And just when I think that things are all in place

[torquill]

It stands to reason that the night before the big lab practical, where I've had very little time or concentration to study for it, and I need all the mental acuity I can get... is the night when the dinner served by the co-ops had something in it which annoyed my system, so that my scant six hours of sleep was constantly interrupted by a very crampy, unhappy belly.

Dear Universe: I need sleep. kthxbye.

It has finally occurred to me that there may be a fatal flaw with my hopes to live at one of the co-ops: food. They're vegetarian houses, with the occasional accommodation for vegans; while I can eat the occasional vegetarian meal, living on it is very difficult for me, and though I love Jay dearly, his vegan restrictions tend to take out almost all of the stuff I rely on. Nick jokes that when I come home from dinner in Davis I have to eat a second meal before bed, and he's right... it's largely veggies, without the high levels of protein I need. Animal protein, in specific -- beans and rice are okay from time to time, even if I can't have much tofu, but a steady diet of them would bring back my hypoglycemia after a while.

I haven't really decided yet (I'll talk to Dory first), but I have this feeling that any break in rent I got from the co-ops would be negated by the cost of eating out regularly. I really should have my own, omnivorous kitchen. And that means I need to start apartment-hunting in earnest.

Another thing to juggle... sigh.

Comments

[roadknight.livejournal.com]

It continues to amaze me that so many vegans think that "everybody {c|sh}ould be vegan". If they're such experts on diet and what we all should be eating why don't they know about all the people for who it POSITIVELY won't work. You're certainly among them, but not the worst. The worst was probably the former coworker I had back east who was missing some enzymes that help you process vegetables after your stomach acids break them down. I want to say chlorophyll, but I know there was more to it than that. Veggies were really, really bad news for him, esp. greens. Intense gastric distress was getting off light. He lived on almost an entirely meat diet. He could deal with breads, in quantity.

[ladythmpr.livejournal.com]

I'm another who doesn't deal well on a vegetarian diet. I used to be able to deal with it for a few days, but that was when I could at least get some of my protein from grains. When I became gluten-intolerant, even my militant vegetarian partner made sure we ate places where I could get meat.

And yes, eating out would quickly negate your savings from living at a co-op.

[luna-torquill.livejournal.com]

Fortunately, the vegans I've met up here are very courteous about it -- it's their choice to eat as they do, and the people at the co-ops respect that choice in that they try to make sure that the buffet-style dinners here have some vegan fare. Jay will usually ask whether this or that is vegan-friendly, much as I ask whether something is wheat-free (I share that restriction with Ben). Otherwise there's very little fuss about it.

[luna-torquill.livejournal.com]

It's nice to know I'm not the only person who has to have meat (or at least large quantities of cheese and eggs). There are people who make meals out of pasta with a little sauce and bread, and expect that to last for five or six hours, and do it regularly; there's a certain amount of bafflement on both sides when I encounter them. (Even when I could eat wheat, the amount of protein in it was totally insufficient.)