Sunbreaks

Today hasn't been a great day. Work is especially busy right now, as it is this time every year. To add to the expected chaos, we're going through lots of change (good change, but change all the same) in the office as well. Add that on top of trying to keep up with personal holiday commitments and you get a few not-so-great days. It's also been raining (well, flooding, really) hard in the Puget Sound area over the last few days, so the weather hasn't contributed much to the spirit lifting efforts. This all sounds fine and despressing, but that's not the point. The point is, when life is a bit frustrating and the rain is really coming down, the bright spots (both literal and figurative) are all the more impactful.

This afternoon, I was quite literally handed a bright spot. Let me back up a bit. A few weeks ago, I was reading food blogs on Urbanspoon. In the list of featured Seattle posts, I saw a post called "Mad About Kentucky Fried Chicken." Now, don't get me wrong, I've had my fair share of the Colonel's Secret Recipe in my day and enjoyed it. B even interned at the "White House" in Lousiville during college.  KFC is not foreign at our house, but I admit, my first thought was "Really?!?! Fine, eat your chicken, but why write about it?" Still, I clicked on the post and read it. I was totally blown away. The author, CB of Foodie Footnotes, completely captured what I love about food... the emotional and personal connection. Then I did something I rarely do. I left a comment. Now, I love it when others comment on my posts (which doesn't happen often), but I always feel a bit like an intruder when I comment on others' blogs. Even though they've made their thoughts public, it feels uncomfortable. This comment, though, led to mutual Twitter follows and to my keeping up with CB's food adventures.

Not long after this, I clicked on a link CB posted on Twitter. That click led to a few more around her site, including the page with a few photos of her. She looked familiar. Familiar enough that I was pretty sure I'd seen her somewhere. Then it hit me. She works in my building! Armed with that little bit of knowledge, over several tweets, I tell CB that I'm pretty sure she works in my building, but I won't say which building since I like my little piece of anonymity too. Her response?  "Except I know exactly who you are :-)" Long story a little shorter, she sends me a link to a post featuring an absolutely beautiful tart and promises to let me know when it's in the building. And then came Monday...

In the middle of a particularly chaotic moment today, a girl I don't know (not CB) walked into my office, tells me she was asked to give this to me and hands me a plate. On the plate is... you guessed it... a beautiful slice of chocolate tart!

By now I've discovered CB's true identity so I was glad to be able to send her an actual email to thank her. At some point, I remembered we've actually worked together a bit through our former managers a few years ago and even spoken on the phone a couple of times. It can feel like a small company (even if it's not) and it's a small world.

So, thank you, Foodie Footnotes for being a bright spot in an otherwise blurry gray day. Unexpected sunshine is the very best kind!  And in case anyone is wondering, the tart was delicious! Check her out at:

 http://www.foodiefootnotes.com/

B and I also shared a lovely Thursday night dinner on this rainy Monday night. We have a flurry of events this week that will keep us from a trip later in the week. I'll save that for tomorrow, though.