Next month will be the two year anniversary of The Gay Vegans blog. I feel like a new blogger, and sometimes I feel like I"m not even a blogger yet! I have had a blast with The Gay Vegans and continually try to write well thought out, interesting and hopefully engaging posts.
So I am super excited to be going to my first ever bloggers conference, and it will be an all vegan conference! Holy cow! Vida Vegan Con is May 24 - 26 in Portland, Oregon and there will be hundreds of vegan bloggers from around the world. There will be incredible vegan food, lots of sessions where I can learn all sorts of things, and for me, just being able to connect with people whose blogs I love and who I want to learn from.
First things first. I have to get there.
ROAD TRIP!
I have never been to Oregon, or much of Idaho, so I am ecstatic to be able to cover new terrain. My friend and fellow blogger Ryan is flying in to Denver to join me for this trip that will take us from Denver to Portland via Boise, Idaho. So exciting.
I know we have plenty of blog readers in Idaho, so please let me know if there is a place we simply must eat at while driving through. We will spend the night in Boise so most likely will have dinner there. If we are making good time heading west on I 80 we might even take a quick meal break in Salt Lake City which would totally rock it!
I love road trips. I write about road trips.
This road trip will end in Portland, where I will immerse myself into an intense, vegan blogger's dream. So much to do, so much to learn, so many people I want to meet. I feel like a gay teenager going to his first Black Sabbath concert! (that was me by the way, back in 1982!)
Fortunately there are several folks attending Vida Vegan Con who are from Portland and they have been keeping all of informed as to the multitude of vegan experiences possible in Portland. It seems like there will not be enough time in the day!
And on Saturday night, the Galarama! A huge party to raise money for Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest!
Whew!
My return trip will be solo so I am bringing camping gear to hit a place I haven't camped before, which won't be difficult to find.
Thanks so much for reading. I will keep you updated for sure.
Thanksgiving in our back yard.
Monday, May 20, 2013
Saturday, May 18, 2013
"They're not vegan"
I have a lot of friends who are not vegan. My entire family is not vegan.
Just wanted to put that out there.
I believe everyone is on their own path. My path included eating animals for many years. It included not really caring what had to happen for me to eat that burger or piece of chicken.
For me, veganism is more about a way of life, or a philosophy, than it is a diet. I became vegan not to get healthier or lose weight, yet because I had learned enough and knew at that moment that I no longer wanted to participate in the killing and cruelty and torture of animals just so I could eat. Or worse yet, just because I liked the taste of something.
I would like the whole world to feel the same. What a great world, in so many ways, that would be. I am also centered in the fact that this is my decision, this works for me, and that not everyone else is going to think the same thing.
So what does one do? Well, I try to be the best example of a vegan as I can. It's not always easy. There is enough judgment out there, enough hate and discontent. I don't need to be a part of that. When folks interact with me and somehow find out I am vegan, I want them to think that vegans are pretty cool, kind people. At least kind.
I have been thinking about this because I had a conversation with a vegan at a vegan event which included me asking him if he had heard of this one animal sanctuary. I asked because he was from the same area of the sanctuary and Mike and I had begun donating to this place. The first thing he said to me was "you know that they're not vegan?". He then listed the reasons why "the vegan community" in the area didn't like these folks not simply because they were vegan but because they also have barbeque's that include meat at the place.
I understand the dilemma here. I don't understand the judgment. In my head it doesn't make a lot of sense (to me) to care for these kinds of animals yet eat, and participate in cruelty towards, these other animals.
This has become a whole thought process for me. In my life, I want to be open, diverse and inclusive. I want to meet folks where they are, and if any of them have the slightest interest in why I am vegan or about first steps in becoming vegan, I am thrilled to talk with them about it.
Food for thought. I would LOVE your feedback.
Thank you for reading!
Just wanted to put that out there.
I believe everyone is on their own path. My path included eating animals for many years. It included not really caring what had to happen for me to eat that burger or piece of chicken.
For me, veganism is more about a way of life, or a philosophy, than it is a diet. I became vegan not to get healthier or lose weight, yet because I had learned enough and knew at that moment that I no longer wanted to participate in the killing and cruelty and torture of animals just so I could eat. Or worse yet, just because I liked the taste of something.
I would like the whole world to feel the same. What a great world, in so many ways, that would be. I am also centered in the fact that this is my decision, this works for me, and that not everyone else is going to think the same thing.
So what does one do? Well, I try to be the best example of a vegan as I can. It's not always easy. There is enough judgment out there, enough hate and discontent. I don't need to be a part of that. When folks interact with me and somehow find out I am vegan, I want them to think that vegans are pretty cool, kind people. At least kind.
I have been thinking about this because I had a conversation with a vegan at a vegan event which included me asking him if he had heard of this one animal sanctuary. I asked because he was from the same area of the sanctuary and Mike and I had begun donating to this place. The first thing he said to me was "you know that they're not vegan?". He then listed the reasons why "the vegan community" in the area didn't like these folks not simply because they were vegan but because they also have barbeque's that include meat at the place.
I understand the dilemma here. I don't understand the judgment. In my head it doesn't make a lot of sense (to me) to care for these kinds of animals yet eat, and participate in cruelty towards, these other animals.
This has become a whole thought process for me. In my life, I want to be open, diverse and inclusive. I want to meet folks where they are, and if any of them have the slightest interest in why I am vegan or about first steps in becoming vegan, I am thrilled to talk with them about it.
Food for thought. I would LOVE your feedback.
Thank you for reading!
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
3 1/2 hours - Join me during my half marathon!
On May 19th I will run my first half marathon. That's 13.1 miles. I am doing this to raise money for Urban Peak, the non-profit I work for that serves youth experiencing homelessness.
On my first training run about two months ago I could barely run one mile. At 2.5 miles I could barely breathe.
I kept going. I listened to many on my life who are runners, and I kept my eyes on the prize.
As one who constantly tries to be a voiceless, I would do anything to shine light on the things in the world that I fight against or want to support.
I think that I will be able to finish this half marathon in 3 1/2 hours, maybe a little less. The race begins on Sunday, May 19th at 7:00am Mountain Standard Time.
I will be running from 7:00am - approximately 10:30am.
During this time, will you do me a favor? Will you send me positive vibes? Will you send me some love? Will you think of me and send me a great big smile?
And when you are done with that, will you think of what you can do to make this world a better place for all living beings?
It doesn't have to be a half marathon. It could be a letter, a phone call or a volunteer shift. It could be wearing a t shirt, going to a potluck or posting something on your Facebook page.
It could be simply spreading kindness.
We have so much power to be a voice for the voiceless. We have so much power to speak out against hate, animal cruelty, rape, racism, speciesism, torture, and list goes on and on.
Will you join me? Honestly, I need all of the support I can to finish this thing.
Thank you!
Love, Dan
On my first training run about two months ago I could barely run one mile. At 2.5 miles I could barely breathe.
I kept going. I listened to many on my life who are runners, and I kept my eyes on the prize.
As one who constantly tries to be a voiceless, I would do anything to shine light on the things in the world that I fight against or want to support.
I think that I will be able to finish this half marathon in 3 1/2 hours, maybe a little less. The race begins on Sunday, May 19th at 7:00am Mountain Standard Time.
I will be running from 7:00am - approximately 10:30am.
During this time, will you do me a favor? Will you send me positive vibes? Will you send me some love? Will you think of me and send me a great big smile?
And when you are done with that, will you think of what you can do to make this world a better place for all living beings?
It doesn't have to be a half marathon. It could be a letter, a phone call or a volunteer shift. It could be wearing a t shirt, going to a potluck or posting something on your Facebook page.
It could be simply spreading kindness.
We have so much power to be a voice for the voiceless. We have so much power to speak out against hate, animal cruelty, rape, racism, speciesism, torture, and list goes on and on.
Will you join me? Honestly, I need all of the support I can to finish this thing.
Thank you!
Love, Dan
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Good people and kindness
In Denver we have the light rail, kind of like a train. I call it the train. It's mass transit. And a couple of weeks ago the line running west opened. I am in love with taking this to work. I am totally fortunate that my employer buys me a pass. So last week I took it four days and this week I started taking it with my bike. So I ride to the station and then from the drop off point downtown I ride to work. It is totally awesome.
Yesterday I was waiting for a guy to get on the train and he stopped and motioned me to go. So nice. He waited until I got my bike on and he got seated and then started talking about how much he loves the light rail. I was in total agreement. We chatted until his stop and then he said something that was so refreshing:
"Thank you for you kindness."
Wow.
Mike and I are big fans of "The Amazing Race" TV show, the one where I think nine teams race around the world. Sunday was the finale and we watched the first half, in which one of our favorite teams was eliminated. In their goodbye video one of the women said something that hit me:
"We've traveled all over the world and everywhere we went their were nice and loving people."
Everywhere.
I agree with them. As an activist and as someone who tries to be a voice for all of the voiceless, it does seem sometimes that there are more "not loving" people than there are loving people. I try to bring love and kindness to every interaction I have. Not always easy. As a gay vegan who gives a crap about little things like equality, animal torture, and oppression, I have gotten my share of hate, yelling and judgment. Some times it's right in my face and others it's behind my back.
Yet I still believe, as the women do who were on "The Amazing Race", that there are a lot of good people in the world. They might not be on the same path as I am, they might not know all about veganism or animal cruelty or the spiritual genocide of gay people, yet in their daily lives they try to do good. And like me, many of them try to be better people all of the time.
Food for thought.
Today I rode my bike from the office to get coffee. On my way back I was casually riding, listening to an awesome song and feeling blissful. I rode by anotherr guy on his bike, waved and said good morning. His smile covered his whole face. I don't know him at all. I don't know if he's vegan or gay friendly or cares about anything other than himself. I do know that on his way to wherever he was going this morning, he encountered kindness.
I hope you do too.
And I hope you show kindness in any form today.
Thank you for reading.
Yesterday I was waiting for a guy to get on the train and he stopped and motioned me to go. So nice. He waited until I got my bike on and he got seated and then started talking about how much he loves the light rail. I was in total agreement. We chatted until his stop and then he said something that was so refreshing:
"Thank you for you kindness."
Wow.
Mike and I are big fans of "The Amazing Race" TV show, the one where I think nine teams race around the world. Sunday was the finale and we watched the first half, in which one of our favorite teams was eliminated. In their goodbye video one of the women said something that hit me:
"We've traveled all over the world and everywhere we went their were nice and loving people."
Everywhere.
I agree with them. As an activist and as someone who tries to be a voice for all of the voiceless, it does seem sometimes that there are more "not loving" people than there are loving people. I try to bring love and kindness to every interaction I have. Not always easy. As a gay vegan who gives a crap about little things like equality, animal torture, and oppression, I have gotten my share of hate, yelling and judgment. Some times it's right in my face and others it's behind my back.
Yet I still believe, as the women do who were on "The Amazing Race", that there are a lot of good people in the world. They might not be on the same path as I am, they might not know all about veganism or animal cruelty or the spiritual genocide of gay people, yet in their daily lives they try to do good. And like me, many of them try to be better people all of the time.
Food for thought.
Today I rode my bike from the office to get coffee. On my way back I was casually riding, listening to an awesome song and feeling blissful. I rode by anotherr guy on his bike, waved and said good morning. His smile covered his whole face. I don't know him at all. I don't know if he's vegan or gay friendly or cares about anything other than himself. I do know that on his way to wherever he was going this morning, he encountered kindness.
I hope you do too.
And I hope you show kindness in any form today.
Thank you for reading.
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