Well, at least there’s one of us in Tokyo!

I still do not feel up to par today. Tuesday’s a hectic day for my anyway with 4 classes. I’m not sure if I could ever do more than that, and unlikely 2 days in a row, but with my pocketbook as it is, I may have to open myself to the possibility.

My cold sore is sore, as is my whole body. I was supposed to correct papers today, but I haven’t the energy. I am heading to bed.

Today I had:

green blueberry smoothie
apple juice (commercial)
Asian slaw
raisens
lychees
green salad with mushrooms, pesto sauce and avocado
blueberry-banana shake

My lips look like they’ve become inhabited by some sort of slimy, bubbly alien life form. Itchy and painful as well. PMS cramping came right on the onset of the real thing today, too. I noted I was out of greens when I finally got around to opening the fridge, after realizing that there are a stack of papers I haven’t started looking at that need correcting by tomorrow….. Ugh. No, I’m afraid do not feel on top of my game today either.

Eating well though:

banana and avocado with lemon and honey dressing
green smoothie (berries, water, banana, spinach)
Asian slaw with broccoli sprouts
raisens and peanuts
a fiber mix (phyllium husks etc.) with apple juice (store bought organic, but pasteurized for sure)

I am paying for my sins today. The whole day was a write off. All due to a little too much alcohol. I even missed the last leg of my train ride home, and had to cab it for the last 20km. There I was an hour earlier pleased that I’d not spent so much money on the evening. To make matters worse, I have fever blisters on two parts of my lips (usually appear when by body is under physical stress). We sow what we reap.

It was indeed a great night, however, but I won’t being doing that again for a hopefully a very long while to come. And next time, I’ll have to eat more beforehand! Now that that inevitable evening is over, I plan to focus on being more raw than ever.

Today I had:

huge green smoothie (hydration necessary)
green salad with leftover slaw and avocado
chocolate banana ice cream
peanuts
water

Today I had:

green smoothie (papaya, spinach, banana, agave, water)
green salad with mushrooms, avocados, green onions, balsamic vinegar
banana
raisens
papaya
Asian coleslaw
WINE!!!!
gin and tonics
peanuts

Saw a great film recently called HOME last night. You can actually see the hole film online via YOUTUBE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqxENMKaeCU

A brilliant move to have the whole flick accessible for free, as this is a film that we all need to see. It’s a post Al Gore wake up call, and officially opened just June 5th, in fact, but I just checked today and it already had over 190,000 viewers who have already seen it online. It made me feel proud to be vegan and raw on the one hand, but also guilty in the knowledge that there is so much more I should and shouldn’t be doing. It made me feel angry at the greed that is part of our human nature, but also optimistic in the end about our resourcefulness and unity when push comes to shove. And push has come to shove. French directors had the simply idea of narration, areal video, and beautiful world music to effectively get the message across: if we want to survive as a whole planet, we have to start looking to the sun and stop brutally savaging the earth.

Here’s the trailer, but if you’ve got 90 min., go watch the whole thing.

In retrospect a lot did not go well today: I had a student show up who I thought had dropped out and wreck a certain amount of havoc on one of my classes. Experience has shown that his genre do tend to eventually flunk out, but it is my duty to support them. It’s just a shame that one individual can suck out a teacher’s life force, leaving little for the other students who patiently await it to return. Two of my other students approached me after class, encouraging me and themselves with a a friendly, gambarismashou! with reference to this somewhat unsavory shit disturber. (meaning, “Let’s hang in there and do our best to tolerate this dip-shit.”)

I ate lightly all day and was overly hungry when I returned. The batch of humus I most often make lasts 2 or 3 days, but I ate the whole preparation this evening. As a result I feel full and bloated and gassy. (Every thing is raw, but no, the beans were canned. I usually try to soak out at least as many nasties such as salt as I can, but the fact remains that they are cooked. And you know what happens when you eat too many beans!

I mentioned that I am into sprouting, but my recent exploration into wheat berries failed. I nurtured them according to instructions for 5 days, and a few did sprout, but mostly, they just sat pretty, and today I smelled them and noted that they’d fermented. I wasn’t sure if they were still edible in this soft, semi-fermented phase, and was to angry at them anyway, so I tossed them in the bin. I have broccoli seeds excitedly awaiting their turn. Oh, maybe I did not mention that I’d found a few sprouting seeds at a garden center recently? Not much, though. What I’d really like to get is sproutable garbanzo beans. I love my humus, after all! (I make mine with raw miso added- it’s divine!)

Anyway, back to the bloating and farting and all things bad (not to dwell): I think I am having some sort of comparably mild PMS. Not the headaches, back pain, or severe grumpiness that I used to have prior to going raw, but definitely cravings and lethargy. I guess I’ll know for sure in a few days.

I also left my cell phone at work today. That’s a real bummer, as I’ll have to take an hour out of my day tomorrow to go and fetch it. Mustn’t be without one’s cell, no matter how many toxic radio waves it gives out!

I didn’t fight with my roommate today, though, so that has to stand for something. I am hoping to soon replace him with an awesome individual that I know, who needs to think the offer through some more. My current roomie is all…. well… it’s not good karma to talk badly of people, but yes, he is extremely …. negative and damaged. That is as euphemistic as I can get I’m afraid, and those two words do not sound like euphemisms! Moving in with this person was hands down probably the worst personal decision I have ever made. My intuition did say “no” to us living together at first in fact, but I chose to ignore it. So now I am quite convinced that there is something to be said for intuition! I’ve often imagined over the last year how much much more wonderful life would be if surrounded by people who are positive. I do believe that we are all responsible for our own happiness and should not let ourselves be affected by any negativity in others around us. However, there comes a time when one realizes that some people are best avoided, if only for the sake of one’s own emotional and mental heath! This current roommate relationship is very toxic. And I am on a long term detox mission, baby!

Well, the detox will be put on hold for the near future. I’m going into town for a piss-up in Harajuku with old colleagues from a prior job. There will be consumption of vast amounts of toxic alcoholic substances. I will try to eat well for the rest of the day, and get back on track the day after.

Today I had:

green smoothie (yellow watermelon, spinach, banana, and too much agave)
salad with avocado, greens, zucchini, cucumber, mushrooms, oil and vinegar)
raisens
cherries
raw carrots, mushrooms, broccoli, snap peas with too much humus
Asian slaw
red wine (organic, no additives of course!)

I couldn’t be bothered to eat the same old stuff today, after opening and peering into my fridge this afternoon. Then I suddenly came across the most bizarre food combo idea, and it was delicious. Quite simply, I just ate sliced banana and avocado together. YUM!

Spent most of the day fretting about my abode. I am in dire need of a new roommate! Is anyone out there interested in moving in?

Today I ate:

green smoothie (spinach, berries, banana, agave)
watermelon
banana
avocado
giant mushrooms and leftover humus
zucchini pasta with ruccola-cashew pesto
red wine

Today I purposefully and methodologically planned to sin. Since noon I was dreaming about a Starbucks soy latte, and decided, “screw it!- let’s make an experiment of this!” I wanted to see a) if it was as delicious as I remembered and b) if it would make me feel like crap. The results, dear readers, are mixed.

1) I cannot lie: it tasted good. Great in fact. So much for a change in taste buds.

2) Within minutes after drinking the last drop, I felt as if I had major PMS cramps in my stomach. Once the stuff hit my gut, I felt more cramping and much bloating. I got a little diarrhea later. This reminded me of my experience eating salt too soon after breaking a fast. The body does know what is not good for it, once you allow it to highten its own awareness! Strangely, I did not suffer from caffeine shakes or too much energy or anything like that.

What I am bummed about is not the fact that the effects on my insides were so bad, but the fact that it tasted good. I was rather hoping it would be as bad as smoking a cigarette a year after quitting. (Delighted to report that it tastes like crap, and for the life of me I cannot understand why I subjected myself to all those carcinogens year after year. But I’ve forgiven myself for that- remorse and regret serve no purpose.) Perhaps I only psychologically thought it tasted good?

Well, just because the coffee tasted good, doesn’t mean that the body actually does not, in fact, ultimately crave what is good for it. After all, I’ve finished 2 months mostly raw, and I can very honestly say now that I look forward to my fruit and salads whenever I get hungry. Before it would be cooked curry or cookies, so this change has got to stand for something. I guess I need more time.

Today I ate:

green smoothie (spinach, berries, banana, agave)
raisens
cherries
pumpkin seeds, goji berries, pine nuts, and currants (trail mix)
double serving of zucchini pasta with ruccola-cashew pesto and leftover humus
giant mushrooms
white wine

Yes, I have definitely fallen for the raw food trap: reducing raw fruits, eating more veggies, but then loading up on fats due to calorie deficiency. I think I need to do a few days of fruit only to get into the high-fruit grove!

Bravo for Shelly Abegg, who defeated advanced cancer on her raw food diet: