I have a really cool job. I don't always appreciate its really tedious, repetitive, irritating and irrational components/management, but I'd say over all, I am quite a lucky girl to get paid for what I do. (wish it was more $, but who doesn't wish that?) The issue is that while I have this cool job, ocassionally it's a detriment to my own well-being. Allow me to to illustrate;
I am a graphic designer for a financial institution and I am responsible for all the visual communications that go out for my organization. I create brochures and posters and billboards and web graphics and microsites and animations. Among my many other tasks, I am also tasked with creating point of sale displays for our branches. This holiday season I was tasked with doing a holiday spin on promoting Visa credit cards...JUST LIKE EVERY OTHER HOLIDAY SEASON PRIOR TO THIS FOR THE PAST 10 YEARS.
So I decided to shake things up a little and go CRAZY with the concept of promoting holiday shopping. I decided to do a Candy-Land themed display with giant "tree" cones with hundreds of pieces of colorful candy glued on them for ornaments. I found giant lollipops, monstrous tubes of taffy and bubble gum, great bins of gumdrops and non-pariel mints & chocolates, I picked up several bags of colorfully wrapped hershey kisses of all kinds. My criteria was, if it looked colorful and would reveal the ethereal child-like wonderland of a display I was going for, I put it in the cart.
After really going crazy with all the candy (over $200 of candy) I hauled my treasures back to the office. I got out the hot glue gun and proceeded to decorate myself silly. And so I did. The trees look amazing, the giant plastic credit cards are glued up on them at an angle, there's garland and sparkly stuff all over the pedestals and tops of the trees, there's giant jars and bowls and cups and glasses FILLED with all the beautiful candy. Willy Wonka would TOTALLY want me working for him.
So now that I am SURROUNDED by candy, I have to wait until I actually go out and install the displays next week. My issue is, the chocolate. I don't have a problem leaving all the other sugary fruity candies alone, but if there is chocolate and I can see it, it wants in my mouth. Over the past several days that this project has been going on, I have done alright... I take a handful of whatever flavor kisses I want and put them in my little green 4 oz bowl and I nibble on them. I haven't polished off a whole bag or anything. But it's stressful to be surrounded by all this "booty".
(I have to point out the obvious (or not SO obvious) irony of the booty. I mean, I eat the chocolate/ candy surrounding me and my ass gets bigger... it's a brilliant connection, no?)
I have plenty of healthy options around me. I have tunafish in my bottom drawer along with oatmeal packets, rye-krisp crackers, little cups of canned fruit, zingy-flavored almonds, coffee and sugarfree mocha making mix. I am prepared for such an emergency when I am surrounded sugary fattening treats and I am trying to keep it together. And it helps some.
But it doesn't keep the chocolate quiet. It's like a drumbeat from a jungle tribe of cannibals on the other side of the deserted island I'm stuck on. I know they are there, I know they are eventually coming for me, and I know that over all, they likely mean me harm.
I guess the upside is that I have power over my choices. I can choose to put in ear phones, crank up the volume on my ipod and drown out the beat of the little demons of deliciousness. The upside is that hershey kisses won't chase me with little spears, and I won't end up with my head on a stake, at least not at the hand of tiny pieces of colorfully wrapped chocolates.
____________________________________________________
Post-Turkey Day Update
Turkey day was calorically uneventful. We didn't cook. We went out to Black Angus. Altho I did start the day with a piece of pumpkin pie for breakfast (which makes an EXCELLENT breakfast, by the way), I had a lot of coffee, a little shot of baileys in one of the cups, I ate some taco innards on tortilla chips, and a few animal crackers. I had a martini in the afternoon. Then at dinner I had four grilled garlic shrimp on wild rice, and a bowl of baked potato soup. I ended the day with another piece of pie. I doubt I stayed under my 1200 calories, but I didn't go crazy over the top either. Tonight I have another opportunity to do so, assuming my band behaves itself. Right now, it's arguing with me about the cracker I just ate. We shall see.
No comments:
Post a Comment