Update 2-23-09

Last year around this time I met my girlfriends roommate's best friend Chris. And during our conversation, he mentioned to me that he was a pescetarian. When I asked what that was he explained to me that he does not eat beef, pork or poultry but he ate fish. He claimed he still ate fish because he still really enjoys fish and at the same time feels that maybe killing and eating fish is not as bad as killing and eating a land creature. I found this lifestyle very interesting and appealing. I liked the idea of self control. Training your body to do what YOU want. So I decided to stop eating meat. My reasoning along with the self control factor was because I truly felt that we, as a society don't really need meat in our diets anymore. We are too advanced for that. At the same time I was really questioning my faith. I wondered if eating innocent animals was a sin. Does it upset God or does he even care? Am I looking too far into this? I wasn't really sure.


I also didn't like the idea that all the meat in fast food restaurants are pumped full of preservatives and chemicals. It just seemed very unnatural. It scared me. My decision was made. No one could change my mind at that point. But I did decide to continue to eat fish. I truly loved seafood and fish and I still do. I love it much more than any other type of meat. That was literally my only reason. You can hate me or love me because of that but I don't care either way.


The first few months were a little difficult. One evening while I was at Bonefish Grill in Oakley with my girlfriend Briana, her mother Caren, Briana's Grandmother and Great Aunt; I ordered some Salmon and corn. And man! was it amazing. I was inhaling the corn because it was absolutely delicious. I asked for seconds on the corn. After I received it, Caren happened to say something along the lines of "I think there is bacon in the corn." So I waited until the waitress came back around and I simply asked her if there was "bacon in the corn?" She responded with, "Oh yes! It's great isn't it?"


Wow! That's awesome. Hahaha. Well that was incident one. I wasn't discouraged though. Its understandable that these things would happen. I continued on my diet of PB&J sandwiches on whole wheat bread. Occasionally enjoying a burrito from Chipotle. But after several months of my burrito love affair, I found out that the pinto beans that I always enjoyed were cooked in some type of meat grease or well, something close to that. I was horrified! All those months that I thought were good and pure, went down the drain! I was a upset but still, I didn't lose sleep over it. I decided to put black beans on my burritos from then on. That was the second and last major incident I can think of. I have done very well since then.


Recently I have been trying to save more money for school, a camera and a small vacation to Ventura, California with Briana. My first step in saving money? Pack my lunches for work. This is not hard at all except that my entire family eats deli meat and there really isn't anything else to eat in our house. Plus If I do decide to eat out, its not cheap. I found that the only places to go are Panera, Noodles & Co., McCallisters, and any type of breakfast food restaurant. Eating at these specific locations can be expensive. But If I grab a deli sandwich from a local deli or a burger, I'll generally save a few bucks.


So last week I made a conscious decision to eat a turkey sandwich because I didn't want to go out. And Ill have to tell you, it was pretty good. And a day or two later I had another turkey sandwich and It was also really good. I took it slow because I know some people who didn't eat meat for a long period of time and then got sick when they ate it again. A few days ago I mentioned to Bri that I had a turkey sandwich and she seemed surprised but not upset. I am sure she doesn't really care what I consume, as long as it doesn't kill me or make my farts worse than they already are. I also think that since it has been roughly one year since I stopped, maybe eating meat again isn't a bad thing. I have proven to myself and others that I have self control and I can take things seriously. But I have also shown myself a dedication which I never knew I had and that means a lot to me. So meat is back on the menu for me but I am still not sure If ill eat beef. Beef still scares me. Only time will tell.