Online Hiring Agents and New College Degrees

I'm in college again. I'm getting my Bachelors and a Masters degrees. This should put me heads above the competition, right?

WRONG!

Those online hiring agents don't really care. They kick you offline if you answer a question truthfully but in a way that puts you in the denial pile. And if you don't answer truthfully, you are subject to being fired as soon as you are hired for lying.

So what to do?

I've decided to ignore them. If I want a position with a company or college, I'll submit transcripts and resume with a cover letter the old-fashioned way. If they want me to fill in one of the online screeners, they can kiss my A$$. I won't do it.

I'm an honest person. I won't lie just to pass a computer screening program. I tell the truth and let the chips fall where they will. When I was younger, I wasn't such a nice person, but I grew up and mended my ways. There is no way for the computer to make that distinction.

This is a great big hole in the way things are done now. A person with a "past" is screened out of opportunities. Even when they change and grow and become a better person because of it.

That is not progress, but denial of opportunities and discrimination.

Better from Dentures, but Not from Foods?

My teeth are fitting better, they don't slide around and there is little to no pain.

However, I'm back to my sleeping after I eat, spending the whole day snoozing instead of doing anything, and it happens every time I eat. I finally got sick of it and made an appointment with the doctor again. Last time I went in to discuss this, I was pretty much ignored, but I plan on putting together more "evidence" with a log, and a food diary to help the doc make some decisions and get the tests I need.

I'm pretty sure this is a combination of two things - food allergies and pre-diabetes. I think that the foods causing this are things I'm probably not supposed to eat (bet very prevalent in today's diets) and that my blood sugar is reacting to them. Things like white rice and pasta.

I cook the good stuff - whole grains and brown rice - when I cook from scratch, and I don't add HFCS to my scratch recipes. In fact I use no corn products at all, knowing I'm allergic to corn. But corn, white refined flour and white rice are used exclusively in the foodservice industry to make prepared foods and frozen meals.

So, if I take any shortcuts and use pre-packaged meals, I'm taking my life in my hands. That doesn't speak well for the foodservice industry. I don't believe they are trying to kill their customers, but the effect is the same.

I don't have epstein-barr, or chronic fatigue, but the results mimic it when I eat.

I can even eat really healthy and have the same results, right now. I eat my fruit and protein shake in the morning, and I have to nap within 60 minutes. Only 10 minutes, but still, I have to shut down. If I eat anything more heavy, and I could be out for two hours or more. Even eggs. And if I add hash browns to eggs, I'm out for a couple of hours.

Pancakes are a total disaster, with me being out for up to six hours. I stopped eating those about a year ago.

This is blood sugar insanity at it's finest! The scariest part, is that I might have to pull over when I'm driving if I've eaten the wrong food beforehand.

The world goes dizzy, I can't concentrate, then I'm OUT. I have very little warning. So, I tend to be hungry when I drive.

I have a long drive this coming Saturday morning, which will be a regular commute for me over the next three years. So, coffee and no food.

No wonder my weight is high - I can't eat breakfast and drive anyplace. Not and be safe. And breakfast is the most important meal of the day for your metabolism.

Well, I'll see what the doc says on April 18. Yeah, that's the earliest I could get in. It's like pulling teeth to get in right away. You have to be really sick.

Denture Adventures....

Well, anyone who's had a full set made and been forced to wear them or eat baby food for the rest of their lives knows what I'm talking about here. For the rest of you, read carefully - it could be you next so take care of your choppers!

I had the soft lining put in on Friday, yesterday. I am glad in one way, and unhappy in another. The pain is much less, so that is the good part. The bad part is the chemical contamination.

I've worked really hard to eliminate all chemical contaminants from my life. My body can't handle it. So now I have these pieces of plastic in my mouth that exude acrylate and other toxins while the soft lining cures. It's been 24 hours, and while much better, I still can't figure out what anything tastes like. Kind of a waste, when I still have to sip my food.

I am able to gently chew, but I have no control of the dentures, and as a result, I have no control over the food in my mouth. I almost choked yesterday afternoon. I learned very quickly to take extremely small nibbles.

I've been using the powder adhesive, but, let's face it, it barely works. So the lower denture moves about pretty freely. That contributes to lack of chewing prowess.

Another issue is the weight that the soft lining added to the denture. Not like poundage, but like thickness. One side of the lower became very ragged during the procedure, and tore at my tongue all night. I about tossed the thing in the garbage. Instead, I grabbed my Dremel this morning and smoothed it out. It's still thick, but it's not cutting me anymore.

I will say one thing, though. I don't sound like I'm talking around marbles anymore. I guess that's a good thing.

I go back in June for the hard lining, and I guess September for my Custom, permanent, denture. This is just the mouth training time, and it's pretty tough for an old bird like myself. I don't much like changes - especially changes in how my body works!

The upper has the teeth attached to it in a funny way - skewed to one side, so my jaw is probably not going to be able to adjust properly for the entire training period. At least I hope not. And if the custom denture has the same problem, I'll refuse it and have them make it again. And, it seems I'll be on a liquid diet for several months.

As for losing weight? Well, when you can't eat salads, it's tough. I have some green drinks I found for nutrition, but the sugars in juices contribute a lot to weight gain. Even broccoli has sugars in it. Pasta is soft enough to swallow whole, but not really good for me - white flour and sugar are my downfalls.

Oh well, it's a challenge, is all.

Swapped Teeth for Dentures

Yep, the teeth are gone. I'm wearing the "immediate denture" provided by the dentist. I still look a lot more like a chipmunk than myself, but the worst of the swelling has gone down. It's been a little less than 24 hours. My body is finally coming out of shock from the procedure.

Just to clarify - anytime I have any procedure, I go into shock. It isn't the doctor or dentist's fault. It's my body and it's reaction to modern medical techniques.

I've been drinking juice. Not just fruit juice, although it sure tastes like fruit! It is something called "Green Machine" by Naked. It's pretty good stuff! Tastes really wonderful, and it's jam-packed with all kinds of healthy vegetables. Because it's prepared and sold in stores, it has a couple of preservatives in it, but otherwise, it's completely natural. I knew I wouldn't be up to making my own juice for the first couple of days, so I purchased some.

I also knew I wouldn't be able to eat for a while, at least not solid foods, so I planned ahead. I got protein powders in, two healthy green juices and one that contains echinacea. I already had bananas, carrots, celery, kale, squash, oranges, grapefruits, and strawberries on hand. I think there's even a pack of cranberries in the freezer! I have a juicer, and that fabulous blender I picked up when my old one died, so I have lots of ways to get nutrition. And I always add B-12 to my smoothies so that my anemia is treated.

I watched a webinar about B-12 sources, and they said that cyanocobalamin is not as good for you as methylcobalamin, so I'll be switching over sources as I can. The only methylcobalamin source I have in-house is a chewable, and that's not possible right now. I understand that Swanson's sells the methlylcobalamin sources. I will be placing my order after I figure out the books this month.

When I feel up to it, I have that great stew I made in the fridge (I may freeze it so that it keeps).

So, all is well.

We had some wild weather over here last night, too. I may have lost my strawberry plants, and my little windchime gave up with those incredibly strong gusts of wind, but otherwise, no damage. Not even on the roof.