My 200th Posting

Well, my social life really is all or nothing. Taking into account this weekend: Drinks after work with a colleague on Friday followed by drinks with another friend before going to a concert. (Side story, one of the friends having drinks with us was in a national commercial with Tiger Woods, and I have not seen him since the scandal, so I asked him about the fallout since he gets paid every time the commercial runs -- since the commercial was pulled after the scandal, and a future commercial was shelved, he figures that he will have lost $500,000 in planned income becasue of Mr. Woods indiscretions. I just thought that was quite interesting! Not to mention that maybe I should do commercials instead of selling advertising - a far easier way to make a buck!)

So, late Friday night there was the concert, the Bogman, great show! Then Saturday at noon was the Heineken Cup rugby final with a good friend and Irishman - try having just one there. Then Saturday night with a group of friends and heard plenty of, "Hey, you look great! And you are drinking again, let me buy you a drink!" And then Sunday at brunch with a very dear old girlfriend at the great restaurant Landmarc -- I opted for the oatmeal and fruit, but I did order a Bloody Mary. She is the only one who could look at my life before, take my vegan quest into account, and pinpoint where I was currently falling Short, while the world around me congratulated me... and she'd be right.

The bold statements I said I would be making this weekend where bold indeed - negatively! Simply put with the group of friends that I have in a city where social drinking is more of a tradition than most every other city, and yes that means you Chicago, and Sydney, and London, it is either abstinence or indulgence -- the middle ground for a guy is nearly impossible to find. I said "nearly." Although it has been 24 days since the end of the 100% vegan lifestyle and I have yet to have a hamburger or a steak (I expected them to go #1, #2 in my normal eating draft come May 1), my socializing has been on par with all my other friends, and that means full steam ahead.

Sunday was a great day of reflection for me - starting with an incredible conversation with an old girlfriend, then I read a great blog aabout a woman who has reinvented herself ( http://girlreinvented.com/), then mass, and then seeing a buddy of mine who has gone through an even more extreme transformation. This friend was once a short, fat, sweaty, cocaine addict, bartender with a life that was out of control. His friends pulled an intervention over a year ago and now he is incredibly slim, very fit, but still short. I chose not to drink Sunday night even though it was the Yankees vs. the Mets, but I popped in to say hello to my pal. In fact, it was in his bar that I watched the NYC Marathon way back on November 1, 2009 sipping my water and munching an apple. He looks like a completely different person, and he in turn heaped tons of praise on me. With this I felt guilty since my weekend choices were not impressive!

Finally, as I settled in for the evening and read the Sunday Times I read an article in the Travel Section by Matt Gross (http://travel.nytimes.com/2010/05/23/travel/23frugalwalk.html?ref=travel). He was recreating a small portion of a 1933 trek across Europe made by the famous British travel writer, Patrick Leigh Fermor. Mr. Gross said he would travel from Vienna to Budapest on foot. Being that I wrote about my train experience from Vienna to Budapest a number of years ago (mine focusing more on the experience of going to a former Eastern Bloc country for the first time) I was eager to read about this guy's sojourn. First of all, reading his account gave me additional motivation to realize that I could certainly write for the New York Times. Second, and more importantly, after becoming invested in his story, he gave up. Sure he walked over 100 miles, but because of sore ankles, and with 25 miles to go to Budapest he quit, and took a bus. He justified it, but as a reader, I felt cheated.

When I started My Vegan Quest I always said that I would stay off the drink initially at first, but reintroduce it once I get going. Both my friend the athletic junk food junkie, and the Skeptical Doctor challenged me to stave off the drink for the entire 6 months, so too did the chorus from the Ladies of London. People were invested in my vegan quest, and if I were to alter that they would feel cheated as I did with that travel story in the Times.

With so few pounds to go to reach my goal I think I better realize that my social life must be restricted. I am so close, and even though I know I'll reach my goal, to do so over a period of many months is akin, in my mind, to quitting.

I am going to put further restrictions on my social life since I am not going to find new friends, nor will I move out of New York. Why? Because I have mastery over my food diet, but not my drink diet. Until I master both, and get to my 225 lbs, I am going to have to put Draconian restrictions on myself.