Barack; Beer Noodles; Bye

So, this is it: where the rubber meets the road. Time to put my money where my mouth is. Departure day. I'm not nearly as nervous or anxious as I was expecting to be. Of course, it has been 21 months since I began my online Peace Corps application. That's a really long time to get really comfortable with the idea of moving to a nice little hut on the other side of the world. And, as we say in Oklahoma, this ain't exactly my first rodeo: I've left home, by myself, for parts unknown to do a job I knew very little about several times before. Kalyn's campaign, my internship in DC, the midterms, the Obama campaign all qualify. In many ways, this is simply the next logical step.

The truth is, I've been bored out of my skull since the election.

Anyway, I was happy to pass my last night in Oklahoma by watching Barack's speech. I wasn't underwhelmed at all, he was clear, rousing, statesman-like. All in all, I'll be leaving America with a good taste in my mouth...literally, actually, because the other thing I did was fix the mega-fantastic culinary sensation of my own design now sweeping the finest, most stylish cafes and sophisticated ristorantes of Europe: Beer Noodles! I just had to have it one last time before I go.

I invented beer noodles one hot, hungry summer night back in 2006. It was around midnight and I was famished. There was nothing in the kitchen except beer, beef, raman noodles, a thing of fiesta style grated cheese and taco seasoning. So, I combined that unwieldy collection of raw ingredients and turned them into probably the most delicious thing that's ever been cooked. Of course, beer noodles hasn't really caught on yet. It's possible I might be the only one that's ever actually agreed to try it. My roommate at the time refused to even take a bite on the grounds that my imaginative approach to cooking couldn't possibly make up for my utter lack of aptitude and, even were they to be perfectly prepared, beer noodles would still represent a serious health hazard. But only if you believe cholesterol and salt don't promote cardiovascular health (a damn lie, if you ask me).

Anyway, so long and thanks for all the fish! J Kebs out!