Hour 96 was as long as I could make it without eating, although in retrospect I probably could have gone longer. When I got home from beer pong around 1:30 in the morning, I made myself a nice big salad complete with all the fixings. It really didn't taste that good, but I ate it anyway because I was drunk. See, I decided to drink during the games, and although the beer contained calories and was possibly a violation of the rules of a hunger strike, it may have ended there. But I defined this as a not eating hunger strike, and although I abstained from consuming any calories prior to Friday night, I decided that I was going to drink beer if I was going to play beer pong. After all, there was no reason to keep this thing going any longer because I didn't have a reason to keep it going. So a little after 1:30 am on Friday night, I ended my 4 day Hunger Strike. And when I woke up in the morning, I promptly threw up the salad that I ate the night before. I don't know if it was my stomach reacting to not eating in 4 days or the amount of beer I consumed on an empty stomach. All that I do know is that my Hunger Strike came to a very violent end. I should not have been drinking if I hadn't been eating, and I certainly should have picked something better to eat, like a sandwich or some soup. Something that wasn't as rich in flavor or multitude of different things (lettuce, mixed veggies, cheese, croutons, dressing) in order to let my stomach catch back up to speed. But I didn't, and I dearly paid for the price on Saturday morning, believe me. But now that the Hunger Strike is over, I can certainly say that I am lucky and fortunate to have the choice of whether or not to eat. I would hate to feel like I did over the past 4 days and for it to not have been my choice. The stupid and idiotic thing that I did is a reality for a lot of people in this world, and hopefully my $96 donation will make a better day for one or a few of them, even if it just for one day. $100 is a lot of money for me, as it represents around 1/12 of my monthly income. With rent and all of the miscellaneous bills that I have to pay, it's difficult for me to give that money away. But when I think about all of the security that I do have compared to others less fortunate, I shouldn't be worrying about crap like that. Even when I do give away this $100, I will still have a roof over my head, a job, transportation, food, heat and electricity, and family and friends that love me. When Joey Kanz heard of my Hunger Strike, he initially wondered why I was doing it. I told him what I told you guys - no reason, just kind of felt like doing it. But when I told him that I pledged $1 to charity for every hour I made it without food, he decided to strike along with me. I am happy to report that he went 72 hours without food, and he also plans to donate some money to charity. So I guess I did make a difference after all. I finally did something good that got noticed by someone else, and they emulated my good deed. I believe that my Hunger Strike now did have a purpose, and that was to make a change, even though it appears to be minor. But this minor change can have big effects, much like when you drop a pebble into a pond and the water rings grow bigger as they circle outward. Now I'm not going to lie, in the 24 hours since my Hunger Strike officially ended, I did eat a little more than I normally would have in a normal day. I guess I was just excited to be eating again and slipped back into my overeating ways. But that shit can not and will not continue, or else this whole strike thing will have been in vain. It was meant as a way to start some changes in my life, and if no changes are made, then I really did strike for no reason. Since I don't want to be a jackass and be laughed at for my meaningless plight, I must stick to my guns and try and make a change. Michael Jackson has done a lot of things that people and society shun, but he did make some pretty kickass songs. I especially like this one because it has a strong message, "I'm starting with the man in the mirror. I'm asking him to change his ways. And no message could have been any clearer. If you wanna make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and make the change." The guy has led a pretty messed up life, but at least he moonwalked and delivered some good messages to millions every now and then. That's more than I can say about my life. I can't compare myself to the King of Pop, and I shouldn't. Every person is unique, and therefor not comparable to others. So I needed to do my own thing and go on this strike. I guess we'll see where it goes from here.
So I gave up eating for 4 days and raised $96 for charity in the process. Now that sounds like a good time. I don't know if I'd ever purposefully do it again, but maybe someday I'll give it a go just to try and beat my own personal record. Although my body was starting to feel a little weak, I did feel like it had been cleansed of all the toxins and chemicals. That tends to happen when you don't eat and drink nothing but water; you flush all that useless crap out. I was starting to show signs of wear, and my work performance was slipping, but if I had to go back to the beginning of the week, I certainly would do it all over again. It was one of those life experiences that you only get to be a part of when you do something different. I always say that you only feel alive when you step outside of the ordinary and experience change, which is why I love getting tattoos. You sit there for an hour or more while someone is inflicting pain on you. It's a numbing sensation that cannot be replicated. Not eating for 4 days also made me feel some kind of pain, and it also seemed unusal. I felt more alive this week than I have recently, which was really cool. But I'm back to eating, and hopefully I will start eating better and healthier. I'll let this week be a lesson to me, and use some of my experiences in my future travels. But oh what a wicked week it was. Until next time my friends - later dudes.
- pookon -
space
No comments:
Post a Comment