why i'm a bad person (today)
I got invited to a friend's house for dinner. Said dinner is supposed to take place about an hour and a half after I get home from class.So I ask my friend what's on the menu for that night - particularly whether the menu includes some sort of seafood or eggs (neither of which I eat).
Ever. (And my friends are huge quiche fans, which I find completely foul. Even the smell of eggs cooking makes me nauseous.*)
After class today, my friend asks me if I'm still coming to dinner. I say yes, and she replies that she was unsure because I had the gumption to ask what they were having for dinner. (Apparently, inquiries about the menu are extremely gauche when you're a picky eater.) So I point out that I wanted to be sure that I would actually have something to eat. My friend replies that the point of getting together for dinner is to enjoy the company, not to be concerned with what we're eating. (Hmm.) So I once again say that I wanted to know if I should eat in the hour and a half I'm sitting at home before I go over and hang out.... but apparently even that response has put me on the douchebag list.
I mean, I understand the fact that my question may have sounded like my hanging out was contingent on the menu. But at the same time, is it so difficult for people to understand that there are certain foods that others can't/won't eat? It's not like I was asking for special consideration; I just wanted to know if I should just eat last night's spice-encrusted chicken before coming over.
*Speaking of foul food smells, I should mention my dad's homemade tofu scramble. I'm convinced that particular smell is the smell of death (if not worse).
Labels: madison
posted by Dangerous Mind @ 18:25
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3 Comments:
Your post reminds me of one of my dinners at my friend's place which went all wrong. However, my friend's mom was a great cook, but I was not very comfortable with eating the food that they normally ate. But since I loved my friend a lot, I agreed to join them for dinner.When I recall that now, it amuses me a lot. So much for friendship!
Um, an invitation to dinner really doesn't create an obligation to serve a dinner that your friends will enjoy. You are a picky eater. That is legitimate. So maybe just carry crackers and enjoy the company. Hosting is hard work, expensive, and should be graciously apprecicated (which I think you do underneath). Your host doesn't owe you anything, you, you owe her because she's putting herself out there.
I think I really understand your delimma since I am vegetarian and I also dehydrate easily so I need to know what to expect when eating somewhere other than home. Your thought of whether or not you should eat first seemed completely reasonable to me. You didn't say you would only attend if your friend prepared something you liked. You simply wanted to be able to eat something - at home or there.
One trick I use that works is I take a hostess gift of food that I can eat. It's not foolproof since the hostess doesn't always open it and set it out. But if she does, I have cheese and crackers and bubbling grape juice in the gift (as well as other things usually) and I am set for the meal. If the conversation is good, no one really notices what I am and am not eating. :)
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