Day 176: A Rant A Day Keeps The Nonsense Away !

 

Today is day 176 of Nutrisystem 2.0 and I was wide awake at shortly before 6 am. Maybe this is an indication that I'm sleeping better, since I was having trouble getting up at 7 ! It was cool last night and I didn't need the air conditioning, so that made for a quieter atmosphere to sleep in. I don't mind getting up earlier because I'd rather have a little time to relax before the work day starts.

Breakfast was waffles with sugar free syrup and a yogurt. Morning snack was a 120 calorie vanilla shake. Lunch was a chef salad & pepperoni pizza melt. Afternoon snack was cottage cheese & pineapple. Dinner was roasted turkey medallions. Evening snack .. well, it was 2 vanilla ice cream sandwiches and a lemon zest cake. Keep reading to understand why.

Yesterday I mentioned that I'm sick of the Kardashians and celebs in general. I forgot to mention that I'm also sick of the buzz around "influencers". I've never been one to follow trends or make decisions based on some so-called "celebrity" or "influencer". I feel like half the problem in the world today is people making decisions based on what their favorite celeb or influencer endorses. How about thinking for yourself ? How about spending within your means instead of paying ridiculous amounts of money for clothes, shoes, makeup and skincare. People think these rich people care about them, when in reality all they care about is themselves and how much money they can squeeze out of you. I remember when Kim Kardashian came out with her "SKKN" skincare line. I went and looked at the products and the prices were beyond ridiculous. Does anyone believe she was in the lab developing formulas and conducting testing ? Does anyone really believe Kylie Jenner does that with her makeup ? If you do, you're stupid. These products are likely being manufactured in China, where the same products are scooped out of giant vats, packaged under 100's of different names and sold at 1000% markup around the world so people like Kim and Kylie can continue to support their lavish lifestyles. Influencers are no different. They will push whatever product pays them enough attention and cash. They don't care about any of you - it's all about money. Until my recent job news, I could easily have spent money on expensive clothes, shoes, makeup and skincare .. but I found I really didn't want to. Why should I pay Kim Kardashian $150 for 1 ounce of product that I can get at Walmart for $20 ? Does anyone really ever use all the products in the palettes of makeup that people like Kylie Jenner are pushing ? Nope. They just need to have it and be able to waive it around so people know they have it. I can guarantee you neither of them even use their own products. They put them out there for the general public to lap up while they laugh all the way to the bank. I've seen Kylie's products in vending machines at an airport. That doesn't sound very luxury to me ! Another thing that irks me is people slobbering all over the LBGTQ+ community. Does anyone really believe all these huge corporations really care about diversity and inclusion ? They do not. It is all about image, public perception and "trend of the day". How about marketing to the people that are loyal to your products ? That's what companies used to do and that's how they built their brands. Companies no longer hire based on ability, they hire to pad the numbers of people that fall into the "category of the day". My own employer has embraced diverse cultures and lifestyles as long as I can remember and until recently, there was no need to trumpet that from the rooftops. Why are we forced to pander to these groups ? It just doesn't make sense. I feel like a lot of the problem is their own inferiority complexes. We've known about "gay" people forever .. but there was never a need to shine a spotlight on it. People are pushing back against it only because it is being shoved down our throats every day under the guise of being "inclusive". Guess what ? You can support them without trying to shove it down MY throat. I'm entitled to my beliefs. Nobody seems to get that. Enough said ! I'm going to continue to live my life based on what is best for me and I'm not going to fall into the trap of buying things just because some so-called celebrity or influencer is pushing it. Once life got better and I lost weight and improved my financial situation, I could afford to buy luxury goods. I've always wanted a nice everyday Michael Kors bag, yet I've never bought one. I just couldn't make myself spend hundreds of dollars for a purse ! I also thought about buying some celebrity endorsed skincare, but had the same reaction to the prices. So many young people are unhappy or struggling because they want all the luxury goods their idols are pushing but don't want to work to earn the money needed to get them. It's also the reason so many young people are in serious debt. They're chasing lifestyles that are not compatible with their income. Was I ecstatic about spending $63k for my house ? No - I'd have loved to have a $300k house, but I knew I couldn't afford it. My mortgage approval was for $125k and even though the bank thought I could afford that, I knew I could not ! People end up house poor because they go with what the bank says instead of being honest about their financial situation. I'm very lucky that the fire happened, because my house was in shambles in 2017. The laundry room had a hole in it and my furnace barely worked, so I froze all winter. The wiring was ancient and a fire hazard. It was shabby and dirty and just falling apart. I would not have been able to afford all the work that it needed, so I feel very blessed. I know how lucky I am ! How can you not be happy when your home is gutted, remodeled and furnishes at no cost to you ? People were surprised I didn't immediately put the house on the market after the renovation. Why would I do that ? I like where I live and I love my house. 

So, after this early morning rant I received my official "return to office" notification from AT&T. My life changed again .. FOR THE BETTER .. at 9:35 am ! I am considered "virtual" but have to report to the Rochester office once a month starting in September ! Well, hopefully just once a month. The letter says "a minimum of once a month". Hopefully my leadership doesn't push for more than that, given it's a 2 hour commute each way. I'm happy about this, but I'm not closing the door to new opportunities. I just don't plan on working so hard to apply for any old job because the desperation is gone. What I plan on doing is enhancing my skills using our internal training resources to make myself more marketable and go from there. I have no doubt they will continue looking for ways to get rid of us in order to reduce expenses. Needless to say, our entire team is relieved. In an ironic twist, our newest and laziest team members are located in Florida and will be required to be in the office every day. It didn't really benefit them and I know they're not happy ! Who would be ? Everyone loves working from home ! My boss also has to go the office every day. She's ok with that because before the pandemic she went to the office every day for years. I did too but I don't miss that 40 minute commute and the associated gas & parking costs. I've only ever missed the social aspect of going to the office.

6/30 edit: It's clear I am still struggling with emotional eating, whether sad or happy as I was looking for ways to "celebrate" the news with food. I ended up having 3 snacks at bedtime and took a gigantic handful of Hershey Kisses to bed with me. That's a one shot deal but still a problem !