Jiminy Cricket!

From Shane Cohn via e-mail:

Only three days into this challenge, and the experience is very humbling, awkward, and motivating. I found myself, for the first two days, not being able to make it to the market to purchase my groceries. Of course, being on a very restrictive budget, I didn't want to go to a supermarket that I knew would be expensive... and all the "low budget" stores seem to close earlier than my work schedule allowed for me to shop. (This really made me think about the working poor, especially working parents who may have two jobs to make things meet, but still rely upon assistance to feed their children. Especially those who rely on public transit, which can take hours to get from 'point A' to 'point B'.)

Wednesday evening ended up turning into Thursday morning, as I was working at City Hall until 12:30 a.m., and I still hadn't eaten all day; despite having several meetings where others were eating. When I got home, around 1 a.m., I caved. I had to eat. So, reluctantly, I went to the pantry. Feeling guilty, like I was digging through a dumpster, I reached for the one thing that would lighten my guilt complex: a 2 year old open box of Oatmeal. Now, I'm not sure if Oatmeal ever really goes bad or if it just becomes stale, but what I can tell you is that it wasn't pleasant. It did the trick though, and calmed my cravings and jittery tummy!

That being said, I wasn't going to let this scenario happen for another day. Today I went SHOPPING! I went to the Save-a-Lot on S. Jefferson, and went to town spending a whopping $13.94. (Receipt attached.) Looks like I'll be eating Raisin bran breakfasts, Egg Salad/Tuna Lunches, and Spaghetti Dinners with some Bananas for snacking! I guess the nice thing about starving for two days was that I now have a larger budget for the rest of the week, but that was really uncomfortable. When I'm hungry, as my friends + family know, I'm irritable. I also become very easily distracted.

All week long, I've had offers of food - especially the first two days I hadn't been to the grocery. I even thought to myself, if I wore a sign that read "Will Work for Food" while eating would it be okay to accept their offers? No. Others who rely upon assistance likely don't have colleagues, friends, or others offering to take them out for dinner or drinks. Instead, by me declining the offers it offers a teachable moment for all of us.

Another teachable moment for me was when someone asked (after I declined their invitation to purchase me a meal) if it is an appropriate time to Hunger Strike due to my schedule. My response? "There's never a good time to be hungry."