I could have told you that...

Yesterday, I mentioned several articles that were...well, rather obvious to me.  I could have told you what they said.  And I wouldn't have minded being paid for the research and the writing, as well as garnering the recognition for the research and byline.  I found a couple of others.

But, before I note them, I would like to note something that is surely utter conjecture:  Cheerios has curative properties when you have at least two medical conditions affecting your innards, especially when one is neurological in nature and the other is a system condition.

I have had Cheerios every day since Saturday, since Leslie was my innards hero.  Yesterday, I was rash and had a second "dessert."  When I had the asparagus, I was also rash and had two slices of french bread, dipping it in the seasoned olive oil that I used to saute the asparagus.  [I have to limit how much bread I eat.] Despite being rash twice, I have had no instance of low blood sugar or nausea or writhing on the bathroom floor in the wee hours.  A cup of Cheerios a day keeps the misery away!

Of course, I have also had the glass of Ginger ale and cranberry juice as well.  I am, by the way, low on Ginger ale.  I do not plan on going out until Thursday, but I have but one can left.  I wonder if I should risk not having that Wednesday evening...

That silliness aside, one of the articles I found was on foods that could make you happy.  One of those foods is...can you guess...ASPARAGUS! And I quote:

This vegetable is one of the top plant-based sources of tryptophan, which serves as a basis for the creation of serotonin, one of the brain's primary mood-regulating neurotransmitters. High levels of folate also add to asparagus's happiness-promoting profile; research has shown that up to 50 percent of people with depression suffer from low folate levels. Like tryptophan, it's a necessary factor for creating neurotransmitters. 

So, it is not merely the organic garlic salt that I use on the asparagus I eat that has made me an addict.  I was helping not only dysautonomia and its effects on my blood sugar with the salt, but also the strain that has been my emotions and facing the difficulties that have come my way with the asparagus itself.  I guess that means that I am justified in trying to have asparagus on hand all the time.  I do only like to eat the skinny stuff. Did I ever mention the fresh-from-the-ground, blue, straw-like asparagus I once bought from a farm?  Oh, the glory of that asparagus!  Oh, the memory!

The other article I found was about research that meetings can actually make us dumber.  I totally could have told you that by experience alone.  At the past three jobs I had, I noticed a few things about meetings:

1) People tend to ignore start/end times.
2) Few actually pay attention to the agenda.
3) Project members rarely have their piece/work completed on time.
4) Meetings are prime feeding grounds for bullying, disrespect, and taking offense, even where none is given...primarily because meetings are prime locations for peacocks to strut their stuff.
5) The work of meetings oft becomes bogged down by the need to not step on any toes with regard to the person(s) who is(are) usually responsible for such work slated for the meeting.
6) Rarely are meetings productive in the way a gathering of two, perhaps three, committed employees can be.

At countless meetings, I was appalled to see folk saunter in around 10:15 or even 10:30 for a 10:00 meeting, usually with cell phone in tow.  People would bring other work to do, while tuning folk out.  Presenters would not have rehearsed their presentations or given thought to the layout of their handouts with regard to reader understanding and use...and paper conservation.  And teamwork/ team projects were a joke.  Usually, one or two people did all the work.  Primarily, the pervasive mentality to meetings were all about individual, rather than the company/organization/department/team.  The ego really drove all interaction and interfered with productivity.

Of course, if I had a quarter for every minute of my life spend in a faculty meeting discussing copier paper, I would have absolutely no worries about paying for my prescriptions!

I would like to do a few research studies of my own.  I miss research.  I miss studying.  I miss delving into some topic with other fine minds.  At this point, I am fairly sure I have mere mush for brain cells.

SIGH.


I am Yours, Lord.  Save me!