Corey

Currently, there is no vaccine. That's why health officials are so worried.

It always helps to have a great work-out buddy!

That sounds great, GH. My main complaint about a lot of vegan foods is that they seem to take so long to prepare. I've found a lot of short-cuts and fast meals though, in my quest for easy food prep. That's why I've thought about opening up a vegan deli of sorts one day. I feel like every time I go to vegan restaurants, it's kind of slow but you're willing to wait because it's vegan. What about some healthy, fast vegan food? I think there's a market out there for it. Now I just need to get out of the Midwest ...

CG, I understand your concern for all of these birds that are being "destroyed." However, the reason that the Avian Bird Flu has been all over the news is that it truly is a pandemic and poses a real threat to mankind. Think smallpox, the plague, etc. It's not something to be taken lightly and its effects are being felt in many nations, particularly in the East. However devastating it might seem, in order to prevent the spread of this disease something drastic, fast, and effective needed to be done. In a perfect world, I would agree and say it should be done humanely. But the same people killing the birds are the same ones raising them as food (not that that justifies anything, but it's reality). They obviously do not care about the well-being of these animals. That is beside the point, though. This disease needs to be stopped in its tracks, regardless of our individual viewpoints about how it should be eradicated.

To educate yourself on the Avian Bird Flu, check this out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avian_flu

Welcome, Flanders! Great intro!

Welcome, Gorilla! (Sorry I'm a little late). But I hope that you find this site useful. There are lots of great people on here - you've already seen that. I wish I could understand your convos in German. I spent some time in Germany this past summer, but could unfortunately understand very little. I took French in high school. Oh well. Anyway, look forward to talking to you on the boards!

Welcome! Glad to have you here - it looks like you've brought a lot of knowledge with you and will be able to contribute quite a bit to this already wonderful board!

Welcome, Cristian!

Oh wow, this is going to come in handy soon.

Yup, that's the stuff! Don't worry - it's much better than it looks!

Welcome, Jordan!

The idea of supporting the NFL does make me uneasy when it comes to the mention of that statistic. I personally also feel uncomfortable with the fact that I figure skate and high-grade skating boots are only produced in leather. I feel really bad about owning a pair and pretty hypocritical given my activism in regards to other aspects of veganism, but I'm not about to stop skating because of it. I don't think football is inherently evil because they use leather footballs. It could just be that no one in power has ever questioned the tradition of making footballs out of leather. So maybe it's up to us to contact them, asking for alternative materials to be tried as a replacement to leather products. Now that I think about it, I might try contacting some skating brands to inquire about non-leather skates. I'm sure that'll be interesting ...

You're the best.

Natalie - fantastic doesn't even begin to describe it! I'm going through all of my pictures right now and reliving all of the little moments. I was so lucky to have so many awesome experiences. I will write more later, but for now I'm off to bed. If you want, you can check out my blog that I kept while I was over there: www.coreyoriaworld.blogspot.com

And thanks for the warm welcome back!

Brendan - too kind, too kind. You're not so bad yourself. And what's this I hear about an ultimate vegan vacation? I like the sounds of this ...

Hello Bronco! And, welcome. I recently spent a few days in Austria, in Vienna and also Hopfgarten. You live in a beautiful area of the world; I'm jealous.

Welcome, Nicole! Power yoga sounds pretty amazing. And with your long-term vegan lifestyle knowledge, I'm sure you'll have lots of great stuff to contribute here!

Welcome Jeanette! Best of luck to you in achieving your goals! Just remember to do it in a healthy way that your body can tolerate and be careful. If you want the change to last, it's going to have to be a lifestyle you can live with.

Welcome, Kel! I just visited London for the first time last month. I had a great time. Anywho, see you on the boards!

Welcome, Michelle! And good luck! Sounds like you're already off to a wonderful start.

Your sushi looks awesome. I love cooking, but have yet to endeavour into sushi-making, though I definitely eat it enough. I'm going to try it this week, especially because if you're making your own, the vegan combinations are virtually endless. If it comes out well, I'll post pictures. If it doesn't, I'll just eat it.

I'd like to place an order for some chicken salad when I come visit you tomorrow. Please and thank you!

Oh, and I'm completely serious.

Thanks, everyone!

I have spent the entire morning packing and dancing around in my room to crazy loud music because I leave for Europe tomorrow. I'm so thrilled. I have never been overseas and I will be gone for just under 2 months! Since I just graduated in May, it's pretty much the perfect time to do this.

First I am going to Germany to spend 10 days with a girl I befriended when she was a foreign exchange student here during high school. We've kept in close contact and she lives just outside of Dresden. Then I'm flying to London to visit a friend from college who is there right now, to roam around, see the sites, and take it all in.

After that, I am taking a HUGE 37-day tour that spans 12 countries. It seems to be mostly solo-travelers, from Australia, all between the ages of 18-35. One of the great parts about this tour is that it's actually called the European Adventurer, which means we not only get to see the city sites, but we also get to do things like go climbing in the Alps and go whitewater rafting in Austria. We're staying at campgrounds, in cabins because the whole trip is designed on a budget.

I'm a little worried about the food issue, but I have made arrangements. All I have to do know is see how they work out and hope I don't starve. Other than that, I'm nothing but excited. Needless to say, I won't be posting for a while. I plan on having the time of my life before I have to come back, act like a responsible adult, and get a real job. Well I'd better go ... muchos packing left to do!

Corey

That's really great, Rob. Thanks to people like you, I believe the vegan movement can have a real impact.

I feel like I keep saying it, but check out www.vegweb.com

Great site for recipes and the like.

The fantastic thing about tofu is how versatile it really is. It can pretty much be whatever you want it to be. Stir-fried, baked, whatever. Also, don't forget about all of the other "meat" alternatives out there. You've got lots of exploring to do, and I happen to think it's really fun to find great new foods.