The Great Pizza Adventure #4 - Marcos

It turns out that the eating is the easiest part of this adventure, except when the pizza sits like a lead dough ball in your gut because them vittles were so delicious that you ate half the pie.

We used to get Marcos a few times a year because we had coupons in those coupon books kids sell in school and while there isn't one close to my current house there was one on the way home from picking up my kids.  It's probably been eight years since I've stepped foot inside that establishment... and I've been missing something good.

The online ordering process was pain-free.  I was given a 20-30 minute window and arrived at the 20 minute mark to a pizza that was waiting for me.  Most likely it had been there for five minutes because mine was the only pizza.  Their estimating software needs some work.  I was in and out in a flash.

I used their special of $6.99 for a one-topping medium 12" pizza, half pepperoni, half italian sausage.  Here's the glorious beast: 

17 Pepperonies... that's 4 more than Hungry Howie's put on a large!  Only 13 sausage chunks but some of these were biiiig chunks, almost like mini meatballs.  The sauce was on the sweet side and there was a lot of it.  I'm a guy who likes a lot of sauce but this may have even been a bit much... while driving and scarfing down yummies I got attached by a glunk of sauce... TWICE!  There seemed to be an average amount of cheese and the crust was a great blend of crisp and chewy.  I had no problem eating the pizza bones.

Overall the pizza was quite savory.  While the pepperonis didn't seem to have much of an identity the sausage was packed with flavor.  And even with the large amount of sauce and eating five slices (I blame the fact that it was a medium so I could eat more than usual) I didn't have heartburn. 

Stats-wise, this one weighed 27 oz and was a full twelve inches in diameter (113 square inches of pizza).  Kudos on accurate sizing!

 

So how about those stats?

Weight: 27 oz

Diameter: 12" 

Cost: $7.55

Service:8

Crust:8

Sauce:7

Toppings: 7 (quantity) + 8 (flavor) / 2 = 7.5

Value: 6 (28 cents per ounce) / 6.7 cents per square inch

                  Overall Score:7.3

                  Flavor Score: 7.7

I recently watched a YouTube video where a guy stole my thunder and weighed the pepperonis and bought multiple pizzas to get a more accurate picture, etc.  Hey, I don't have that kinda dough.  But what he did do, which is smart, was to buy a 14" large from each place.  That would likely give a more accurate "value" estimate, I suppose, but I'm all about cheap.  

More upswing with this pizza adventure!

 

 

It’s Time To Start Living Again

I think 2020 has been a rough on all of us (unless you’re in the top 1% in which case it’s apparently been very good to you financially). I’ve been working from home in my basement. It’s cold, dark, and isolating. But I’ve loved being closer to my family and being more of a part of their day. And at least I still have a job and never missed a paycheck (although I did miss my annual 3% raise). 

But anyway. 

Early on I watched a video where a pastor urged us to use this time to draw closer to God and indeed, I’m pleased that this has happened. My favorite place for prayer is out in my yard on a porch swing early in the morning. For some reason it just seems easier to connect. But it’s winter now and so I’ve been inside on a couch, smelling a litterbox and looking out the window instead of inhaling tree exhaust. 

After Christmas I got outside went for a little walk and returned though a field behind my house. As I walked past the porch swing I received the words “It’s time to start living again.” I didn’t audibly hear those words but the thought was very clear. I realized that I had spent most of the year waiting. Waiting to go back to my office. Waiting for the most recent governors restriction to be lifted. Waiting for election results. Waiting for things to go back to normal. 

It's time to stop waiting. It’s time to move forward, whatever that looks like. While this past year wasn’t completely bereft of creative endeavors, it was pretty slim. I’ve decided to record four songs in 2021 (probably without lyrics) and to write two short stories, along with finishing the bass guitar I’m building. And maybe starting another guitar? I also decided to stop waiting for homeschool field trips and activities to start up again for my wife and kids. I’m a natural organizer. I’m hardly extroverted but I’ve found that I’m usually only invited to things that I put together. Sad, I know. What it seems to me is that people are quite glad to attend an event as long as they don’t have to be responsible for it happening. At least that’s what I tell myself. Part of the issue we’ve encountered is that you don’t know who is afraid of whatever the media tells them to be afraid of (or what their media-infused friends and family say) and who believe in science. 

It occurred to me that my wife and I are in a, um, “free faced” group online so I posted something to see if there were other homeschoolers in the group and if there was any interest. BAMMO! So I made a different group and there are about twenty members. Our first event is in two weeks. 

One thing of note is that right after I made the group I was emotionally sunk for a few days, just feeling like I don’t contribute anything to anyone, wasn’t worth anything and was completely unmotivated. Then something my pastor said at church made a light go off in my skull and I realized that I was under attack. The enemy attacks you where you are the most gifted and effective and I believe an attempt was being made to neutralize my efforts to form this new support group, a group that would encourage and benefit not only my wife and children but apparently many others. 

So take THAT, dark spiritual forces!