Getting my feet wet

I've been keeping my eyes open in these weeks leading up to Lent, watching for "normal" foods in the Dining Halls that I would still be able to partake in after Lent started. My findings surprised the optimist in me and proved the cynic right:

The Dining Halls are barely lacto-ovo vegetarian friendly, and very rarely vegan friendly. For being such a diverse college, their food choices are varied in style but rarely include vegetarian options. The occasional garden burger is a dim hope for the vegetarian, but a no-go for the vegan -- it's covered in mozzarella. Even the cooked vegetables are cooked with lots of butter. The only viable option for Dining Halls in the next 39 days are the ones with make-your-own-salad bars. Hoboi.

So, knowing that I would need to start thinking about actual meals, I hit up the campus grocery store today (last time I was just thinking about lunch-packing necessities). My class got out early, so I had a bit of extra time to wander around the tiny building and squint at labels. I met up with one of my friends there, and we got talking about Lent (an obvious discussion, given that I was making faces and muttering to myself about companies' need to include random animal products in everything). He said that for Lent, he's going to pray every day and try to read a chapter of the Bible. I nodded and smiled; it seemed like a good goal. Then he added, as an afterthought, "and insult all the priests I can think of."

There's a college student for you.

I left the grocery store with $20 less in my meal plan. I got a Salad By Design (minus the cheese and dressing), hummus, bagel chips, a small container of soy milk (I will learn to like it), a half-gallon of OJ, and a container of tabbouleh (which was handily marked Vegan). I don't know what tabbouleh is, but I'm willing to give it a shot.

Outlook from this point: I'm still getting my feet wet. I'm positive that I can do this, and I'm eager to try new things. The cynic in me is chuckling evilly to himself, but for now, I'm pushing him into the corner. ^-^