I Wrote a Book

This is the cover of my book.

I recently published a book called American Loser: A Memoir of Not Even Coming Close to Achieving the American Dream on Amazon.com for Kindle.  Although, according to a link on the page where this e-book is sold, Amazon offers a free app that allows smartphone and tablet users to read Kindle books.  Please check it out.  It only costs 3 dollars American.  If you click on the cover photo, it takes you into the beginning of the book, and a good chunk of it can be read for free.  Here is the link to it  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HQSO9RO  That's American Amazon.  Apparently, it's also available on other countries' Amazon websites. 
I've worked very hard on it, and I think it's worth reading.  I believe it's funny and entertaining.  But it also goes to show that not all middle-aged Americans are successful.  In America, there is a very wide gap between the haves and the have nots.  I have been laid off from jobs a number of times.  Aside from when I've had to move to another city, I haven't quit a job in over 20 years.  It was a horrible soul-stealing job in a dreary machine shop.  I don't know how people can work 40 hours a week, every week, drilling the same hole into the same item over and over again.  Anyway, that happened over 20 years ago.
I certainly need the money.  I'm broke.  I'm going deeper into credit card debt.  It's looking like I'll have to take out a cash advance from one of my credit cards in order to pay next month's rent.
By the way, it's a very good thing that I've been eliminating refined sugars and processed foods from my diet.  I highly recommend everyone eats this way.  I feel much better since I haven't been eating pasta, bread, cake, cookies, etc: both physically and when it comes to my mood.  I really believe this is the way we were meant to eat.  Read books about nutrition written by Dr. Joel Fuhrman.
So please check out the book.  My 2 most important philosophies, that I meditate on every single day, are both stated fully and explained there.  I know that I am a loser in this capitalist American society, but I believe that life, any life, is worth more than all the money in the world.  I believe that animals should be protected from violence by the law as much as people are.  I believe, if you want to be a parent, it makes more sense to adopt someone who's already here that needs a home, as opposed to bringing another person into an overcrowded world.         
  

Taking the Plunge

Groundhogs are hibernating.

It's time.  Over and over again now I've read, seen, and heard that a diet that contains no alcohol, processed foods, refined sugars, lactose, caffeine, and GMO foods is the way to go for physical, mental, and emotional well being.  I currently have some processed foods in my home.  That's fine.  I will finish them.  I think it's wrong to waste food.  The plan is to not purchase or acquire anymore.  I plan to not buy anymore sugar, coffee, chips, bread, etc.  So what does that leave?  All vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, beans, and whole grains.  Although I also plan to do without wheat and gluten.
This decision has been reinforced by what I've been watching lately on PBS.  I usually don't watch these sorts of programs, but I watched 3 self-help/diet shows.  I forget the name of one of the guys, but the other 2 were hosted by Deepak Chopra and Joel Fuhrman.  What all 3 men had in common was they recommended a diet rich in unprocessed, whole foods like veggies, fruits, nuts, seeds, and beans.  I was most impressed by Dr. Fuhrman's presentation.  I plan to read at least one of his books: especially the one that contains a lot of whole foods recipes in it.
I went out for a walk yesterday.  As soon as I left my building, I noticed a squirrel foraging in the snow behind a bush that some sparrows live in (year round).  My neighbors have made a habit of putting food there for the animals.  I suppose that's why the squirrel was foraging there.  They forage on the grass.  What do they do when it's covered with snow?  I went back upstairs and got a whole, still-in-the-shell walnut.  I tossed it behind the bush.  Unfortunately, we got about 5 inches of snow last night.  I hope a squirrel will get that nut.  I don't know anything about nuts freezing.  Even if it did freeze, I can picture a smart squirrel lying on top of it to defrost it.
Also, while out walking yesterday, a man offered to give me a ride in his car.  It was cold out, and it was snowing.  I was very close to home, so there was no chance I would accept his offer.  I said "no thanks."  Almost immediately, I thought, this guy is probably a good Samaritan, but, it's also possible that he's a serial killer.  Even for a full-grown male, like me, getting into a car with someone you don't know could be a fatal mistake.  Crazier things have happened.  Of course, it didn't help that I had just recently watched the movie version of The Lovely Bones, which involves a girl trusting a man that she shouldn't have.