Max Frantz

On October the 6th, each meal I had throughout the day was meatless. Not entirely vegan, but none of them contained meat products. For breakfast, I had oatmeal again. Lunch, I had a vegan burger i got for a meal exchange from the OSU, and for dinner, I made a cheese pizza. Before this challenge, I would have most likely not considered getting the vegan burger and just got a regular burger. Same with the pizza, I would have more than likely made myself a pepperoni pizza. I surprised myself today. I did not get out much today, as I only made one trip to campus and back. It was short but i got out and exercised for 15 minutes.

On October the 7th, i once again started my morning to two packets of maple and brown sugar oatmeal, which wasn't nearly as good as the apple and cinnamon but its a meal without meat so I'll take it. I did a lot of skating today as I made four different trips to the campus and back to my apartment all on my skateboard. That was able to take care of my walking for 15 minutes everyday challenge. On my walks/rides around today, more specifically this evening, I found that 5th avenue gets pretty dark at night since it doesn't have any street lamps set up. It makes seeing the stars at night very easy to see but it would also be a bit more comforting to be able to see on a campus that's very immersed in nature.

October the fourth, I finished off the box of apple oatmeal packets i bought. Im going to need to make a trip back to target and load up on those boxes. They're cheap and plentiful. Today was a LOT of walking. For my environmental biology course we are doing a lab where we collect bird data from the same spot over the span of four weeks so we may be able to do an analysis on it later. Right now, we are in the data collecting portion, so I drove out to the Elkhorn Slough Reserve to collect my data. From 11:30 to 2:30, I was out walking the trails, birdwatching, jumping from spot to spot. It was beautiful! Getting to experience the wildlife and feel immersed with nature was the best part of the experience. Best part of the day was probably having a buck walk right by my while I was birdwatching. I'd be lying if i said I wasn't terrified of the beast as it would slowly turn its head, look at me, continue grazing, stop, look at me, and then continue grazing. It was a thrilling experience.

As of the third of October... Another day, another bowl of oatmeal. Actually, I made two bowls for myself since today was my stats test. I can mark down the meatless meal challenge for the day. Today was very busy with classes so I didnt get out very much. However, I did ride my skateboard from class to class which I will count towards going for a daily walk. There are a lot of uphills on the way from promontory housing to campus which isnt that great for skateboarding. However, on the way back, taking the downhills are some of the most fun I have throughout these long days of school so i suppose I can put up with the amount of uphill there is.

On the second of October, I started my day to another bowl of apple oatmeal, accomplishing already one of the two daily challenges I set out for myself. Its super quick, I just boil some water, measure out three fourths of a cup of water, and mix the bag of oatmeal in and stir. Its super quick and easy to clean once im done. The whole day was spent studying for my statistics exam tomorrow so around , I needed a mental break and went outside to go for a walk. I set a timer for 15 minutes, yet nearly doubled the time i set out for myself. I took a walk down 8th street to the students recreational field. On my way there, there's a road block with wired fences and a concrete barrier which is meant to block off cars from driving down that road. Having to navigate around wasn't an issue, however it was an inconvenience and not very pleasing to look at. It didn't take away from the experience. I saw two American Robins and a small Bewick's Wren on my walk which I thought was pretty cool. Still thinking about what meal i can make with seaweed.

On the first of October, I added four actions to my drawdown challenge, two of which are daily actions and the other two one-time actions. I have not yet completed any of the one-time actions, however I was able to accomplish the two daily actions that I had signed up for. My first action is to make at least one meatless or vegan meal each day of the challenge, which I was able to successfully accomplish. Before the challenge, I made a grocery run to target and picked up a box of eight apple oatmeal packets and a bundle of bananas that I wanted to make for breakfasts for the month of October. On a typical morning, I will make myself an egg and cheese burrito for breakfast, however over the past couple days, I've very much enjoyed starting my day with oatmeal and banana breakfasts. My other daily action was to take a 15 minute walk everyday and take notes of the infrastructure that makes walking more or less enjoyable, accessible, and possible. Just a short walk around the campus helped clear my mind of the things that I needed to do yesterday. I found that i really appreciated listening to the birds and taking in the beautiful scenery this campus has to offer.