Back to Basics

I am thinking a lot about my life in my early to mid-twenties and starting to retrieve some of the lessons I learned then. I'm doing this to deal with the new realities created by the economic crisis. I was dirt poor then, but I did a lot of things which saved me money and were pretty smart.

#1 - I baked my own bread. I saved money, the bread was much fresher, and I lost a ton of weight! I've pulled out my old "Uncle John's Bread Book" from that time with my recipe. As soon as my $4 loaf of 15-grain bread is eaten, I'm going to get multi-grain flour and the other ingredients and back two loaves in the oven.

#2 - I made a lot of home made soups. Beans and a few veggies can be bought cheaply. I'm going back to making soups. They also are low in calories.

#3 - I bought produce at the produce market section of town. At that time, I lived in Boston and bought my produce at Haymarket Square. I was also very poor when I returned to Pittsburgh in 1992, and I bought my produce at the Strip District. I'm going back to my weekly trip to the Strip District.

#4 - I walked to places I could reach on foot. In Boston, this usually involved passing by Fenway Park about 8 times a day, so you understand why I love the Red Sox! I couldn't afford a car and there was no place to park anyway. It was sometimes complicated to get to nearby places on the bus or subway, so I'd just walk. Also, I just walked for leisure. I would walk clear to Cambridge. I would take the subway or bus somewhere and walk. I often took the subway to Revere Beach and walked. I maintained this type of lifestyle in San Francisco. Now I'm back in the country where I have a car and have to use a vehicle to get anywhere to shop. However, I have jogged around my hilly neighborhood for up to 6 miles at a time frequently. I can also drive to trails and parks within 3 to 10 miles from my house and walk and jog there. I don't have to wait until I can drive off to some state park 40 miles away.

Economic Crisis

The economic crisis has been a trying and stressful time for me. I did get to go camping at Shawnee State Park during part of it, and that was a blessing for me. But it has been one of the worst things I've gone through in years. I was extremely stressed out in the winter of 2006. In fact, I've been stressed out for quite a few years now. But this is worse in some ways than the winter of 2006. I gained a lot of weight in the winter of 2006 over stress. This time, I've started to revert to compulsive walking, which is pre-anorexic. I don't think there's any chance I'll go back to full-blown anorexia nervosa, but I think given the time of year and my current circumstances, I'm going to use compulsive walking a lot as a coping mechanism. In winter of 2006, it was the middle of the winter, so that was less available. Compulsive walking is definitely different than my regular walking and jogging routines. When I was working at CCAC, every weekend during the good weather, I would drive to Laurel Summit and take a long hike. This was a healthy way of getting away, getting exercise, and losing weight. I still went for hikes this past summer and I went a number of different places to jog--outdoors and using a treadmill at the YMCA. In compulsive walking, I tend to go to places nearby and walk for too long till my feet heart. It's a bit more pathological and is closer to resorting to an addiction in order to cope. It's fall and nice weather and my classes are easy this semester, so there's nothing really stopping me.

I think the uncertainty is what upsets me the most. I had a plan where I would work part-time and go to school for many years. I was going to get a masters in exercise phys then eventually study to be a psychologist. This plan was so that I could have a profession I could still practice until I was very elderly. Now I just don't know if I'll be able to afford to do this, so I just don't know what to do. Things change daily. You just don't know what's going to go down next. For example--and this is just a small part of it--my bank where I have my checking and savings account. I don't have a lot of money in it, but it was mentioned all day yesterday on CNBC, along with Wachovia, as the main large bank in trouble. They were totally silent about it on the local news. They were probably trying to prevent a run on it. WAMU was taken over in the middle of the night, closed down, and sold. Every morning I wonder if my bank will still be there or if I'll turn on the news and the FDIC has seized it.

Each day, I try somehow to alter my plans to cope, and then another thing hits. I was going to consider going to massage school in order to have something to do for money while I went to grad school. Then things collapsed more, and I thought that doing massage probably wasn't a very stable thing in this economy. One of the main things I have felt adamant about is not going back to secretarial work. However, things have gotten so bad that soon that option won't even be there. The job situation is going to get so bad that it's unlikely there will even be any secretarial jobs. Another thing I started to consider was a program at CCAC where I could quickly train to work in drug and alcohol rehab. I would only need 5 courses, because I've just taken Psych 101. I'm considering doing that program so I could work at that while pursuing grad school. That seems to be a good thing to do for someone who would eventually be a psychologist.

But things change day by day and seem to get worse. I really don't know who to blame, it's gotten so complex. I don't know the solution. I don't know if this bailout or rescue will work. It's very hard to plan how to deal with this long-term. What does a middle-aged person do who's trying to acquire a second career?

Economic Crisis

I've stopped panicking over the economic crisis and have taken it as a major wake up call. I always try to turn adversity into something positive and learn from it. What I have learned is that the cowboys and clowns who continue to run this country will always put any savings or retirement of any American in jeopardy. Therefore, as I've always known, retirement is not an option. It is always better to have a profession that you can practice until you are no longer able. This crisis has really made me focus on that reality. Therefore, all my energy will now be directed in this endeavor. I have been hoping to get a masters in exercise physiology that would concentrate on helping people with or at risk for chronic disease because of previous lifestyle factors. I want to work with people who are suffering from obesity and/or heart disease and/or type II diabetes, etc. etc. to help them recover their health. I further hoped to eventually become a health psychologist. I feel with the number of Boomers who will need this type of help, I could work at such a career until I'm no longer able. Therefore, this crisis has caused me to redirect my energies in this direction. I don't trust any of the clowns who end up in power in this country to protect anything I save for retirement or social security, for that matter, so I am taking steps to work for my money as long as possible.

Back from Shawnee

I had a wonderful time at Shawnee. We stayed in the pet area. We had the best site we have ever had. It was perfect weather and I got lots of exercise. I love it there.

I have abandoned my thoughts of going to massage therapy school because of the bad economy. I have decided I absolutely have to train for some type of stable decent paying career, so I am going to go to grad school somehow. I don't know if anyone can safely save for retirement anymore, so I'm trying to plan for rewarding and decent careers I can work at into my 70's, 80's, and 90's.

I worked for many years as a secretary to please others who felt that the most important thing was for me to be employed. I really hated that job, but it seemed I could always get a job doing that. Now that career path is becoming obsolete and going away. I always felt I should train for some more stable profession, but I couldn't get that through to other people. In any case, you can't live on what secretarial jobs pay in this area now and there is intense competition for them. They no longer provide any permanent employment or benefits. They tend to only be temporary jobs. I feel that the only option I have is to go to grad school and train for some type of profession, even if I have to relocate to find a job. I have a couple things to do this coming weekend--attend the Dorseyville pow wow and the TOPS picnic. After that, I'm getting serious and everything is about my education.

Headed to Shawnee

I am headed to Shawnee sometime this week to camp. Mainly I plan to walk and jog a lot. It's too cold to swim, so I'm primarily going to walk, hike, and jog. I hope to keep the weight off and stay fit. I'm taking my school books along and also my massage books. Hope to study up a bit on massage and practice on Kimberly. The weather is supposed to cooperate, although it will be chilly.

More on My Massage Career

I forgot to mention in my post this morning that I acquired some unique gear for my profession at a rock bottom price. On Saturday, my cousin Alan took me to the preparations for a big yard sale. Apparently, a distant cousin of mine is 100 years old and going into a nursing home. They are selling off the contents of her house. Since we're related somehow, we were invited to come see the stuff before it was displayed, and they would sell us something if they could figure out a price and felt comfortable. Anyway, with everything strewn about a garage and a bunch of rooms, it was really hard to make a decision on anything, so I will attend the sale when everything is organized. Up in the bedroom were two of those foam mattress pads bidridden people use so they will not develop pressure sores. I already have one. Well, massage therapists love these things for doing massages on the floor, such as Thai or Shiatsu. I think the guy thought I was a little weird showing interest in such items. Someone like me who runs up steep hills does not look particularly bedridden. In any case, he really thought they were junk no one would want and was grateful to be rid of them. So he sold them to me for $1 a piece. I am now the proud owner of three foam mattress pads for my massage business!

Several days ago, I obtained a leaflet displaying the specials at Flying J Truck Stop this fall. They had a special on very nice Mexican blankets. So I took them up on this and found an excellent blanket to put on top of the foam mattress pads. It is in Southwest type colors, which are the most soothing, in my opinion.

Kimberly is supposed to build me a massage table shortly. She found directions on the internet. Therefore, I'll have my mattress pads, my blanket, and my table and will be ready to get started in some form anyway.

Another thing I'd like to mention about possibly choosing massage therapy as my career, at least temporarily. I've thought and thought, and I can't see how a massage can be outsourced to India!

New Career Direction

I am going to Shawnee again some time this week. Naturally, at this time of year, and with it being chilly, I'm not going to swim. It is supposed to be wonderful weather, however. I am planning to jog and walk a lot. I will, unfortunately, have to miss the debut of The Biggest Loser, but I'll do my best to watch the rest of the episodes this fall. The next weekend I have two things to do. I will be attending the pow wow at Dorseyville. I'll probably do that on a Saturday. On Sunday the 28th, I am attending the TOPS picnic. After all of this, I'm committed to getting down to business, and everything is going to be about my school work, jobs, yard work, house cleaning, exercise, etc.

I am feeling more and more that going to massage school soon is the right thing to do. With the economy being so bad, I need to get certified in something I can look for work in soon. I just don't feel comfortable starting on something that is three years or more in the future. As I said yesterday, the weight loss and exercise very dramatically improved my health, way beyond any of my expectations. I feel in shape to be a massage therapist now. Another major consideration is clothing. I have to pick something to do just so I know what types of clothing to look for. I can't afford to have one wardrobe for working at a health club, another wardrobe for secretarial work, and another wardrobe for being a massage therapist, and maybe even another for some other type of part-time job. I get all my clothing at thrift shops, yard sales, flea markets, or on sale. I have an idea what I would feel comfortable wearing to be a massage therapist while still looking well-groomed. So at least I can start to work on finding some of these types of clothes at thrift shops.

I feel that I'll just go through the school and start looking for a job. If the economy stays bad, I'll just dedicate myself to working for awhile. If it improves a bit, I'll think more of going to grad school part-time and working part-time.

This May Come As A Shock

In the past few days, there has been a shocking turnaround in my plans. I have been going through a bit of a crisis, and I wasn't sure what was wrong. I was not feeling happy and didn't know exactly why, so I was expressing emotions in all kinds of crazy directions. I was even having fantasies of running away! Well, the crisis has been resolved in perhaps an unusual manner, and this is even a surprise to me. I have decided to go back to some old plans which I thought were probably completely in the past. I've decided I probably will go to massage therapy school before I go to grad school. I'm intending to do this pretty soon. There are a number of reasons for this. The economy is really bad and I need to study something I can finish pretty soon to make a living. What I was originally going to train to do would have been at least three years in the future. I was in a very bad mood about getting a part-time job to get me through grad school. I'm really tired of doing work I hate. I wasn't sure how much trouble I would have finding a job I like where I could help people. I didn't want to wait three years. I want to do something I like, where I can help people, and where I can be more intimate with people. Also, my health has improved DRAMATICALLY just as a result of the small amount of weight I've lost through TOPS and exercise. It is evidence that it really can do wonders for a person even to lose a small amount of weight. I say, eat healthy, exercise, and lose ANY weight you can, even if it's not much. It will help. I now feel I'm in shape to be a massage therapist.

Another thing that has influenced me to be a massage therapist is that I have seen the results of helping people. A few years ago, when my mother was still alive, she had a cleaning lady with arthritis in her neck. I greatly helped this woman and relieved her pain by giving her massages. I have also helped Kimberly a lot who has very bad neck and upper back problems by giving her massages.

I still want to be an exercise physiologist and health psychologist. But by taking this short detour to become a massage therapist, I can have a job I like which will help others and connect me with others to help me support myself through grad school.

Back from a Different World

We went to pick up my cousin in Corry, PA yesterday. It's hard to believe the place where I was is in the same state as me, let alone the same country. It really seemed like a foreign country. It was very pretty up there. We passed many Amish buggies on the roads. Alan really lives out in the boondocks. His house is pretty but kind of spooky looking. He says it is haunted. We traveled on dirt roads. We saw the trailer where my cousin Boyd and his partner Sophie lived for about 20 years. We also saw the Amish compound where Alan gets his milk. We visited Alan's girlfriend. She is very nice. She is a Cherokee Indian and has a very multi-cultural family. It was a very interesting day!

Hunting and the Election

I have come to the conclusion that I am really disgusted by the fact that candidates have to prove that they hunt and like guns to get votes. I do not want to vote for the same person as hunters and gun owners. I realize that probably hunting needs to be allowed to control the wild animal population. I know there are hunters who are responsible people and care about nature. I hang out with a lot of Native Americans, and hunting is a big part of their culture. Although it really turns me off that Palin is so much into guns and hunting, I know it is part of the culture up there. Also, I have a cousin, Gary, whom I love very much, and he killed a caribou. I have another cousin who hunts a lot and I like him too. But I'm sick of everyone from Palin, to Bill Clinton, to John Kerry, etc., having to prove they hunt and kill animals in order to get votes. I'm a vegetarian and this disgusts me. Cheney hunted and ended up shooting a person. Hopefully, Palin is more skilled and has a better aim and won't shoot one of her friends! I don't know if Joe Biden hunts. I also doubt Barack Obama hunts, but maybe he does. If Joe and Barack start trying to prove they hunt, I probably won't vote.

September 11

Today I am remembering those who gave their lives in nearby Shanksville. I have visited the memorial often and have run a couple 9.3 mile races in memory up there. It is a very sacred and special place. We will never forget their sacrifice.

Sad News

I decided to write on my blog about this because I need to vent a little bit. My ex-boss got fired on Friday. Naturally, I have a lot of emotions around this. I am worried about her. Also, I am wondering if she may be better off in the end, being able to go elsewhere for a fresh start to be able to use her talents and energy anew. My boss was not young, and she is at the age where she could retire. I don't know if she can swing this financially. If she were able to do that, the community would be very lucky to gain a volunteer who would have so much to give. My boss was not from Pennsylvania, so if she moves elsewhere, it's a loss to the Pittsburgh area.

The college will definitely be a less colorful place without her. She is the most extroverted person I've ever met in my life. She also arranged a variety of events. Kimberly called her "the event" behind her back because she was always planning events! She was probably best known for throwing constant bake sales and barbecues around the college to raise funds. She was involved in many community organizations and brought attention to the college by her involvement. In addition, she took many students to conferences where they gained leadership skills and networked. There is a good percentage of students who only enrolled at the college because of her. They felt safe around her. Some students really owe their careers and even raises they got at work due to getting their degrees to her. Other students have transferred to four-year schools and owe that to her. Other students would never have acquired the skills they have to go to college if she had not gotten them tutors to prepare them for college level work.

I feel that I acquired a lot of skills and experience from working for her, and it was a very rewarding experience. Probably the larger percentage of students she served were African American. This job gave me the opportunity to learn a lot about African Americans living in urban areas. I was able to meet many wonderful people while working for her.

I really don't understand why the college would let someone like this go. I hope it turns out positive for her in the end and that she is able to use her abilities where she will be appreciated.

2008 Election

I have purposely tried to not make this blog controversial, because I know people from all kinds of political, religious, income, and ethnic groups, and I just want to have a blog for people to keep track of me. I started a Facebook page, but I know a lot of people who aren't on Facebook. However, I have decided to declare what I am doing this election year and why and get it over with!

I am voting for Obama and Biden. I'm not particularly excited about them. I voted for Hillary Clinton in the primary and wasn't that excited about her either. I voted for her because she is around the same age group as me and has had many of the same issues and experiences. It was great that a woman was running. Also, things did not go so badly during the Bill Clinton presidency. There weren't a lot of wars and employment was pretty good, and he did balance the budget! I also didn't know that much about Obama.

Obama seems more in touch with the problems in this country since he has been a community activist. Biden has been around a long time and I think also is somewhat in touch with the problems in this country. The more conservative side of me feels better about an older fellow who's been around a long time, although he kind of bores me. Michele Obama, similar to Sarah Palin and Hillary, seems like a superwoman. I could never be a superwoman, so I definitely admire anyone who can be one. If I tried to be a superwoman, you would soon be visiting me at a place called Bekavac (which is the nearest funeral home!). Even though I live a healthy lifestyle and can run fairly long distances, I'm a pretty tired person.

I feel more strongly against McCain/Palin. So in a sense, I'm voting more against them than for someone. McCain first really turned me off when he came to Pittsburgh with Bush. For a fundraiser for him, people could pay $10,000 to have their picture taken with Bush. I think about 75 people in this area forked over the $10,000. I felt VERY STRONGLY I did not want to vote for the same person as people who have $10,000 to have their picture taken with Bush! It wasn't just because it was Bush. If the people had forked over $10,000 to have their picture taken with Sidney Crosby or Ben Roethlisberger, I would have been turned off.

I don't think I would have liked anyone McCain picked as a running mate. However, I really do not like Sarah Palin. I admire her achievements, but I don't like her as a vice president. I understand why McCain had to pick her. He had to do something about the Republican Party which seemed more and more to just be about rich people identified with oil companies, particularly white men. He had to do something to shake it up. It's admirable he picked someone different and a woman. However, I just don't think she would be a good vice president. First of all, she is a governor, not a senator or rep, from Alaska, and I don't think she's been many other places besides Alaska and Idaho. So I don't think she understands much about what is really going on in this country. Also, she has too many children and her stand on abortion is too conservative. Alaska and Idaho are states with wide open spaces that can support more children. However, that is not true for most of the US. This is the wrong message to send to women about having large families. There are too many people. People need to limit their family size because there aren't enough jobs and this is bad for global warming. In addition, she is still having children. What will happen if an old guy like McCain gets sick or dies in office and an inexperienced pregnant vice president takes over! I think Alaska is a very different, frontier type of state and they can support someone like Ms. Palin, but I don't think she is ready to be the most powerful leader in the world. Also, I'm really turned off by the pictures of her kneeling over a dead caribou she's just shot. This woman is just too much into guns. Guns are a huge problem in most of this country. Again, this lifestyle is probably normal in Alaska, but it sends the wrong message to the rest of the country.

One of my favorite shows is "Ice Road Truckers" and I also watch things like "Tougher in Alaska". I watch everything on TV about Alaska, northern Canada, Siberia, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Iceland, Greenland, etc., so I'm not totally ignorant about this culture. I don't know if someone who has not been OUT of this culture ever, however, is ready to lead the entire US.

As for McCain, I just think he is too much for rich people. Although he's been in Washington quite awhile, I don't know if he is in touch with the problems of real Americans to the extent Obama and Biden are. Getting back to the issue of too many children, McCain will be more likely to continue to ship off all our jobs to India, another country that encourages people to have too many children, and then many people live in misery. I like India because I like a lot of things about the Hindu religion, but they need to do something about their birth rate, and our country is going to end up in poverty and depression if all our jobs are shipped off to India. There are lots of negative things about China, but I feel better about buying things from them since they do attempt to limit their birth rate.

I'm really not sure whether things will improve with Obama and Biden but I'm afraid McCain and Palin will lead us into disaster!

September Update

I've had a busy couple of weeks. Over Labor Day weekend, I spent time up at Rector, PA. On Labor Day, I went to Keystone State Park to swim and jog. The lake was a little too cold for me by that time. I really enjoyed my jog, my brief swim, and laying out on the beach. However, I knew that was it for me for swimming in Keystone Lake!

Kimberly took time off from the University of Phoenix after Labor Day. It turned out there was a heat wave where the temperature would hover near 90 all week. We had both been wanting to go camping at Shawnee State Park. Shawnee is to the south and it was hot, so I was willing to give Shawnee Lake a try. We arrived Tuesday night, and the campground was fairly empty. Kimberly was able to find a wonderful pet lot. We had perfect weather all week, and there was enough shade to prevent the heat from being oppressive. We had campfires every night, and I was able to stick to my diet. I didn't get much sleep, however. I swam every day, and the water was still warm in Shawnee Lake. I had the lake pretty much to myself. The first day I swam has to be one of the best swims I've ever had. I also watched Angel while Kimberly swam. The next day we decided the campground was empty enough that we could leave Angel for a short time and both swim. The third day, I just swam myself. I got lots of wonderful walks and jogs in. I jogged the Lost Antler Trail and jogged clear around the lake. Shawnee is by far the best campground, and there are just enough trails for me to make regular trips there. Although it is 100 miles away, it is very easy to get to because all the roads are fast and there is little traffic. I visited the Old Log Church in Schellsburg which was built in 1806. I had not been there since I was a kid. Also, Kimberly and I visited the Buffalo Corral. I got myself a great drum for $8. It is a toy Indian drum made in China, but it really is an adequate drum for playing, so now I have a drum and I am drumming. We also chased the herd of Buffalo down along Route 30 and got to watch them.

The next morning after returning from Shawnee, I did a 5K in Charleroi. It was a very large 5K called The Little Great Race, and I really enjoyed myself and came away with all kinds of free gear. I got lots of exercise competing and beat a bunch of people who were much younger than me. I attended the health fair at Move It and Lose It after that. This is where I go for my TOPS meetings.

After recovering from all this (I'm not totally recovered because I ended up with a cold over doing too much!) I started classes at CCAC. I took my first test in Applied Anatomy and attended my first class in first aid and sports injuries. I saw some of my old friends and coworkers, but the teacher let us out early for the first class. When I came home, Kimberly had sawed up a pile of firewood and started a fire, so I played my drum by the fire before going to bed.