ON FUSSINESS

We have an off-campus overnight retreat for work today. To my knowledge, none of us are looking forward to it, for a variety of reasons. Some of us don't like to sleep in strange beds if we can help it. Some of us had negative experiences with off-campus retreats a few years ago. And some of us are just contrary by nature.

But I got an email Monday afternoon that struck a chord. Essentially, it told me that I should probably bring my own food, because my boss didn't know what kind of food would be served at this retreat. Granted, last time we went, there was nothing I would eat, so I said I'd "just fill up on rolls." My boss's boss asked the cook to make me a grilled cheese sandwich. While it was embarrassing, it was also delicious. So this time...for them to say "We're not going to do that, bring your own food," well...it seems odd.

I don't mean to be a fussy eater. I just like my food relatively plain. There is not a salad dressing that I like, so I eat my salads dry. I don't care for mushrooms, peppers, or onions, so I order my "Philly Cheese Steaks" with just the meat and cheese (and it took a long time for me to add that cheese to my sandwiches. In fact, I don't remember having a cheeseburger until I was 20, and that was only because it was free because our college basketball team scored over 80 points or something). I don't like condiments on burgers or dogs, and bratwursts will inevitably make me sick. So I'm not even a good person to have at cookouts.

But here's the conundrum - has it really gotten to the point where my BOSS has to tell me (basically) to bring a peanut butter sandwich (no jelly!) to a retreat? Have my fussy eating habits become that obvious and predictable? Have they really gotten that extreme?

Whatever the case, it's troubling.