30 day raw vegan - I've got nothing else to do

So it seems even though my clothes still "fit", a healthy diet of fried veggies and rice in the SE Asia streets caught up with me and I was at my heaviest weight in BB history. I thought by going vegan and eating amazing Israeli food the pounds would just fall off and I'd be happily at a weight (ten pounds less) that I'd maintained in my adult life. WRONG. Although I was far more active, (MP and I got into some P90X and eventually gym memberships) and eating fresher foods it seemed I was at a stand still. Could it be all the baking, olive oil, and pita I was consuming? Damn straight.

So it was time to take my weight into my own hands and drop that ten pounds, more if I was lucky. I decided to give the 30 day raw vegan challenge a go. First off, it's not as tough as it sounds. "what do you eat? Salad?" well...yeah. But with the right tools and some imagination it's not only easy but also fun. I'm sure the average carnivore would struggle more but see much better results but in just under three weeks I managed to drop almost nine pounds. I have roughly a week to go to drop that one last pound and I think I have it in the bag.

The biggest challenge for me was giving up gluten. I could eat a garden of potatoes, and loaf of bread, a pasta buffet, and 24 cookies in one sitting I'm sure...but I didn't, and for that I can thank my regular waistline. Hello again! 

I'm feeling amazing and although MP sabotaged me several times by making me soup *cheat* when I was sick, baked veggies *cheat* when I was weak and taking me for hummus *cheat* when rockets were flying I managed quite well with this new level of foodism and I hope to continue. Below are a few links that made this lifestyle change much more tolerable, and pleasant... you bet your ass I had cheesecake.

If you want to leave a smaller carbon footprint, even if it's every now and then check out...

http://www.therawtarian.com/
http://www.addictedtoveggies.com/

Not raw but gluten free!
http://www.theglutenfreevegan.com/

And go for a walk.

Hells Pub - Final Elimination

Several more weekends of chronic verbal assault, emotional and mental abuse, seemed to sail by with Chef on his A game of complete debauchery. Spirits were low, oddly enough, spirits were the only thing to get us high in this situation, so we kept a clean buzz to numb the pain until we saw the light of day once again and were safe for another fourteen hours.

At least this is what I thought. In my third weekend I experienced the most exhausting thirty hours of my life. I was contemplating my own insanity when the more practical side of my brain (which seemed to be cowering in a corner between depression and anger) gently reminded me I was not the one who was that crazy.  Unfortunately, just when I thought it was safe, when I could rest easy, it seems as though I became the last standing, better yet the Devils associate in Hells Pub.

I've witnessed at least 12 people come and go in eight weeks as I was cautiously tiptoeing around the bar when the compliments came. I wanted to smile and be grateful that Chef was showing me some appreciation, "having you at the pub makes this easy for me, I wish you could be involved in all the other aspects of my life", no thanks. but this has just made me a bit more terrified. When suddenly your enemy has a "change of heart" you put your dukes up... And your mouthguard in.

He is right however. We don't bother each other and maybe that's why this is working out so well. I really enjoy the job, who doesn't want to get paid to drink and bullshit with people? And oddly enough we work well together. So then there was BB, the last standing champ of Hells Pub.

Fact

Yom Kippur

This is the day of atonement for the Jewish people. One day a year Jews are judged for their actions by the Lord for the past year. On this day it is determined if you are weighed in the book of life or book of dead determined by your deeds for that year. You are not supposed to enjoy life on this day and fast and take time for 25 hours.

A whole lot is to be said about the Holiest day of the year from an outsiders perspective.

First off, I went to the grocery the day before Yom Kippur to grab a couple things so I could aid in MP filling his belly before his 25 hour fast started. What a mess. Seriously people, I'd like you all to take a second, consider your actions and look at yourselves. You are acting like a freaking apocalypse is coming! Carts are filled with insane amounts of groceries (you CAN NOT eat that many eggs), you have forgotten your manners (although I feel that's more often than not) and you are supposed to be fasting. What in the H E double hockey sticks is going on here?! P.s. It's only a day, chill the eff out...

What's that? The hummus spots are closed tomorrow? AAAHhHhHhHh!!!!

Ok, I'm fine. Now it turned out to be quite the lovely day. No crazy traffic outside, unless you count the army of ill skilled children on bicycles screaming at all hours of the day, and a general calm rested in the big city. I know what you are wondering, how did BB spend Yom Kippur?

I slept for the better part of it. Somehow MP and I crashed out around seven at night, just two hours after the event started, and I didn't crawl out of my Thai bed until around nineish the next morning. I took what I thought was going to be a calm stroll in the middle of the street to the boardwalk where I immediately regretted leaving the safety of the time out lounge. Bicycle accidents galore! I know what you are thinking, get to the goods BB.
You got it!

How BB spent Yom Kippur.

I'm the type of person who likes to do the exact opposite of what I am supposed to do in any occasion. Not because I'm ignorant...ok it is because I'm ignorant. But it's also because I like to push the envelope and if I can't entertain myself who else will?

So I took off my pants, blasted some high energy dance tunes and danced around smiling thinking about how ahead of the "remember when"* and "gotcha!"* game I am. I also sat on the balcony smoking the hookah, drinking red wine, and eating humus straight out of the container while devilishly nodding at onlookers below like 'that's right, never gonna get this!' mission accomplished. Did I mention we live next to a synagogue? Mwaaahahahaha...

Just have to add that the second Yom Kippur was over, fast and the furious 7 hit the streets. I know you bitches were just sitting with your keys in the ignition for the last five minutes dying to get some pizza.

*remember when is a game only to be played with people you are so close to, that they can handle what a complete ass you are being. For example when my childhood dog passed away and I was a wreck and in tears Coco waited until I was off the phone, looked at me solemnly and said "hey Britt, remember when your dog died?"

*Gotcha! Is relatively the same but it's when you get someone worked up about something that isn't true and right when they are at their breaking point you scream "gotcha!" example: before I set out to see Coco in Indonesia I sent him a e-mail stating that me and a certain tall, tattooed, shitty individual and I had got back together and he was coming with me. The following e-mail was the gotcha! Now it's far more effective in person but sometimes you have to work with what you got.

If you are having a bad day, ruin someone else's, that way you get a little high out of the deal.

A mesage from MP on Yom Kippur:

Saskatchewan Roughriders Bring It to Israel

and look what I found!

 

 

Thanks for the WIN, Boys!

HELLS PUB

Well BB, it's time to get a job, you wanderlust hippie. Luckily for me I figured out the key to a successful retirement is to do it while you are still young and gorgeous. Yes, you can get by on looks, thanks mom and dad. I consider myself semi-retired, let's get that straight first. But I do fill the need for experience and a little cash in the pocket is always nice, especially if there is a sale on wine. On the plus side I have beat the system, nothing goes better with wine than candle light, what power bill?!

So I decided to hit the pavement to see who would hire this English speaking ball of fury. I found myself in an interesting spot of town, hobo's and all around craziness, and thought, yup, I'm home! I made my way up to a sign that stated "Female Bartender Wanted must be 170cm" and headed in to have a chat with the owner. The interview went like this:

GR - "grab that bottle"

I reached for the top shelf and grabbed down a bottle of Jamesons

GR - "ok, so this is how it goes..."

I was there for about a fifteen minute breakdown of how the bar was run, what I could expect to be making, and any other information he could relay. This is the Cole's Notes version. The actual version was a strung out rant from the owner who's owned bars for nearly two decades, hasn't had a holiday and almost as long and is all around bat shit crazy. I affectionally refer to him as the Gordon Ramsey of the pub industry.

I battled out my first weekend, trying to steer clear of GR or messing up too bad as any wrong move sets him into a crazy fury of swears and screaming and all around verbal abuse. I don't take it personally, as I mentioned this guy is nuts, I'm just thankful for have some cash at the end of the night and dive into a occupation I'm all too familiar with. Clearly I'm not the strongest employee just yet but I have realized what little training there has been is shit and it's only a matter of time before I find my groove. I work with a Czech, a Russian, and an American girl (honey boo boo, the spy, and entitled Ke$ha) and we all seem to have a pretty good thing going on. I think in a few weeks time we can really have this pub thing under wraps and hopefully GR can learn to lighten up before half a bottle of Jim Beam and several beer have been guzzled. I thought I had it rough...

Nike Nightrun Tel Aviv

High on my to do list is to run a marathon. I don't consider myself a runner, I doubt I ever will, but I really enjoy it and I decided what better way to celebrate being healthy and happy but to hit the pavement with several other ambitious individuals.

I must admit, I'm a little discouraged because we have just over 50 minutes to run 10K but with MP's encouragement we are going to cold smoke this one. Training starts NOW! We have also encouraged Hagai, my top dawg out here, to run it with us and he has let me know he's got my back on this one as well. October 30 marks the date and I'm very curious to see how well we all do. I suppose the biggest key to finishing is to stay motivated so I'm sending a request for a topless Ryan Gosling to meet me at the finish line (oddly enough I found this photo when I typed his name into Google, things are looking up!) Have your people call my people.