The V Word.

I've known I was lactose-intolerant for a little over a year now. I replaced milk with soy milk and it was amazing. But even after I found out about my intolerance I continued to eat cheese and dairy based products. They didn't bother my stomach as much as an entire glass of milk would. I self-diagnosed myself with mild lactose-intolerance. It wasn't until after reading the book "Skinny Bitch" by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin, that I decided to give up dairy based products completely. If you think about it, mammals produce milk to feed and fatten their offspring after they've given birth. We produce milk to turn a tiny, helpless infant into a screaming, energetic toddler. That's about 16 pounds of baby. A cow, on the other hand, has to produce milk to turn a calf into a 2,000 pound cow. Milk is not only unnecessary for your body, it's not as natural as we think it is. Women stop producing milk after their baby is done nursing. That's how it works for all of the other mammals on this planet also, including cows. The milk industry injects the cows with hormones that force them to lactate. The hormones make their way into the milk and meat the industries sell and eventually make their way onto your plates and into your bodies. The milk industry also slips chemicals into your cheese that actually makes it addictive. There are plenty more reasons that explain why milk and dairy based products aren't very beneficial to your bodies but they're not too pretty and I'll let you gross yourself out with your own research.

I've given up every single dairy based product on the face of the planet and I've also given up meat. After reading "Skinny Bitch" and doing my own research on meat industries and our bodies, the thought of eating meat makes me queasy. Take a look at our teeth. They're not sharp and pointed like a tiger. They're flat for grinding vegetables, not sharp for tearing apart muscle. Carnivorous animals also possess an enzyme in their mouths that breaks down muscle (meat) and makes it easier to digest. Humans don't have that enzyme. It takes meat about 10 times longer to digest in our bodies than it does vegetables, fruits, and grains. The time our body spends digesting meat takes an incredible amount of energy, leaving us tired. That's why carnivorous animals sleep all day long.

The meat industry is the nastiest industry in America. The treatment of the livestock is inhumane and discusting. The animals injected with hormones and forced into tiny little crates from the day they're born until the day they're slaughter. Sounds like good ole' fashion torture to me. The research I've found about the meat industry is by far the worst bit of information I've ever read. I would be pleased to share it with anyone but I don't like to preach. It's changed my mind about the so-called food pyramid and daily nutritional requirements.

I don't preach my opinion and knowledge about the milk and meat industry. I know people don't like to hear that what they're consuming is bad for them. I also don't tell many people about my dietary habits. It's not embarrassing, I just don't like the ignorant questions I receive. Such as, "Where do you get your protein?" or "Are your bones going to get weak?" It's pretty annoying. I am aiming to become a nutritionist or a dietition. I believe I know what is healthy for me and what isn't. I don't eat dairy and I don't eat meat. I am what they call a vegan -the V word- I hate that word but I love being one.

Rest In Peace

Sunday I found out one of my best friends father passed away. He was 43. He was so sick with cancer for a very long time. It's been really hard on my friend and every one who knew his father. The calling hours are Wednesday at 1 p.m. I will be going home after my 8 a.m. class to pay my respects.

The type of cancer he had was throat cancer which spread throughout his body. He got the cancer from years of smoking. Smoking is such a dirty, consequential habit. I was looking at my friends pack of cigarrettes one day and I never noticed that tobacco companies don't put the nasty ingredients on the package. WHY? Half of the people who smoke would probably quit and the potential smokers would never want to start. Smoking is discusting.

Snow Day

So today was the first snow day of the semester and I was most likely the only student on this campus who wasn't happy about it. I missed a class that I really needed to go to today because I needed the review for my final. Today was very unproductive.

I really don't like the snow. Other than snowboarding, there's really nothing about it that pleases me. I hate walking it in because it soaks my shoes and the wind up here in Cortland is so strong when it snows that I can barely see when I walk around the campus. Snow also messes up my tires. My traction was off a little bit Sunday when I had to go to Syracuse and my wind-shield wipers were frozen. Oh and the salt! The salt the plows put on the road to melt the ice completely ruins my shoes, makes me car really dirty, and creates gross slush. Sure, it's totally helpful because it does melt the dangerous ice but I still hate that I can't wear my warm suede boots and I have to get my car washed every week.

San Pablos

I work at Dragon's Court here on campus Wednesday nights from 6 to 10. I work at the taco/mexican station called San Pablos. I absolutely despise working there. First and fore most I'm on my feet the entire time which hurts my rectus femoris because I pulled it during soccer season and it's taking forever to heal. The rectus femoris is one of the four quadraceps. This muscle attaches at the hip bone and extends down to the cap of the knee. It's about a foot and a half long. My pull isn't severe or I'd probably be on crutches but it's the most irritating injury. I can't run or do any type of exercise that will strain this muscle because it's incredibly painful. Second of all, the woman I woke with is large and the space behind the counter is VERY limited so I'm constantly being ran into because she doesn't take her time with anything she does. She's just scurrying around back there like a chicken with it's head cut off. Don't get me wrong, she's so nice and very personalable but she's too much to take sometimes. She always mixes the lettuce, cheese, and tomatoes together too. I will spend an hour trying to pick out the wrong pieces of food from each little container because it's discusting when they're all mixed together, and with ONE taco she makes she will mess up an entire hours worth of picking through! With one grab of the cheese, she will sprinkle it into each bin! And I told her she should be more careful and she goes "I can't help it I like to make the tacos fast". She makes the sloppiest tacos. I might put in my 2 weeks notice next wendesday. It's stressing me out.

Cortaca

I'm not really excited about Cortaca this year. I didn't get a ticket to the game and I'm pretty pissed off about it. And I can't go to the sorority house to hang out with the girls because I'm haven't pledged yet and Saturday is only for the girls and their "friends from home" because they want to spend time with the this semesters new sisters. Whatever. I should have pledged this semester but I wanted to play soccer.

I can be excited though, because my 2 best friends who go to Daemen in Buffalo might come up!! They're twin guys and they're the best guys to be around when you want to just lay back and have a great time because we're constantly laughing. Also, my friend from East Stroughsburg is coming up to stay with his friend in Ithaca and I haven't seen him since May so that'll be nice to see him and party with him. So yay, I get to watch the game on TV and party with my friends from a.m. to p.m.!

Why I love warm weather..

Warm weather makes me extremely happy. I don't know how I survive in Cortland sometimes being so cold and all. I belong in a place where I can wear flip flops all year round. I love to tan too. I hate being pale, it's not a good look for me. And summer/spring is just so much more fun. I remember the first warm day we had at Cortland last year. The guys in my dorm taught me how to play lacrosse and we played wiffleball after sunbathing for hours. Warm weather smells nicer too. The sun warms up all the good smells like flowers and fresh cut grass. Don't get me wrong, I like autumn too because I love big sweaters but summer/spring is just so much better. I'm writing about this because it's so cold outside right now I never want to leave my room. I walked back to my room from the gym today in icy rain and tornado winds. Whatsup with that? My forehead froze. I was not a happy camper.

Halloween weekend #1

So this weekend was fun! I had a soccer game on Friday against Oswego. We won 6-0. It was freeeezing though and rainy so it was miserable. The game got over aroung 8:30 so I decided to go out with some girl friends. We had a great time! I got home around 1 a.m. and my roommate's boyfriend was there and they were hanging out. Her boyfriend is a wonderful guy but he SNORES like a grizzly bear. I got about 4 hours of sleep. I'm a very light sleeper and it drove me nuts. I woke up at 11:30 because I had to go to the Syracuse mall to get a halloween costume for Saturday night. I found a beer girl costume at Hot Topic. It was really cute. I bought white fish net knee highs and white platform shoes and my roommate braided my hair before I went out. My friends and I looked great before we went out. But the parties weren't too fun. Oh well I've got 5 more to go to this week!

We had a soccer game today against Binghamton. We won 4-2. The weather was worse than Friday. So bad that it even hailed. Nobody could feel their toes and legs were completely numb. The ball slapped our legs so hard because it was frozen and wet. I fell on the turf about 5 times. After our game my mom took me out to dinner at Central City Bar and Grill. I got a giant baked potato with portabella mushrooms and salsa on it and half a veggie wrap. It was pretty good but I should have gotten pasta instead.