May I have a few -- just a few -- rows to throw a tiny vegan rant out there? Pretty please? :)
I'm usually thoughtful about my posts, but tonight I want to say something that's not elaborate or even thought-provoking. It'd just help me get a huge weight off my chest.
When I first started my vegan diet, I also started experiencing something that I thought would go away in time: people questioning everything I eat. Only it hasn't gone away six months later... and it's starting to wear me out.
When they see me with a scrumptious slice of decadent chocolate cake smothered with whip-cream, "That's not vegan! What is that?! Are you allowed to eat that?" So I explain where I got the cake and what's in it and that it is, in fact, vegan. When they see me with a Yumm Bowl, "Doesn't that have sour cream in it??" No, I asked for it vegan, without cheese or sour cream. "Popcorn?! That's made with butter!" No, if you read the label of this particular bag, it's made with vegetable oil. "A latte?? YOU can drink a latte?" Yes, it's made with soy milk.
This is not on occasion. This is every day. Several times a day.
Unless I'm munchin' on carrots or sprouts, any cooked food I eat is under question.
In a couple of instances, I've had to put down what I was eating and stop eating all together during lunches because people insisted so much that what I was eating was not vegan, that I felt like some sort of criminal that was about to get stoned ... and since it didn't have labels on it, I couldn't prove them wrong.
{The opposite happens if we go out somewhere where they want to eat :) Then they try to convince me that nearly anything on the menu is made without animal products just so I'd eat and they wouldn't feel guilty about eating in front of me while I'm not.}
I really appreciate people looking after me, but I don't understand why this particular diet -- the vegan diet -- gets so much negative attention. Most other people I know are on some kind of diet. Yet, I could never bring myself to say, "Hold it right there. Are those fat-free crackers?" "Hey, is that Coke sugar-free?" "How do you expect to lose weight if you're eating fried chicken?" "Is that the second sandwich you've had today?"
Should I?
Maybe this is people's way of caring for me and I got it all wrong. I could be wrong. But I wish everyone knew that I'm trying to make a difference, not to make anyone else feel bad about their choices. So, please, don't make me feel bad about mine :)
End of rant. Thank you for listening... and for putting up with more than a "few" lines of mine ;)
Hope you're all having a wonderful week!
Vegan with Oral Piercing
Am I actually going to write about this?
I am, yes. And that is because now I realize how unprepared I was when I went in to get my lip pierced, or because some cool discoveries have come out of my subsequent struggle.
Thursday, Sept. 30th we had some pretty fab DJs grace one of our music venues here in Eugene: MiM0SA (California), MartyParty (New York), and EOTO (Colorado). It was an explosive show that brought out Eugene's finest dwellers for a night to remember. (I actually spent most of the night outside, on the street, chatting up friends and strangers alike, because it was too hot and sweaty inside, but this is an entirely different topic; the music was unbelievably good regardless.) It was also the night I got my lower lip pierced. Two hours before the show, I walked into High Priestess knowing it was "now or never." I laid down and grabbed a hold of the black plastic, cushiony chair beneath me. I swallowed, took a deep breath, and next thing I know... two teardrops rolled down my cheeks and a piece of metal was sticking {too far} out of my chin.
Did it hurt?
Yes, yes, it did... and soon after, it hurt even worse. It was somewhat of a good hurt though, as I experienced the longest and most intense adrenaline rush of my life! I consumed no alcohol at the show and still felt dizzy the entire night -- the rush just kept on giving :) I've never been that hyped. It kicked in as soon as he pierced it... I don't even remember most of it because of the rush of blood to the head, as the song goes. Then, I know I acted really jumpy and strange, and the guys working there kept asking me if I want to have a seat and "chill" for a minute. Nooosir, I did not. I was like fire. So they put a box of juice in my hand and sent me on my way. Soon --within 30 minutes -- I understood why the metal was sticking out so much when they first pierced it: that was all the room needed for my lip to swell up. And swollen it was! I went straight home and turned my house upside-down in search for anti-inflammatories. Lots of Romanian curse words ensued. Popped in a couple, dropped a ridiculous outfit on, and headed out the door... with some extra anti-inflammatories in my purse.
Good show, good people, but when it was over, I was ready for my usual post-going-out ritual: warm food and slumber. Sat down with a nice bowl of beans, rice, lettuce, tomatoes, and guacamole... put a fork-full of food in my mouth... then froze.
OUCH.
Did it not register with me that I have a metal poking through a fresh wound in my mouth before I attempted to put all those poking ingredients in my mouth? I guess that's part of the things I don't remember soon after I got the piercing. I know they were saying what *not* to do/eat in the first 2 weeks, to avoid... something-something.... something-something. Wait... TWO WEEKS?!
That was the grim realization that awaited me the next morning, when I woke up to a growling empty stomach and a very swollen, very painful lip.
So then the search began for comfort foods and, let me tell you, it was all trial and error. It still is. The fact that I'm vegan hasn't simplified the search at all, but it has definitely helped with my healing (less to digest leaves more energy for my body to heal). Things that have worked wonders for me:
-avocados (mashed)
-bananas (mashed)
-peaches (canned and chopped)
-apple sauce (chilled)
-hummus (plain)
-coconut milk yogurt
-coconut milk ice cream
-coconut water (chilled)
-filtered water (iced)
-ice chips
-carrot juice (no pulp)
-chocolate mousse
-chocolate pudding
-vegan cheesecake (I love you, Sweet Life)
-Annie's Homegrown Chocolate Bunny Crackers
Things that are painful:
-citrus fruits (strawberries, orange juice, etc.)
-smoothies (they sound good, but they can be weird if they leave kind of a "film" in your mouth)
-chocolate (you know I had to eat it anyway...)
-Rock Star drinks
-gum
-anything that requires chewing or that can get stuck in your gums
By mashing the foods, I cut the chewing in half. Chewing is the last thing I want to be doing with a fresh oral piercing, I quickly learned. Anything chilled or frozen felt really good on the swollen madness in my mouth. I've had to drink twice the amount of water I usually drink because my mouth and lips are constantly dry -- so liquids are also a relief. Carrot juice is good because it's rich in vitamin A, but it's not too acidic, like Orange juice would be, to hurt the wound. Annie's crackers were great because they just melt in your mouth, and that particular variety is vegan, too.
I'm glad I got this piercing done because now I'll stop wondering, "What if...," but it's been more intense than I expected. On the other hand, several people I usually see every day mentioned nothing of it when they first saw my piercing. It wasn't until hours later that they said, "Wait, did you just get that? When I first saw you today, I thought that it's always been there!"
And that's what I call a successful piercing or tattoo: something that looks like it belongs on you, like it's always been there :)
In the end, I leave you with a beautiful song and music video from the Dandy Warhols. I got to meet them last night at their performance in Portland (Thank you, Brandi!) and I'm still feeling eerie from the experience. The song is called "Godless" and I think it feels just like I feel right now: content to be with myself.
I am, yes. And that is because now I realize how unprepared I was when I went in to get my lip pierced, or because some cool discoveries have come out of my subsequent struggle.
Thursday, Sept. 30th we had some pretty fab DJs grace one of our music venues here in Eugene: MiM0SA (California), MartyParty (New York), and EOTO (Colorado). It was an explosive show that brought out Eugene's finest dwellers for a night to remember. (I actually spent most of the night outside, on the street, chatting up friends and strangers alike, because it was too hot and sweaty inside, but this is an entirely different topic; the music was unbelievably good regardless.) It was also the night I got my lower lip pierced. Two hours before the show, I walked into High Priestess knowing it was "now or never." I laid down and grabbed a hold of the black plastic, cushiony chair beneath me. I swallowed, took a deep breath, and next thing I know... two teardrops rolled down my cheeks and a piece of metal was sticking {too far} out of my chin.
Did it hurt?
Yes, yes, it did... and soon after, it hurt even worse. It was somewhat of a good hurt though, as I experienced the longest and most intense adrenaline rush of my life! I consumed no alcohol at the show and still felt dizzy the entire night -- the rush just kept on giving :) I've never been that hyped. It kicked in as soon as he pierced it... I don't even remember most of it because of the rush of blood to the head, as the song goes. Then, I know I acted really jumpy and strange, and the guys working there kept asking me if I want to have a seat and "chill" for a minute. Nooosir, I did not. I was like fire. So they put a box of juice in my hand and sent me on my way. Soon --within 30 minutes -- I understood why the metal was sticking out so much when they first pierced it: that was all the room needed for my lip to swell up. And swollen it was! I went straight home and turned my house upside-down in search for anti-inflammatories. Lots of Romanian curse words ensued. Popped in a couple, dropped a ridiculous outfit on, and headed out the door... with some extra anti-inflammatories in my purse.
Good show, good people, but when it was over, I was ready for my usual post-going-out ritual: warm food and slumber. Sat down with a nice bowl of beans, rice, lettuce, tomatoes, and guacamole... put a fork-full of food in my mouth... then froze.
OUCH.
Did it not register with me that I have a metal poking through a fresh wound in my mouth before I attempted to put all those poking ingredients in my mouth? I guess that's part of the things I don't remember soon after I got the piercing. I know they were saying what *not* to do/eat in the first 2 weeks, to avoid... something-something.... something-something. Wait... TWO WEEKS?!
That was the grim realization that awaited me the next morning, when I woke up to a growling empty stomach and a very swollen, very painful lip.
So then the search began for comfort foods and, let me tell you, it was all trial and error. It still is. The fact that I'm vegan hasn't simplified the search at all, but it has definitely helped with my healing (less to digest leaves more energy for my body to heal). Things that have worked wonders for me:
-avocados (mashed)
-bananas (mashed)
-peaches (canned and chopped)
-apple sauce (chilled)
-hummus (plain)
-coconut milk yogurt
-coconut milk ice cream
-coconut water (chilled)
-filtered water (iced)
-ice chips
-carrot juice (no pulp)
-chocolate mousse
-chocolate pudding
-vegan cheesecake (I love you, Sweet Life)
-Annie's Homegrown Chocolate Bunny Crackers
Things that are painful:
-citrus fruits (strawberries, orange juice, etc.)
-smoothies (they sound good, but they can be weird if they leave kind of a "film" in your mouth)
-chocolate (you know I had to eat it anyway...)
-Rock Star drinks
-gum
-anything that requires chewing or that can get stuck in your gums
By mashing the foods, I cut the chewing in half. Chewing is the last thing I want to be doing with a fresh oral piercing, I quickly learned. Anything chilled or frozen felt really good on the swollen madness in my mouth. I've had to drink twice the amount of water I usually drink because my mouth and lips are constantly dry -- so liquids are also a relief. Carrot juice is good because it's rich in vitamin A, but it's not too acidic, like Orange juice would be, to hurt the wound. Annie's crackers were great because they just melt in your mouth, and that particular variety is vegan, too.
I'm glad I got this piercing done because now I'll stop wondering, "What if...," but it's been more intense than I expected. On the other hand, several people I usually see every day mentioned nothing of it when they first saw my piercing. It wasn't until hours later that they said, "Wait, did you just get that? When I first saw you today, I thought that it's always been there!"
And that's what I call a successful piercing or tattoo: something that looks like it belongs on you, like it's always been there :)
In the end, I leave you with a beautiful song and music video from the Dandy Warhols. I got to meet them last night at their performance in Portland (Thank you, Brandi!) and I'm still feeling eerie from the experience. The song is called "Godless" and I think it feels just like I feel right now: content to be with myself.
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