Ok, so I get most of my news and US info on the net. I watch news clips and read major news webpages often. And recently there has been this one commercial that pops up before many news clips. It is Brooke Sheilds advertising Colgate toothpaste(I think, maybe it's Crest?) and it just floors me what these product companies will try to pass off on us.
The commercial shows Brooke stretching and so forth being fit, and then brushing her teeth. And then she pops up saying, "Can there be a connection between the health of your mouth and the health of your body?" and then mister narrator comes on and says that recent studies have shown that people with gum disease and other oral disease have a higher risk of having such diseases as heart disease, stroke and diabetes. Then beautiful Ms. Brooke appears again and says, "If there is a connection then I choose Colgate, my Destist recommended it..." yadah yadah yadah!
HOW STUPID DO WE CONSUMERS LOOK??? They want you to automatically assume that using Colgate is going to help lower your risk of these diseases? DO WE ALL WALK AROUND WITH DUNCE HATS ON??? Come ON people! I mean please. Any person with at least 2% of logic can understand that the connection is, some people who don't take good care of their diets and their bodies MAY also neglect their teeth. Not to mention the fact that, the types of diets that can lead to these diseases probably will also lead to tooth and gum disease. PUH-lease!
Ok, my rant is over. I just get so sick of my intelligence being assaulted every time I watch a commercial. Give me a break!
Anyways, life is going along just fine these days. Except for my extremely embarrasing episode at McDonald's today (which will appear on Hana's blog shortly), I am doing great. Busy but good.
My workouts have been AWESOME this week. I must warn you, I'm gonna brag on myself just a little here cause I have accomplished so much since my little slump recently.
Instead of starting to jog as a new challenge (since I have cheapo OLD outdoor tennies that are like walking on cardboard and would probably cause more harm than good with a jog) I decided to change up my routine at the gym a little. I upped my time on the elliptical by 15 minutes (now up to 50 minutes a session) AND I upped the level too! The first day I just ALMOST reached burning 600 calories, the next time I was over 600 and so on. BUT today, I made it to 660!!!!!!! AND I was trucking it during the first 30 minutes before the first cycle automatically ends (cause the silly machine won't let you do more than 30 min) and I had burned 475 calories by the end of the first cycle. I reset it for more time and topped it off at 660 total! AND (this is the part I love the most) I checked my heart rate 10 min. into the workout and I was in the heavy intensity range for HR already, not to mention I was at 85%!!!!!!! I stayed there for the remaining 40 minutes! WAHOOOOOO, now THAT is what I call a workout!
I payed for it later today though. I had to work out this a.m. because Rocky is out this evening, and I don't usually do morning fitness and it gets to me. I fell asleep watching some TV with Hana this afternoon. But I feel great! I also didn't go to bed until really late last night too.
Which brings me to my other GRIPE for the evening. US IMMIGRATION!!!!!!!! AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! I had to pray for forgiveness last night (for thoughts of strangulation and torture) about 10 times while trying to get some questions answer by USCIS (United States Citizens and Immigration Services). What a joke, what a load of bull honkey that place is! They can't even answer questions about their OWN process! What is that? And they provide you with ONE phone number to call, at which you get a customer service rep who is just typing your questions into the computer and reading you the answer. I can do that on the internet, the reason I am CALLING you is because that information doesn't answer my qeustion! If you ask them a question that their computer won't spit out the answer they tell you that you'll have to contact a community organization that helps with immigration or a lawyer. So if you try to contact any of those people they tell you "because the extremely complex and sensitive nature of information pertaining to immigration visas we can not answer your questions over the phone, you msut appear in person at our office between so-and-so hours and pay $$$$ to get help!" Somebody help me understand. My tax dollars pay for people to NOT answer my questions about immigration at the immigration office so that I can go pay someone else to do it?! What is that all about!??? This is information that should be free and available to anyone, ESPECIALLY an AMERICAN CITIZEN. And they should provide phone numbers to connect you to people who know and understand the process so you can get your questions answered by someone who knows something.
So here is the deal. I am trying to get Hana naturalized as an American citizen. US law says she is entitled to her American Citizenship because she is the child of a US citizen. She has been in our custody for more than two year so I do not need an immigration visa or any other process, she is already MY child in the eyes of the US law, so he should automatically be an American? Right? WRONG! She is already an American, but I have to file some forms, pay a bunch of money, AND appear for an interview in PERSON before they will approve it. AND get this, there is a SPECIFIC application process for the naturalization of children residing overseas but you have to appear in person for the interview, in the US at the USCIS office that handles your case ON DEMAND, when THEY set the appointment. HELLO!? We live overseas, there is a US consulate just 1 1/2 hours from my home. Why do I have to spend thousands of dollars to fly to the US to appear before a US government official when all documentation SHOWS you that my daughter is my daughter and the law already says she has a RIGHT to her US citizenship!!!!!!!!!!!!!!?????????? OH, did I mention I could strangle somebody?
Anyways, we don't know what to do. Churches schedule their concerts months in advance and advertise for them. If USCIS calls and says we have to come on a certain day, how can we tell a church that has been preparing for months that we have to cancel? And oh I could go on and on. AHH, UGHHH! I have no idea how we are going to pull this off.
In defense of SOME American government offices, I called the US embassy IN JAPAN today and got all my questions answered very kindly a compassionately, to the best of her knowledge, by a very precious young lady named Sarah! God bless her, she was obviously a sister in Christ and she felt my pain about the process and the completely INCOMPETENT USCIS. Dear Lord, bless my precious sister Sarah!
Why did I stay up till almost 2am last night calling US offices someone in Japan could answer my questions?! UGH
Ok, my rant is all done I think. On to other blogs...
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