Cult Update - Back on the Wagon!

Ok, so secretly I'd hoped this week's loss would be 4 lbs to help offset last week's gain, but I guess I'll have to settle for 2.2 lbs, which is two of these:

My Lost Nickname

I don't even watch Lost and yet I was sucked in by Laughing at the Pieces and just had to go find out what Sawyer's (whoever that is) nickname for me would be. Apparently, it would be "Picasso." Which I kind of like. So feel free to use it.

Find our yours here.

Time to Toss the Teflon

Ok, so you've probably (hopefully) heard that Teflon is not good for humans (or birds, actually).

I'd heard it, too. But I have to admit, while most of our pots and pans are anodized steel, I hadn't quite gotten around to ditching a few non-stick ones. But they're getting tossed. Today.

Here's why:
#1: Named a "likely carcinogen" by the EPA, C8 has been linked to cancer, reproductive disorders, birth defects, and respiratory problems.

#2: "A new study from Italy seems to indicate that C8 migrates into food from Teflon more easily than estimated by U.S. scientists. Although PFOA or perfluorooctanoic acid can be found in the blood of most people in very small amounts, it's been claimed for some time that Teflon was not significant contributor to human exposure. It's also been thought that C8 migration into food from Teflon coated products was most likely to occur once the cookware had been damaged in some way or when the coating began to degrade. The new findings seem to fly in the face of those old claims."

For more info, go here:
http://www.ohiocitizen.org/campaigns/dupont_c8/dupont_c8.html

Wrist Update

Well, I saw the surgeon this morning and he's very pleased with my progress. He thinks if I stick with the PT a little longer (which I was planning to), I can probably can back another 5 degrees in range of motion--doesn't sound like a lot, but that will bring me pretty close to a full recovery.

In terms of strength (I have almost none), he said that will definitely come back. The barrier to getting strength back is when there's pain in the joint that's preventing you from using it, but I'm not having any pain.

I'm planning to go to my first yoga class since the accident one night this week. I think yoga will play a big factor in both getting back that last bit of range of motion and in building the strength back up.

And, in perhaps the best news, I don't need to see the surgeon again. (I say "best," because while I love this guy, my calendar is pretty full of follow-up doctor's appointments these days, so it's nice to have one I can cross off the list!)

True Confession

I am a compulsive reader. I mean compulsive. I mean, if you put written material in front of me, I have to read it. You know how experts are always mentioning the information bombardment we're all under and how we all are "exposed" to a ridiculous number of ads in a day? Well, for most people, "exposed" means they walk by the billboard--I actually read the ad copy.

In my vocational and leisure reading, I am capable of being fairly discerning. But if I'm in a situation where I have nothing to read with me, anything is fair game. Yes, I am the person on the subway reading your newspaper or magazine over your shoulder, or from across the car. Even though I never take the free morning papers (AM and Metro) being hawked at the subway entrance, I still read the headlines as I walk by. I can't help it.

And so. This morning I was on the PATH uncharacteristically listening to my iPod rather than reading. Which means I had idle eyes. Which naturally wandered over to the magazine the woman sitting next to me was flipping through.

Of course I realize that when you are reading over someone's shoulder, you really don't have any rights regarding the page-turning rate. And that's fine. I'm happy to read half a page. I'll still get the gist.

But.

This woman wasn't reading. She was flipping. Now you'd think, at the rate she was flipping, it was some ad- and photo-heavy mag, like Cosmo or Vanity Fair. But it wasn't. It was Fortune magazine. "Oooh, look, an article about Melinda Gates" (I'm thinking)--FLIP. "Farming in Brazil!" (I told you, I'm not discerning in these circumstances) FLIP. "The New Business of Giving!" FLIP. She flipped all the way through the magazine.

And then. This is the part that really killed me: she flipped through it again...BACKWARDS. She paused only rarely, usually to read an ad. And then started again from the beginning. I was repeatedly tantalized by headlines and snippets of text that had caught my attention, but powerless to do anything about it. I was actually close to asking her if I could have the damn magazine since she obviously wasn't going to read it. It made me crazy. It made me realize that I'm crazy. And it made me realize I need to go out and buy the current issue (God, I hope it's the current issue) of Fortune magazine.

Bummer!

Well, I just had my weigh-in and I gained back this (2 lbs):



Not really a surprise, as last weekend was, shall we say, very SOCIAL.

Oh well. One of the many brilliant things about this plan is that every week you get a clean slate. So I'm back on the wagon!

Thoroughly Stupid Things

No, that's not the summary of my weekend activities.

It's the name of my friend's show, which we saw Friday night and which was HILARIOUS. It's a sequel to Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest." I wasn't sure what to expect because, less face it, it's pretty ballsy to try to top Oscar Wilde.

The show is thoroughly funny, thoroughly clever, and thoroughly silly. The cast is amazing, the direction is deft and it is just overall a great night of theatre.

And the good news is, you can still catch it. It's playing through this Saturday at the Source (although Saturday is already Sold Out).

Interested? You can buy tickets here: http://www.theatresource.org/