On a Roll

So...We've shaken a few things up at home, and for two days in a row I've written in the evenings.

I had nearly forgotten how refreshing it is to write. It is also a little frustrating at times (since most of what I've been writing isn't really that great), but I feel super happy about the fact that I've written for two nights in a row.

Prompt - Why would an engineer eat once a day only?

It's really funny that I came across this prompt because only a few days ago "the don" had mentioned to me that he wished he only had to eat one meal a day - and that he could just somehow skip the rest.

Can you imagine that? Not me...no way. I love food.

Why would an engineer eat only once a day? Perhaps he's lost the will to live.
Maybe he's trying to develop a pill a la George Jetson.
Maybe he's on a hunger strike.
Perhaps he's muslim and it's Ramadan.

I don't know why an engineer eat only once a day. I don't want to even imagine it, either...I guess. I can only figure that he's crazy. And you know what...I just found myself assuming that this is a man that would be an engineer who would choose to eat only once in a day.

Why didn't I think it was a female? Is it because the person is an "engineer"? Did I just assume that all engineers are men? Or is it because he/she refuses to eat more than once a day?

You know, here's another assumption: that the engineer has refused to eat any other time of the day. Perhaps he's in prison. Maybe it is his only opportunity. Perhaps he has decided to give up on the corporate world and go live in the wild somewhere, and because he's an engineer, he's spent so much of his/her time inside buildings, pushing pencils, that he/she doesn't have much of a connection with nature. He/she has confused his/her natural brilliance at engineering with the ability to live off the land, and now has difficulty scrounging up enough food to make up a single meal a day.

There are so many options. So many variables...

The sci-fi engingeer
Bob. He doesn't like life much. Well, let me take that back. He loves life, in fact, he loves it so much, he has been trying to replicate it - artificially.
He has engineered a robot dog - who pants, and listens to him - without constant feedings and midnight bathroom breaks.

He has engineered a robot wife - who also pants, and listens to him.

He has mastered the world around him - He has remotes for his lights, TV, and fireplace.

But he can't master himself. No matter how hard he tries, he is still so human.

So...he decides to try to wean himself - from food. Could there be anything more human than the appetite for food?

He arms himself with all of the necessary tools: a blender, vitamins, frozen fruit, and whey. He will no longer eat traditional meals. His plan lasts only one week. He still longs for the sweetness of a pear, the flesh melting in his mouth, juice dripping from his chin. He yearns for the savory melt of blue cheese, that is heaped upon a steak, rare in the center, but crispy on the outside. He misses chocolate, limes, cheetos, and bread. He misses chewing.

So...he decides upon the next best solution: He will eat one meal a day. The rest will be sipped.

And each night, he savors each bite more, the crisp crunch of lettuce, more joyous than a thousand kisses. Dinner now consists of appetizer, salad, soup, main course, and dessert. Instead of a few minutes in front of a TV, he is the mindful mangiatore. The meal, originally meant to only last minutes, takes an hour. An hour and a half. Hours...What he originally disdained as a lack of efficiency has become his obsession.

***
I'm hungry.