Jack Petro

UWRT 1102
Ms. Cristina Staco
4, February 2015
Food Memoir Assignment

I am, by habit and by long standing preference, very busy. A geek in the fullest and
greatest sense of the word. Currently I am taking 20 credit hours worth of classes and I aim to
make an A in every class, as is the custom I have carried into college from high school and have
maintained since the fall semester, my first as a university student. In addition to the time I
devote to studying, which is considerable, I play for the Universitys Symphonic Band and the
Flute Choir. I am the kind of guy who completes every extra credit assignment as a matter of
course and who takes projects and presentations as competitions rather than assignments. I spend
so much time in my favorite working place, on the 7th floor of Atkins Library, that friends have
jokingly referred to me as the princess, after the princess in the tower. Get it? Princess? Library
Tower? Needless to say that I find myself very busy and often skip meals, usually because Im
too engrossed in writing a paper or preparing a video to feel any pang of hunger. All of this is a
matter of choice for me and I do enjoy being busy. Long periods of idleness or not having a
pressing assignment to work on drives me a little stir crazy. Nonetheless I found that I did regret
not having proper meals. The leisure of dinner time, when its not eaten over a paper, laptop, or
notebook, is something that is precious to me. Ironically it was my very nature of business that
led to the establishment of my favorite weekly custom. This is how I came to find my favorite
restaurant.

I have been attending, since this semester began, weekly lectures at UNCCs City Center
location. The Great Decisions lecture series mostly addresses matters of US foreign policy but
other interesting lectures have been given on different subjects, like Internet Privacy for example.
In addition to being an amazing opportunity for me to go and nerd out, these lectures give me
extra credit in one of my classes. A class that I share with my fiance, Larissa, who, like myself,
enjoys the opportunity to nerd out to the history of US-Indian relations. Unlike myself, she can
quickly become very hungry when not regularly fed. She also has this abhorrent habit of whining
and making angry faces when she believes food is being withheld from her unjustly and the level
of grumpitude can reach incredible heights rather quickly. These lectures begin at 6:30 pm and
usually wrap up around 8:00. Its usually around the Q&A section that Larissa begins eating the
emergency stash of trail mix from her bag and by time we get back to the car she will be making
glaring faces at me with her piercing womanly stare. Like all men who find themselves subjected
to that most devilish of female superpowers, the piercing stare, I quickly caved to her demand for
dinner. It was after the very first lecture that she directed me to drive to a little Thai restaurant in
a strip mall off Harris Boulevard, between the City Center location and the main campus.
Our first dinner there was quite good. The food was very satisfactory and I had never had
Thai food before so it was a new and interesting experience for me. Best of all it was only about
$30, which is quite a bit less than what I usually might spend on a dinner outing. When I returned
her to her dorm and proceeded down 485 to my home, I counted the evening as very successful.
When the next week came and another lecture ended, this one on US foreign policy towards
African nations by the way, we returned to the same little Thai restaurant and have gone there
every week since, sometimes adding eating there additional days if circumstances make it
convenient. As this outing became routine I began to fully appreciate the little restaurant.

Its dim lighting and wood carvings made for a cozy evening atmosphere which I found
very welcome after the bustle of my usually very busy Wednesdays. At 8:00 pm there are usually
only a two or three other parties present so the restaurant has a quiet to it, no hustle or loud
noises. I also find that the little Thai restaurant has started to become a familiar place. Its servers
have become familiar faces and I have started to be able to make out what they are saying past
their sometimes thick accents. This ever growing familiarity adds to my liking of the little place
and its a welcome addition to my weekly schedule. Most importantly, weekly dinner here gives
me the opportunity to sit with my fiance and talk. Growing up, I enjoyed dinner with my family
at home. I still do but even though I live at home and commute to school, I hardly ever eat with
them anymore. My days are just too long for me to return home in time for dinner so I usually
eat alone in the evenings. The opportunity to share a meal with a loved one is refreshing and as
the University becomes my home away from home and the library my bedroom, I find that the
little Thai restaurant off Harris Boulevard has become my dining room.