I smiled so enthusiastically that my big, fat cheeks (which love big, fat pasties), hurt. And then I cried hot tears of happiness/sadness right there at my office desk.


I miss California. I miss my mom and dad, my Aunt and Uncle and my cousin TyTy. They think I'm funny, and they make me laugh. They think I'm doing well in life, and that makes me feel like a winner.

I miss knowing that the beach is just 10 minutes away and smelling the salt in the air wherever.

I miss the weather, I miss the sky, I miss the citrus, I miss the houses, I miss my old libraries.

I miss jeans and flip flops always.

I miss Ralph's, and then the ethnic markets.

I miss knowing Bolsa Chica and Edinger and Warner and PCH.

I miss the food... chicken and beans at El Pollo Loco, chicken fajita pitas at Jack in the Box, pickled turnips at Zankou, dim sum in Little Saigon, Mexican by real Mexicans, and on and on and on.

And I did miss pasties, but then my dad sent me two.


One less thing to miss. A little piece of delicious, potato-y home.

Thank you, Daddy Boy. :)

:::If This Were Bizzaro World:::

I just took an online career test, and these were the results I received --

Administrator, Secretary, Printer, Paralegal, Building Inspector, Bank Cashier, Private Secretary, Statistician, Operations Manager, Financial Analyst, Bookkeeper, Medical Records Technician, Developer of Business or Computer Systems, Clerical Worker, Proofreader, Accountant, Administrative Assistant, Banker, Certified Public Accountant, Credit Manager, Store Salesperson, Actuary, Dental Assistant, Business Education Teacher, Food Service Manager, IRS Agent, Budget Analyst, and Underwriter.

So, I guess that test wasn't completely accurate...