2754 The cheese, the fox, and the scale

Thursday, January 21, 2010

The fragrance always remains
in the hand that gives the rose.
-- Heda Bejar --

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Rocky, the (random! really!) quote is for you.

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I found a pound container of cottage cheese with pineapple in the refrigerator. I couldn't remember when I'd bought it, but I knew it had been sitting there for a while. It's been cold, so I haven't been walking, so I've been avoiding calories. I love that stuff. I decided to check it, or throw it out.

The expiration date is on the lid.

It said March 24, 2008.

Almost two years? I suddenly felt very old, and very sick. I didn't want to open it because I was sure it was solid green, but I didn't want to drop the container in the garbage because, well, it was so heavy, and the container is recyclable. I opened it outside, on the way across the driveway to dump it in the woods.

It was pristine.

I smelled it. It smelled good. I stuck my finger in it and tasted it. It tasted not just good, but absolutely fresh. It didn't even have that "last week" tang. I took it back in the house, and ate some. It was good. I didn't die.

I don't understand.

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Have you noticed that the evening schedule on Fox is geared to attract very young people? Vampires and teen soaps. And Fox news is scheduled early, 10 pm around here, an hour earlier than the other networks.

Is that coincidence, marketing plan, or a conservative plot to indoctrinate them young?

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My next youngest brother is a fidgiter, which used to drive me crazy. He couldn't simply walk down the street without practicing his bowling approach, softball throw, bouncing, snapping fingers. Never sat still. Wriggle. Jiggling legs. Clicking pens. He also ate enormous quantities, almost constantly. Half a box of cereal with three cups of milk at breakfast.

And he never gained any excess weight.

Me, on the other hand, I'm still. I am the quiet smile in the corner. The calm in the eye of the storm. No excess movement. I am burgundy wine.

I'd had no problem with weight gain, though, because I never ate much. The weight problems came with menopause. By 2005 I was a good 50 pounds overweight. I lost 40 in 2005-2006, then gradually gained 25 back. In 2009, I lost 15 of those pounds, and then got stuck. I figure I need to lose 15 more, but my body rebelled.

I won't walk in the cold, I hate gyms, and the treadmill is so boring I can't motivate myself to get on it. I decided I needed to start fidgiting.

I've been fidgiting for three weeks now. Sitting at the desk, I jiggle my legs on my toes. Walking through the house I take tiny steps and lift my knees high. Washing dishes I wiggle my hips. I stand and walk in place to watch TV or read. When thinking, I roll my shoulders. If I catch myself being still, I move something.

It's working. I've lost five pounds over the three weeks, and it seems to be holding firm.

With all this jiggling, my typing has gone to hell. All the backspacing and correcting makes everything take twice as long, but if that's the cost of 10 more pounds, I'll pay it.
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