I must apologize for completely slacking on posting. Thank you to my seven (7!) followers on Google Reader for sticking with this experiment of mine.
To be entirely honest I thought I would do quite a bit of posting from work, and sure enough I start having to actually work during most of my waking hours. And I know I said I would focus on Chicago and its unique challenges and advantages for vegans, but these last few weeks I am lucky if I make it to the Burrito Beach down the street, much less an actual restaurant.
I went to my first bachelorette party last weekend. I mean, it was the first one I've attended, it was not my bachelorette party. Sure enough, the hostess brought out Jell-O shots.
This always makes me uncomfortable because the person approaching you with a Jell-O shot truly believes they are giving you a rowdy little ray of sunshine. This one even had whipped cream and a candy %&#!$ on it. But when I look at a Jell-O shot all I can see is the Kind & Knox gelatin factory down I-29 from my hometown of Sioux City, Iowa. The smell of this factory, and the corporate meat-packing plants and factory farms around it, is overwhelming. I concede that it is better to make a "useful" product out of the leftover cattle body parts, using the whole animal rather than just the meat, but gelatin and its components have ruined any chance I have at being a normal binge-drinking 25-year-old adult and just taking a jiggly shot with everyone else.
It's easy for me to say no to these Jell-O shots, but it is hard to see the look of disappointment from the bearer of the Jell-O shot when I refuse. There is not much I can do to explain my refusal. Whenever an occasion calls for Jell-O shots, it is the absolute wrong time to preach about gelatin and the virtues of veganism.
Two (maybe three?) years ago, before I was vegan (but had mostly stopped eating Jell-O), my second cousin, a professional sorority girl at a state university, brought Jell-O shots to the family Christmas Eve gathering. I gave in and took one. I hated Jell-O, but I really hated the thought of offending my wacky drunken lovable relatives.
This past year I did not partake. And at the bachelorette party I avoided Jell-O shots by playing photographer while everyone else participated. Until I was forced to take tequila shots to compensate.
Product of the Day: Today I'd like to give a quick shout-out to Jamba Juice for being vegan friendly. As I mentioned my work schedule has been jam-packed lately. (On top of the usual activity, today's events included a stolen shredder and our head of security getting food poisoning from a hamburger around 11:30 a.m...these incidents were unrelated) This morning I was already running around at work at 7:30 a.m. so I eventually needed breakfast like WHOA. I went to my trusty Jamba Juice and got an Apple Cinnamon Pretzel (just seven simple ingredients, all with non-scary pronouncible names) and a Pomegranate Paradise smoothie. On Jamba's website you can find a list of all of their vegan products.
