Throwback Thursday #20: Grilled Chicken

"If I had my life to live over, I would perhaps have more actual troubles but I'd have fewer imaginary ones." ~Don Herold

So.....I was pretty nervous for my summer job. I had no idea what to expect and frankly no idea if I could hack it. I'm a planner (shocking, I know) so I figured I had thought through everything that could possibly go wrong.

What if the trolley was late? Or got stuck? Or ran off the tracks? Had a back up. What if my shoe broke? Or I fell in one of those grates that let the steam out of underground? What if the elevator didn't work and I had to walk 24 flights of stairs in my heels? What if I got a run in my hose? What if they asked me a question that everyone else in the room knew but me? What if they wanted to know how to cite to the U.S. Code and needed an answer in .25 seconds? Yea, seriously, I played all of this over in my head.

Well....I missed one. Ordering lunch.

Now, let's get this straight--I am not a picky eater. Never have been. Other than not liking seafood because it stinks and makes me want to gag, I'll pretty much eat anything. May not love it, but I'll eat it with a smile on my face and use the manners my mama taught me. You also need to understand I grew up in rural New Mexico. The restaurant options were American and Mexican. If you think Pizza Hut qualifies as Italian, then we had Italian. Then I hit San Francisco.

The first day, my mentor took me for Greek food. The menu.....in Greek. HOLY COW! I was freaking out.....I knew that I was going to get fired for sure. I mean, how could they hire me and ever think I could meet with clients if I didn't even know what to order? In the midst of my total panic, which trying to remain calm, cool, and talkative, I came up with a game plan. Find the thing that looks the closest to grilled chicken. This became my mantra for the entire summer...you can always eat the closest thing to grilled chicken. So, on Day #2, we go to Thai and I stick with my same idea. Worked out well. Day #3, fancy seafood restaurant, same plan.

You get the idea--I won't bore you with the menus for the next three months. Suffice it to say, it never led me astray and I didn't get fired for being unable to order. (And those of you who are thinking, ISN'T SHE A CATTLE KID? Yes....I am....steak obviously tastes better. But let's be honest, it's hard to screw up grilled chicken....it's the safe bet.)