Hcg and an Update

Some things have happened since December.

.j lost his job.

.we lived with my parents.

.we both got jobs. 

.we had to put our harley to sleep.

.we moved to layton.

Neat huh?

But I've also started a new life change. I decided to start the Hcg diet. I'm tired of not loving my body. I'm tired of not being comfortable naked. I'm also impatient and don't want to do the safest diet and exercise way. So, I'm helping myself out. Giving myself a jump-start, so to say. I had a few friends do the diet, with great results. If they can, I can too.

It works by limiting calories to 500/day. The Hcg takes the fat deposits in your body and uses those for calories. I loaded for three days - eating more than normal while still taking drops. Today starts the diet.

Day One

Weight: 168.7

I'm hungry. Breakfast I had half a cup of cereal and half a cup of milk. They say feeling hungry will go away the longer I'm on the diet. 

I'm feeling the side effects of hunger, shaky, I'm sure I'll feel headachy. This should subside.

Didn't lose any weight over the weekend. 

Work out for today.

Plan on drinking lots of water today.

Hopefully I'll keep this up. And the blog!

Rock the Damn Boat

Taking a break from my dishes to enjoy a little white zin, apples and cheddar, and blogging. I think this makes two days in a row? Pretty sure that's a record.

I wanted to write about a discussion I had on fb with a previous teacher of mine. He happens to be my favourite teacher of all time, and a very good friend. I believe he was my favourite because he wasn't the same as the rest of my high school teachers. He was irreverent, left-leaning {in lectures, in private he does more than lean to the left}, let us watch John Stewart in class, and had us call him "Massa" {mostly jokingly}. Not to mention he and J would get along great if we had more contact.

He recently said that he was denied an English position in his high school. It wasn't due to his lack of qualifications or knowledge. It was because he didn't fit the mold. He was told he would

rock the boat

not be a team player

not play well in the sand box

yes, directly quoted

What???

Am I the only one who sees a problem here? The heads of the English department of his school are naturally members of the predominant church. This isn't an outright discrimination based upon religion, but what else is it? I hate that he is assumed that he has nothing to offer because he doesn't fit their mold. When did lifestyle become a qualification for job positions?

This bothers me for two reasons. A: I hate seeing people I care about be treated poorly and without respect just because they don't fit into the mold the others created. And 2: Teaching is my backup plan if social work doesn't pan out the way I hope. Whereas I am moving back to Utah for a while, I have a right to be concerned being one who "rocks the boat." Will I be denied positions because I have a left wing view on life? Will I be treated differently because I wasn't married in their temple?

Disclaimer: Not all members of this church are judgmental like the ones mentioned above. I have some very good friends who wouldn't deny me a chance because I don't belong. But the few who do act as such give them a very poor name.

Perspective

You know the saying you never know what you have til it's gone?

So. Fucking. True.

Living and growing up in Utah, I hated it.

cold, mountains, snow, religion, lack of diversity, school systems, small towns

Turns out those are the very things I miss and long for. Upon moving to Tejas, I expected to love the warmth, the flat landscape, the different town. I thought I would be happy never seeing snow again. I thought I wouldn't mind the landscape being flat. I expected there to be more diversity than Utah.

Remind me again why this is attractive?

My three months down here have shown me otherwise. I miss 

bundling up in sweaters

seeing the snow fall softly on the ground

crunching the leaves beneath my feet

seeing my breath in the morning

cooking warm soups

the cool temperatures

seeing clouds roll in over the mountains

being close to everything

the sense of pride in community

Texas has none of those. The past few weeks have been in the 70s and 80s, even dipping into the 90s at times. The landscape is so flat I can't find my way around anywhere. I need those landmarks to tell me which direction to go. Sure, there aren't as many mormons down here, in fact, I have yet to meet one. But everything is about church. And everyone here is so politically red it makes my face red. If you count half Mexican and half white diverse then yeah, there is diversity. But I'll be damned if I can't get any Indian food or sushi down here. 

I know I seem like I complain all the time. But the truth is, I'm sad here. I miss my family. I miss my friends. I never thought I would say this in a million years, but I miss my Utah home.