Comments (9)

By kilax, August 22, 2009 4:21 pm

Well, this is QUITE overdue! I started this draft exactly a month ago. Oops.

Anyway, a month ago, we received free passes to see Food Inc., and since we hadn’t gone to the movies in quite some time, we thought it would be fun to go. Of course, I was worried about how graphic the movie would be.

It was a bit graphic. I saw things I didn’t want to see*. BUT, it was nothing I hadn’t seen before. If anything, it was just reinforced my decision to become vegan. However, I don’t think the purpose of the film is to persuade people to become vegan or vegetarian – it is just to get people to THINK about where their food is coming from, and the decisions they are making about what they eat/buy.

After thinking about the movie for some time, I really think one of the major points of it was to expose the greed in the food industry. I really think the desire to cut costs, become more efficient, and make a larger profit has gotten us where we are – cheap and unhealthy food, unsafe conditions for workers, a mostly overweight society, increased foodborne illness and so on. The film was set up with a few small segments around these sorts of topics.

I didn’t think this information was presented in a new or alarming fashion though. Like I said, it was all information I have seen before. BUT, I think that is because this is a topic I take interest in. For someone who doesn’t, this film would probably be shocking.

Either way, I recommend it, for a refresher or eye-opener, whichever applies to you!

*Chicken coops where the chickens NEVER see natural daylight and are forced to become so fat that they can barely walk a few steps. A natural farmer killing chickens by putting them upside down in a cone-like contraption with an opening in the end then pulling them through the opening and break their necks while they scream and the other chickens watch in crates nearby awaiting their fate

Comments (12)

By kilax, May 31, 2009 8:29 am

I love the convenience of shopping for groceries at Target, I really, really do.

But I am really, really frustrated with shopping there right now. They keep dropping the products we buy – Cocina Nueva Mexican rice, 8th Continent Soy Milk, whole wheat flour (why the hell would they drop that?), Odwalla bars, Barabara’s Bakery products… the list could go on. And the selection is just crap. I cannot find any vegan margarine or vegan semi-sweet chocolate chips. They have hardly any organic produce. They’re always out of the cereal we want. Ugh.

I really don’t want to be one of those people that shops at four different stores on the weekends. I liked getting everything I needed at Target, and not wasting too much time. But it sounds like I am going to have to make a supplemental trip somewhere else. Perhaps I will finally step inside a Whole Foods since I still haven’t visited once since I moved out here over two years ago. I am grateful that I live in such a big area and have these other stores to shop in. I know I will find what I want, it just may not be as convenient as I like it to be.

I actually wanted to share a few products I have tried lately and liked. Ironically, I found one of these (the Odwalla bars) at Target one week and they were gone the next. Oh well.

Amy’s Roasted Vegetable Pizza: I really like pizza (who doesn’t, right?) so I’ve been wondering… what kind of pizza does a vegan eat? We found this vegan Roasted Vegetable pizza to try. It has marinated organic shiitake mushrooms, roasted red peppers, sweet onions, marinated artichoke hearts and no cheese. Yum yum yum! It smelled super strong when it was cooking, so I was kind of worried that it would taste too “fancy pants” for me, but we both ended up really liking it. It’s very sweet – I think the onions used are vidalia. It’s not like eating a cheese pizza, but it’s very tasty. I would also like to try Amy’s other vegan pizzas – Rice Crust Spinach and Non-Dairy Rice Crust Cheeze Pizza. Of course, we don’t have these at Target, and I am surprised they still had the Roasted Vegetable when I visited Target yesterday.

Odwalla Chocolate Chip Peanut Bar: Two weeks ago, Target had entire boxes of these flavor of Odwalla bar. I bought one to try since I like Berries GoMega so much. HOLY CRAP! These are so good, and they’re vegan! I actually wrote a sticky note on the box that said, “Steven, you HAVE to try one of these. They are like a little slice of heaven.” Like the other Odwalla bars, it is very chewy and dense, which are characteristics I like in a granola bar. And it’s sweet, but not too sweet.  The perfect treat! They were gone on yesterday’s Target trip though. The Berries GoMega bars where there. I noticed they had two different kinds of packaging – a 6 pack with 2.2 oz bars, and a 6-pack with 2 oz bars. Hmm, which should I buy? Way to phase those out, Target. On a side note, I found out that another store in our area has almost all of the Odwalla Bar flavors, but in single serving only. I got Strawberry Pomegranate (not that impressed) and SuperFood and Super Protein (haven’t tried those yet).

Stonewall’s Jerquee: A coworker told me about a health food store downtown so I decided to check it out. They had a few different brands of vegetarian beef jerky, so I picked up two packages of Stonewall’s to try – Original Mild, and BBQ “Beef” (BBQ “Beef” is the only one they carry that is not vegan, because it has honey in it). I called Steven to tell him about it, and it seemed pretty weirded out. BUT, we ate the the BBQ “Beef” packet on Friday night and were shocked – it is so realistically close to tasting like beef jerky, that Steven actually said, “It feels wrong to eat this.” They got the chewy texture just right. What a fun snack. I ordered some big bags off of their website.

What a piece of the vegetarian jerky looks like.

And while I am at it, I must admit that I tried THREE new kinds of Luna Bars this week, while at the same store I found the jerky in. I just got really excited to have such a large selection to choose from. I tried Luna Bars – Dulce de Leche, Cookies ‘n Cream Delight, and and Iced Oatmeal Raisin. These were all really good, but tasted very sweet. So sweet, I think they are more a of a treat, and not something I should eat that often (they have WAY TOO MANY ingredients in them). I try not to eat bars that often. I’ll have one homemade one a day, and sometimes one after I workout, if I don’t have dinner right away.

Extra points if you made it this far!

Comments (11)

By kilax, March 19, 2009 6:03 pm

Yesterday was my First Quarterly Panel review (the event for which I was writing the dreaded report).

Guess what? I ended up dreading the review in the same way I dreaded writing the panel report. I don’t get nervous about presenting things or talking to people, but this was just something I wasn’t looking forward to. A lot of emphasis is put on the importance of the presentation, so I was under a lot of stress and pressure, along with my other HUGE work load.

But, it went extremely well. I presented to 7 people, talked about what I’ve been doing and learning for the last three months, for about 2o-25 minutes, then they asked me a series of questions.

You know what? I actually enjoyed being up there, talking to everyone about my projects, and what I like about working for the company. One member of the audience asked me if there was anything I dislike and would like changed, and I honestly could not think of one thing*.

Everyone told me I did a great job, and one person told me he liked how energetic I am. My team leader stopped at my desk after the presentation (I got to my desk first, because they sit in the conference room after you leave to talk about you!) and told me I made her feel “very proud.”

I think I’ll actually look forward to my next panel report – that was a pretty good day.

But work’s still kicking my ass.

Do you have to do presentations at your office? Do you dread them or love to share with other people? I wonder if part of me is just craving some human interaction. I’ve been buzzing off of it lately.

*Oh sure, I have daily gripes and can bitch and cuss, but that would be at ANY job. I love my company and the way it’s set up.

Comments (14)

By kilax, March 9, 2009 5:43 am

It seems like every weekend, without fail, there is some item on my to do list I am absolutely dreading. Every fiber in my body resists my completion of the item. Just thinking about doing it makes me feel upset.

It usually isn’t house chores. Yeah, I put those off, but I don’t dread them. I just would rather do something else!

And it isn’t the long runs. I look forward to those long weekend runs, where I can just have some time to myself and focus on my run. Yesterday was my first 7-miler – fun!

This weekend, it was my panel report for work. Today marks my three-month date at my new job. It’s hard to believe the time has passed so quickly!

I was placed in a trainee program when I got this new job, based on my recent graduation (2007) and experience outside of work. As part of the program, I am required to write a panel report and give a presentation of my work quarterly in my first year, and semi-annually in my second year.

My supervisor places high importance on the panel report, and has given me time to work on it while at work. But so far, I haven’t been able to get much done on it there. It’s strange to me – I love to write, and I’ve pulled together all of the facts I need! I just couldn’t concentrate very well on writing something long the last few days.

So I brought it home, even though I didn’t need to. And I put it off, until about 8 pm on Sunday night. But, I did finally work on it and get the bulk of it done. Now I just to need edit it at work.

It’s funny. I always dread these tasks, but feel so much better when they’re close to done!

What have you been dreading on your to do list?