Happiness

Online Article – IT’S LIKE A FOOD TRUCK RODEO IN HERE!

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It’s like a Food Truck Rodeo in here! August 2013 Written for personal blog Copyright ARLADEAN ARNSON

Every day in the kitchen at my office there is a homemade snack or two sitting on the table, tempting the office staff to come and try it. At lunch, the refrigerator opens up to a plethora of sights and smells when the foodies bring out what they made the night before. They made extra so everyone can have a taste!

It has become almost like a Food Truck Rodeo every day! One lady brings a new kind of slaw made from Ramin noodles, cabbage and mandarin oranges. Another brings her husband’s bbq chicken and some fried okra. There is always a new cake, new salad or a new side dish popping up!

One day recently, I didn’t feel much like driving to the local sandwich shop so, as it turns out, my co-workers fed me with a little of this and a little of that! SO TASTY!

If our everyday fare is like the Rodeo, you can imagine what the office parties are like! When a birthday or a promotion or just Hump Day roll around, it is time to break out the family recipes and show off the ol’ chef skills! It is quite the presentation and gastronomic feast!

I wonder if it just us? Or, does this happen in other offices? And, if it is just here in the South or do others around the country do it too?

I bet it is happening everywhere. The economy is still rough for so many of us. And, the popularity of cooking channels along with the trends like the food-as-medicine, farm-to-table, and the fusions of different cuisines from around the world has us all wanting to learn more. It seems to be almost a zeitgeist moment.

I do work in a small office with mostly women and a few men. I have noticed that we are making connections through these daily rituals-much like communities did in the days of our great grandparents.

I actually like it. It is comforting slice of peace in the middle of the high-tech filled day.

Pass the pie!

Online Article – BLACK GOLD

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Black Gold June 2013 Written for TriangleMommies Blog Copyright ARLADEAN ARNSON

My co-workers and I have discovered black gold. No, it isn’t the “Texas Tea” sort either.

We have discovered a little sandwich shop inside the corner gas station that sells Café Cubano or cafecito.

This is a black coffee, sweetened oh so perfectly, and served hot with foam in a small little Styrofoam cup. It smells perfectly pungent with hints of the tropics swimming in a dark sea of caffeine. It tastes like the smoothest dark chocolate, almost liquor-like in its consistency. The foam just tickles your lips with buttery kisses while the coffee warms your whole being.

Beware! It is STRONG. Ah, so strong-strong enough to carry you through the rest of your stressful day on just that one cup.

Of course, it is strong enough to last into the evening too. A couple of us have had a cup of cafecito in the middle of a particularly hard afternoon and found out that it did get us all through the day without killing anyone, but we were up half the night ready to kill someone for lack of sleep!

There are several places throughout the Triangle where you too can try a cup of Café Cubano: The Oakwood Café in Raleigh, the Havana Grill in Cary, The Old Havana Sandwich Shop in downtown Durham, and our little secret in Morrisville, The Latin Corner.

If you love coffee, and you haven’t had a cup of joe you could call “black gold”, then you must seek out this lyric-poem-in-a-cup, a cafecito.  Be warned, you might get addicted.

THEATER REVIEW-“Lose yourself in ‘Escape from Happiness’”

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Theater Review

Tuesday Magazine, The Signal (Georgia State University’s on-campus newspaper)

“Lose yourself in ‘Escape from Happiness’”

Copyright 1995 ARLADEAN ARNSON/THE SIGNAL

 

“Escape from Happiness”

Horizon Theater, Atlanta, GA 1995

“Escape from Happiness,” Canadian playwright George F. Walker’s outrageous story of a typical late 20th century family that is pre-occupied with reasoning why bad things happen to them, offers a hilarious satirical look at family matters in the ‘90’s.

Set in the cheery yellow kitchen of a typical family, the story centers around the recent beating of Junior, one of the main characters of “Escape form Happiness.”  The mystery of who did this terrible thing and why sets the stage for Walker’s “manic and eloquent” satire.  As the play progresses, the action becomes more outrageous as the characters become more introspective.

The ever-ending need for family members to search for clarification on different levels along with Walker’s ironic mishaps lighten the tone of the mystery without giving way into farce.

Shelby Hofer and Jill Jane Clements both give outstanding performances as Gail, the family’s stubborn youngest daughter, and Nora the bickering yet heroic Mother.

Although the ending is a little surprising and abrupt (more because of delivery than dialogue), this contemporary satire offers a hilarious look at modern urban family life.

“Escape from Happiness” runs through February 26 (1995) at Horizon Theater.  For information about showtimes and ticket prices call 584-7450.