You Say You Want A Revolution...

What a great way to start off the week in style. Not.

Just look at this food. What's with the fascination with white? Can a brother get some yellows and reds for a change?

The salad was OK, and, since it included tuna rather than ham, I actually had seconds.

The soup was just OK, too, although I have to say I did like the chunks of potato.

The main dish was pathetically bad, and I didn't even have to taste it to know that. No, sirree. I gave that food away in a big hurry.

The funny thing is, the kid I gave it to often gives me lip when I give away my food ("You should eat your food, not give it away!"), so I was actually shocked that he took it off of my hands. It took him about ten seconds to think about it, too, and while he was doing so I would have bet a million bucks that he was going to reject my offer. Amazing things happen, I suppose.

You can see that I also took rice, because it wasn't just plain rice but rather rice plus chestnuts. I thought the chestnuts would help give the rice some flavor, but I was wrong.

Plain + plain (still) =  plain.

About the only good part of today's meal is that drink with the green lid that is sitting on my tray.

It's some sort of yogurt drink. The reason I have it is that I'm lactose intolerant and therefore don't drink milk.

For the past few weeks, I've been giving my milk to a student who asked for it, but, since I'm actually still paying for the milk, it only makes sense that I get a drink that I like instead. That's where the yogurt drink comes in.

I didn't actually get to choose what to have as a substitute, however, so I may have to ask for yet another substitute, because this drink has a really odd flavor.

Who has ever had grape-flavored yogurt, after all?

What's wrong with strawberry yogurt? Or how about raspberry yogurt? Banana yogurt? Plain yogurt?

Hmmm...

Just the fact that I can even have something other than milk is a minor miracle in itself.

About a month ago, I noticed that a girl had the yogurt drink instead of milk, so I asked her why. It turns out she is allergic to milk (or is perhaps also lactose intolerant) and was therefore allowed to switch to this yogurt drink.

Voilà!

The idea then sprung into my head that I could probably get the yogurt drink, too. It just took me a while to finally ask for it. (Truth be told, it took me more than four years to ask for it!)

The Lunch Lady approved my request in a heartbeat, but I guess she had to ask for official permission, anyway.

I know that because this morning the high-school vice-principal came over to me, sat down, and said, "Yama-san, starting today you're getting yogurt for lunch."

On my way to the chow hall, I got the same message from the principal. As he walked past me, I expected him to say his usual "Otsukare sama desu." ("Thanks for your hard work."), but, instead, he said, "Yama-san, starting today, yogurt?"

Several of the kids noticed, too, and some of them seemed jealous.

Revolution, anyone?