A Tale of Woe
People sometimes comment on me packing lunch every day in a way that suggests it's a chore. Eating out is a treat, I suppose, for many people; also, a lot of people don't "have time" to pack lunch. But for me, packing lunch is the treat, and going out is the chore.
You won't have a lunch from me today. But I will share some thoughts on my experience instead, on the going-out-to-lunch hour instead of the packed-lunch-in-the-break-room hour.
I had to pick up my neighbor from the airport, and I didn't cook dinner. I haven't been to the grocery store in a while due to a hectic schedule. Even though I can pull a lunch together nearly any time based on what I have around, because I keep things on hand just for this scenario, my brain wasn't cooperating this time. I overslept. So it was actually beyond my ability to pack a lunch.
I decided to make the best of it and went to a new restaurant that just opened I'd been wanting to try. It's kind of gimmicky--a waffle place that makes both sweet and savory versions. I got a mashed potato waffle with smoked salmon and sour cream. I was glad to get to try the new place, but it made my lunch hour much less relaxing to have to rush out, buy something, and wolf it down, rather than just grabbing my lunch from my bag and taking my time. It tasted fine but certainly no better than anything I could have done myself. I think, actually, that I would have enjoyed latkes and smoked salmon more. Mashed potatoes don't waffle that well.
Cost for this? About $11.
Sometimes it will make sense to grab lunch on the go. But the time I spent going out to get lunch was more than I usually spend pulling lunch together in the morning, and that leaves time for running errands on occasion. Walking to the post office to drop off a letter or to the drugstore to pick up something on my lunch hour doesn't stress me out; it's nice to go for a walk after I've eaten and I would without needing to run an errand anyway. The walk after lunch is so much nicer than the before-lunch rush to get food.
I could have packed 3-4 lunches, or more, for the cost of the waffle. I definitely would have packed something more nutritious. I have more variety available to me than the small handful of places nearby my workplace, too.
To each their own, of course. But for me, I much prefer to bring my own lunch. Which I will do tomorrow, even though it may be a little bit of a scrounge. See you then.
You won't have a lunch from me today. But I will share some thoughts on my experience instead, on the going-out-to-lunch hour instead of the packed-lunch-in-the-break-room hour.
I had to pick up my neighbor from the airport, and I didn't cook dinner. I haven't been to the grocery store in a while due to a hectic schedule. Even though I can pull a lunch together nearly any time based on what I have around, because I keep things on hand just for this scenario, my brain wasn't cooperating this time. I overslept. So it was actually beyond my ability to pack a lunch.
I decided to make the best of it and went to a new restaurant that just opened I'd been wanting to try. It's kind of gimmicky--a waffle place that makes both sweet and savory versions. I got a mashed potato waffle with smoked salmon and sour cream. I was glad to get to try the new place, but it made my lunch hour much less relaxing to have to rush out, buy something, and wolf it down, rather than just grabbing my lunch from my bag and taking my time. It tasted fine but certainly no better than anything I could have done myself. I think, actually, that I would have enjoyed latkes and smoked salmon more. Mashed potatoes don't waffle that well.
Cost for this? About $11.
Sometimes it will make sense to grab lunch on the go. But the time I spent going out to get lunch was more than I usually spend pulling lunch together in the morning, and that leaves time for running errands on occasion. Walking to the post office to drop off a letter or to the drugstore to pick up something on my lunch hour doesn't stress me out; it's nice to go for a walk after I've eaten and I would without needing to run an errand anyway. The walk after lunch is so much nicer than the before-lunch rush to get food.
I could have packed 3-4 lunches, or more, for the cost of the waffle. I definitely would have packed something more nutritious. I have more variety available to me than the small handful of places nearby my workplace, too.
To each their own, of course. But for me, I much prefer to bring my own lunch. Which I will do tomorrow, even though it may be a little bit of a scrounge. See you then.
You know, sometimes it kind of annoys me when people say they don't have time for something. Everyone basically has the same amount of time during the day, but it's what you choose to do with that time that makes lunch makers different from lunch makers. I had a co-worker who didn't like packing lunches so she often bought both breakfast and lunch from our cafe at work. That's a lot of money.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a huge fan of the actual prep then pack, but I'm a fan of not having to ask myself each day what I'm going to have if I DONT pack something. And what I really like about bringing my lunch is that I can eat it at any time. If I want to run errands at lunch, I can eat before I go or when I come back. Not to mention if we have a meeting after lunch and I don't bring something with me, I either have to limit what I want when I go out or rely on the snack machine or just go without. With all being said, I more often than not pack anything and go without. Hahahaha.
Oh, no, don't go without! There are shelf-stable snack things that are good to keep around the office if you can, for that sort of thing. I keep a granola bar in my purse just in case.
DeleteWe have snack machines that contain cup o noodle type things and I bought some just for that purpose...in case I didn't feel like packing a regular lunch...but they sit in my pantry. Hahaha. I should take them to work and put them in my desk.
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