here comes the regular ...

in the days leading up to my birthday, i like to play a lot of 20 present questions. [there is no sense in pulling old school encyclopista brown since there is literally a cardboard box in our entryway that has been sitting there for at least a week and that i know is for me. it hasn't barked yet, so i know it isn't jake, it isn't leaking brains, so i know it's not a severed head. it may be a betty crocker easy bake oven or a six-pack of tube socks.]

"what did you get me?" i'll ask chuck, trying to catch him off guard. hoping he'll accidentally spill.
shrug. but details will come out: it's not just one thing. but just one is coming in the mail, so i should probably stop chasing down the UPS truck.
"how did you know what to get me?" i asked today, hoping for a clue in his answer.
"um ... because i know what you like and i listen to you?" he said.

oh. snap.

***

i was milling around the deli at whole foods, trying to decide on dinner. i scanned the hot food [turkey meatballs, sweet potato french fries] and i considered the cold salads [fog city macaroni salad].

"did you want a southwest turkey sandwich on sourdough?" the woman working asked me.
this is what i always, always, always order. turkey, avacado, tomatoes and spinach.
"oh, um ... yes," i said.
"and i can't remember: potato chips or corn chips?" she asked.
i wanted to tell her that sometimes i do order a tempeh reuben. instead i said: "potato."

apparently she knows what i like and listens to me, too. i live in a nice world.