Lunch for the Next 12 Days

Let me tell you about lunchtime at my internship.

The objective: Lunch runs from approximately 12 to 1 pm every day, except Thursday. On Thursdays, we have a lunch and discussion from 12 to 2 pm. There are usually two presentations during these discussions, and lunch is catered by Allegro Pizza or Potbelly sandwiches. So far, we've had pizza, sandwiches with chips, baked ziti, and stromboli. Pictures are not taken because it is not apropos for the circumstances. On the other days, the lunch hour means that everyone else in my internship program leaves the building to go buy lunch. There is an eating area on my floor, and many people heat up food using the two microwaves.

The subjective (my lunchtime): I brought spaghetti or sandwiches with me in my lunch box and ate with two of the interns occasionally, initially, but I don't anymore because I don't really enjoy social interaction. Sometimes, I don't bring lunch because I didn't cook anything or feel guilty about eating. Either way, I always finish my lunch within 20 minutes so I spend the other 40 minutes attempting to read, or attempting to chill online. The reading doesn't work well because I hear a ton of laughter and Chinese and English chatter. The chilling online doesn't work too well either because most of the time, my mentor finds some reason to talk to me about work or give me work to do just because I happen to be physically sitting in the lab while everyone else is physically outside of the lab. I highly resent this because I prefer to interact with work only from 9-12 and 1-5. Therefore, recently, I have been leaving the premises from noon until 12:58pm when the weather permits it (but it hasn't much, due to intense sun, rain, or thunder).

A few weeks ago, I decided that in order to have a healthier eating schedule (coupled with the fact that I've begun swimming before work and biking/running after work), I ought to actually make lunch every day. On Monday, I took out my lunch box, took off the lid, and microwaved the spaghetti. I put the lid on the coffee table, sat on the sofa, and twirled spaghetti around while I read. I was vaguely aware of a guy sat briefly on the other sofa chair, taking out his lunch from his lunch box. A few minutes later, his friend turned up, so he packed his lunch and they went out to the balcony to have lunch and chat.

After finishing my lunch, I glanced up to notice that my lunch box lid was missing. I didn't panic too much, though, since I figured that maybe the guy had taken it by accident when he packed up his lunch. So, I went to the balcony and asked if he had seen a lunch box lid. He looks at me and said no, and I felt like he was mad at me for some reason.

I asked the people at the dining table whether they'd seen a lunch box lid, and one person said "(to me) Maybe a squirrel took it. (to the rest of the table) What? It happened to me before!"

Uh. We're indoors, on the 3rd floor.

I checked the floor, the tables, the sink, under the sofa...So, someone stole my lunch box lid or threw it away. Fun. Thanks.

So, what will I do for lunch for the next 12 days? I do have a non-microwaveable container, so I guess I can still bring food and bread, but half of me is just irked, because I liked my lunch box, and I still have a box of spaghetti to consume. I still do not understand why anyone would want to take a lunch box lid. Either way, I'm pretty fed up with my internship already (not just because of this; I have my reasons) and I can't wait to go home and start this project with my sister - it'll be throughout all of August!