Let’s celebrate all life choices, shall we?

In the past month, I have run into three different people that I haven’t seen in years. What do you suppose was the first question they had for me? Did they want to know where I was working now? Or if I had finally sold my house and moved? Or if I was happy? Healthy? No. The first thing out of their mouths was, “So, are you married?”

Why is that paramount? Are people strictly defined by the relationship they have (or don’t have) in their life? Have they been thinking of me all these years as incomplete or something because I don’t have a marriage license sitting in a drawer? I’m sure I’m over-reacting and they were just trying to feign interest but it really offended me. I didn’t start off the conversation with, “Hey, have you divorced that loser yet?” (Which in two instances would have been a legitimate question, by the way.)

It started me thinking about one of my favorite Sex and the City episodes…the one where Carrie goes to a party at Tatum O’Neal’s character’s apartment and Carrie’s very expensive Manolos or Jimmy Choos or whatever shoes were stolen from the corridor because Tatum wouldn’t let anyone wear shoes in her home. Carrie finally got up the nerve to ask Tatum to reimburse her for them and Tatum put her down for wasting her money on something so frivolous. We then see Carrie talking to Charlotte about how much money she has spent on Tatum over the years…the bridal shower, travel and hotel stay for the wedding, wedding gift, three baby gifts, etc…and she said, “Where’s my gifts, huh? Why don’t we celebrate single people’s choices?”

Exactly. Why don’t we?

Where are my “Congratulations on Being Financially Independent” gifts or my “Congratulations for Not Marrying the Wrong Guy” shower?

Huh? I’m still waiting.

So, why vegan?

Also known by the alternate title: OMG, how can you live without a cheeseburger?

Honestly, this is not meant to be a “do as I do” kind of post because 1) your life is your business and 2) who the heck am I to tell anybody anything? I am not an authority and I have no desire to change your eating habits. Well, unless you regularly feast on deep-fried sticks of butter wrapped in bacon with a nice lard dipping sauce or something, yes, I may have to speak up but then again, you wouldn’t live long enough to care what I think anyway.

But I have had a lot of questions about the whole “why are you going vegan?” thing lately so I thought it best to just address it and then let it be. Well, to let it be except that as I move into veganism, you better believe, you are SO going with me. I’m going to need to talk about it once in a while and each and every one of you WILL be asked to scout out all the online avenues for vegan food stuffs so I can satisfy any craving that may arise. Don’t worry, I already found an organic, free trade, vegan chocolate supplier’s web site that I WILL be making use of in the coming months. And really, if you can buy vegan chocolate, are there any excuses left? (I will offer up myself as the guinea pig and try them first. If they are any good, I’ll give you the link.)

So why, after 10 months of vegetarianism, an I ready to move towards veganism? The reason I started this was simply because I felt better when my diet consisted of primarily veggies, fruit and whole grains. Truth be told, I didn’t eat much meat, especially not red meat, prior to becoming a vegetarian. I loved the taste of meat, I won’t lie — especially salmon and chicken — but I always felt better if I found my protein in other sources.

I’ve also been studying Buddhism (I know, where did that come from, right?) and I believe the teachings, just as in the Bible and other religious doctrines, are showing us the way to a more fulfilling life, if we only take them to heart. One of the Buddhist precepts is To avoid killing or harming any living being. Yeah, pretty straight forward. This is why I carry spiders outside instead of squashing them and slow down to avoid hitting the kamikaze squirrels that run through our neighborhood. And eat a baked potato instead of a steak. It just feels right.

But it is also because of articles like the one below. I’m not a scientist, nutritionist, or physician but I am an avid reader. And though I have no real means of validating all these statistics, without turning again to the Internet, I do know that these same arguments are found in various research studies being conducted all over the place, in and outside the U.S. Regardless of how you feel about it, some of these things are difficult to ignore. For instance, I could link to the article I found over the weekend that discussed the pain and mutilation milk-producing cows go through but I won’t make you live with those images in your head. (I’m having enough trouble letting go of it for the both of us.) Besides, you have a computer. If you’re interested, you can find these things yourselves.

The article below the break pretty much sums up the things I’m learning as I continue to read and study. The numbers speak to me. These are the things going through my head these days. There is definitely a lot to think about.

‘Tis ‘Twill be the season

Yes, it is June 24th and I’m thinking of Christmas. Are you really that surprised? You should know by now how my mind works, yes?

Really, I’m just thinking of an idea and want to capture it before I lose it.

Remember last holiday season I hosted a recipe exchange? Well, this year I plan to be well on my way to veganism (is it a word?) before the holidays so recipes full of butter, cream and eggs aren’t really going to do much for me. And it is all about me… on this blog, anyway. But I still liked the idea of sharing something with my blogging friends. It put me in a festive mood where I might not have been.

So this year, I am thinking about hosting something along the lines of a charitable gift exchange. It wouldn’t be an exchange between ourselves but rather you would take a look at your own gift giving habits and find that one little group of people that you always exchange gifts with. You know, the group of mothers you hang out with or your ‘girls/guys night out’ gang or your co-workers. I know exchanging gifts with these people is an act of friendship and affection but do you really need another DVD or a box of gift soaps? Do they really need your coffee gift cards or homemade scones? (Well, the coffee, maybe.)

Instead, why not pool your funds and do something charitable as a group? You could help buy presents for children in your area or groceries for your local food pantry. Buy toiletries or diapers for a local shelter or large-print books for a nursing home. Or, even better, DO something together…like work a day in a soup kitchen or paint the rooms in a shelter or actually pick up or shop for the gifts your Salvation Army distributes. The ideas are endless.

Each blogger who wanted to participate could write about the people in their group and what they decided to do and how great they felt doing it. And we could all link to each other so people could read all our posts and maybe get inspired themselves. It would be the “I care so much for you that I want to make the world a little better” exchange. Or maybe something with fewer words.

The idea is still in ‘rough draft’ form in my head but what do you think? Would your friends be interested? I can think of two different groups of friends I have who might do it. Maybe I could get them both together and do something even bigger! I’m feeling festive already!

For XUP: I found this on one of the “Green” sites I visit and thought of you. Happy Tuesday, my friend!

The weekend in parts

Best part: Law & Order: Criminal Intent marathon. (duh)

Worst part: Missing the wedding of my best friend’s son. It was the first important event in his life that I have missed.

Most relaxing part: Falling back to sleep when the storm came through Sunday morning.

Most stressful part: Nothing! It was the weekend, after all!

Book part: Made it halfway through a memoir by a woman who grew up in Iraq and knew Saddam Hussein as “uncle”. Riveting. Chilling.

Family part: Both my niece and a nephew celebrated their birthdays.

Work part: None! I didn’t even bring home my work laptop!

Question part: Is it time to move from vegetarian to vegan? Can I live without cheese?

Strangest part: When a gaggle of 12-14 year old boys came to my yard Saturday afternoon to hang out and skateboard in my driveway. What?! When did I become the neighborhood Kool-Aid house?

Saddest part: George Carlin passed away Sunday at age 71.

So what part of your weekend stands out?

Friday Five, #49

1. Although it might be easier to believe that “I’m a dork” or “Vincent D’Onofrio” are the #1 and #2 search strings that lead people to this little blog, they are not. The top search string that has garnered me four times the number of hits than any other phrase is “Billy Bob Thornton”. WTH? He has only been mentioned here three times (okay, now four times) whereas Vincent has been mentioned…how many?…eleventy hundred? At least. Is Billy Bob even in the news right now? Why are people constantly looking for him? On Monday alone, 120 people found their way here looking for him. I seriously don’t get it.

2. Well, since I last posted about the flooding, another levee was breeched right at the point where we would have been crossing the river to attend the reception. There are a few bridges still open into Iowa but all entail a few extra hours drive time…so the bride has decided to move the entire wedding to the reception hall in Iowa. Since the wedding is later in the afternoon, she thought everyone could have enough time to find a bridge to cross and make it for the ceremony and then the party can start right after. Probably a good idea. But I won’t be going now.

3. Guess who I met today, almost a year after she moved in? Isabel’s mom! We finally ended up at home and out at the mailboxes at the same time so we chatted for a while. She was upset about a proposal that our Homeowners Association is bringing up for a vote next week and wanted to talk about it. I set her straight on a few misconceptions she had and also gave her a few more facts to chew on before the vote. She seemed very nice but really concerned about the costs of some of the improvements. She’s a single mom without a lot of spare funds so I certainly see her point. I’m glad I talked to her because I really didn’t care one way or the other how things went but now I’ll make sure she isn’t railroaded into something that puts her into a vulnerable financial situation. If we decide that we should implement some of the changes, I will suggest that we offer people a payment plan option, rather than expecting a lump sum payment, as it was communicated. I think people who have it a little easier quickly forget that other people need more warning and additional time to cover unexpected expenses. I’m ashamed of us for not thinking about it.

4. The first day of training was surprisingly fun and interesting. I was afraid that eight hours of sitting in a classroom-type setting would be painful and unbearably long but it wasn’t at all. In fact, 4:30 arrived before I thought it should. I hope this bodes well for my aptitude in this area and I actually enjoy this new role.

5. Speaking of training, one of the women attending this class was a guest at the Center’s volunteer dinner Wednesday night. We spoke briefly at the dinner and I thought, “She’s kinda cool. I wonder if we could be friends?” And then Thursday morning, I was walking into the training room and held the door for the person behind me…and it was her! We said hello and giggled about it being a small world and then sat at different tables. But about a half hour into the day, the instructor decided to rearrange everyone to better suit the exercises he was going to have us do and now we’re sitting at the same table, directly across from each other. Long story short, we’re pals now. Another woman at my table is working with the charitable foundation department of our company (that I so desperately want to work with!) and she and I are trying to figure out if there could be some opportunities coming up where I could get involved with that area. How cool would that be? Maybe I should report this time as networking, rather than training? I’m definitely working it!