Friday, December 14, 2012

First Speedbump in Juice Fast

I caved. Yeah. And not for something worthwhile.

It was for Pizza Hut Pizza left over from last night's work party. Terrible stuff... but in my hunger state, almost irresistible to me. I love salty, savory crap.

I was fine with all the Christmas cookies and candy out on the table in the mailroom. I even reorganized the stuff and neatly set out plates for the masses. I used to find that stuff magnetic--but not today.

I drank my juice and was fine until someone came in and said, "Guess what?" "There's pizza left over!"

It was only an hour later that I caved.

I won't be the end for me. I'm back on the juicing again, now hoping to detox AGAIN.

I'll bet that I feel some side effects from eating this pseudo-food as my first solid stuff for days.

Juice Fast: Day Five

I had some strange leg cramps last night where a muscle in my lower leg cramped, causing my big toe to flex in a fixed bend. It was excruciating. This, even though I am doing bananas as part of my juice fast.

I got over it with a little help from my wife. Thanks honey! She helped by pressing on the area of the most pain and massaging out the cramp.

Today I woke up with my first mild headache in five days. Odd, on water fasts I usually have this in day two. I also have a slight tummy ache, and feel a bit irritable. Also, day two phenomena in the water fast.

WARNING: overshare ahead..

What really strikes me as odd is that I am actually still pooping. Seriously? No solid food in nearly five whole days and there are still matters to be worked out in that way? I do have less flatulence, which is good. But shouldn't that all be done with by now?

Anyway, I hope that my chronic eye redness and fatigue will be fixed forever once I get through this and switch to a 95% vegetarian diet, without processed foods or non-organic produce. I've been toxic for far too long.

It'll all work itself out in good time. I'm committed and hopeful.

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Juice fast: day three.

I feel great. No strong cravings, headaches, etc. I'm more clear-headed than usual.

But a cheeseburger sounds delightful.

Still, what I am most learning is that I view food like a dysfunctional relationship. It's there to make me feel better, and I don't know proper boundaries with it. No more eating due to boredom or for a quick boost of "happiness". I want to be healthy and truly happy.

Monday, December 3, 2012

Letter to John Boehner

Hello John,

I'm flabbergasted that your party has learned little from the last election, choosing to stand on issues that the majority of voters do not support. A vast majority of taxpayers from both parties agree that we should maintain the tax cut for the middle class. These same people resoundingly agree that we should tax the rich at a higher rate.

So why all the brinksmanship? You know that you've all got the worst rating of public approval in history. Why exacerbate that by doubling-down on that which few support?

It will be the GOP who are blamed if the proverbial car goes over the cliff. You're the one playing politics with the future of the middle class.

We know that the things you claim will be affected (small businesses and jobs) are both ruses based on bad numbers, skewed to say that which they cannot. As a man with a sociology degree this is easy for me to see. Y'all ought to be ashamed of yourselves for trying to dupe the lesser minds among us with the bitter rhetoric of obfuscatory data. There is no correlation to tax cuts for the top 2% and job growth. In fact, one can see the opposite has happened during the Bush tax cut years.

We went from a surplus, and a booming economy to a near-depression, while the very rich were taking record profits in some sectors, others were sitting on massive cash reserves, there was record compensation for CEOs and other top shareholders, and came out with the largest economic disparity in our nation's recorded history.

Is that what you want? Do you serve only the 2%? Or do you serve all 100% by creating a tax climate and code which scales taxes based on income in durable, sustainable ways? The rich CAN afford to pay more and STILL make money. They can live with less. The rest of us have been forced to.

I've worked in the private tech sector, for non-profits, for city, and now for state in the public sector. No matter where I go there is one thing I know for sure. Greed must be regulated, and profit corrupts good motives.

So when you talk about Medicaid and Medicare, why don't you get honest with yourselves and us. The problem is not the cost of those programs. It's the cost that those programs have to pay to the profiteers in health care.

That's a relatively new phenomenon. I worked in the tech sector during the NASDAQ crash. We saw capitalists pull their money and bully their way into health care. Now 12 years later, a break-even proposition has become solidly entrenched near the top 30 profitability mark. That's unacceptable. Profit is what is harming patients all around this nation, and sinking local, state, and federal budgets.

Show some character and source the problem. With integrity you can return the party of my youth back to what it once was. Stand up to the tea party idiots. Give me back my GOP, or get out.

Sincerely,
Christian E. Vettrus