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By kilax, December 9, 2009 5:00 am

In the January issue of Runner’s World, there is an article titled “Collision Course,” covering the rules of safety for runners sharing the road with drivers (Side note: do you ever run in the road or on the shoulder? We’ve been sticking to the sidewalks). The article tells some scary stories about runners hit and killed by drivers, talks about the push to get legislation protecting bikers and runners in some states, and gives general tips on how to run and what to wear (to make yourself visible at night).

What interested me were the stories about interactions between runners and drivers (flipping each other off, yelling, one runner jumping on a driver’s car…) and how the magazine recommended runners react to rude drivers (emphasis is mine):

Take the lead in promoting road safety, not road rage. “Always be courteous  and follow traffic regulations to encourage a positive image of runners to the nonrunning public,” suggests another Runner’s World survey respondent. “Maybe more people would make more of an effort to avoid us if they weren’t annoyed with us.” Also, acknowledge drivers with a polite wave if they move to the other side of the road for you. They will feel more inclined to do it again for someone else.

I found this interesting because it reminds me so much of tips I have read for vegetarian/vegan etiquette. The idea is, that whether you like it or not, you are representing the vegetarian/vegan group by the way you act in group dining situations (or in any situation, really). So, project a positive image – don’t preach, be enthusiastic about the variety of your diet, don’t act like you are deprived, offer to share foods, don’t make comments about meat (in hope that the omnivores won’t make comments to you).*

It’s common sense, but hard to follow when someone riles you up – whether when you’re running, about running, when you’re eating, talking about eating, or really, with ANYTHING. As much as we hate stereotypes and labels, we ALL fit in to some group. Why not always make it our goal to project a positive image? For the betterment of the group? As hard as it is to do, you’ll probably feel better in the long run.

Are you a runner who worries about safety when sharing the road with drivers? Or are you a driver who is annoyed with runners/walkers/bicyclists?

According to the Runner’s World survey, only 12% of respondents said they were “extremely concerned about being in an accident. The article says most people have the “it won’t happen to me” attitude. It is something I do think about every time I go outside for a run on the sidewalks, whether it’s day or night. Even if you are running on the sidewalks, you still have to watch for people backing out of garages, and pulling into driveways quickly, without paying attention.

And I’ve been on the other side too. I used to drive to campus and so many of the bicyclists did not follow traffic rules, making it very frustrating and dangerous to share the road with them. I felt like I had to predict their patterns. One time, a biker was on the sidewalk behind me, then zoomed ahead of me onto the street while I was waiting for a red light, and cut me off right as I took off as the light turned green. Nice. Thank heavens the brakes worked well.

And we have two women who run in the roads in our neighborhood at about 5:00 am, not wearing reflective gear. I think I should share this article with them. Or at least ask them what’s wrong with the sidewalk?

*There’s an great article titled “Compassion Matters” in the November/December issue of Vegetarian Times on “good veg etiquette throughout the season.”

Comments (10)

By kilax, June 20, 2009 7:47 pm

I started following a vegan lifestyle (diet-wise) this Monday, June 15th. I am going to do a series of “Vegan Saturdays” posts to answer all of your questions, rather than create one super long post. Thanks all for your thoughtful questions! If you think of any other questions, you can ask them here, or on the original Q&A post.

I know some people could probably care less about veganism (understandable), so I chose Saturdays for these posts since readership is usually lower anyway. Along with my marathon training posts on Sundays, you can just skip over the entire weekend if neither is of interest to you. Easy peasy!

I was going to begin by addressing CournteyInControl’s “What made you decide to go vegan?” but I thought I could better answer Erin’s question, after our dinner tonight. So I will probably save Courtney’s question for next week.

First though, I must say, it is my goal to permanently follow a vegan lifestyle, but if I find my health is negatively affected, I will have to re-evaluate my diet. On to the first question…

Erin asked, “Will Steven become vegan also? How will this affect meal planning/cooking?”

Steven will not be becoming vegan, at least today. But he is on board with helping me eat vegan.

Most of the meals we eat on a day-to-day basis at home already are vegan – boca sandwiches with fresh veggies, salads, pasta, beans and rice, etc. Where the problem comes in at home is with pre-packaged foods. A lot of items we didn’t think would have eggs or dairy in them do. Last night we wanted to make a homemade pizza, but all of our pizza crust mixes had milk in them, so we couldn’t. However, I picked up a dairy and egg free mix today, and it worked out wonderfully!

Homemade pizza made with Namaste pizza crust, red pizza sauce, zucchini, onion, tomato, spinach, olives, and…

…cheese on one half.

The finished pizza

My dinner and…

…Steven’s dinner!

Which plate would you take?

I think eating out will be an issue AT FIRST. We usually visit one of three places – El Famous Burrito (his favorite), Red Robin (my favorite) and Subway (our healthy favorite). Okay, and let’s throw Sweet Tomatoes in there too. At El Famous, I get the Chilles Rellenos (cheese). At Red Robin, it’s the Royal Red Robin Burger (cheese and egg). At Subway, my sandwich is pretty much vegan, but I need to check and see what’s in the bread.

I don’t want to ruin the eating out experience for him (or anyone), so I need to do some research and figure out what I CAN order before we go out. I can get a burrito instead of Chilles Rellenos, and ask for my burger without cheese and egg. Hopefully it won’t be too big of a deal. We don’t eat out often, but when we do, I don’t want it to be stressful for him or me!

I think making this change means that meal planning requires actual planning. It’s won’t be as easy to throw things together anymore, at least at first. But, we will figure it out, together.

Comments (18)

By kilax, February 19, 2009 5:58 pm

On Saturday, we stopped at the Village Inn with our friends to have a hearty meal before our day of skiing. I knew I wanted a skillet. When made properly, it’s a cast iron skillet full of diced potatoes and vegetables, and topped with eggs and melted cheese – like the one in the photo but without meat. It arrives at your table hot. Delicious.

I opened up the menu, and saw that every skillet had meat in it. I chose the one closest to what I wanted, “The Original Ultimate Skillet Meal,” and asked the waiter to make it without the meat (ham, bacon AND sausage) and without mushrooms. Steven decided he wanted the exact same thing, but without onions as well (he was getting over a very bad stomach virus, and the last thing he needed was onions in his food).

The waiter wasn’t too happy with us. Let me preface this by saying that when we greeted him and asked how he was, he said “we’re really busy.” Okay. So we made our decisions quickly and said please and thank you.

The waiter gave us a really dirty look when we asked for modifications to the menu. Then he told us that they “really can’t change orders like that” and “there are lots of other options – you need to look over the entire menu and see if there is something else you want.”

Um… what?

He told us that, then quickly took our friends orders, all of our menus, and left.

I sat there wondering how I was supposed to look for something different to eat without a menu. I wondered if he was going to come back and tell me I had to choose something else to eat. I also wondered if I should be ashamed or pissed off. I was definitely a little bit of both.

I am WELL AWARE of how much I inconvenience EVERYONE by being a vegetarian. I feel awful when someone invites me over for dinner and I feel like I have to warn them that I am a vegetarian. I hate it that we couldn’t have Caesar salad in Denver because the dressing had anchovies in it and I didn’t want to eat it. I feel horrible when we have to make sure the restaurant has something that Steven and I can eat before we all go there.

I hate that some people who eat meat automatically assume that I think I am better than them. I don’t. Honestly – I don’t give a shit what you eat.

But apparently, some people do care what I eat. And not in a considerate way. And I’m not just talking about the waiter.

I’m not going to change. This is who I am. I shouldn’t have to feel ashamed to make requests, especially at a “restaurant.”

But I did feel ashamed. Ashamed, uneasy and embarrassed, sitting there with our friends. Of course, if it would have been just me and Steven, I would probably have talked to a manager or left. Instead, we sat there worrying about how our meal was going to come out.

We got what we ordered. It didn’t taste that good, and I had lost my appetite.

The waiter came back with the check and tried to redeem himself by saying the people in the kitchen don’t speak English that well. If that was his excuse, why didn’t he just say that in the beginning?

I don’t know why I am still thinking about this on Thursday. Probably because I am still embarrassed about the whole thing. I feel like it was unnecessary for the waiter to act that way… but it still makes ME feel bad. It makes me feel bad for asking for something to be modified.

Maybe I am asking too much. Or maybe I should just stay out of Village Inn and all the other restaurants that give me grief.

Comments (23)

By kilax, February 4, 2009 7:22 am

I’m always drawn to the animal-related stories in the newspaper. I have to read them.

Unfortunately, a lot of them mention abused, mistreated animals, living in squalor conditions.

Once I read something like that, I can’t get it out of my mind, no matter how hard I try. I still think of a program I saw on tv when I was 8 or 10 years old. I am not sure what the program was about – animal abuse, or druggies – but they talked about how these people put their fish in the microwave, and shot up their dog with drugs.

I feel sick just writing that, imagining that.

And those Sarah McLachlan ASPCA commercials? Don’t even mention them. I have to mute the tv and look away (Steven can attest to that!).

So, I was happy to see this article in the newspaper today, about a firefighter who saved a mom, son and cat from a fire that destroyed their home.

“A life is a life, no matter whether it’s a person or an animal,” said Chuck Sanow, the firefighter who rescued the cat.

I can tell you, that is a statement I agree with 100%, and I was very happy to see the article on page 3 of the paper.

I know it’s just a fluff, “feel-good,” story, but it worked on me. It did make me feel good. The quote gave me some hope that other people feel the same way.

I even went as far as to cut out the article and put it on my wardrobe at work for inspiration.

*Christina (my sister), I feel like I am channeling Horton!

Comments (13)

By kilax, April 28, 2008 5:36 am

PETA has announced a $1 Million Reward for the first scientist to produce and market in vitro meat.

“In vitro meat production would use animal stem cells that would be placed in a medium to grow and reproduce. The result would mimic flesh and could be cooked and eaten.”

Would you eat it?

PETA’s argument for in vitro meat is that it would stop animal suffering, and lessen the affect that harvesting animals has on our environment. They also added as a disclaimer – “Of course, humans don’t need to eat meat at all… But as many people continue to refuse to kick their meat addictions, PETA is willing to help them gain access to flesh that doesn’t cause suffering and death.”

I think this is a very interesting idea. But besides all the political BS that it incurs, I wonder, would carnivorous humans go for this? If it cost the same, and tasted the same, looked the same…

Would you eat it?

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Today’s Idiom: to go up in smoke – to come to no practical result

My plan to exercise 3 days a week went up in smoke when I kept getting home late from work. But I’m going to figure out a way to work exercise into my schedule. I have to.