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corn chip excess
Thursday, September 7 2000
West LA/eastern Santa Monica is quickly proving itself as the land of milk and honey, at least when it comes to being able to wish whatever you need into the alleys that define your morning bike ride to work. This morning I came upon another SVGA monitor, this one a full 15 inches. One can never have enough monitors, so of course I took it. And of course it worked. Now if only someone along my morning commute could grow weary of their 19 inch ViewSonic, then I'd be set. I should point out, by the way, that I haven't even started checking the big trashcans characteristic of Santa Monica alleys. Who knows what treasures lie in those monstrous plastic mushrooms?
My frugality has become a marvelously delightful game, with me continually finding new ways to avoid spending money. It's easier than I ever could have imagined back when Kim was the one making all the economic decisions. One of my thrifty moves is to buy bulk items at Smart & Final, an outlet of which lies only a block away. This has both its benefits and its drawbacks. For example, though the large brick of Monterrey Jack cheese is inexpensive, I'm totally sick of it. It's starting to remind me of Play Doh. Is there still such a thing as Play Doh? (Yes there is - thanks Nancy.)
Anyway, one bulk Smart & Final item of which I've yet to grow weary is the huge bag of corn chips. I'm currently near the end of the second such bag that I've bought since my breakup with Kim. I'm addicted to them. For the past two days I've come home to my house and eaten lunches consisting of nothing but corn chips, salsa, and a can of beans. I don't know what it is about chips and salsa, but it's completely satisfying.
But there is at least one drawback to this latest lunchtime obsession. Lately I've been suffering from an unusually large number of sores in my mouth. These tend to be extremely painful and persistent. My guess is that my corn-chip heavy diet causes an unusually large number or mouth injuries as I bite down upon sharp-edged chips, especially when I'm eating quickly. (I always eat quickly.) Throughout my life, I've had a number of bad things happen that were definitely the result of eating corn chips. I remember once I bit down on a chip and the corner of it lodged in the roof of my mouth. I didn't know this until several days later when a foul-smelling pustule had to be dispatched.
For some reason my mouth is particularly sensitive to injury; every time I accidentally bite my cheek, for example, I inevitably get sores at the bite mark.
And right now, as I type, I have a distractingly painful sore on the floor of my mouth, just behind my front lower teeth.
In the evening I had Laurie the DBA (who lives a block away from me) drive me home. This allowed me to bring home some computer equipment I've been preparing in my cubicle. An hour or so later I walked back to work to retrieve my bicycle. The time was just about sunset and the weather was extraordinary. The evening was lit up with a peculiar surreal yellowish light and big dark clouds were everywhere, all lit up and crimson on their western sides. A few hearty rain drops fell in a manner almost unheard of here on the West Coast.
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