Ok, so I know it's been a while since my last post and I'm feeling the need to express myself and keep everyone up to date with my crazy/busy life. So, let's chat about what's new. I'm coming up on my last year of school before I finally get awarded a Bachelor of Science in Public Health with a minor in Marketing. But, although I should be thinking about summer and enjoying the warm sunny weather, that is the last thing that has been on my mind.
I am stressed out as normal, anyone that knows me well knows that sometimes I take on a little too much. This summer has been the definition of "taking on too much." I am currently taking 10 units of class in 8 weeks, which is absolutely insane! I am taking a physiology class which has come to take over my evenings Monday through Thursday, sigh. But the class that I am the most excited about is my EMT-National Registry Class. So an EMT is an Emergency Medical Technician, like a paramedic but with less responsibility. This class rocks! It is some serious hard work that leaves you rewarded with skills that give you the ability to save lives. I am already impressed with the amount of knowledge that I have learned. I find myself constantly asking people to take their blood pressure and their pulse. I have a burning desire to give someone CPR, although I don't wish any heart problems or cardiac/respiratory arrest on anyone. Although, it's surprising that heart disease has taken a hold of so much of the population, you would think that there would be peeps dropping like flies everywhere you go. I also have a questionable desire to shock someone with an AED.
As you can see, I am so amped that this class is going to teach me things that I will be able to use on a daily basis once I really enter into the Health field. I have decided to apply for jobs as an ER -tech or as an EMT on an ambulance, after I complete this class. So excited! If you haven't already figured it out, my days in the insurance business are numbered. I'm actually giving my notice to the Gecko tomorrow, you know all good things come to an end. The job came with good and bad, good being I got paid great for it. Bad, outweighing the good tenfold, stressed out, ripping people off, and getting yelled at constantly about our policies, let me tell that people over the phone have absolutely no shame, none! My next blog might be about all the ridiculous calls I've ever had, and there has been a lot. It was a good job while it lasted, I never thought I would know so much about auto insurance and driving laws in my wildest dreams, so if you have any questions at all in the future about insurance, I would be happy to help.
Anyways, stay tuned. Much Love! Muah
Micah
Monday, June 30, 2008
Monday, June 2, 2008
It's Been a While... So let's talk about Food
I just returned from an amazing trip to Las Vegas, and it is so much more clear why they call the place Sin City. This town has vices at every place one looks. My personal vice that was fed while on my delectable trip to the city of lost wages was eating. I really love food, really I do. I am constantly amazed when I meet people that have little interest in something so essential to our existence.
Food was everywhere in Vegas, not only an opportunity for the casinos and hotels to make some serious money, but an energy source to keep those all night gamblers and party-goers moving and spending money. For myself, I lost all self-control when it came down to the choices I made about where to get my much needed energy in order to keep up with my fast paced weekend. I was surrounded by places to eat, advertisements for prime rib buffets, fast food joints, and meal deals everywhere I went. No wonder I lost all self-control, I was inundated with the idea I needed to eat, eat, and eat some more. And their marketing absolutely worked, I ate it all.
Most people who know me would probably describe me as a relatively healthy eater who has some weaknesses for a great plate of food. I try to eat foods that are as natural, for lack of a better word, as can be, the less chemical additives the better. I believe food should be quality, not a product sold by corporate America to make money. Often, these products resemble food but are so pumped full of special "ingredients" that help cut costs for business in efforts to increase profits. The end product may resemble food but in fact lacks benefits for the consumer and increases health risks.
You may even call me a hypocrite of some sort because Sunday morning in Vegas I broke all my personal eating rules and it resulted in a chain reaction of broken rules for the rest of the day. It began with an walk to McDonalds, a place I probably had not eaten at in over a year. I don't eat there for a number of reasons, the main reason being that I feel they directly aid in some of the most preventable health disparities affecting people around the world. McDonald's was the first chain and acts as leader for the rest of the fast food industry. So I tried to put the fact that I hate McDonalds on the backburner and tried to remember the fact that I was super low on available funds. I surrendered to my old school favorite breakfast item: the sausage egg mcmuffin. It tops the chart with over 450 calories and 27 grams of fat, dam!
A couple hours later, as soon as that blood sugar dipped I began to crave a grilled cheese sandwhich. At this point I was seriously questioning my judgment, because I hadn't had these kinds of unhealthy food cravings in a long time. But figuring I was very well-behaved in all other areas on my trip to Sin City, I craved and gobbled one up. I proceeded to the pool for some sun and relaxation in the pool. A couple hours later, I was craving junk again. At this point I was really wondering what was wrong with me, but now that I look back I think I may have been thinking I was hungry but really just thirsty for some H2O. I decided on a hot dog from the pool side cabana, which I should have known then was a BAD decision. I had been thinking about one since I saw a Nathan's Hot Dog stand in the New York New York Hotel. I caved and received a cold hot dog not once but twice. Yup, sent it back after it came to me cold, and it was luke warm the second time. I should have known then not to eat it, but I did. At this point, my friend Charlene was definitely questioning my ability to make any important decisions for my self. And if you thought it couldn't get worse, it did. At the airport I ate half a burrito that was filled with delicious goodness of chicken, cheese, rice, beans, and sour cream.
After taking the time to write that down, I am almost not even able to comprehend what I did to my body that day by eating all that nasty processed fried food. It almost leads to me agree with the food extremists that say fast food is addicting, once you start it is very hard to stop. It was a cyclic system that started with the ingestion of a sausage egg mcmuffin dropped blood sugar followed by a craving of more greasy junk food, and it continued until I was too disgusted with myself to even dare to put one more piece of any kind of food into my body.
Anyways, I start my diet tomorrow, not necessarily to lose weight, but to get my body back onto track with my healthy lifestyle. The lifestyle that is full of locally grown fruits and vegetables, unprocessed foods, food lacking of chemical additives, and all-in-all much more tasty, delicious foods that are beneficial for my body instead of hurtful.
Glad to be back!
Micah
Food was everywhere in Vegas, not only an opportunity for the casinos and hotels to make some serious money, but an energy source to keep those all night gamblers and party-goers moving and spending money. For myself, I lost all self-control when it came down to the choices I made about where to get my much needed energy in order to keep up with my fast paced weekend. I was surrounded by places to eat, advertisements for prime rib buffets, fast food joints, and meal deals everywhere I went. No wonder I lost all self-control, I was inundated with the idea I needed to eat, eat, and eat some more. And their marketing absolutely worked, I ate it all.
Most people who know me would probably describe me as a relatively healthy eater who has some weaknesses for a great plate of food. I try to eat foods that are as natural, for lack of a better word, as can be, the less chemical additives the better. I believe food should be quality, not a product sold by corporate America to make money. Often, these products resemble food but are so pumped full of special "ingredients" that help cut costs for business in efforts to increase profits. The end product may resemble food but in fact lacks benefits for the consumer and increases health risks.
You may even call me a hypocrite of some sort because Sunday morning in Vegas I broke all my personal eating rules and it resulted in a chain reaction of broken rules for the rest of the day. It began with an walk to McDonalds, a place I probably had not eaten at in over a year. I don't eat there for a number of reasons, the main reason being that I feel they directly aid in some of the most preventable health disparities affecting people around the world. McDonald's was the first chain and acts as leader for the rest of the fast food industry. So I tried to put the fact that I hate McDonalds on the backburner and tried to remember the fact that I was super low on available funds. I surrendered to my old school favorite breakfast item: the sausage egg mcmuffin. It tops the chart with over 450 calories and 27 grams of fat, dam!
A couple hours later, as soon as that blood sugar dipped I began to crave a grilled cheese sandwhich. At this point I was seriously questioning my judgment, because I hadn't had these kinds of unhealthy food cravings in a long time. But figuring I was very well-behaved in all other areas on my trip to Sin City, I craved and gobbled one up. I proceeded to the pool for some sun and relaxation in the pool. A couple hours later, I was craving junk again. At this point I was really wondering what was wrong with me, but now that I look back I think I may have been thinking I was hungry but really just thirsty for some H2O. I decided on a hot dog from the pool side cabana, which I should have known then was a BAD decision. I had been thinking about one since I saw a Nathan's Hot Dog stand in the New York New York Hotel. I caved and received a cold hot dog not once but twice. Yup, sent it back after it came to me cold, and it was luke warm the second time. I should have known then not to eat it, but I did. At this point, my friend Charlene was definitely questioning my ability to make any important decisions for my self. And if you thought it couldn't get worse, it did. At the airport I ate half a burrito that was filled with delicious goodness of chicken, cheese, rice, beans, and sour cream.
After taking the time to write that down, I am almost not even able to comprehend what I did to my body that day by eating all that nasty processed fried food. It almost leads to me agree with the food extremists that say fast food is addicting, once you start it is very hard to stop. It was a cyclic system that started with the ingestion of a sausage egg mcmuffin dropped blood sugar followed by a craving of more greasy junk food, and it continued until I was too disgusted with myself to even dare to put one more piece of any kind of food into my body.
Anyways, I start my diet tomorrow, not necessarily to lose weight, but to get my body back onto track with my healthy lifestyle. The lifestyle that is full of locally grown fruits and vegetables, unprocessed foods, food lacking of chemical additives, and all-in-all much more tasty, delicious foods that are beneficial for my body instead of hurtful.
Glad to be back!
Micah
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