Q 'n' A per se.

[SweetErika]

this willpower question is quite intriguing.

it's my belief that most people have very strong willpower. even with things like M&M's, fatty foods and the other things that have been mentioned. if you think about it, you may have binged on them but you returned (i'm sure) to your normal routine in short order.

i think that any break in our willpower is swiftly overcome and i think we have to look at it that way (accentuate the positive and all that kinda shit). if our willpower wasn't strong we'd all be crack addicts or something.

for me, regarding food, i'm so proud of myself every time a have a cheat day (or month... like i did from thanksgiving to christmas) and am able to rebound immediately when choose. i'm sure that sounds conceited but i'm genuinely proud of that.

You and TBK should team up and charge for these gems. I've never bothered to look at willpower (and many other things) from a different, more positive standpoint...that's huge, EJ.

 

[Guest]

 

[Guest]

 

[bobsgirl]

Most cooked veggies. I prefer mine in the raw state.

Ice cream

Hard boiled eggs

 

[SweetErika]

OK, how's this:

What food requires absolutely no willpower in order to avoid?

Red meat, pork, or any animal I like (I'm not so wild about chicken, turkey, and seafood)

Cauliflower

Cooked spinach

McEverything (well, most fast food)

Anything with fake fruit flavors

Anything that has a lot of cardamom, cilantro, curry, is very spicy, or peanut sauce.

A host of drinks including: pop, milk, gin, tonic, tomato and vegetable juice, most red wine, overpriced coffee drinks (*waves to Yank* ), Earl Grey tea...

 

[SweetErika]

Ice cream

What's your beef with ice cream?

To go back to the first question, ice cream is one of the things I have trouble doing without for long periods. A few years ago I had a horrible throat infection for well over a month which culminated in getting my tonsils out, so I ate ice cream almost exclusively for several months. I couldn't swallow vitamins and was definitely starting to get very malnourished, but never really got tired of the cold, creamy goodness.

 

[Eilan]

What food requires absolutely no willpower in order to avoid?

Most cheeses

Pork products (I grew up in a home in which some type of pig was required to be on the menu every night)

Cheese-flavored junk food

Liver

 

[bobsgirl]

What's your beef with ice cream?

To go back to the first question, ice cream is one of the things I have trouble doing without for long periods. A few years ago I had a horrible throat infection for well over a month which culminated in getting my tonsils out, so I ate ice cream almost exclusively for several months. I couldn't swallow vitamins and was definitely starting to get very malnourished, but never really got tired of the cold, creamy goodness.

I like ice cream just fine, but my digestive system has serious issues with it. The pleasure I get from eating the ice cream is outweighed by the discomfort I know will follow.

The same thing happens with cheesecake, but I consider cheesecake to be one of life's finest pleasures. I'm willing to put up with a revolt in order to savor its exquisite wonderfulness.

 

[sassy_girl1963]

bobsgirl: thanks! you mean this link, which is part of my profile?

ed

Silverwhisper - I followed the link and really, really likd the story! HOT is very mild! When will there be more??????????? {hint, hint}

 

[SweetErika]

I like ice cream just fine, but my digestive system has serious issues with it. The pleasure I get from eating the ice cream is outweighed by the discomfort I know will follow.

The same thing happens with cheesecake, but I consider cheesecake to be one of life's finest pleasures. I'm willing to put up with a revolt in order to savor its exquisite wonderfulness.

Poor gal!

 

[sassy_girl1963]

OK, how's this:

What food requires absolutely no willpower in order to avoid?

Spinach & Cauliflower in any shape or form - YUCK YUCK YUCK

 

[SweetErika]

Spinch & Cauliflower in any shape or form - YUCK YUCK YUCK

When I lived in Spain, one of my German roomies cooked both regularly, and the entire apartment smelled like dirty, sweaty socks (sorry, that's the best comparison I can come up with) all the time. Oh so gross! Now I shudder just looking at the cauliflower in the store. :grimace:

 

[EJFan]

What food requires absolutely no willpower in order to avoid?

i absolutely will not eat brussel sprouts or tripe under any conditions, nor prepared in any fashion. period. other than that, anything i've eaten in the past i'd at least give it a go even if i wasn't thrilled with it the first time. as far as things i haven't yet tried, i'm pretty much willing to give anything a go at least once (ref. the scrapple discussion from a few pages back).

 

[Guest]

 

[eudaemonia]

Not allowed in my household:

Black licorice :::nausea:::

Pickled beets :::vomit-induing:::

Watermelon :::vile, vile substance:::

Nearly everything else is a go, including cauliflower (esp. deep fried w/tahini sauce) and spinach (preferrably wilted with bacon and balsamic vinegar.) Yum!

 

[Eilan]

Question for anyone:

Do you remember where you were and what you were doing on January 28, 1986, when the Challenger exploded?

I can't believe that it's been 20 years.

 

[pleasteasme]

Question for anyone:

Do you remember where you were and what you were doing on January 28, 1986, when the Challenger exploded?

I can't believe that it's been 20 years.

I was in 7th grade, in my history class.
A sad day indeed. No, it doesn't seem that long ago.

 

[Eilan]

I was in 7th grade, in my history class.
A sad day indeed. No, it doesn't seem that long ago.

I was in 7th grade as well. We were supposed to watch the launch at school, but we had a snow day, so my younger brother and I were watching it at home.

When the shuttle exploded, I yelled for my mom, who was in the kitchen. She said, "Oh, it couldn't have exploded." Then she watched what was happening on TV and said, "It's not supposed to do THAT."

 

[pleasteasme]

I was in 7th grade as well. We were supposed to watch the launch at school, but we had a snow day, so my younger brother and I were watching it at home.

When the shuttle exploded, I yelled for my mom, who was in the kitchen. She said, "Oh, it couldn't have exploded." Then she watched what was happening on TV and said, "It's not supposed to do THAT."

I can't properly remember if we watched it live in class or if it was after the fact. Whichever, it was devastating and upsetting on so many levels. We talked about it until the end of the school year in that class. Talk about history in the making...

 

[midwestyankee]

I was in 7th grade, in my history class.
A sad day indeed. No, it doesn't seem that long ago.

Remembering that I, too, was in the 7th grade....when President Kennedy was assasinated.

When the Challenger exploded, I was working in an office that had a newswire hookup to the computer at every desk. We had the AP news within moments and spent most of the rest of the day around a television set. It was especially sad for me because I knew a man who was a candidate for the teacher-astronaut slot filled by Christa McAuliffe and I knew that he was watching the launch live with a building full of students.

 

[Eilan]

Remembering that I, too, was in the 7th grade....when President Kennedy was assasinated.

My mom was a senior in high school. She spent her study hall hour as an office aide, and she was using one of those ditto machines (or whatever those old things were) when she heard about Kennedy's assassination.

When the Challenger exploded, I was working in an office that had a newswire hookup to the computer at every desk. We had the AP news within moments and spent most of the rest of the day around a television set. It was especially sad for me because I knew a man who was a candidate for the teacher-astronaut slot filled by Christa McAuliffe and I knew that he was watching the launch live with a building full of students.

In the fall of 1985, our school invited one of the candidates for Christa McAuliffe's slot to speak at an assembly.

Oddly enough, I remember the Columbia disaster less vividly, even though it's more recent. I mean, I know what I was doing that day, and I remember that my husband called me because he knew I'd have Nickelodeon on (and therefore would have been clueless as to what was going on in the real world), but it didn't affect me like Challenger did.

 

[bobsgirl]

Question for anyone:

Do you remember where you were and what you were doing on January 28, 1986, when the Challenger exploded?

I can't believe that it's been 20 years.

I was making my bed. CBS news cut in, and you know how sometimes the hair on the back of your neck stands up and you just know it's something awful? It was a terrible thing.. My daughter was in kindergarten--try explaining that to a 5 year old. Sometimes words are just not adequate.

Yank and I are of the same generation. I was in 4th grade when JFK was assassinated. I remember it so vividly. Watching film of the funeral really touches me, still.

 

[EJFan]

Question for anyone:

Do you remember where you were and what you were doing on January 28, 1986, when the Challenger exploded?

I can't believe that it's been 20 years.

i was in a science class in high school. i remember the teacher bringing in a television for us to see what was going on.

given the "state of education" discussion going on elsewhere i should add that i wonder if students would be allowed to watch such a thing these days. i'm afraid that in some districts, it would require a school board meeting and permission slips.

 

[midwestyankee]

i was in a science class in high school. i remember the teacher bringing in a television for us to see what was going on.

given the "state of education" discussion going on elsewhere i should add that i wonder if students would be allowed to watch such a thing these days. i'm afraid that in some districts, it would require a school board meeting and permission slips.

On September 11, 2001 my daughter's high school essentially suspended all instruction and fed the TV coverage of the day to every classroom to inform the students and faculty and to facilitate discussion.

 

[pleasteasme]

i was in a science class in high school. i remember the teacher bringing in a television for us to see what was going on.

given the "state of education" discussion going on elsewhere i should add that i wonder if students would be allowed to watch such a thing these days. i'm afraid that in some districts, it would require a school board meeting and permission slips.

Regarding your statement about permission slips and such, I was doing my initial student teaching when 9-11 happened. At that school, there are TV's in every classroom. My master teacher and I watched it before school and we left it on for the first class. Soon after class started, we were called and told to turn it off because it would be too "upsetting." hell-O?! Upsetting? Really?! It was also a national emergency/crisis...not knowing where things were going that morning. My master teacher made the call to leave the TV on.

My students were silent. High school students silent?! That doesn't happen very often ~ trust me. It was the same solemness that my 7th grade history class reacted with the Challenger explosion; my college class responded to the Oklahoma City bombings (and tears shed); and of course, those high schoolers on 9-11.

Even though these events are disturbing, it is real life.