Update XVII: I Ate The Strawberry (The REAL, AUTHENTIC Update)

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

Actually, last night for supper, I had a roast beef dinner with a baked potato, corn, ranch style beans, and a lettuce and cheese salad

A burger and fries is beef, cheese, lettuce, wheat, potatoes. Corn is a grain equiv to wheat.

So basically you had a burger and fries with beans on it. Congrats on eating less healthier than usually. I can't imagine how many servings you had, too.

Why are you attacking me for potatoes when you yourself recommended a steak with MASHED POTATOES from Texas Roadhouse over Labor Day weekend?  Plus, you said a complete meal is better than a burger and fries and now you're attacking me over a complete meal.  You have no credibility left with me.  I am no longer listening to anything you have to say.

I'm guessing that King isn't encroaching on the 300 lb marker.  He should have a heck of a lot more credibility in your mind than you do (which is quite sad).  King didn't just recommend steak and mashed potatoes; anyone with some basic problem solving skills could realize that if he wants you to stop eating fries, you shouldn't go around eating mashed potatoes instead.  You need to cut the starches way down.  I would've advised against potatoes entirely, but he's still way more credible in the nutrition realm than the 250+ pound guy who can't stop eating crap.

Lunch time.  Today is going really well.  I've finished the project I was working on the last few days and now I'm helping one of my coworkers with his project due to the time critical nature of this project.  We need to get out this transmitted by tomorrow, so we're having to finish it up today.  My part is fairly simple, but requires a lot of math and critical thinking and problem solving.

Do you honestly consider yourself good at those things?

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

On the weight, I am not encroaching on 300 lbs, either.  I may be a lot closer to it than King, but I'm backing away from 300 lbs slowly but surely.  I'm down to 280 lbs and have my sights set even lower.

Weren't you in the 270s a week or so ago?

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Your life expectancy is also old fashioned.  If you'd like to go by 1930 ideals, then good luck with your death before you turn 60 (and with your health, you won't even make it close to that).  It's one thing to go off your diet, but you do it regularly for such lame excuses.  So your grandmother made a big deal... you tell her that you want small portions and refuse more.  Tell her that you're morbidly obese and don't want to die of a heart attack at the age of 40.  If she thinks that's stupid, then tell her that it's your life, and you want to live a long life.  It would be one thing if you actually tried to make up for your eating habits, but you don't even exercise.  If you truly had to eat that meal, you could've at least gone for a couple mile walk after.

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I didn't say you were dumb.  I think you seriously lack critical thinking skills and the ability to problem solve.  You wouldn't be in most of the situations you've been in if you had those skills.  And no, you don't "mostly make very good decisions."  People who mostly make very good decisions do not end up being morbidly obese single 32-year-olds with thousands of dollars of debt and still dependent on their parents who moonlight as scam artists.  You've made bad decisions physically, financially, and morally... if you don't see that, you're in denial.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

If your grandmother cared about you, she'd respect that you'd need to change your eating habits.

It goes both ways.

No, that's not really fair either. I honestly don't believe people in Oklahoma know what garbage they consume in virtually all of their meals. I'm sure his grandma wanted to make him a tasty meal. I doubt she knows what's healthy and what isn't. It's a way of life that only education (and the will to be educated) can solve.

Now, you're calling my grandmother dumb.  Good job for insulting an 88-year-old lady who knows much more about healthy cooking than you do.  I hope you are proud of yourself.

You are all acting like uneducated, spoiled children by insulting and viciously attacking fellow human beings.  I am coming out of this looking like the adult here.

Jeff, do you think your grandmother thinks you are healthy?  If the answer is no, then why would she feed you stuff that will contribute to your weight gain?  If the answer is yes, then she's contradicting your doctors and probably 99%+ of doctors around the world.

I haven't been in the 270s in several months.  I have a goal of being in the 270's before long, but I haven't quite achieved it, yet.

So you've plateaued at roughly 280 then, which if history tells us anything (I know you'll say it doesn't, but you say that every time), once you plateau, it's only a matter of time before you begin gaining weight again.

Bushie, if your grandma made a bowl of cooked spinach on Sunday, would you have eaten it?

I doubt she would have cooked that, because she knows I don't like it.  But, if set before me, I would choke it down somehow, with probably 3 or 4 glasses of tea.

So do you acknowledge that instead of making healthy meals, she cooks to your liking?  And just because it's healthier than Braum's doesn't mean it's healthy, especially when you eat as large of portions as you do.

Why is it considered a "challenge" to avoid ice cream and fries for a month?  Seriously, nothing could be easier, right?

Honestly, I don't remember the last time I had either.  I had a Klondike bar a few weeks ago, but it's been a while since I had fries.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

HD, I always stay in the office for lunch and have either a block of Ramen or a Mac and cheese cup.  It's not a gourmet lunch and I am usually starving by the time I get off of an evening, but they're low on calories and don't cost me anything more than what I pay at the store.  I need to find some variety, but I don't know good and fast alternatives.  I only have 30 minutes for lunch.

They may be low calories, but they're empty calories, and they're packed with sodium.

In one block of chicken flavored ramen noodles you have 70% of what you should eat in a day for sodium and 34% of what you should eat in saturated fat (assuming a 2000 calorie diet).

You need to learn how to cook... bring some pasta from home and heat it up in the microwave.  That'd be way healthier than ramen noodles.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

Plans changed at the last minute.  We had pizza instead.

Homemade or delivery?  And no, Digornio is not homemade (and I'm guessing if you got chain pizza, you had it delivered).

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

Did you get that pretzel crust hot and ready pizza they have??

I do want to try that once, to see if it's any good.  I haven't had Little Caesar's in a long time.  They opened a Cottage Inn by my house, and that's definitely my preferred pizza, although there's a family run place that we get pizza from as well.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

Bacon and eggs, and pancakes are generally separate menu items. But that's okay, friend! Enjoy your moderate supper )))

A lot of places have combos like that. Bushie's not way out of line here; however, he probably should take it easy on stuff like that.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

Half a cup of syrup for two pancakes?!?! Holy cow!

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

Half a cup of syrup for two pancakes?!?! Holy cow!

It may have been 1/4 cup.  The serving size on the fitness app I have said 1/4 c and the cup she gave me was pretty small.  I didn't use any more than what she gave me.

Duke, I ate at Jimmy's Egg diner.  They are a breakfast and lunch diner open from 6-2.

Well that's not really saying much, unless you have a habit of bringing your own syrup with you, which would just be really really freaking strange.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

I am still at my parents right now.  The situation is dire, but I'm at peace with it.  I will either go home later this evening, or I may wait until early tomorrow morning.  My apartment a/c is on the fritz, so it would be a warm night if I went home tonight.  I would have a nice, cool a/c here at Mom and Dad's.  Do I want to go home and be warm or stay here and stay cool?  I'll decide later.  I am ready to start Week 8 on Monday.

You should tell your landlord he/she needs to fix your air conditioner ASAP.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

I'm guessing someone's going to prison, getting divorced, is having an out-of-wedlock kid, or something along those lines. He wouldn't be so secretive if it were just a medical thing.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

He is going to miss work because of it and lose his job. RIP CADD.

Unless it's a funeral, he shouldn't miss work. If cousin Mel got a DUI, and they're having an intervention for him, that's not an excuse to miss work.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

Somebody's coming out of the closet, perhaps?

^ this is probably the most likely explanation.  I couldn't imagine being a gay in Oklahoma, and the family would certainly be hush hush about the whole thing. 

I don't think "the situation is dire" is applicable to that, and I don't think Bishie would be accepting of that, and it seems that he's accepted whatever it is that happened.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

Bushie is for gay marriage because the majority of the forum is. And he's backtracked that recently. Regardless of whether he thinks it should be legal, I'm confident he still thinks gays are depraved sinners who need help.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

And if I'm wrong about him being accepting of gays, I don't think he'd say, "The situation is dire".

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

Guys, I asked that the discussion be dropped.  So, drop it, please.

How would this get back to Facebook? If you don't want your life discussed on the Internet, end your Update threads.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

Hopefully this week.

So when did you start caring about respecting others so strictly? Serious question... you're still using your parents money to pay down your debt, but you're adamantly opposed to innocent Internet gossip. That seems backwards to me.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

Inks, your sarcastic mocking does not merit a response more than this.

It wasn't sarcastic; it's a genuine question.  Why do you care so much about not spreading Internet gossip while you have no problem taking money from your parents that you don't actually need?

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

Inks, Bushie does love internet gossip. That's why he dropped this bombshell without fully explaining what it was. He's creating a buzz and insuring page views for Update. The man loves the attention we're giving him.

Also, you should give him a break when it comes to his parents helping him out. He has a job now. He's at least trying to get back on track. What else do you want from him?

Now that he has a job, his parents shouldn't be helping him; that was the original deal he made with them.  The problem with his parents helping him out is that he spends what he wants and pays for what he can afford, and he pushes the rest to his parents; having a job hasn't made him any more financially wise.  He won't actually learn how to effectively budget until he runs into a financial hardship of some degree.  And "financial hardship" doesn't mean $20 from being homeless; it means anything where he has to cut back some (i.e. not buy prepared meals or go out for all of his meals but actually buy ingredients and make meals, since prepared meals are usually quite a bit more expensive than raw ingredients).

Morden, I've watched probably 12-15 hours since Thursday.  With this situation, football has been my release mechanism.

Are you sure this isn't causing your headaches?

Matt, why are you making it seem like the term "loving on" kids is kin to what a pedophile does?  It is not a creepy term and is a normal term used by many, many people.  No one should ever take it as a creepy term, because it's never meant in that way.

Jeff, (1) it's very creepy; (2) I have never heard that term outside of Update.  Even an Internet search results with not many results.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

Employers don't care.  Get that straight.

I can't speak for his employer, but at my job, we give off for documented funerals.

Jeff, condolences for your loss. You and your family are in my prayers.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

I've never known you to be worried a day in your life, Bushie.

That's why I'm worried.

I'm just not a worrier.  I can't do anything but harm by worrying.  Worrying takes time off my life, I'm not going to fall into that trap.  I have too much faith in God's ability to take care of me regardless of the circumstance.

Sorry, I don't buy that argument.  Your eating habits have shaved off 100s of times more time from your life than worrying would.  And there are different aspects of being worried.  It's like you go to the complete other extreme and are 100% carefree; there's an aspect of being worried (perhaps concerned would be a better word) that's important and ensures that you make good choices and stay aware of reality.  Saying you have faith in God's ability to take care of you doesn't mean you should stop caring, and too often you do this.  You confuse excessively worrying with caring about things at all.

Your boss offered to give you the entire week off to mourn your uncle? I must say that I find that kind of surprising myself but whatever.

Yeah I took 3 days for my father's funeral last month.......even then I worked until 1PM on the days of the viewing and went back after the makaria.  But a week of bereavement time for an Uncle is unusual.

Yeah, I didn't see the part about it being a whole week... especially for an uncle.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

Nagas,

I seriously doubt it.  If I get let go, I'm sure it will be a respectful and cordial affair.  I am doing really well in my actual work and he has told me before that my help is appreciated and needed.  The poor review appears to be a thing of the past and I'm starting to look forward to my next review in early October.  I'm not getting cocky, naturally, but i'm not exactly worried.  He is a very understanding guy.  He wants the work to be done and done well, but he is also a human being who is sensitive to the needs of his employees.  I have no reason to be concerned at this point.

You do realize that this conflicts with his giving you a week off without notice, right?  I'm not saying you're going to get canned (and I think some of the forum's fears about that are over the top), but if you were truly needed, you wouldn't just get a week off on the fly.  That's a lot different from a vacation that you planned and were able to make arrangements for people to cover your duties.  If you're dispensable for an entire week, are you really needed?  You do have a reason to be concerned (again, not as much as some on the forum are saying you should be), but I don't think you're connecting all the dots.

As for people encouraging you to take this other job with your cousin's brother or whoever it is, I'd advise against that.  If that falls through or you don't like it, you've thrown away a job that you seem to like and enjoy, and quitting this job without accumulating some tenure is only going to hurt your résumé.  Obviously that won't matter if you stick with your relative's company after this job, but if that doesn't work out, you've really screwed yourself going forward, because your résumé will then show two short-tenure positions with CAD employers, which will make future CAD employers VERY hesitant to hire you.  I see no reason to discuss this with your parents... I think the risks greatly outweigh the benefits regarding leaving your current job.

The only problem with this new company is it is in Oklahoma City, so I would have to move yet again while keeping my apartment in Tulsa since the lease doesn't run out until May 31.

I probably shouldn't tell you this, since keeping the apartment incentivizes you to stay, but just in case something happens with your current job, you could always sublease your Tulsa apartment.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

So apparently you're not as good at reading your boss as you thought. It's like you're on a roller coaster of thinking you're fine to thinking you're on the verge of getting canned. If you're ever going to keep a job, you need to be more observant and grounded.

No matter what, I would not quit this job, though. Because if you do that, you're probably done with CAD forever.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

bushie, it is unfortunate but cadd might not be for you.

It's better than customer service.  I'm not going to give up on CAD.  I know I can do it, and I was starting to get it, I just need a more patient boss.

Anyway, I have PM'd some of the Update readers the name of my family member's company for their investigation.  I look forward to reading their findings.

You should've gotten it while you were taking CAD classes. You thought leaving early wouldn't affect you, but it's looking like that contributed to the position you're in now.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

Here is why I rarely listen to the forum.  Most of the forum thinks I can't do anything, or can't do anything significant.  Friends don't think their friends can't do anything.  That's where most of the forum utterly fail.  They never give me a chance and try to discourage me from EVERY friggin job I come across.  Shut up, will ya.

Name one significant thing you've accomplished in the past 3 years.  And no, graduating CAD or holding a job for <12 months is not significant.  I'm talking about things that have meaningfully increased your place in life.

You threw thousands of dollars at CAD, and now you're talking about ditching that entirely and dropping hundreds or potentially thousands of dollars on getting A+ certified.  Did your CAD job even pay off your debts from taking the CAD classes?  There's nothing wrong with educating yourself, but if you just run to the next shiny object you see, you're wasting tons of money each time.  Jeff, if all you're getting is a 38%, this job isn't for you.  I'm not saying you can't get a 75% if you study, but the people who will be successful post hiring are going to be the people who get a 75% easily, not those who struggle at it.  Look at the experience at your last job: lack of training and knowledge led to your downfall.  The same thing will happen here.  You're not good at customer service or technical support, especially if you have to be travelling to do it.  What happens if it snows and you have a call or you're sick?  Jobs in tech support aren't going to keep you around when you call off.

But  Bushie YOU are the one applying for a job where a certification that you do not have, and likely will not have in 90 days is required.  And you call us crazy?

I've already got one certification from my time at Dell.  So, I know I can knock this out of the part, too.  Plus, if I get this certification, it will be another feather in my quill that I'll always have with me and will help me tremendously in future job openings.

Most technology certifications either have to be periodically renewed or become obsolete after a few years. I know Microsoft's certs are only valid 4 years and then you have to retake them.

Arrow in your quiver, Jeff. The expression is arrow in your quiver.

It's also "knock this out of the park", not "part".

500 hours I won't gain, I will agree.  It doesn't mean I can't pass the tests.

Passing the tests doesn't mean you'll get or hold a job.  It does mean that you'll be out the money it cost to take and study for the tests.

J-Mann, as much as I respect your opinions and appreciate your analysis, I have to believe that I can do this, pass the tests, and spend quite a while in this job.  If it falls flat, then so be it.   I'm prepared for whatever.

But you're not prepared for whatever.  You never are.  That's the point.  You're still dependent (now 100%) on your parents... they're the ones who are prepared, and they're prepared because they're used to seeing you fail over and over again (and that's not an insult; it's an objective fact), so they can anticipate it.  But what's going to happen when they aren't there to prop you up anymore?

King, I don't have to convince myself.  I'm a pretty smart cookie and I'm positive I can do this.  If I fail, I fail, but if I succeed that's all the better.

No offense, but "pretty smart cookies" don't fall for even half the scams you've fallen for.  You're gullible, naive, and irrational.  If you fail, your parents are out hundreds of dollars; you won't succeed.  I will promise you this now.  If you somehow get this job, you won't hold onto it for 6 months.  If you do, I'll personally send you a check to cover the cost the tests and study materials.