Comments (17)

By kilax, December 8, 2009 5:32 am

Do you ever get it in your mind that you ABSOLUTELY have to do something, and that is all you can think about, obsessively, until you’ve done it?

This is not necessarily a good thing. It’s compulsive.

com-pul-sion: Psychology. a strong, usually irresistible impulse to perform an act, esp. one that is irrational or contrary to one’s will.

If my photo were next to a definition in the dictionary, I fear it would be that one. I sometimes think compulsion is the cause of many of my actions. A few examples:

• When I found out Foer was speaking in Chicago, it was all I could think about for hours while I figured out the logistics. I was stressed out about it at work, when I should have been focused.
• I missed 1.5 miles of my Thursday run and thought obsessively about fitting it in last Friday, when really, I needed to rest my legs*. I didn’t run the 1.5 miles, thankfully.
• This post. I wrote it on my exercise sheet while I was doing my strength routine last Friday. It was all I could think about. Even when writing it (last night on the airplane) I closed the lid of my computer for take-off, but thought of something to write and had to open it back up.
• I had it in my mind that I was going to make certain dishes for my family when they visited. Apparently my mother had a few dishes in mind too? (Hence the Similarities and Differences post – I think we are both like this.)
• I couldn’t get it out of my mind that I had to get our holiday tree last weekend before “all the good ones were gone.” Luckily, Steven humored me on this one and we picked out our tree on Saturday (free delivery to the house on Sunday!).
• I won’t even go into how this affects my relationship with food!

What is all of this about? Why do I obsessively think and plan things? I sometimes think it is because I am afraid of missing out on events and afraid of forgetting thoughts I have. AND, I just get so excited and pumped about things, I want to get them out there while they are fresh!

But it makes it hard for me to focus. I have all of these thoughts swirling around in my brain. I feel like I have to get certain things done right away. I am agitated if I don’t.

Part of me enjoys the rush that I create for myself. The realistic part of me knows it’s a problem.

I’m hoping someone can relate? It’s one of those things where I feel like “Boo-hoo, I’m the only one” but I can’t be… right?

(Note, while I was finishing writing this, I got another blog idea in my head and had to open a new tab to start typing that out).

*Related, have you read the article titled “Your Better Half” in the January 2010 issue of Runner’s World? Great article. It’s about turning your inner critic into your biggest fan. I paid close attention to the little part about taking a day off when you don’t want to.

Comments (19)

By kilax, December 7, 2009 3:52 pm

Hi everyone. I had to re-post this because something was wrong with it the first time. I didn’t know – I’ve been in Detroit all day and am currently trying to leave… my flight is delayed and I am frustrated.

Thank you to everyone who notified me of the issue!

Winner announced at the bottom! But first, I wanted to ask for some input…

I overhead an interesting conversation in the gym Friday, regarding the Blood Type Diet. Three people were using treadmills, and the guy in the middle was essentially preaching about it to the other two. I am not sure how it came up (meaning, I doubt they asked, he sounded pushy) but he was explaining how he thinks that is the diet everyone should follow.

I only heard bits and pieces of what he was saying, but I did catch that he was telling the woman that she should not eat tomatoes (he asked her if she liked them, and when she said yes, he said, “but do they like YOU?”), and should eat ground beef instead of steak. Hmm.

So was this guy crazy? What is this diet? I briefly looked at the official website and the wikipedia page. The theory is that there is a specific diet you should follow based on your blood type. Here’s the breakdown of blood types from the wikipedia page:

• Blood group O is believed by D’Adamo to be the hunter, the earliest human blood group. The diet recommends that this blood group eat a higher protein diet. D’Adamo bases this on the belief that O blood type was the first blood type, originating 30,000 years ago.
• Blood group A is called the cultivator by D’Adamo, who believes it to be a more recently evolved blood type, dating back from the dawn of agriculture, 20,000 years ago. The diet recommends that individuals of blood group A eat a diet emphasizing vegetables and free of red meat, a more vegetarian food intake.
• Blood group B is, according to D’Adamo, the nomad, associated with a strong immune system and a flexible digestive system. The blood type diet claims that people of blood type B are the only ones who can thrive on dairy products and estimates blood type B arrived 10,000 years ago.
• Blood group AB, according to D’Adamo, the enigma, the most recently evolved type, arriving less than 1000 years ago. In terms of dietary needs, his blood type diet treats this group as an intermediate between blood types A and B.

The wikipedia page also covers some of the scientific criticism of the theory (research evidence, blood type evolution issues, etc.). Interestingly enough, I am blood type A+, which according to above, adheres to a (mostly) vegetarian diet.

But, really? This just sounds like another fad diet to me!

Have you heard of the Blood Type Diet or read the book? What do you think about it?

What is your blood type? Does the description above describe a diet you think would make you feel your best?

I let Data choose!

Just kidding! Steven drew the name. And the winner is…

VICKI!

Congratulations, Vicki! Please send me your address and I’ll send the signed copy of Eating Animals your way. I hope you share your thoughts on the book with us all.

I really want to thank everyone who entered the contest. I wish I had enough copies of the book to give one to everyone, because I think it’s a great read. See if your library has a copy! And do continue to share your thoughts on the topic!

I have fun doing these giveaways. I hope I can do more in the future.

Comments (29)

By kilax, November 30, 2009 5:11 am

When Steven and I attended Jonathan Safran Foer’s reading and discussion of Eating Animals we had him personally sign our copy of the book! How exciting! The only time I have ever had an author sign a book before this was when Frank Warren signed my copy of The Secret Lives of Men and Women (I also had him sign a book for my sister) – I have since lost interest in Post Secret. Ha ha.

Anyway, guess what?! I brought an extra copy of the book and had Foer sign it as well – so I can give it away to one of you lucky readers!

This book has been getting an amazing amount of press. I think part of the reason is because Foer delivers the message – that we need to start discussing whether it’s right or wrong to treat animals (for human consumption) the way they are being treated – in such a gentle, non-judgmental manner. You don’t feel put off reading this book – you feel intrigued to read more. Yes, there are some disturbing statistics, but they are not blared in your face. They’re just discussed as what they are – statistics.

A pescatarian coworker came with me to Foer’s reading. She hadn’t read the book yet, but started to right after the reading ended. When I saw her the next week, she told me she had finished most of the book and there was no way she could eat animals products every again. I was really surprised by the effect the book had on her. I didn’t feel like it pushed a vegan, or even much of a vegetarian agenda. But, Natalie Portman said Eating Animals turned her vegan as well. I’m just so surprised by the profound effect of this book!

Now, I don’t expect you to become vegetarian or vegan if you read it! I just expect you to think about it! I would love to hear what anyone else thinks of the book.

And on to the nitty gritty…

Contest Rules:

1. To enter the contest, simply leave a comment below telling me why you want to read this book. Again, you can check out my review of it here.
2. To get an extra entry, link to the giveaway in your blog, and leave me another comment linking to your post.
3. This contest is open until 5:00 PM CST on Sunday, December 6th. I will probably use the old “name out of a hat” drawing to select a winner on Sunday evening, or the Random Integer Generator. I will announce the winner on Monday, December 7th.
4. This contest is open to readers everywhere.

Comments (11)

By kilax, November 19, 2009 4:30 am

I finished reading Eating Animals a few days before last night’s reading of it by the author, Jonathan Safran Foer. Woo-hoo! It was stimulating to read a new book, and to listen to the author speak.

Eating Animals Review:

Overall, I found the book to be a gentle and easy read (despite all of the words I had to look up – I need to work on my vocabulary). I was surprised by it though. So many of the reviews I read of it made me think it would be this revolutionary, in-your-face expose pushing veganism. It truly wasn’t. Yes, it did expose gruesome details of the factory farming industry, but what it really did was encourage starting a dialogue to discuss eating animals. And it did it in a gentle way, hence the use of the word above. There was no unnecessary shock in his writing – just the shock of the statistics themselves.

Foer writes in a very relateable manner, telling stories of his childhood that most of us can probably relate to – I know I can. He begins by talking about the stories we tell about food, and how we justify eating the way we do. He goes on to do interviews of some of the more humane animals farmers. He talks about how their processes are much less cruel than those on factory farms, but how they also have their flaws (and are not extremely profitable).

In the end, Foer is just asking people to think about the suffering imposed on factory farmed animals, and to take a stand against it. He encourages vegetarianism, not because he thinks it is wrong to eat animals (that is the impression I got) but because he thinks it is wrong to make animals suffer so much so that we can eat them.

There is a lot more I could say, and I definitely took A LOT of notes, but I will leave it at that for now. I encourage you to pick up a copy of the book. It may be an eye-opener for you! I was familiar with a lot of what he was saying, but it also gave me a lot of food for thought.

Eating Animals Reading:

Yay for small blurry pics… not.

Foer’s reading and discussion enforced my review of the book – he mentioned that he doesn’t think the discussion should be about whether or not it’s right or wrong to eat animals, but whether it’s right or wrong to eat animals the way we’re eating animals. He mentioned a few times that he loves the way meat tastes – but there’s things he loves more. There are things he finds more important.

He reiterated that he want to get the discussion flowing – he wants to start a conversation. I wish there would have been more time to start conversations with the audience! The whole program was about an hour, with questions in the last half. I could tell the audience was very diverse. There were actually a few agriculture people there. One of them told Foer he was impressed with the book and thinks he got it right (This guy said he thinks the meat business is going to change drastically, because it is not sustainable, and that in 20 years, eating a hamburger will be like smoking a cigarette). Foer said he’s been getting a lot of great feedback from farmers. So it seems like it’s working – the conversation has started.

Again, there are so many great points I would love to share with you, but I’m not sure they’ll make any sense, and Foer explains them better than me. I’ve never been very good at explaining things (but let me know if you want to hear more!).

Again, I encourage you to pick up a copy of the book!

Side Note: Don’t forget to enter my Homemade Holiday Sweets Giveaway!

Comments (38)

By kilax, November 16, 2009 5:13 am

What a crazy busy week we have ahead of us:

• On Wednesday, I have to give a very important presentation at work which will determine whether or not I get a raise! Steven and I are also going to the Eating Animals Reading on that day AND my sister and her friend are staying at our house Wednesday night.
• On Thursday, I am driving my sister and her friend to the airport at 5:30 am. Then, Steven and I are attending the Chicago Construction Expo all day. Then (!), my mom, dad and grandma are arriving for the weekend.
• On Friday, my mom, grandma and I are going to Chicago to do some window shopping on State Street and Michigan Avenue.
• On Saturday, we are BAKING all day long.
• On Sunday, I will take my grandma and mom to church, then they will head home… and I will promptly collapse!

And that’s not to mention all of the prep work we’ve done these past few weeks, this weekend and today and tomorrow – painting, cleaning, buying groceries, etc.

BUT, I am excited! We had a lot of fun baking all of our holiday sweets last year, and THIS year, I am doing a Homemade Holiday Sweets Giveaway!

Would you like to win a Holiday Sweets Basket like one of these?

The Holiday Sweets Package will likely contain:

• Frosted Sugar Cookies
• Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies
• Snickerdoodles
• Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Toffee
• Caramels
• Caramel Crispix
• Chex Mix

I say “likely” because who knows what the day will bring. My mother is often springing (good) recipe ideas on us at the last minute.

I will put a note in the package saying which items are vegan and which are gluten-free. They will not all be, but please, still enter the contest! Some will be, and you can share the rest with your friends/family/coworkers/grateful strangers.

Contest Rules:

1. To enter the contest, simply leave a comment below telling me what your favorite holiday treat is. It doesn’t have to be one I listed above. It can even be a favorite dish!
2. To get an extra entry, link to the giveaway in your blog, and leave me another comment linking to your post.
3. This contest is open until 5:00 PM CST on Saturday, November 21st. I will use the Random Integer Generator, or if I am feeling fiesty, the old “name out of a hat” drawing to select a winner on Saturday. I will announce the winner Saturday evening.
4. This contest is open to readers in the contiguous United States only. Sorry! I want to make sure your sweets arrive quickly!

Comments (12)

By kilax, November 4, 2009 6:02 am

I did something I haven’t done in awhile – brought an actual book with me to read on the train! Since I bought my baby computer back in March, that is really all I have brought with me for entertainment during the hour and twenty minutes (x2) commute. I use it to check emails, and surf the internet, but mostly, just to read blogs. I try to get all of that done on the train so that when I get home I can just chill with Steven, and leave the computer off.

I feel bad though! I have so many books at home (loaned to me), and here I am, choosing to read blogs during my commuting time, instead of books (to my credit, I try to read books at home, right now, it’s Thrive: The Vegan Nutrition Guide to Optimal Performance in Sports and Life). Blogs and books both keep me engaged and entertained, but is one better for me than the other? Hmm…

Anyway, that is not what I came here to write about today (on my commute, on my baby computer). Last week, I read on many blogs (ha) about the new book from Jonathan Safran Foer – Eating Animals. A small excerpt from the amazon description says, “Eating Animals explores the many fictions we use to justify our eating habits-from folklore to pop culture to family traditions and national myth-and how such tales can lull us into a brutal forgetting.” Check out the amazon site for a full description.

A lot of bloggers were writing about Natalie Portman’s post on the Huffington Post about how reading it made her vegan (if you have an hour or so to kill, the comments on that post are pretty heated and interesting). I was somewhat intrigued with her post, but didn’t think much of it.

But mention of the book keep popping up everywhere! Someone even pointed out that three vegan books, including this one (the other two are on my wishlist, wink wink), are in the Amazon Top 100 list. And yesterday, another blogger mentioned that the author of Eating Animals was doing a tour. I excitedly clicked over and saw that he would be in Chicago on November 18th, at the library that is two blocks from my office! (Event information is here).

I love, love, loved seeing speakers when I was at Iowa State University. I went to see Obama, Michael Moore, Morgan Spurlock, and countless others. I miss doing things like that! Steven was really enthusiastic about going to the reading as well, so he picked up a copy of the book for us to read before (and hopefully get signed!). Last night, I told Steven I hope there are some debates in the audience – it will be interesting to see what people have to say about this book!

Whoops. That story ended up a bit LONG.

So the big question is, am I going to read this, or use the baby computer to read blogs? For this early morning commute, it looks like the book wins – this pos computer didn’t charge last night!