I did battle with Mcdonald's...and lost

The Golden Arches

For most of 2005, I have strived to avoid eating at or ordering anything from Mcdonald's. Ask me why and I can't really give a straightforward answer. No, it doesn't have anything to do with the documentary "Supersize Me" because I haven't seen it (although I've heard it won't exactly make you run to the nearest Mickey D's to get your Big Mac fix). And no, I haven't totally sworn-off fastfood joints...yet. I still run to the nearby Jollibee or eat at KFC when the mood for greasy fries or deep-fried chicken hits. Of course I'm aware that the loss of business from one customer is insignificant to a multi-billion dollar quick-service food chain, but it's just Mcdo that I stay away from and I don't know why. It's gotten to the point where the mere smell emanating from inside the Golden Arches is enough to make my stomach turn. It's really strange how you can train your body to like (or in this case, detest) stuff. (Now that I think about it, I used to hate gata and kalabasa when I was a kid. Now I can't get enough of the stuff).

But I learned you can't really fight fate.

On a recent trip to Singapore, I found myself (almost) running out of cash just when I was on my way back home to Manila. At Changi airport, I planned on exchanging the value left on the MRT train card I had with me to cash so I could get some breakfast. After I checked-in, I went through immigration thinking I could go back out to the MRT station right there at the airport (yeah, Singapore's transport system is so efficient it makes ours look ancient. But that's another story). This mean old lady however said I couldn't go back out once I got past immigration. So there I was, almost penniless and starving inside the airport, and my flight wasn't due to leave for another two hours. And since I was on one of those budget airlines that didn't serve inflight food (unless you paid for it), it would be hours before I could inject some sustenance into my system. This is where Mcdonald's came to the rescue.

Apparently, as a person at the information counter there explained, the value on MRT cards is as good as cash on all Mcdonald's outlets there in Singapore. Which meant I could use my MRT card to buy myself breakfast. Luckily, there was a Mcdonald's there near the departure waiting area. So, abandoning my resolve not to eat anything from Mcdonald's, I went ahead and ordered a Big Breakfast meal: scrambled eggs, a sausage Mcmuffin and iced Milo. I could have used my credit card to buy food someplace else...but I trained myself not to whip it out unless it's absolutely necessary. Besides, it wasn't so bad. (The Mcdo breakfast, I mean).

I still don't have any plans of scarfing down a cheeseburger from Mcdonald's anytime soon, but it's nice to know Mcdo didn't let me down that time. It may be easy to proclaim your principles and shout out to the world how much you believe in one thing or another, but all that means shit if your stomach's empty; everything goes out the window.