Monday, November 12, 2007

Yesterday was an unexpectedly nice day.

And not just because the sun was shining when I woke up. I coasted down Catalina to church like usual, but this time I finagled my bike into my friend Melissa's station wagon after service and we went grocery shopping.

I met Melissa the first or second week I came to Calvary Chapel Point Loma. She's a recent UCSD grad who majored in biology and is currently working in a biotech lab doing something involving nucleotides that I couldn't begin to comprehend. She spent a month touring Europe over the summer and just moved into her apartment down the street from the church a month ago. And she's incredibly nice.

We walked around the new Vons, awed - a bicameral layout joined by an open-air market area, grind-as-you-go peanut butter machines, savory artisan breads to sample - at the dexterous display of marketing genius. Then we headed to her place.

We decided to improvise a version of her mom's Hawaiian chicken and also make dessert for the evening college Bible study. I butterflied the chicken breast and she made me rich, chocolatey espresso in a tiny pot her hostess gave her in Italy. We dipped French bread in olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette while the cupcakes baked. Just before the chicken was done, I steamed some fresh green beans.

We savored our meal and finished it off with the freshly frosted cupcakes, agreeing that everything tastes better when you have someone to share it with. Afterwards, she drove me home, and we pledged to do it again sometime.

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