A Big Fat Blessed Curse

Between Thanksgiving and today I've gained 10 lbs. I'm 184 lbs. this morning (which means I've gained back a total of 16 lbs. of the weight I had lost). Oh well, better to gain 10 lbs. in one month because there were so many delicious desserts and cheeses in my hands than to lose 10 lbs. in one month because we couldn't afford food.

Am I to say, "Woe is me because I ate cookies and candy by the handfuls" while other people are looking for scraps in trash cans? And then there are people in remote desolate places of the world who only wish they had trash cans they could search through. Am I to say, "Woe is me because I didn't have to spend 12 hours a day laboring in a physically demanding job" while other people are digging in mines and lifting heavy rocks and timbers? So I will not be complaining about my weight. How lucky I am to be able to gain it while others die in skinny, bony bodies from lack of nutrition.

But I will not be naive either. To much of anything, even a good thing, is simply too much. (It's a lesson I've been trying to teach my children, but I'm afraid I'm rarely a good role model since I tend to vacillate between extremes in much of what I do.) Too much of the good life with lots of good food and little need to struggle in physical work has left me in an unhealthy state.

It's odd since health is so important to me. I avoid carcinogens as if they were infected with the plague and would kill us all immediately. I refuse to consume hydrogenated oils, artificial anything, or large quantities of corn syrup. I do as much as I can to avoid becoming contaminated by germs outside of my home. I focus on safety first in everything I do because I fear that harm will come if I don't. I do it all to prolong my life and the lives of the people I love and to make our lives more pleasurable and fulfilling. But when it comes to my excess weight and sedentary lifestyle, I am my greatest health risk.

So again, I start a New Year with the resolution to get to a healthier weight (130 lbs. is always the goal but I'd be better off with any improvement). My goal is not to fit into the latest fashions or turn heads. I simply want to be healthy, energetic, and agile. I want to set a good example of health for my kids. And I want to enjoy the process. I don't want to do exercises that I dread; life is too short to do things we hate. I'm determined to find something active that I enjoy doing. And I certainly won't be participating in any fad diets. Moderation is always the panacea.

But above all I will avoid complaining about how blessed I am to have the opportunities to be fat while so many others are starving and physically overtaxed. It's like complaining about having too much money and not having to work for it. I refuse to be so spoiled.

Friends of Convenience

I'm easily a convenient friend. If you're in a room of strangers, and you meet me, I'll be happy to be your buddy. I'll crack jokes. I'll look on the bright side. I'll open up deep topics that will motivate you to open your mouth and have a conversation. We'll laugh. We'll probably even hug. And once the meeting/party/waiting/etc. is over, I'll likely never see you again, and you'll likely forget about me (so I'll have to re-introduce myself and explain how I already know you if our paths do happen to cross again).

But when it comes to long term friendships, the ones that persist through the years, I don't have many of those. I think I fluttered from group to group so much during my life that I never really developed many deep friendships. I'm happy I fluttered from group to group. I've learned so much from so many people. But it would be nice to have more of those deep, long term friendships.

"On a Quest To Be Debt Free" is Plagiarizing Kristen's Guide

So I'm browsing around and find a blog called On a Quest To Be Debt Free. (They're a fellow Entrecard member.)

On that site I discover some articles that look oddly familiar. So familiar that it seems almost as if I had written them. Why? Because in fact, I did write them!

Several articles on Kristen's Guide were directly copied (all of the articles I've found so far were about household notebooks), some of the URLs were changed to point to whatever the copier wanted them to, some were left intact. They removed my information as the author, removed any reference to my Kristen's Guide where my original article is hosted, replaced my name with the copier's name ("Anna" if that is her real name), and re-posted it as an entry on their blog. Then they submitted it to blog carnivals and such.

I'm so angry. I know that there are people out there who copy and paste stuff, but at least most of them don't take credit for it. They usually just say, hey it's from this other site. That annoys me, but when I go through all the trouble of researching by experience then writing articles and somebody else comes along and decides to say they wrote it, I just want to scream.

So I contacted "Anna" and tried to politely but sternly explain that the illegally copied items need to be removed. If they're not, then I'm going to do my best to get the host to terminate the hosting account. I'm hoping to resolve this without having to get attorneys and litigation involved because such measures are always so time consuming and financially draining for everyone, but if I must then I must.

I also contacted some of the blog carnivals she entered them into and so far they seem willing to remove any references to the articles as well.

Argh!

Anything We Want to Be

I always tell my children that no matter what we look like, where we come from, who our family is, or what the world throws at us, we can do anything we set our minds to. We each can become anything we want to be. And today, I'm overjoyed to show them proof.


And now, my children won't have to grow up in the world I grew up in. They won't be told by society that people with dark skin are somehow less valuable or capable than people with light skin. We can have hope for our children's future, for their health care, for their education, for their security, for the environment, for beauty, and for peace for everyone.

A nation is not just a group of people who live within the same borders; it's a family, a community. The community starts in our houses, stretches out our front doors through our neighborhoods, expands across the continents, and envelops the world. And with technology, the boundaries of our community grow larger every day. Gone are the days of thinking that we only need to focus on the the people in our own houses. Gone are the days of us vs. them. Gone are the days of selfishness and greed. I welcome the days when each individual in the nation will reach out to his or her fellow citizens in the same way that we each reach out to our loved ones and help them when they are in need and lift them up to fulfill their potential. That is the only way that we can prosper and succeed to create the type of lives we want. By helping others achieve greatness, we become great ourselves. By helping other achieve success, we find our own success.

And at last, the people who understand the importance of this community, and recognize how vast our community has expanded with technology, are finally going to lead our community. I can only imagine that it will lead to greater things.

Fair and Balanced... Unless We're Losing

It's about 7 pm Pacific Time on November 4, 2008, Election Day.

According to the news websites...

MSNBC = Obama's in the lead (200 to 124)
CNN = Obama's in the lead (199 to 78)
ABC = Obama's in the lead (200 to 130)
NPR = Obama's in the lead (207 to 95)
CBS = Obama's in the lead (206 to 135)
USA TODAY = Obama's in the lead (195 to 70)
NY TIMES = Obama's in the lead (138 to 17)
WASHINGTON POST = Obama's in the lead (128 to 51)
LA TIMES = Obama's in the lead (195 to 70)
YAHOO NEWS = Obama's in the lead (195 to 70)
GOOGLE NEWS = Obama's in the lead (195 to 70)

FOX NEWS = It's a tie! (0 to 0).

I guess when defeat is looming, delay admitting it as long as possible.