boing boing boing....

Salutions, faithful readers (all one of you...)
Let's start with something that's been irking me lately.
I don't think of myself as an agressive, uppity vegetarian. I don't preach the evils of meat to others, i'm not a Peta-nazi-vegan (though i do my best to buy free-range eggs and "cruelty-free" dairy), i don't throw paint on people in fur coats, and i have an extensive shoe collection, many of which, yes, are made of leather (though lately i've been seeking out more "faux leather" type shoes), and i don't mind dining with carinvores.
However, one thing that bugs me is the fact that people don't seem to count fish, crabs, lobster, and shrimp as meat. And, yes, up until about, oh i dunno, 6 months ago, i called myself a "half-assed-pseudo-vegetarian," as i still ate fish and whatnot. A few trips out to the reef watching the boys spearfish, however, made me decide that if i couldn't stomach watching something die, then there was no way in hell i could justify eating it. And i mean, fish should count as meat, right? It lives, it has internal organs and all that, so why isn't it meat? Yet all the time, when i tell people "i don't eat meat," they say "but you eat seafood, right?"
Or worse, "do you eat chicken?"
Um.
No.
I'm pretty sure those things that squawk and run all over the streets of Key West are animals, and therefore, meat. (Or they're one of the crazy locals who've listened to one too many Jimmy Buffett songs.) We went to a really nice restaurant with Ty, Luke, and Val last night (Brazalena) and when Ty mentioned to the server that i didn't eat meat, the server said "Ok well we have a lovely lobster tail, as well as all kinds of chicken and seafood dishes at the salad bar." I smiled and told him thanks, then promptly headed to the salad bar and feasted upon cheese and veggies. I pronounced it to be very tasty. And i didn't even mind the "gauchos" who kept coming around with like, 60 different kind of meats-on-spikes to shave off and feed to my carniverous friends (it's a very interesting place, this Brazalena).

Anyway, enough of that. Oh right, my "theme." My bosoms are happily and securely enthroned in one of my new Victoria's Secret bras, after spending half the day yesterday bouncing and boinging all over the place in a cute-but-poorly-supported O'Neill bikini top during a bumpy boat ride.

Crazy fun though! And personally, i don't mind a bumpy boat ride (aside from the bouncing, of course). We met up with Ty and Luke at the dive shop, and after my giant-bear-hug from Luke, loaded up the boat to head out to Cottrell Key. An interesting ride, considering Captain James and Ty couldn't agree on how to get out there, so we went around in a few circles. Didn't mind though- i'm just happy being out on the water. (i'm on a BOAT! i'm on a BOAT! Take a good hard look at the mothafuckin BOAT!- love that song.) Once we finally got there, Luke, Ty, and Jack jumped in to dive, and James and i hung out on the boat, smoked cigarettes, and drank beers. And had some interesting conversation about the aforementioned captain who's giving me and Jack the cold shoulder. Again, sorry, but can't air other people's dirty laundry. It was enlightening, to say the least, and made me care about the whole thing a lot less.
Good times indeed. Except when Ty accidentally stomped my new Cressi Piuma mask, which i'd only worn once. Oh bother. No worries, though. Not like i don't know where i can get another one!
After the boys got back on board, we headed over to the sub-pits. Jack and Ty jumped in and tried to asassinate some fish and explore what James calls the "underwater junkyard." For some reason, there are a lot of old cars in the water out there. I didn't bother jumping in- looked a bit too green for my taste, and submerged Ford Econolines don't really get me worked up. So, more beers and cigarettes with enjoyed with Luke and James.
Out of time on the boat rental, we headed back to the shop and hastily unloaded all our gear- only to discover that the "dry" area where we'd put my purse (containing mine and Jack's cell phones) turned out to be "not-quite-so-dry" after all. My phone survived, probably due to the tacky (apparently Jacks' word for "fabulous") pink-and-black zebra striped case; however, Jacks' got flooded. Which means he'll need to get a tacky case for his next phone, just to be safe..maybe one with sparkles and kittens...
Back home to de-salinize (ie, shower), make myself look la fierce, then we meandered over to Brazalena for dinner, as mentioned up above. Again, it's a pretty fantastic place, despite their confusion over what is meat and what isn't. Expensive, though. Not somewhere i'd go too often, but it was fun to see a table full of big boys feasting upon piles of meat. Like dinosaurs. Big, cuddly dinosaurs. Rawr!
I just wish Luke could visit longer! It seems to be my unfortunate curse that all the people i really like end up leaving Key West. Well, ok. A few of them left, anyway. Oh wait. I don't like that many people...

Anywho, today it's back to the madcap world of Subtropic, and it's neverending stream of intellectual stimulation and spontaneous adventure.

Sweet, sweet irony.