Garlicophiles Unite!

Man, this blogging thing is tough. Six days have flown by without a single note from me! Ok, back at it.

I know that I mentioned that I was in marketing, but I don't think that I have fully admitted yet that I am a total marketing geek. It doesn't help that my husband is also in marketing and we've actually had this conversation over dinner: "Hey, I got, like, a 4% response on my direct mail campaign this week!" "Really? That's awesome! What's the lead conversion looking like so far?" Could it get any hotter?

One of my favorite marketing-geek games is figuring out how I get on certain mailing lists. What magazine subscription do I have or website did I sign up for that happily sold my data to someone else looking to market useless junk to my demographic? Today was an especially fun day for this game... I received a newsletter/announcement for the Friends of Garlic (FOG) Annual Virginia Garlic Festival!

Garlic has friends! They host a festival for their buddy garlic! In Virginia! They know who I am and where I live! And they want me to come to their special party! Holy crap.

Now, when I say newsletter, I mean it... eight full pages dedicated to news about the organization, vendor profiles, a schedule for the event , an appeal for applications for Junior Garlic Queen (ah, the glory), and more. I thought I liked garlic a lot. (I have a mini panic attack when there's none in my fridge - how is one supposed to cook anything without a nice fresh bulb of garlic? And no, I do not use the jarred stuff. It feels like cheating.) I would have even said I love garlic. I was WRONG. These people love garlic.

I am in no way mocking FOG (I'm so dropping that acronym left and right when I am in ole V-A). I totally, completely get this kind of senseless dedication to food.

Food is incredible. I don't mean in the metabolic sense, though that's certainly amazing. I love that food can come together with a little or a lot of manipulation and be nothing short of art. I love that food represents culture and history and yet is constantly evolving. I love that food is almost always present when we are happiest. I love that food is fleeting in nature and sometimes reminds us to savor our time and not just blindly plow through life. I think that the FOGs get this and, for that, I admire them.

I probably won't make it to the actual festival, but I am thrilled to be an honorary FOG! (My marketing-geek radar says that now that I am on the mailing list, I will forever more receive this newsletter.) Oh, and speaking of marketing-geekiness, I finally did sort through how they got my name. As a foodie, I've (no surprise) taken more than one vacation to wine regions around the country. My last one? Central Virginia. If you go, try the sweeter whites like Gewurztraminer and Reisling - delish. Just don't sign up for more information!