And I’m back in SEAsia.. wow talk about a whirlwind holiday. I really could have used a few more days as I didn’t feel I really had much time to slow down and relax. Coming back here this time was a tad different. There are always tears at the airport (I can’t help it) but this time I knew that I only have 6 months left here.. that changes things. And while the future is uncertain, it is also exciting!
The flight back was LOOONG, filled with screaming babies and not helped by the fact that MK’s little tv and mine kept freezing and having to be reset. This was highly frustrating but in the end we both got 50 USD of free Duty Free!
Last night I was about to go to bed but then Jimmy came by for a cup of tea and kept me up a bit later than I meant to stay up. I was okay with it though because it meant that I slept until the right time this morning… I may have beaten jetlag. It was nice to see Jimmy again. He said he missed me over the holidays. We’re both not really in the mood to be back so we’re coming up with fun things to do instead of freaking out!
Over the holidays I read the book Skinny Bitch. It was surprisingly convincing in promoting the vegan lifestyle. I was shocked to find myself even considering it. They spend a great deal of time talking about factory farming and animal cruelty and I found myself horrified at the examples they gave. You must understand that I am not exactly an “animal person” and so to be so thoroughly disgusted surprised me. So now that it’s 2008 I am thinking that I might try out this new vegan thing. The book suggests slowly moving into it by cutting out one thing a week. Ultimately in order to be a skinny bitch one must live on hardly anything.. well nuts, vegetables, legumes, lentils, tofu and fruit. This means no to meat, dairy, (oh no cheese!) caffeine, refined flour and sugar… ahhh! However, I think I want to try it. I do need to read more and make sure that I’m not being stupid about it. This week I am going to cut out meat and order soy lattes and see how that goes. I know I’ll freak out if I cut out everything at once.
My other hesitation, besides saying goodbye to cheese, is the fact that I don’t want to be one of those picky eaters who people hate having over and stress about. I think I’ll keep the whole vegetarian/vegan thing on the down low. Plus I don’t know if I’ll be able to handle it and so don’t want to embarrass myself by telling everyone. And then there is the fact that people get defensive and react when someone does something different.
Other than that, my New Years Resolutions have been pretty low key. Mainly I’m trying to just keep working on mine from last year. I do want to read more books, write more and spend less money. We’ll see how that goes..
I’ve read Skinny Bitch too but I think I lack the motivation to do it – and my canteen at work would no WAY manage that. I’d starve and probably fall off my bike in an exhausted state.
But I absolutely agree with trying to eat more healthy stuff (tofu, veg, lentils, nuts etc) and less rubbish (cakes, biscuits etc). It’s my plan. Let’s see how that goes!
WHOA BACK!
Do your research on soy before you get on that bandwagon. Especially its effect on HORMONES.
If you’re not into the mass market on meat and dairy, why not look for organic and humanely killed alternatives? Yeesh, these Vegans are driving me nuts.
Oh and throw out all your leather shoes, they’re even worse than the steak.
SHIT! I didn’t even think about leather shoes. I’m going to make a lousy vegan.. I can feel it already. If I end up doing this it will have to be very very VERY modified…. and don’t worry DG- I won’t start preaching it! Promise!
Phew, I was worried. But seriously, about the soy, there’s a lot of potential danger to consuming a lot of it so pay attention if you start having strange problems after you drink those lattes