We’ve had a great first week of the Olympics in Vancouver so far!
We went to the women’s 500m long track speed skating finals on Feb 16 at the Richmond Oval and a preliminary women’s hockey game on Feb 18 at UBC (China v. Russia).
We also saw Gonzales/Feist on Feb 17 at the Orpheum and The Lost Fingers on Feb 19 at Granville Island.
We’ve visited Heineken House and the O-Zone and watched the crazy fireworks show at Robson Square.
Much more to come in the next week!
Below is a set of photos from the speed skating at the Richmond Oval:
Last week, I finished reading Jonathan Safran Foer’s book Eating Animals. I had read Fast Food Nation and In Defense of Food when those books first came out, and watched Food Inc.  Those had already resulted in some changes to my diet (less processed food, almost no beef, organic produce, organic dairy and organic meat whenever possible, more farmers’ market shopping, and weekly SPUD grocery deliveries).
I don’t know why Eating Animals made such a MUCH greater impact on me. I tried to explain it to Ian, and I think I came across as a bit of a fanatic hippy. I ordered the book from Amazon and hope Ian reads it so we can have a more even discussion.
The point of this post is that today concludes my first week as a vegetarian. I’ve made it through three take-out dinners and three eat-out lunches without eating any meat products, although I have had cheese and milk and eggs (the latter rather reluctantly).
I never thought this would happen – I grew up on my grandparents’ farm and have always had a comfortable relationship with meat (and a VERY comfortable relationship with salumeria and seafood). I don’t feel all holier-than-thou about it and it seems like a really personal thing.
I think the real challenge will be eating at other people’s houses; eating out at restaurants may also be a bit of a challenge, especially on vacations. Perhaps I’ll eventually forget Eating Animals or really really miss the taste of smoked bacon. We shall see.
