# Ramen Noodles and...



## siafulinux (Jun 17, 2010)

So, I was thinking last night about a cheap way to eat while at work and the idea hit me to give Ramen Noodle's a try. I took a look and see if there were any actual recipes for it and sure enough there are quite a number of sites and books available. Everything from salads to soups, stir fry to breakfasts and even deserts!

Now what's great about ramen noodles is how inexpensive they are. I paid around $2.60 for 12 packets at Walmart last night, which works out to be around .21c a packet. Not bad, but going to see if I can find it a little cheaper. It's also easy to prepare, microwave it or put it in a pot for a couple minutes and you're done. They're filling and one can add in some veggies, etc to make it more "healthy". Avoid the seasoning and make your own if you're concerned about the salt content.

Either way, I think this is a great addition to the bug out pack, during hard times, at work and even to save some money. Rice could also be used in a similar method. Just thought I'd throw it out there and see if anyone else had some good, easy, inexpensive recipes or base food items that are as versitile.

Here's one site I came across that has 50 pretty decent recipes. College Survival Guide Part I: 50 Amazing Ramen Noodle Recipes


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## The_Blob (Dec 24, 2008)

if you're looking for cheaper, Dollar Tree has 8-packs for... ... ... (oh, the suspense) $1

yes, I know EVERYTHING at Dollar Tree is $1


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## JayJay (Nov 23, 2010)

I did get a 12 pack at aldi's for 1.69 but I haven't bought in a year or two--I have 300 ramen noodles; aldi's doesn't increase their prices very much.

I'm eating some that are 3 years old.


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## siafulinux (Jun 17, 2010)

The_Blob said:


> if you're looking for cheaper, Dollar Tree has 8-packs for... ... ... (oh, the suspense) $1
> 
> yes, I know EVERYTHING at Dollar Tree is $1


lol, thanks!



JayJay said:


> I did get a 12 pack at aldi's for 1.69 but I haven't bought in a year or two--I have 300 ramen noodles; aldi's doesn't increase their prices very much.
> 
> I'm eating some that are 3 years old.


Three years old? Nice! At least we know they can last a while .


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## Ezmerelda (Oct 17, 2010)

With teenagers in the house, I can't seem to accumulate any, no matter how much I buy. 

I like to boil the noodles, drain, stir in the seasoning, and serve it as a side dish with some chicken and veggies. Or, stir fry the chicken and veggies and stir them into the noodles with the seasoning packet.


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## JayJay (Nov 23, 2010)

Mind you, I have the noodles in a tote, in a closet, in the dark...I imagine they will last a lot longer.

My problem is I could eat them for breakfast and lunch...the calories my 5'1" frame won't take.


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## Magus (Dec 1, 2008)

A note on the Ewwwwwwwwwwww side:

Ramen noodles stored in an ammo can will keep 5 years BUT will taste faintly of ammo can.

Still edible, add hot sauce.


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## PS360 (Sep 10, 2010)

I had some maruchan pork ramen noodles in a back pack in my closet they were in there for 10 years.

I didn't eat them (why risk it for 20 cents?) but I did examin them and they looked fine and smelled fine, the seasoning wasn't even caked.


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## blarg (Sep 26, 2011)

I like to microwave the noodles in water for 1 minute. Then fry them in a pan with butter, ginger, a splash of soy sauce an egg and whatever leftover veggies I have from the last nights meal. 

It takes five minutes it's got carbs and protein and it's good.


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## HozayBuck (Jan 27, 2010)

*I like Raman but*

That seasoning packet will kill ya!... I toss it and add salt and pepper...and once in a while an egg.. a few bricks of noodles and a can of tuna makes a great packer meal... a packet of squeeze cheese like substance completes it!


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## Immolatus (Feb 20, 2011)

Squeeze cheez is better than the seasoning packet?

Who doesnt love ammo can flavored noodles?

I would think the ones that come in the styrofoam cup last longer than the ones in the plastic wrapper, no? The only downside is they take up much more room.


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## BillS (May 30, 2011)

My other family members like ramen noodles. We have 200 cups of them. When I bought them at Wal-Mart I bought them 12 at a time and took the flat cardboard piece they were stacked on.


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## HozayBuck (Jan 27, 2010)

Immolatus said:


> Squeeze cheez is better than the seasoning packet?
> 
> Who doesnt love ammo can flavored noodles?
> 
> I would think the ones that come in the styrofoam cup last longer than the ones in the plastic wrapper, no? The only downside is they take up much more room.


Yea I know.... But!... the cheezy crap tastes better...If it's gonna kill ya why die with a bad taste in yer mouth?....

It's the heavy % of MSG that gets me... makes for a bad gut ache...

Of course I could just carry a baggie of pasta and be cheaper...


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## Tribal Warlord Thug (Jan 27, 2009)

the ol lady uses the ramen noodles in a salad......kinda like croutons i guess.....tasty


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## bjason79 (Mar 5, 2010)

*Noodles*

The good thing about ramen noodles is the price and the versatility of them. When ever i go camping or out in the woods i bring ramen, and some generic shells and cheese. Bring some hot dogs brown them up and add them to either. I like to add dandelion leaves to the noodles with some italian seasoning, or hooters seasoning salt.


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## HozayBuck (Jan 27, 2010)

bjason79 said:


> The good thing about ramen noodles is the price and the versatility of them. When ever i go camping or out in the woods i bring ramen, and some generic shells and cheese. Bring some hot dogs brown them up and add them to either. I like to add dandelion leaves to the noodles with some italian seasoning, or hooters seasoning salt.


Where do you get the "Hooters seasoning salt" ??????? :lolsmash::lolsmash::lolsmash:


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## siafulinux (Jun 17, 2010)

HozayBuck said:


> Where do you get the "Hooters seasoning salt" ??????? :lolsmash::lolsmash::lolsmash:


LOL!!!

I wanted to just put "LOL!!!", but it said my message was too short. So, I've had to add in a whole sentence or two, maybe I'll do a whole paragraph. Just hope I don't get caught since I'm doing this at work. That will probably give me a write-up or something similar. I wonder if by now I've written enough to warrant a post? Maybe I should try to post... yes, I think I will now.


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## neldarez (Apr 10, 2011)

The_Blob said:


> if you're looking for cheaper, Dollar Tree has 8-packs for... ... ... (oh, the suspense) $1
> 
> yes, I know EVERYTHING at Dollar Tree is $1


wow, I was holding my breath waiting...waiting...waiting..........lol, you're too funny..:congrat:


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## mikesolid (Aug 24, 2011)

siafulinux said:


> So, I was thinking last night about a cheap way to eat while at work and the idea hit me to give Ramen Noodle's a try. I took a look and see if there were any actual recipes for it and sure enough there are quite a number of sites and books available. Everything from salads to soups, stir fry to breakfasts and even deserts!
> 
> Now what's great about ramen noodles is how inexpensive they are. I paid around $2.60 for 12 packets at Walmart last night, which works out to be around .21c a packet. Not bad, but going to see if I can find it a little cheaper. It's also easy to prepare, microwave it or put it in a pot for a couple minutes and you're done. They're filling and one can add in some veggies, etc to make it more "healthy". Avoid the seasoning and make your own if you're concerned about the salt content.
> 
> ...


I LIVE ON RAMEN! lol. It's cheap, tastes good, has variety of flavors, and easy to make. Thanks for the post. Everyone should be educated in ramen. :2thumb:


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## IlliniWarrior (Nov 30, 2010)

*Taste Can Mean Poison*



Magus said:


> A note on the Ewwwwwwwwwwww side:
> 
> Ramen noodles *stored in an ammo can *will keep 5 years BUT will taste faintly of ammo can.
> 
> Still edible, add hot sauce.


You never store food of any kind in non-food grade containers ...... there's all kinds of chemicals involved in the manufacture & preserving of metal ..... that bad taste is telling you something .....

PLEASE don't think, that thin plastic wrapper on the noodles, is going to stop chemical contamination .....


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## Immolatus (Feb 20, 2011)

Is ramen noodles the cheapest way to buy pasta? This kind of stuff has to be available in larger quantities, right? Some uber thin pasta that cooks in one minute in large packaging?


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## siafulinux (Jun 17, 2010)

mikesolid said:


> I LIVE ON RAMEN! lol. It's cheap, tastes good, has variety of flavors, and easy to make. Thanks for the post. Everyone should be educated in ramen. :2thumb:


 NP. Since the post I have been eating mostly Ramen Noodles and occasionally oatmeal, but only for breakfast. I have also broken this when travelling out of town but kinda felt guilty about doing it and have only done so twice; thinking I need to carry a small propane cooker with me?

Anyway, I'm finding it's actually pretty easy to keep up with. It hasn't really got very boring, though every now and then I get the whole, "maybe there's something else" thought, but overall, it's not been a problem. Just need to mix it up a little and try different recipes. I did try it on my family the other night and fed myself, wife and three boys with 5 packets of chicken ramen. Mixed in some canned chicken, a few tablespoons of mixed veggies and a tablespoon of ranch dressing.

All of us ate twice from the pot and they loved it! I estimate it cost roughly $4 or $5 to feed us like this. 5 x $0.20c = $1 and the canned chicken was $1 a piece and I used 2. So with the veggies and ranch, it couldn't have been more than $5 for the meal actually probably closer to $4! Not bad. If I were to continue feeding us like that, I'd have to really keep it interesting with various recipes and sometimes maybe substitute the noodles with rice, etc.



Immolatus said:


> Is ramen noodles the cheapest way to buy pasta? This kind of stuff has to be available in larger quantities, right? Some uber thin pasta that cooks in one minute in large packaging?


I think that's kind of the idea. Not sure if one can buy it imbulk as in a large container of nothing but the noodles, but one can certainly get the packages pretty inexpensively. I have seen recipes using pasta sauces and throwing out the regular packets; kinda like spagehetti.


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## JayJay (Nov 23, 2010)

Magus said:


> A note on the Ewwwwwwwwwwww side:
> 
> Ramen noodles stored in an ammo can will keep 5 years BUT will taste faintly of ammo can.
> 
> Still edible, add hot sauce.


What about putting in a ziplok bag first; then store?/
And in answer to the bulk buy---dh came in a couple years ago with cardboard boxes of 24 ramen noodles all different flavors...he says he got them at chinamart---I've never seen that size or assortment there.

Anyone else??

And the price is the grabber---I think college kid's motto is.."Ramen noodles; don't leave home without 'em."


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## preventDamage (Sep 16, 2011)

Ramen is great because it is cheap and easy. The only thing is that I can't eat a lot of it. It reminds me of my poor college days.


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## siafulinux (Jun 17, 2010)

preventDamage said:


> Ramen is great because it is cheap and easy. The only thing is that I can't eat a lot of it. It reminds me of my poor college days.


lol, that's the trick; trying to find way to make it interesting. You know, change it up a little. And you definately need to add some fiber, otherwise you get the runs.


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## weedygarden (Apr 27, 2011)

*Ramen noodles*

I do not eat ramen noodles often. Actually, I can't remember when I last ate ramen noodles, but I do have a few in my preps. Thanks for the suggestion of ramen noodles.

They are very inexpensive and at 12 for $1.00, a person could have one a day for one year for less than $50.00. Actually, one a day for 5 years would be $219.00, 10 years, $438.00. You get the idea. Really cheap, and so quick to cook, so easy to do many things with.

Families with kids could stash these and keep kids happy. If your kids already eat all that you buy, maybe you need a hidden stash, like hiding Christmas gifts before Christmas.

My daughter has celiac and I buy the rice noodle varieties of the quick noodle packages. They are definitely more expensive. We usually get them for around 80cents. I have been working on getting a bunch of these. They also come in a variety of flavors.

I am adding ramen to my preps from now on!


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## JayJay (Nov 23, 2010)

weedygarden said:


> I do not eat ramen noodles often. Actually, I can't remember when I last ate ramen noodles, but I do have a few in my preps. Thanks for the suggestion of ramen noodles.
> 
> They are very inexpensive and at 12 for $1.00, a person could have one a day for one year for less than $50.00. Actually, one a day for 5 years would be $219.00, 10 years, $438.00. You get the idea. Really cheap, and so quick to cook, so easy to do many things with.
> 
> ...


They're junk, non-nutritional...and I eat them every day!!! I love ramen noodles...absolutely love them...and I don't put the seasoning on while cooking---I drain and then sprinkle the season on...ummm--ummm--good.
Wish all junk and non-nutritional tasted as good.

I WAS cautioned about them getting old and going bad--I'm eating 3 year old now..no problem..yet.


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## Possumfam (Apr 19, 2011)

blarg said:


> I like to microwave the noodles in water for 1 minute. Then fry them in a pan with butter, ginger, a splash of soy sauce an egg and whatever leftover veggies I have from the last nights meal.
> 
> It takes five minutes it's got carbs and protein and it's good.


Never thought to make a stir fry out of it! Duh! We usually use rice or spaghetti noodles. I have a love/hate relationship w/ these lil' noodles. I LOVE 'EM! They have NO nutritional value, too much salt, MSG and I LOVE 'EM! We usually only eat them when were sick with a cold, sore throat, etc... it's very soothing on a sore throat, with lots and lots of black and cayenne pepper, it'll clear those sinuses up! Or, as the occasional treat - kinda like a candy bar.

You gotta love em - or - hate em.


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## weedygarden (Apr 27, 2011)

*ramen noodles are nutritionally undesirable*

One of the many reasons I no longer eat ramen noodles is because they are not good nutritionally. When I think of them, I think empty calories. They are made with some fat or oil, and therefore, I have always thought they would go rancid in food storage. Rancid = yuck = carcinogenic.

On the other hand, if they are not rancid, and times are desperate, they would make a good base for adding other flavors and limited amounts of other foods one might have--hot sauce, onion, garlic, ginger, greens, peanuts, peanut butter, peas, brocolli, green beans, tomatoes, squash, celery, carrots, tuna or other meats. They could be the calories some might need some day.


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## Davarm (Oct 22, 2011)

In defense of Ramen Noodles, I don't believe I'm typing this, is that sometimes you may want just the empty calories. 

If your nutritional needs are being met by your normal diet and you have physical labor hat needs to be performed, your body may just need the fuel to perform the labor. I am no nutritionalist or dietition but consuming foods that are high in vitamins, minerals and calories when only the calories are needed may not be the best use for your stores. 

This line of thought was pompted by this thread, I will eat Ramen but its not my first choice for a meal. Hopefully someone will tell this is flawed logic so I can go back to hateing the stuff.


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## weedygarden (Apr 27, 2011)

Davarm said:


> In defense of Ramen Noodles, I don't believe I'm typing this, is that sometimes you may want just the empty calories.
> 
> If your nutritional needs are being met by your normal diet and you have physical labor hat needs to be performed, your body may just need the fuel to perform the labor. I am no nutritionalist or dietition but consuming foods that are high in vitamins, minerals and calories when only the calories are needed may not be the best use for your stores.
> 
> This line of thought was pompted by this thread, I will eat Ramen but its not my first choice for a meal. Hopefully someone will tell this is flawed logic so I can go back to hateing the stuff.


I agree totally with you Davarm! My current situation is that I do not need the extra calories. However, that day could be upon us sooner than we think.

I also think that no matter whether we are eating food that is nutrtionally superior or not, being hungry is never easy and eating something like ramen is preferable, to me, to being hungry. And, I believe, there are going to be many, many, hungry people. Cooking some ramen is an easy fix when food and fuel are in short supply.

I will be adding more ramen to my preps! I really do not have very many now.


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## testhop (Dec 20, 2009)

i like ramen noodles and have a few dishs. the one i use is to cook the noodles 
the reg way then add a half can of cream of chicken soup .

some time I add some veggies like corn peas spuds
and some chickenmeat eather caned or leftover


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## Davarm (Oct 22, 2011)

My daughters have a thousand(alot of em even pretty tastee) recipes for ramen, they ate alot of it in the college dorms. Even after spending good money on meal plans, they still would eat the stuff by the bag full.


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## CatWoman (Aug 8, 2011)

This is interesting -- that they last that long. Were they stored in mylar bags or something similar? The reason I ask is because I just had to throw out a bunch I had because I noticed they were well past the expiration date on the package?!


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## JayJay (Nov 23, 2010)

CatWoman said:


> This is interesting -- that they last that long. Were they stored in mylar bags or something similar? The reason I ask is because I just had to throw out a bunch I had because I noticed they were well past the expiration date on the package?!


I'm eating ramen now that have been stored in an unused closet, dark and cool, for 3 years.
I must admit my favorite isn't Lime Shrimp...just advising ya might wanta stay away from those..it was the only time dh came home with an assorted package of 24 from chinamart..when we still shopped there.


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## weedygarden (Apr 27, 2011)

*Not all expiration dates matter*



CatWoman said:


> This is interesting -- that they last that long. Were they stored in mylar bags or something similar? The reason I ask is because I just had to throw out a bunch I had because I noticed they were well past the expiration date on the package?!


I think you have to do what works for you, but there was an article on the internet a few years ago about expiration dates. Sometimes things have a long shelf life, but companies put on a date in case they want to change their packaging for marketing purposes. This is true for medications and some foods.

In the case of drugs and medications, this is true, and the US Army did a study when faced with the potential of throwing out millions of dollars of medicine. They found out that most, however, not all, medications are good for much longer than the expiration date. Some have to go at expiration dates.

Personally, somethings bother me and I cannot get past certain things so I have to throw them out. This is definitely psychological and we know this piece is different for different people. A box or package may have a date, but I am not always reading the labels to see. It really depends on the product. Also, how and where you store things can make a big difference. I like to keep things like flour and cornmeal in my refrigerator or freezer, or sealed in mylar or cans or buckets in the basement. When it sits on the shelf in the pantry in its original package, yeah, not so good.

All that said, I'll bet Ramen in the basement or back of the closet lasts a long time. One clue as to why is how difficult it is to open the packages without scissors or a knife. They are sealed well.


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## kappydell (Nov 27, 2011)

Tim Fischer's Ramen Noodle Home Page is an excellent source for recipes. 
He has been collecting them for years, everyting from "slammer ramen" (he gives high priority to recipes by prisoners and military) to chocolate covered ramen bars, and 'freebase ramen' to ramen tacos. Talk about interesting - and cheap!


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## tsrwivey (Dec 31, 2010)

blarg said:


> I like to microwave the noodles in water for 1 minute. Then fry them in a pan with butter, ginger, a splash of soy sauce an egg and whatever leftover veggies I have from the last nights meal.
> 
> It takes five minutes it's got carbs and protein and it's good.


We do that with leftover spaghetti noodles, except we usually add canned crab meat. Delicious!


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## Tank_Girl (Dec 26, 2011)

Oh goodness the possibilities are endless and I eat them all the time!

I break the noodle cake up and place it into a deep noodle bowl along with it's seasoning (I always get chicken because it's so versatile) I add one sachet miso cup of soup, a few dried mushroom slices, a finely chopped scallion and a shredded dried nori sheet (think black outer layer on sushi) and tip boiling water from a kettle over it until it covers every thing by an inch and microwave for 2 to 3 mins.
All these ingredients, with the exception of the scallions can be kept in the pantry and don't need refrigeration.
Stir and enjoy.

*Tip: Pouring the boiling water over the noodles before you microwave them speeds up the cooking time.
*Tip: I use this basic recipe to make a Malaysian Laksa by omitting the sachet of miso cup of soup and adding 2 teaspoons of Laska paste.
This is really good if you have left over roast chicken or fish.


Rehydrate noodles and place evenly over the bottom of a oiled fry pan.
In a bowl mix eggs with the seasoning sachet, powdered garlic, scallions, diced bacon or whatever you have handy and tip over the noodles and fry it like you would an omelet.


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## JayJay (Nov 23, 2010)

weedygarden said:


> All that said, I'll bet Ramen in the basement or back of the closet lasts a long time. One clue as to why is how difficult it is to open the packages without scissors or a knife. They are sealed well.


Exactly..and even after years of storing, if the sealed seasoning in the foil is bad..the noodles can be used with chicken and beef buillon...still a meal for 20cents; Sam's Club has buillon container with over 200 for a few dollars.
Someday, a 20 cent meal may be important.
As will a meal prepared in 3 minutes of boiling water compared to pasta that requires 12 minutes??


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## tsrwivey (Dec 31, 2010)

In a SHTF situation, there will be so much work to do & problems to deal with that a quick & easy meal will be a welcome relief.


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## Claymore5150 (Nov 17, 2011)

Ahhhh Ramen...the days and nights that you and I spent together all of those years ago. 
It seems like just yesterday that we found warmth and comfort together by the steaming heat of my canteen cup and the cool blue light from our trioxane tabs.

The way that you brightened my life under dismal conditions...like that one time when you were hiding deep in the lower corner of my pack and I had no idea you were there. When you jumped out at me, I was so surprised and happy to see you. It had been a couple of weeks since we last saw each other. 
Things were so hectic and sometimes chaotic in those days, but the quality times that we did spend together...so memorable. 
We really should get together soon, reminisce about the old times we had and days gone by. 
Things are so much more simple now, but you and I, we shared some history together. 

Sometimes I catch a smell from the lunchroom here at work, a smell so familiar. I close my eyes and it takes me back there again. Just you and me, against the world...you were like Robin to my Batman.


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