my eating habits have always been the butt of jokes among my close friends. ryan always likes to tell people that throughout college i subsisted entirely on hot pockets. while not entirely true, when i first started at school i was poor enough that i stole food from my apartment-mates so i wouldn't die. once i had started working at my various crappy jobs, i was making enough money so that i could eat, but i wasn't exactly indulging in haute cuisine every day. i can't cook to save my life, so my diet consisted of whatever i could throw together easily (or, while at one of my crappy jobs, whatever looked good that i felt like paying half price for.). fast-forward to present day, where i'm slightly more gainfully employed. i still can't cook, but at least when i go out to eat i eat a little bit better. there is, however, the whole meat issue...

i am a carnivore, pure and simple. i was raised one, and although my best friend went through years of vegetarianism, i always figured that it would be too hard for me to stop eating meat. i think in the last few years i'm eating less than i used to, although brian once commented that i ate meat with every meal, that's not as much the case anymore. there are a few reasons for this. one, i just don't have the taste for red meat that i once did. probably because the more i looked at it, the more i was reminded of all the bad things that can happen to it as it graduates from "bovine university" on the way from the high-density feedlot to my mouth. two, i really have trying to eat in a more healthy fashion since i started this whole climbing thing.

becoming a vegetarian would be a great thing for me for several reasons: --the slf is a vegetarian. she's very cool and not preachy at all about the fact that i eat meat, and we have no problems when we go out to dinner or when she cooks, but then..... i... uh.... well, i guess that one is not really an issue. --the whole foods that just opened up is a huge incentive. there's all sorts of tasty, easy-to-make veggie treats. plus, their deli department has all sorts of pre-cooked tofu-laden dishes that look delightful. --it might be easier for me to lose a little bit of weight. i'm not fat, but i'm not as lean as i'd like to be. everyone thinks i'm crazy, or a workout anorexic or something, but since i started sitting and typing for a job with all sorts of yummy snackies around, and not running around 14 hours without eating, i've got a bit about the middle that i'd like rid of.

now, as much as i would love to go veg, there are a few problems with it: --i really like chicken. --i really, really like sushi. --i've still seen plenty of fat vegetarians.

so, i think for me the key is everything in moderation, and get my new bike all fixed up so i can start riding more.

but.... the point of this whole post is that occasionally i backslide. i've been in new jersey for the past two weekends. last weekend was my 10-year reunion (yes, i swear i'm going to write about this soon. uncaptioned pictures (which will be meaningless to anyone who _didn't_ go to my h.s.) are here), and this weekend, obviously was thanksgiving. n.j. has the greatest delis in the world.... all sorts of meat/egg/cheese breakfast sandwiches, and all served on a "hard roll" (kaiser, for you non-natives). my favorite has always been the taylor ham and cheese. maybe you'd call it "pork roll", maybe you'd call it "canadian bacon", but whatever you call it, it's damn tasty. amazingly enough, something that is so ubiquitous in n.j. is impossible to find in pittsburgh. over the last month or so i've been on a bit of a quest to find one. there aren't even any places downtown that have an old-fashioned flattop stove, unless you count primanti bros., which i don't. in any case, being in n.j. the last two weekends has afforded me the opportunity to go out and get myself one or two of these tasty treats, and that is definitely something to be thankful for.