Suzanne Calling

My Facebook feed is full of pictures of freshmen arriving at college. I never realized how many people I know with kids the same age as GameTeen. This week, it is apparent that I know about two dozen friends and former classmates with 18 year olds of their own. Meanwhile, tomorrow, mine starts 10th grade. Mainly because when we enrolled him back in public school last year, we placed him in 9th grade to catch up on the academics that weren't a focus at his private school. Still, he matured while there, so it isn't a total waste of three years. It's kind of surreal, to observe this juncture and realize that this is where life is definitely different for our family. GameTeen might go to college someday, but the reality is that he will do so close to home if it happens. He has the intelligence to do it, but none of the other skills. Maybe he'll gain those in the next three years, but I'm not betting on it.

At my new job, there are a few traditions my department has that I've enjoyed partaking in, the payday happy hour and Friday lunch gathering. This past week, the suggestion came up for Vietnamese food, which I'd never had. Seriously, I've never had Pho, but have wanted to try for a while. Even better, about half my dining companions were new to the cuisine, too, so I wasn't the weird one who knew nothing. Looking over the menu, I didn't even have a clue which dish to get. I opted for an order of fried dumplings, then selected the pork Bun Bo Ga from the half dozen items that sounded appealing. If you're the adventurous type, this menu has you ruling things out by the ingredients you don't like, rather than decide by the rare thing you do. If I was with my cube mates, I think I would have struck a deal for us to pick four things and share around. A side note here: One of my coworkers is a veteran consumer of the cuisine and order...