TWO-A-DAYS!

Getting a text of a huge heart-shaped blue nugget is just the motivation I need to go hunting after work.  I cruised up to 26th, work pants rolled to my knees and got out there with my buddy Bau.   It was EPIC!  The deposit was super rocky and perfect for finding polished gems.  In the pic, the cobalt piece in the top left is beautiful...and YES, that is a shard of jade in the upper right corner!

After an epic afternoon, what better way to spend your evening than more hunting AT NIGHT!  Buzzy and I donned our wetsuits, booties, and headlamps and went out at low tide.  I found an amazing couple of red gems, one of them, two-toned frosted.  As we were finishing up, I found the double-side Japanase pottery shard.  It is unreal!

ALAS! Sea Glass!

As if I needed ANOTHER obsession.  There you have it...complete admittance to my new suffering.  Sea Glass!  I am addicted to scouring the beaches of Santa Cruz for hours on end, in search of frosty shards of antique glass and pottery.  This new activity is akin to American Pickers on the History Channel, only the odds of finding gems are much less, and you get wet.  That said, I find solitude and happiness rumaging through piles of rock and sand in search of the perfect piece of ocean-perfected glass.  In the future, my blog will be less geared towards a vegan lifestlye and focus on my finds in and around the Central Coast of California!  The hunt is on.......

Sunday Funday!

There is nothing better than waking up early on a Sunday, walking down the street, catching a few waves and then going to the Live Oak Farmer's Market.  I picked up a couple of goodies: avocados, heirloom tomatoes, and wait for it.....PADRON PEPPERS.  Numerous people have told me that these little guys are absolutely delicious.  When I saw baskets at the farmer's market I had to give them a try.  I am SO glad I did; Cooking the little padrons was really easy.  The guy at the stand told me that in Spain people put a quarter-size dollop of olive oil in a pan with sea salt and sautee away.  DANG!  They were so good!  I also made up one of my signature tofu scrambles and sliced up an heirloom tomato.  Balsalmic drizzled over the tomato slices summed up this amazing lunch.  I don't usually measure spices when cooking so add spices to taste:

Mike's Tofu Scramble:

-Tofu
-1 Tofurkey Italian Sausage
-Crook-Necked Squash
-Kale
-2 Shallots
-Garlic
-Cilantro
-Fennel Seed
-Cumin Seed
-Cumin
-Tumeric
-Curry Powder
-Himalayan Sea Salt
-Cracked Pepper
-Parma Spicy Nutritional Yeast

Usually I would throw in marinated artichoke hearts, but I am saving the jar I have for dinner :)

Let's All Hail Merry!

The best part of a raw diet is that it admonishes all feelings of guilt!  I mean, sugary, chocolate-y macaroons are far from healthy, but attaching the word "raw" to them makes me feel like I am eating a bunch of kale.  HA!  Is my mentality skewed from reality?  Eh...who cares?!...go buy a bag of Hail Merry raw vegan treats!  Totally Bombskies!

Radical Radness!

My friend Brian alerted me to the awesome video that EcoVeganGal made of the Veg Speed Dating event in Berkeley, California.  Yours truly is featured with commentary on the event.

Check it out: Speed Dating Video

Veg Speed Dating, Leafletting, Green Smoothies, and Vegan Maidens

Last night I attended the first ever vegan/vegetarian/veg-curious speed dating event in Berkeley at the Saturn Cafe across from campus.  Going into the event I was curious, anxious, happy, and energetic.  Basically, my mood was comprised of every emotion in the book.  I decided to put all feelings aside and just HAVE FUN.  Maybe my soulmate would be in the crowd, but if not, the event would serve as an opportunity to redefine what being vegan means to me while being surrounded by a bunch of AMAZING vegan people.

To start the night out, my friend Brian over at vegan outreach, finally got me to go leafletting with him at UC Berkeley.  I was super nervous at first.  I have done door to door campaigning in the past, and my overall view was entirely negative.  Leafletting with Brian completely changed my outlook on activism.   I was finally able to distribute info and talk to people about what I care most about in the world.  Animals, and their safety.  In 20 minutes I distributed 44 leaflets about factory farming and making compassionate choices.  What a great start to what would turn out to be an EPIC evening.

Let me tell you, upon entering Saturn Cafe I was having flashbacks to the cult film 40 Year-Old Virgin, when Steve Carrell goes speed dating and meets "Gina".  My flashbacks lightened my mood and I really enjoyed the event.  Yes, it was tiring, and yes, there were people there who were 30 years older than me, but the event was fun.  I met a few vegans/vegetarians who I would definitely go out with in future, and one in particular who made me weak in the knees, literally.  I hope the future holds bright things.  Even if my veg-dating connections only blossom into bright, plutonic relationships, I am ok with that.  I guess we will have to wait and see.  

I had a few great conversations that were noteworthy, and one in particular that motivated me to continue on my quest to consume a partially raw food diet (about 50% raw).  Today, I woke up and had a handful of raw almonds and a VEGA raw protein bar;  I also made a green smoothie that contains (one bunch of kale, 1/2 cucumber, an apple, a mango, and a can of coconut water).  I feel happy, energetic, and wonderful.  Here are some pictures of what I got at Staff of Life in Santa Cruz (the purple kale is so beautiful I want to put it in a vase):

Redirection, Rejuvination, and Re-radness

At first, this blog was intended to be funny, ironic, and mirror in some ways the brilliant writers of other vegan blogs.  I have decided that poking fun at meat-eaters and condemning them for activities that I once partook in, is not proactive.  I would like to spin this blog in the direction of overall compassion and empathy FOR ALL.  If I am fighting to bring compassion to the world of animals, should my fight also include fellow anthropoids?  Of course it should.  Last night, my eyes were opened by a good friend of mine over at vegan outreach.  Thank you Brian for your sage wisdom and insight!

Here is to moving forward!