62. June 8th, 2010 Picture.

Last Tuesday Ratty and I made plans to go hear Sebastian Junger speak at the Boston Public Library.  He wrote 'The Perfect Storm' as well as 'A Death in Belmont', which semi-freaked me out since Belmont is one town over from Cambridge and even though the death took place in the 60's I am still irrational and fear for my life.  He was discussing and reading from his new book 'War' which is his first hand account of being dropped in the Korengal Valley in Afghanistan with the 173rd Airborne brigade and what happened over his 14 month encampment.  It was pretty nuts to hear about his experience, with bullets flying past his head and day and night air fights that would terrify even the toughest soldier.  I was not familiar with his new book, but have read past publications and knew that he would be an extremely interesting author to hear speak.  He started out as a war correspondent and has since written for Vanity Fair and other news outlets, so he is well respected in the journalism world.


He was pretty engaging, explaining the conditions that these soldiers work in and the mindset they have.  Each one has had multiple brushes with death, yet keep choosing to go back to combat once their time is up.  It is absolutely baffling to me since I would pull a George Constanza in a fire and push little children out of the way.  Just kidding, but seriously, I get nervous if I see a bar fight where people just yell and push and maybe punch, let alone go a foreign country and fight, with guns and stuff.  I'm a total girl.


After the reading, which was complete with a protester who shouted out obnoxious generalizations about war and was then escorted out of the BPL (who gets escorted out of a library?!), we made our way into the lobby where copies of his book were being sold.  I picked up a copy and had it signed, which I feel is becoming one of my recent hobbies lately.  I am totally okay with it.  Ratty had bought a Groupon for O Sushi in the Prudential, so once we both had met and made awkward small talk with Sebastian Junger, 'so you're from Belmont, I'm from Cambridge, they are kinda near each other.  You live in Truro, right?  I've driven through it before.  Cool.', we made our way to grab some dinner.


I love sushi!  Wait, let me rephrase that, I love cooked sushi!  I am not one of those girls that can eat a roll with a slice of raw eel on top, or some raw tuna sashimi, no thank you.  I stick to my ever faithful shrimp tempura with spicy mayo.  I love spicy mayo, I could put it on everything and probably even drink it straight.  I also thoroughly enjoy edamame, which is a soy bean in its pod that is steamed then covered in salt.  They are so yummy!  And good for you too!  Whenever Ratty and I order it, I start shoveling them in my face so fast I forget that I'm supposed to be sharing.  Here is photographic evidence that I am an edamame hogger.  

Ratty's little pile looks so puny next to mine (I just had to google puny because I had absolutely no idea how to spell it.  Is there an e?  a w?  Even after spell checking it still doesn't look right.  Sighhhh.)  Anyway, maybe next time we should each get our own order, God knows I'm a fat kid anyways, why try and hide it and act like I'm a good sharer?  I grew up as an only child (with 8 siblings, go figure) so I wouldn't know sharing if it tripped me.  Case meet point.