Yeah, Chavez just won in Venezuela and the debates have started for the US presidential campaign… and between GOP leaders saying that science is Satan’s way of leading us away from God and asserting that doctors perform abortions on women who aren’t pregnant, there has been plenty of asinine material to work with. Alas, life has been a bit too busy lately, and with my desktop out of commission, I’m doing all my work off my corporate notebook as well, which is more than just a little obnoxious.
While it’s out there, I’m feeling excitement for the working people of Venezuela. The co-ops and such that have been started by the people, the nationalization of the resources and expulsion of greedy multinationals drooling at the thought of exploiting all that oil to funnel money from the Venezuelan people to those accounts in the Caymans… the Bolivarian Revolution taking place in South America is so exciting. Seeing the region throw off the chains of oppression is inspiring, and it feels good to know that it can happen in my lifetime.
Back a little closer to home, I’ve been thinking about my overall health since the obese news reporter’s rant about how kids should be allowed to be unhealthy without responsible people telling them that they’re setting themselves up to be at risk for a multitude of conditions. While you can see my response to her disingenuous and harmful response on Facebook, the key message is that I’ve spent the past four years, since late 2008, hanging out between 185 and 200 pounds. I haven’t been all that pleased with it. There was one period, however, in early 2010, where I managed to tip the scales at 159.8 pounds before abandoning my calorie deficits in favor of a variety of meats on my new Weber Performer grill.
I’m feeling the desire to see 159.8 again. I’m at my high weight right now, but slightly better proportioned than I was the first time I hit this number. This basically gives me the opportunity to drop forty pounds from my soggy midsection. Steel cut oats and raw veggies? Check! I started today after I used up my coupon for a free Mountain Dew so it wouldn’t taunt me on the tougher days ahead. To my advantage, last time I became more than a little obsessed for the four months of denial in which I participated… and obsession is a strong quality of mine, if you can call it that. I’m challenging myself, and I’ll keep you all updated here, as if you care!
Tomorrow night, I’m trying out for Jeopardy via an online test for Cleveland-area residents. If things go well, I’ll be called in for a live audition soon after. I’m hopeful but not optimistic. As great as I am at about 80% of the episodes of this trivia and knowledge game show, there are always categories that stump me. I’m not as well-rounded as I could be and I’m a bit past my prime on this type of thing. It’s not going to stop me from trying, though, and of course, I’ll report back with my results once I have them.
It’s almost nine… a quarter cup of skim cottage cheese has the components to keep my metabolism burning away at that spare tire through the night. Time to go take care of that. Until next time…