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| message board July 2012
Can we please have a THIRD choice for President of the United States? Posted at 12:56 PM
My radical weight loss routine that I started (restarting my lapsed diet and exercise routine and amping it up) has had incredible results for four days - sixteen pounds! This is not unprecedented as I've used this particular weight loss plan before when I was younger to similar major effects. Today I decided to still do all of the exercise routines but to break from the diet and eat more normally. The extreme version of my diet is ... extreme ... and incredibly low on not only calories but vitamins and nutrients, so rather than overstress my body I felt it was best to use today and tomorrow to let my body regain balance and then I'll return to the full extreme and see how it fares on next Monday morning's weigh-in. The second week of the diet usually is less significant but still rewarding, however I've never done it as I am now with the return to a full diet for a couple days at the beginning of each week, and I suspect part of the diminished returns in the second and subsequently the third week were due to my body changing my metabolism to conserve energy (it has been seen to happen in people who are lost in the wilderness on minimal supplies). So I had this coupon for Ruby Tuesday that expires today and I'd had it sitting on my breakfast table for weeks. I decided to really treat myself for a bit of celebration and to put vitamins and minerals back into my body. I got an appetizer and the salad bar and a chicken pasta entree, and I'll be damned if I wasn't full to bursting after the salad plate and appetizer. I never even sampled the entree and just boxed it up for dinner (or maybe even lunch tomorrow - I'm still feeling quite full. My stomach has clearly shrunk so much that I feel full after a normal amount of food, and even without losing any weight this would have been a huge victory. I usually eat two or three times what most people do, and that is my problem. But without that I feel constantly hungry. To have turned that around - and so quickly - is almost a miracle. Part of the success for this has to be attributed to the semi-manic phase I'm in right now. My depression is gone and the mania is here, making me so active that I'm bouncing my knee while I sit and I'm getting all sorts of things accomplished. These manic phases can last a day or a few weeks, so I'm taking full advantage of it. If I can get a few weeks out of this and maintain the exercise and diet routines, I could be down to a much more reasonable weight, and that would be a very big deal. Posted at 2:20 PM
I must have a strong inner will because somehow I'm still going - despite a dismal lack of callbacks or outright job offers - and it's certainly not like I've been getting any support or encouragement from anyone. It's just me ... and as depressing as that sounds, it is at least rewarding to know I have the inner strength to keep going and keep trying. Posted at 8:49 AM
So hungry. I hate dieting. Posted at 2:41 PM
DIeting, exercising, weeding, mowing, cleaning, laundering, shopping, running errands and filling the rest of your waking minutes with running around is tiring. Scratch the dieting and exercising and it would be fine, but the low caloric intake and the aching and tiredness of the exercising makes it all much more exhausting. I could also come up with a list that included just about anything and they would be things I liked to do more than dIeting, exercising, weeding, mowing, cleaning. Oh well. At least the house and yard are done for a while. Posted at 12:40 PM
Sad news today that Mary Tamm - who played Romana (the first Romana) on Doctor Who - has died of cancer. She was a great change in the style of companion for the Doctor, and she better than any other actor showed how a smart, strong-willed character could face off against the Doctor and still leave him as the show-runner - something more recent actors could emulate. Rest well, Mary Tamm. You gave us great memories.
Posted at 2:11 PM
This truly ridiculous. I'm not only willing to work but really, actively want to work. I don't say that thinking that I'm alone or that many or even any of the unemployed people in this country are unwilling to work or not trying to get a job. THe truth is, though, that we are not in a full depression and there is plenty of money in various businesses that could be put to good use putting good people to work. WHy sit on billions of dollars when the public - the buying public - are unemployed and struggling to eat and keep a roof over their heads. Who do you think buys all of those goods that are giving companies record profits anyhow? GIVE ME A JOB< FOLKS!!! Posted at 12:16 PM
Melancholy. Posted at 1:05 PM
Hi boys and girls. Today's secret word is 'Despondent'. Can you say that? Now remember, when anyone makes you feel despondent, scream real loud. Let's try it out!
Posted at 10:27 AM
So tired. Why? I have no idea what's exhausting me like this - other than worry and frustration at the so-far hopeless job search. I'd love to lie down and sleep for a few days, but since I know that's a real possibility and not just an exaggeration I'm forcing myself to keep normal hours. Zzzzzzzzzz...... Posted at 10:24 AM
Come on jobs; no Whammies! Posted at 10:05 AM
Back at the end of last year I moved the wrong way somehow while trying to catch and hold up my grandmother in the bathroom. I felt pain at the time that I thought might be a mild sprain in my left wrist. At the time I was quite preoccupied and had no chance to worry about it. Later I could worry about it, but since I had (and have) no insurance and no money, I just tried to use my left hand less strenuously to give my wrist time to heal. As time passed I found that not using your left hand - even when you're right-handed - is difficult to accomplish. I also found that I couldn't exactly isolate which types of movement caused the pain. It wasn't everything or even a lot of things, but once you moved in the wrong way BAM - there's the pain. Fortunately I wasn't making the wrong types of move all that often. While I was still taking care of my grandma I probably re-injured myself a few times (I can be quite sure about two times), so I wasn't making much progress in healing. As more time has passed and I'm now nearly three quarters of a year since the original injury, my wrist isn't any better, and in the past month it has been getting somewhat worse. I don't know if I re-injured it again and made it worse, but it's much more problematic now with more types of movement causing pain and the pain being much sharper. Last night I woke up in the middle of the night and when I got back into bed and pulled my sheets over me I pulled the wrong way somehow and had excruciating pain flash through me. The pain was gone right away, but I was not only wide awake but left with an imprint of that major pain for a few minutes. And my wrist has been tender and with a very mild but constant pain since then. It's odd, really. There's no swelling or discoloration. There's no loss of flexibility or gripping or lifting strength. But move the wrong way and that's that. It would be nice to have universal health care right now or at least a free or low-cost clinic, but this podunk town has no clinics and I have no insurance and no money. So for now I'm just enduring. With last night's incident, though, I don't know if I can keep that up much longer. Posted at 10:26 AM
Tired, achy, headachy, hungry, and frustratingly unemployed. This is my life. Posted at 11:46 AM
If you can't stand the heat, get off of the planet! That's my modern-day update on the old cliche. It seems fitting during the worst heat wave and drought in over fifty years across just about all of the continental United States. Posted at 10:31 AM
I haven't been sleeping well the past few days and as a result I'm not only somewhat tired but I've had a non-full-strength but constant migraine. Today we get to add in aches all over my body. Fun times. Now I not only need a job but I need sleep. It could be worse, of course, but give it time. Posted at 11:15 AM
I'm not blind - I watch the news and read a variety of things on the Internet about the economy, unemployment, and this recession in general - but but I can't believe how poorly my job search is going. Finding available jobs with my qualifications is hard enough, but even with all of the applying I have done I haven't yet been asked to an interview. I'm not applying for part time, temp work, or minimum wage jobs, so that limits things a bit (although there isn't much in that pool of jobs either), but I will eventually have to go that route if things continue not to pan out. I have no problem with entry-level, minimum wage jobs or the people who work them. I certainly had plenty of them myself in my lifetime. Still, it galls me to think that with two college degrees and over a decade of management experience - let alone having worked fairly continuously since I was twelve - it would seem that I shouldn't have to start all over again from the bottom as if I were once again that twelve year old boy. Even worse, the twelve year old me would likely be more appealing than the forty-five year old me as employers often prefer younger employees who have fewer expectations. Not only does it seem unfair to me that I may have to start from the bottom, but I also can't make enough money to get by on just one job, even if it's full time. I'm not likely to find roommates at my age like I did when I was younger, helping to minimize costs, and costs are truly high - even if you don't consider my having to make student loan and credit card payments. This is all outrageously frustrating. And why am I doing any of this anyway? What is there that makes any of this struggle worthwhile? Certainly nothing as far as I can see. Posted at 11:34 AM
It's a good thing I don't drink. Posted at 11:17 AM
Job hunting sucks. Is there really anyone who disagrees with this? Posted at 10:39 AM
Friday the 13th. Yeah. Could do without that. Posted at 7:32 AM
Groceries are really getting far too expensive. If the costs of even the most basic needs rise then the wages people ear have to raise as well. Not that this applies to unemployed me, but the point is still valid. Posted at 12:08 PM
7-11 ... that's not just a chain of convenience stores, it's supposed to be lucky numbers - granted, lucky in craps games - but the luck of the numbers is considered well beyond that reference only. So if today is 7-11 will that make it lucky? Posted at 11:13 AM
I've got a method to my job searching now, and after spending the past four days catching up I can now do a daily check for new job listings in 2-3 hours and then spend another 1-4 hours filling out applications and sending cover letters and resumes. That may seem like a lot of time, but it really is much more efficient this way. Keep in mind that I'm looking for jobs over about a three-fifths of the entire United States. Today I feel stiff and achy from spending fourteen hour days in front of the computer with job listings and making new cover letter s and filling in a huge variety of online applications - all of which are different - for the last few days. I had planned to spend the day in the library today searching newspapers for jobs, but between my aching back and shoulders and my headache I think I might leave it until tomorrow and just shift my plans for the week back a day. I don't know. I may feel better after lunch. I've spent most of the morning in front of the computer again, and that surely hasn't helped. Posted at 12:08 PM
Come on guys, at least give me the chance to show you who I am in an interview. A number of these job opportunities for which I've applied are great organizations doing great things, and I'd be thrilled to be part of what they're doing. I'm usually much, much more patient than I am lately. My mother certainly has been no help at all in that regard, but I am anxiously awaiting contact for an interview, and that's really silly considering most of these jobs will have been accepting applications and resumes for a couple weeks before calling for interviews. "No news is good news" is not really appropriate in this situation, and I can't think of any other over-used cliches that could offer me any comfort.. Posted at 12:08 PM
The National Teacher of the Year speaks out against standardized testing during her acceptance speech and I couldn't be more pleased. Three cheers to Rebecca Mieliwocki for speaking the truth and at a time and place nobody could ignore. I hope this sort of principled courage doesn't get lost in face of the beaurocratic approach of the Department of Education. Teaching - and learning - are hindered and slowed by current standardized testing. Well-intentioned as it may have been, testing is having a bad effect.
Posted at 8:45 AM
I'm having a hard time being optimistic the last few days. Posted at 10:54 AM
What is the point? Posted at 10:49 AM
A good friend or a good parent - or any kind of good person with a close relationship to you - will challenge you if they feel you are wrong or not looking at the big picture, and I have been the most appreciative of such people for caring enough about me to be honest and forward. However -- to simply tell you to do something differently because they think it's better; to chastise you for not doing something the way they would (and in many cases based on a suggestion without any personal experience or research, just a "feeling"); and above all else to ONLY be critical and not offer any support or encouragement or concern when you are struggling to figure something out, make something work, or make a major life change - that is not being a good friend or a good parent or a good whatever. It's just being an ass. Anyone can kick someone when they're down. It's ugly and wrong when someone does it to anyone, but it's cruel and twisted when the abuse comes from someone you have expected to trust and love. Abuse is not tough love no matter the circumstances - it's just abuse. Way to go, Mom, as usual. At least you're consistent. Posted at 12:03 PM
Posted at 12:05 PM
I'm tired and achy today - worse than in a long while. I want to just go back to bed and sleep and relax, but I can't give in to that lure; I might never get up if I give in even just once. Posted at 9:41 AM
I'm very disappointed in the world. Posted at 11:06 AM
Hey employers, could you give me a job within three days so that I can celebrate my independence from unemployment and poverty? Posted at 9:11 AM
Journal, by Paul Cales, © July 2012
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July 31, 2012
