Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Back to School

Next monday sees me returning back to School,which for the most part I am desperate to return to.I have a lot of adjusting to do as last semester saw me overworked,overstressed and over achieving..........so I have to try and contain the study to certain times and give myself a care free day off,otherwise I can see that I will have no hair left.(I had a stressful week last week and it started to come out again,but only a little)Anyways ,moving on from my ailments of which sometimes are too many ,and oh so dull.............

So next semester is the start of getting a little more intensive on the Chinese Subject side rather than the Western Medicine side,so I am hoping that it will be alot more motivating for me.That is not to say that I havent found the Western Med subjects fascinating,more the chemistry side of things! Hoorah no more!
I have just purchased the biggest book on Clinincal medicine and opened it up! Its pretty impressive.Pathology is impressive ,but its also scary! Hmmmmmm...perhaps I should look at all these big unknown words as exciting! The only problem is that the only chance I will ever get to use them is when talking to a doctor or others interested in clinical meds.........its not like you can just drop it into a conversation or display your talent on a wall! ..........hmpf.
BUT BUT BUT..........i will start needling next semester and performing moxabustion and dermal hammering and cupping and bleeding and,and ,and!
So I will keep you posted on all of that!
I am just posting a link Acupuncture. Whats good for you! for you guys to watch.......the link is at the top and not easy to see but the video is quite interesting although basic,but ,anything to promote the cause.
I am also doing critical research skills next semester so perhaps I wll start boring you all with that too.

Day 16?????

I am in this very moment being gripped by a craving for a ciggie! My mind is rabid with thoughts of popping to the shops to buy a packet and smoke one! BUT never fear..........I wont..............its day 16?
Why the question mark I hear you say.....well........ermmmmmm......technically I havent booted the habit completely.I have had about 6 cigarettes in the last 8 days.I could say it was because I have had a highly stressful week,(and I have) but I really dont want to use that as an excuse as to why I smoked but I did and I feel crappy about it! I did say fromt he start that i would be happy to indulge from time to time and I guess 6 ciggies out of the 300 I would have usually smoked is great,but somehow as is always my way I feel i have let myself down.But I havent have I really??I guess I should be patting myself on the back for having achieved this at all.But everyone around me gives off waves of disappointment rather than encouragement and this saddens me a little.It feels to me like the fact that I had a ciggie at all is like I have failed,but in part ,I feel like there is no failure ,just an honest desire to get healthier and trying my best I am certainly not smoking full-time and my most vulnerable time is after finishing work at night,or if I have a coffee,so I am working with that.
I feel better for being a mostly non-smoker....or whatever you would call me now!

Water ! Water!

Water or Coke?
Having been a very big fan of coke for many years(God Bless my insides) I have on many occasions treated it like an addiction.I have tried to give it up and go without.Sometimes on a very hot day I will have one but after reading this I think not~~ I havent had a coke for a while now due to my new love of soda water with ginger cordial! You see I dont think its the coke I really am addicted to but its the fizz,the bubbles and the way they fill my mouth with excitement and it quenches my thirst so well!
After reading this I really felt I should try and drink more water too~I hope you find this as interesting as I did.


WATER

#1. 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated.
(Likely applies to half the world population.)


#2. In 37% of Americans, the thirst mechanism is so weak
that it is mistaken for hunger.


#3. Even MILD dehydration will slow down one's metabolism as 3%.



#4. One glass of water will shut down midnight hunger pangs
for almost 100% of the dieters studied in a University of
Washington study.


#5. Lack of water, the #1 trigger of daytime fatigue.


#6. Preliminary research indicates that 8-10 glasses of
water a day could significantly ease back and joint pain
for up to 80% of sufferers.



#7. A mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term
memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on
the computer screen or on a ! printed page.


#8. Drinking 5 glasses of water daily decreases the risk of
colon cancer by 45%, plus it can slash the risk of breast
cancer by 79%., and one is 50% less likely to develop
bladder cancer. Are you drinking the amount of water
you should drink every day?



COKE

#1. In many states the highway patrol carries
two gallons of Coke in the trunk to remove blood from
the highway after a car accident.



#2. You can put a T-bone steak in a bowl of Coke
and it will be gone in two days.


#3. To clean a toilet: Pour a can of Coca-Cola into the
toilet bowl and let the "real thing" sit for one hour,
then flush clean. The citric acid in Coke removes
stains from vitreous china.



#4. To remove rust spots from chrome car bumpers:
Rub the bumper with a rumpled-up piece of Reynolds
Wrap aluminum foil dipped in Coca-Cola.


#5. To clean corrosion from car battery terminals: Pour
a can of Coca-Cola over the terminals to bubble
away the corrosion.



#6. To loosen a rusted bolt: Apply a cloth soaked in Coca-Cola
to the rusted bolt for several minutes.



#7. To bake a moist ham: Empty a can of Coca-Cola into
the baking pan, wrap the ham in aluminum foil, and bake.
Thirty minutes before ham is finished, remove the foil, allowing the drippings to mix
with the Coke for a sumptuous brown gravy.



#8... To remove grease from clothes: Empty a can of Coke
into the load of greasy clothes, add detergent, and run
through a regular cycle. The Coca-Cola will help loosen
grease stains. It will also clean road haze from your
windshield.


FOR YOUR INFORMATION:

#1.
the active ingredient in Coke is phosphoric acid.
It will dissolve a nail in about four days. Phosphoric
acid also leaches calcium from bones and is a major
contributor to the rising increase of osteoporosis.

#2. To carry Coca-Cola syrup! (the concentrate) the
commercial trucks must use a hazardous Material place
cards reserved for highly corrosive materials.

#3. The distributors of Coke have been using it to clean
engines of the trucks for about 20 years!



Now the question is, would you like a glass of water?

or Coke?

Tuesday, February 06, 2007

Booting the habit....Day 5



Okay! I major shift in my world! I have not had a smoke for 5 days.
This is a pretty amazing thing for me as I havent gone a day without a ciggie in 17 years.
This is a decision that I am completely in control of.I decided the time was right to give it a go and here I am 5 days down the track! It feels like a lifetime and in the same instance alot easier than I anticipated.
Day one and two have been the easiest so far.Day 3 was a nightmare!I managed to have a fight with the lady in the local shop over the price of a Peppermint Freddo Frog and felt like a deep dark hole would gobble me up if I didnt smoke a ciggie.Of course it didnt but in the mean time I stole one of my bosses smokes just in case it did ! The cigarette is still sitting in my work apron 2 days later!Day 4 and 5 are better but I have spent much time negotiating with myself,planning when and where I might have a ciggie if I was to,telling myself that once in a while one smoke would be okay!I could be a social smoker surely?? or if not even that a smoke once or twice a week would be okay.......Its such a powerful drug!!!
Fortunately I have a few really supportive friends who have called me quite a few times to talk with me through the tough times ........one who has never smoked and one who gave up a few months ago but has the occasional.Its those calls that mean a heap to me.This is a strange new territory for me and I feel strangely disconnected from myself! I am so used to having a ciggie in my hand that I am not entirely sure who ths girl is that has not had a puff for 5 days........there are limitless possibilitie that open up in my head when I think about being a non-smoker and they are all so positive.
I have been really careful to not replace the cigs with any food! I think it would be easy to stuff in chocolate and all sorts of crap in an attempt to fill the hole ,but I really dont want to gain any weight and this is the time to forge new routines not just replace the old ways with another unhealthy addiction.Anyways I cant go into my local shop to buy Freddo Frogs anymore so I guess that I must have subconciously sabotaged that one!
So my way of thinking at the moment is TODAY I AM NOT SMOKING ..........
lets just see how it goes