I woke up this morning with a strong, strong craving for sunny-side-up eggs drenched in chili oil with a steaming oatmilk latte. A meal that would have been easy and convenient to make back home, but here, I don’t even have eggs in my fridge. And so I settled for a Nature Valley granola bar, a nori pack, and a cup of peach Yoplait. I would have finished it off with instant coffee or kombucha (gut health!), but I think my oat milk has gone rancid and I am out of kombucha.
Such is life on campus at Binghamton University. My friends say to me: “Come to our dorm! We have eggs and noodles and real food here!” I say: “Mountainview is too far,” and I think: “The trek up the hill negates the supposed convenience that sunny-side-up eggs with chili oil have.” Foods that can be conveniently cooked in a rice cooker, from which I ate the majority of my meals freshman year, are also out of the picture until one day I get so desperate that the smell of burning plastic is not enough to hinder me.
The most convenient meals are those from the dining hall and Marketplace, but CIW’s dining hall is closed on weekends so I must make the trek to Marketplace and spend $10 or more of meal plan money on a meal that isn’t really balanced. Coppertop pasta is cheap and filling, but I don’t always want something super cheesy. Mein Bowl is … okay, but Chinese takeout style food isn’t the epitome of health. And why don’t they have egg drop soup?!?! Why? Quesera is closed on weekends, and Shake Smart is only okay if I’m in the mood for something cold and overly sweet. I never thought of myself as a picky eater, but being at Binghamton University has made me question that.
It’s just — I want something fresh and tasty and full of variety; food that I won’t get bored of. Or if it’s something boring and nutritious, it better be super convenient like sunny side up eggs or oatmeal. Maybe I just need to go grocery shopping, but with what time and what money? I know that convenience isn’t something I have a right to, but doesn’t it make everything so much nicer?
Rui Zheng
Editor-in-Chief
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