Just a summer fling: Boy meets grill...

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Over the past year, as cooking has become my new hobby, I've become a bit of a foodie. Basically a nerd really into cooking and food. Or perhaps more accurately, I've become quite the food-gadget geek. Especially over the summer while I've been cooking more, I've been seriously lusting over the latest kitchen knives, cookware and other kitchen gear. How bad has it gotten, you ask? Well...perhaps this episode will give a bit of insight.

A few months ago, in the middle of summer, my neighour caught me as I was leaving the house. My neighbour is a spry grandmother who's well into her 70's. She's always got a bright and friendly smile and loves to chat. Especially when you're in a hurry to get somewhere.

"Oh hi there David!" she cheerfully shouted from across the street. She waved. I waved back and crossed over to where she was. I asked how she was doing. "Great!" she replied. After shooting the breeze for a few minutes, she leaned towards me and whispered, "I've found the perfect grill for you."

Ahh...nothing says "summer" better than a good grill. My perfect grill would be a nice charcoal BBQ with an elevating grill for heat control and a removable ash tray for easy cleanup. (I prefer charcoal over propane BBQs as my dad has always been a charcoal purist for the ultimate flavour in grilled foods.)

"Really?" I asked. "Where?!?!"

She laughed as she could hear the childlike excitement in my voice. "You sound really interested!"

It was true. I was seriously giddy with excitement. After all, she had said "perfect grill". I could imagine the taste of grilled steaks and ribs. I could hear the sound of sizzling hamburgers, smokey sausages, and hissing steam of corn on the cob being grilled. Yum yum! As I was imagining the delights of a summertime BBQ, the grandmother continued describing the grill to me. I was only listening halfway.

Somewhere between her desciption "has perfect skin" and "works at the cosmetic counter at the Bay", I suddenly clued in that she had said "perfect girl" and NOT "perfect grill".

To be honest? I was a little disappointed.

"Oh," I answered back dejectedly.

"She's a beautiful Korean girl. You should really go meet her!"

"Right," I answered back. I think it was quite obvious by the tone of my voice that I wasn't nearly as excited anymore.

Great--I thought. So now the grandmother probably thinks that I'm some kind of weird snooty guy who doesn't date Korean girls who work retail. Sigh. I supposed that was better than her knowing that I'm some kind of weird snooty guy who only has kitchen gadgets, cookware and grills on his mind.

Aiyee.

Anyway, so now I have the grandmother who lives next to me trying to set me up with some random girl she met at the cosmetic counter at the local department store. Disturbing? Perhaps. But perhaps more disturbing was the fact that I totally thought she was talking about a BBQ.

Despite several friendly reminders by the grandmother in the following weeks, I never bothered to go meet this "perfect girl". But this grill/girl confusion was on the back of my mind for several weeks.

During this time, my sister's boss stopped by the house. We chatted briefly when out of the blue, he said: "Oh by the way...I've got a grill for you!"

"You mean something to cook meat and veggies on?" I asked cautiously. I cringed at how stupid that would sound if I had again mistaken "grill" for "girl".

"Yup! I must have won it as a door prize for a game I went to. I found it still in the box in my basement. You want it?"

"Sure!" I replied as I laughed with relief.

Phew!

Posted by Dave at September 01, 2004 09:46 PM