Domino’s Year in Review 2017
All the times I ate or ordered Domino’s in 2017
Avid readers of That Good You Need/my friends/anyone who has even a passing association with me is sure to know about my love for Domino’s. Oftentimes, when people discover this, there are questions. Do you like it for real, or is it an irony thing? Did you love it growing up, and as a result you like because it makes you feel nostalgic? Is this just something you’re pretending to be into so you feel some kind of childhood wonder?
Interestingly enough, these are the same three questions people tend to have for me when they find out I’m into professional wrestling. But that’s a topic for another day.
Today is for looking back and reflecting on pizza. When you stare into pepperoni, when you gaze upon cheese covered mushrooms, does the pizza stare back? Can you see into the eyes of Peter Pizza, the inventor of pizza, himself? Indeed something does stare back. Last year, unable to properly account for each time I ate Domino’s, I instead took a broad look at my habits and some of the mishaps that occurred. If you’re having trouble recalling what I wrote about Domino’s over a year ago, which you should obviously find embarrassing, you can find that piece here.
In preparation to write this year’s review, then, I made sure to track each and every Domino’s order I made in 2017. It was a tremendous amount of work to ensure I opened the notes app, documented these occasions, and wrote stunning details like “just sitting around that day, nothing too crazy going on.” Truly the drama of the moment sings through, thank goodness for my note taking.
It’s possible I missed a few orders, but I think these are fairly solid records. I hereby present, my 2017 Domino’s Year in Review:
Saturday, January 28th
The first order of the year almost made it out of January! This was notable only because I forgot my password, and had a heck of a time recovering it. Alas, I did so, and created new and genius password that is both difficult to copy, and easy to remember. And no, it isn’t Password1. Or is it?
This has more to do with technology than pizza, but with a company as forward thinking as Domino’s, sometimes that’s just the name of the game.
DATE UNKNOWN
Even with my aforementioned amazing note-taking skills at work, I missed the date on this one. I only know it was the second order of the year, and that it happened because my roommate Kyle wanted to order it. He even paid for it. What a guy!
Monday, March 13th
This past year, I got married to a wonderful woman named Sara. See below.
In preparation for the wedding, Sara completed a “Whole30” diet. For the unfamiliar, Whole30 is a thirty-day diet where you eat nothing but eggs, meat, and Tic Tacs. It’s great!
Anyway, as a supportive fiancé I tried my best to keep up with Sara while I was with her, not taunting her with delicious, unhealthy foods like bread, any dairy products, or legumes. Oh, how I coveted legumes!
You can eat chicken wings while on Whole30, though, and on this day Sara wanted chicken wings. We went for it, and ordered not pizza, but wings alone from Domino’s. Let me give you a word of advice: Do not do this.
Domino’s has many excellent chicken-centric products. Their specialty chicken is great. Their boneless chicken, even, is quite hearty! When paired with pizza, Domino’s wings are ok. Alone? They are not very good! Do not order them! It was a disappointing day.
Saturday, March 25th
This order is notable because it is the closest I got to breaking my New Year’s Resolution to not fall asleep after ordering Domino’s, leaving my wallet lighter and my stomach empty. It was close, but as I began to drift away to sleep on the couch as reruns of Fixer Upper played on the television, Sara ensured I stayed awake, and I avoided disaster. I never came close to falling asleep, and I made it the entire year without missing a Domino’s order.
Of course…there are a few more days left in the year.
Saturday, May 13th
This was the closest I came to missing an order despite being awake. We left a friend’s birthday party and, as we began to walk home, I placed the order for Domino’s. Well, the oven must have been hot and the streets clear of traffic, because our delivery arrived home sooner than we did.
We were several blocks away when the delivery individual called me to ask where I was. As I ran down 17th street, assuring them that I was “upstairs” (classic excuse) I hoped they would give me the time I needed. I sprinted like a pizza-driven Olympic medalist, and ran up to a very perplexed person holding a stack of pizza boxes.
I assured him it was I, Lucas Quagliata, and that I lived at the address I had sent him to. As I signed for the pizza a man in a suit jacket, walking with a well-dressed woman, passed by. He had seen the whole thing and must have imagined that just anyone walking through could have some of the Domino’s. “Hey, it’s mine, it’s not his it’s mine! Hahaha!” the jokester proclaimed. How funny that must have seemed to him. His companion giggled, “hehehehehe”.
I will never forget this man.
Monday, May 15th
Why did I get Domino’s on a Monday, after getting it on a Saturday? Well, I could explain to you that my roommates Kyle, Jack and I decided to have a margarita at a pop up bar that had just opened for the season, and instead had 5 margaritas, and then got very hungry and ordered Domino’s. Or I could just tell you that sometimes when it rains, it pours.
Thursday, July 6th
Just a few weeks before this date, I had moved from a house with 3 other guys into a house with Sara. I very much enjoy living with her, and I genuinely think we make a great team.
But this particular weekend was Sara’s annual trip to hang out with some of her close friends from college, and I was left to fend for myself. Naturally, on my first night staying alone in a house by myself, I ordered Domino’s.
This does lead me to ask myself a question. If I were living alone, would I order Domino’s every night? Did I do it for the pizza, or just because I could? Did I do it for the companionship, the brief moment of humanity I could share with the delivery individual? Am I addicted to Domino’s? Perhaps I will ponder this further in 2018.
September 6th, September 9th, and September 23rd
These instances are tied together because they surround and involve my wedding day. On the 6th, my coworkers threw me a wedding shower where they bought the office Domino’s. It was quite the gesture, and I was quite touched.
September 9th was the wedding. Some of you may be asking, did you serve Domino’s at your wedding reception? No, we stopped short of that, but we did order a ton of it for the after party. We had to order ahead, and the delivery individual, unable to reach me by phone, wandered around the front of the venue quite perplexed for several minutes before we ran into him by chance.
Then, on September 23rd, Sara and I returned from our honeymoon in France. Our first weekend back in the US, we celebrated together by ordering Domino’s. Marriage is dope.
Saturday, October 7th
Another instance of near-disaster. After a night out at our neighborhood BYOB mini-golf, we ordered Domino’s. As I walked into my house after retrieving it from the delivery individual, I nearly dropped it. My life flashed before my eyes as I quickly, athletically adjusted my body and shifted to save the pizza. Did a few pieces fall to the floor of my foyer? Sure, but almost all of the pizza was saved, thanks to my almost samurai like reflexes and burning desire for pizza.
Saturday, October 14th
I had to work on Sunday, October 15th, which would normally lead me to lay low the night before. This weekend, though, some friends of mine were headlining a concert I didn’t want to miss, and so we went out.
Instead of going right to bed afterwards, as I normally might, I stayed up, drank a bunch of water, and ordered some good ole greasy pizza to keep any impending hangover at bay. And I’ll tell you what, it worked. I showed up at work the next day feeling right as rain.
Thursday, November 9th
It doesn’t happen often, but every once in a while you can rally your entire office together for an impromptu lunch order. On this day, the day before my birthday, the stars aligned and it happened, an office Domino’s order. I even took the opportunity to add bread twists, just $1 more, to the order. While I haven’t ordered them again, I can confirm that they were delicious.
Friday, November 10th
How could I not order Domino’s on my birthday? Sure, I just had it the day before, but I have a responsibility here! Again, rains, pours, you get it.
Friday, December 1st
This was what I like to call a “sneaky order”. Sara and I were sitting on the couch watching “Life In Pieces”, a surprisingly good network comedy. I felt a bit hungry, and it was a bit late, and I went for it. Without telling her, I secretly placed a Domino’s order. About an hour later, when I answered the phone and headed for the door, she looked at me with wonder, with intrigue. Who could be calling, what could cause me such urgency?
When I returned from my trip outside, she smiled with knowing grin.
Friday, December 8th
After sharing a few happy hour drinks with coworkers, I headed home. Sara had been with some friends of her own for happy hour, and we certainly didn’t feel like cooking. Thankfully, Domino’s was there.
And this whole year, Domino’s has been there. All in all, I ordered Domino’s 16 times. On two separate occasions, I had it twice in one weekend. It does seem to come all at once, or at least in consecutive weekends, as there were large, months-long time periods with no orders at all. Sixteen orders seems all at once like far too many, and not very many at all.
I’m most proud of the fact that I didn’t miss any orders due to falling asleep, and I have my wonderful wife to thank for that. It seems, as I look back upon the year, that I very rarely order Domino’s without Sara by my side. For that I am quite happy. It’s become part of our life together.
What does 2018 have in store? Will I eat more domino’s, or less? When Sara is gone for her mini-reunion this year, will I once again drown my lonely sorrows in an order of specialty chicken? Will anyone else I know order a bunch of Domino’s for their wedding’s after party? We shall see, and I hope to be here in a year to tell you all about it.
