Incompetence and other stuff
I have sat down to update this journal -- well - for over a month now and each time something comes up and I have to stop - so, here's hoping...
This morning I called my mother to give her an update on my brother and his fiance's trip (they email me each night) and she ended the conversation with "I swear, I am going to lose my mind. Can you believe that HSBC called me last night after 8 to demand that I make three payments on the elliptical rider before November 1!" So, here's the story -- the short version:One year ago, in June my mother bought an elliptical rider from Sears. Why an 82 (at the time) year old woman thought she could use one is another story. Once it was delivered she realized "Yeah, bad on me, it needs to go back." She called Sears and explained that she could not use the machine and to please cancel her charge and pick the merchandise up. Sears agreed that they would do so.
One year later after months of calling Sears and requesting a pick-up the bike STILL sat in an unused room of her house. Of course they continued to bill her and she continued to call the billing number and explain the situation. Finally, in August of this year, after I emailed the Sears Corporate office the bike was picked-up. Unfortunately, the local Sears store did not do what was needed to remove the charge from my mother's account and she has continued to be billed. Once again I emailed the Corporate Offices and they informed me that Mike Shirley (manager of local Sears) would handle this. Mr Shirley called Mom at 9:00 that night and apologized for the mess and assured her that he would correct the situation. Which brings us to last night's call. Son-of-a-bitch!!! It's not like we haven't tried to contact the local Sears and Mr Shirley... one day Mom's call was transferred around the store five times and she still didn't get connected to Mike Shirley. So, now I am back involved. We shall see where the winds of fate blow us this time...
It's Halloween and I enjoy this time too much to let bullshit affect me. The decorations are up, and today I go shopping for the 'eats' for tomorrow night. Kenna, Riley and I have been watching horror movies the entire week; mostly what is playing on SyFy and AMC. Most are really not that horrific so Makenna decided that I needed to see The Descent http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0435625/. I thought "Hmmm, how scary can a movie about female spelunkers be?" Pretty damn scary it turns out. I loved/hated it. It was dark ,tense,suspenseful and freaking horrifying. So, The Descent goes down as one of the more horrifying horror movies I've seen.
Since I watched The Descent (Kenna's selection) it was only fair that Riley treat me to one of her personal favorites, Repo, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0963194/ Ahh, another interesting peek into my youngest's psyche... Yikes! I enjoyed it - though I wasn't impressed with the music but I wasn't expecting to be since I detest opera. The sets and story and costuming are impressive.
I continue increasing my fitness level. Lost more weight - it's just a pound or two here and there now. The real reward at this point is the phenomenal increase in energy and sense of well-being and the fact that my clothes are falling off. I put on my jeans and can pull them off without unzipping or unsnapping. Of course, that might have more to do with their low-rise aspect instead of my body. I don't own a pair of the classic rise style - that might prove more challenging. In any case, I look and feel so much better.
It has make me hyper aware of the constant barrage of 'weight-loss' marketing that is currently on tv. Damn, it's pervasive. There's Jenny Craig,Weight Watchers,NutriSystems,South Beach,Jillian 'whats-'er-name from Biggest Loser. Then we have NordicTrak,Bowflex,Ab Roller...I mean, "Really?" Look, they ALL work -- if you follow their plans and use their methods. There is no magic formula. Losing weight and becoming stronger and leaner is, and always has been, a matter of simply eating less and moving more. Now, if you need someone that has more knowledge of what you need to consume in order to get the calories and nutrition that you need and you don't want to do the work then pick a plan that you can afford and who's menu looks like you can enjoy. If you want to exercise more - this is very important, so listen up - Do Not buy an expensive piece of machinery. Start slow, walk more, park farther away from your destination and walk, take the stairs. Once you feel the difference in your body and you have reached a plateau then consider investing in a machine. Most people buy an expensive machine thinking that it is going to motivate them to use it but if you cannot motivate yourself to walk a little more or to take a flight of stairs then going into debt for a piece of fitness equipment isn't going to do it either.
Doing it yourself isn't that difficult, there are factors that you have to consider in order to be successful and being successful means being realistic so start with the basics. For instance, are you male or female -- our bodies have different needs when it comes to nutrition. Being female I have had to consider my menses (low iron), how alcohol affected me and what I knew I could live without (food-wise) and what I would feel deprived of if I cut from my diet. I considered that I have more energy in the early to mid morning hours. For awhile, I knew that my knees and back would not tolerate a lot of high-impact cardio so I had to work diligently for about 6 months before my muscles had strengthened enough for me to resume a intense cardio routine, just a few things I took into consideration. I think that if there is a secret to anything at all it is centered around knowing yourself. Know what you want to achieve, look for simple ways to start and get a feel for it until it becomes a part of your daily routine. If you think you can spare 10 minutes a day then do it. You will find that after a short while of 10 minutes a day that you actually want to go longer. A caveat: if you want to lose 10 pounds in two weeks or three days or whatever, I have no advice for you. Losing weight quickly doesn't last because our bodies will shed water and not much else quickly. It takes a while to accumulate fat it is going to take longer to burn it away.
This morning I called my mother to give her an update on my brother and his fiance's trip (they email me each night) and she ended the conversation with "I swear, I am going to lose my mind. Can you believe that HSBC called me last night after 8 to demand that I make three payments on the elliptical rider before November 1!" So, here's the story -- the short version:One year ago, in June my mother bought an elliptical rider from Sears. Why an 82 (at the time) year old woman thought she could use one is another story. Once it was delivered she realized "Yeah, bad on me, it needs to go back." She called Sears and explained that she could not use the machine and to please cancel her charge and pick the merchandise up. Sears agreed that they would do so.
One year later after months of calling Sears and requesting a pick-up the bike STILL sat in an unused room of her house. Of course they continued to bill her and she continued to call the billing number and explain the situation. Finally, in August of this year, after I emailed the Sears Corporate office the bike was picked-up. Unfortunately, the local Sears store did not do what was needed to remove the charge from my mother's account and she has continued to be billed. Once again I emailed the Corporate Offices and they informed me that Mike Shirley (manager of local Sears) would handle this. Mr Shirley called Mom at 9:00 that night and apologized for the mess and assured her that he would correct the situation. Which brings us to last night's call. Son-of-a-bitch!!! It's not like we haven't tried to contact the local Sears and Mr Shirley... one day Mom's call was transferred around the store five times and she still didn't get connected to Mike Shirley. So, now I am back involved. We shall see where the winds of fate blow us this time...
It's Halloween and I enjoy this time too much to let bullshit affect me. The decorations are up, and today I go shopping for the 'eats' for tomorrow night. Kenna, Riley and I have been watching horror movies the entire week; mostly what is playing on SyFy and AMC. Most are really not that horrific so Makenna decided that I needed to see The Descent http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0435625/. I thought "Hmmm, how scary can a movie about female spelunkers be?" Pretty damn scary it turns out. I loved/hated it. It was dark ,tense,suspenseful and freaking horrifying. So, The Descent goes down as one of the more horrifying horror movies I've seen.
Since I watched The Descent (Kenna's selection) it was only fair that Riley treat me to one of her personal favorites, Repo, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0963194/ Ahh, another interesting peek into my youngest's psyche... Yikes! I enjoyed it - though I wasn't impressed with the music but I wasn't expecting to be since I detest opera. The sets and story and costuming are impressive.
I continue increasing my fitness level. Lost more weight - it's just a pound or two here and there now. The real reward at this point is the phenomenal increase in energy and sense of well-being and the fact that my clothes are falling off. I put on my jeans and can pull them off without unzipping or unsnapping. Of course, that might have more to do with their low-rise aspect instead of my body. I don't own a pair of the classic rise style - that might prove more challenging. In any case, I look and feel so much better.
It has make me hyper aware of the constant barrage of 'weight-loss' marketing that is currently on tv. Damn, it's pervasive. There's Jenny Craig,Weight Watchers,NutriSystems,South Beach,Jillian 'whats-'er-name from Biggest Loser. Then we have NordicTrak,Bowflex,Ab Roller...I mean, "Really?" Look, they ALL work -- if you follow their plans and use their methods. There is no magic formula. Losing weight and becoming stronger and leaner is, and always has been, a matter of simply eating less and moving more. Now, if you need someone that has more knowledge of what you need to consume in order to get the calories and nutrition that you need and you don't want to do the work then pick a plan that you can afford and who's menu looks like you can enjoy. If you want to exercise more - this is very important, so listen up - Do Not buy an expensive piece of machinery. Start slow, walk more, park farther away from your destination and walk, take the stairs. Once you feel the difference in your body and you have reached a plateau then consider investing in a machine. Most people buy an expensive machine thinking that it is going to motivate them to use it but if you cannot motivate yourself to walk a little more or to take a flight of stairs then going into debt for a piece of fitness equipment isn't going to do it either.
Doing it yourself isn't that difficult, there are factors that you have to consider in order to be successful and being successful means being realistic so start with the basics. For instance, are you male or female -- our bodies have different needs when it comes to nutrition. Being female I have had to consider my menses (low iron), how alcohol affected me and what I knew I could live without (food-wise) and what I would feel deprived of if I cut from my diet. I considered that I have more energy in the early to mid morning hours. For awhile, I knew that my knees and back would not tolerate a lot of high-impact cardio so I had to work diligently for about 6 months before my muscles had strengthened enough for me to resume a intense cardio routine, just a few things I took into consideration. I think that if there is a secret to anything at all it is centered around knowing yourself. Know what you want to achieve, look for simple ways to start and get a feel for it until it becomes a part of your daily routine. If you think you can spare 10 minutes a day then do it. You will find that after a short while of 10 minutes a day that you actually want to go longer. A caveat: if you want to lose 10 pounds in two weeks or three days or whatever, I have no advice for you. Losing weight quickly doesn't last because our bodies will shed water and not much else quickly. It takes a while to accumulate fat it is going to take longer to burn it away.