Truth

In Order to be Truthful

In order t o be truthful
We must do more than speak the truth.
We must also hear truth.
We must also receive truth.
We must also act upon truth.
We must also search for truth.
The difficult truth.
Within us and around us.
We must devote ourselves to truth.
Otherwise we are dishonest
And our lives are mistaken.
God grant us the strength and the courage
To be truthful.

I wonder why it's so hard for people to tell the truth, and don't worry, I am including myself as one of those that has problems always telling the truth. But I don't believe that my few mistruths, avoidances, or lack of acknowledgements has hurt anyone, except for possibly me, and they tend to be rare occurances.

But everywhere I look, people are lying through their teeth without any thought of the harm it can cause. Just look at the Swift Boat people. Current military data shows that they weren't telling the truth at all, not even "from a certain point of view." Their goal was to discredit Kerry, and when they did, they spent over 100,000 at disney world celebrating. They didn't care about the truth, they didn't care about the consequences of their actions, they didn't care about anything except their own political goals and ambition.

And then, how about our government. Even if you agree with their politics, you have to be a little concered about the lies that they have spread. How about leaking the identity of a CIA agent (oh wait, it wasn't classified, so there for it's okay). Or lying about the situation in Iraq, not giving people armor or food while halliburton is making tons of money. If you want to know the truth about the Iraq situation go here http://www.optruth.org/index.php. An Iraq Vet set this up. As much as I don't agree with him on a lot of things, I have come to totally respect him and trust him to give me the truth about what's going on in Iraq.

But it just seems hard for anyone to tell the truth. One friend mentioned reading "Speaker for the Dead" so I just had to reread it. And the whole concept of the book is about truth. Telling the truth, speaking the truth, acknowledging the truth (and not running around saying global warming doesn't exist...it does and probably more scientists agree on this theory than practically any theory out there in the world.") and accepting the truth. I wish to live like that (which I why I have to say I don't believe in faeries. In truth, they don't exist. Sorry) I wish all people cared enough about the truth to try to always be truthful. I wish, sigh, I wish a lot of things.

Change of topic

Everyone is being serious today. Proof? Go to Shawn's, Shannon's, or Mongoose's pages. Network Neutrality. It's a good thing. I wrote to my congresswoman (when I first heard the story, a while ago.).

Let's change topics, 3 times

Number 1
How to Sleep Well - by Michael Leuing

"Good Pyjamas: Good Sleep"
so goes the old saying, yet many
people do not understand the
vital significance of pyjamas in
the acheivement of deep and
restful sleep.

Sleeping is a religious activity: a holy
communion with the inner world of dreams
and darkness. The appropriate ceremonial
attire is important for a smooth
passage into the land of nod.

Essentially, pyjamas must feel

comfortable and look ridiculous.

Wearing them is a ritualistic
renunciation of the conscious,
external world: the world of
looking good and feeling stressed.

As we approach the cot, pyjama
clad, the ludicrous self is
proclaimed, triumphant and free.
The vestments of the outer
world like cast off and crumpled
on the floor.

We look soft and child-like; inept
and shambling; primitive and funny.
The pyjama fabric droops like tired
old elephant skin. The buttons
are done up in the wrong holes.
The trousers are hitched up nearly
to the armpits. The cuffs wag
above the ankles.

One side of the coat is tucked in,
the other side hangs out. We have
no place in the "real" world looking
like this! We are the stuff that
dreams are made of. What freedom!
What peace! What blessed relief!
" Good Pyjamas: Good Sleep."


Number 2
How to be of Value - By Michael Leunig

Stare into a bucket of water until your reflection appears.
Then gently pour the reflection out onto the ground.
Soon it will evaporate
and become a cloud.
Then it will rain
and you will be a part of the great cycle of refreshment and growth.



Number 3
Prayer for Friends - By Michael Leunig

We give thanks for our friends.
Our dear friends.
We anger each other.
We fail each other.
We share this sad earth, this tender life, this precious time.
Such richness. Such wildness.
Together we are blown about.
Together we are dragged along.
All this delight.
All this suffering.
All this forgiving life.
We hold it together.

Done

Although I graduated on Sat, and could offically put the MPH after my name (doesn't that have a nice ring to it), I wasn't completely done. This morning I had a final, my one and only final. Ignoring this final, I was actually done last tuesday. But no, I had to take a final. It was easy. Some of the questions were hard to figure out, since the person who wrote it was the TA ( or in Berkeley speak, GSI - Graduate Student Instructor) and english is her second language. Now mind you , I am not ragging on her. Her english is much better than my spanish. I wouldn't even consider trying to write a test in spanish. However, the teacher should have taken some leadership and proofread the test to make sure that the english is proper so all of us in the class can understand what the questions meant. This class was taught in english after all. Oh, well. I answered everything, I took 1 1/2 hours of the available three hours,and...........I am done. I have no more class work to do. I don't have to study any more.

What a lot of work these past two years have been. I think I put more work into this last single year, than I did for my entire undergraduate degree. And of course, I couldn't skimp. Nope, not me. I needed 48 units to graduate (semester units for those Davis people out there) I have 66. Not once did I take less that 15 units a semester. Sigh, I do like torturing myself. And, to think , I am considering a DrPh. The description is so cool. The program is designed for people who want to be professionals, not academics. I quote, from the berkeley website, "Specifically, the proposed Leadership Program will combine traditional academic preparation with practical leadership training to form a bridge for academic-practice collaboration. Upon completing this Leadership Program, students will be prepared to assume leadership roles nationally and globally throughout the public health system to improve the health of communities, reduce health disparities, develop the health and public health infrastructure, and serve diverse populations." Doesn't that sound exactly like what I want to do??

But don't you all worry. They want, at least, two years post-master's degree experience in the real world before they accept you. Then, if I get in, I have taken all of the required class. I would need to take 48 units over 3 or 4 years, but that is nothing compared to what I have done over the past 2 years. And, here's the kicker, there's funding. I would get paid to do this and I wouldn't pay tuition. I wouldn't have to go into debt, or at least high amounts of debt to do this program and I would get a doctorate. So I wouldn't be such a horrible, anti-social, lock myself into a closet person. I wouldn't have to put so much of my life on hold like I have been doing for the past two years. Although, you all would have to put up with my studing for orals during sewing circle, if that is still going on in 5 years.

But, that is in the future. For now, I have three letters after my name and all I need is a job. I'll get one, no worries. And, for those that forgot I existed during the past two years, I can get my social life back on track,once again.

And I should also say, thanks to everyone for your support. I couldn't have survived without the knowledge that my friends and family were behind me 100% and that you respected my decision to do this and the fact that it changed the nature of our relationships. You were there when I needed you (and I hope to do the same in the future for others.)

C.L., MPH

It's Official

C. Loehr, M.P.H.

The Trans-fat Loophole

This is something I wrote for one of my classes yesterday. So just in case you are interested in the type of things that I have been studying - here is something you can read - it's all about trans-fat.

Don’t you just love all of the nutrition information and fads these days? One day low fat diets are good for you, then they aren’t. For a while, carbohydrates were the worst thing to eat, now they are good and Dr. Atkin’s, who started the low-carb diet, has declared bankruptcy.

And then there are trans-fats. Over the years, advice regarding trans-fats has been confusing at best. Recently, the FDA has finally entered the fray, trying sort out the data and keeping the public informed by updating the nutrition guidelines and implementing new regulations for nutrition labeling, but they haven’t done enough. The new labeling laws leave plenty of wiggle room for food manufacturers and the FDA must implement stronger regulations that allow consumers to make informed decisions about what to eat.

Trans-fats are one type of fat that are almost totally artificial. They are in all types of food ranging from margarine, oils, potato chips, crackers, t.v. dinners, microwave popcorn, donuts, and cookies. If you eat at McDonald’s, or any fast food restaurant, be prepared for a large dose of it in anything fried, especially those lovable french fries.

For years we have been told that trans-fats are good for you and that they should be your replacement for other fats. But, oddly enough, there was no data supporting this recommendation. An analysis of current research allows us to state, with reasonable certainty, that trans-fats are not just bad for you, they are worse for you than any other kind of fat. Unlike saturated fats (a natural fat found in coconut oils, breast milk and other sources), trans-fats don’t just increase the bad cholesterol in your body but lower your good cholesterol as well. A double whammy from one ingredient. Bad cholesterol leads to coronary heart disease (CHD) which can lead to death. In fact, the American Heart Association estimates that 1 out of every 5 deaths in the United States is caused by CHD. Trans-fats have also been linked to an increased risk of type 2 diabetes and possibly, just possibly, may interfere with the growth and development of fetuses and children.

Due to the abundance of evidence that trans-fats are unhealthy, the FDA decided to implement some changes. As of January 1^st, 2006, all food products must now include the amount of trans-fats on their nutrition label. Now isn’t that great? All we have to do is look at the label, choose the products that are trans-fat free and, viola, we live happy, healthy lives. Right? Well, not quite. There is a loophole in the law. If a product has less then 0.5 grams of trans-fat in a serving, then the product can be labeled as trans-fat free, even though there are trans-fats in the food.

Admittedly, less than 0.5 grams of trans-fats doesn’t sound like a lot, so why should we care? At lot of little bits can add up to a lot. The FDA recommends eating as few trans-fats as possible and even Tommy Thompson, when he was secretary of Health and Human Services, suggested people should limit their trans-fat intake to 2 grams per day or less. There is some evidence that suggests eating 5 or more grams of trans-fat a day makes you 25% more likely to develop CHD. When you add up a few servings with 0.4 grams of trans-fats (labeled as 0 grams of trans-fat), you begin to really make a dent in the recommended 2 grams. With the current regulations, you’ll never know how much trans-fat you’re eating.

We should commend the FDA for taking steps toward informing the American citizens about trans-fat, but it’s time for them to go further. The labeling laws need to be adjusted so the American public has access to accurate information about trans-fat. The new regulations must include the following changes:

1. A product can not say they are trans- fat free, or that they have 0 grams of trans-fat, unless there is no trans-fats at all in their product.

2. If there is less than 0.2 grams per serving, then the nutrition label needs to say <0.2 style=""> labeled.

These regulations should cause little hardship to manufacturers since they are already required to include the amount of trans-fats on their nutrition label. However, this will help the American public make informed choices for themselves and their families.

Bikram Yoga

You know, there is a certain type of person that puts themsleves through hell on purpose, and I have friends that are trying really hard to turn me into one of them. What is hell you ask (especially coming from someone that doesn't believe in heaven and hell because she lost all imagination when she learned the scientific method at the age 2)? Well, I tell you. Imagine yoga..good ol' wonderful stretchy yoga. Then add about 50 other people and a hot room, and you have bikram yoga.

Now when I say a hot room, I don't mean the ballet room with 20 people in it on a 110 degree day in Davis. No. No, no. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. I mean a room, where even though the temperature outside is in the 50's or 60's, is kept above 90 with a heater. Then you add the people and then you add the yoga.

I mean a room where I sweat within the first two poses. Now mind you, this means something.I am one of those types of people that don't sweat all that much. I have done 5k runs in less than a half hour (hard work) with barely breaking a sweat. When I swing dance, i never have to change shirts because I rarely get wet. If I do have drops of liquid on my clothes, it's almost always someone else sweat (some icky guy's).

In this room, my shirt was completely soaked within the first 20 minutes. And, here's the kicker, I sat out for most of the first half of the class. When I stood up, I felt dizzy. Every time I new pose came around, I stood up, tried it, and sat down. My head just wouldn't settle.

Once things changed to the sitting poses, I was fine. Actually, I was great. With the heat, my muscles totally loosened up, and I was able to lie flat on my legs (stomach touching my legs and elbows on the ground) and other poses that I usually need to warm up a bit to do. AH, but I was warm. Way too freakishly warm. Way too freakishly hot. Way too sweaty, hot, tired, and loose. And I actually feel kind of good, now that it's an hour later.

Will I do it again? Um, I have to. I bought an unlimted pass for a month. First timer's special. $16 for a drop in lesson, $29 for one month unlimited. Just one more attempt at killing myself, and the monthly pass will have paid for itself. Remind me again why I paid for this. :-)

What were they thinking?

It's 3:30am, I am doing the references for a group paper (don't ask) and I see an author named David Davies. Who the hell would do that to their kid? Why would you do that to your kid? Stupid people.