Observations of the West side

I have heard many times before how difficult it is for poor neighborhoods to get their hands on healthy food. I have seen some of the statistics for some of the poor neighborhoods in the city of Chicago before, and realized it was a problem, but it wasn't until this morning that I really paid much attention.

I drive on North Ave all the way west out of the city to get to work every morning. This morning (as I had a small green smoothie for breakfast and knew that I needed protein) I started observing how many fast food restaurants I pass by on my way to work. I did not keep an official tally, but this is what I believe I counted just in the city (not including the burbs):


Church's Chicken - 1
Popeye's Chicken - 1
KFC - 1
Wendy's - 2
Burger King - 2
Dunkin Donuts - 3
Subway - 3
McDonalds - 4
Mom & Pop Hot dog/Gyro/Beef - 8

Grocery stores:
Save A Lot - 1
Walmart - 1
Mexican fruit/veggie markets - 3

Drug stores:
Walgreens - 2

Liquor stores - 10

Again, I did not officially count, this is just me running things through my head, but yup...there are two actual grocery type stores, there plus the Mexican markets...but in the poorest parts of my drive, it's all fast food and liquor stores, with a few small shops that sell overpriced bread and canned goods.

There might be more available not on North Ave, but I doubt it...this just adds to the obesity epidemic...but I don't have the funds to buy up property to build a city farm stand :( maybe I'll start investigating how to go about working with the city to do that though.

Coming off of a SSRI

I hate coming off of SSRI's (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor)...it's hell. This is the second time that I have gone on (and then come off of) a SSRI and I forgot how difficult it is. Going on them is hard, but coming off is rough too.

My anxiety had been managed for the past 6 months through medication and I've been coming off of it for the past month with a few more weeks to go. I am in the middle of a stressful time and I am not handling the stress very well. Coming off of the SSRI you need to relearn how to deal with your emotions and your spikes and valleys, but you also are having your wiring readjusted to not be chemically balanced...so you can overreact to things easily and have even wider ranges of emotions.

For me I tend to start up bad habits again, which will be stopped once the transition is completed...but the bad habits start again. I know that it's temporary but it stinks....it also stinks to feel depressed and not want to leave the bed all because my brain is trying to remember how to work without the assistance of chemicals.

Add to that this up and down stuff that's going on with my work life, and thus you have my extreme mood swings that I'm trying to keep hidden from others, and thus creates more issues and the cycle continues.

I need to get away...thankfully I will next week to the beach and the mountains and to a spiritual awakening with yoga...just one more week.

People are in their own little bubbles

I find the more that I drive and ride my bike, that people in cars tend to be in their own little bubbles. They do not see when cars are next to them, in front of them or behind them (in general). They are too busy jamming to some tunes (or more likely) talking on the phone rather than paying attention to the road.

The few that are paying attention seem to be getting frustrated with those who are not paying attention and building their road rage against other drivers and (unfortunately) cyclists.

I notice this more when riding my bike typically, though I am starting to see this behavior while driving as well. I must admit that I allow road rage to start building within me, but I remind myself that there is nothing I can do about another persons behavior, and I find my breathe. That is easier in a car than on my bike though...especially when people buzz me...even more when I'm 99% sure they see me and still buzz me. That's part of city riding though.