MPC Press International

Egg dishes have never been a favorite of mine, omelets included.  Still, to show my kids my open mindedness, I recently drank an egg, Rocky style.  But, I generally stay away from this healthy or not, cholesterol and vitamin source; I simply do not like the taste of eggs in basic form, be it hard boiled, poached, or scrambled, yet quiche, if more solid than liquid, can be tasty.

Our Barcelona guidebook recommended “Flash Flash” for lunch, nearby our home, in the “village” of Gracia, with the name clarified by the restaurant’s walls covered with paintings of generic photographers (essentially all in black with a bit of white), each holding a camera with a flash, where a real bulb is placed, serving as part of the art and to light up the restaurant. “Flash Flash” promotes its 70 different types of tortillas, undoubtedly quite appealing to tortilla lovers.  I was attracted by the solid review and expansive tortilla menu, which was compelling not only for me but for my tortilla-loving family, who like many, is prone to dietary feuds.  Ordering was a pure delight; I settled on a sausage, mushroom and cheese tortilla, some of my favorite foods, and I was proud of my ability to translate the Spanish words.  But now I know that a “Mexican tortilla” is a tortilla as we know it, while a “tortilla” here in Spain is an omelet…and my omelet happened to be extremely runny, meaning that yes, I was definitely eating an egg, rather than the meat, vegetable, or cheese inside.  The yolk was on me but I played tough and ate more than half of my tortilla/omelet.

Tags: egg, Mexican, mushroom, omelet, sausage, tortilla

When I first brought up the idea of moving to Spain for a year, Max said, “Spain, that’s crazy, I like San Francisco, we really shouldn’t move.”  Why should I be surprised, given that this is the same guy, now 12, who kicked and screamed when we moved just 4 blocks a few years ago, and with a bigger room and an actual yard.  He may as well have said with Spain “if you take away the “S”, that’s what I’m getting” (someone must have said this, although before experiencing España).   And when I asked Max to write his essay for admittance to school in Barcelona, knowing my strong intentions, he tried negotiating with me (and I have to say I was proud of his skills); “Sure Dad, I’ll be happy to write an essay, but I want an ipad and an iphone.”  I didn’t respond and I hope he thanks us later…and we are on our way.

Tags: Barcelona, essay, ipad, iphone, Spain

No one eats in the bathroom.  There is a general ban on food in the can.  But what about this scenario?  You have just picked up your sandwich at the deli, it’s in a paper bag, and you stop in the bathroom on the way back to your desk.  First, do you leave it on the counter next to the sink, risking someone’s water splash, or even theft?  Or do you hold it while going number one, which is not necessarily easy, and could lead to spray (on the bag)?  And do you bring it into the stall if you need to stay awhile, placing it next to you on the floor, which may not be clean?  Of course, the bathroom air does not pollute your bag lunch and the bag is there for protection.  But the idea of bringing food into the bathroom doesn’t sit well with people (one becomes a target of ridicule), and there is clearly some risk to the food.  So, it seems to make sense first to walk back to your desk, drop off your food, and then head to Fonzie’s office.

Tags: bag, bathroom, deli, food, splash, stall, theft

Middle C is mostly good.  The Middle Seat is all bad.  Middle C is squeezed between highs and lows.  The Middle Seat is squeezed, and it is mostly lows, while you are high.  Middle C is pleasant and relaxing; you can’t complain.  The Middle Seat is unpleasant; you can’t relax and it generally doesn’t help to complain.  Middle C is next to B and D.  Middle Seat is rated F.  Middle C is better than Middle Seat, see?

Tags: bad, complain, middle, middle c, pleasant, relax, seat, unpleasant

Once upon a time, there was a boy who just couldn’t focus.  When he spoke, he would switch from one subject to the next without finishing a sentence, when he did his homework, he would read half of a page of history and then move to another subject, and when he was on a call with a buddy, he would surf the internet (this latter problem was not actually due to an inability to focus but simply an attempt to multi-task).  Before I finish the story, I want to remind readers that it is a 3-day weekend and you should leave work early to avoid traffic.  So, the boy who couldn’t focus became confused, mixing up his Great Gatsby with Great Expectations, and his parents’ own expectations of him became less than great.  On an unrelated note, if you are heading out of town, I did notice that certain roads may be closed due to weather.  Eventually, the boy overcame his problem by sitting in a room without a computer or related device and with only one book at a time.  He was forced to focus on one story, one book, one subject.  Will finish this later.

Tags: boy, focus, sentence, traffic