Is it Saturday yet?

Ok, I'm so ready to leave. I'm sick to death of being here, having to hide in the hotel room due to pain and having to watch out for more glutening. This sucks more than you can imagine. The "best" bit is knowing I get to repeat the joy of the excruciating 9 hour flight back home. Yippee fucking do.

I met up with my coworkers for lunch. I thought we'd be going just downstairs, but it turns out they wanted to go to the cheaper end of town for food. Which meant I couldn't go. I felt like the kid sister where all the older siblings get to go out and I have to stay home. I did eat (alone) at the hotel restaurant. I had rack of lamb with a balsamic reduction with a side of sauted veggies. The veggies were *swimming* in oil. Ew. But other than that, the meal was tasty, but still. I'm fucking sick of this albatross around my neck. Food is about sustenance but what happens when it's a prison? Try this experiment. Now, my allergies are as follows: No grain (bread, wheat, semolina, rye, etc), corn, rice, soy, eggs, dairy, tree nuts, and peanuts.

Now, think of a place you usually go to eat. You don't usually put a lot of thought into where you go, right? You just go. So, think of a place. Got it? Now...

Italian is ruled out completely. Most places are either pasta based (semolina/wheat based) or have brick ovens for pizza (I'm in the 5% with the airbourne aspect)

Chinese? Nope. Soy sauce has both wheat and soy in it. And rice. So that tends to rule out Japanese/sushi as well. Thai? You might have a snowball's chance there, but they are still a bit tough to come by.

Obviously, all fast food is out, as well as delis. WHy delis? Many cold cuts are cured with wheat or milk based products. So you have to watch out for those.

Mexican? Nope. No corn.

Vegetarian, right? Nope. Soy.

Steakhouse. Yep, if you can find one that understands cross-contamination, and will pan fry the steak or cover the grill in foil to keep it safe for you. Oh and no fries, because the fryers aren't dedicated to just french fries, but usually do multitasking for all fried foods.

See how it works? The next time you go out, really look at the menu. Would you be able to eat there if you were me? I end up on trips having usually two choices - eat at the high end, but safe place, or live on chocolate and gluten-free cookies til I get home again. Sound fun?

I honestly think the worst part is the social aspect. Like today, I couldn't go with them. Cheaper places usually simply can't accommodate me. Cooks don't know about allergen safety or cross-contamination. They just bang out whatever they've been told from corporate on their menus. No thought, no room for change. A few places have been revolutionary by offering gluten free menus, but it's still not widespread.

I read several gluten free blogs, and while I love how they say how freeing it's been to be healthy and eat well, I just don't see it. I see prison bars. To be fair, they don't have the list I do. They only have to avoid gluten.

I'm off, but needed to get this rant off my chest.

Stranger in a Strange Land

Have I mentioned how strange it is to be in a place where English is not a primary language? Signs are in German, the language you hear is primarily German. It's very odd. Now I'm not saying that as "They should speaks English, dammit!!" Just simply voicing some regret that I can't speak their language. I was sitting at breakfast watching people stream past the windows going about their daily lives and wondering what they were doing/thinking/saying. What was their story? And mostly, why weren't they at work. ;)

No idea what I want to do today. I'm still very cranky and ouchie from yesterday's poisoning and it's grey and gloomy here. I'd say I'd curl up with a good book, but I didn't bring any. Usually I don't read, but I also didn't take into account getting ill. I have DVDs to sustain me though. :)

I also learned that Nescafe Gold instant "coffee" is NOT gluten free over here. Won't do that again. Fortunately I didn't drink much, as to me, instant is not coffee.

I've found Celiac Hell...

and it's Vienna.

I'm here in Vienna for a business trip. I left a day early so I could see some if it before work starts. Nope, didn't happen. Turns out United, in their quest to improve the "vomit comet" experience (otherwise known as airline food), they've "upscaled" their menu. And that means fresh bread being heated up in the galley. Now for most folks, this isn't an issue, but a) I'm one of the 5% who is prone to airbourne gluten and b) I was in the rear of the plane. Nine hours is a long damn time to fly in that kind of pain, let me tell you. So today was just resting.

The Austrians love their bread here. It's as much a part of their life as beer and coffee. People have been shocked, dismayed and appalled that I can't eat bread. They even asked why I didn't bring my own from home. :) Or if I had contacted them a week in advance, they would've. They can't entirely wrap their brain around it, but they have been more than accommodating. They have a hotel restaurant called S'Park. When I checked in, they talked to the chef, who has the list written in the kitchen. All I have to do is tell them who I am (Or like this evening, the tattoos gave it away I think and they knew right away who I was) and the chef sorts me out.

For lunch, the meal was uninspired, but a solid choice. He played it safe. I went with veal (medium) and salted veggies, that I think were boiled. Very tasty, if a little ho-hum. The veal was just a touch over-cooked, but was still very moist. The itty, itty micro carrots were a bit silly. He likes his baby veg. The rest was carrots, what appeared to be yellow carrots, and broccoli. Dinner was grilled turbot with cep (porcinis) and potato hash for lack of a better word. Very tasty stuff.

I've noticed prices over here are insane!!! Nine euros for a bloody bottle of water?! I don't want to risk anymore digestive malfunction, so I'd rather pay than drink the tap water, but still... OUCH.

RIP Colin Mcrae

One of my favourite sporting celebrities died in a helicopter crash last night. He was piloting the copter, and his 5 year old son was also onboard.

I started playing the Colin Mcrae series of computer games back in 95 on my PC, and started idly following the World Rally Championship afterwards. His personality made it fun to watch, and sucked me right in.

Now it's 2007, and I've been playing DiRT for the last couple of months (it's not badged "Colin Mcraes DiRT" here, just DiRT", and I guess it's going to be the last one with his name attached now. Thankfully it's really good.

With all the focus on cheating in F1, this is news the motor sport's community wasn't prepared for, as if you ever could. Best wishes go to Colin's wife, who has just lost a husband and her son.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/09/15/ncopter215.xml

Colin McRae, with his flamboyant driving style, brought such excitement to the off-road sport that the former plumber's name has become synonymous with the sport.

Born into a successful Scottish motor-racing dynasty, McRae became Britain's first World Rally Champion, clinching the title in 1995.

At the age of just 27, he was the youngest world rally champion.

Gym

Would you imagine that I was in the gym at 6:15am this morning? *Monday* morning?

It felt great too. I'm hoping I can keep it up a few times a week.

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12oz Filet Minons done on the grill, fresh salad with rasberry dressing on one and blue cheese on the other.

Perfec'

1/2 cup of kosher salt
1/2 cup of *finely* ground peppercorns
1/2 cup of garlic powder
1/4 cup of onion powder

mix together really really well.

Rub into two 12oz filets, throw on the grill.

Oh yeah.