Ridiculous

Going to the Ethiopian restaurant in Gone West seems inevitably to result in overeating. It just has to happen. There is so much deliciousness, so many perfectly blending flavors, that I just keep eating and eating.

My roommate in law school and I used to admonish one another to eat through the pain at Ethiopian restaurants. It is just so good.

The dessert place afterward may not have helped, either.

"I always want to get dessert," my friend said, "and no one ever wants to get it with me. They are always complaining that they are too full."

She found the right crowd today. We ordered four rich, nutty, chocolaty desserts for the five of us, and I was responsible for cutting each one into fifths. It is hard to cut round things into fifths, but I managed. By the end, I gave myself the smallest pieces. Not because I was generous. Not because I didn't like the desserts. It was because my distended stomach was far too full.

We have ridiculous problems in this country.