On Monday I was at the annual ASNY meeting. At lunch I found myself at a table for ten. The other nine were all practicing Orthodox Jews. That meant that they had requested kosher meals and that they weren't going to eat the desserts that had been put out on the table. I could have eaten all ten desserts without a problem. Also, before the meeting there were all manner of pastries and bagels set out in the morning before the meeting. I could have gorged myself and no one would have noticed.
That is but one example of something that I have only now started to notice -- how often free food* is knocking at my door. And I've been noticing it now because I've been limiting what I eat. Specifically, I've been trying to eat less overall -- and, especially, to eat less in the way of simple carbohydrates.
I'm not sure when I first noticed the phenomenon, but it definitely crystallized in my head when Sharon and I went to see Francis Su lecture at Mo Math. I rote about that here. Since the lecture was about dividing cakes evenly, there was a practicum which involved free cake for everyone.
As Sharon and I were walking to the subway afterwards, she asked about why I didn't have any of the cake. Surely a little bit wouldn't hurt? I explained that it's actually easier for me not to have any than to have a small bit and leave it at that. She then asked if that meant that I would never have cake again. I said that I don't know. I'm not swearing off sweets and treats forever or for any fixed period. I'm deciding now not to have any now. Tomorrow never knows. And that's how I reconcile myself to the deprivation. Allowing for the possibility of eating all the crap I want whenever I decide that I want.
After the conversation, I realized that this chance to have free cake wasn't an aberration. I go to garden clubs, and there's food. I attend a charity event with Stack-Up, and there's food. At work, there's often free food for the taking. Leftovers from catered lunch meetings, snacks that people put out...that kind of stuff. And there are a couple of people who keep candy baskets on their desks, inviting anyone to take.
And, yes, I know that it's a classic example of a first world problem to complain about too much free food. But, damn is it tempting.
Anyway, I have to stop writing this, since I need to get to bed. There's a LIDS meeting, and it's a potluck. Laura always bakes incredible cakes.
*In a lot of cases, such as the ASNY meeting, the food isn't technically free. Its cost is built into the price of attendance at the conference. But for the purposes of this post I am using the word "free" to mean "at no extra cost to me."
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