Letting Go of the Lobster
This past Memorial Day weekend my mother decided to have lavish lobster dinner (because the lobster was 6.99 a pound, not THAT lavish).
In order to combat sentiments of omnivore hypocrisy, I felt that it was necessary for me to kill my own meal. After boiling the water, I took my lobster out of the bag, and really struggled with putting it in the pot. I had a conversation with the lobster about it being quick and painless and him joining his long lost lobster love in lobster heaven. 
After the lobster tried to claw me, only then did I feel his death was justified as "revenge." I stared into his little lobster eyes and counted to three and dunked him in head first, hopefully to his instant death.
How to cook a lobster:
1. buy lobster
2. boil big pot of water
3. put lobster in head first to minimize lobster pain
4. cook 9 minutes per pound
5. eat lobster with butter and side dishes like baked potato, corn on the cob or salad for you healthy people.
I ended up not even eating him, I ate the other lobster. I couldn't eat my lobster, because of the guilt associated with his death.
This experience has in no way hardened me enough to join the armed forces. Just to be clear I am not planning on killing anything else to prepare myself for the marines, it simply makes me think maybe I'm too wimpy.
I did however run five miles on Monday, and felt very motivated by the idea of being a reservist while doing so. In the past few week's I've been going between 3.5 and 4.5 miles and never did 5, so it was really exciting to reach that mark.
In regards to this reservist plan, other things like the Peace Corps, and my top secret "Plan A" (ooooh a blog with mystery!), are still in motion so I plan to talk to a recruiter and see what my options are, but I'm not signing up before I know the results of the other options.
We should end this with something upbeat and funny. *fake fart noise* Too juvenile?
Thanks for reading and best regards,
Alya
4 comments:
How is killing your own lobster combatting your feelings of hypocrisy?
Don't you think you'd be much more satisfied by the Peace Corps than the service? Or being part of a small grassroots aid organization? Or starting your own?
That's a good question about the lobster. I felt as though I shouldn't eat meat unless I was also willing to kill the animal. So, in order not to be a vegetarian because I couldn't bring myself to kill for food, I killed the lobster. I agree, I started small.
The thing about the Peace Corps is that it doesn't pay, and I have a Master's. I feel as thought I could do more as a army mediator in Iraq than hidden away in a hill in Guatemala with the Peace Corps.
As far as starting my own organization goes, yes I agree that is a great solution, but I have no start up capital, no one to help me, and asking for donations during a recession is worse than finding a needle in a haystack. But this is an idea I have thought about a lot, and I know what my cause would be. Perhaps one day I will do this, but not at this point in my life.
You should read David Foster Wallace's essay "Consider The Lobster" I think you would enjoy it.
Maybe your ANX stock will skyrocket and then you will have enough capital to start your own org ;)
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