Confession

This weekend, I went off the vegetarianism for two meals. Here's how it happened.

Thursday, I was at school until almost 9:00 for rehearsal. I'd also had parent/teacher conferences and I'd had to prepare work for the substitute to hand out. It was a long day.

I've had a lot of long days all strung together, and it had been ages since I'd been to the grocery store. I'd been living on rice and beans, which is fine, but not four days in a row. So I was driving home and saw the bright lights of Burger King, shining like a beacon. A beacon that said
TRY OUR MUSHROOM SWISS BURGER

"Well, okay," I thought, and swerved into the parking lot without thinking.

I took that burger home and sunk my teeth into its hot, meaty, greasy, mushroomy goodness, and ... it was gross. No, that's not saying it right. It was GROSS. It did not taste the way I remember burgers tasting; that is to say, it did not taste like home-fried heaven condensed into one delicious patty of mushed up cow meat.

So that was a bust.

Yesterday, I had that garage sale for the drama club, and then I went grocery shopping. But its a family tradition to eat a not-prepared-at-home meal on shopping day, and who am I to break 1000 years of tradition? Also, I didn't feel like cooking, even if by "cooking" I totally meant "putting into the microwave."

So I stopped at Sonic and got the popcorn chicken. Now this ... THIS was exactly as I remembered it. So, so, SOOOOOOOOO GOOD. Everytime I'd chomp into one of those tiny breaded processed chunks of chicken beak, gristle, and foot, my eyes rolled back into my head and honey mustard sauce dripped down my chin and I was happy.

When I stopped eating meat this summer, my original intent was to stay off it for a week, which I did with no problem. The only thing is, in the summer, I have plenty of time to cook healthy meals and buy fresh food and plan menus; when school is in session, I just don't have the time or energy to eat healthy, so I typically have a peanut butter sandwich or rice and beans and call it a meal.

I don't want to eat meat because I'm still mad at the industry, and, even though my little rebellion might not make a difference to the ranch owners or chicken farmers, it makes a difference to ME to know that I'm doing something, like I'M sticking it to The Man, even if he doesn't know it.