I've kept a few resolutions over the years. Well, three. And all about the same topic. I resolved first to no longer eat meats. I still eat fish and eggs, just not meats. It all began when I went to India for the first time. My traveling companions, DartreDame and the SingingCyclist (the former now my wife and the latter now my stepson), did not eat meat. We left in mid-December, and I decided I wouldn't eat meat while in India since I was told they had such a vast array of veggie choices.
Indeed they do. In fact, at a buffet in India you'll find a small "Non-Veg" section rather than the small "Vegetearian" section we find here. Such are their expectations, at least where I visited.
The hitch in my newly and temporarily vegetarian gittalong came right after I made my pledge. We visited old family friends of Dartre's in Bombay on the second evening for dinner. The family friends didn't imagine that Dartre and Singing were vegetarian assuming them to be fully Americanized, and wanting to be hospitable they brought out a heaping--and I mean heaping--tray of chicken legs. When the friends realized that Datre and Singing wouldn't eat them and I saw the mortified look on their faces, I quickly broke my day-old vow and ate and ate and ate those drumsticks much to our hosts' delight. Yum!
It seemed to me a noble giving up on my first food vow. Next day, I went back to veggie for the rest of my time in India, and on returning I stayed veggie (Dartre's and my version allows our eating seafood and eggs). That was three years ago, and it was my first vow.
Next was sweets. I just realized what I always knew: if I am serious about being healthy, then why eat them? So I don't. Not candy, not baked goods. None of that. I'm sure I get lots of sugar in lots of other foods, but I choose not to have foods that are considered "sweets". Haven't missed them either.
As it stood then, I was "no meats, no sweets". I felt I needed something else that rhymed with "meats" and "sweets" and that covered fried foods. When I landed on "frites"--as in fried--I knew I had a good combination: "no meats, no sweets, no frits". I've come to like the symetry of my unholy trinity, and it suits and serves me well.
How strict? Well, I simply don't eat meats though I might if I hunted them myself (I did that years ago). I don't eat sweets, though as I said I get plenty of sugar in other ways. And as for frits: I've lately eaten fries and I love calamari and it mostly comes lightly fried. But, as a whole, I don't eat fried stuff.
What I find generally about my eating is that I eat most healthily when I'm exercising the most. Just not tempted then. If I stop exercising, I go back to some less healthy choices even though I still hold to the vows.
Now, about that "Rando-Resolve": I hope you don't feel betrayed if I can't conjure up my next vow just yet, but I began this post figuring that after I recounted my resolutions history my next resolution--this one is going to be about randonneuring--would come to me easily. Alas...it hasn't.
So, rather than halfheartedly choosing something for the sake of posting, I'll pause to give it more consideration. I think because these others I've described were so well-considered, they stuck ("frites" rhyming with "meats" and "sweets" may not seem well-considered, but to me it was inspired!).
So while I'm pondering on this most important of questions, how about you? Got any resolutions for 2010, especially any rando-resolutions?
The picture above is from Wikipedia, and is from an early 20th century New Year's card.
Keep it,
CurioRando
