"Is he really eating broccoli?"  "That's gotta be so fake!"  I know what you might be saying.  It's okay.  I don't believe it either.  But, it's true.  I've been quite the vegetable taster/eater/swallower this week. 

It's weird.  Tiff and I have been watching a lot of this BBC TV show called You Are What You Eat.  Basically in the show this crazy British super bitch lady goes to people's houses and ridicules, debases, and demeans them to the point of tears and/or suicide.  Then, on top of all the pain she forces them to eat food they don't want for 8 weeks.  She also makes them shit in a plastic box so she can take it back to "the lab" for "ANALysis".  Then she complains about how awful the box full of shit smells.  Anyway, in the end everyone is happy and the victim has lost 2.2 stone (30 pounds) and feels great.  Well, I've seen about 25 of these episodes (and trust me, you really only need to see one to get the idea of how the show goes) and it's motivated me to lose my own stones, and feel great.

So…  some of you saw my previous post about how crappy I was feeling a couple of weeks ago.  In the last two weeks I have severely cut back on soda and coffee, eaten vegetables, and eliminated most of my delicious processed foods.  Whoa!

Tiff and I went shopping last Sunday and we bought a bunch of fruits and vegetables.  We also bought things like brown rice, breads that were 100% whole grain, and turkey, and chicken instead of beef.  When we got back from the store.  I've tried (and wasn't repulsed by) various things.  Tiff has been super supportive and patient with my food issues, and it's been really great.  She's been making fruit smoothies in the morning, and delicious dinners at night.  Wahoo!

Here's my list of foods that I've been trying and/or eating that I don't normally try and/or eat:
-Broccoli (not nearly as bad as I expected)
-Peas (Not great, but maybe I could get used to them)
-Celery (not very good…  I will only eat this if I dying in a ditch somewhere, or if it were in a soup or stew or something)
-Iceberg Lettuce (also not very good)
-Romaine Lettuce (the taste I had wasn't too bad… much better than the iceberg stuff)
-Zucchini (pretty good)
-Yellow Squash (also pretty good)
-Bell Peppers (not too bad, either… I was surprised)
-Italian Dressing (absolutely horrible.  I gagged, and choked and nearly puked… how can you people eat this?). 
-Avacado (not too bad, it might take some getting used to.  it reminded me of something, but couldn't put my finger on it)
-Various Fruits, Blueberries, Blackberries, Strawberries, Raspberries, Pineapple and others I think… (all were very good)

Anyway… so most of this is brand new to me. It's all very strange and a bit unsettling, but not nearly as terrible as I thought it would be.  It's amazing what a few bad experiences and some irrational fears can do.  I still believe that I have a heightened sense of taste though, and that its not ALL in my head.  But, I can admit that I have been afraid to try things with an open mind… until now.  I'm taking it slow… and even maybe one day soon I'll be trying to eat some salad.  As long as I keep that dressing off of it, that is.

peas out,
-MMS

I just bought a chorus pedal at Target. Actually I read good things about this pedal online. It’s kind weird that you get this kind of thing at Target. Best Buy is selling music gear now, too. Crazy world.

See ya later, suckers!

Well, most of you who know me know that I don't give a rats ass about who wins and who loses.  I just don't care.  BUT… when theres money on the line… well, that's a different story. 

I have entered the office pool for the NCAA Bracket Give Me Money Competition Thingie.  Tiff entered me into the pool at her work too, but I don't know what those picks were. 

Here's my Final Four predictions for my 2 entries here at my job:

North Carolina
Georgetown
Texas
Duke

and the other entry:

North Carolina
Georgetown
Memphis
UCLA

So, it's official..  I need Louisville to beat Oklahoma! 

I think I need a change.  It's my heart, you see.  I don't know how fast my heart is supposed to be beating.  It seems like it's beating too fast.  I feel anxious.  I don't think it's good.  I was lying in bed a few hours ago and my heart just seemed like it was pounding much too fast.  I wasn't doing anything, I hadn't been moving, working or anything.  It's a little worrisome, actually.  I just woke a few minutes ago, and it seemed like it was still racing. I was starting to think about it more, and worry more and I think that, in itself, made it beat even faster.

I just clocked it using a metronome, and it looks like it's ticking around 75 bpm. I just read online while typing this up that normal adult 'resting pulse' is 60-100 bpm.  So, I guess I'm okay.  Perhaps I was just panicking.  I'm feeling better now.  Maybe I was having an active dream and it really got my heart going?  Regardless…  I think it's time for some changes. I think it's time I cut out caffeine from my diet.  It's not good for me.  I had quite a bit today, and I'm sure that affected my situation tonight.  Working the night shift really has me drinking  a lot of Diet Pepsi during my "day".  But I only have one more week of this, then I'm back on the day shift.  However, coffee is free at work and I am usually pretty hopped up by noon. 

I've got to try to make some changes in my diet, my overall well being.  I'm not a kid anymore.  I'm 37.  I may feel younger than that, but that doesn't change the fact the my heart is been pounding in my chest, nonstop for 37 years.  37 YEARS!  I gotta make it a little easier on the little guy. Sorry, heart.

I think this change has to happen in stages though… I don't think I can do all this at once.  So, this might be the order of business for me… (as decided by me, the non medical professional)

*First, I've got to cut out caffeine.  DPs, coffee, even tea has got to go.  This will be very hard as my daily routine is ruled by my drug of choice.  I'm going to have to replace it with water, and more water.  Soft drinks will need to be sugar-free and caffeine-free.  I've already started drinking more fruit and vegetable juices. 
*Second, I've also got to go and get a physical done, blood work, cholesterol checked, the whole nine.  I haven't been in years… many, many years. I think the last 'physical' I had was probably when I was around… 20 years old?  Although, I did my have my cholesterol checked a year or so ago at work, and they said I wasn't doing too bad.  They said my bad cholesterol was a little high, but my good cholesterol was a bit high also.  So it didn't exactly cancel out the bad stuff, but it could have been worse. 
*Third, I've got to start exercising to some degree… something.  I don't think Wii Sports counts.  Even though, I just scored a 197 in Wii bowling (I'm pretty proud of myself).  Maybe power walking around the block… maybe jogging… something might be better for me.
*Fourth, I've got to eat less of the foods that are bad for me, and more of the foods that are good for me.  This won't be easy because I don't enjoy eating a lot of food that is good for me.  I'm going to have to start trying new things.  I'm not saying I'm cutting out pizza and burgers completely…  but a slab of grilled chicken might be a better choice than a burger.  Maybe turkey burgers are in my future.  Vegetables are just so terribly terrible.  But maybe there's some out there than I can handle. I've got to start trying. 

I think this will all take some time because I've got to start creating new habits, and do new things.  But, this is a change that I have to do.  Me.

Both of my parents passed away before they hit 70 because they didn't take care of themselves.  My dad's diet was far worse than mine.  He had bacon every damn day.  He ate the wackiest shitty foods.  He was also a smoker and a coffee drinker, as was my mom.  Exercise was not something I ever saw either of them do.

I don't smoke, and never have.  I'm not a big snacker, I don't care much for potato chips, or greasy foods, and I am fairly active at work running up and down the stairs all day.  So, maybe I'm not terribly bad off, but I'm certainly no model athlete.  This is the only body I got.  If I wear it out before I'm 50… then I'm an idiot.  Plain and simple.  I certainly don't want to live forever - or even have a staff of people change my underpants at age 90, but I would like to see another 37 years, at least.

I used to joke that when I got to 75 I would throw myself down a flight of stairs to make sure I didn't get too old and burden others around me.  After this reassessment of my life, I think I'm gonna shoot for 85 now.  I'd still hate to be a burden.

Wish me luck.

So, we picked up one of those popular Nintendo Wii systems on Sunday.  It's mighty fun to play with.  It comes with Wii Sports which is disc that has 5 popular sporting games on it.  Tennis, Baseball, Golf, Bowling and Boxing. 

After work I've been playing Wii, and I gotta say…  I'm so sore!  I can barely move my right arm.  Because, you really gotta put some heat on that ball if you want to pitch a 90+mph fastball. 

I was thinking about taking the Wii and the TV to the park, so I can properly simulate playing ball outdoors.