Shaken Not Stirred

Sunday, August 28, 2005

Chatroom Brawl

In boredom (don't I always start out this way when I'm about to justify an action that I deem either weird or abnormal), I went into a chatroom for religion and philosophy. The conversation started out well enough--a question on the existence of God and the role of belief in religion. It was going particularly well, with no one getting out of whack, in fact there wasn't any "brawl" at all.
Somehow the issue switched from the existence of religion to equality. I don't know how, or what tide brought our conversation to that topic, but we landed there. Somehow, one of the participants said everyone is entitled to equal healthcare and used the country Ethiopia as his springboard. He said that all the Ethiopians are entitled to the same healthcare as the rest of the world. And yes, everyone human being is entitled to same healthcare as the next. I just said that it was also up to the government and social welfare system of a particular country to provide those equal necessities. This opened up a can of "whoop ass". This person jumped on me from left field--and then said that I was closed to giving equality except for people in my religion. I was like, "do not pass go, do not collect 200 dollars", you have no idea about the charities that I helped and the volunteering that I've done---most of which was not religiously motivated. He didn't understand my point, was provided that the healthcare was available in a country, it should be accessible by all. That was my point. He seemed to think I was saying, we shouldn't help them. Somehow I think a lot of it was his lack of a basic grasp of the English language--he was chatting from a different part of the world (and not from Ethiopia mind you).
He also went on to say, "spend your money on fashion, I (referring to himself) will spend mine helping others". What a martyr!!!
Anyway, it ended well with some people coming to my defense and helpng me to clarify my original point.
Boy, these chatrooms have become a hotbed for hotheads huh?

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

That's Gonna Leave A Stain

Lately, as part of my new eating regimen, I've been consuming things made with splenda/artificial sweetners in-lieu of sugar. And in the past three weeks, I've noticed many changes in myself. Yes, I've lost some weight, but in return for what?
Okay, I know I said I would write only positive things, but I'm not really complaining, I'm just revealing some of my observations, in myself. This doesn't apply to all. However, I did look it up on the internet and some of my signs and symptoms are listed in some articles and some other sites where people have complained. Like anything else, everyone's reaction to anything is completely personal and should be taken with a grain of salt. Some may have no reaction, while others do.
Anyway, back to my use of artificial sweetners. I've been trying to lose weight. And I started off with slim-fast and also the modified atkins diet. The one that has really gotten me to start losing weight is adding vegetables to my diet and eating more organic foods (thanks to Whole Foods down the street from the library). Anyway, to get rid of some of those eating urges, I've allowed myself some sweets provided they are made with artificial sweetners. And for the first week I didn't notice any changes. However, moving towards the end of the second week I noticed that i felt bloated (is this what women feel when they are cramping?). It's this feeling of fullness and also like something lives inside your stomach, something with the consistency of Jabba the Hut. And then a round the clock feeling of needing to pass gas. Now this is the tricky part. It's a feeling of needing to pass the gas, but the premonition that it's not just going to be gas that passes, but a little fecal matter too. So not only do you have to go to the bathroom whenever you want to fart, but you have to also remove your pants and underwear and sit in the defecation position (so as not to possibly soil anything or leave stains). And it's not just a little fecal material but a sort of mucous like consistency, like your ass just blew its nose. I'm getting a little grossed out, let's go back to my original story...
Anyway, for me I guess my gastro-intestinal system can't bear artificial sweetners and as of today, will be throwing out all the stuff with artificial sweetners in it. Woes me! However, Whole Foods does have a variety of healthy snacks like sesame sticks and chips made with vegetables and low fat stuff. I'm going to have to go with the organic stuff now. Nothing unnatural anymore.
And certainly no "racing" stripes left to wash out.

Monday, August 22, 2005

A Frown, The Flip Side

I know that lately my blog entries have all been kinda sour--a huge whining complaint, one after the other, like a bitter old man who doesn't return the baseballs that accidently get hit into their yards.

So I've decided that for a few entries at least, I won't gripe, but write about things that make me happy, things that I've realized have blessed my life.

Yesterday I was sitting in church praying and it dawned on me how lucky I am to have friends. This thought was then reinforced when my friend Saritha called last night to talk to me. I've realized that when I want to laugh, I've got quite a few friends to call. When I want to have lunch, again, I can call someone. More importantly, when I'm emotionally exhausted or just a little weary, I've got an even longer list of friends to choose from. It really makes me wonder how a person can come to a point in their lives when they don't "need" someone. The truth is, we all need our friends, our family and personal companions. Emotionally unloading, in the form of laughter or tears, is beneficial to our whole psyche.

Our personal relationships are the "spice" of life. Without it, everything would just be bland.

Saturday, August 20, 2005

Look Ma, I'm On TV

I was watching "Fox and Friends" this morning...so the story goes and before I go into a tirany of how I was unimpressed by story presentation, I would like to say something about the people who stand in the window to call friends and say "tune to Fox, I'm on t.v.".
What? So? You do know that forty million (do they have that many viewers?) are also seeing you take your cell phone out, call your friends, and wave. What is the actual thrill? I personally never liked having my picture taken (the flash leaves shadows in certain places that make me look like an oompa-loompa). And then to be on television, where the camera adds 10 pounds. I can understand if you are being interviewed, or your standing beside Al Roker when he gets in touch with a viewing audience on New York's streets. But come on, standing outside a building, peering into a window and then calling your friends to say "look at me". Send them a digital pic thru email, or use your cell phone to send them a pic!
I think I have to take a day off from studying, cause I'm looking back at my last few entries and they are nothing but a litany of complaints! I need to mellow, don't I?
On the bright side, I did have an awesome hummus sandwich at First Watch in Sarasota. Very good! I'm trying to eat more vegetables (as per Saritha). I had a so-so Cesar salad for dinner at a different restaurant. But the hummus sandwich rocked my world (who says that phrase anymore?). I'm going back to have another one later this week. It was that good!
I know that I haven't said Happy Birthday to anyone in awhile. So in case I miss writing before the 24th, I would like to say Happy Birthday to Dr. Regina Alvarez! Miss ya chick!

Thursday, August 18, 2005

Camping, Not Just To Catch Fish Anymore

All the hoop-la on the protesters in Crawford, Texas has gone way overboard. First of all, I don't know what this woman was trying to achieve. If anything, she is going to pose a security threat on the President. I think when they said she was "camping", it was a nicer way of saying that she was "stalking". Let's face it, if she wanted a meeting with him, she could have gone through the right channels. With the tragedies that happened to her, especially because one of them war related, I'm sure the president would have seen her. But she went a bit far by going to his summer home and camping out in neighbor's yards. I would personally be a little cautious about someone staked out in my neighbor's yard, waiting to see me. It doesn't have the same romantic notion of John Cusak holding a boombox above his head blaring "In Your Eyes" for Ione Skye.
I know that protesting has been a way to get media attention. But sometimes I've felt it's the wrong type of attention and in the end you end up alienating interested members or scaring off potential recruits. Just because something is loud, doesn't necessarily mean the message is going to get across. A child can throw the biggest temper tanturm, but for the most part won't achieve what they really want--undivided attention.
I'm glad that they have decided to pack up their tents and go. Maybe the poor town can now get it's peace and quiet. And that big mess of tents along the road, definitely a traffic hazard.

Tuesday, August 16, 2005

Sign Your Name Right Here

Yesterday as I was leaving the Selby Library in Sarasota, Florida, a woman outside was trying to get people to become registered voters for the state. I told her that I was just down here studying and was already a registered voter in West Virginia.
Today, as I went out to move my car, so I could prolong my study (this city has a two hour parking limit or a $25 dollar fine will be given), the same woman was outside now telling people she had a petition from the American Cancer Society. Since I was weary of who she really was, I didn't stop to let her say anything to me. It just strikes me as odd that first she would be getting people's information for voter registry and now getting people to sign a petition. I'll just ignore her as one of those radical, too much on their plate, over-active, over opinionated persons. I'm being very opinionated here myself.
On to the reason I started writing--which was sparked by the words "I've got a petition...." from the neighborhood chairperson (I'm assuming she heads some sort of committee to be out her for two days with two different projects). The reason I was going to write was to ponder the issue of petitions. How far do they go in getting a point across? I've gotten email petitions, I've signed other petitions for a better society, to free wrongly jailed citizens and even to prevent forest fires. Just every type of petition you can imagine. But how far do two thousand signatures go? And do these signatures get checked to see if they are living, breating, persons?
Does anyone know what becomes of these petitions and how much weight they have on final corporate, federal or what-have-you decisions?

Friday, August 12, 2005

Why Is This On My Mind?

The other day I was watching a show and there was a dance thing going on. I noticed that many people don't have attractive facial expressions during their moments of dance. It didn't matter how well they busted a move, their fact was not additive to their routine. I almost equated it to people's sex/orgasm faces (the ones on Skinemax have the nice of effect of soft white light, so it doesn't really count--the ones on the 70's VHS porn rings more true to actual facial expression). Anyway, why do people make those faces while they are dancing? I think this is one of the reasons I refuse to dance--besides the fact that I can't dance.

I danced only a couple times in my life, after begging from my friends or just out of sheer drunkeness. The last time I danced was in Champaigne, with some study buddies. It was only because I had severe cabin fever and had had no outside activity. Plus the fact that these were actually really good friends. I'm sure I looked like a fool, but no one laughed. My buddies actually danced pretty well.

Anyway, I just thought I would write that quick thought.
God Bless and Have a Great Day!

Saturday, August 06, 2005

Normal

I was listening to Delilah the other day and she quoted Jodie Foster--"Normal is not something to attain, it's something to get away from". I'm sure I botched it up and those weren't her exact words, but the lesson is there.
Many people think that coloring outside the lines is abnormal, or something quite shocking. We teach children from day 1 to color inside the lines, even what colors to use for their drawings. But what if they see the world outside these lines, that the colors actually blend with the environment? What if the colors actually leap off objects and into the surrounding atomosphere? You cannot tell a child how to interpret his/her own perceptions.
I remember once in college, one of my roommates saying that he embraced the "granola-head, Dead Head" culture because it didn't flow with the norm. That this sub-culture allowed him to express himself and gave him more freedom to discover his inner-feelings, desires and wants. Another more conservative roommate said that by going into a different sub-culture, he wasn't straying from the norm, just accepting a different norm. One norm is a different man's abnorm.
The point is, we must all strive to be ourselves. As long as what we do doesn't harm another person, than it's okay to express that. If I want to wear my plaid jacket, than dammit I will (I threw that in there--mainly Mondeep and Saritha know what I'm referring to).
The definition for normal is quite broad. We should not let it hinder our own expressivity.

Wednesday, August 03, 2005

Politically Incorrect

The other day I was watching the news, well not really the news, the sensational news. I know that Saritha and I have discussed "the news". Anyway, it was on my dinner break, so I turned on the television. One of those "sensational" news programs was on. I remember a few years ago, how I use to watch it. It seemed like a pretty good show back then. I haven't really watched it since then because my television time has been cut down by more productive activities.

Anyway, it seemed like one of those "Saturday Night Live" skits. You know, you don't really know where they are going. And you just want them to end. Some of their stories just seem to have no point. As sensational as they were trying to make them, it just didn't seem like "news". On top of that, while reporting about a guy who admittedly killed his girlfriend, one of the correspondents actually used the word "whacko". I was thinking, could you not think of a better adjective than that? Coudl you not draw up a word to reflect that you did go to journalism school, college or even high school.

Once again I was disappointed in the way that a story was presented. It could have been a lot more attention grabbing, cause the story did have all the elements of a soon to be Lifetime Television For Women movie. But some not so thorough investigation left one to wonder, "what was the point to this story again"? And I'm sure you are wondering, what was the point to my entry.