We had Chinese tonight. Yum. I just finished a hearty portion of deluxe fried rice and made a pass throught the kitchen to swipe my fortune cookie off of the counter. I half expected that a catchy phrase written on a tiny piece of paper would be inspiring, comical, introspective or at the very least teach me a new word in Chinese. Something blog-worthy no doubt. I sat down at my desk, ripped open the cellophane wrapper and sat back anticipating the wisdom of the orient, all wrapped up in a bland flour-water-sugar concoction and hardened to perfection.

What does it mean when there is no fortune in your cookie?

Don’t answer that.

It’s true. I looked down at the broken halves of cardboard like crunchety in my hand with no sliver of paper in sight. No lucky numbers and no way of knowing that Suan-Cai means “Pickle”.

My wife, having stepped into the room and who was now reading over my shoulder, GASPED!

“What!? No fortune??” She looked at me with wide-eyed terror and tried to console me with a deep sigh (as if I might vanish into thin air with a subtle “poof”). But with the eternal optimism of a glass half full, she quickly chirped:

“We have extras in the kitchen! I’m going to bed, good-night!”

As I finish pecking out these last few words, I notice a wrapper by my arm. This one unopened. Mz.D has silently left me another fortune cookie.