Barriers to Junk Food

When I got to work today there was an email from the provincial government waiting patiently in my inbox. It told me of the importance of a healthy lifestyle. One method for improving the health of Canadians is to stop stocking vending machines with junk food. Apparently this is already underway in Public Schools and Public workplaces are next.

That is great news. I have pretty bad willpower so if the vending machines down the hall are chocolate free, or better yet, stocked with healthy alternatives, I am less likely to cave in to junk food. Especially at 2:30 when the afternoon lull kicks in.

There are potentially two wrenches with this plan...at least for 4000 Seymour:

1. The cafeteria still stocks junk food (and probably will after this switch over) and is a mere 25 feet away from the main vending machines.
2. The vending machines don't actually accept twonies.

I am hopeful the healthy offering will be tasty too. If they start stocking food that tries to pass tofu off as an alternative to turkey or chocolate I may have to start a picket line. Shudder...I'm going to have tofu nightmares.

What a pill

Taking pills is one of my least favourite things to do. Fortuantely, I don't have to do so very often. I think I'd rather chew on a yucky tasting pill than swallow them. It goes back to the time when I didn't use enough water when taking a pill -- it got stuck in my throat which went unnoticed for the first hour until it started eating a hole through my throat.

As I get older and it is no longer the best option to eat a bunch of fruit (vitamin C) and hang out in the sun so it can convert the vitamin C to the much needed vitamin D, I figure I should take some vitamins. You can get a multi-vitamin which is very efficient except for the fact that one tablet is the size of a small child. Forcing one of those things down my throat is an excellent way to get more water in me but I wish they made chewable multi-vitamins for adults.

Enter kids chewable multi-vitamins. Sure, a child multi-vitamin is not the right dose, but I figure it is better than nothing. And since I got a super jumbo bottle at COSTCO, I can afford to eat 2 or 3 so it is more like an adult dose!

But what if my big girl panties are in the wash?

So, I had a root canal and a crown. Some time ago, the crown broke off at the gum line leaving no tooth exposed and virtually nothing substantial for the crown (or a new one) to stick to. My only reasonable choice was to have it removed.

Yesterday I went for a consult at a Dental Surgeons office and was signed up to have the thing pulled (or pushed as they like to call it) the next day. I got in so quickly thanks to a cancellation and the fact that I was willing to have just local freezing.

The choice to go local was pretty simple -- it is cheaper and involves less recovery time. Despite being an obvious choice, I was still a little anxious about being able to hear, and see if I wanted, all the drilling, pushing, and pulling that goes into pulling out a molar. I knew it would require some serious mind over matter to get through.

Well, today is the next day. I didn't think much about it all morning, and when it came time to leave I was in a bit of a rush. So much so there was no chance I could walk. Fortunately my car started so I drove down the hill. The free lot out front is 30-min only, but I decided it was worth the risk of getting a parking ticket if it meant I could recover some of my lost time. Besides, I used up my last twonie on a chocolate bar the day before (yes, the humour is not lost on me). I was so preoccupied by being in a rush, I hardly thought of the procedure at all.

Once I got into the room and lay down on the table, it started to sink in. I had my mp3 player with me to help me focus my thoughts on something other than all the sounds and activities going on in my mouth, but it was of little help really. I could hardly hear it over all the noise.

I settled on a song by Xavier Rudd (GBA? main chorus is "I'm Doing Fine") but I think I might have drifted off or something because I don't remember them finishing. Before I knew it, they told me it was out and they were stitching me up. I still had minor shakes and the idea of a needle and thread probably made me twitch more.

When it was all done and I was ready to go, I sat up and began reading the home care instructions. At that point, the mind over matter trick was no match and I got dizzy. I guess it was more stressful than I realized because tears started running down my face. I lay down, with a cold compress, and recovered pretty quickly. Once the colour was back in my face and I could sit up, I was able to go home.

Now, several hours later, it hurts like something I shouldn't say out loud. The fact that I also have a headache means I might actually take one of the T3's.

I'm trying really hard to be a big girl and suck it up because it was self inflicted.