Yeah, not gonna say much more than that. There's something wrong with me. And I'm not talking about having an ear infection. Not sure why I do this to myself. All of you are wondering what the fuck I'm talking about....but I don't wanna talk about it. I just wanna vent...but I can't. Maybe I'll watch a sad movie or something. Fuck my life.

I feel better today, but I still have hearing problems. I hope it gets better soon. It's been about 36 hours since I started taking antibiotics....so they better work. I know that my hearing needs to pop back, and it's going to hurt like hell when it does. I used to get chronic ear infections as a kid, and one of the doctors told me once that I can hold my nose and gently blow like I was trying to breathe out of my noise and it should pop my hearing back. But that hasn't been working...and I don't wanna blow my ear drum :/ Thanks to all those who sent well wishes my way yesterday, I appreciate it.

Anyway, I have a ton of homework to do the rest of the week. I have to take a test and a quiz, write a 2000 word paper, my usual homework for sociology, and do my reading for psych. Also, I have to finish my proposal to get my school paid for by the Dislocated Worker Program so it can go to the review board next week. I had a meeting with my career counselor this morning and he helped me with the finishing touches with my paperwork. I want to get that done first so he has can prepare it for the next week's meeting...otherwise it waits until the week after.

I hope everyone is well, and I will miss talking to people the rest of the week. Maybe I will check back every once in a while... in fact, I know I will, lol!

I have an ear infection. I'm so tired. I've been sick for days and finally went to the minute clinic. Damn near $100 later, I have a diagnosis and amoxicillin. I can barely hear out of my left ear and it's been going on for three days. It's driving me insane. My throat hurts and my nose is stuffed. I still have a fever and been waiting for it to break. I hate getting the chills. When is this medicine going to start helping?! Ugh and I have homework to do and class tonight. I don't wanna go but there's a quiz. Goddamnit.

So I won't be around here today -_-

Not so long ago in a not so far away land, @saintvi, @BoulderChristina, and @Rob_of_the_Sky were chillin' at @TheTheologiansCafe in Xangaland. @bonmots was reading @amateurprose that @LKJSlain was holding for her, while @DJ_GiNSU was spinnin'. "@trunthepaige!" She yelled at Lisa. "@vexations!"

"@heythereJOANN!!!" @RighteousBruin exclaimed as a lady who was @forever_musing took a @Megabyyte of her sandwich. "PUT AWAY YOUR CATS!!!!! IT'S @godfatherofgreenbay!!!" yelled @Cestovatelka.

"@mynameisblueskye!!" exclaimed an @UnconventionalButterfly. "She has a @NewDog2!" he said, pointing at a @Shining_Garnet. "That lady was @raised_bywolves," a @dirtbubble muttered. "She has @Unstoppable_Inner_Strength."

"Don't worry, she's just @clumsyandunaware," remarked a nearby @seedsower. "But, she follows a @Roadlesstaken." At that point, @MedicMark showed up, lights flashing, and toting @ShimmerBodyCream, which was subsequently rubbed over boobies. "Look!! @Pink_TeaCups!!" a @firetyger exclaimed. A @Shadowrunner81 whispered that she was @TakingxOverxMe.

Then @john from @TheXangaTeam from Xangaland shouted, "THAT'S ENOUGH OF THIS @ChicBananas!!"

"Let's just go to @Grannys_Place," a scant @SliverLines said.

"Yeah, @Thatslifekid," Dan said.

---

*This story is fictional. Any names or places used is entirely on purpose.

FYI, this is a long post, but it's full of very useful information, and I hope you have some questions answered.

Okay, so I've been a bit behind in my psychology readings. I still have about 80 pages to read by class tomorrow night. Anyway, the part I'm at in my textbook right now is about Maslow's hierarchy of needs, going through them a bit more in depth than the general psych class I took in high school. At the base of the pyramid is the need to eat, and from there the book goes into issues with being overweight and obese. So this post is going to be full of information, both from my psychology textbook (Psychology, Ninth Edition, by David G. Myers) and from knowledge I've gained over the years, and then a challenge for everyone. The point of this post isn't to demean anyone, meaning if you know how to lose weight, that's great. So anyway, here it goes (also, I said a lot of this in @LKJSlain's post).

First, I've been learning that a lot of things are a combination of nature and nurture. Meaning, they work together in most situations, such as raising a child. The nature part is that our genes do play a part, but only to an extent. Our environment and experiences can trigger genes or let them lay dormant. The same is with weight. In some people, there is a gene that makes a person predisposed to being overweight. If you don't know anything about genetics, basically parents can carry a gene but they might not express it, and they can pass it on to their children. So, it's entirely possible for two brown eyed parents to have a blue eyed child. If both parents carry a recessive gene for blue eyes and both of them pass on that recessive gene, the child could have blue eyes. Anyway, the same is with most of our genes, they can passed on this way. Including the gene for weight. And this gene makes sense, because of our ancestry of being hunter-gatherers. In those days, meals were when you could get it, so we developed ways to store fat as energy. Also, this is why we naturally crave foods that are more sugary and salty. These two tastes determine foods that are more conducive to storing fat as energy. However, that's not the entire story. That's just the nature side.

The nurture (environment) side of being overweight has more than one factor. One of them is that portion sizes have gotten way too big. I believe that portion sizes started growing in the 1960's or 70's. Dinner plates and bowls have gotten larger. We feel like we need to fill our plates, so the bigger the plate, the more we eat. The sizes of our plates and bowls should be cut in half. The same is true of restaurants. Their portion sizes have gotten huge. In studies, even nutritionists eat too much when given bigger dishes. They will eat more ice cream if given a bigger bowl and a bigger scooper. It's also been shown in other studies that when we eat socially, we tend to overeat. Such as when we go out to dinner with friends.

The other factor in nurture is WHAT we're eating. The processed food we eat is absolutely horrible. This is MOST food that we find even at the grocery store. Many of those items are extremely high in sodium. A Lean Cuisine single meal has about 67% percent of our daily recommended intake of sodium, which retains water and clogs our arteries, and is linked to heart disease and heart attack. Reading the nutrition facts on labels is extremely important, and most of the things we buy when we think we are eating healthy is actually harmful to us. Anything that has a preservative is bad. That usually means there's some kind of plastic in it that preserves it's shelf life. Healthy foods should have an expiration date (this doesn't mean that everything that has an expiration date is healthy).

So now that we know WHY we are so unhealthy in this society (even if you're not overweight....weight doesn't paint the entire picture on how healthy a person is), here are ways that we can lead a healthier lifestyle. First, we need to cut our portions. This page on WebMD tells you what the correct portion size is for food. Such as for chicken breast, 1 portion is 3 oz cooked, about the size of a deck of cards. Second, we need to change what we're eating. This means severely limiting eating out, because most restaurants prepare food from frozen sources, and when it's frozen it usually has a high sodium content (the only exception is frozen vegetables with no sodium added, such as steamable veggies like corn and peas). It also means drinking mostly water. Many juices have added sugars. It's better to eat an orange than to drink orange juice. It also means limiting buying processed foods at the grocery store, such as boxed dinners and frozen foods. Third, regular exercise is needed. Usually about half an hour 4 times a week.

Now, other than being healthier, here are the keys to actually losing weight, if it's needed. It's important to follow the guidelines above, and be completely honest with yourself. It's been said that we can eat what we want in moderation. Yes, this is true. However, this can be used to rationalize eating junk food (junk food not just meaning candy and chips...what I mean is anything unhealthy including processed foods) more and more until you're back to your old habits...I know, because that's what I've done the last couple of weeks. It might be best to put that thinking out of our minds if we're trying to change our lifestyle. If we are to keep ourselves accountable, it's important to write down everything we eat and drink every day.

It's also important to eat five times a day. If you think that's eating a lot, it's really not. Because, you have to keep in mind proper portions of food. Eating less more frequently boosts your metabolism, which is important to losing weight, having a high metabolism. It's also important to have proper carb-to-protein ratio. Carbs are found in foods such as pastas and breads, and protein is found in its higher concentrations in meat. Carbs have a higher fat content. Protein, on the other hand, helps build and maintain muscles. The reason this is important is because the more muscle mass you have, the more efficient your body burns fat. So when losing weight, eating more protein than carbs is more beneficial. That doesn't mean you have to cut carbs, such as the Adkins diet, just lower the quantities you eat. Also, lean meats are better. Chicken and fish is better than red meat. When eating red meat, find lean meats, such as 98% lean hamburger meat. Also, broiled or baked is better than fried.

When working out, alternating muscle work outs with cardio is the best combination. Such as speed walking or running one day and doing squats/crunches/etc the next day. You don't need a gym or expensive work out equipment to work out. This page has some suggestions. It's important to eat some protein about an hour or two before working out, and protein no more than half an hour after working out. Make sure you're properly hydrated and work out at your own pace. It's not do or die if you're not used to working out. It's endurance, you have to build yourself up to work out very intensely. It's also important to properly stretch the muscles you're going to be using, both before and after your work out.

So now that you have some basic information, here is my challenge. This is for everyone, not just people that need to lose weight...but for everyone who's not living a healthy lifestyle.

For the next two weeks, I challenge you to follow this plan. Eat 5 times a day, about every 2.5-3 hours. Drink mostly water instead of pop (soda), energy drinks, etc. Eat fresh foods in proper portions and eat more protein. Exercise for half an hour 4 times a week...or more if you'd like. In order to track some results, weigh yourself on the first day (early morning is actually the best time to do this...your weight fluctuates throughout the day). Take measurements of the waist, hips, thighs, and biceps. Record them, and set them aside for the next two weeks. Then write down everything you eat and drink every day, and be honest with yourself. If you're not honest, it doesn't do any good. At the end of two weeks, you will feel better and if you're looking to lose weight, you should see results. After one week of Insanity, I lost 7 pounds and 1 inch in my waist. Below is a sample of meals for one day.

Meal One
Two eggs, scrambled (or cooked how you like, with no salt added)
1 pc of wheat toast with peanut butter

Meal Two
3/4 C cooked whole wheat Cream of Wheat
1/4 C soy, almond, or skim milk
1 scoop of protein powder (optional)
1 tbsp slivered almonds
2 tbsp raisins
Combine ingredients, heat

Meal Three
1 whole wheat pita pocket
3oz deli roast beef (lean)
sliced cherry tomatoes
romaine lettuce
Put ingredients inside pita pocket. May be combined with a small salad of dark greens with lemon juice or a light vinaigrette

Meal Four
1 cup plain yogurt, Greek yogurt preferred (admittedly, a somewhat acquired taste)
1 diced apple
1 tbsp copped walnuts
Combine ingredients

Meal Five
1 serving chicken breast
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp paprika
pepper
iodized sea salt
1 C cooked sliced carrots
2 tsp honey
Preheat oven to 350 degrees, combine lemon juice, olive oil, paprika, pepper, and sea salt on chicken breast in oven safe dish. Cook for about 45 minutes. Steam carrots and combine with honey.

Keep in mind, you can substitute these foods with others that are more desirable to you. Generally, cooked veggies are either 1/2 cup or a full cup for a serving size. Fruits are the same, but fruits naturally have more sugar than veggies. Meats can be substituted to whatever you want as well, as long as the portions are correct and lean. If you want, you can substitute two of the meals for protein shakes, such as meals 1 and 3.

Also, remember that losing weight and being healthier in general is about changing your eating and exercise habits, and it's a lifelong dedication. There's nothing good in fried and processed foods other than it's taste...but healthy foods are tasty too. If you have any questions, let me know. If I don't have the answers, I will find them for you or point you in the right direction. Good luck!!!

I really do. Until yesterday, I didn't realize how selfish it is for me to just come and go all the time. It devalues the friendships I've made here. There's so many people that I used to talk to all the time, and we don't anymore. And I feel like it's my fault. And there's so many people that aren't here anymore, and I wonder what happened to them. Some of them I used to be pretty close to. I know people fall out of touch all the time, but I still feel like an asshole. I'm sorry. I feel really bad. I truly love the people here, and I think I took for granted the fact that people would always be here, but they aren't. I know many of us are diehard xangans, but there are those that leave. And I miss those that have.

I'll try harder to be a better friend. And, you can find me on Facebook XD

I don't know what to write anymore. I'm sick of looking at this blank screen. There's a lot on my mind, but I can't share my thoughts at this point. Maybe I should go old skool with pen and paper. I don't know. I should be reading my psychology textbook, but I keep putting it off. I'm going to watch something on Netflix, and forget April Fool's. My emotions can't take it today.