My Life and Karate, Day Twenty-three

My dojo, Sun Dragon Martial Arts and Self Defense, is running its major yearly fundraiser. We're a nonprofit martial arts studio, which is something of a rare beast, and we raise money every year for our scholarship fund and the free self-defense classes we offer in the community. For my part, every day until the day of the Kickathon, I will write a random amusing anecdote about karate and self-defense, or possibly just whatever strikes my fancy. Enjoy!

I am grumpy.

I was reminded rather forcefully today that my digestion only handles dairy if it's exposed to it frequently - the last couple of weeks I've had almost none, and my guts were VERY displeased at the bacon cheddar burger with cheese fries at lunch. Cheese is one of my favorite things in all the world, but this brought it home that it's really not very good for me.

For those of you who haven't read my earlier whining on the topic, I am also gluten-intolerant - this means anything involving bread and quite a few things that don't make all of my joints swell up and hurt like a $%@@^%@er. This was a fairly recent discovery, and while I'm mostly resigned to it, I'm still not happy about it.

And then, while recovering from lunch, I read this. The rest of the thread was touching, but that comment was a punch in the gut.

I was an on-and-off vegetarian for several years in high school and afterwards. I wasn't a huge fanatic or anything, I just felt better when I wasn't eating meat (unless I was lifting weights, which would give me steak cravings like you wouldn't believe. That usually led to an "off" phase.) But I felt good about my choices, and I felt good about myself.

When I moved to Austin my girlfriend, who is a fabulous cook, wasn't thrilled that I wouldn't eat much of what she wanted to make. I stuck to my guns for a little while, but... she was a fabulous cook. So I went back to eating meat - with relish, mind you - and have very carefully not thought about it too hard since.

Until today. And now I face a dilemma - I could go back to being a vegetarian, but now I can't eat most bread products either, and I really shouldn't go back to eating a ton of dairy. That cuts out a lot of calories that I'm not sure how I'd replace - eating nothing but fresh fruits and vegetables is expensive. And if eggs are my primary source of protein... I guess I could eat a lot of tofu, but a) I don't particularly like tofu, and b) the hormonal implications of eating a ton of soy products are not terribly well-explored. And my friends are already graciously accommodating my gluten issues - I don't know how much more I can ask.

But dammit, the only way I can eat meat is to stop thinking about it again. And I don't know if I can do that either.

At least half the dojo raises chickens, so I can get guilt-free eggs if I ever remember to ask about them. Support your local hippies! Donate $5 to our fundraiser today!