Dec. 31st, 2009

Want to know one of the reasons I'm especially aware of the social risks of obesity in our society?

Because I work here, for this asshole

And it's not the only workplace I've heard this discussed. Because, obviously, this is the logical solution for a largely genetic issue that comes with some risks and some benefits, healthwise -- everyone knows the risks, but did you know I'm less likely to get osteoporosis, or lung cancer, and more likely to survive a severe illness? And that over and over the well-designed studies show that weight is radically less of a factor than activity level, despite our society's fat-obsession? Yeah, thanks. "encourage" me to take the "treatment plan" (dieting) that fails for 98% of the people that try it. What other medical "treatment" do we recommend with those kinds of odds, and then excoriate people for whom it doesn't work as "failures"? Especially since yo-yoing has been shown to be substantially harder on the body's system than simply being fat. *headdesk* OK, I could rant about this all night.

This is the same man who tried to make all the cafeterias carry only sugar-free (ie aspartame-laden) jams and jellies. As a migraine sufferer, I say "Fuck you very much" to that. I also fought it, hard, and at least in our building, I won. My housemate made a "Jelly Activist" poster for me *grin*.

Paternalist much, motherfucker?

We already know that fat people are less likely to get hired, less likely to get promoted. How about taking away our livelihoods entirely? It's all for the greater good, really. /sarcasm

Incidentally, as I was searching for new docs recently (my much-beloved gynecologist is now a minister in New York instead), and without much to go on except a picture and brief list of specialities, I found myself consciously deciding to choose fat doctors. It's no guarantee, and there are plenty of slender doctors who don't try to treat every illness under the planet with a diet, but it's the only way I've found to raise the odds of finding a good doc quickly.

Quack!

Dec. 31st, 2009 07:10 pm
How I spent my morning with Becca and Caleb:


Oink! Oink!
When he'd had enough, he brought both his paws up, put them on each side, and just took it off. It was strangely efficient and dignified.
Critters! Critters!
Glowing critters eyes of DOOOOOOM!!!!
Quack! Quack!
Most patient cat _ever_.

Really.

Here until 11pm; I'll be home right around 11:30. Honestly, I don't really care. I'm perfectly content to have a quiet day at work, and all the "holidays" I like best are rather personal and spontaneous; specific dates just aren't that overwhelmingly important to me. As far as I'm concerned, my New Year's will be Saturday night, and my Christmas will be Jan 22nd, when I see my family. It means that during the actual holidays, when everyone else is running around, I get to just enjoy and relax.

It's dead quiet here, unsurprisingly. I've tossed on a random mockumentary that Netflix recommended, Electric Apricot: Quest for Festeroo. We'll see how it is. (I've already laughed out loud a number of times, so thumbs up, at least so far)

I'm sleepy, and content, and happy to go home and crash out (there are some party invites floating around, but parties aren't generally my thing, and parties when I'm sleepy especially aren't). I've got tomorrow off, and I think maybe a date around noon, although I'm not certain on that. I see E and K on Saturday, and I just found out my brother's coming in on Sunday!

2009 has been a lot better to me than to many people I know. We did lose my grandfather, but under the best and most ideal circumstances possible, so I'm very at peace about that. I got a boss made of awesomesauce to replace the hellboss that was making my work life miserable, and now I'm ridiculously happy at work. My relationships are quirky and weird and wonderful (I was going to say "but wonderful", but really, they're wonderful largely because they're so quirky and weird!)

We lost Morph, our oldest cat, but we gained a Riley-lump, and he's a good addition to the household. And speaking of household, that's the single biggest event of the year for me. Thanks to my parents' generosity, I was able to make a down-payment on a house. Well, two houses. Cleveland's so inexpensive that's it's practically buy one, get one free (under 100,000 for two two-story houses in remarkably good shape!). So all of a sudden, from a standing start, we went into massive househunt/learn everything/pack everything mode, and successfully found what we needed and moved all of us out of our three apartments into the new place.

Although I've been living in a big hippyish semi-communal weirdness with most of these folks for years, it's something amazingly different to really make this so solid and permanent. I have what I've always wanted, and I just wish I had more space for more people... In news of the weird, we've got a hot tub in our living room as a random score. We've already started painting the front railing rainbow colors, we're turning the front room into a sculpture studio, we've got space for our firebowl in the little back yard. And in terms of neighborhood, it's just crazy enough around here that we're not the freaky neighbors. That was a big factor in our hunt; we didn't want the hassle and stress of living someplace we'd be making our neighbors crazy, and vice versa. I'm nothing resembling respectable, and don't intend to become so, and if you know that, it's good to plan accordingly. We've got an awesome diner two minutes from our front door with a $2 breakfast special, and a late-night hole-in-the-wall hotdog place two minutes the other direction that'll make me grilled cheese with real cheddar for $2. Although our old neighborhood was more picturesque, it was also gentrifying really fast, and getting less and less of a comfortable place to be. This feels much better to me. Even as good as our relationship with our landlord was, there was always the residual stress regarding the potential for someone else to suddenly yank the rug out from under us. Now we can have our crazy collection of animals, and our flexibly fluctuating household, and not worry about anyone else getting a say in it. I can say 'yes' to projects, and Caleb can have a glowing red room, and Grafton can build a studio, and we can keep making things more and more ours without worrying about security deposits. We'll slowly turn the place into art, and I'm loving the freedom. And I'm living with people who make me overwhelmingly happy, in all sorts of odd and surprising and deeply comfortable ways. It's good. It's really good.

I keep meaning to get real pics of the new place, but in the meantime, have a random balloon crucifix, and a long-distance shot of the houses I took on a whim this morning.


balloon art crucifix balloon art crucifix
Because everyone should see this rather mindboggling inflatable deity.
Villa Villekula Villa Villekula
This is a rather long-distance shot of the two houses, from my bus stop corner. The blue and yellow houses are ours. I'd've loved something all elaborate and ornate and historic, but these suit us so well in so many ways I can forgive the vinyl siding. Although, if the neighbor Christina ever decides to sell that beautiful brick house, we're definitely expanding the commune!

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