Cold Curmudgeon Wednesday

ACK! I didn’t plan my lunch today! In all my supreme organization, I didn’t realize that we are down to about two lunch sized containers with lids. I went to fix my lunch and – gave up! Whiny Wednesday, Diet Edition is here!

Last night I had a pomegranate. I had never had one before. It took a little prep time… not as quick serve as a banana but… then again… sometimes having to put in that prep time keeps you from eating more! I had part of it as a snack and part of it with my oatmeal this morning.

I’ve been reading “You Are What You Eat” by Gillian McKeith. She also has a show by the same name on the BBC. The show aggravates me because they give weight in stones and I don’t know the conversion so it doesn’t have the same punch most weight loss success stories have for me. But it’s FAR more helpful to me than the Biggest Loser. I tried watching the new season of the Biggest Loser and I’m sorry… I’m just done with it. I don’t think abusing morbidly obese people to the point of compromising their health is either productive or entertaining. It’s shameful. Tough love, sure. Reality check – absolutely. Boldness – I’m ok with that. But screaming obscenities at me never encouraged me to do anything – except ignore the person who is screaming at me. Also – it focuses far too much on exercise instead of nutrition. These people aren’t learning… and I think that’s evidenced by the Biggest Losers who have now become Biggest Gainers. If you don’t relearn bad habits, you will not have lifelong success.

Said the pot to the kettle.

Anyways, back to Dr. Gillian’s book. I’ve always been incredibly fascinated with the science of food… what foods help what conditions and what combinations of foods generate the best nutritional benefit. I’ve been re-reading it to get a refresher on some of that. I really believe that God created us in a world that is able to provide all that we need and that eating the right combination of foods will heal a lot of what ails us. Down with pharmaceuticals – up with nutrition!

Last night for dinner I made brown fried rice… I used string beans, carrots, red and green peppers, onions and one egg… fresh garlic and ginger to season it… a little low sodium soy and a tiny amount of sesame oil (which is one of my favorite all time flavors!) One of the problems with the more wholesome grains is that they take a lot longer to cook. HOWEVER… I found that I can cook brown rice in the microwave! I’ve got to explore more easy ways to cook healthy stuff. Also – cooking grains up in bulk and then adding them to dishes during the week has worked well for me so far. Buying grains – like a bag of brown rice instead of instant rice – is soooo much cheaper! Also – it works in with my intention to add 15 minutes a day of “active” time. A little time doing food prep beats time spent in the bed. (or nest, as the case would be).

I’ve had a run of Curmudgeon Customers this week. I extend a certain measure of grace as I know that people are cold, financially stressed due to the economy and the holidays, etc. I am dealing with a lot of people who are looking at their insurance coverage for the first time in 30 years. People have a tendency to leave these things on autopilot but the economy is causing people to start shopping their insurance. People who haven’t thought about insurance and what coverages they need in a long time – if ever. I end up walking a fine line between being helpful and educating clients – and insulting their intelligence.

Yesterday it was a local VIP who showed up in a huff and literally threw his renewals at me. Nice. It took me about thirty minutes of rationalization, charm and patience to bring him off the bridge. In the end he took my card to give to his wife in case she has any problems in the future. The sad thing is that he treated me like an ignorant hillbilly until he realized that I was articulate, well traveled, cultured and well-mannered. It’s odd how much these things factor into career success. All of that has nothing to do with what I do. Most people around here want to know who “your people are” before they do business with you. This guy wanted to know what I knew before he would give me any credibility. Whatever.

Today it was someone insured with one of our major competitors for 38 years – shopping for the first time in that length of time. People treat us like the enemy… like we’re unfairly taking money for nothing. It all seems intangible – money in exchange for promise – until there is a claim. With this guy – every question was met with, “why do you need to know?” and when I took the time to explain he would respond, “why is this taking so long?” God love him. Usually I am clear-headed enough to realize they’re angry with something or someone other than me, I just end up being the victim. And I’ve learned that no matter how angry someone is, that they can’t maintain their anger in the face of kindness. It’s like cold water on a fire.

Of course, my co-workers sometimes laugh at my responses – like, “tell me what I can do to make you happy” and “I’m sorry we don’t have caller id – I’ll let D know that this was a problem for you”. I’ve also learned that sometimes simply repeating back to a person the instructions (or demands) that they’re giving you will make them realize what an idiot they’re being. “So, let me make sure I understand – you want me to make sure that State Farm doesn’t send you any information by mail?”

Honestly… I’ll never be the best salesperson this company has but I think I’m in the top tier for dealing with people. Probably because it makes for good blogging. I could never come up with these characters on my own!

Jim and Angie are doing well with the water damage. The disaster company has done a good job by them and the damage was far less than it was a year ago so the clean up will not be as traumatic.

About the snow… it’s looking like an inch is all we’ll get. It will be pretty but not the lovely blanket of white that I hoped for. My biggest concern is the timing and how much of it will freeze on the road – and when. I plan to leave work early enough tomorrow to be home prior to dark. I know you people in Minnesota think I’m crazy… it’s just different when the community isn’t equipped for frozen precip and cold. We don’t have much in the way of trucks to clear snow or salt roads and the roads here are narrow, curvy and steep without much forgiveness on the sides! My car is light and my experience on ice is limited… so I really have to be cautious.

I’ll probably grab subway for lunch. Don’t want to risk driving through anywhere.
Hope you all have a great day! Love and hugs!