I’m back!

Due to technical malfunctions of my laptop and in between visiting family, I have not been able to post anything for a while. BUT I’M BACKKKK! 🙂

I can’t believe it’s been three weeks since I left Farm Sanctuary and I miss it so much. My last couple of days were extraordinary. Sure, I had work but it was sad knowing I had to say goodbye to all my farm animal friends. It was bittersweet. I still get updates from my coworkers on how everyone is doing. Its unreal that I felt I was leaving a part of my soul there. Acton had been my home for three months and jumping back into a world where not everyone is vegan is a challenge that I had forgotten.

I went to visit my family in Texas for a week and let me tell you, boy it is hard to be a vegan in the BBQ capital of the U.S. Everywhere I went, there were steakhouses and BBQ style restaurants. The smell of meat cooking filled the air and it made me sick to my stomach. You can actually see cattle grazing pastures by the highways and by homes. My first instinct was to jump out of my car and give them love but the feeling was different. These cattle had tags on their ears, numbers instead of names. It broke my heart knowing that within a few shorts months, they would no longer be here. They would be on somebody’s plate. There were calves playing in the field and I knew that someday, they would be stuck in a veal crate waiting for their death. It fills my heart with sadness and anger when I think about it.

That is why we have to make a change. We have to be a voice for these animals that can’t. I’m not saying criticize everyone in your life who eats meat and dairy because then they won’t listen to you . Trust me, I come from a family of vegetarians who can’t give up cheese. However, I find that informing people nicely of how well a vegan lifestyle is sparks their curiosity. When people ask me what I eat and I say everything, they ask me how is that possible. We have to break down vegan stereotypes. I respect vegans who spread the message out there that a vegan lifestyle is the best choice but to get people to change on a deeper level, we have to put the information out there and see what they choose to do with that information. That’s how Farm Sanctuary has impacted people all over the world. It’s how so many see that they are harming animals with spirits and personalities.

Since I am back in sunny Miami, I will still do restaurant reviews of places I went to in California before I start doing ones from Miami. You would think Miami would have a variety of vegan restaurants! I am attending a vegan brunch next week by That Miami Vegan Life so there will be a post on that 🙂

I will post pictures of all the amazing animals that I’ve had a pleasure of working with so stay tuned!

All my love followers,

-Modern Day Vegan

Restaurant Review: Gracias Madre

 
So my roommate and I went to Gracias Madre, a plant-based Mexican restaurant in West Hollywood. Needless to say, I loved it!

The mood and the decor was beautiful and perfect for Saturday night 🙂 We sat at a communal table, which was my first time doing so. The outside had lights hung and beautiful trees planted. Perfect setting to be sipping wine!

I had the black bean burger with cole saw and although it was delicious, it was a little spicy for my taste. I had to sip water in between bites but then again my spice level is not high at all :p 

It was a pretty busy night there so service was a little slow, but our server was super nice and helpful. 

   

   

-Modern Day Vegan

I’m on a farm

Well I’ve officially been at Farm Sanctuary for two weeks so I got a good grip on what tasks to do daily, weekly and such. Being on a farm is such a different environment than what I’m use to. I guess there’s something about being away from cities and civilization that makes me feel comfortable about being by myself. I don’t mean entirely by myself because there’s staff and other interns here too; I mean feeling comfortable about getting to know myself better by being alone.

Anyways, last week for our educational lunch, we were able to talk to Carolyn Merino Mullin, President and Secretary of the National Museum of Animals and Society. It was very educational on what she does, how she started her own museum for animals and how she used to be an intern as well! 🙂 It was very motivating on how you can incorporate animals into what you love to do.

If you want to read more about the National Museum of Animals and Society, you can do so here: http://www.museumofanimals.org/ If you live in Los Angeles, you should definitely check them out! 🙂

As for my days off, I met up with my friend who was visiting from Orlando and explored Los Angeles for the first time since I got there; and let me tell you, Los Angeles is HHHUGGGGEEEEE! We went to walk around downtown Santa Monica and ended up walking 4 miles just on the beach and 3rd street promenade. Here are few pictures I snapped of Santa Monica:

And we walked around Hollywood for a bit where I caught this beautiful sunset:

L.A. is beautiful however it cannot be seen in a day. There are still so many sights to see. I’m glad I got to see a little glimpse of this great city.

-Modern Day Vegan

First week

Welp. My first week at Farm Sanctuary is dunzo!

Most of the work this week has been taking it all in and getting use to working on the farm. It’s not all hard work, as most of it is pretty physical labor. I’m probably going to have tone muscles by the end of my internship lol. Although I felt discouraged during one of the days that I worked because it took me longer to do a task than regular time but baby steps. It all takes practice. I can’t believe it’s only been a week and it feels like months have flown by. I guess that’s what happens when you’re surrounded by nature: time does not matter.

Although it’s been my first week, I do feel a little homesick to be honest. I miss my friends, I miss my family and I definitely miss my cats. I’m hoping not to feel homesick too much as my time goes on here. I never realized that 3 months is a long time. What makes my time away from home worth it are the animals that I get to know everyday. It makes a difference on my part.

I am hoping this week goes a little better seeing as we have a Valentine’s Day event coming up in a couple of days. Hopefully I can celebrate my birthday with some animals. Oh did I forget to mention that I’m a valentine’s day baby? My bad 🙂 I’ll write more as this week goes on!

-Modern Day Vegan

P.S. Happy National Pizza day! I’m off to eat gluten-free vegan pizza 😛

Why are you ignoring me?

Sorry guys! I have not abandoned this blog. Things have been so busy preparing for my trip these past couple of days.
I leave for California on Saturday for my internship to start on Sunday.
If you guys have any questions about vegan lifestyle, leave them in the comments and I’ll answer them in my next blog 🙂

-Modern Day Vegan