Write 31 Days

It’s a Meatless Monday

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A few years ago, I became a mostly vegetarian…for a few months  (only my medications would not have been considered vegetarian.)  It was not a huge leap as the religion I grew up in is vegetarian/vegan.  {My family was not, but school and church 100% no meat]. So it was a little leap to adopt vegetarianism but it was a HUGE learning experience. There are many types of vegetarians.  Did you know being vegetarian is at times considered the same as being a meat eater? Only 100% vegan will do! I didn’t realize how much vitriol was lurking in this area of life until those few months.  And I couldn’t abide it.  What you eat is not my business…neither is what I eat yours. I will not judge anyone for what they do and do not eat.

Anyway, by the end I was so ill, I couldn’t keep it up.  If this is a lifestyle you are going to consider please do not do what I did and just jump in.  I thought that because I was familiar with it, I would be able to do it. Not the case! Please have a plan.  Be sure to replace the protein and vitamins you will be walking away from.  I did not do this, and since I’m not a fan of beans and protein shakes were not on my radar at the time. I had a huge hole in my diet.  Anyway, If I ever  pick it up again, I hope to go about it more sensibly. Let’s celebrate a Meatless Monday with a cute non meat eater, a cartoon non meat eater My Almost Vegetarian blog which I still add a post to every now and then and PETA.

5 Vegan Smoothie Recipes

Vegan at Taco Bell!

Tastes Like Chicken

Too hot for the stove? Cool Vegan Recipes

Vegan Burgers that will Blow Your Mind

Reflections on Jhumpa Lahiri’s New Book

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happinessisMy favorite author released her first non-fiction book last week.  It is also the first time she has written a book in any other language besides English.  She describes her love affair with Italian. Part of me was curious about the book, part of me was not, but I knew that if I were still myself – the curiosity would win out, and it did.  I listened to Lahiri’s book on Sunday.
Why they have released In Other Words as a book, I’m not sure.  It really read to me, more like a log – a diary.  An, I’m undertaking a really difficult task and I want to remember how hard it was collection of reflections. When I first started to write, I used to set aside time and keep a log in addition to whatever I wrote. The really read like a log book.

The reason why I was able to finish it on Sunday is because half of the book is in Italian.  And while it is beautiful to listen to – I don’t understand a word.
I think she could have made a contract with the New Yorker for a  5 – 10 article series and been ok, but I also think she really wanted to be able to say – I wrote a book in Italian!  And she did.  This is from my goodreads review –
If you’re a language teacher (which I used to be), I think you’ll be able to glean from it (and I did). If you are also a student of Italian or any other language, you’ll be able to relate on some counts, if you’re a fan, you might be a little torn as there is only one story and just a few personal anecdotes, but you might like it anyway. It is very well written.

I respect Lahiri, I’m glad she accomplished something she wanted to, and I’m glad to see how loving a language can change and inspire you. I miss her stories though. Temporary Matter, here I come…

Burger

/ MRY / 2 Comments

You know the drill 🙂
bigburger
#64 – My name was changed by my classmates
When I was in 2nd grade, a popular show at the time featured a song about a hamburger. It just so happened that the name of the burger was the first part of my own name, and thus became my nickname.
The memorization skills of children are amazing, and so the next day as a form of teasing the Maxie’s Hamburger song was on everyone’s lips. It was also the song for the day after that, and the one after that too. It eventually died out, but for the next six years, I was still called Maxi*burger by my 2nd grade classmates. For some that was too long and they would just call me “burger”.

True Story.

I was not offended, actually, I think you haven’t lived until you’ve been called an item of food for 6 years. It became a term of endearment. You know what strikes me?  Only my 2nd grade classmates would be able to share in this memory. No one else ever called me Burger, but them.  The fact that I still remember all of the words to that hamburger song, should embarrass me.

 

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