At least that is what my credit card company is suggesting.
"Get More Out of Life Online! Visit www.xxxxxrewards.com to see the entire collection of rewards that can be redeemed online."
I'm sorry but I just don't feel like I am getting so much more out of my life because I requested my rewards online.
Libertad's Journal
My Podcast Link
05/16/2011 18:02 #54297
Get more out of life online?05/09/2011 20:44 #54253
What to do with the body?So I think I just found where I want to be buried when I die. You don't have to be embalmed and they don't have grave stones so it doesn't look like a traditional cemetery. I can even have my wish of being buried in a sheet or (shroud). Basically, I want my body to decompose and become nutrients for the soil. The site is called Greensprings Natural Cemetery and it is near Ithaca. 
Now I plan to get the life insurance I am being offered so my family can pay for it when I die. The burial lot is $750 and I only want a sheet and for my body to be transported so it shouldn't be too much but I also don't want to leave any of my private student loan for my dad who co-signed. It also would be awesome to MAYBE leave a little bit of money to the people I love.
Just wanted to put it out there just in case...
Now I plan to get the life insurance I am being offered so my family can pay for it when I die. The burial lot is $750 and I only want a sheet and for my body to be transported so it shouldn't be too much but I also don't want to leave any of my private student loan for my dad who co-signed. It also would be awesome to MAYBE leave a little bit of money to the people I love.
Just wanted to put it out there just in case...
05/06/2011 18:25 #54229
How I quit smokingI started to smoke cigarettes when I was 11 years old, the first ones I stole from my dad. Most of my earliest cigarettes were smoked behind our barn, in the woods on the train tracks, at school, anywhere I could sneak them really. Surprisingly, it was rather easy for me to get them. This one store in the village I went to school in sold them to me during my middle school years. The dependency set in very quickly probably due to the young age at which I started, and the many additives that cigarettes contain used to manipulate and increase their addictiveness.
Smoking for me was a great escape, a small shelter from the problems that I had during my developing years. Before leaving middle school the physical addiction was strong enough for me to make great risks in sneaking out of the building while my classmates ate lunch to have a cigarette. I got busted and wasn’t allowed to go to Washington DC for the class trip. My mom got me nicotine replacement but I wasn’t really serious about quitting. I told myself that I needed the cigarettes to get through high school. If I could just make it through high school my life would be easier and I would be able to stop.
High school came and went but the cigarettes stayed in my life. By the time I graduated, I had been at the pack a day mark for a couple of years. I regret having smoked; I really wish that I never ever picked up one of those damned things. I hate cigarettes, I really do. I hate what kind of destruction they have done in my life, in the lives of so many other people and to our environment. Since I can’t change the past I have to accept and to live from this moment on. Cigarettes are not an option in my life anymore and I haven’t touched one in four years. Even though it’s true, I don’t believe it because it doesn’t seem real. I think to myself I must have smoked between now and then and that I must have forgotten but it is really true, I have not smoked in four years.
It was a combination of strategies that really made me successful in quitting, that and that I had realized that cigarettes were the cause of my unhappiness. I chanted a lot, I prayed to never ever smoke a cigarette again in my life. I didn’t just pray, I took action. I used nicotine lozenges to calm physical withdrawal, exercise to release endorphins that made me feel good, lots of water, lots of sleep and I avoided alcohol in the early stages.
I had tried lots of things over my lifetime to quit; patches, gum, Wellbutrin, self hypnosis, acupuncture and “cold turkeyâ€. Wellbutrin gave me such bad insomnia that I was an absolute wreck of a person going through a very intense physical withdrawal. I was literally jumping at anything that moved or made a sound. Acupuncture was just as bad as it didn’t do anything at all to a make it easier and then I had to suffer through another torturous round of the awful “cold turkey†withdrawals. When I went through withdrawal of nicotine I would go into an immediate depression that was nearly debilitating. I would sleep all day or just sit in bed crying, it was really bad. Withdrawals really often do make people sick because of the extreme stress it puts on the body. I really don’t think I could have gotten through it without the nicotine replacement.
I also read Alan Carr's "The Easy Way to Quit". Well this book had some good points it failed miserably in saying that nicotine replacements are counterproductive but in fact is shown in multiple studies to double successful quitting rates.
It has been difficult but well worth it. I am so proud that I quit and enjoy the numerous benefits of being a non smoker. Sometimes I miss it; I miss my escape, my being bad, I miss sneaking out! Despite this, despite the fact that I still yearn for the punch of nicotine and other drugs hitting my lungs, the immediate relief I feel as I inhale and exhale the smoke; I am so afraid that I will relapse. So many people can stop for as long as I have and go back to it in an instant. I know that if I have “just†one that I won’t be able to control it, I will immediately be a smoker again. I can’t afford to let that happen again.
So, If you want to encourage someone to quit (e:tinypliny), you need to have true compassion. You really have to understand and acknowledge the person’s suffering and to acknowledge that the challenge that lies ahead is a difficult one. Discussing the evils of smoking might cause fear but fear isn’t enough. They need help, they need information, strategies to cope and they need to be supported and encouraged. Sadly, this type of support is rarely truly achieved in smoking cessation.
For free help with quitting smoking you can call the National Quitline 1-800-Quit-NOW. It will take you to the State's Quitline for the number you are calling from.
Smoking for me was a great escape, a small shelter from the problems that I had during my developing years. Before leaving middle school the physical addiction was strong enough for me to make great risks in sneaking out of the building while my classmates ate lunch to have a cigarette. I got busted and wasn’t allowed to go to Washington DC for the class trip. My mom got me nicotine replacement but I wasn’t really serious about quitting. I told myself that I needed the cigarettes to get through high school. If I could just make it through high school my life would be easier and I would be able to stop.
High school came and went but the cigarettes stayed in my life. By the time I graduated, I had been at the pack a day mark for a couple of years. I regret having smoked; I really wish that I never ever picked up one of those damned things. I hate cigarettes, I really do. I hate what kind of destruction they have done in my life, in the lives of so many other people and to our environment. Since I can’t change the past I have to accept and to live from this moment on. Cigarettes are not an option in my life anymore and I haven’t touched one in four years. Even though it’s true, I don’t believe it because it doesn’t seem real. I think to myself I must have smoked between now and then and that I must have forgotten but it is really true, I have not smoked in four years.
It was a combination of strategies that really made me successful in quitting, that and that I had realized that cigarettes were the cause of my unhappiness. I chanted a lot, I prayed to never ever smoke a cigarette again in my life. I didn’t just pray, I took action. I used nicotine lozenges to calm physical withdrawal, exercise to release endorphins that made me feel good, lots of water, lots of sleep and I avoided alcohol in the early stages.
I had tried lots of things over my lifetime to quit; patches, gum, Wellbutrin, self hypnosis, acupuncture and “cold turkeyâ€. Wellbutrin gave me such bad insomnia that I was an absolute wreck of a person going through a very intense physical withdrawal. I was literally jumping at anything that moved or made a sound. Acupuncture was just as bad as it didn’t do anything at all to a make it easier and then I had to suffer through another torturous round of the awful “cold turkey†withdrawals. When I went through withdrawal of nicotine I would go into an immediate depression that was nearly debilitating. I would sleep all day or just sit in bed crying, it was really bad. Withdrawals really often do make people sick because of the extreme stress it puts on the body. I really don’t think I could have gotten through it without the nicotine replacement.
I also read Alan Carr's "The Easy Way to Quit". Well this book had some good points it failed miserably in saying that nicotine replacements are counterproductive but in fact is shown in multiple studies to double successful quitting rates.
It has been difficult but well worth it. I am so proud that I quit and enjoy the numerous benefits of being a non smoker. Sometimes I miss it; I miss my escape, my being bad, I miss sneaking out! Despite this, despite the fact that I still yearn for the punch of nicotine and other drugs hitting my lungs, the immediate relief I feel as I inhale and exhale the smoke; I am so afraid that I will relapse. So many people can stop for as long as I have and go back to it in an instant. I know that if I have “just†one that I won’t be able to control it, I will immediately be a smoker again. I can’t afford to let that happen again.
So, If you want to encourage someone to quit (e:tinypliny), you need to have true compassion. You really have to understand and acknowledge the person’s suffering and to acknowledge that the challenge that lies ahead is a difficult one. Discussing the evils of smoking might cause fear but fear isn’t enough. They need help, they need information, strategies to cope and they need to be supported and encouraged. Sadly, this type of support is rarely truly achieved in smoking cessation.
For free help with quitting smoking you can call the National Quitline 1-800-Quit-NOW. It will take you to the State's Quitline for the number you are calling from.
heidi - 05/08/11 00:03
Thanks for posting this, (e:libertad). It's poignant and beautiful. Addiction is such a hard thing to acknowledge and talk about and recover from.
Thanks for posting this, (e:libertad). It's poignant and beautiful. Addiction is such a hard thing to acknowledge and talk about and recover from.
flacidness - 05/07/11 21:55
Show me the receipts (my whitney houston voice)
Show me the receipts (my whitney houston voice)
libertad - 05/07/11 09:21
@(e:flacidness), I never touched crack/cocaine because I knew I wouldn't be able to handle it! I would be a bigger mess than Whitney.
@(e:lauren), you are absolutely right. What worked best for me is not necessarily what will work best for others. Mental triggers are unique to the individual but there are usually many common triggers among smokers. From my experience with talking to people wanting to quit, a large number of people do not understand how strong the mental addiction is. If you can identify what are going to be your most difficult moments and have a plan set in place for how you are going to deal with it, you will be much more likely to make it through the crisis moment without lighting up.
@(e:tinypliny), I am not sure about the former smoker thing. You can be a good quitting coach and not be a former smoker yourself. Same with compassion and empathy, just because you haven't been through something yourself doesn't mean you can't acknowledge what others are going through. I think one of my strong points is being able to reaffirm what people are saying to me and having empathy for the things that make the process more difficult. Sometimes peoples situations are so challenging that it brings tears to my eyes. I talk to people who are attempting to quit while going through extreme grief and loss, live with other smokers, are handicapped, have mental health issues, people who have other substance abuse issues and finally people who are incarcerated. You really have to acknowledge the things that make quitting more challenging and really direct the person to come up with ways in which they can still be successful despite their limitations and obstacles.
Finally, there is a lot of talk about electronic cigarettes. If you are considering using these please be aware that they are not safe alternatives to smoking and do not have any evidence supporting claims that they help people quit. They do not just release a "harmless vapor" but often include chemicals like antifreeze. If you are going to use a medication, device, or some form of treatment please do your research and find out what the positives and negatives are before starting it. Doctors are unlikely to discuss possible side effects or to even explain how the drug even works.
@(e:flacidness), I never touched crack/cocaine because I knew I wouldn't be able to handle it! I would be a bigger mess than Whitney.
@(e:lauren), you are absolutely right. What worked best for me is not necessarily what will work best for others. Mental triggers are unique to the individual but there are usually many common triggers among smokers. From my experience with talking to people wanting to quit, a large number of people do not understand how strong the mental addiction is. If you can identify what are going to be your most difficult moments and have a plan set in place for how you are going to deal with it, you will be much more likely to make it through the crisis moment without lighting up.
@(e:tinypliny), I am not sure about the former smoker thing. You can be a good quitting coach and not be a former smoker yourself. Same with compassion and empathy, just because you haven't been through something yourself doesn't mean you can't acknowledge what others are going through. I think one of my strong points is being able to reaffirm what people are saying to me and having empathy for the things that make the process more difficult. Sometimes peoples situations are so challenging that it brings tears to my eyes. I talk to people who are attempting to quit while going through extreme grief and loss, live with other smokers, are handicapped, have mental health issues, people who have other substance abuse issues and finally people who are incarcerated. You really have to acknowledge the things that make quitting more challenging and really direct the person to come up with ways in which they can still be successful despite their limitations and obstacles.
Finally, there is a lot of talk about electronic cigarettes. If you are considering using these please be aware that they are not safe alternatives to smoking and do not have any evidence supporting claims that they help people quit. They do not just release a "harmless vapor" but often include chemicals like antifreeze. If you are going to use a medication, device, or some form of treatment please do your research and find out what the positives and negatives are before starting it. Doctors are unlikely to discuss possible side effects or to even explain how the drug even works.
tinypliny - 05/07/11 07:19
Thanks so much for sharing! It is hard for me to empathize with smokers - because I have never smoked myself. It is a substantial roadblock for me when it comes to encouraging people to quit. I think I come off as judgmental and guilt-trippy. How can I know what they are going through unless I have been through at least some of it myself? It is analogous to knowing what any patient is going through while you are standing at their bedside wondering how best to help them through the disease. Only, the bedside context is hard to visualize and keep in mind when it comes to smoking. Your post helps a lot in that direction.
Do you know how many quitline experts are former smokers?
Thanks so much for sharing! It is hard for me to empathize with smokers - because I have never smoked myself. It is a substantial roadblock for me when it comes to encouraging people to quit. I think I come off as judgmental and guilt-trippy. How can I know what they are going through unless I have been through at least some of it myself? It is analogous to knowing what any patient is going through while you are standing at their bedside wondering how best to help them through the disease. Only, the bedside context is hard to visualize and keep in mind when it comes to smoking. Your post helps a lot in that direction.
Do you know how many quitline experts are former smokers?
lauren - 05/07/11 06:20
Thank you. I think it's incredibly important to stress that each individual has a different relationship to cigarettes and smoking. Although I know the intentions are good, I can't help but twitch a little on the inside when non-smokers go on about the health factors of smoking, as if I were unaware of them. And clearly, as you pointed out, it's more than a physical addiction because otherwise you wouldn't be concerned about having "just one" after 4 years of no nicotine in your system. So thanks for having some sensitivity about this issue and offering positive to those who are thinking about or trying to quit.
Thank you. I think it's incredibly important to stress that each individual has a different relationship to cigarettes and smoking. Although I know the intentions are good, I can't help but twitch a little on the inside when non-smokers go on about the health factors of smoking, as if I were unaware of them. And clearly, as you pointed out, it's more than a physical addiction because otherwise you wouldn't be concerned about having "just one" after 4 years of no nicotine in your system. So thanks for having some sensitivity about this issue and offering positive to those who are thinking about or trying to quit.
flacidness - 05/06/11 21:15
Wow that's awesome!!! Now is that the quit crack smokin hot line? :)
Wow that's awesome!!! Now is that the quit crack smokin hot line? :)
05/04/2011 17:57 #54215
Open question
hehehee, I just found this on my desk top and I don't think I have posted it before.
lilho - 05/06/11 00:51
lol!!!!! what????? that made me laugh, out loud. thanks.
lol!!!!! what????? that made me laugh, out loud. thanks.
flacidness - 05/05/11 00:58
No just hormones :) lol that's awesome!!!!
No just hormones :) lol that's awesome!!!!
paul - 05/04/11 21:48
Thats pretty funny.
Thats pretty funny.
metalpeter - 05/04/11 19:30
I don't know what to say..................
I don't know what to say..................
04/22/2011 18:44 #54118
Zazzle's coffee mugs are not dishwasher safeI'm visiting my mom in Florida and found out the gift I got her and and her husband for Christmas have faded in the dishwasher.
They wouldn't replace them because it has been longer than 3 months. They were for xmas 09. I never get my Mom good gifts.
They wouldn't replace them because it has been longer than 3 months. They were for xmas 09. I never get my Mom good gifts.
tinypliny - 04/23/11 20:08
BEACH. 90 DEGREES. My eyes have turned an unhealthy green.
BEACH. 90 DEGREES. My eyes have turned an unhealthy green.
tinypliny - 04/23/11 20:07
That's a very good point. It's the same logic as handwashing your expensive clothes/sweaters and not tossing them in the washing machine. Why should mugs be any different?
That's a very good point. It's the same logic as handwashing your expensive clothes/sweaters and not tossing them in the washing machine. Why should mugs be any different?
metalpeter - 04/23/11 17:38
This Reminds me that if someone has mugs that they care about to hand wash them. My mother had these cool Mr Pizza glasses (still has one of them) and over time all the art work washed away....
This Reminds me that if someone has mugs that they care about to hand wash them. My mother had these cool Mr Pizza glasses (still has one of them) and over time all the art work washed away....
libertad - 04/23/11 08:43
I forgot to post the link to the site, :::link::: Their website still advertises that they are dishwasher safe and clearly they are not.
Zazzle seems to be a big mess. I wasn't upset that they wouldn't replace these because I had already received a duplicate order that they told me to keep. It was over a hundred dollars in merchandise. When I sent them an email about this situation they first sent me an email saying they would replace and then they sent me another one saying that they were mistaken that they could not replace because it was longer than 3 months.
I offered to give my mom the duplicate mugs I had but she wouldn't ever use them if she couldn't put them in the dishwasher. I kind of am happy that I don't have a dishwasher cause I love all of my mugs and glasses and would hate to see them damaged.
(e:tinypliny), today should be 90. We are going to Ft. Desoto Beach which is incredibly beautiful.
I forgot to post the link to the site, :::link::: Their website still advertises that they are dishwasher safe and clearly they are not.
Zazzle seems to be a big mess. I wasn't upset that they wouldn't replace these because I had already received a duplicate order that they told me to keep. It was over a hundred dollars in merchandise. When I sent them an email about this situation they first sent me an email saying they would replace and then they sent me another one saying that they were mistaken that they could not replace because it was longer than 3 months.
I offered to give my mom the duplicate mugs I had but she wouldn't ever use them if she couldn't put them in the dishwasher. I kind of am happy that I don't have a dishwasher cause I love all of my mugs and glasses and would hate to see them damaged.
(e:tinypliny), today should be 90. We are going to Ft. Desoto Beach which is incredibly beautiful.
tinypliny - 04/22/11 23:54
Envy Envy! Is it sunny and in the 80s there????
Envy Envy! Is it sunny and in the 80s there????
tinypliny - 04/22/11 23:53
I don't think any printed mug would be dishwasher safe unless the design is in the ceramic itself...
I don't think any printed mug would be dishwasher safe unless the design is in the ceramic itself...
paul - 04/22/11 22:37
What is zazzle, are they printed pics?
What is zazzle, are they printed pics?
That was my rather dark sense of humor (e:tinypliny). I don't want to die anytime soon. I'm enjoying life for the most part. Besides planning for my death, I also am planning for living!
And HEHEHE I don't have any fillings so I won't be contributing to any mercury emissions at the very least...
"I'm so excited about this cemetery, I can hardly wait?"
Now, I am more than a little worried about you, (e:libertad)...
lol @ (e:james)! I think I'll pass on being dumped into the ocean Osama style or being vulture food. I'm so excited about this cemetery, I can hardly wait? I was looking at their website more and realized that they charge $700 for opening and closing the grave so the cost is more than I thought. Not sure how it compares to others but I just looked and Forest Lawn does do green burials. I still like Greensprings more because it is more of a green space without the tomb stones.
According to their promotional video they say 10% of the world's mercury emissions comes from dental fillings going through the cremation process. I wonder if that is really true? :::link:::
I want to be cremated and hopefully my ashes would be used as fertilizer. My brother and grad school administrator knows about this. If I leave early, I also want everything I own and have (not much!) to be left to my brother.
Actually, (e:james), it is legal in certain parts of India - if you were Zoroastrian. See this :::link::: and this :::link::: It's too bad India is losing its vultures. They are highly valued back home - almost like the cows. We even have revered vultures-eagle-human hybrids like Garuda :::link::: in the great Indian epics just like we have highly worshiped cows :::link:::(bull)
Since I will be busy being dead, I don't much care about what happens to my body. But, if I had my way, I would like to be left out for animals to eat me and the remains decompose. This, I imagine, is not legal anywhere. But Greensprings sounds like the next best thing. Thanks for letting me know it is even possible.
(e:Paul), NYS doesn't regulate it statewide but local jurisdictions may have ordinances about burial on private land.
(e:libertad) - I've heard lovely things about Greensprings.
I wonder if you buy land out in the country if you can be buried there? I think the best way to end up decomposed is to die drowning out in the ocean.
just checked out the website. wow. mega cool. i applaud you; great choice.