THE NEW ROUTINE

I go in phases: that song I can't stop listening to, the pair of jeans I'll wear every day for a week, the liquid eyeliner experiment (results pending), the sudden infatuation with Barbara's Shredded Spoonfuls seasoned with fresh blue and black berries. Phases are my fickle heart's way of maintaining loyalty, but the briefest loyalty, a loyalty with an expiration date. How I loved David Thomas Broughton's "Execution", those Straight-Leg Slouch Levi's, a mod eye, healthy breakfasts...they were all True Loves.

So my latest phase is a head-over-heels burning desire for pre-packaged macrobiotic vegan dumplings found in my bodega's fridge section. They come Thai style, Hunan style, Schizuan style, and Spicy Malaysian style. As far as I can tell, all the "styles" are pretty much the same. I've tried them all, and I can hardly discern a difference between them. What I know is this: they are dumplings. They are fall-apart-in-your-mouth-messy/chewy. They should probably be heated up, but I eat them cold, straight from the (plastic) crate. They're ostensibly healthy, which is a wonder because healthy is an exceptional quality not often attributed to a dumpling, let alone 14 ounces of dumpling(s). At $4.19 a container that's some buck bang. I love them, and I love to put sriracha sauce on 'em and wreck my mouth for the rest of the day.

I know in time I'll move on to something else, and so, Macro Vegetarian Vegan Thai Dumplings, the lunch of which resides presently inside me, I already miss you.