Vegan Friends

I tried to become a vegetarian once. My friend Cora inspired me to become one. We started by abstaining from pork and beef dishes. It was difficult at first but we realized it could be done. We changed our diet to mainly vegetables, fruits and seafoods and occasional chicken. Cora helped me gradually remove chicken from my diet and concentrated on fruits, vegetables and seafoods. We somehow referred to ourselves as semi-vegetarians at that time. I was a successful semi-vegetarian for almost a year. My cousin, Atila also joined the bandwagon. Our next goal was to remove chicken and seafoods from our diet.

But something went wrong along the way. I was too weak to resist the corn dog that my officemate gave me. I was very hungry at that time and there was no other food available. All it took was a single bite and all my vegetarian efforts collapsed like a wall struck by a battering ram.

I failed and they succeeded. Cora and Atila are now full pledged vegans.




Jules and I watched Atila's soccer game at Ateneo a few months ago. After an exciting game, Cora and Atila treated us at their favorite vegan restaurant in Greenhills. When I read the menu, I was surprised that the dishes sounded and looked like the typical meat dishes but used special kind of meat substitutes. It tasted relatively good considering that it wasn't real meat.

What's good about my vegan friends is that they never judged me for failing to become a vegetarian. We still enjoy talking to each other despite some differences on dining choices.