Day 3

Every Sunday morning, my parents, grandmother and I go out for brunch and I wanted John there for moral support. Before departure I checked my e-mails, and a creepy, little spider sped across my computer screen. "Kill it!" I screamed. Of course, John gently swept it off the computer and onto the floor. Great. Now he's gonna go and tell all his friends and family that we're vegan pushovers and they're gonna lay eggs under my pillow and they're gonna all hatch and nibble me while I sleep. Speaking of pillows, "Is it vegan to sleep on these down pillows?" I asked. "I guess if you already have them you can sleep on them, just don't buy them again." It seems as though eating vegan is fairly simple to understand, whereas living a vegan lifestyle is subject to interpretation.

On the way to meet the fam, I put on some chapstick.

"Is that vegan?" John asked. Burt's Beeswax. DARNIT!

John mocked me for my mishap.

"I'm beginning to think a large part of why people go vegan is so they can talk trash."

"Yep," he joked.

In Hamburger Hamlet, we had a very friendly, patient waiter named Joel, who happily accommodated our vegan requests.

"Before we order, can you check and see if the zucchini circles are dipped in egg?" I asked.

"With pleasure."

My father, however, was already visibly annoyed with the corner of his lip upturned in a half snarl. John and I perused the menu. Basically everything had animal product. They had a veggie burger, "But we forgot to ask Joel if it has egg in it..." My dad shot me a look that said, "Don't you dare." When Joel returned to take our order, John and I had both prepared alternate orders; there was no way Dad would let us send Joel back to the kitchen for another round of chef inquiries.

"I'll have the Marilyn veggie burger, but if it has eggs or milk products in it I'll have the California market salad with no cheese or chicken," I said. "And a side of mesquite fries." What a mouthful.

Joel returned with our alternate choices. I guess the veggie burgers weren't vegan burgers. John's grilled sandwich was delicious, and led us to both question its veganness.

Burrito leftovers for dinner. I put Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese inside the burrito before I grilled it. Although it is not better than cream cheese, it had a better consistency and taste than the Tofutti sour cream, and gave the burrito that creaminess I was craving.