Boy, am I thankful E and I take the subway together.

Yesterday, I did my usual morning ritual—wake up, prep food, run to grocery store, come back, construct sandwich, bicker with E about something stupid (“What is this music you’ve put on—is this Whitesnake?”) eat some breakfast, chug a glass of water and flew out the door with E towards the subway. It was Pink Floyd, by the way.

But something was off. My chest had this weird pain on the left side. I couldn’t take a deep breath without a sharp jab. The pain got worse as the train came. Then, I felt nauseous. Then I had a headache. Then everything turned grey and blurry.

Luckily, the train stopped, the doors opened, and I was able to spill out onto the platform before I fell unconscious. E grabbed me and helped me up the stairs.

My breathing was slightly better when fresh air from outside hit my lungs, but I still went to the doctor’s where I had some test run and my vital signs taken. I probably should have had a bigger breakfast. Training for a half marathon and running morning errands drained my body more so than I thought. E sat in the lobby waiting for me until I was cleared to leave. By noon, I was fine.

Had E not been on the train with me that morning, I probably would have blacked out alone. Who knows if someone would have caught me? Would I have hit my head first? Would someone have taken my stuff as I lie unconscious?

I was grateful to have E with me then, as always. I even let him put on a little Pink Floyd the next morning without complaining to show my gratitude.

Now, onto the sandwich, which took me a week to make. The sandwich that, in my opinion, can be improved upon. BUT, I’m posting the first version for today. The fun of the alphabet sandwich, which this guy made with a flurry of fun ingredients, is that it’s completely dependent on what you’re in the mood for. I went for an all vegetarian lineup to see if I could hit all of the letters. I just about did—I stole an idea from the original on how to hit X. Mr. DudeFoods used xylocarp, or coconut, on his meaty skyscraper type sandwich. I cooked some of my vegetables in coconut oil. Close enough?

And, I may or may not have forgotten to add yams. Frankly towards the end I was more concerned about how I was going to pack the thing for E’s lunch, and may have forgotten to add the sliced yams. But they were meant to be included.

E’s review of the sandwich: “It was a little soggy.” Probably because he ate it at the end of the day, but that does make me reconsider the importance of layering greens in between the wetter veggies. Like I said, it’s a work in progress.

Gotta give Dudefoods.com mad props for coming up with a fun sandwich idea.

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