I stumbled upon this video, and I thought it was pretty funny. I’m not sure the original source, but I thought it was great. The only background info I know is that a couple named “Jennifer and Jim” were getting really high water bills, and one day they found out what the cat did all day while they were at work.

My last post (I think it was my last…) mentioned the Eat-2-Live diet. Since it literally changed my life, I’ll expand a bit.

About 2 years ago, I weighed 220lbs. I was at the doctor’s office for a routine sickness, and he mentioned offhand that I was at risk for heart attack. I hadn’t’ realized that was the case, so when he said it — I was shaken up a bit!

At that time, I was on 3 medicines to control blood pressure, one for migraines, and about 3 for allergies. I have no idea how I didn’t see the risk for heart attack, but my mental self image was that of an invincible young adult. I’ll be honest, the doctor’s nonchalant mention that I was really unhealthy scared the heck out of me!!!

That day I went home, and googled for diets that reduced blood pressure. My goal was to have healthy blood pressure, and I realized my weight was a large part of the problem. I have always had moderately high blood pressure, even as a child, but now it was high even with medicines. Anyway, I found Eat-2-Live, and even the title spoke to me.

I called a local bookstore, which was a 35 minute drive away, and asked if they had the book in stock. Surprisingly, they did, so I drove over and bought it right away. I read the entire thing that evening. The next day I started the vegan diet, low in oil and grains. It was hard, I’ll admit — but since you can eat as much food as you want, it’s not impossible.

Anyway, over the next few months, I lost over 60 pounds, and my blood pressure and cholesterol were the lowest they’d ever been. I think my cholesterol was 135, and my BP was 118/70. It was awesome, and I felt better than ever before.

I would have stayed with the lifestyle, but unfortunately eating all fresh fruits and vegetables gets expensive. Added to the stress of work, I ended up going down the bad road, and gained weight back.

I’m now on blood pressure medicine again, albeit a small dose. I’ve gained back 30 of the 60 pounds I lost, and my skinny guy clothes don’t fit anymore.

So, I’m back on the diet. Hummus and pita are my new Doritos, and tofu is stacked in the fridge waiting to be marinated. To be honest, I kinda missed this sort of food. I know I miss my skinny guy clothes, so maybe this will work again.

What do you think of the new look? Less creepy? Less personal? Better? Worse?
Go ahead, be brutally honest. And yes, that’s me sleeping in the straw hat. 🙂

I’ve been talking quite a bit about my childhood lately, which is very ironic, since I don’t remember much of it firsthand. (That’s another story, very complicated) There are many things I know about growing up though, partly due to stories I’ve been told, and some things that show in my everyday life.

I grew up with a step father that loved to argue. He was a crafty, manipulative man, and used humiliation and belittlement to win most bouts. I learned a lot of useful, horrible skills from that abusive past, and I have to consciously work every day not to do the same to my kids.

I don’t know why I’m a decent person today, because I could really be a jerk. As an adult, I’ve never lost an argument. Really. I’ve never lost a single one. Oh, I’ve been dead wrong lots of times — but never lost the argument. It’s a defense mechanism, I’m sure, but the real downside is I have to be very careful not to hurt and belittle during regular discussions. Seriously, I have make an effort every single time.

In my job, I’m often confronted with angry people that shift their frustrations directly at me. My first few years on the job, I responded off the cuff. I belittled, humiliated, and hurt those folks. I’m good at it, mind you, so I would very rarely hear back anything but apologies (usually forced by their superiors, because of course I made my lashing public). The problem is that people would HATE me, but have no real reason they could pinpoint. When you hate someone, but don’t know why — you want to be mean to them. That’s what happened. It got ugly.

So, I’ve spent the last few years trying to be the better person. I try not to take things personally, and always, ALWAYS communicate with people calmly. (Not the fake calm that wins arguments, but really calm, where the desire to destroy the opponent is gone)

Today, I was accused of responding quickly and harshly by a friend. I must admit, it took every bit of restraint I could muster not to do just that. It’s funny how things are relative. Compared to my instincts, I’m a pussy cat. Compared to the norm, I guess, I’m still edgy. Go figure.

So do I have a personality flaw, or do I just refuse to get bullied? Who knows. I never draw first blood, so I suppose my verbal karate is only used in defense. Mr. Miyagi would be proud.

I have a great desire to live frugally. I think, however, that growing up poor makes frugality seem poor as opposed to wise. Don’t get me wrong, I never went hungry as a kid, my Mom always made sure we had what we needed — but we weren’t even close to middle class. All in all, I’m quite happy I grew up the way I did. I think it shaped me into a person I’m relatively proud to be.

But now I have money. I’m not rich. I’m not even upper middle class, but we have a house and 2 used cars. We also have satellite TV, lots of computers, lots of take-out coffee, lots of take-out food, etc. If we make ourselves live frugally, it starts to feel like we’re poor again. I hate that.

Anyway, it’s something I’m working through. Thought I’d share.