Of Anniversaries, Awareness and Resolutions

I realized that in a few days, I will be celebrating my tenth anniversary of becoming a vegetarian.
I do admit that it has not been easy for me, nor has it been easy for my friends and family members whom have been subjected to this (and for those whom tolerated it, thank you).

That being said, when I first started, it was not easy for myself, either. Growing up, I used to always fight my father for the last piece of steak or bowl of pork stew. While I have come a long way since then, I have since come to realize how many mundane food items contain animal bi-products, such as marshmallows for gelatin, certain seasonings for MSG, certain fast-food chains due to their use of lard in their deep fryers... I honestly do forget once in a while and buy something that does have these, such as a box of granola bars or a can of soup, or (most recently discovered) a box of Pop Tarts.

Pop Tarts use gelatin as a preservative in one of their ingredients. I honestly do not see why the use of gelatin is needed when a substitute such as pectin (a type of wax and stabilizer) could be used, especially when pectin could be processed at a cheaper level than gelatin, additionally since major pantry-related items such as pastries that have a long shelf life need an animal product introduced when the majority of the food products they produce do not expressly deal with a animal bi-product of their food counterparts, possibly even shortening the preservative status of the natural ingredients by fostering a new area to form bacterial growth.

Perhaps I am being too verbose in that description; What I mean to say is, why should they add a foreign ingredient in their list of ingredients than that could be a more natural inclusion of their food products, causing potentially more health-related issues with bacterial growth, thus also possibly extending the shelf life and lowering costs (both in production costs and shelf life)?

Not to mention the whole Pink Slime fiasco.

While I am on this topic, I have recently realized how many bi-products in general are added into our everyday groceries: high-fructose corn syrup for confectioner's glaze and fruit juice such as orange juice (as opposed to natural sugar), added sodium and acids to food products that are already naturally salty and acidic, preservatives being added to food that is frozen...

While I do admit that there is some practicality in putting these additives to common food items, I honestly think that some corporations that make these products need to draw a line somewhere. After all, this might be the reason why some individuals lead a healthier lifestyle and have reduced health problems, such as the recent study regarding Amish children having reduced problems with allergies and asthma. While this could also be attributed to their solitary lifestyle devoid of technology (and associated pollution that comes with it), I think there is some logic to be had in regards to their dietary regimen.

Not saying that there are some things that I feel that could be abolished. After all, I still feel raw milk should be pasteurized, and food should be cooked to kill off harmful bacteria (sorry raw vegan foodists, I think your lifestyle is a tad extreme for your own good).

Yum! Silicon Dioxide!

Granted, perhaps I am being a tad vainglorious in my assessment of the food additives I ingest, but unless you are dealing with raw ingredients, it is almost impossible to find any off-the-shelf food item that does not have some combination of gelatin, high-fructose corn syrup, MSG, silicon dioxide or acid, or some other popular additive I might have missed.

Listen, I understand the whole Sigma-Six Lean thinking when it comes to food corporations trying to turn a dime, but there is a  fine line between being efficient and being corrupt. Of course, by stating that there is a fine line, I actually mean a big, fat line that is miles in thickness, and said corporations are magnitudes outside that circle.

Perhaps I am overestimating the ramifications of this, but considering what we have been experiencing with corrupt corporations and the public outcry that resulted in their oversight of the ill-structured Occupy Movement and Tea Party. While these movements are well-meaning, not to sound cliché, but an army without a General is bound to fail in their attempts to lead a successful battle, and many of the concerns I had addressed early on in the formation of the Occupy Movement here in Seattle (such as sanitation issues) have come to fruition.

While the Tea Party claims they have leaders, I personally feel that their caliber of "qualified" candidates are rather poor (not financially, but in moral and ethical standing) and are counter-progressive. By counter-progressive, I mean counter-progressive overall, not just for the fact of being counter-progressive towards those liberal Dems.

Just look at their leaders: You have Sarah Palin, Jim DeMint, Ron Paul, Glenn Beck, Ann Coulter, and Michele Bachmann-- essentially the Tea Party is supporting a group of six people that are ultimately con-Tea Party philosophy in which the candidates have no vested interest in helping their common man, yet have aligned themselves with the Tea Party to ultimately destroy a potential third-party in a two-party system.

This could be addressed as politics in any situation, but considering the Tea Party's initiative to keep big brother out of their business as much as possible and to reduce taxes as much as possible (which is laughable since taxes have been at their lowest since the tax system has been introduced (at least in terms of the highest tax bracket).

I feel this kid could do better than any of those people... combined.

If any of the people in that list were to gain an actual political position of power, I believe that we would be thrown into an unnecessary war due to religious, racial, or political shortfalls of the people listed above (thus potentially driving up taxes and increasing our national deficit even further) while neglecting the true problems of America (such as our transportation infrastructure falling apart, inflation outpacing cost-of-living expenditures, our crumbling education system, continued support of the largely unsuccessful War on Drugs campaign, the War on Women, civil liberties of common people being trampled on by lobbyists and self-interests... the list goes on extensively).

Ahh, the joys of politics.

If the Tea Party and the Occupy Movement weren't so self-centered and misguided in their own beliefs, I feel the both of them could assemble and create a super-conglomerate and force those jackasses on Capitol Hill to pull their heads out of their butts, quit getting us in wars that aren't ours to fight, tell any future "Too Big to Fail" companies (especially those that aren't U.S.-based) to eat shit if they're hoping for hand-outs, cut back on the R&D section of our military spending and reallocate it to an actual R&D department that has been doing it since the Cold War (hint: it's NASA, the program that we cut out that was pivotal in most technological advancements the U.S. experienced since, well, when NASA was first formed), and actually do something that will make said politicians idolized centuries after their passing as great humanitarians of their time, rather than a few years of being remembered as the intolerant, bigoted politicians that were only out for themselves that they were, and then forgotten in the annuls of history and only venerated by well-vested historians in their studies of American demagogues.

Of course, this is just me being overly-optimistic of the whole political process. A guy can dream, can't he?

As for my overall New Years resolutions, progress has been slow, but steady. I am still currently unemployed, but I am gaining headway in terms of getting my act together. I am hoping that some major advancements in my social functions will land me a position in the next few weeks. Things will be significantly escalated in terms of the job search, as I am determined to get at least three interviews before the month is up (though I will not stop at three once I get to that number).

At least I finally got a straight answer from one of the recruiting agencies I applied to that they have absolutely no interest of hiring me in the immediate or foreseeable future. Their reasoning behind that, however, was complete bunk by saying that they had no positions to be filled by my level of expertise, but yet I find a position I could easily fill at least once a week through their site. Just as well, as I have found that direct conversation to potential employers leads to immediate results, rather than this company, which has wasted about six months of my time. I will not go into details beyond this, but any bias I now harbor towards recruiting agencies is now warranted; I will still use their services, but they will be a small part of the equation.

Sadly, I have not been this leisurely in the job search

Even though I have not seen any significant reduction in terms of weight loss, I have been going on long walks where I average around five miles or more, and usually do these walks two or three times a week (for the record, these walks are not gingerly pacing down a street at a leisurely pace, but more of what I could define as a "hike", in which I am doing probably a mile in fifteen minutes or less). My current record is around fifteen miles, and that number is growing every time I push myself.

That being said, I'm not losing this damned belly, but I'm at least starting to show some tone. That, and I've explored more of Seattle and some of the surroundings than most people have living their entire lives living here, so I cannot say that it has been time wasted.

As for any romantic ventures since I have started this new chapter of my life, I cannot say anything new has popped up as of yet (in my defense, though the Seattle Freeze is not quite as bad as the Wyoming Shut-Out, it still takes time to develop associations and the friendships that grow from them).

As for my novel, my priorities have been slightly skewed in relation to the whole job search and keeping my skill sets fairly top-notch for when someone actually gets around to hiring me. I was actually thinking about figuring out which dark corner of my hard drive I stored that and writing a few pages for progress in my resolutions. However, I will say that it has taken a back-seat in relation to a few other projects that have come up to show my expertise as to why people should hire me, so I do not feel as though my negligible involvement in regards to this for other projects are poorly spent.

That being said, I think this is a fairly lengthy post has summarized my progress, however how mundane and pointless it may seem to some, in relation to how I choose to live life. In short, life has become worth living since I've been here, and even though I have experienced some hardships, I have never been more alive, right here and right now.