A lot of people get surprised when they find out I skip classes.

But my classmates are used to the skinny Asian girl who sits in the front of class either drooling or doodling. In my grade reports, every teacher marked down with exasperated exclamation points, “This girl is always building castles in the air!” I used to have a Spanish teacher who hated my guts because I slept every minute of her class. And I always finish my homework during classes so that I didn’t have to do them back at home. You all remember my 7pm rule? It’s not so much a wise strategy as it is just an excuse to slack off some more.

I have to admit, I used to have tons of fun seeing my teachers pinched expressions and exasperation. I was sloppy with my work attitude, but I still somehow managed to get good grades, so I really did not give a damn.

Let me just name a few recent or major ones:

• I scratched up my car really badly against the parking wall because I didn’t care to look properly.
  
• I crushed the back of my car for the same reason.
  
• Look above, re-read two times. Yes, 6 times total, until the final accident (which was, of course, totally my fault again)
  
• I messed up on the date for my parents’ plane flight to Los Angeles, at a loss of $800.
  
• I messed up again on the date, this time for a bus trip.
  
• I didn’t read the directions to my mid-term, and wrote about two films instead of three.
  
• I didn’t read the directions to my essay prompt, and wrote about my own topic. 
• I didn’t check up on school email account, even though I knew something was wrong with it, and missed several important information from my professors

Ouch. I think I’ve had enough, don’t you? It’s hard, to shake off this sloppy attitude which I’ve been wearing for so many years. But the price to pay is too much, too painful. I’ve lost and wasted too much money, time, and grades.

So. To reflect on my sloppy attitude, let me present to you a sloppy dish. Nope, not sloppy joes. That would be unoriginal!

Korean BBQ Chickpea Gratin

• 1 tsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 large onion, diced
• 4 oz ground turkey
• 1/2 zucchini, diced
• 1/2 eggplant, diced
• 1/4 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 cup chickpeas, cooked (I stole this from the school dining hall)
• Korean BBQ marinade
• 2-3 basil leaves, shredded
• 1 medium gold potato
• 1 medium sweet potato
• 1/4 cup sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
• fresh black pepper

Fry up the garlic and onion in oil until fragrant, then toss in the ground turkey and all the vegetables. Cook until softened, and then add in the chickpeas and Korean BBQ marinade:
Once heated through, pour the vegetable mixture into a baking dish. Top with basil leaves:
Slice the potato and sweet potato into about 1/4-inch slices:
Place it in overlapping patterns over the baking dish and sprinkle with cheese and cracked black pepper:
Cook in a 400 degree oven until done:
You can definitely guess my reaction to this toasty cheesy dish as I pulled it out of the oven!
How can you say no to toasted cheeeeeese?!
Slop it up onto a dish:
No matter how you look at it, it definitely looks sloppy…
But oh-so-delicious! I swear, that Korean BBQ marinade is the bomb, and it will make even my running shoes taste delicious. It’s best with meat, of course, but plenty tasty with vegetarian options like this one!
But I have to say, the best part was the crispy texture of the 2-potato crust…So crunchy, so cheesy!
Obviously this little dish is just for show, because right after I finished this portion, I finished up the rest by the baking dish:
Yum.

Question of the day: So, what kind of work ethic do you have? Are you a diligent bee? Or a sloppy dreamer like me?

Related posts:

1. I Have No Life
2. Somewhere There is a Rainbow
3. Killing You Softly…With My Words…
4. Oh My Cheese!
5. Celebration

Tagged as: basil, BBQ, bell pepper, cheddar cheese, cheese, chickpeas, eggplant, Korean, onions, Parmesan cheese, sweet potato, turkey, zucchini