3 days in a row now I have weighed in at 194 pounds. I hit it 2 or 3 weeks ago and then went back up. I had hoped I would have broken the 180 barrier by now - but - whatever. I'm determined to get down there. When the weather cools - will it ever - I will start walking and exercising again.
Ballys is offering me a year membership at $99. Yes, for the entire year. I had a lifetime membership that only required a monthly service fee after the thing was paid off - that took a long time to do so. I let the service fee go and lost it - a LONG time ago. I could take an alternate way home from work that would not add any mileage and hit the gym - for what, $8 per month? and get some aerobics and free weights going.
I have absolutely no funds to do that right now, but they offer me this deal every month. For years. I paid the price, that's a fact - but another fact is that when I had that membership, I USED it to the nth degree. I remember a big van had showed up out front of that place one day and were doing free body fat tests. I measured - at that time - at 4.9% body fat. I wasn't just skinny, I was lean - lots of muscle, toned, in good shape. Not even near that now and neither would getting to that body fat proportions even be a goal. I just want to get back into shape. I am 2 pounds into the "ideal range" - I have been out of that for quite a while now - maybe 2 years anyway.
I'll tell you what got me cooking even more on this diet. I read a local news story that fully 25% of Arizonans? Are OBESE. That's unbelievable. The story was obesity and didn't go into numbers of the adult population here that is overweight. I had NO idea. That is a staggering percentage of just the AZ population that is beyond overweight.
If this nation is headed towards morbid obesity; obesity and overweight and the scientific facts that allegedly declare that that alone leads to more health problems - a lot more health problems and if it's true that it's of pandemic proportions, then perhaps there is merit to giving people that are in their normal/ideal weight range a huge discount, a rebate, whatever, for being in such condition.
IF we are going to subsidize everything else - a thing that just frustrates me to no end, then perhaps we should do such in an arena where the desired benefit from doing such is a much healthier society?
My Danes. Doing well, of course. I always take care of my dogs as best as I can. They sleep alot - it's a dog's life, yes? However, they are not fat, obese, overweight - whatever. I limit snacks. They mostly only eat dog food. I handed out an entire loaf of bread today split between all of them - I am perfectly sure they could have eaten 4 loaves and would have wanted more. They love walks - but I have refrained in this heat. I take them 1/4 mile and they appear to be next-to-death with panting so heavy you'd think they had just been shot.
Waiting for cooler weather. I will be much more active and if I can stay on this diet - I will lost much more weight. Humidity and high temps are killers. High temps - 110 today with 50% humidity this morning.
Much more? Yes. However, it's 8:30 pm and I think I am going to go to bed.
G'nite.
ben
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Thursday
Thursday
Week dragging by as far as work is concerned because it has been very, very slow. So, to say it is "already" Thursday is better than nothing.
I am still putting in applications here and there for jobs that I am qualified for - ie: that I can show ample experience in doing. Just looking for part-time work to supplement my regular job's lack of hours. I have been looking for quite a long time and have only received one response, of which I replied back and never heard anything else again - probably because they were looking for full-time workers and I was and am seeking part-time.
Meanwhile, Obama is going to Ohio, apparently, to meet with some middle class family. The news put on a slew of people that live in the area that are unemployed, have been unemployed, have put a hundred/s of applications and received nothing in terms of any kind of prospect for employment.
Of interest was the lady that has 18 years of paralegal experience and can't find anything, anywhere. This is the field I was looking to go into some 5 or 6 years ago and opted against it because of the high cost of education to get any kind of degree AND the fact that lawyers were telling me that getting into the field is difficult unless you know someone.
Indeed. I can imagine being $45,000.00 in debt right now for student loans, having a degree in the field and have no job in that field and no prospects of finding one. That kind of thing is what leads people into depression, I do believe. Not financial depression, mental depression.
Anyway, yesterday I was scouring the web for more information about the CSA 2010 regulations that are - whenver it's going to happen - come into effect. Allegedly there is now a shortage of truckers.
??????.....and the numbers of truck drivers that will be needed by the end of next year? The figures range from 20,000 to 500,000. Reason? Drivers that are disqualified from the CDL pool because of the new regulations; baby boomers that are going to start retiring and truck drivers that were laid off during this recession and who these experts believe will NEVER come back.
It was interesting the many reports I found with drivers giving their testimonials of the crappy work that trucking is - referring to long haul/OTR. Never home, low pay, substandard living conditions, companies that don't care, not being paid for a lot of the work that is involved with the process of driving truck (such as loading and unloading, drivers simply aren't paid for waiting around a loading dock unless the company has some sort of fee they charge for making them wait over 2 hours).
August 19, 2010 6:00 AM
Anonymous said...
Yup, and the news isn't good for younger generation coming into the profession, either. The average yearly pay is $37,000.00. If I were starting out all over again, I would not want to get into a field where that kind of money is the only thing I was going to expect to get out of it. That used to be entry level pay, apparently that is way down as well.
It's interesting to read about the profession that I have been involved with starting in 1985 and remembering FAR better days in the trucking industry than they are now. Now, it is simply WAY over-regulated and WAY underpaid. The pay situation will iron itself out, at least to some degree, as the shortage of drivers will drive the pay scale up - drivers will become very selective about who they work for, especially veteran drivers, because they can. Perks, please and money while you're at it.
I have no such problems. I am paid for everything I do. Fueling the truck, loading the truck, driving the truck, unloading the truck, whatever it is, I am paid by the hour. Trucking industry balks at the idea of paying ALL drivers that way - of course, it would cost them a lot more money. Drivers would actually get paid for what they are doing.
How about a combination of miles driven and hours worked, then? Nope, they don't want anything to do with it. Okay, how about miles driven and a bonus for each load delivered? SOME do that to a limited degree, most won't. Doesn't matter, they simply don't want to pay enough to lure people into the profession.
Good luck with that. Eventually the hand will be forced. No drivers equals no products on the shelves and as I relentlessly point out, rail cannot handle all of the volume that is transported (trucks deliver 70%) and even if it could, trucks would still have to take most of it from a railyard to the stores.
It may be years before any real changes occur, dunno, but I guarantee that it will change eventually, it will HAVE to. Let the cost of paying drivers be passed onto the consumers, truck drivers sacrifice thier lives on the road and that's a fact. If the pay were MUCH better even I would consider going back OTR or regional. Lol, but I wouldn't consider it very long, I want nothing to do with OTR anymore.
Well, I'm still getting adjusted to the "new life" of not having any kids around. Amazingly peaceful and I don't miss the constant in and out all the time - at all. My son still coming 3-1/2 days per week, but his schedule is so busy now with school and work I hardly see him.
Anyway, work day approaches and at least there is SOMETHING to do in the truck routing system. Thank GOD Almighty!
G'day.
ben
Week dragging by as far as work is concerned because it has been very, very slow. So, to say it is "already" Thursday is better than nothing.
I am still putting in applications here and there for jobs that I am qualified for - ie: that I can show ample experience in doing. Just looking for part-time work to supplement my regular job's lack of hours. I have been looking for quite a long time and have only received one response, of which I replied back and never heard anything else again - probably because they were looking for full-time workers and I was and am seeking part-time.
Meanwhile, Obama is going to Ohio, apparently, to meet with some middle class family. The news put on a slew of people that live in the area that are unemployed, have been unemployed, have put a hundred/s of applications and received nothing in terms of any kind of prospect for employment.
Of interest was the lady that has 18 years of paralegal experience and can't find anything, anywhere. This is the field I was looking to go into some 5 or 6 years ago and opted against it because of the high cost of education to get any kind of degree AND the fact that lawyers were telling me that getting into the field is difficult unless you know someone.
Indeed. I can imagine being $45,000.00 in debt right now for student loans, having a degree in the field and have no job in that field and no prospects of finding one. That kind of thing is what leads people into depression, I do believe. Not financial depression, mental depression.
Anyway, yesterday I was scouring the web for more information about the CSA 2010 regulations that are - whenver it's going to happen - come into effect. Allegedly there is now a shortage of truckers.
??????.....and the numbers of truck drivers that will be needed by the end of next year? The figures range from 20,000 to 500,000. Reason? Drivers that are disqualified from the CDL pool because of the new regulations; baby boomers that are going to start retiring and truck drivers that were laid off during this recession and who these experts believe will NEVER come back.
It was interesting the many reports I found with drivers giving their testimonials of the crappy work that trucking is - referring to long haul/OTR. Never home, low pay, substandard living conditions, companies that don't care, not being paid for a lot of the work that is involved with the process of driving truck (such as loading and unloading, drivers simply aren't paid for waiting around a loading dock unless the company has some sort of fee they charge for making them wait over 2 hours).
August 19, 2010 6:00 AM
Anonymous said...
Yup, and the news isn't good for younger generation coming into the profession, either. The average yearly pay is $37,000.00. If I were starting out all over again, I would not want to get into a field where that kind of money is the only thing I was going to expect to get out of it. That used to be entry level pay, apparently that is way down as well.
It's interesting to read about the profession that I have been involved with starting in 1985 and remembering FAR better days in the trucking industry than they are now. Now, it is simply WAY over-regulated and WAY underpaid. The pay situation will iron itself out, at least to some degree, as the shortage of drivers will drive the pay scale up - drivers will become very selective about who they work for, especially veteran drivers, because they can. Perks, please and money while you're at it.
I have no such problems. I am paid for everything I do. Fueling the truck, loading the truck, driving the truck, unloading the truck, whatever it is, I am paid by the hour. Trucking industry balks at the idea of paying ALL drivers that way - of course, it would cost them a lot more money. Drivers would actually get paid for what they are doing.
How about a combination of miles driven and hours worked, then? Nope, they don't want anything to do with it. Okay, how about miles driven and a bonus for each load delivered? SOME do that to a limited degree, most won't. Doesn't matter, they simply don't want to pay enough to lure people into the profession.
Good luck with that. Eventually the hand will be forced. No drivers equals no products on the shelves and as I relentlessly point out, rail cannot handle all of the volume that is transported (trucks deliver 70%) and even if it could, trucks would still have to take most of it from a railyard to the stores.
It may be years before any real changes occur, dunno, but I guarantee that it will change eventually, it will HAVE to. Let the cost of paying drivers be passed onto the consumers, truck drivers sacrifice thier lives on the road and that's a fact. If the pay were MUCH better even I would consider going back OTR or regional. Lol, but I wouldn't consider it very long, I want nothing to do with OTR anymore.
Well, I'm still getting adjusted to the "new life" of not having any kids around. Amazingly peaceful and I don't miss the constant in and out all the time - at all. My son still coming 3-1/2 days per week, but his schedule is so busy now with school and work I hardly see him.
Anyway, work day approaches and at least there is SOMETHING to do in the truck routing system. Thank GOD Almighty!
G'day.
ben
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