Comradia

Quick & easy cake that includes a whole can of chickpeas! 

I saw this recipe that used a box cake mix & threw in a can of blended chickpeas instead of eggs. I’ve been wanting to try it since I saw it.

The cake turned out quite delicious. The tin of frosting appears to be mostly vegan (“may contain milk ingredients”) and the box mix was similar. The cake didn’t stick together very well, which it may do when it completely cools (I was impatient and began eating it right away). It was so good & I can’t believe there is an entire can of chickpeas in it!

So I realized I haven’t actually made a post on this since March 17! Goodness! No wonder my head is full of thoughts. I just picked out some of my favourite food pictures to tag into this. I’ve had some serious deliciousness during this time.

I loved the cookies I made: chocolate chip almond & peanut butters! I used the leftover dough for delicious cookie dough ice cream (I bought Almond Dream to use for this but seriously should stick to Bliss Coconut Ice Cream because it it the most delicious).

I’m starting to reach the point where I have too much work to do to actually finish it all, so I made a list of the bare minimum that is necessary to accomplish. Prioritizing for exams is very important. I also pulled out a lot of my Indian food from the freezer, so that should keep me sustained for all the ridiculous studying that I need to do. 

So what have I been up to? I’ve had some awesome hang outs with great friends that I love!

I randomly met a bunch of awesome grad students after a talk on animals & law by Gary Francione (lots of thoughts on that which will have to wait for post-exams post). We went out for burgers and then just spent the whole evening together. One of them lives next to my building, so I had a bus buddy from downtown! It was awesome :D and we had the greatest conversations.

Somewhere at this point my friend introduced me to Noel Fielding’s Luxury Comedy and I’m in love with Noel Fielding now. What I would do to find some tall skinny person in tight black clothes with eyeliner. #swoon

With my friends: we’ve hit up the Noodle Box twice, we finished our constitutional law assignments, we watched Hunger Games! My Hunger Games evening was so much fun: my friend came over for Indian take out with Doctor Who watching, followed by Hunger Games, then the local watering hole. While waiting at the bus stop, I bumped into my bus buddy from the previous week! It was awesome and on our way home, I suggested she come over for my vegan banana brownies and she AGREED! So at 2 am, we watched Blink from Doctor Who and ate brownies. #AwesomeSauce

The next day my friend came over to help study and do brownies. I find I work better when people are around sometimes…I really need to find my study sweet spot.

I keep meeting new people and feeling very comfortable with speaking to strangers, which excites me because it helps with the ultimate political goals. Yesterday, I hit up bubble tea, Vietnamese restaurant, and vegan dessert at Market Green. This was so much fun, with two great and lovely ladies.

Yesterday was fun too! Post classes ended up going to the beach, then coffee shop, then pub with my friend. When being dropped off, I suggested we eat brownies & my friend AGREED! (<— notice this weird theme?). We were going to play my Wii but the batteries of the remotes were dead, so we ended up watching Doctor Who. I love the 2-part library episodes with vashta nerada. So much fun!

Other things that I am into now courtesy of a particularly enabling friend (she introduced me to Noel Fielding’s Luxury Comedy): The Mighty Boosh, Never Mind the Buzzcocks, and Rachel Maddow. I’ve also watched the Big Fat Quiz of the Year 2010 twice now. Richard Ayoade & Noel Fielding are hilarious! #NicheCorner

My first stab at making quinoa! It is so delicious and was so easy to make. I threw in 1 cup quinoa, 3 cups water, 1 cup of frozen mixed veggies, spoonful of Earth Balance, spoonful of balsamic vinaigrette, dash of dried red chili peppers, dash of cumin seeds, dash of celery seeds, 5 raisins (yes exactly five) and salt.

Not really sure why I threw in such random things but they worked out so nicely. I needed to record it to make sure I will be able to replicate it.

I also made garlic wedges from the freezer, because I have random cravings. Yes, I’m weird.

Also today’s smoothie: peanut butter, banana, blueberries, and vanilla rice milk. 

Oh my science! It’s been (nearly) a week since I last blogged. How can this be? Have I been doing nothing at all for a week? Was I in a coma the entire time? No, I apparently got over the novelty of recording my days in Tumblogs. Anyways, I still enjoy diary entries, so I’m posting now.

My last post was on Thursday, March 8. Let me just track back the things I have been up to since then.

On Friday, I cleaned like a crazed person and my apartment was spectacular. Unfortunately, it was exhausting and it felt like the whole day just blew past without any time for reflection. For dinner, I went to the Joint for vegan pizza with some very interesting new people from the local vegan club. We spent 4 hours chatting and it was very interesting - range of topics feminism, veganism, anarchy, etc. I’m pretty excited to meet people outside my law school circle, it helps add some diversity and reminds me that there is a real world outside. Although, I’m still in this circle of being around critically thinking people. It’s a pleasure but sometimes I wonder if it is wise…

On Saturday, I grocery shopped like a maniac. I had to kidnap a grocery cart to my apartment to get all the stuff inside (I promptly returned it). My friend had invited me over to watch The Princess Bride and have vegan paella (so awesome!). She had a panic attack over these ants in her apartment, so I went there early to just provide some company and pretend to do readings (read for a total of 30 minutes).

On Sunday, I bought a BIKE! I’m so excited to have another means of transportation. Moreover, it is quite exhilarating! I love the tinging sensation of pain my lungs, the out of breathness, and the flushed face feelings. It will be so much fun over the summer in Victoria. I also made these delicious roasted veggies - turns out roasted radishes are absolutely delightful! 

On Monday, I woke up on time to go to bloody Contracts class. And guess what? Class was fucking cancelled. Yeah. Anyways, as a result, I was really exhausted the whole day. It’s really a blur, I can’t remember much. Except that my constitutional law professor is so AWESOME! She had a great discussion with some of us after class and she endorsed my idea of violent revolution to change the system ;) 

On Tuesday, I had made this total fail of a crockpot creation (I really need to follow recipes - which will be easier now that I have two new cookbooks), so I had to make a new dinner. I made a strategy to follow for final exams. It’s time to really kick it up a notch and start getting things done. This weekend is a catch-up on Contracts, Torts, and Constitutional. I’m almost caught up on the latter two but the first is just going to kick my ass.

On Wednesday (today), I had a fabulous day because I slept in. I got my new cookbooks. I went to my favourite class (constitutional). My law school friends are so delightful, we hung around after class chatting until another class showed up 25 minutes later. Then we decided to carry the conversation to the Grad House over food. So class ended at 3 pm, we left the pub at 6 pm. So many laughs! We are such a loud bunch of people and have such great conversation. I love them! I came home to delicious vegan kheer in the crockpot (followed a recipe). It’s been a great day!

So that’s the skeleton list of what I have done. Now just some broader things that are going on.

I seem to have buried Foucault under some law readings, but I have been sticking to daily readings of Butler’s Gender Trouble. I find it resonates so much with my thoughts/beliefs/values. I am slightly disappointed at myself for not having read it before. I keep reflecting on my undergrad degree and I’m somewhat regretting having finished in 3 years. I feel like there was so much more I could learn and trying to cram it in now is difficult with my law school course load. I feel like my head might explode with so many insights/thoughts/frustrations/etc. Thankfully my summer position is on animals, law, theory from feminist/queer/postcolonial perspectives. My efforts to read more philosophy/theory are related to becoming more familiar with these perspectives. I’m so glad to have some great supports from the most random places when it comes to this process of educating outside the law school For instance, I was referred to the Cyborg Manifesto by a Twitterfriend (that’s a thing right? in the Facebook age, we are all friends!)…anyways point being, it totally relates to the work the prof I’m going to work with in the summer is doing (in fact she wrote a paper drawing on Harraway’s ideas with animal rights). I just wish I could do #ALLTHEthings at the same time…Alright, I feel pretty good with getting this written. It’s easier than carrying it all around in my all the time…

Apologies for spelling/grammar errors…I’m too lazy to edit as usual & I’m also kind of intrigued by the idea of how language constrains what can be considered intelligible in ways that reflect power hierarchies.

These past two days have been awesome! I love life these days (I may be actively focusing on awesome things).

I ended up going on a downtown adventure after classes yesterday. I hit up the stationery store. I’m still looking to find the perfect love letter paper. I’m thinking I should find some TARDIS blue. But my fountain pen is purple ink & I kind of want to use that. #stationerygeekproblems

The shop next door sold a bunch of awesome games! I need to set up a crew of people to play with, that and I would benefit from having a dining table. I just don’t know how I would get it from store to my apartment. #toomuchhassle. But I want to game!

I then decided to hit up this fabulous used bookstore. It’s amazing and stuffed to the brim. I picked up Vol. 1 of Foucault’s History of Sexuality.

With this in hand, I decided to head to the ocean because I love it. On the way, I happened to stop to tie my shoelace, looked up and noticed the Irish Linens Store that my friend had recommended to me! I picked up those lovely handkerchiefs. I’ve found them awesome! I love using fewer kleenex (or facial tissue paper, because kleenex is simply a brand).

I sat there for a good hour near the ocean reading Foucault. It was fabulous and I managed to have a friend decide to join me for dinner. It got cold, so I headed to David’s Tea. The Read My Lips soy latté is so delicious. It’s love in a cup. 

I then went to Lotus Pond again because I can’t get enough of those vegan soy balls. I found a recipe that I want to try.

Is it just me or do I think way too much about food? 

Anyways, today was awesome! We had a brilliant community building exercise at the law school. It was so enlightening and empowering. I’m so pumped to be a part of this progressive change that we are all striving for.

After the community conference, I hit up a meeting of the Victoria Vegan club. I’m so pumped, they were all such an amazing and rad bunch of people. It was so nice to be around people that understood some of the struggles that I was facing and that had similar ethical viewpoints on their relationships with animals. I also appreciated their general social justice ethos. Moreover, it was awesome that everyone came from such diverse backgrounds, ages, etc. but were coming together to work on this fabulous Victoria Vegan Festival scheduled for Canada Day.

I’ve tried to keep this post shorter. I’m thinking I’ll separate my critical reflection posts from my diary posts…it’s a false dichotomy but it probably allows for better engagement.

Introduction

I guess I have decided this will be bi-daily posts, which means they’ll be super long and filled with too many pictures. I wonder how long I will keep this up for, but anyways, I’ve decided to add sub-headings. Exciting, right? I find they help organize my thoughts and this is how I write exams, so it’s good practice (wtf, did I just justify tumbling as exam practice…yeah, I totally did #facepalm).

Sunday, 4 March 2012

Yesterday turned out to be a total wash of a day. It was like the way my Reading Week felt: I didn’t get any work but I didn’t have any fun. I hate when I do this. It’s the most useless way of spending one’s life. I’d much rather just have fun. Next time, I need someone to tell me to just go out and do something fun.

Crockpot Creations

Check out my first efforts with the Crockpot. I probably should have found a recipe, but instead I threw in things that I thought would be delicious. I put in lentils, red kidney beans, rice, broccoli, a red bell pepper, a celery, tomatoes, and a carrot. It turned out to be mush, but totally delicious mush. I’m pretty glad about the Crockpot, so many ideas. Next up: vegan kheer. Yeah, my mouth waters at the thought too.

Gardein Buffalo Wings

I’m such a hungry bear (speaking of which, I currently think I may be hungry again after eating dinner & having two smoothies #facepalm), I decided my mush would not be enough to feed me, so I pulled out these Gardein wings. I’ve never actually tried any Gardein products. I was feeling really strange about the smell of the sauce. I think having been vegetarian this long, one develops aversions to things that are associated with meat, which obviously buffalo sauce has been for me. However, the wings were delicious. I’m so excited about learning more about my food. I’ve just recently learned about TVP (textured vegetable protein). It’s fascinating, I’ve been eating it for years, just not knowing what it was.

Desserts!

I finished up the last two vegan gulab jamuns…and I also had some of my vegan pineapple coconut ice cream. I love this ice cream so much. I need to find a vegan mint chocolate chip ice cream. I’ve been craving that.

Porn

Best sub-heading, right? I ended up “watching” (only half-paying attention to) Zack and Miri Make a Porno. Yeah, I know, I don’t know why I watched it. I suppose when I’m having a terrible day, the solution is to add its terribleness. It was a dumb movie, nothing that pushed the boundaries or anything like that. But it got me thinking about porn. 

I recently checked out porn for the first time (recently meaning like two months ago). I find it fascinating how people navigate discourse about porn, especially from my perspective as a woman. I was in a course on Sexual Ethics last year, in which this fairly anti-feminist guy pointed out how he thought feminist porn was some fiction & that he knew no one who actually watched. To me, it just seemed like, well why would anyone tell you that they watch feminist porn (especially him)? But it’s also interesting to me that I only know one woman that openly has talked to me about watching porn. I’m not sure if men talk to each other about porn, or how people of other genders approach it. It’s just interesting to me that it’s something that I have never really had discussions about. I just wonder if it has to do with porn being too intimate of an experience, like is it just TMI? (I have really sketch notions of TMI, as I tweet about my menstrual cycle) Or is it this socialization that we shouldn’t talk about sex? Anyways, I was going to theorize more, but I just discovered a pro-sex vegetarian/vegan porn site, so I need to reflect on it…? :O They have nude pictures of people making veggie food…I’m not even sure if I should comment on this.

Straight Edge

Probably a strange transition from porn to straight edge (vxv). I just recently discovered this straight edge vegan movement. It’s fascinating! I love the radicalism. It is also explains to me why someone asked me at some point whether my non-participation in alcohol was a straight edge thing. I don’t really have a position on it yet, but it kind of excites me to learn more about it.

Humble the Poet

So yesterday was a day of discovering radicalism. Humble the Poet is a young South Asian Canadian poet. I know he’s popular amongst a lot of my fellow young desis, including my brother. But I have never taken time to listen to his works. I stumbled on this last night at 2 am. It breaks my heart because the stories are so real, things that I know and have experienced. It’s a brilliant navigation of diasporic politics, social justice concepts, and is artistic. 

This is the type of thing that I truly care about, but it also is so personal that I often struggle with it. I wrote my undergraduate thesis on multiculturalism and gender equality. The literature on the subject was about dealing with tensions between the two. I found myself evaluating the way I was raised and I remembered some really uncomfortable things that I had forgotten. The literature tends to argue that girls in minority cultures are socialized to believe they have less value than their brothers. When reflecting on this, I remembered that my mother use to tell me when I was 5 or so things like “girls shouldn’t talk so much” or “girls shouldn’t laugh so loudly” (background: I was admittedly a pretty loud and talkative kid…heck I still am, and I love laughing). I also remembered that I would ask her “why” and upon not receiving a satisfactory answer would continue to my own thing. On the one hand, I was pretty happy to recall that I’ve always been quite assertive. But, on the other hand, my mom has changed quite a bit and would never say something like that to me, so it made me feel uncomfortable. How do I even deal with that? It’s always difficult to study things that are so personal and that you care so much about. 

Monday, 5 March 2012

Today was a chaotic day - but way better than yesterday. I had one of those days where I was rushing to get things put together because I was so unproductive. 

Summer Research Position

I was offered the summer research position on the project on animals, law, and feminism. I’m so excited about this. It’s exactly where I’m at both personally and academically. I’m so pumped about it, I want to start reading some critical theory literature to familiarize myself with the relevant material. I can’t decide what to start with.

Moot

I had my first moot (mock trial). See my chaotic paper mess of preparation and my lovely friend D, who I had dinner with after the moot. She’s fabulous. She’s into Doctor Who, politics, and stationery. I’ve decided the combination of these three things automatically elevates people to a level of coolness. 

Witness my silly self-portrait & my shoes.

Conclusion

Anyways, I’m kind of exhausted now. I think I philosophized about too many things in this post. I’m not sure if I should separate things out into smaller posts, or just keep it lengthy like this. I’m not sure if anyone has actually read to this point, but I’d love to hear your thoughts on the matter.

Added Observations on Food

Also, I cut up a pineapple! And then I made a pineapple, raspberry, and coconut milk smoothie. It was so delicious. I can’t even begin to capture the deliciousness. Oh, I tried rice milk this week! I got this brown basmati kind & I quite like the flavour. I need to go buy some brown rice for my kheer recipe & I want to buy some quinoa, take the plunge and try making it. I also want some more Gardein products (but I think I may have to class them under junk food). I feel like I’ve been eating & thinking about food *way* more since going vegan - not sure if this is good or bad yet.