Tuesday, November 29, 2011

My office is a minefield.

I haven't eaten the muffins that have been at work for weeks.
This morning, homemade chocolate chip cookies showed up.  I didn't eat any, and only had a minor craving for them.
But then these delicious-looking spice cookies showed up.  With frosting!  I love spiced desserts, especially at this time of the year.  I'm not sure that I can pass them up.  I'm full from lunch right now, but am not sure what I'll do later in the afternoon.  Especially when the tired/bored munchies show up!

My office is a minefield of poor food choices.

Friday, November 11, 2011

Muffin Top

More than once, I've had people mention that my pants seem too big for me.  Occasionally that has been because I've lost weight but haven't updated my wardrobe.

But more likely, it's because I'm avoiding muffin top.  You know, the bulge over your the waistband of your pants?  Man, I hate that look!  So I get pants that rest on the biggest part of my waist, rather than constricting any part of my waist.  This strategy makes pants more comfortable while sitting, and avoids muffin top.  Unfortunately, it also means that the rest of the pants are a bit baggy.

I wish that  someone would make muffin top-free pants.  Somehow make the waistband stretchy, or make the waistband a couple inches large than the rest of the pants. 

Until then, I'll likely continue to wear my pants a size too big.  And keep trying to hit the gym.

Veterans

Like so many other holidays for me, Veterans' Day is emotionally complicated for me.

I would feel great gratitude for our veterans if they were fighting for my freedom, but they are not.  From what I can tell, they are fighting for oil, power, and  imperialism.
On top of the anger for that, they are being hurt.  Physically wounded, emotionally scarred, or killed.  This pains me.  And the fact that I think that they are being so irrevocably damaged for greed makes it all the worse.  They are killing themselves, losing limbs and brain cells (a la traumatic brain injury), and ripping their souls FOR NO GOOD REASON.

I see myself as pro-veteran, but anti-war.  I'm pro-American, but I hate what America has been doing.  It's hard for unthinking "patriots" to understand this. 

So on this day, and all days, I do want the veterans to be supported.  I want the VA to be fully funded.  Veterans should have their physical and emotional needs completely taken care of; they have sacrificed their bodies and minds for this country (for whatever reason), and this country should take care of them upon their return.

But I can't thank them for my freedoms.  The current vets have nothing to do with that.  The veterans of the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, and WWII really did fight for freedom.  Unfortunately, the military and "homeland security" policies of the last 10+ years have made have decimated my privacy, my freedom, and my security.  It's so sad that veterans' sacrifices have been futile, that military personnel have lost their lives, limbs, and souls, and in the end, I'm less free and less secure.

Namaste, veterans.