Why I'm on the Gang Watch List

When I was in high school they did some "serious" law changes in Texas and in Arlington, TX. I remember when you're parent's could buy you cigarettes if you were under 18 and you wouldn't get in trouble. Then in August of 1997, they changed the law! Who cares if you're parents bought them for you! You got a "minor in possession charge" and a rap sheet before you're 18. Well then shortly there after, almost simultaneously, they also made it practically illegal for kids to wear similar colored clothing.

Well, my friends and I were part of a group of kids that all wore lots of black, dark make-up, and listened to heavy metal. We hung out on a corner across from our high schools, then would meet up at the "median" at Six Flags. Oh the memories! Well when they made the law change, it stated the following: "any group of 3 or more people, wearing similar colored clothing, with an initiation, are a gang." So apparently we were all in a gang that the Arlington PD called "The Marilyn Manson Freak Family." Not very gangsta if you ask me. So my genius self decides that I'm not satisfied with the name and tell everyone "Hey how about Freak Mafia?" Everyone agreed, so all the junior high kids start writing FM all over everything in permanent marker. That so didn't help us. On top of it all, I had dated the "leader" for an extensive period of time and was considered by APD the leader at my high school. (I ended up finding this all out in 2001 from some cops looking for an ex-boyfriend of mine). Oops!

In 2005 this all came to a head with a cop in North Arlington who would pull me over daily. By that point I no longer dressed "goth" on a regular basis, you know "a time and place" thing. But my car got searched regularly none the less. The lesson here: there may not be one, the cops can be douches!

No Pity for Me Please, Just Need to Show You Part of Me

Every year around mid-November and through til around April 13th I have issue getting my mind off a certain topic. I'll get to what and who (there is always a who) but not quite yet. This year I haven't been thinking as much about this, thanks to my wonderful man (who I called my fiance yesterday for some weird reason). But to what and who I think of.

When I graduated high school, I went straight from my graduation to basic training for the US Army. I won't tell that tell now, but trust me I don't regret anything but how I got out. Anyways, I did get hurt and after being in the rehab program for a few months went home for good. I was home three days and it was a beautiful November Saturday night and I was going to watch Red Dwarf for the first time in 6 months and no one was going to stop me, til my best friend since the 6th grade shows up with her new boyfriend and his brother. I go out to the car and she asks me if I want to go hang out with them. I say "Nah, I'm going to hang out here and watch Red Dwarf and my other brit coms." The brother in the back seat rolls down the window and says "You like Red Dwarf?" I tell him yes and we start discussing the show in such a passion that my best friend and her boyfriend roll their eyes and tell me to just get in the car. I tell them to hold on, go ask if it's ok (I lived with my mum and was only 18) if I stay the night with my friend and she agrees. I grab my CD player and a few CDs and head out the door.

The first place we head to is Rusty's, a 24 hour billiards place that is 18 and up. My friend and her boyfriend tell us to get a table and they will be in in a minute. So this guy and I go inside and get a table. He asks if I play pool and I told him the truth, if I was on death row and the only way I could be pardoned was to win without it being by default, I'd fry. He laughs and tells me his name, Gary.... Oh Gary, blue-eyed, tattooed, stoner, electrician. I digress. We start talking while he shoots pool and we start talking about music and I inform him I'm a Manson fan, and I think I was wearing my Manson shirt even. He tells me "That is so cool, you never meet chicks over 18 who like him." I informed I had been following Manson since the Spookie Kid days. We talked and talked and before you know it two to three hours had passed and his brother and my friend had not showed back up. Mind you, this is 1999 so none of us had cells, but I had a beeper. We start joking about what they had to be doing when they walked in. We leave, stop by my old coffee shop, Koogins (which closed mid 2000), and he has a beer and I a Chai Latte. We talk and bore our companions. Soon it's late and we all head to my friends house where my friend and Gary's brother fall asleep in the front seat of the car as we talk in the back and listen to Portrait of an American Family by Marilyn Manson. Oh that was a magical night. We were an item then and there.

Fast forward to the week prior to April 13, 2000. Gary had been working for LaborReady or something like that temp agency and was sick of it. He was a journeyman electrician and wanted to marry me and didn't want me to work, if I didn't want to. He had a couple of warrants in the area and a few days before the following conversation, his wallet was stolen in a stupid incident insisted by his own brother. He was offered a job with one of the leading electrician companies in the area, $15+ an hour, benefits, and they were going to pay for him to renew his licences. He just had to get his drivers licences back and to do that meant going to jail for a few days. Before he did anything he asked me what he should do. I told him to do what he needed to do because he was miserable where he was. So, the next day he went down to the DMV and of course was arrested once his licenses was renewed. He calls us though and says that he suddenly has a warrant in an area that he didn't before, in his home town. We knew something bad was about to happen. He sits in jail for 7 days, the limit the other counties have to come pick him up for his warrants. Dallas County said let him sit it out, it's no big deal, as did Collin County (the only known warrants). Then a guy from Amarillo went on a crime spree leading him to Ft Worth and into Tarrant County jail where Gary was. Gary's home county, Hutchison, calls Tarrant and tells them to send them Gary with the guy being expedited to Amarillo. Once the Amarillo guy is dropped off, he's not allowed a phone or food until he finally threatens them with a lawsuit and he calls home and says that he's in big trouble and tells me he loves me. I pray all night and call my buddy Brendan and at about 3:45 I have the strangest feeling that Gary is in the room with me. I couldn't sleep but around 5 I drift off. At 7 I hear my best friends heavy frame coming up my stairs (we lived in the same apartment complex) and I jump up. I open the door and she tells me to sit down. "Gary's dead." "No he's not" I say as Gary's brother comes up the stairs and tells me what happened. At about 2 am Gary got into an altercation with the guards, none of us will ever know what really happened. The Hutchison County jailers insist he tried to commit suicide. They "cut him down" and "rush" him to the hospital and before reaching there he looks at the guard in the ambulance and tells him "tell Joy I love her" and he passes away, that was approximately at 3:45 a.m.

My best friend, my "brother-in-law," and I get things quickly together to make an emergency drive to the Panhandle of Texas. On the drive there, after the sun set, I looked out the window out into the endless plains and look at the moon. It was full and "the man in the moon" was upside down. I make my best friend pull over so she can look at it and she saw it too. It was bizarre and seemed an omen. We arrived in Dumas, Gary's hometown around 7 a.m. I met his grandmother, Grandma Vi (I've since lost contact with). We then drove the 45 minutes to Stinnet, the seat of Hutchison County. We get to the jail and only Gary's brother went in to get the few possessions Gary had with him. Then we had to identify his body. What is about to follow is may be hard for some to read, just a warning.
We went to where his body was, so far he had gone unidentified. Gary's brother went in to that part. He came back and looked as if he'd seen a ghost. Gary's chest was covered in fist shaped bruises and not where you would find them postmortem if CPR was performed. He had a bruise around his neck, thin, that crossed at the back of his neck; it left the impression of a cable not his jail pants or sheets or pillow case that the jail told us and changed their story repeatedly. His jaw was broke and both elbows were dislocated. The funeral director and his staff dressed Gary's body and presented it to us. I walked in and even with the makeup they caked on him you could see his broken jaw (prominent jaw to no jaw), the bruises on his face, the line around his neck. He had defense wounds on his knuckles, and you definitely could tell that his arms were both broke.

This is where this will conclude. Nothing ever happened to the cops who did this. I know that Gary did not commit suicide because the day before he died he sent me a letter from Tarrant County jail. He knew he was fixing to come home. His murder took place in less than 24 hours from leaving Tarrant County Jail.

I haven't thought about Gary in awhile. I've got an awesome boyfriend who I love dearly. There seems to be certain times that when I look at my boyfriend in the darkness, I see Gary's face there. I have to stop myself and remind myself that it's just my imagination. They do look somewhat similar. I then feel bad for thinking I see Gary in my boyfriend's face but usually the thought leaves my mind. But lately I've been thinking a little bit more about it. Somewhat because I was driving down the street the other day and made the observation that put the thought in my head. I'll be fine. The incident escalated my fear of cops that started when I was six. It also makes me want to seek justice for those who are trampled by our system that is supposed to protect us. I am hoping though that eventually I will only think about him once every year or so, not two or three times a year. I'm just thankful I no longer dwell as I used to. There are several reasons for that which I won't go into now, but needless to say I've come along way over the last 8 years.

Now for a note: Don't feel pity for me. Feel pity for the officers who did this. Sure I feel guilt for encouraging him to go to the DMV but I know that if he didn't go, he wouldn't get the job.

Common Courtesy on the Roads and at Gas Stations

Have you seen the episode of Family Guy where Peter does the "Grind My Gears" piece on the news? Well, that's kind of what this blog is. In the last 48 hours I've been so frustrated with people and their lack of common courtesy and tact on the roads that I've decided it requires a blog.

First let me address common courtesy at gas stations. If you go to a gas station with two pumps on each side of the aisle, like many larger gas stations, please pull completely forward to the further of the two pumps on the aisle so someone can pull up to the pump behind you. This way there is no wait for gas and you are not forcing some schmuck (such as myself) to circle the gas pumps until they run out of gas because everyone decided to pull up to the center of the two pumps and make it impossible for anyone else to get gas!

Also, make sure that when you are pulling into an aisle at the gas station to look and make sure you are not competing for the same pump. If you pull into that aisle first the second person should be courteous of you and vice verse. Treat it like a four way stop (there the person on the left of you, if they stopped first, goes first). This makes traffic at the gas station move more freely.

On to my second rant... When driving on a busy street, do not move from the center lane to the left hand lane and try and squeeze into the left turn lane when it FINALLY gets an arrow. First of all this is ridiculously stupid. You know if you need to make a left hand turn, so get in the turn lane no matter how long that line is. If you miss the turn lane on accident, find a place to make a U-turn so you don't hold up traffic. And if you decide not to move from your spot like some kind of moronic dog not letting go of a pants leg, don't roll your eyes at the person behind you laying on their horn because they have the right to do that you moron! You're holding up traffic and could cause an accident.

Every time I've seen this happen, it's because A) I'm too nice and let people over into my lane and B) they're inexperienced teenage drivers who probably shouldn't have a license to begin with. So, that said, maybe there is something to waiting until kids are 18 before they can get a full licenses.

OK, I'm sure this convoluted and slightly rambling, but you try writing while at work and your boss keeps walking in on you, ha!

Tales of My Girl Scout Days: Survival Camp

Every once in awhile you get reminded of some of the character building experiences in your life. One of mine is Survival Camp when I was a Girl Scout. I was reminded of this experience the other day on Twitter when someone I follow was discussing Boy Scout camp with someone else. I of course had to put my two cents in. It was then suggested to write a blog on it, so here goes.

Girl Scout camp, I think, has a reputation of being easy, but my troop went at least twice a year thanks to strong cookie sales and fund-raising activities. We usually did camping near the Brazos River and some how always managed to get either a "Ducky" badge (camping in the rain) or a "Polar Bear" badge (camping in freezing temperatures). Well, when part of our troop did survival camp, we got both and earned them as well.

Survival Camp only allows you to bring a tent, sleeping bag, a cooler with EVERYONE's meat, and a shoebox with anything else you want to eat or need. We had a wooden spoon that we had to carve ourselves, fire starter (made ourselves), a coffee can, some food, and a change of socks (possibly a change of underwear as well). We get to the camp site and set up our tents, it was a brisk evening and next thing you know it's raining. We had to eat and to do so meant building a fire in the rain. This was a challenge in and of itself but with much trying I think most got a fire going and were able to eat some ramen. Everyone's tents started leaking and we slept in at least an inch of water. We all woke up drenched since the water-proofing failed. That morning, because of the rains all night, starting a fire was even more difficult since all the wood was wet but we managed. Oh yeah and to use the restroom, someone built a box with a lid on it, another dug a whole and put a sheet up, and that was our potty. Oh the beauty of it!

Now with all this in mind, years later, I know for a fact that if I'm ever abandoned in the wilderness I'll survive. I carry a small pocket knife in my car (not on my person) and have a mini kit in my trunk of my car at all times in case some craziness happens. I think more kids today really should share in this experience as it gets you away from the craziness of modern life and shows you what you're made of. I'm just glad it was raining so the spiders stayed away!

The Story Behind the Screenname

I've had the screen name MorgansDead for some number of years now. The name stems from two sources. But there is a small story behind it all. When I first got on the Internet I was studying/practicing Wicca. My screen name was my "pagan name." I made that change sometime in high school due to many things that happened in our church many years ago. Soon, I realized the dangers I was messing with and went back to Christ. When I did, I decided that I could no longer go by the pagan moniker and decided to come up with a way of showing that I had put that behind me. Morgan is the crone goddess in some traditions of Wicca and as a symbol of my going back to Christ, as my old life has passed away and I am anew. (I can't remember the exact verse anymore.) Now, finally, after all these years (at least 5) someone in the Christian community online has taken exception to this name. They said it pains them. Well, it makes me joyous to see this name as it is a tribute to my putting my old ways behind me and doing what God wants. Sure I make mistakes, but who doesn't. It's just sad that in the environment of the Internet, one would not ask what a screen name means but just decide to be narrow minded and get upset. So with that, I will get off my soap box and wish everyone a great weekend. I'm enjoying mine so far.

Peace, Love, and Apple Fritters!

Christina (a.k.a. PitChik, or MorgansDead)

I know, I know, I said I wasn't going to use this for that

But I have decided I'm not going to mess with my MySpace blog anymore. Every time I go to post in that blog, it's down for maintenance or some stupidity. So, here I am. My boyfriend and I have been dating for off and on 3 years (come February) and we've had our share of ups and downs (technically we're not back together but for simplicity's sake I'm going to refer to him as my bf as we are only seeing each other). When we broke up in February, there were many factors that played into that. Some where from an incident the year before (I kissed another guy and then didn't say anything and when asked about it, lied) and some were his personal demons he was battling. In September 2007 we began attending church together, and God began to move within him and the Devil, knowing he was fixing to lose another soul, sent in his troops to keep it from happening. Well, in January (my birthday to be exact) my grandfather passed away. School started the day before his funeral. I didn't handle it well, as I have my own issues, and left for a week or two. When I came back home things were strained and we tried working on things but he wasn't receptive to any of my attempts at making things work. In addition, one of his exes was playing instigator, as much as he wants to deny that. So right before my baby sister's birthday (this year), I had it and left. He begged me to stay and I left. Three weeks after I left he accepted Christ and was baptized at the church we were attending together. I started hanging out with a couple friends I hadn't been able to before. Rumor has it I hooked up with one of these friends, which is not the case. The friend I'm supposed to have hooked up with is an alcoholic and I was trying to be there for him as he battles this disease, but after a month of his broken promises I finally told his friends that they need to babysit him because I'm done babysitting adults. We still talk, but he knows there will never be a chance between us if ever there was one. (I made it clear when my bf and I broke up that I was not jumping into another relationship.) Well, my bf and I didn't talk for two months straight until his best friend saw me and I was depressed, which comes with my mental issues, and told me to call my bf and I did. We met up one Thursday (4/20 to be exact) and talked. I was high and told him that the main reason I left was due to his ex. But a couple days later we sat down to clarify things. I explained how his lack of receptivity to my attempts of keeping us together were the main blame and he told me he had been baptized.

Here we are 6 months later. We had a conversation the other night which is the reason for my Tweets asking how to do prove to someone you have changed (and received the hilarious response "in song" with a link to Saddam singing "I Can Change" from South Park). He has walls up that I helped create and the whole kissing incident in March 2007 is the main culprit in the whole thing. I'm not sure what I'm trying to accomplish in writing this. I mean, honestly, I can't see myself with anyone else. And anyone that brings up the "you were miserable together" line will need to remember that it takes two to tango and he wasn't the only doing things wrong. I've never been in a relationship that lasted more than a year prior to him and this fact is one he has brought up and we've established that it's odd for me and an adjustment. We also made an agreement that we will seek couples counselling if we do decide to get back together. He said he could see that I want that by the look in my eyes. But he still has his doubts about my intentions and what I'm going to do in the future. He also pointed out how I need stability or I get antsy, which is the first time anyone has said that to me other than my shrink. I've made a concerted effort not to read too much into anything he says or does because I've learned through all of this that usually men don't have hidden agendas in their speaking. If he's teasing me, it's just teasing. It's not serious. If he's quiet, it's because he doesn't really have anything to say, or he doesn't want to say something he will regret. I wish I could take a lesson from him in that, haha.

I still don't know the goal or point of this other than how do I prove to him that I'm not going to do that crazy stuff again. I've grown and matured, and the most important, stopped drinking whiskey which has caused me so many problems it's not even funny. I have a beer now and again, but I stay away from liquer as it is a problem. How do we move passed this and grow as a couple? Well I'm done. Thanks for reading.

And due to a request: a link to the song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMTGj8X2dpw

I'm not going to make this habit but....

MySpace, where I would normally put this type of blog, is not letting me into my blog there. I'm really pissed off right now. I live at home with my family, mum, dad, sister, and her daughter. I only can do laundry one of two days a week. There is a reason, the weekend is when my parents do their laundry so I'm stuck with during the week, which leaves the two nights I'm home early enough to start and finish a load. Seriously, two weeks and I only have one load of laundry, sometimes two, but usually one. So the one day I go to do laundry and the dryer is broke. It worked this weekend. My sister was the last to use it, last night, and she has a really bad habit of over-stuffing the washer and dryer. I'm sure that is what happened here. That and I'm the only one who actually cleans out the dryer lent.

Oh, apparently there is no power going to the dryer. Has anyone bothered to check the fuse? Probably not. I mean, Mum just told me the washer works, but how is that going to help me? I do a load, hang it up, and nothing is dry in the morning cuz everybody has all their crap hung up in the f-in laundry room. I'm really pissed off about this. Ok, I'm going to stop because this isn't helping.

Food Review: Gardenburger BBQ Riblets

I had to find something for dinner last night since I hadn't eaten or gone grocery shopping, so I stopped in Walmart. I didn't want something breaded and saw the Gardenburger BBQ Riblets. Chris, my non-vegetarian taste tester, said they were ok, not bad but not the best. I think they were pretty good. The barbeque sauce was a little too sweet though. You really also want to watch how long you cook them. Chris' microwave cooks quite quickly so they were a little over cooked on the ends. There are two individual packets in the box. At 220 calories per packet, they are a good deal for the protein in them and they will fill that BBQ craving most of us Southerners get.

More Diet Info

So, I did have the krab with mushrooms last night for dinner, cooked in a little olive oil and a clove of garlic that I minced myself. Oh so tasty. Then I had me a Shiner Black (it was a dollar cheaper than Shiner Boch). Oh the tasty goodness of it all.

I do have to say one thing about the vegetarian diet, and not to sound gross, but it makes you poop a lot. This is a good thing though. It cleanses the system. Fiber is part of a healthy diet anyways. Besides most Americans don't poop enough. Yeah, I'm talking about poop! I don't mind though, I have always been known for my "potty" mouth, hahahahaha. Oh I'm cheesy. I'm still not completely over my stomach ailments that have plagued me since I hit puberty (bleeding ulcer, IBS, etc) but the symptoms are decreasing and I am feeling much better. Now for the weight to come off. It has been proven though most people store at least 5 lbs of backed up fecal matter in their colon and intestines, so once my body cleanses itself, I'm sure that's a quick 5 lbs gone, at least. I've already started to see a decrease in my belly size. My gastro-intestinal problems have caused my abdomen to push out some and it is coming back, but I think I need to work on my abs some to help in this process as well as they have been built up, sticking out around my troubled gastro system. My body still doesn't know what to do without high frutose corn syrup (HFCS) though. It will take time, and the withdrawals will be worth it.

Well, I must be getting back to work, and will update later, especially after this weekend when temptation is at it's peak for drinking a Dr Pepper.

What I've been eating

Well, I think I'll share some of the tasty treats I've been eating this week.

Tuesday: Breakfast was organic frosted flakes with soy milk (serving size followed), snack was Kashi Cherry Dark Chocolate granola bar, lunch I had my left overs from the night before with broccoli added in and cheese, second snack was 10 "Teddy Bear" cookies at 10 calories per cookie and a yogurt, and dinner was a BK veggie burger with only cheese. My drinks: hi*ball energy drink, water, unsweat tea, 2 small oj's, an all natural soda and 2 Bud Lites.

Wednesday: Breakfast was Kashi CDC granola bar and a small oj. Snack was some of those divine wine grapes, lunch was vegan "chik'n" with broccoli and a very small amount of cheese, second snack was yogurt, and dinner was broccoli and cheese (i wasn't that hungry by time I got home last night). My drinks: hi*ball energy drink, water, 2 small oj's, 3 Zeigan Bochs, and all natural soda.

So far today: Breakfast KCDC granola bar and orange Vitamin Water. Snack was the cashew clusters my mum got. Lunch was a BK veggie burger only cheese, no bun. Second snack will be 10 "teddy bear" cookies at 10 calories per cookie. So far my drinks have been: hi*ball energy drink, water, before mentioned Vitamin Water, unsweet tea, and I'm fixing to hit the natural soda. I'm not sure what I'll have for dinner tonight, but I got krab meat and other goodies at home.

Middle of first week: Vegetarian Style

Well, I'm doing good on my diet. I really don't like calling it a diet though. Anywho! Still no meat other than seafood and that was even only once this week. I've been having bouts of dizziness, but I think this has more to do with my sinuses than it does my eating habits. I do need to test my blood sugar when I get home to see if it's low. If it is, I'm going to need to inject more protein into my diet some how. I'll figure that out in the grocery store this weekend. I'm enjoying the food I eat though and that's the amazing thing. I've also not had any high fructose corn syrup all week either, which this could be withdrawals as well. Well, this is brief, I'm going to run.

My Diet: Official Day One (yesterday 9/29/08)

Well, I wasn't feeling well yesterday but still stuck to my guns. For breakfast, I had a Bagelfuls by Kraft (I think) and a small orange juice. Snack was some wine grapes that were on sale at Whole Foods (yum!). Lunch was vegan "chicken" with no meat or soy, broccoli, and all sprinkled with a little bit of cheese. That was awesome! My afternoon snack was some yogurt. For dinner I fixed some imitation crab meat, one medium portabella mushroom cap, a clove of garlic and some of the broccoli I boiled up Sunday. Oh that was divine. My drinks were the orange juice, my hi*ball energy water, water, unsweet tea, an all natural soda, and one Budweiser. Like I said I'm allowing myself dairy and seafood. I stuck within my prescribed guidelines for myself and felt content with my food choices. I do want some more OJ though!

Food Review : Annie Chun's Sushi Wrap! Kit

I'm addicted to sushi. My friend Lauren got me started on it in April and I've been addicted ever since. I'm a broke college student, so I don't have the money to enjoy it as often as I'd like, so I decided to try it after finding it at Whole Foods. On a fluke I thought to look in Walmart, since I was going to prepare it with imitation crab meat I was buying there. Walmart had it for $2.99 compared to Whole Food's $3.99. I also bought some spring rolls to have with it since this was to feed myself and my partner in crime.

I followed all the instructions provided on the packaging, which were very limited. The sticky rice sticks to everything. Overall the product is awesome for 10 pieces of sushi. However, the price is a little steep for so few pieces. My man loved it and actually used chop sticks instead of his hands or a fork! This is a big step for him =D.

I'd recommend this for someone who just wants to have the experience of having sushi at home but with the ingredients of their choosing. Next time, I'm going to make my own sticky rice and make true sushi!

Diet Food Review: hi*ball Energy: Sparkling Energy Water

I'm trying to get past the Monster Energy drinks. I'm completely addicted to them. They taste like liquid Smarties. Those just happen to be one of my all-time favorite Halloween candies! But the high-fructose corn syrup and other additives make them bad for me and so I'm trying to find a healthier alternative. So I'm trying new energy drinks that I find at Whole Foods (see links at bottom).

The first I'm trying is called "hi*ball ENERGY" and I'm having the orange flavor. It's a sparkling water with orange flavor. A long time ago I found I hated sparkling waters due to their obnoxious flavor and texture and general bad after taste. As I'm drinking this, the only time I taste orange is the after taste. The sparkling part of the water is slightly annoying, but like coffee it will grow on you. Overall, I'd say it's ok.

For a product with only 10 calories, the "energy" for the cost is amazing. It doesn't leave you feeling gittery or spike your blood sugar like the main stream energy drinks do. One of the main reasons I'm wanting to look for a substitute for the Monsters is that diabetes runs strongly in my family, and I'm trying to avoid it via my diet. My only real complaints of the product is that it comes in a glass bottle, which some places will not allow you to have and it's only 10 oz. I'm used to my 16 oz Monster which lasts me about 2 hours. However, the fact that I'm taking in more water than suger is a facture that I take into consideration.

My recommendation is that if you like sparkling water and want to give up the mainstream energy drinks, this may be the one for you. The company has a whole line and even has mixers. I have links below.

www.wholefoodsmarket.com

www.hiballer.com I've had difficulty just typing this one in, but had to Google it to get to the actual page.

Diet Food Review: Special K Protein Water

As I begin to try new foods as I change my diet, I will write reviews of the items I have tried, especially if I hated it a lot or if I love to the extreme. Today's review is on the Special K Protein Water, the Ice Tea Flavor.

I hated it! First off, it taste like overly sweetened instant tea, which for all Southerners, is nasty. Secondly, it feels really thick in the mouth. A girl in my Grammar class last night said it has to do with the added protein and fiber, but I disagree. I've had protein enriched juices and they do not have this texture issue. It is something apparently with this product. In addition to these issues, the product states it helps with the feeling of fullness when used in conjunction with a high protein/high fiber diet, as I have, it does not.

The only person I would recommend this product to is an individual that just needs something sweet but needs few calories. This product has only 50 calories per bottle. But for that kind of intake, I'd rather have a Vitamin water which for the full bottle (not the 32 oz size though) is only 125 calories and tastes a million times better.

Funniest Email I've Ever Received!

" Dear American: I need to ask you to support an urgent secret business relationship with a transfer of funds of great magnitude. I am Minister of the Treasury of the Republic of America. My country has had crisis that has caused the need for large transfer of funds of 800 billion dollars US. If you would assist me in this transfer, it would be most profitable to you. I am working with Mr. Phil Gramm, lobbyist for UBS, who will be my replacement as Minister of the Treasury in January. As a Senator, you may know him as the leader of the American banking deregulation movement in the 1990s. This transaction is 100% safe.
This is a matter of great urgency. We need a blank check. We need the funds as quickly as possible. We cannot directly transfer these funds in the names of our close friends because we are constantly under surveillance. My family lawyer advised me that I should look for a reliable and trustworthy person who will act as a next of kin so the funds can be transferred. Please reply with all of your bank account, IRA and college fund account numbers and those of your children and grandchildren to wallstreetbailout@treasury.gov so that we may transfer your commission for this transaction. After I receive that information, I will respond with detailed information about safeguards that will be used to protect the funds. -Yours Faithfully Minister of Treasury Paulson "

Baby Bush, you make me laugh

I'm watching Bush's speech. He says he thinks businesses that fail should go out of business, then let these business that messed up fail, like the capitalism dictates. I don't want my tax dollars going to bail out these institutions that were being shady. He keeps saying that money needs to be free to lend. Why? One of the reasons we're in this situation is from people borrowing more than they make or can pay back. If you can't afford it, you don't need it. If loans are not readily available for you to start a new business, then it's not the market to start a new business. People need to take responsibility for their actions, both in business and in their personal lives. Stop looking for the government to bail you out because when you really need help because of something beyond your control, that help won't be there because the government spent all that money bailing your ass out.

Ok, I'm done ranting.

Dieting and Me

I've never been good with strict diets. I think one should have what they crave because you wouldn't be craving it if your body didn't need something in it. (See studies on kids that crave "inedible" things and dogs eating cat poop!) I've always just watched how much I eat of the foods I crave. It should be noted that I also have had a very limited diet until the last year because I'm so picky and finally started trying new things. I'm really on an eastern food kick.

But I've found that even with watching what I eat, limiting my soda intake to one a day (I have to have my Dr Pepper people!), and trying to limit exactly what goes into my mouth, I'm still not losing any weight. I don't have time to workout more than I do (which is yoga twice a week at school) as I work 30-40 hours a week, have four classes, and need time to do homework/eat/sleep. Also, my family members (all overweight but two) are getting diagnosed with diabetes one after another and I've come to a strong conclusion, it's time to do what needs to be done... go vegetarian.

I've already limited myself to red meat less than twice a week, and so far this week not at all. I will NEVER give up fish and seafood as I love them too much to give them up. But all the chicken and turkey (I haven't eaten pork in years) as got to go as well as the cheese. I'm still going to eat yogurt as it's a more enjoyable way to get the good bacteria my stomach needs for me to keep my gastro-intestinal functions healthy. I know there are pills with this bacteria in them, but I can't remember to take them and don't take vitamins because I always forget. I can't help it. So, starting Monday, I will post how I'm doing with this process of cutting out meat. Wish me luck in my endeavours, I'm going to need it.

Here's to moving out of MySpace Land

I've been blogging on MySpace for years now, ok since 2005, and found that I may be getting to old for all that. My serious blogs never get read and my funny ones, well that's the place for them. I know that I won't have much time for more pressing topics, such as my take of the economy or who I will vote for president, but I think this will be a good place to put all of that. I just didn't know that it was tied to my Gmail account or I would have been on here a long time ago. I think I'd much rather blog where there are fewer high school grade posts to contend with and possibly have my blog be read by more than the few little crazies on MySpace that read it. Hopefully, I'll be able to dedicate the time needed for content filled posts that I prefer to write than small little pieces. I think I'll leave the diary-esque stuff for drama land, I mean MySpace.