Vegetarianism, high heels, Whip It! and SHAMWOW 20QUESTIONS (in 4 parts for your convenience)
Part 1: Vegetarianism
Some folks probably picked up on it, but I've been vegetarian for about 3 months. I don't have an ethical objection to eating meat, but it started when a friend challenged me because I was giving her a hard time about not letting me pull over to help a lost dog. I went on about how that was someone's pet in distress, and besides which, as humans we have a duty of care to animals in need. She (justifiably) called me on my preaching: how could I be so passionate about the welfare about this particular animal, and yet have no regard for the animals I eat?
Having it implied that I'm a hypocrite is one of the worst things I can imagine, and despite the fact that this friend isn't a vegetarian, she had a fair point. Factory-farmed meat doesn't exactly provide quality of life for the animals in the system. It wasn't like I ate a great deal of meat in the first place, so I vowed to give it the best shot I could, and if it was plausible, stick with it.
I've been taking regular supplements and regular blood tests, but it's really, really taxing. Finding non-meat alternatives is a lot easier than I initially thought (thought having to admit my veggie-habits to my mum was quite the experience. She believes very strongly in the virtues of eating meat. In her words, 'I raised you to be intelligent, not silly'), but it's so hard to get enough protein into my diet, meaning I'm living mostly off carbs, which burn too fast and leave me exhausted. My concern is that it may be affecting my quality of work, and that's not something I can cope with. But after living without meat, even for such a short time, the idea of going back seems foreign. I actually had a nightmare where I ordered a meat dish in a restaurant by mistake, and made a huge scene crying over it. zedstar really described the feeling best to me years ago:
Some creatures need meat to survive. I'm not one of those. If I can live without eating meat, why would I choose to?
I was at a work conference recently, and as a lame team-building activity, we cooked a banquet together. I got landed with the job of peeling the prawns. As I was pulling them apart, the lights kept catching on their colourful reflective tails. It struck me what a natural beauty they are. Then immediately into my head came this voice: '... then why on earth are we eating them?' Now it's not so much a matter of 'Will I have the chicken, or will I take the vegetarian option?', but more like 'If I pick the chicken, am I honestly saying that my lunch is so important that I absolutely need something to die for it?'
It's a difficult line of thinking. My body desperately craves iron, and protein, and probably even fat, but the decision of what to eat has become so much more complicated.
Part 2: High Heels
I've been bitching to work colleagues about being treated differently from other girls on the team in my line of work. It's a stupid standard, and not something I aspire to, but the truth is, pretty girls often get further in this role. Doctors like talking to attractive women. When I don a pantsuit (as is my preference), I look pretty mannish, and even the clinic staff tend to switch off to me. It's a bit of a running joke on the team, but in reality, it did seem to be holding me back. I don't think I have a right to complain about something I haven't even tried to improve, so I've been making an effort to wear more skirts/stockings. Paired with the uniform-like high heels, it's a big step for me, but it does receive a warmer welcome in clinics when staff can see I'm a girl. The other day I was amused/horrified to find a note tucked under my windshield wiper with a rather direct compliment about my looks and a phone number. Not quite what I was going for; where does that leave my sense of professionalism? I am educated, I'd like to think I'm intelligent, yet aiming to be eye-candy seems to yield better results. Disappointing. The whole compliment-part was completely lost the following evening when a gentleman guessed my (attractive) coworker to be 21 years old, and me to be 33. Firstly, assuming he's doing what most people do and guessing a good five years below his instinct, apparently I look middle-aged. Secondly, my coworker and I are THE SAME AGE. He then insisted on buying us drinks to apologise. I hate people trying to pay for me. Dig up, stupid!
Part 3: Whip It!
First trailer for the upcoming rollerderby movie (starring Ellen Page) has been released!
Part 4: Twenty Questions. This is freakishly accurate
http://www.20q.net/
If you're a good nerd, you've probably already seen this, but it's a program that allows you to play 20 questions against an AI. Sometimes the actual questions it asks seem ridiculous and useless, but dead-set, this thing is AMAZING with its guesses. I've only played a handful of times, but it's been right every time thus far, including:
parsley
tissue
shoelace
hydrogen peroxide (bleach)
dream
memory
Try to trick it. Let me know if you succeed. It's darn good though.
Some folks probably picked up on it, but I've been vegetarian for about 3 months. I don't have an ethical objection to eating meat, but it started when a friend challenged me because I was giving her a hard time about not letting me pull over to help a lost dog. I went on about how that was someone's pet in distress, and besides which, as humans we have a duty of care to animals in need. She (justifiably) called me on my preaching: how could I be so passionate about the welfare about this particular animal, and yet have no regard for the animals I eat?
Having it implied that I'm a hypocrite is one of the worst things I can imagine, and despite the fact that this friend isn't a vegetarian, she had a fair point. Factory-farmed meat doesn't exactly provide quality of life for the animals in the system. It wasn't like I ate a great deal of meat in the first place, so I vowed to give it the best shot I could, and if it was plausible, stick with it.
I've been taking regular supplements and regular blood tests, but it's really, really taxing. Finding non-meat alternatives is a lot easier than I initially thought (thought having to admit my veggie-habits to my mum was quite the experience. She believes very strongly in the virtues of eating meat. In her words, 'I raised you to be intelligent, not silly'), but it's so hard to get enough protein into my diet, meaning I'm living mostly off carbs, which burn too fast and leave me exhausted. My concern is that it may be affecting my quality of work, and that's not something I can cope with. But after living without meat, even for such a short time, the idea of going back seems foreign. I actually had a nightmare where I ordered a meat dish in a restaurant by mistake, and made a huge scene crying over it. zedstar really described the feeling best to me years ago:
Some creatures need meat to survive. I'm not one of those. If I can live without eating meat, why would I choose to?
I was at a work conference recently, and as a lame team-building activity, we cooked a banquet together. I got landed with the job of peeling the prawns. As I was pulling them apart, the lights kept catching on their colourful reflective tails. It struck me what a natural beauty they are. Then immediately into my head came this voice: '... then why on earth are we eating them?' Now it's not so much a matter of 'Will I have the chicken, or will I take the vegetarian option?', but more like 'If I pick the chicken, am I honestly saying that my lunch is so important that I absolutely need something to die for it?'
It's a difficult line of thinking. My body desperately craves iron, and protein, and probably even fat, but the decision of what to eat has become so much more complicated.
Part 2: High Heels
I've been bitching to work colleagues about being treated differently from other girls on the team in my line of work. It's a stupid standard, and not something I aspire to, but the truth is, pretty girls often get further in this role. Doctors like talking to attractive women. When I don a pantsuit (as is my preference), I look pretty mannish, and even the clinic staff tend to switch off to me. It's a bit of a running joke on the team, but in reality, it did seem to be holding me back. I don't think I have a right to complain about something I haven't even tried to improve, so I've been making an effort to wear more skirts/stockings. Paired with the uniform-like high heels, it's a big step for me, but it does receive a warmer welcome in clinics when staff can see I'm a girl. The other day I was amused/horrified to find a note tucked under my windshield wiper with a rather direct compliment about my looks and a phone number. Not quite what I was going for; where does that leave my sense of professionalism? I am educated, I'd like to think I'm intelligent, yet aiming to be eye-candy seems to yield better results. Disappointing. The whole compliment-part was completely lost the following evening when a gentleman guessed my (attractive) coworker to be 21 years old, and me to be 33. Firstly, assuming he's doing what most people do and guessing a good five years below his instinct, apparently I look middle-aged. Secondly, my coworker and I are THE SAME AGE. He then insisted on buying us drinks to apologise. I hate people trying to pay for me. Dig up, stupid!
Part 3: Whip It!
First trailer for the upcoming rollerderby movie (starring Ellen Page) has been released!
Click to viewPart 4: Twenty Questions. This is freakishly accurate
http://www.20q.net/
If you're a good nerd, you've probably already seen this, but it's a program that allows you to play 20 questions against an AI. Sometimes the actual questions it asks seem ridiculous and useless, but dead-set, this thing is AMAZING with its guesses. I've only played a handful of times, but it's been right every time thus far, including:
parsley
tissue
shoelace
hydrogen peroxide (bleach)
dream
memory
Try to trick it. Let me know if you succeed. It's darn good though.