Day Two

December 18-

It's funny. I started the fast expecting to feel differently about everything, but all I feel is more of the same. I love food. I love food so much.

I worked soon after waking up. My shift was to start at 9am, so I set my alarm for 8, suspecting it would take longer than usual to get ready. I was wrong. So, I got to work on time, and was scheduled to work until 1pm. It was a normal shift. Too normal. The only difference was that when I went into the back room to get products, I smelled the food one of my co-workers was having. AHHH!! It smelled so good. But, when asked if I wanted any, I lied and said no. I quickly explained though, that I was fasting for two weeks. When I was asked why, I said, "I'll let you know when I'm finished."

The truth is, I don't really know why I'm doing this. I started the idea of a fast soon after my bike trip. My idea was to do it as a fundraiser for starving children, and the plan was to do it in the summer during my break. But, I ended up not having more than three days off in a row. So, I put it off. There was a fundraiser through a local radio station that was donating 1 lb of food for every 1 lb of weight lost. I was sad that I couldn't participate in that.

But, when it came time now for me to have a break long enough to do this, I looked back on some of the times of my last endeavor. I don't want publicity of this fast to effect it in any way. There were days on the bike trip in which I had to ride fast to get to various events, locations, interviews, and I couldn't enjoy the scenery as much as I liked.

So, I guess if I had to give a straight answer other than, "I'll let you know when I'm finished," I'd probably say, "I want to experience it. To feel it. To understand fasting as it happens to me. To gain respect for food. I want to fast, so I can live free." And that's that.

But, let's continue with the day two, after that great epiphany. I left work and met up with my friend who is staying with me during her break from Berkeley. I told her of my Daily Mission for Day Two: Watch a "Double Freeture." She was all for it, so we went to the movies and watched "The Fighter" followed by a free showing of "Tangled." The reason this was my daily mission for day two is simple: I love movies and popcorn. I knew I would smell the popcorn and it would drive me mad. My friend asked me, "Why are you making it worse than it has to be?" I said, "I'm just doing what I normally do, just without food."

So, we left the movies and went back to my place. I took a nap for an hour, posted yesterday's story, and headed over to another friend's going away party. On the way, I stopped by In-N-Out (One of the best burger/fries places of all time!!!) and picked up five orders of fries and a Neapolitan shake. The smell of the fries was getting to me, and I thought, "Nobody is looking. Go ahead, just eat some." But, one thing stopped me. The thought that there's only one way I'm going to know what it feels like to do this, and it's not through sneaking food. With that, I fought the urge and made it to the party, hungry.

I stayed for maybe an hour and talked with many friends from my theatre classes at OCC. It was peaceful. The fries seemed like a tough sell at first, but they were gone within a half hour. I started feeling cravings again, so I decided it would be a good time to leave, and I snagged a few handfuls of starbust candy to enjoy when my fast is over.

I got back home and played video games for a bit, and then went to bed. It was a successful day. I look forward to tomorrow's daily mission of going to work again. Thanks for following,

David