Things Taste Better When They’re Free

3-13-2010

I figured out the secret to happiness. It turns out it’s a tomato and cheese Panini with spicy ranch sauce. Pretty much you take a baguette, butter it up, then stick it face down on the griddle and smush it with a pan loaded with heavy canned foods. When it’s all brown and delicious, take it off load it up with cheese, thinly sliced tomatoes, and crushed red pepper. Stick back on the griddle, smush it again, flip, listen to the sizzle and then serve with a mixture of ranch and Tapatio hot sauce. My goodness—it is proof that life is worth living. I love food.

Today I met the girls at a café. It was a new one that I hadn’t been to before, but I loved it. It’s a small, cozy place. We relaxed and ordered cappuccinos and I had a tomato and cheese omelet while the girls enjoyed a shared plate of fish. There was a man sitting next to us and seemed to be rather intrigued that we were speaking English. Pretty soon he approached us and asked us where we were from. We made conversation for awhile and he ended up telling us that he owned the café. He told us all about his entrepreneurial adventures, gave us his business card, and offered us desert—on the house! When he offered us desert I figured he was doing his typical customer service marketing strategy (which I’m sure he was) and I was expecting maybe a brownie or a little slice of cheesecake for us all to share, but to my surprise a huge platter filled with ice cream, tiramisu, brownies, and cheesecake came out to our table. And if that were not enough he offered us more delicious mochas, caramel lattes, and I got an iced coffee. All of this tasted so good because it was all free. So that alone was enough to make my day. You never know who you’re going to meet and what is going to happen next; that is why I love life. (If you’re ever in Almaty, be sure to check out John’s café!) Today I was reminded that God not only gives me what I need, but He takes great joy in giving me some stuff that I simply want. God doesn’t just provide dinner, but He also loves to provide a giant platter of desert!

Lately I have really been into stories. My mind has been occupied much by my wild imagination. I long for deep adventure that will take me to far-off lands and rescue pretty girls. Ever since I was a child, I have had a wicked imagination and reading books like the Chronicles of Narnia surely makes matters worse. So this past week or so I have been sort of down because of the fact that I cannot have adventures like the ones that happen in classic literature books and epic movies. Then I realized that I am living in Kazakhstan! Every time I got outside I am catapulted into an adventure. Most people get too busy living. It kind of freaks me out because I worry that I’ll get like that when I’m older. I don’t want to get so caught up in day-to-day life that I miss out on the adventures that wait for me. Coming here, having my own apartment, doing my own laundry, cooking my own meals, doing my own grocery shopping, cleaning my own toilets—it has all made me realize what a pain in the butt life is. Just to live takes up so much time; I’m not even talking about making money to buy the groceries! Anyways, it’s a disturbing thought.

Anyways, I have decided to try and be more open to the adventure that lies before me and not sulk in the fact that I am living in a world that is captured by satellite imagery and the old tales of exploring have faded away. I am always cautious about wishing for a great story, because I know that great stories involve great pain. Happy endings, involve a lot of previous unhappiness in order to make them happy. This world is so big, filled with people, filled with culture, and filled with people that need help, that need to smile. I want to make people smile.