Just Checkin' In

I received my biometrics results last week, results that were more than likely skewed due to me being on the wrong side of a good time hungover and/or still mildly tipsy from the night before.  Anyhoo, my binge drinking aside, the results weren't all too bad:

Body Mass Index reading = Obese!  I really can't tell you how much I hate the BMI....

Blood Pressure = 124/80

Cholesterol =  169 ('Desirable'...)

Blood Sugar = 103 (I'm sure the previous night's activities had something to do with this coming in as 'Borderline')

LDL = 93 (Optimal!)

HDL = 35 (Low...)

Triglyceride = 206 (High...from Triglyceride.com - When alcohol (ethanol) is present in the blood, the liver prioritizes removing alcohol from the blood over other metabolic processes. The liver can detoxify about one ounce of alcohol (distilled spirits) per hour, which is about 1 serving of an alcoholic beverage (equivalent to 12 ounces of beer or 4 ounces of wine).In the meantime, however, glucose tends to be further processed into triglycerides which raises their blood levels.) Yes, well...

TC/HDL Ratio = 4.8 (Average)

Overall, not too shabby for an OBESE person, but I do need to work on my HDL level to get my TC/HDL Ratio above average.  I've increased my exercise during the week, incorporating tabata training to build better overall endurance...and also because the treadmill just wasn't doing it for me anymore.  Tabata has made a bigger impact on overall weight and appearance in two weeks than close to a year of weights and the treadmill have. 

I would like to undergo another biometrics screening in 6 months to check my progress...although I will more than likely still be obese...

Kung Fu Fighting

Is MMA still a thing that people get excited about and order on PPV and have friends over to watch and shite like that?  I went through an MMA phase near the end of the Tito Ortiz era and followed it closely.  Then Brock Lesnar came along, bringing with him an element of WWE boneheaded idiocy and that was that. 

So, anyway - MMA...I received a flier in the mail today for a new MMA fight center opening up somewhere around me.  The flier said I could train to fight or just train to train as if I were going to fight without actually fighting.  No where in the pamphlet was their a fight to train option mentioned, which is too bad because I'm guessing that would be one sporty workout.

Say what you will about MMA, those guys are in shape.  It takes a lot of cardiovascular endurance to keep another man from submitting you by forcibly placing you in a rear naked choke...and reading those words out loud might sound like rough trade, but it's completely straight.  Honest.

 

 

Stay Away From Sears!

So, remember back in February when we went through a gigantic fiasco with Sears concerning a refrigerator and a dishwasher?  Well, it's now June 3rd, and I'm still dealing with corporate incompetence from Sears.  Here is a list of things Sears fails at:

1.  Delivering the correct appliances

2.  Not beating the living piss out of your hardwood floors

3.  Returning phone calls

4.  Staffing their customer service number with fluent English speakers

5.  Explaining charges on your account

6.  Crediting back your account when they have made mistakes

Here's the situation - we bought a dishwasher.  When we received our first bill the total outstanding balance was $500.00 more than what was on our receipt and included some funky charges that remain unexplained.  Calls to customer service were beyond frustrating as the reps manning the phones could barely put a sentence together let alone explain a billing statement.  In the meantime, we've been racking up finance charges we never intended to accrue because we wanted to pay the account off...but since we can't get an accurate payoff balance we've been making the monthly minimum.  Which means more finance charges are accruing on an inflated balance. 

Now, we could just pay the outstanding balance to avoid the charges, but I have no faith that Sears would ever credit us with the proper amount we overpaid.  Frankly, I'm surprised that company can pay their electric bill month in and month out.  Again, this has been going on since February, which is when I was assigned a 'case worker' to look into our billing situation.  Want to know how many times I've received a phone call from my case worker?  That would be zero.  Oh, I've called my case worker every week since Feb 22nd, but she has never returned my messages.  My emails at least receive a canned response, but that's about it.  Twitter complaining gets a prompt response...that my issue will be escalated to my case worker. 

Every company has reps that have a bad day, but the level of disregard and apathy I've encountered with Sears tells me that their indifference and lack of caring is systemic.  It runs top to bottom with that organization.  It shouldn't take 4 months to get an accurate billing statement...or even an apology for scratching and denting our wood floor.  I've yet to speak to a live person at Sears outside of the organic automatons employed to answer phones at their 800 number.  No one is accountable.

If you are in the market for new appliances, by all means, avoid Sears.  You'll get better service at Lowe's and Home Depot...Sears will just deliver the wrong appliances, which is what they did to us and our neighbors.  The delivery team will ding up your floors and not even apologize.  When you call to report the claim you'll be assigned an unaccountable case worker that is completely disengaged.  Your bill will be wrong and no one will be able to explain why...but other than that I'm sure Sears is just great to deal with.