Friends. Gotta love them. No matter how infuriating and annoying they can be, you’re lost without them.
I truly believe that when God made us humans, He meant us to be together, to be co-dependent, to be social, to be co-workers. Solitude is nice and peaceful, but without some social activities in your life…well, that’s when you become loony. That’s when you become one of those cat ladies.
I also noticed that one of the key effects and symptoms of depression comes from isolation. During my days of depression, I drew away from my family, my friends…everybody. The thought of speaking to someone, or just hanging out with anybody sickened me.
But the more I isolated myself, the more depressed and lonely I became. The more depressed I became, the more I resented people, from my worried parents to even the little girl in the street who laughed a little too loud. And because I hated other people, I withdrew myself even more. What a vicious cycle! It got to the point that I was angry and bitter towards everybody in this world.
Friends are more than just acquaintances with whom you do fun activities. They are, quite literally, one of your lifelines, an integral connection that holds you rooted in the real world. Because of them, you learn to compromise, you learn to share, you learn to laugh, you learn to be a person.
And I would like to send out a big fat “THANK YOU” to all my friends out there who has stuck to me through both thick and thin, and who played a part in forming who I am now, and who I will be in the future (Though I’m not sure if they even read my blog xp)
Lunch today was with one of those dear friends I mentioned, Joanna. Remember her? We finally found the time to have some quality time together before I left for college. This time, I treated 
.
We went to my local Greek diner, Amphora:
The last two times I visited, it was for dinner and was dark, so today I actually got the chance to truly appreciate its inner decor.
Nice! Look at the rustic, quaint utensils! See? This is the reason why restaurants should have bright lights! Otherwise, we could be dining in a pile of cow shit without knowing it. What’s the point of having a nice interior if we can’t enjoy it? (Listen up, all you foolishly dark restaurants out there!)
Joanna ordered the Gyro Sandwich. She called it “Jai-roh” on purpose to see what the waitress’s reaction was, but aside from a little smirk, the waitress didn’t say anything.
Grecian favorite. Combination of beef and lamb thinly sliced on pita with red onion, on a bed of shredded lettuce, accompanied by tzatziki sauce. Side of fries.
Wow, this is actually the first time I’ve seen such interestingly-sliced meat! It was nicely-cooked, but a bit too salty.
Crazy Joanna didn’t like the tzatziki sauce at all, so I stole it x-).
I ordered a “Build-Your-Own” Burger:
Turkey Burger, on top of pita, with caramelized onions, goat cheese, and pickle. Served with cranberry relish and steamed vegetables and onion rings.
Okay, you don’t need me to gush about how good this was. Caramelized onions? Goat cheese? Cranberry relish? Best combination ever.
Since I pilfered Joanna’s tzatziki sauce, she helped herself to some of my cranberry relish:
The steamed vegetables were actually really fresh! I was impressed by the selection: Broccoli, cauliflower, julienned carrots, zucchini, and green beans:
The onion rings were nice and crunchy:
I’m now convinced every burger should be served on a pita. It’s fun to eat a burger “elegantly” with a fork and knife, and the pita was so nice and chewy, soaking up all the juices!
Big forkful of burger with caramelized onions, goat cheese, and cranberry relish! MmmmMM~
Oh, and today, I went to get my eyes checked in Costco for new glasses and contact lenses, and I picked up this:
Swirled Frozen Yogurt. Blech. Never again. This is frozen yogurt? Where is the tangy taste I love? This was just plain saccharine sweetness. But for $1.35, what did I expect, right? Even McDonald’s soft-serve (which I indulged in two times yesterday) is less sweet than this sugar-laden crap. Oh well. I still finished it though. It was hot!
Question of the day: For what are you most thankful to your friends? And what is the best froyo place you know?
P.S. YESS!!! Blogspot is no longer being a pain in the —!
Related posts:
{ 94 comments… read them below or add one }
Next Comments →
I’m salivating over your meal!! Yummm!
I’m most thankful for them when they help me out of a tough spot or pick me up after a rough day.
Your food looks so freaking good!
I’m most thankful for my friends that make me laugh…and not just any laugh…the good, hard, cry-and-can’t-breathe type laugh.
My favorite fro-yo spot is TCBY. Aritificially sweetened deliciousness.
I love a good jai roh….and as for foyo – I dont have a favorite – I am grateful that my friends are still here after all these years.
Wow what an amazing restaurant! I love gyros so much. Nick is allergic to lamb (wierd I know) so we don’t eat them, or any Greek food for that matter, very often. You turkey burger also looks fantastic.
My favorite froyo place has to be UDF (United Dairy Farmer’s) since they always have a new flavor, including sometimes peanut butter and pumpkin!
Mmmm, I love Greek food. We don’t have any here really. Come here, and we can order Jai-Roh’s together!
The gyro looks really good right about now. Mmmm…
I’m very thankful for my friends. They keep me from getting a big head. Plus the support they give me with all my a adventures. I know I can trust them and they can trust me.
My fav froyo would have to be Costco. I love their food, I gotta say. But I also like Pinkberry.
Perhaps next time when Joanna doesn’t want her tzatziki, you may share it with me. LOL.
For me, true friendship is like you don’t have to meet each other often, but when you meet each other, the “click” is still there.
Froyo is yet to become popular in Hong Kong, I guess people here prefer gelato and ice-cream. ^^
My best friends are back home and I’m just so thankful that we keep in touch via email. There’s just so many things I can’t open up with the new friends I made here that I can just blurt out to them. My girls and I share the shame craziness that others won’t get.
Yay for blogger being back to normal.
great thoughts about friends. I feel related to your vicious cycle… once I felt that way too, fortunately just for short period. Friends are really important in life… maybe not always the same person because our lives might have different course… but always whoever is my friend now, he/she is really important to me, to my life… I’m so thankful to every kind gesture they offer to me, to bare my bad temper, to support me when I need them, and to make me laugh so much!
I’ve never seen a build-your-own burger like that at a restaurant–love it! My family are my best of friends, and I know they will be there no matter what!
I knew you would love that burger. It has goat cheese after all
And you can never ever go wrong with carmelized onions. It makes anything seriously good!
Those are some gorgeous steamed veggies. Yeah, usually I end up getting one type of veggie and/or overcooked soggy ones. Bleh!
I am most thankful for my friends to care for me when I felt lonely. It’s amazing how accepted/belonged you feel when you hang out with friends!
The best froyo place is about an hour+ away from my house. It’s kind of like yogurt land and has many flavors and toppings, unlimited
Yum, that build your own burger looks delish! My fave fro-yo would be Tasti D-Lite and second place would be 16 Handles. I am seriously addicted to fro-yo:)
I truely believe firends are the gift of life too
They just make everything so much better.
wow that is so cool that you could build your own burger! Glad to know I am not the only one who HATED costco fro-yo.
I just love Greek food, and your restaurant pictures look so nice! yay for lighting in restaurants
I’m most thankful for my best friend who is actually my mom 
In vegas the best fro-yo is this place called Islands or Yogel’s, it’s really creamy. I do like red mango, but it’s too pricey.
I loveeeeeeeeeeeeeee greek food. Mostly because feta cheese is incredible
Glad you had fun- I agree…friends rock 
You know, it took me a while to find good friends. Now, I realize they are those people who love me no matter what. I don’t have to pretend to be a certain way. I can say “no,” and they love me. I can cry, and they love me. It’s the acceptance that means so much to me.
And I LOVE Greek food. Yum!
My favorite yogurt place is this new one I found called Cherry on Top. It’s like YogurtLand (also a favorite) in that you can fill up your own cup and choose your own toppings, but the yogurt tastes even better for some reason. Love it
Personally, I’m an ice cream girl, but frozen yogurt is still great.
there’s a mediterranean wrap i love from this one vegan cafe, and it has a delicious tofu-based tzatziki sauce in it. mmmm, it’s SO good. i love greek food. and it’s true…friends are amazing. i have my best friend to thank for always being here for me, and for sticking by my side since we were 4 years old. some friends come and go…but some stay forever. and i know i can always count on her!
one more note on the food: caramelized onions = INCRED.
have a good night, love!
http://cardiovegsular.wordpress.com
Very jealous of your customized burger
Onion rings are my favorite side! For some reason they just taste way better than french fries. But actually, both are amazing lol.
Glad you stole her tzatziki sauce hehe. That stuff is yummy for dipping!
I’m thankful that my friends are all such great listeners! Best fro yo place is TCBY– they have the best peanut butter kind mmm. And sometimes I mix it with cheesecake flavor too. HEAVEN
I’m most thankful for my friends for always being their for me and accepting me for who I am… not having to pretend I am someone else.
I’m the hugest froyo fanatic! ! ! Favorite place is either Golden Spoon or Yogurtland. Both are completely different
Yay! Greek!!!
My mom only eats her burgers on pita bread… you may now understand where I get my pita obsession from…
All my friends are moving/have moved away! That’s what happens when you graduate university and don’t leave town like the rest of ‘em… My bestest friends will always keep in touch though, and THAT I am most thankful for
I would definitely not pour out the liquid from your Greek yogurt. Just mix it in, if you can. Really you aren’t getting rid of a lot, but in my opinion it all adds up even that little amount of liquid is important.
Regarding the healthy bacterias dying, you should try to eat your yogurt as soon as you can, because the bacteria does die with time. However, I would say within 10 days is sufficient, and I’m assuming that’s about how long you keep it now. If not, try to eat it within ten days, to get all those good bacteria before they peace!
wonderful thoughts and writing about “isolation”. i totally isolated myself during my ED and lost a lot of social time! i’m still fighting habits of not hanging out with peeps. no that coworker (creepy coworker) has no idea about my ed. i would never tell her. glad we’re on the same page for $$. almond butter it is! i might hit up trader joe’s. any rec’s?
I love gyros!
YUM! That Burger looks amazing!!
You know when I was making the tuna cake I actually thought to myself “Sophia would like this since she doesn’t like sweet cakes”…hehehe…especially since you made the savoury ‘carrot cake’
I miss gyros!! I used to have them quite regularly when I was in Pittsburgh…sigh…
I absolutely adore my friends…although I went through a period of time where I didn’t have many not physically around me anyway…but it was simply because I was in a new country and it’s very difficult to make friends when you don’t know anyone…you can’t exactly pick them up like you would a member of the opposite sex! hehe…I felt kinda like the guy in the movie “I love you, man” if you’ve seen that!
But now I have a bunch of great ppl around me and without them life surely wouldn’t be as interesting!
I agree … we all need each other! We’re not meant to be alone, but we’re meant to be in community with each other : )
What a great meal to share with a friend. True friends support you through thick and thin and I am happy to have them.
That goat cheese, cranberry relish , caramelized onion does sound heavenly!
Wow–to be honest, I am totally back stuck in that isolation cycle. Even though I see myself slipping back, I just feel exactly the same way you described above. I love the support on the blogs, but feel so bitter in “real” time. This is odd because I’m a very social person when I’m healthier…sorry for the ramble.
I love the Double Dip Depot just about a mile from my house. It’s family owned and for some reason, a million times better than TCBY or Dairy Queen (our closest options). Twist with sprinkles…hook it up!
Mmm gyros! Have you ever seen them cut the meat? It’s this big log thing on a stake with heaters next to it and they use this shaver thing to get it off in shreds like that. Really, really cool and unusual to watch!
I treated myself to a McDonalds soft serve today!
I’m so thankful that my freinds say that they pray for me and lift me up in these tough times!
My favorite fro-yo place is Red Cherry in MN!
That’s the best diner food I’ve ever seen! I’m a little embarassed to say I don’t know how to properly pronounce “gyro.” I’m gunna go look it up now!
Yum, your burger looks so good on that pita bread! And yay for good friends
Ah yes, I remember the days where I used to get mad at my friends just for wanting to do normal things like go out to dinner or to a bar or for ice cream. I felt like they were out to get me and just wanted to be left alone. But at the same time I felt very lonely…so glad those days are over.
That diner food looks awesome! I have never had a gyro but it looks good. I love your cranberry relish…I wish I had some right now! My favorite fro-yo is pinkberry or red mango…I can’t really tell the difference lol.
Friends..hmmm lets see..I can sit in a horrible restaurant, be served horrible food, recieve horrible service while sitting with my friends laughing hysterically at the entire situation. This recently happened, Im still laughing 3 weeks later. Thats friendship..Figtreeapps
Love this post about friendship Sophia! I was just thinking about all this today actually =)
Looks like awesome, delish food to me! Haha, can totally imagine you being a TV food presenter, like on Globe Trekker or something XD. Yup, friends are the best, to have someone just wacko to sing crazy songs with, or someone to just spend quiet time (and emo?) with. It sucks that ED takes away all these opportunities to hang out with them:(
Tzatziki+burger=heavenly! But you added goat cheese and took it over the top. Yum!
Friends are the best, good friends are so precious… and so hard to come by. I’m glad you have J and got to spend some quality time with her today.
Sorry the froyo wasn’t good — it does make a pretty picture!! My favorite (and only, haha) frozen yogurt comes from a shop on Ben Yehuda in Jerusalem, so… yeah, haven’t had it in quite a few months!!
<3 <3
You are very lucky to have such wonderful friends =)
Oh yums! I heart Greek Food =) I actually had it today for lunch =)
Haha that’s funny – Costco froyo tastes EXACTLY like chocolate & vanilla froyo at any other place I go to! I’m more of a unique flavor gal myself, so I like to go to self-serve places that have Cookies n’ cream, Cake Batter, Mint, Cappucino, etc. Yummm!
And I MUST try carmelized onions, goat cheese & cranberry sauce together soon! Those are a few of my favorite things! (cue Sound of Music)
oh man how i love the greeks. there tan, live in the effing mediterranean and have bomb ass food!
favorite fro yo has to be red berry, up in my college town bellingham. however a suppa close second is…
red mango durr!
Mmmmmmmmmm I love caramelised onions too! Delish!!! And I totally feel ya on the isolation/friends thing- when i was at the worst points of my ED I honestly didn’t care about seeing/talking/interacting with people and only was super critical about people and would commonly spout about how much I hate the “general public.” Haha now that view has improved obviously
! As for Fro Yo: I love Tutti Melon and Yogurtland!
Oh, I haven’t been to Amphora in ages! I always get that Gyros sandwich. I need to go back soon!
i just had frozen yogurt for the first time in at least 10 years! It was fabulous- on vaca here in Hilton Head- this Only 8 stuff. man it tastes like full-fat delicious creamy ice cream?!
I am most thankful for the friends that stuck by me when i wanted them to leave me and my ED to our lovely selves(NOT!)
my fav froyo place is the ONLY froyo place i know of called TWIST! soo delish!
love you girl
A meal with a good friend what could be better. Ok, good foyo helps, but aside from that.
I totally would have stolen that tzatziki too!
I really prefer flatbread or a tortilla for my burgers. The bun is too much bread. Mmm. I love onion rings.
I know this may sound sad but I really don’t have any friends. I mean I have old friends from school that I chat with on FB and I have Bloggy friends but no friend friends. I am pretty shy and have a hard time meeting new people. Sometimes it makes me feel sad. Especially when the new Julia Child movie is coming out and I have no one to see it with that would enjoy it as much as I will. Oh well. C’est la Vie!
Lovely thoughts about friends…
Your burger looks killer! Tzatziki is amazing, isn’t it?
I love my friends because they are there when I need some cheering up.
Oh my favorite frozen yogurt shop is “Yogen Fruz”. Actually, its the ONLY yogurt shop I know, haha
Next Comments →