I incinerated my lunch...again.
This is a common occurrence. In fact, Wookie has more than
once arrived home to find the still-smoking remnants of a melted cheese sandwich,
bagel, or reheated pizza slice in the back yard.
Luckily, our toaster oven is right next to the kitchen
window—making for easy disposal of burnt offerings before the kitchen fills
with smoke.
While ours is a
very old toaster oven (it was old when I brought it from my apartment nine
years ago), the fault lies with me. The problem is that I lack the ability to be
still and do nothing, and this greatly impacts my ability to make toast.
From the moment I push that button down, the time it takes
to lightly toast a bagel stretches before me like an unproductive eternity. To
distract myself, I find some way to fill the time, whether it's folding
laundry, writing a blog post, or checking my email.
Inevitably, I become focused on that more interesting
activity until that nagging feeling that I've forgotten something...or the
smell of smoke...or Wookie's voice calling, "are you burning
something?!" sends me rushing back to the kitchen.
This doesn't happen so much when I'm cooking on the
stove-top. That's a more active endeavor—checking the flame, stirring, adding
ingredients and tasting tend to be enough to keep my attention. Toast, on the
other hand, is my nemesis.
I envy people who can be still.
I often joke that the only
time I'm not multi-tasking is when I'm underwater. There, amidst the fish and
the sound of my own bubbles I manage to escape my need for more input. Of
course, we always get breakfast out when we dive, so I don't have to worry
about forgotten toast.
