Write about some of your guilty pleasures, those things you probably shouldn't do or enjoy so much, but you do! List a few, explain why they're guilty pleasures and why you enjoy them so much.
I have chosen to write about guilty pleasures for this week’s Weekend-Engagement concept because I find this topic rather apposite given my current situation. Since last week I have been dealing with the repercussions of indulging in two of my more harmful pleasures; that of drinking alcohol and eating flesh.
To be honest, these are more than guilty pleasures for consuming these aforementioned things sometimes takes a toll on my health.
My story, however, did not begin last week or the week before. It started about 6-years-ago, a few months after I had moved to Japan. In about February of that year, I became stricken with a bowel condition the doctors are yet to diagnose. I will spare you the details of what happens when my stomach acts up. What I will mention though is that I end up on the throne multiple times per day when it is at its worst. Even up to 15 plus times.
Coupled with this is the lethargy one feels due to being drained of virtually all nutrients due to these frequent bowel activities. Added to this, is the fact that I am currently not on medication. Why? Because the stomach specialist who examined me says that he is not certain what is wrong but I should remain on medication indefinitely.
Obviously, I was not satisfied with this, so I started experimenting with my diet through the process of elimination. It was then that I found that it was the consumption of alcohol and flesh that was causing the problem. Eventually, I was able to get rid of much of the flesh, but I still occasionally eat a little fish.
Regarding the alcohol. Well, that is still a work in progress. The prior weekend I had chugged down quite a bit of alcohol. And as they say, with conduct comes consequences. My stomach started aching the next day. And so I spent much of this last week fasting as a way of healing my stomach.
For many eating fish and drinking booze might not seem odd for a guilty pleasure. For me, however, it is not the case. Every time I consume any of these I have to pray that my stomach does not get the best of me. And so, much of my life is spent as a vegan with that occasional trip into the no go zone of flesh-eating and booze drinking.
I often engage in these guilty pleasures, especially drinking, at social events. Once per week, I meet with friends and colleagues at a pub on the weekend. We often use this time as a ‘destressor’. You can imagine that in-between talking about the highs and lows of work and life in general, I have more drinks than I need to. And of course, as the night gets older, fish and chips will have to be added to the festivities. There is something about these social settings that make one yield to peer pressure. Mind you, it is not that I cannot say no, but when one is forced into a meatless/non-alcoholic lifestyle, the drive to break out of those dietary restrictions comes full circle when you see others engaging in wine and culinary delights.
Coupled with this is the fact that I spend a great deal of time writing. And as many can attest to, this can be a very difficult undertaking, and so I indulge in drinking to ease my nerves. Oftentimes the words start to flow after a sip or two of wine.
The aforementioned are by no means my only guilty pleasure. Cake and ice cream and anything that has more sugar in it than it needs to are fertile ground for me. Mind you, I do not have an addictive personality, but when it comes to the sweet bits I can hardly stay away. Why do I keep indulging in these pleasures? I guess old habits are sometimes impossible to kill.
Hold my beer while I go devour my ice cream.
Here is a link if you wanna participate in this week's engagement: @galenkp/we105-weekend-engagement-concept
