My thoughts on obesity...

First off, let me define what "obesity" is. Actually, let me just copy off of Wikipedia:
Obesity is a condition in which the natural energy reserve of humans or other mammals, which is stored in fat tissue, is expanded far beyond usual levels to the point where it impairs health. Obesity in wild animals is relatively rare, but it is common in domestic animals like pigs and household pets who may be overfed and underexercised. In humans it is considered a major challenge to health.
So, now that we have that taken care of, I have two main points.

1. Obesity should not be a handicap

The other day I saw some guy in a Circle K (a convience store much like a 7-11, Plaid Pantry, etc.) who was rather large himself. He was purchasing three hot dogs, two bags of chips, a soda and some assorted candy. I thought to myself how he shouldn't be buying stuff like that with his weight, but that's about as far as it went.

Then, as I was getting in my car, I noticed he had a handicap license plate. Now I was upset. Especially since he got the handicap space up front and I had to find some random place to park around the back because the parking was all full.

See, the reason I was so upset was because it was pretty much like he got all this extra care and extra bonuses (like an up-front parking space) because he's not responsible enough to manage his own weight! Seriously, why? I mean, I work hard to have enough money to pay my bills (hopefully), have food for my family and maybe have enough left over to buy something extra for my growing five-month old baby boy. And they make me park out in the boondocks because I'm not fat.

Another time a while back, I was in a McDonald's eating a quick dinner before I had to be at church. I literally saw three different people, all who came in seperately, all who had trouble walking because of their weight, all had the large extra value meals with a few extras besides that. Now if you've seen the movie "Super-size Me", you're probably saying that money-hungry McDonalds is at fault for making them fat or some such nonsense.

The truth is, those people were walking in on their own, ordering on their own, paying with their own money, sitting down on their own and eating that fat-laden food on their own. McDonalds stock-holders weren't holding a gun to their heads and the CEO wasn't shoving the food down their gullets. It was their own choice to eat there and to get that much food.
To finish off this point, why are people able to be considered "handicap" because of their own choices? If I chose to blow off my own legs, would I get as much attention an even sympathy as them? Probably not.

2. How is obesity an "epidemic"?
I know, technically it can be an epidemic. Let's look at what Wikipedia says again:
An epidemic is generally a widespread disease that affects many individuals in a population. An epidemic may be restricted to one locale or may even be global (pandemic). An outbreak of a disease is defined as being epidemic, however, not by how many members or what proportion of the population it infects but by how fast it is growing

Personally, when I think of an "epidemic", I think of someting like the Black Plague, the West Nile Virus, etc. I think of it as something that can't be helped, is contagious and causes a panic of some sort. So, if I use my definition: obesity can be helped, is not contagious, and hasn't caused a real panic. I'll break it down even more.

Obesity can be helped - People don't have to be overweight. They just are. Either they're lazy, they can't stop eating or a combination of both. "Studies" have "shown" that you are "more likely to be fat" because of "hereditary reasons". I think that's hogwash. I've known people who's whole family is large, but they decided not to be, so they worked at keeping fit. By "worked", I mean that they watched what they ate, they didn't just sit in front of the boob-tube and they were active somehow, whether it be walking, running, riding a bike, working out, whatever. The point is, they made a decision, they stuck to it and the results were very positive.

Obesity is not contagious - Self-explanatory, you can't catch fatness.

Obesity hasn't caused a true panic - If it had, people would be trying to not be fat instead of eating three double cheeseburgers, a large fry and a biggie Coke. People who have the flu most of the time try to get better as fast as they can. People who are fat most of the time, just stay fat.

Now, I'm not trying to be mean or anything, I'm just stating my personal opinion. I just don't understand people ever because they don't make sense, especially when you put logic into the equation. For example, if you smashed your thumb with a hammer, it hurts you, so you try not to smash your thumb again. Being fat hurts you, so why not try to keep from being fat or if you already are, why not do something to solve the problem?

Just my thoughts.

- J

Pharaoh Syndrome

So now I'm pretty convinced that I have what I call "Pharaoh Syndrome". Let me explain...

The Ancient Egyptian Pharaohs built large monuments and increasingly larger pyramids to remind everyone who they were and to create a permanent place in history for themselves.

I work at a pool supply retail store. I do the same thing every day. I do about 25 water analysis tests, I "help" customers get rid of their algae problems and then act like their problem is unique when actually the other 3 customers in the store have the exact same problem and the exact same solution, I fix pool cleaners that have a total of 5 different things that could go wrong with them (and again I pretend that this never happens except this one time), and on and on until I get to go home 10 hours later. It's like the movie Groundhog Day where he gets trapped in the same day over and over and over...

Many of these people I help don't stick in my mind at all. In fact, the only ones that do are the ones that I complain about (I'm sure you'll hear ALL about them later on in this blog) or the ones that are extremely nice to me. Other than that, they are just a way for me to get my paycheck. Nothing sticks in my mind about them. Nothing. And some of these people even act like they don't even care that they're not remembered. It's as if they could not even exist and it wouldn't affect me at all.

That's what I'm scared of in my own life. I know, I know, my friends and family will all miss me if I suddenly wasn't here. But beyond that... Who (not in my circle of friends or family) would have their lives changed by me not being here?

This may sound pompous, but it's not that shallow. I believe it's something much deeper. I want to make a significant change in this world. I not only want people to know me or know my name, but I want them to know me because of how I changed the world for the better, even if the act was miniscule in comparison to maybe something the UN might do.

My family has done great things. I'm very proud to be a part of my family, both my mother and my father's sides. For example, my grandfather on my mother's side is part of an organization called the Gideons. You know that Bible that you can always find in a Hotel or Motel room? That was placed there by the Gideons. My grandfather might have actually placed that there for you to pick it up, read it and maybe change your life forever. And my grandparents on my father's side actually created, printed and published (on a small scale because of certain complications) the world's first international trade directory. Coincidentally, it was the first book entirely created on a computer!

And my parents; they moved up to Portland, Oregon with not very much, but a dream to publish a free family Christian newspaper. And we did it. 20,000+ copies every month. And that was back when you had to paste everything onto a big board which you turned into the printers. Now you just put it on a CD or DVD and hand it in.

But I still want to do something greater. I want to be known like how Elvis, John Lennon, Ghandi, Donald Trump, etc. are known. You can go to many different countries and they'd still know who Albert Einstein or Christopher Columbus or even Steven Spielberg was/is! I want to secure a place in time for my memory and for my family's honorable name.

I don't know how I'll get there yet, but I'm always working towards that goal.

The first step is getting out of this job...  :P

 - J

Welcome!

Welcome!

This is pretty much just a blog about me and my opinions. Same kind of thing everyone else has. Hopefully though, it'll be a little humorous and what not. But this is where anyone can learn more about my inner workings and a place where I can rant about stuff (usually the public and how stupid it is).

So hopefully you can find something amusing or interesting on here. Or better yet, something you can actually take away from here and use in real life. That'd be pretty neat. Yes, I said "neat". I know, we don't live in the 50's anymore, but why not?

Please, visit often and see you soon!

- J