Jan 11, 2005

snack cakes, or something

I realized earlier tonight that I had a craving for something sweet. But it was already eleven pm, and it was cold and raining outside, and there was no way I was going to go anywhere. I couldn't justify going out late at night for chocolate alone. And there was nothing like a cookie, or hot cocoa, or a piece of a gingerbread house in my apartment. Because, believe me, I looked.

So I tried to forget about it, and started clearing all the junk off of my table. Which, by the way, is not a fair trade for chocolate. But there was three weeks of whatever-I-could-get-by-without-dealing-with-it collected into a heap on top of the table in my kitchen. (And as messes go, I have to say it was super contained, where I had given into slovenliness, yes, but for some reason only within the controlled confines of that one table). So, I got to work.

And there was a payoff. As I got to the bottom, I noticed some of these little Japanese snack cakes that my sister-in-law had given me as part of my Christmas present. I forgot I had taken them out of the box. There were two of them. They had come in a beautiful jewelry box that she had filled with all sorts of fun and exotic little soaps and things. I remembered that she told me that these two were cakes, and those two were soaps, and that one was an eraser, etc.

They were strange little cakes wrapped in cellophane with something brief and to the point written on them in italicized Japanese that, whatever it said, ended in an exclamation point. So they had to be good. And my sister-in-law had mentioned that they were good. So I was really thrilled.

I like Japanese food, but these were snack cakes I had never had before. Not knowing what to expect, I took one of them out of its packaging to study it. And, upon further inspection, it struck me as the kind of item that, if I added water to it, would grow to 500% its original size. And it really looked like this round eraser that I like to use. And a little bit like soap. And it smelled like both cookies and flowers.

Then I remembered something, went into my bedroom, and grabbed the jewelry box. In it I found four other items that looked exactly like these snack cakes. They too were white and round and were all packaged in a similar same way. But they were bigger than the ones I had just examined. So I was confused. I really needed to determine which of these things was a snack cake.

So, I took all of them out of their wrappers and lined them up on my kitchen counter to look at them under the light. All six were spongy. All six looked sort of like erasers. And all six erased #2 pencil quite cleanly. I spent an inordinate amount of time doing this. Finally I ate one of them. Then, all of them. And, although I have no idea what I've eaten, whatever they were, they were good. Really good.

27 comments:

  1. Oh Victoria! Did you survive the night? I have to laugh because your life is exactly where I think I would be if I didn't have the kids to make me grow old... ;)

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  2. Oh, I laughed when you revealed you ate them all. I could see it. IN MY HEAD. And it was adorable. I'm not used to laughing, I'm stoic. Now I must get back into the groove.

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  3. The funny thing is just as I sat down to read this, I had just taken a bite of my first eraser from my plate of erasers I have on my plate to eat today.

    I love it! You are so daring and funny. Like a superhero of the smart and witty. While I'm merely the hero of the dumb and boring. Ah well everyone needs a hobby.

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  4. Wink, it's going to stop raining soon. Now I know you are probably well informed about your own conditions, but, I just heard this, and thought I should inform you thusly. And you are my hero, so what does that say? Me? I'm just crazy. Who's zoomin' who (do you remember that lyric?).

    I'm having not New Star, but Star Chinese take out because of your comment, Thoresen. I'm worried about you guys, and J, and everyone per the rain. Have I said that too much?

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  5. WE SURVIVED!

    Sunny low 60's.

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  6. Kim, I survived! the irony is that if I had children there probably would have been cookies in the house, at least those arrow-root teething cookies, which in a pinch I find to be ok as a snack..

    Ho, good, good.. Making you *yawn* the other day lead to me *yawning*, which became a vicious circle of *yawns*, as yawning is so contagious. I almost renamed my blog, frankenboreU2death. I'm still on the fence about this.

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  7. That was pretty darn funny...
    In desperate times, I've snacked on croutons and peanut-butter before... so I can comiserate...

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  8. How funny. It was HORRENDOUS just minutes ago, but now, everything is ok, the sun is out.. the birds are singing.. movies are once again are being made at efficient speed.. And Brad + Jen, they probably have already renewed their wedding vows, now that the sun is out.

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  9. Harley, I've been known to have salad dressing sandwhiches. Which later lead to the salads without dressing.. and these were the salad days of very uninspired salads.

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  10. I'll see your salad dressing sandwich... and raise you a hamburger bun with bbq sauce.

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  11. *yawn* good idea, but I really wish you *yawn* wouldn't. I have my mom reading you and she gets *yawn* fiercely angry at change.

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  12. Harley, all I'm gonna say is.. hamburger bun with yellow mustard.

    And, Ho.. really, your mom?

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  13. You've won this round, Victoria!... But this isn't over!

    (by the by, I just happened upon your site while hitting the "Next Blog" button, in case you were curious... the name caught my attention and I like the stories.. Later..)

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  14. My mom...

    As for the snack cakes. Once you name something a 'snack cake', by law, it becomes edible.

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  15. There is a reason why the Japanese will one day rule this pitiful little planet- they get us to EAT anything, and like it.

    Anything.

    And they are all trained as ninjas, which makes for a formidable coupling of form and function.

    And their cartoons are so damn cute... so what's not to love?

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  16. Ho/Anti-blogger (brothers?) whomever you are,
    your mom! Too cool.. My mother reads my blog from time to time. My mom is the greatest, but if we were contemporaries she'd never hang out with me.

    Notice: I'm hanging out with my mom on Thursday, and I can't wait..

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  17. your mom has a lot to learn, then. no offence intended. if AB and i were brothers I'd be the black sheep and he'd be the ... mocha tan sheep. not that he's brown skinned, he just isn't quite white. but I am black and that's why i'd be the black sheep. actually, none of that is true, sorry. however, I've read this one about 6 times, literally. and i'm ready for the next one. no pressure, though.

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  18. An m&m I found in the sofa.

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  19. A packet of sweet and sour sauce.

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  20. .."car fries", that's funny. Way better than "house fries".

    And, let me say it,
    red meat.

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  21. something happened...a part has been...chopped, perhaps.

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  22. ..Blog Ho, what means this?

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  23. Oh, wait.. I get it .. I think..?

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  24. My own foot...
    (I may have embellished a little on this one…)

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  25. I think it was just gas. I'm sorry.

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  26. Thor.. red meat, things eaten in desperation.. like the car fries (still better than house fries)..

    H, Thor, I see your car fries and your foot and raise you a frozen mac + cheese eated while still frozen..
    you can't top that.

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