Walking Over Riding, Highland Summer Conference, Nutritionist

   
    A little over a month ago we were without a car. It might have been a tragedy for some; we don't live in California where many live 90 minutes away from their jobs. We actually live close enough to our places of work  that we could  walk to our place of work. But how many people can say that?
   But there are a lot of advantages to walking over riding. First of all, look at the price of  gasoline. When I was a kid gas cost 25 cents a gallon and the last time I looked it was $3.40 a gallon for the lowest grade, regular! A jump of over 1000 percent! Of course, I can't "totally" blame those on Wall Street for speculation that jacks up the price. No, this started in the 1970s when the OPEC nations raised the price of oil every 6 months, and even now, oil is hurting our economy. But does that stop people from buying gas guzzling SUVs? Heck no! But what if your two SUVs no longer worked and you couldn't afford to fix them right away?
     Those living below the wages of those who can afford SUVs know what I am talking about. Sometimes expenses become so great that you have to eliminate something. So we eliminated the use of a car for a while. We walked to work, to the store, got a few rides to church, and did away with long trips to another town for entertainment. We even walked to the movies! How many of us can arrange that? But wouldn't a lot of you like to?
We burned calories and saved at least $50 a month on gas (we were already doing some walking, remember). It's possible to live a while without a car.
    And I attended an interesting writing workshop, the Highland Summer Conference at Radford University recently. The teachers, poets and published writers, were very patient with the six pupil class (though a few other teachers also sat in). It was unlike a writing group I'd been to where they seem to be merely critical of what you do, what I call the "slash and burn" approach to writing criticism. They pointed out strengths and improvement ideas and were encouraging. It was slanted toward Appalachian experiences, but not totally.
    But man, I snacked and ate way too many sweets. Before the conference began I went to an area nutritionist/pharmacist and spoke to her about my medical history, including the fact that I wanted to find out how to improve my hormone levels and immune system. My oncologist's only recommendation was only to stay on a medicine that has caused a number of side effects and which I know is just making me older inside and (therefore) giving me a weaker immune system, which already failed me once. I don't want it to fail me again. 
    So she took a hair sample and will see where I have deficiencies and what I need to do to help my immune system. Why don't doctors suggest this? Why do they always just throw a pill at you?

Can't seem to improve body

  It can be quite difficult to improve one's body when it won't cooperate. I tried to use a
"cleansing blended drink" with kale, lettuce, brocolli, a little gingeroot and carrots and
apple in it. But it became a rather "thick" drink and it seemed to "plug" things up! My
intestinal tract has not been nice to me since chemo and use of the drug "Femara." I can't
change my diet too extremely or I have irregularity problems and quite easily too! And passing
menopause doesn't seem to help either!

EPA, green cars, rainy weather

   I have to admit, I am not much for going out in the rain -- the cold and windy rain, that is --
in the winter months. I don't get the exercise I should, though going to "Curves" for exercise
helps.
   Last week we went to a Democrat sponsored event at a local restaurant and who should show up but none other than Terry McAuliffe! Terry has been a big fund-raiser for the Democratic Party for many years (I was going to mistakenly write a 'million' years -- no, it's just that he is so good at raising money that he has also begun several businesses and is now a multi-millionaire, apparently, and I wish I had his TYPE A personality). And he told us of his plan to help America; well, help Mississippi, anyway. He could have helped us here in Virginia but Virginia hasn't the smarts to bid on his project.
   What he did was go to China and buy up a car plant. He is now bringing that plant to a city in Mississippi and guess what he will produce -- electric cars! And not only that, but he is going to sell these cars back to China! Well, Americans can get in on it too, and he says they will be cheap -- $10,000, which is $30,000 cheaper than the projected cost of the Chevy Volt. The only drawback is that they don't go too far on a charge -- something like 40-50 miles on a charge. If you live relatively close to your job and don't take long trips this would be ideal, especially as a second, run around the neighborhood to the store kind of car. I would like a car that doesn't spew nasty, unhealthy fumes. I think cancer survivors should get a special discount with this kind of vehicle. Maybe I should write Terry about this. He says the website is www.greentech.com. I believe that's right.
    In the meantime, we need to email EPA to not knock down air quality standards. If this
is what the ignorant tea-partiers want to do, we need to let them know this is wrong. For the health of our lungs and the planet we need to reduce car fumes. I'm certain they don't help those with lung problems or a body made more vulnerable by cancer and cancer treatments. There is way too much cancer out there and we need to do something about that. Cleaning up the air would certainly help.

Got Some Real Exercise today

    I got some real exercise today. We have had some warmer than normal temps, but
we've also had some cold wind and I haven't been outside as much as maybe I'd like. But I needed to get some exercise. So today, at Curves, I was exposed to this new
dance/exercise craze called "Zumba". Ever heard of it? It is rather intense and reminds me a bit of some of the old Richard Simmons exercise routines on TV and some Jane Fonda exercise tapes. With Zumba you alternate between working on the Curves exercise machines and doing this rather fast dancerise type of movement. You quickly work up a sweat doing this. I think if you are not in shape it may be a bit exhausting and maybe a bit hard on the system. I guess it depends on how young you are and how overweight you are. If you don't try to go too fast I think you can handle this, for part of your Curves circuit, anyway.
   I did this in the morning and in the evening our church had a "big band" sound
group that played after we'd had our "Mardi Gras" dinner at the church, hosted by the Knights of Columbus as a fund-raising activity. And this "sound" made you want to get up and dance and dance we did, a lot of fast dancing, including the "twist," and also the Charleston, and the mashed potatoes, and just the regular, non touching fast dance. A few children, a brother and sister act, also joined in and copied the adults who did the fox trot. I must have burned calories for part of my dessert. Maybe I should get some dancing exercise as a regular thing! I've of people who joined a dance organization and lost weight that way. Makes sense to me.

Health Issues as you age, Health expenses, expense period

    It seems that as you grow older you encounter more aches and pains, whether you like it or not. I think, in the last few months, that these "cramping" pains just under my right rib may have something to do with my gall bladder. One could certainly "hope" that. I say hope, which seems odd, because I know of women who have had breast cancer and then felt chest/stomach area pain and it turned into cancer having spread to the liver. I sure hope it is not that. But being in my late fifties, it would not be unfeasible for it to be a gall bladder issue.
    When the oldest son visited he didn't help. I must have had peanut butter fudge about four times! Could that still be clogging up the gall bladder or creating stones? Having all that fat was probably not a good thing for me. Some suggest that a low fat diet is best to prevent breast cancer, but also seems like a sensible choice as you get older, as your organs are less able to  handle any overload as you age. Maybe I'll have to go low fat for good.
    But I dread the expense of it all. I still have not learned the results of a bone density scan. It was filed and was under
USA, third tier coverage, and now we owe a whopping $450! Why does healthcare in this country have to be so freaking expensive? Why do all the machines they use have to cost an arm and a leg? It's ridiculous, and now I may owe even more money. How does someone get ahead in that situation?

Customer Service in U.S. sucks, healthcare expenses

The United States has become a country where customer service has taken a back seat to
making money. Companies, especially big ones, (Ma Bell and other national biggies) have
customer service reps who must be underpaid, undertrained and/or of foreign origin. Yes,
we are a country of immigrants and while it is great you have come to America, if you
are in customer service, I can't quite understand you and you mess up my order, I will be a wee
bit upset -- especially if you mess up my order so much that my service is discontinued!

What am I talking about? I can talking about the fact that my son and I tried three times online and I tried two times over the phone to get our phone account straigthtened out.It shouldn't take rocket science to transfer a phone account into another person's name, and for it to "have" 2 names on the cellphone account. But if you try to change the name of the person the cellphone is billed to, you get in all kinds of trouble. The automated "program" doesn't go through; and finally, you have to call customer service.

What has happened to customer service in this country? Especially customer service on the phone? Do you know how difficult it is to get a "real" person to talk to you? And if that real person has an accent you don't understand, you may not get what you want either. AT&T has made it difficult for me to want to continue with them. Presently, even though I paid my bill, I have "no network coverage". Could it be that something is wrong with my sim card or other mechanical failure? Perhaps, but I think it is moreso because they sent me 2 separate bills, one  for me and one for my spouse, for over $116! And we hardly use the dang phone! I'm not made out of money but maybe AT&T thinks I am. Why couldn't they put both names on the one account, as I had asked (over the phone and also at an AT&T office with a customer service rep)? Why must customer service be such a lackluster, screwed up function of today's big businesses? 

Would a small business screw up like this? Would a small business care about individual problems? I would hope so, or they wouldn't be in business. But as for big business, forget about it.

And I just received a notice -- yet "another" medical facility that won't take my husband's insurance, so I owe $450 for a 30 second bone density scan! Healthcare sucks too.

Winter Wonders, Son Moving, Money

   Well, winter has made itself known again, with an inch of white before it almost all disappears. We have had, now, our sixth snow, even if it is not more than an inch. And people question global climate change? I don't see how they can doubt something is happening with our weather.
    Still, the Master Naturalist must push on. It was a "wonder" the other week I could do water monitoring. I foolishly thrust my hand into 38o degree water (!) to encapulate some rushing stream water-- how can water be so cold and still flow! (Okay, yeah, right, it's not 32 degrees.) I should have
brought something waterproof along, like a few layers of those yellow latex dishwashing gloves, over a pair winter gloves that aren't so bulky. My husband suggested this later--- after the experience.
   The oldest son, Zeb, helped with the water monitoring experience but it looks like he will be moving to a new place. He actually found himself a decent paying job! True, it is at a prison in a rural area several hours' drive away, but, hey, that's something in this economy. But helping him move will put a dent in our meager savings. Ah well, it's always easy come, easy go with savings. But in 2011, if I can find work as a  writer, then that will be great! There are writing possibilities out there and, hopefully, I can finish my novels (that's right, two of them) and get published FOR PAY, the two words all writers hope for. Maybe I should do a blog for money.