Lest We Forget About Kind Vegans.

What's one thing that I cannot stand? If you guessed ignorant vegans, you are right.
Yes, even courteous people have pet peeves, but before I continue I want everyone to know that I do NOT dislike all vegans! Just wanted to make that clear before continuing. Now, these vegans are the ones who not only verbally bash people who eat meat, but they bash on pescatarians and every type of vegetarian as well.

They believe that we're the ignorant ones because if we were any "smarter" or "aware" of dairy then we'd all be vegan. What they refuse to see is that many of us are more than aware of the dairy/ poultry industry BUT everyone is entitled to make their own choices.

Some of these vegans go as far as to say that vegetarians lack compassion and a connection with animals that only vegans  can feel. I have probably watched all of the animal abuse and meat, dairy, and poultry factory videos that these vegans have watched and read the pamphlets as well. Instead of attacking vegetarians, they should be more understanding because many of them started off as vegetarians.

I was vegan for a year but reverted back to my vegetarian lifestyle when I moved out. I live on a very tight budget and am still learning how to cook more vegetarian (and VEGAN) dishes. I even avoid dairy milk, butter, and cheese as much as I can. I only drink dairy milk in smoothies and shakes (unless there is almond milk at home) but never by itself. Do these vegans know this about me? Of course not, so they put me under this category where they see me less superior to them because I am not "aware" of the dairy industries cruelty towards cows.

I know what goes on behind the curtain, but as I said earlier, these people don't know my situation or the situation of other vegetarians. I admire kind and understanding vegans; not only were some of them vegetarians once, but they're strong enough to be amiable towards people who do not live the same lifestyle as theirs. Below is a list of some of my favorite vegan bloggers and their blogs. Feel free to visit them and give them a follow!

~Heavenly Vegans:~

(No Particular Order.)

Bianca Phillips: Vegan Crunk

Bianca: ReLove Plan.et

Shannon: Leaves & Flours

Kala: Vegan Craftastic

Shaheen: A2K - A Seasonal Veg Table

Jen: Bankrupt Vegan

Tiffany: Bread Without Butter

Kittee: Cake Maker To The Stars -- Vegan and Gluten-Free

VegHog: The VegHog

Lisa: We Don't Eat Anything With A Face

Melody Polakow: Melomeals: Healthy and delicious mostly vegan, frugal recipes.

Amey: Vegan Eats & Treats!

Have you ever dealt with difficult vegans? Feel free to comment and share your opinions and/ or stories in the comment box below.

Echo Park Lake & Summer Mathematics!

Remember how I said on my last post that I'd start going out more and become more hands-on with the things I write about? Well I went out yesterday for a very long time and had the chance to go to the small Echo Park park in Echo Park of course. Across the street is the Echo Park lake which is closed for reconstruction; however, the grand opening will be in this mid June!

I found out about the Echo Park lake when I was in high school. I attended a very small high school which consisted of only one building with two floors, a parking lot on the front, the back, and a basketball court outside. So sometimes for P.E we would hop on the school bus and run laps around the Echo Park lake. At that time the trees, grass, and lake looked pretty washed up so I'm very excited that the city has decided to clean up the lake and restore the beauty that the Echo Park lake once had. Below is a photo of what the lake looked like while still in very good, young, and fresh conditions.

Source.

I know a couple of people who have snuck in at night, but I'd rather wait to see the finished product! (;

(You can see the new water! I took this photo while passing by.)

The next thing I look forward to is my Summer semester! Most students would hate taking a Summer class, but I'm actually excited! I'll be taking a math class from  Monday - Thursday from the morning till the afternoon. The class is four hours long, but unlike most college semesters, this one is only six weeks long! I'd rather take six weeks of math than four and a half months of math!

Do you have anything that you're looking forward to?

P.S: I wonder, where did they put all of the ducks, swans, and geese that lived in the Echo Park Lake?

Finding Answers For The Love Of Vegetarian Courtesy!

I'm very open with my readers on my thoughts and opinions, and lately I haven't posted anything because I've been so pensive on what to discuss. So many things to write about, but not knowing where to start or how to explain them. Normally I find my answers while asking a question aloud so I might just find my answer in this blog post as I keep typing.

There are times where I think to myself, "The slaughter of animals will never end because not everyone has the ability (or will refuse) to think like an animal rights activist." And so the question comes in of, "Why try?" Maybe not every animal lover in the world has asked themselves the question, but I can't help to think of all the animal abuse that goes on in a daily basis. I'm pretty much stumped; I'm stuck as a college student in an apartment with no pets, no vegetables to grow, no car, no job, on a tight budget, and because of all of this I can't do anything about animal abuse, the environment, the charm or ignorance of vegetarians, vegans, and omnivores, except surf the internet and write.

I wish I could do more hands on work so that I can discuss my experiences with everyone. I'd love to share blog posts about visiting rescue farms, information on certain animals that I have seen or taken care of, etc. I become very happy when I can make others happy or teach people things that they end up loving. I know that I will certainly do this in the future, but I'd love if that could start today. I live in the city (which I love!) but that makes things a bit harder for a blogger looking for nature and many animals, hence where  a car would come in handy!

What I discovered now is that even if the abuse of animals never ends, educating the public about the subject can help reduce the cruelty. This is something I've always believed in but had forgotten by thinking of the things that I don't have which I listed above. I feel more willing to find alternatives to explore my surroundings. Maybe go out walking or on the bus and find vegetarian/ vegan friendly places, interview pet owners, find parks, and much more. I would never want to leave this blog and I won't, I'm more willing and inspired to write and explore my surrounding more than ever. I'll be more alert when I'm outside and brainstorm new ideas for the blog and for my own personal knowledge as well.

Happy reading and happy blogging to everyone.

Stereotypes.

I said I would go into further detail about "fakes," so here I am with this new blog post! Who are the "fakes?" Basically, they are the people who pretend to be someone they're not, whether they are said to be a metal head, punk, rockabilly, humanitarian, prep, jock, hipster, mod, etc! Anyone with an ignorant and/or close-minded attitude who purposely labels themselves under a specific stereotype and tries to dress the part is (in one form or another) lying to themselves.

The only people who are considered "real" and themselves are the people who lived through that time or have been into the scene that they're in for many years. Older metal heads that wear band shirts with long hair are still seen as just being themselves because they lived through the different stages of heavy metal. A 2O13 15 year-old trying to dress and act like a 15 year-old from the thrash crazed youth of the '8Os is just being unreal with himself.

Are there any exceptions? Sure! Many of these people grew up and had children, whom they taught about their lifestyle and music. These children grow up to like the same things that their parents did in their youth because they were exposed to that at a very young age. However, there is such a thing as peer pressure and if they are only dressing/ acting a certain way because of family or friends, then they are trapped in their own denial and fear of rejection.

Vegetarians can easily fall into these stereotypes as well. We and vegans are already notoriously stereotyped as the "ignorant and annoying animal lovers who can't get a clue that not everyone will give up meat." But I'm sure you wouldn't want to be known as that ignorant hipster vegetarian who judges others but can't get a clue. (I have already seen MANY of those!) You can listen to whatever music you want and wear whatever clothes you want to wear, even if you don't look like someone who listens to the genre that you love the most!

I was raised on '6Os - '9Os Spanish music, gangster rap, '8Os indie pop, different stages of heavy metal, and grunge. To this very day I still love every one of those genres and many more, but my favorite will always be heavy metal. They hold good memories of singing Ozzy songs with my big brother and Deftones songs with my big sister. I was brought up loving this music and would wear band shirts in high school along with the occasional family hand-me-down acid washed denim jacket. I was known as the vegetarian metal head in high school, but that never stopped me from wearing a floral top to school or pink tights. I'm a little older now, and I still wear band shirts every now and then, but if I ever found a piece of clothing that someone would label as punk, vintage, girly, etc. I wouldn't care; if I like the garment then I will wear the darn thing! I know who I am and I wear what I like, regardless of the label that was put on by someone who probably doesn't know any better. If I don't like beer, I'm not going to drink like a "metal head." If I don't like to be extremely rowdy and tough, then I won't act as such!

Looks and music come with a certain attitude and personality that people have judged and labeled over the years. Metal heads drink, punks don't care about the law, psychobilly's have a bad attitude, hipsters like vintage trinkets and cigarettes. One thing that every one who stereotypes others has in common is that they are all very JUDGMENTAL, and no one should have to be that way. If you genuinley love a certain style, wear the clothing that you love, but be aware that there will be people who will label you as having a certain attitude because every "label" has a specific attitude. Love all the music and styles you want to love, but always be yourself and present yourself in clothing that shows people who you really are. Never force yourself to look up rockabilly, punk, metal, indie, or any type of bands because you want to prove to the world you're not "fake." You can be into whatever you like, as long as you're not pretending to be into the scene and judging others who try as well, because you don't know their story.

This is what my childhood room looked like in the '9Os. On the bed is Oso, a.k.a: "Osito Bonito" R.I.P. 1994 - 2O1O

Wish List Wednesday! (7)

No wishes for me today. If anything, a two year-old wish of mine came true last night! I saw Anvil and Motörhead yesterday, but let me give you a little background history on the situation:  I have already seen Anvil back in 2O1O and was about to see Motörhead in 2O11 but I turned out to be broke. However, I was right in front of the pit with my boyfriend last night and the show was very exciting and my boyfriend caught the guitar pick of Motörhead's guitarist!

There was the usual wanna-be's at the show, but my boyfriend and I have this belief that why would someone have to dress a certain way in order to go to a certain event like a heavy metal concert? Wearing a leather jacket, tight ripped pants, and white high top sneakers with long hair doesn't make you any tougher or makes you know more about the heavy metal genre than someone who is dressed in casual attire to the same concert.

We can see in many of the younger crowd's faces that they are just (for lack of a better term) cowards. I even saw an unexpected face at the concert which just proved our point even more on how fake people can be. The only people who seemed like they weren't pretending to be someone they're not were the people from the age of 27 and up. Why? Because these people lived through the prime of heavy metal. They actually experienced the growth of heavy metal, new wave British heavy metal, hair/glam metal, and thrash. The youth nowadays thinks that because they dress like a certain musician or wear the "uniform" of band shirts and tight jeans that they are very metal, but they are only in denial. Yes, I'm only 2O, but thanks to experience and conversations with people of all age ranges I've learned to not fall into the same place as these young people. Vegetarian or not, everyone should be true to themselves.

I'll go more into depth on the subject in a different blog post. But for now, I leave you all with a couple of pictures from last night. Enjoy!

Lips from Anvil:

Lemmy from Motörhead: