The Maemone Diet

I've returned to Oxford for Trinity Term. Only nine more weeks until a three-month break. Not a vacation, during which I still have to work, but an honest-to-goodness BREAK.

In the meantime, though, I've only two more days to study for collections on Thursday and Friday. Ack!

I arrived at Heathrow Airport yesterday at around 3:00 P.M. local time, which was 8:00 A.M. for my body. My trick with getting my circadian rhythm readjusted as fast as possible was to stay up on the overnight flight and pull an all-nighter, followed by staying up until at least 10:00 P.M. local time, so I pulled a day-and-a-half-er.

Me feeling cool in my $4.00 mirror shades, arriving back at Oriel College.

Me having just been completely drenched by the rain that awaited me shortly after my arrival.

It rained so hard yesterday that I literally have not seen such intense rain since my second-grade year in California. I remember because there was a party at Loyola Elementary that night which was The Velveteen Rabbit-themed and I had my first scone (which rhymes with "cone"; to read more about this unfortunate issue, click on this link: http://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2013/03/how-do-you-say-scone/), which I deemed untasty. It had raisins in it and didn't taste nearly as good as southern biscuits, and so I was disappointed, since my mum had told me they were English biscuits.

I eventually suited up to carry all my boxes out of storage.
Mom and Dad, you were right, I did end up needing a jacket this term.

And as I got totally soaked, I laughed a good-natured laugh, because nature is good by definition, stop trying to destroy our planet, ok?! Seriously, though, I honestly did laugh, because all I could think of was, "Well, it's about time." Finally got some proper English weather and not just some boring clouds. You may not have known this, but I love the rain.

I went to sleep on time and I woke up at 6:30 like I planned, but - jetlagged as I was - I chose to go back to bed instead of going on a run. I woke up at 11:30. It's cool, though, brah.

Inspired by a friend of mine who-shall-not-be-named-since-I-don't-use-names-on-this-blog, I've changed my eating habits. I call it the Maemone Diet. It basically entails eating no gluten and nothing with more than three grams of sugar in it. It's amazing how much that excludes: fast food, fried food, chocolate (ohhhh chocolate), and most other desserts (although why anyone would want to eat a dessert that doesn't have chocolate in it is beyond me). It also means that to get my daily amount of carbs, I have to go to the gluten-free section (or "Free-From" section, as is said in here in the U of the K).

For snacks, I now dip carrots in peanut butter that doesn't contain added sugar.
In case you were wondering, peanut butter is delicious with or without extra sugar.

Apart from peanut butter, carrots, and my trademark (but not actually, technically) ham, spinach, and gluten-free bread sandwiches, I discovered today while on the hunt for food that MISSION BURRITO sells gluten-free food! Woo-hoo!!! I can only get tacos, but STILL! God is good :)

I finally finished unpacking all of my boxes, so I'm good to go! I'm praying for a successful third term and hopefully a gluten-free one! I'm going to go to bed now and try to get up early tomorrow for a run.

God bless,

   John Khouri, former chocoholic