What does it feel like now?

I’ve never seen anything more majestic

I’d drink horchata all day if I could, but that probably wouldn’t be too healthy.

Will do! I’m actually starting to feel excited about this.

I think if I got milk and cheese from a small farm where the cows get to nurse their calves and lead happy lives, I wouldn’t feel like I have to give it up. But not sure if such a place exists or is possible.

Definitely! I don’t really miss meat when it isn’t in my food, but I do miss the protein and vitamins. I’m also diabetic, so unfortunately, I can’t eat rice and beans all day, or I absolutely would.

Absolutely! Made a chickpea and spinach… thing for dinner tonight that was great!

Yea, like I love ice cream. Non-dairy ice cream, not so much. So the thought of walking away from one of my life’s great pleasures is daunting.

I don’t just like food. I LOVE food. I pick my vacation spots for the food. I’ll suffer through a boring work trip if it means new restaurants to try out. Going vegan will definitely impact how I approach food, social gatherings, meal prep, etc. It’s a lot.

The big thing for me is that if you think a question stupid and not worth your time to answer, you can just not answer. You can keep scrolling. To take time out of your day to inform someone that interacting with them is a waste of your time, when you can choose not to interact at all, seems extra unnecessary.

Can we be friends, internet stranger?

Yup, trying. The siren call of milk and cheese is strong, but my red meat consumption is definitely down. Most pork is gone from my diet. Even bacon is a rarity. I recently discovered that I don’t hate oat milk. So I’m making progress, but still have a lot more to do.

Exactly! It felt like going to a church that immediately condemns its parishioners and then wonders why it has no parishioners.

I actually had this experience recently. I grew up eating meat but have been considering giving it up and eventually becoming vegan. Thing is, no one around me is vegan so I’d need some kind of support network. It’s hard to walk away from ham if that’s what you know and love. I posted a pretty innocuous question to one of the vegan communities and the general response was that it was a stupid question, I should already know the answer, and I shouldn’t waste time posting questions like that. All that told me that if I were to go down this road, I’d be walking alone. So making the switch feels a lot harder and seems a lot more daunting. Not saying I’m giving up on it, but I definitely find it more intimidating knowing that if I try to find a network, I’ll be scolded for being a newb.

How do you feel about Bryants?

That’s why I got my PhD, but everyone still calls me Mr Panko, and that’s not even my title or last name

I figured it had more caffeine than tea but less than coffee. Clearly very wrong. Glad I didn’t drink this stuff while I was pregnant.