Pre-Home

It has been said that home is where the heart is. For me, home is where the food is. On Thursday, I made my trip home from school as the semester recently ended. Before embarking on the journey that would lead me to sweet home-cooking, I have a few end of the semester memories I would like to write about.

The weekend of pranks first comes to mind. My friend Dallas and I were eager to have fun one evening. Silly string normally brings fun into any situation. We made our way to the store and got ourselves some silly string. Next, we decided on a victim. We have a friend, we will call her Nikki, because that is her name. She was sitting in her apartment. We violently burst open the door and attacked her with the silly string. She hastily rain, in vain, in attempt to escape. She failed. Sadly, when the cans ran out of juice, our fun, and prank, ended. We wisely bought four cans, two for each of us, so we pulled this same prank a week later, on Nikki's roommate, Ashley. She ended up more mad from the prank, but it was still fun. Next came the bed prank. A friend, TJ, is one of the smartest people I know. His roommates enjoy pranking him whenever he is out of town. One evening, I was hanging out with my friends Dallas and Angela (no, not my parents). We went over to our friend Adam's apartment. He informed us that TJ was out watching a movie and would not be back until after midnight. This was the perfect opportunity to do something to him. I suggested moving his entire bed out into the hallway. We moved everything; the mattress, the box spring, the frame, and the blocks the frame was sitting on. We sat on the bed and took some pictures, then went inside, waiting for him to arrive. When he walked in the door, he had a pissed off look on his face. He was not happy at all. He shook his head in disgust and said that it wasn't funny. He then went to his room, got something, and left. I was laughing my head off. A couple of pranks I tried went wrong, but those will be saved for another time.

Food. Living in Provo has its advantages. Some restaurants in the Provo area are close to my heart and stomach. Tucanos is one of them. My brother Pat had a buy one meal get one free for his birthday. So I treated him and my friend Dan came along as well. We went for dinner and it was divine. The garlic sirloin was exceptional and the teryaki beef was mouth-watering. At the very end I finished with seven pieces of grilled pineapple, a perfect way to end the evening. Steak and mashed potatoes is a meal fit for a true American. My friend Adam and I decided to make this meal a reality for us. We bought some steaks and I baked the potatoes. These potatoes though are not the typical baked potatoes. Before wrapping them in foil, I rubbed them with a little bit of oil and then put Montreal Steak Seasoning on the potato. This not only makes the kitchen smell heavenly, but activates the taste buds in a good way. One of Adam's buddies, and now my friend, Jason, joined us, as did our friend Angela. After cooking up the steaks on the grill and eating them, I was prepared for a good nights rest.

Many more memories were made, including a goodbye fit for a king, thrown by my friends, Dallas, Angela, and Ashley. Dallas made me these German pancakes. Cafe Rio with friends on one of my last nights in Provo was memorable. The ride home with my little brother Patrick was rather great. He is the man and I will miss him dearly when he departs for Brazil in early August. Thanks Pat! You will do great.