Part of the reality of starting a new job is having a completely different office environment that can dramatically change how you operate on a day to day basis. Specifically, the dominating issue of lunch. Some may try to minimize this routine daily observance, but I find that lunchtime can be that pendulum in your day connecting morning to afternoon, pre-lunch to post-lunch.

Most people start their work career in part-time jobs and the lunch spots available to them are brief and rushed. I spent most of my thirty minutes trying not to choke while I inhaled my hastily prepared fast food. How could you not look forward to that luxurious hour long lunch associated with real jobs. Little did I know that my first full-time job after college would come with an amazing perk: for the small pittance of working through lunch when we had clients, I received a meal from some of the best restaurants San Francisco had to offer. Granted, I also ate my fair share of tuna salad from The Roastery, the cheapest food offering from the deli around the corner.

After starting my new job in September, I was once again plunged into a new routine in unfamiliar surroundings. Hoping to get to know some of my coworkers and wanting to get a little sunshine everyday, I began going out to lunch. They pretty much know my name at Subway and Wendy’s. After a month (okay, two) of eating out pretty much solid, I made the decision to start bringing my lunch. Surely I could make a sandwich that could rival a turkey and ham with cheese on honey oat from Subway (the Wendy’s chicken nuggets would be a little more difficult) and save a little money to boot. So I made the prerequisite grocery store trip and started preparing my lunch every morning before work.

Which brings us to a very important part of bringing your lunch to work:

ACTUALLY BRINGING IT

Now today, as my lunch begins, I will unveil the lunch I made to eat, yesterday, and just be thankful that I remembered it today. Because tomorrow I would definitely be having second thoughts about that turkey sandwich.