Last week, I decided to try vegetarianism again, and to take it seriously this time. Ironically, it's not having Andrés and Amy here that swayed me, but rather the Simpsons (I try to base all my life-altering decisions on cartoons. It makes things interesting). Lisa became a singer and Homer was her manager, but his ways were brusque. She asked him to stop beating people up to get things done for her, and he chided, "Oh, you eat sausages, but you don't like seeing them made." To which Lisa replied, "I don't eat sausages!"

It just kind of reminded me of the hypocrisy I've been so successfully ignoring all this time. I hate to see animals killed, and I carry bugs out of the house rather than squash them, and yet I eat a cheeseburger with a smile. The witticism Homer was trying to use would have been effective against me. So I just realized I'd feel better about myself if I start acting in line with my beliefs. The fact is that, though there are a few exceptions, for the most part I don't like meat much anyway. I wasn't just taking the easy way out; I was taking the marginally easier way out. It's like trying to decide between taking the elevator or an escalator, where an animal is killed each time you ride the escalator (I don't know, maybe they use animal carcasses as counterweights). Neither one is a huge burden, so there's little excuse for picking the slightly more convenient one.

So far I've managed it fine, and I do feel better about myself. I'm happy I finally made the decision. It is tough sometimes when Luis walks in with a delicious-smelling hot dog, or I realize I can never again have a Tiger Roll at Nami. But there's always Philadelphia Rolls to sate my occasional sushi cravings. I'm really quite fortunate that my palate is so carbohydrate-oriented. But man, I don't think I could ever become a vegan. That would be a much larger sacrifice — almost everything I eat derives from the dairy group.

Now it's time to start learning how to prepare tofu and other protein-rich non-meat foods. I'm not a big fan of the various meat-substitute products out there. They've gotten surprisingly realistic, but there's still enough of a difference that it's not very satisfying for me. I'd rather eat things that stand on their own, rather than trying to simulate something else. I love tofu and if I'm hungry enough I can appreciate most vegetables, so I think that is a better course to follow.

Fun addendum: I wanted to use the above NOFX quote for the subject line, so I did a Google search for "nofx vegetation fast food nation" to find the exact lyrics, and got these results. I'm so unoriginal.