One Shake at a Time

It was a Friday night during my freshman year of college. A girl from my dorm and I were working on the "shake side" of our school pub and grill. There was some huge event that just let out right as we got to work and ticket after ticket kept wrrring from the teeny printer. We'd rip them off and shove them, crammed, onto the order line.

Making a milkshake involved a seven-step process. 1. Dip seven scoops of ice cream into the metal cup. 2. Walk to the grill side and add a little milk from the cow. 3. Add requested toppings. 4. Using a machine, forcefully blend everything in the cup. 5. Empty the ice cream into a paper cup. 6. Add a spoon. 7. Rinse the mug immediately. Start to finish each shake was about five minutes of work.

There were two of us and around fifty shake orders fifteen minutes into our shift. They kept coming. I kept racking up math. 25 shakes times five minutes per shake divided by two people plus five shakes times five minutes divided by two...I worried. And then I stopped worrying. There was literally nothing I could do to speed up the process. My coworker was audibly squeaking and hemming. She was rushing. But so what if you crumble a Reese's cup in 20 seconds instead of 40? You can hastily slosh the water in the mug, but then it's kind of slimy and you just have to go back and do it again when you need a new cup.

We would not finish the work cut out for us. People would wait an hour for a milkshake. But guess what? Oh well. I didn't slack, but I worked at a steady, relaxed pace. I was paid by the hour (I think $6.25). I did what I could do. I probably even sang quietly along to the Top 40 radio.

Freal Happy Post! (No Vegetarian Rants)

Chances are, if you saw me any time between December 20th and 31st I was dropping some kind of candy or baked good into my mouth and announcing, "YOLO DIET STARTS IN 2014."

And then for dinner on New Year's Day I had Portillos. #KM

Chocolate cake shake & french fries. Emoji heart eyes.

But, guess what, you guys? It's been a week. And I have eaten no desserts. This is probably normal for most humans, but for me it's like...the equivalent of the 1969 moon landing for my fitness. Cookies is a food group to me? Let's...also be clear when I say "diet" I mean "eat whatever I want except donuts." I'm currently in marathon training, so, like, I shouldn't have popcorn for lunch anymore?

It's so funny when you start to eat sincerely healthy again. You're like, "This tastes so good and I feel so good. Why don't I always do this?" And I think that's true of all things we know are good for us. So,  let's just do the things we know to be good! And stop doing the things we know to be bad! Come on, guys. We've been doing this for years.

Tell Me What You Thought About

Today was a solstice day:

-Silent study before sunrise. Lamplit.
-A great ep of Modern Family fuels my workout (Haley + that loser).
-Methods of Teaching Theatre class includes improvisation exercises.
-No students during Office Hours so I grade in the sun.
-Gabbing with Boulder in the far corner of Screenwriting lecture.
-We are short-staffed at work, and I manage everything/one, which is a little hairy, but makes me feel empowered like a pebble might feel empowered. As I clock out, my boss says, "Super Woman" and I pose.
-Many a giggle in the TA office with Hill and Blink.
-Blink, fellow Ethics TA, is loopy and threatens to play the "Thong Song" as students stroll in.
-I get a text telling me to take a bathroom break during the screening portion of class. I walk outside to find Hill and Bisque who present me with a vegan milkshake. And I eat it all! And I am being paid to do this!
-Ethiopian date with Shellz. Big ideas, memories of Sid, lentils.
-Work date with Bug! But we soon realize, we would not work. We would just have Bug + Alice times, and while wonderful, we cannot do such things tonight. Not tonight when I'm trying to ask for thousands of dollars. (Scholarship apps are due tomorrow.) But, we reschedule. That's an important thing--to reschedule.

A certain Kate Moss quote is coming to mind.

Another Vegan Month Over

My annual vegan month closed out on Monday. Last year Vegan April was a struggle for me. I found myself fantasizing about non-vegan snacks a LOT--snacks that I didn't even eat frequently.

On my drive to 25th Annual...Spelling Bee rehearsal, I passed a huge strip of fast food places, and I remember thinking, "I want a milkshake from every one of these chains. I swear to all that is dairy, I am living a deleted scene of The Odyssey."

But this month, I was actually so cozy in Vegan April, I honestly forgot about it. Notes on the experience:

1. This year, I've been mostly vegan, so most of my meals didn't change. I have huge thanks to give to peanut butter tortillas, Taco Bell bean burritos, Ethiopian food, and hummus.
2. I now have two vegan friends and a collection of sympathetic vegetarians. People are not just tolerant of my veganness--they consider it when we make plans, make food. It's not just about your ethical eating choices--you influence an entire community.
3. I continue to be interested in freeganing, but it's really not my favorite. I find when I freegan, I am less satisfied with meals since it's little bits here and there instead of something whole and satisfying.
4. Unlike previous years, I had access to vegan ice cream--which is huge.
5. I cheated twice.
     A. I made up my mind to eat a milk chocolate bunny for Easter. It was a gift, so it's not like I bought it, but if I hadn't eaten it in April, I would have eaten it in May, so I felt confident in my choice to nom it.
     B. Last week, I had an insane craving for french fries and a milkshake. I was working an twelve hour shift, and I could not imagine any other dinner. I decided to enjoy the crave and vowed to do a vegan makeup in May (maybe a cop-out since many of my days are vegan). I don't think this is that bad either. I told someone about this, and she said, "See? What if I were a vegetarian except I ate meat just once a month!?" And I said, "That would be awesome." Because it would. It's about doing the best you can. But REALLY doing the best you can. It was a conscious choice that I considered for literally hours when I cheated--if everyone took that much respect to the foods we eat, we'd live in a much better world.
6. I continue to respect veganism, but there are a few things that hold me back from the full commitment:
     A. It's very hard for me to pass up baked goods other people make, but, I did it all month, so not that hard. What I think is actually worse is that the sweets I eat are worse than if I just ate non-vegan dessert. IE I will eat literally 30 Oreos in a sitting, when I'd be much more satisfied with 1 non-vegan brownie.
     B. I only like non-vegan salad dressing, and it seems counter-productive to my health to give up salads in the name of veganism.
7. I've lost most interest in milk, most cheese (besides pizza), and while I like eggs, I'm sane about losing them.
8. If you are reading this, please consider how you can change just one thing in your diet temporarily. You will probably find it can be permanent--or at least, a rarity.

LDCAT

Golden Hearts. Germany. June 2011.

Saturday night is Trivia Night apparently. There's a standing date for people in the MFA program to go to this local bar/grill and kick butt at the weekly trivia contest. I decided to go this past weekend. We got second place! But that's not the point of this blog entry. The point:

Festivities start around 8:30, so at 8:15 I was pedaling down a commercial street just off the main hub of weekend nightlife. I was passing closed cleaners and dark bike shops, and then, I passed a Wendy's. It was empty besides a couple sitting in the big glass window. The guy had his arm around the gal, and they were laughing laughs I could not hear. A large yellow Frosty cup sat in front of them. Two spoons sticking out.

THIS IS TRUE LOVE, PEOPLE!

Please note, MY IDEA OF A PERFECT SATURDAY NIGHT IS A MILKSHAKE. If you look up "cheap date" in the dictionary, you find my picture. A picture of me going on my honeymoon to Baskin Robbins.

Think you gotta keep me iced, you don't.
Think I'm gonna spend your cash, I won't.
Even if you were broke, my love don't cost a thing.

Small Act of Love for Our Earth

Last Month. Hello Northern Michigan.

Just purchased a chocolate cherry cheesecake milkshake at the cafe I am currently sitting in. Right before the barista went to make it, she dropped the plastic cup on the ground. She reached for a new one, so I said, "Oh, use it anyway."

When I look down I miss all the good stuff, and when I look up I just trip over things.