You don�t eat meat?

You don�t eat eggs?

You don�t drink milk?

You don�t eat cheese?

This I expect for my family. On my trip to NYC over the Xmas Eve dinner, my lovely cousin exclaimed, �What are you going to eat?!� when she was told that I was a vegetarian.

Well, not the turkey, the ham, or the lasagna, but I think most of these 26 other side dishes will be okay...

Coming from a country of sacred cows, you would have thought that vegetarianism would at least be understood without questioning.

All was forgotten until my natural toothpaste was mentioned.

Sometimes I think I am a hippie at heart.

A hippie without the patchouli stink who gladly wears antiperspirant (despite the supposed breast cancer link from unnatural chemicals) and Clinique makeup.

Herbie and I went to Whole Foods the other night, and I truly felt in my element.

I love seeing the Hancock Center from my front door. I love living on the 13th floor of a large building. I love that the el train and the busses are at the corner, and I love walking home from grocery shopping. City life is nice.

But there�s something about the Austin �vibey-flow� that calms the inner hippie-turned-yuppie in me.

Talk about instant karma: my bill was exactly $16.00 for two pints of Soy Delicious, a pint of Rice Dream rice-cream, two different types of rice milk, and some other trivial hippie stuff.

I think Herbie was amazed at my preference and my bitching that Whole Foods didn�t live up to my beloved Central Market.

[whine]

The bulk section was in various areas, spreading the spices from the teas from the instant mixes from the coffees from the candies. (Not that I consume either of the two latter, but it�s still a legit complaint.)

The price for enriched rice milk was more than that of the non-enriched. Really, come on. Is a quarter teaspoon of calcium carbonate powder really worth charging an extra twenty cents? Apparently, to get my 25% USRDA of calcium poured on my cereal, it is. [sigh]

There was an in-house brand of fake meats instead of my preferred Morningstar Farms. If you�re ever going to eat a fake meat, this is definitely the only brand to go with.

Where were the fun shaped and scented soaps? Where were the cool gadgets? Where was the olive bar? Where was the outdoor patio with live music and a cool breeze? Where was the cooking school?

All of these questions, and only one answer: Central Market.

Well, at least they had my hippie toothpaste. [shrug]�