Wednesday, August 4, 2004

I went to Tri-C today to check on my financial aid status and wasn't surprised to find out that I was only approved for loans. I figured that was all I was going to approved for and now have to fill out some more paperwork, take care of a couple other things, and register for enough credit hours to get the loan.

We'll see if it goes as smoothly in the future as it did today. I have a feeling it won't. Tri-C is notorious for making things difficult.

Outside of that, I really didn't do much. I stopped at Steve's store to see how he was doing and to catch up a little bit. I hadn't talked to him for a while and wanted to see what he was up to and how his store was doing. I also told him about the things going on at my store and what I was thinking of doing.

I also went by a couple other stores to see if Mike was working at all, but came up empty in that department. I should call him this weekend, but I'm going to be busy most of it, at least I hope.

The discussions on Saturday night have focused on probably bowling, but it's still somewhat up in the air right now. If that's the case, I would be able to bring Jessica along if she wanted to, but after what she's been through this week, I don't know if she'd be up to it by then or not. I haven't been able to get a hold of her today yet so I haven't been able to talk to her about it, or anything else really.

The only other thing I did was watch the Indians game tonight, which is discussed below. I really didn't feel like going anywhere else tonight and haven't been willing to leave unless I have to simply because I want to be at the ready if Jessica needs me for anything.

One thing I wanted to mention was that I saw an article in the paper yesterday. It was one of those things that makes me shake my head in disbelief over the way some people behave in this country.

Before I get into what the article was about, let me start by saying I don't believe in any of these diets that are going around. I just don't. If it involves taking a pill or deals with low-carb meals, I don't want to hear about it. I find those to be absolute wastes of time, especially if you continue to ignore exercise, which along with a decent diet, is the only real legitimate way to lose weight. Don't even get me started on gastric bypass either.

This in no way means I support obesity or being overweight in any form. Those who've dealt with me on this in the past know that's simply not true. If you are overweight and don't care, then I don't really care to deal with you. Same thing with dating. I would never date someone who was that overweight and wasn't going to do anything about it. It has nothing to do with the cosmetic aspect, but with the health aspect.

It's simply unhealthy for these people to be as large as they are. High blood pressure, cholesterol problems, heart disease, and diabetes are more common in overweight people than anyone else. This isn't opinion, it's fact. If you're fat, you're going to have health issues down the road.

However, in reading this article on "fat liberation," you'd think that being obese is just fine and dandy. Activists for the overweight claim to be fed up with the diet craze in this country, fat jokes, and are unashamed of their size.

First off, I didn't even know that there were activists for the overweight, much lose groups. Here's one for you: the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance, or NAAFA. According to one member, fat people are living in the middle of a witch hunt, only this time the fat people are the witches. There's more than one group too. Ever hear of the International Size Acceptance Association? I know I hadn't until this article.

Granted, these groups are rooted in the right idea, opposing quick fix diets, but to say that it's okay to be overweight is extremely dangerous. Whether they like to believe it or not, obesity is a serious problem that costs this country billions of dollars a year as people try to counteract the health issues that come with being that large.

I would say that 75% of our customers who get blood pressure, heart, or diabetic medication are overweight, some of them more than dangerously. I agree that you can't expect a quick fix, but to abhor dieting is sending a very bad and dangerous message.

I for one believe in taking care of yourself and have never been in danger of being overweight. I'm a very small guy as most who know me will tell you. I wouldn't dare let myself get that large though either. I know how to eat right and I do exercise, if not as much as I should, more than a lot of people I know.

Again, it's not a cosmetic (aka looks) issue. It's a health issue. I'm already at risk for high blood pressure and heart disease because it's in my family. I'm not about to do anything to enhance those chances anymore than I have to.

It's just not smart.

---

Tribe Watch 2004

Today's Game
Cleveland Indians, 14
Toronto Blue Jays, 5

Summary
The Indians' offense finally came together and basically beat the snot out of the Blue Jays as the Tribe had two five-run innings in this game. Matt Lawton, Travis Hafner, Casey Blake, Victor Martinez, and Tim Laker all had big hits, but Hafner had the best night of the bunch, going 4-5 with two home runs, a double, a single, 6 runs-batted-in, and 3 runs scored. Jake Westbrook struggled again, but the offense got him through six innings.

Game Notes
Just when it seemed like it was time to write the Tribe off, they unloaded on the Jays tonight...Hafner had his fourth multi-homer game of the year and it was the second time he's had 6 RBI's in a game as well. He's now third in the league in RBI's...Westbrook got his ninth win of the season despite a four-run sixth inning...The Indians stopped a four-game losing streak and will go for a split tomorrow afternoon.

Record
54-54; 3rd place