Monday 22 April 2013

This Is Not the Post I Promised

Last time I said my next post would be about exercise - I lied. That's something you need to learn about me, sometimes I lie. Not intentionally, I just don't think before I speak and often times I say what I THINK reality should be instead of what it actually is.

For example: "I told him where to put it!"

"You did?"

"Actually... no, but I wanted to!"

So yes, I intended to make a post about exercise but this post struck me as more interesting and so the discussion of how much I love lifting heavy things will have to wait for another time.

Now, let's talk about restaurants. No, really, let's talk about restaurants and why I can't stand them!

For most people going to a restaurant is a treat. We go to escape the drudgery of cooking for ourselves and the inevitable clean up that must follow cooking at home. For most people it's an opportunity to enjoy good food and good company.

For me going to a restaurant is a stressful, uncomfortable, often times traumatizing ordeal.

Here's why.

A: They never, ever, ever, EVER get my order right. "I can't have diary, gluten, nuts or apples. What on your menu is safe?"

The waiter will ask the cook, then return to give me my options. I will order only to receive food that either has butter on it or another allergen. This is always the case. And I often worry about cross contamination.

Did you know Boston Pizza claims to have 'gluten-free' products? For something to be truly gluten-free (and thus safe for allergy sufferers) it must be prepared on properly sanitized surfaces and cooked in gluten-free ovens. Do you really think they're preparing their 'gluten-free' selections on properly sanitized surfaces? I don't. I have a very strong suspicion there is a great deal of cross-contamination going on in their kitchen. And I strongly suspect this is the case in any restaurant.


This may seem a very small complaint to some but for me this is potentially life threatening. Get a bit of dairy in my meal and my stomach will hurt for awhile. Get a bit of gluten and I'll feel ill. Get a bit of nut in there and I'll die. Period.

B: The noise. OH THE NOISE! How can I eavesdrop if there are ten conversations going on at the same time? I'm sure that I was autistic or something in a past life because the noise in restaurants bothers me a great deal. All the voices at once... I just don't like it. For a variety of reasons but mostly it hurts my head.

C: The Wait Staff. This one may seem VERY odd but there seem to be three kinds of wait staff. The Overly Friendly - honestly I find these ones annoying. I don't want to chat with my wait staff. I haven't come to visit with them, I've come to visit with whomever I'm eating with. I just don't like it when they go on and on and on... argh. I've had my moments as a cashier but as a cashier it's just me and them and nothing else to fill the silence. In a restaurant setting the wait staff has no reason to linger or fill the gap of silence. The Overly Rude - these are the ones who are rushed and don't pay attention to your order and sometimes even get a bit rude and obnoxious. These are the eye rollers, the short, snipped responses and the ones who most often expect the biggest tips. Very Rarely The Good - these ones just do their job. They smile. They are polite. But they don't try to chat you up or waste your time. They just do their job! It's nice.

D: The price. Really? I can feed myself for maybe $20 a week and they expect me to pay over $28.00 for one meal? HAH! Not likely.

Perhaps I haven't been to the right restaurants but as it is I don't think I'll ever trust strangers enough to eat something I haven't prepared myself.

Strangely enough fast food places don't bother me as much. Places like A&W or McDonalds provide handy dandy ingredient lists so you can read exactly what's in their food. They list common allergens and often have warnings for allergy sufferers. This gives me quite a bit more confidence than your average restaurant.

Maybe one day someone will open a restaurant just for allergy sufferers. A quiet, gentle atmosphere where one can enjoy an intimate time away from the drudgery of cooking at home but honestly I don't expect this to happen any time soon!

And there you have it! My rant of the day.

And no cute drawings this time around. Sorry. ):

Wednesday 17 April 2013

Catholics Hate the Bible

A Serious Post.



I almost feel bad for posting two religious topics in a row but lately I have been immersing myself in my faith and in doing so have reignited a passion for the faith that leads to me thinking mainly about faith-based matters. So bear with me.

When I was a Protestant I often heard the argument that Catholics don't know their Bible. Catholics don't know their faith. The average Catholic doesn't know WHY they do the things they do, they just do them out of habit.

DISCLAIMER: This post is not meant to attack anyone, it is merely a glance at a curious phenomenon that I've seen in life.

Here's the thing.

When I was a Protestant I didn't know the Bible. Sure, I could quote Bible verses here and there from the Old Testament and I knew my way in and out of the New Testament but I didn't KNOW Scripture. I didn't understand it as a whole but took it in parts. And the majority of people I knew were in the same boat.

Why did we go to Church on Sunday instead of honoring the Sabbath on Saturday? I didn't know. I just went because I was told that's when we go.

Why did we believe in the Trinity? I didn't know and most of the Protestants I knew could NEVER show me in the Bible where that belief comes from. They believe because they're told to believe.

The hard questions were often brushed aside. It just IS. Why do we believe this? We just DO. Where is this in the Bible? We just believe this. I'm sure it's in the Bible SOMEWHERE but I don't know where off hand.

I posit to you that Protestants don't know their Bibles. They don't know their faith. The average Protestant doesn't know WHY they believe what they believe, they believe because they're expected to and they will put aside their own reason to blindly follow someone who can quote the Bible more effectively than they can. True story.

In Protestantism, like in Catholicism, there are simply people who go through the motions. They are culturally Christian. This is true in ANY faith, any religion. It's bound to happen when you have a religion that is accepted almost country-wide. Some people are born into it and stay in it because it's a family heirloom of sorts. Some people pretend to be it to gain favor (as in Politicians or even in workplaces). Some people DO believe in Christ and God but they have no desire to learn more, they want to just believe but lack intellectual integrity and/or believe belief is ALL you need. Blind faith. It's not a Catholic phenomenon.

Now of course I don't actually believe that all Protestants don't know their bibles, and I never make the argument that; The average Protestants doesn't know WHY they blindly do the things they do... but I hope you realize that stating that Catholics don't know their bible, Catholics don't know their faith, Catholics just blindly do what they're supposed to out of habit is an equally unfair statement to make.

We are each responsible for our own intellectual integrity. Stop basing your opinions based on how others act and start basing your opinions on fact.

Fact: Scripture is preached EVERY SINGLE DAY in Catholic Masses throughout the world. Since joining the Catholic Church I have learned several pieces of Scripture that I can now quote by memory and this is because of the Catholic Mass (and I only had to attend every Sunday to learn them! - although I would gladly attend daily Mass if I could).

Fact: Many Catholics don't know why they do what they do but many DO know! And those who know do all the rituals with great joy and peace, knowing full well what they mean and what they signify.

Fact: Catholics are not only encouraged to read the Scripture but there are MANY resources available for free to help them study it. Problem is, they actually have to make the effort to seek these things out and as we know Catholics are people and people can be lazy.

Fact: The majority of Protestants love Scripture.

Fact: Some Protestants have many traditions they follow without being aware they are following a tradition.

Fact: Protestants love Jesus Christ just as much as Catholics.



This post ties in very heavily with my last post so please consider it a part two of the last one!

There you have it. Next up; A look at Exercise!