So I went to dinner the other night with NL and Matildakay. "Wanna meet us at Olive Garden?" MKaY asked me over the celly one recent Saturday night after work. We all had made planes to chase the moon later on that night and we needed to fill our fat bellies before making the trek. "Cool, I'm on my way" I said.

Olive Garden yes, bomb! I love that place. Salad, bread sticks, The Giro De Italia Sampler was already on my mind, then maybe some more bread sticks oh and Parmesan cheese graded into my salad right in front of me. Yep I could grub me some Olive Garden I was thinking as I sped across town anxious to sit down to a nice dinner with some cool new friends.

Was this the first time I've sat down and eaten with NL and Mkay? I thought to myself. I've been to backyard Bar B Q's at NL's pad before but not something with just the three of us. Hmm I thought this could be interesting or better yet this could be something to blog about!!!

So I get to the Garden and their already seated looking over menus. I sit down and we catch each other up on our day, our lives, our blogs. His blog, my blog, her blog. Blog, blog, blog it's all we know. A-ha a menu gets handed to me, here's something else I know about food!!! They keep talking about writing,. What they've learned what they know who they know what they want to accomplish with their writing. I casually slip away from the conversation and start to salivate over the menu. Oh what should I have?

Last time I was here I'm pretty sure I had the Shrimp Alfredo. My niece told me recently she usually gets the Giro De Italia cause it has a little bit of everything and leaves her stuffed, full to where she could barely walk. That's what I'm talkin about. I was strongly considering it. Then I thought to myself. This is something I'm trying to do a whole lot more of now when I eat. Actually think about what I'm about to eat.

Was I actually and truly hungry right now? I wasn't actually hungry, but I knew it was time to eat cause I hadn't eaten in a few hours I guess so might as well eat now. Right? Which makes me think why do I eat? Should I eat every few hours that I'm awake or should I only eat when I feel My body telling me 'hey you need some gas, some energy, feed me' Eat only when I feel the actual pangs of hunger, the emptiness of my gut howling at me. I mean come on how many times can I actually say I had ate because I was starving? Because my stomach was actually growling? Never I thought, I just eat because I think to myself okay it's time to eat so, lets eat.

My best friend U2 chick likes to say. "I'm a carnivour, I eat meat" I agree with this philosophy. My dad used to say "food is to be eaten" I agree with this one too.. My family and all my fiends are what you can call "good eaters" not much leftovers hanging around at our pads food is to be eaten, not saved for later, "you want that, cause I'll eat it" "oh man there's none left? I didn't even get to taste any!!" That's the kind of stuff you heard around mi casa.

Normal sized people like NL and Mkay eat differently than fat people and I was about to find that out.

The waitress came and asked if we were ready. We said yes, Mkay ordered first. "I'll have the pizza" she said. "Would you like to add a soup or salad?" The waitress asked. "Nope, just the pizza" How weird I thought. She came to Olive Garden and is not having the salad? Is that legal? The salad is soooo bomb here and they grade the cheese right in front of you!!! NL was up next. "I'll just have a bowl of soup" he said. Soup? Just soup, at the Olive Garden!. You gotta be fuckin kidding me. These people know there's so much more to eat here right? So much more than just soup.

I was up next. The waitress looked at me and I panicked, froze like a deer in the headlights. Only seconds before I had been all set to order the Giro but I couldn't order all that food now. I would look like a pig in front of these two. I would have several plates in front of me while I ate and they would have their one. People would stare I just knew it. I would be asking for more bread sticks as they asked for the check I feared. In a haste I ordered the chicken something or another. It sounded healthier and like less than what I was gonna order originally, and I asked for salad too. I had to have my salad.

We snacked on breadsticks and chatted while we waited for our food. I only had one piece as I've grown to fear bread now in my dieting days I know by now it's just no good for me. The food arrived and I prepared to eat.

NL sipped his soup and I dug into my chicken it was good. I glanced over at Mkay to see how she was doing with her pizza. OMG, she was eating it with a fork!! What a classy chick I thought to myself. She didn't eat pizza the way I'd seen pizza be eaten my whole life. I myself traditionally take two slices at a time folding them over making a make shift Calzone' on the fly. A trick I learned from my brother. She ate her pizza with a fork!!! I knew she was a class act but this took the cake (see even my references are food relate, damn no wonder I'm fat!).

Ah man I should eat dinner with these two more often I thought. They ate normal portions of food and therefore they have normally proportioned bodies. I mean I'm sure they have their own things to be self conscious about we all do right?

But in the end they helped me learn that just because everything is good at the Olive Garden doesn't it doesn't mean I have to eat everything at the Olive Garden every time I go there? I don't have to treat every meal as if it were my last. This journey has just begun hasn't it?