Happy Lunchmas!...and on the 6th Day God Created LUNCH!

So my fellow lunch mates, the day has come…it has been one year since the birth of our beloved Original What’s for Lunch blog! That is 12 months of sharing our lunching experiences, 52 weeks of wishing for that perfect sandwich to get you through the day, 365 days of mid-afternoon munching, 8,760 hours of “To Bring, or to Buy” banter, 525,600 minutes of…well you get the point.

As our community grows and we become the official spokes-blog for Quiznos Salads, let us not forget the individuals who created our little world. They have been here since the beginning and continue to be pillars amongst the lunching masses. They are our leaders, our mentors…our one and only Josephus, Dipso, HaterTot and James Vernor. I sat down with them for a brief interview about the background and backbone of our society….over lunch of course…well not really but we would have! Anyways, through our “discussion” it was divulged that the WFL idea first transpired all the way back in 1999 in Chicago between Jo and Dipso in their adjoining cubicles. Even back then folks, Jo was an avid e-mailer of “WFL?” (surprise surprise – I think Youtube came later). The initial idea was a WFL website though, as Dipso stated “a legion of lunchers employed to provide live lunch recommendations to the public”…but deep in his heart I think he was just scopin’ for the ladies! Jo then moved on to bigger and better things (aka Washington, DC), but managed to keep his dream alive. About 6 years later James Vernor (another victim in a long line of harassing and banter-full e-mails from Jo whom he had met through Hater in college) gave in to the WFL idea and suggested a “blog”…a what? A “blog”. Then one fateful night Jo was introduced to HaterTot at a local DC bar, Mackey’s (an Irish bar NOT known for their Mexican food), through his then girlfriend who is often referred to as TheBestFriend by HT. It was that night that the love/hate relationship seed was planted. HaterTot recalls persistent IM’ing from Jo...”WFL?” ..”WFL?”…”WFL?” and in typical Hater style she avidly replied “Nothing”. Alas Jo turned HT’s tide and showed her the light about lunch and all its splendor (although little did he know he was molding “El Presidente”). The four joined forces and with a little creativity, a little spunk and a lot of eating the Original What’s for Lunch was born.

So the mission of the blog was pretty clear from the beginning, to offer an outlet to hang out and discuss lunch. To share lunching ideas, successes and failures (and so Jo could have one solid form of communication that didn’t include 85 e-mails or IM convos). It is felt by our founders that the mission has remained constant and successful. It has been recognized that there were times where the “power hungry” and “bigger ideas” have caused a few bumps in the road. The double posting, a schedule, creativity, lack of focus, where the first conference locale should’ve been and “Eff the Czar” seem to be the most prominent “issues” that have been dealt with. There still seems to be slightly mixed reviews on all of these hot topics and have created slight alliances along the way. But overall in good faith, our fearless leaders have worked through them and eventually found a common ground. I think HaterTot speaks for the masses with “Healthy debate is good, and should be encouraged”. As stated before lunchers…there ain’t many people on this blog who will hold their tongue or their opinions! Although I love Dipso’s approach to dispute…”dunno, don’t care and I was right”. Through it all though, lunch has remained a particular focus and continues to grow as everyone gains their own appreciation.

During these growing pains people have come and gone and come back again. We have fond memories of Hater/Bride, Jack, Rawker, Clemmie, Rico, Spoilsport, Goldfish, Notwitty, Abs, Awreck, Sinecure and even one of the founders James Vernor. Every once in awhile we will get a refreshing cameo but their presence is missed by all those who swapped little bags of Doritos for the other’s Little Debbie snack cake. It is in hope and good faith that all of these individuals will continue to visit and think fondly of the OWFL when the clock strikes 12. There are a variety of reasons why participation fluctuates and even ceases to exist…work being one of them. Work…the one thing that creates the lunch break also prohibits some from fully existing in the lunch discussion world. Many of the founders opted to not discuss how the blogging/working co-exist in their own lives. As we all have experienced at some point in time, it seems that the two mix as well as oil and water. If Abs were around she would also pass on her two cents about mixing business with blogging…politics…they’re a bitch!

As we have lost some of our beloved, the blog continues on and seems to be growing everyday. Even with belief and perseverance on their side, some of the founders weren’t exactly sure where the blog would go, and that perhaps it would even be a passing fad like the latest American Idol. But as the first few days and weeks passed by the OWFL marched on. It soon became reality that this could actually work and that people actually cared and wanted to share what was on their two slices of wonder bread. So what is the draw? What has encouraged us the most? Some say it is the creativity and new voices and even Mr. Vernor credits HT (then known as EthicsRock) as being the greatest addition due to her distinct contributions. Jo feels that the friendships established here have played a key role as well. He recognizes that people like LT, SpamKitty, Diz, Miu and Jada were people he barely knew last year and now considers them his good friends. HT also attributes a lot of our traffic or “lurkers” to Jada’s personal blog where the OWFL is listed…it’s amazing what the term “Suck it Down” can do for popularity even when referencing food! And then there is the simple fact noted by Dipso and JV, lunch is just too important and will never be forgotten!

So here we are a year later celebrating the first official Lunchmas. Jo and HT continue to be the leaders at large, sometimes in perfect harmony and other times in perfect discord but always with the best intentions of trying to improve and sustain or society. James Vernor has realized that blogging is bad for his career and has taken a step back, while Dipso chose to drop the contributor status to relinquish some responsibility but it also allowed him a bit more freedom in posting which seems to suit him well. They each share their own memories and have grown in their own way. Jo continues to think of new ideas for the blog and is enjoying his more active social life. He looks back fondly at the first mini conference in Chicago and the first official conference in DC with the best birthday cake EVER, and is excited to see what other events are in store (specifically the upcoming Chicago conference to be held Labor Day weekend). HaterTot has taken to actually eating lunch and enjoying it while she participates very carefully and with discretion at times. She also recalls the mini conference fondly when she met Dipso and Jada for the first time, and enjoys the good days on the blog when it’s active and alive. Even with JV’s decision to take a step back from participation he continues to seek bigger and better lunches at new places suggested by his new friends. Dipso recalls his first successful recruitment effort which brought Peep on board. Peep (who initially thought the blog was “dumb” *gasp*) has been a welcome addition to the group and has offered his artistic eye and soon became the brunt of everyone’s hipster jokes…BUT we offer our cheers to Peep and think of him fondly whenever we down a cold can of PBR.

Peep is just one of many who have come on board by “gentle” coaxing/harassment. Several of us are friends of so-and-so, and some have just found their way. Jo is uncertain of how to proceed with future recruitment efforts, his harassment tactics though seem to be successful thus far with the additions such as Rico, Watchdog, E-que, Shorty, and MikeySunshine. HT, approving of the additions, would like to see a more selective process perhaps like one suggested by JV where future WFLers should have to submit an essay on what they love about lunch. Nothing has been decided on or elaborated in any form, so keep on spreading the word folks…we are the bible belt of lunchland! The more you talk, the more intrigue we produce to individuals such as MissChibi, Molly and Earthquake….and who knows maybe even the elusive Herbie will make another appearance for HT’s sake!

Where do we go from here you ask? What adventures await us? Well there are other ideas on the backburner with domain names on reserve. Something to do with those other two meals of the day, and of course one focused on drinking…mainly because most of us are headed down a path of being overweight alcoholics and some of us with a case of emphysema. Jo hopes to see us one day as an independent sovereign nation proceeding to world domination and then finally taking over the Food Network where Unicorn will feature her “Baking with Porn” show featuring ass/tittie cakes. HT hopes that Quizno’s will finally give us our props with free eats (QUIZNO’S SALADS-QUIZNO’S SALADS-QUIZNO’S SALADS)…while Dipso anticipates us reaching near the top on google searches for “What’s For Lunch” and hopes to see the recipe sharing get a little more underway than it has been in the past. Who knows where the next five or ten years will take us, will our beloved blog become a thing of the past perhaps taken over by mini microchips implanted into our taste buds that will automatically trigger a message to the brain of what your body wants to eat that particular day?! If so, we better all be around to talk about it!

Well, some of us are relatively new to this experience and are the Woody’s in this neighborhood cyber-bar, we have our Sam and Diane’s who will constantly bicker and the Norm’s who remain to be the entertaining permanent fixtures in our afternoon routine. As my discussion with our leaders came to an end there was a glowing aura of appreciation, satisfaction and sense of accomplishment around them. HT became sentimental recognizing the new friendships and the strengthening of old ones as she “busted” out with “I LOVE YOU GUYS!” and Dipso says it all simply with “Lunch is Beautiful”. We have created a community and friendships with at least one common interest…LUNCH! Will our 9-5 lives ever be the same? I hope not. Long live the horsecock!

And don't forget people....WFL???!!