She works hard for her money

So I work in the University Press Building. Basically BYU Mail Services gets the back end of the print building. Everyday we recieve packages that are then sent all over campus. Some of the packages are actually supposed to go to the press part of the building and those are my responsibility to deliver. I LOVE THIS. You may be asking yourself why I would love having to deliver dirty packages through a noisy printing operation. Well, here's why. First of all I am fascinated to see the printing machines at work. Print, cut, fold, staple, stack. It is amazing. Secondly, I absolutely love the smell in that place. I think it's the ink that they use, but I'm not really sure. It could be the paper, or maybe some other chemical used on the machines. Whatever it is, the distinct smell just is good. Don't get me wrong, I don't think I would like to be surrounded by it all the time or even smell it on another person, but that smell for a small part of the day just makes my job a little better.

Tidbitts Too

Here are some thoughts I had today.

1. In our parking lot there is one stall that is next to the wall that people park in WAY TOO CLOSE so that people walking around the plant thingy growing over the top of the wall have to do contortions to get around it. This bothers me. For the past two days now I have gotten to park in that spot. It gives me endless gratification to park far enough back so that people can easily walk around the plant and my car at the same time. I'm kinda proud of it.
2. I have now been moved down TWO lists of blogging friends on their links lists. I know this seems like nothing to anybody else (especially since they were making it in alphabetical order) but it has drastically changed my outlook on their sites. The Heat is doing it so that she can make money. Let me just say that EVERYBODY knows that I am her favorite and giving her money isn't going to change her favorites. It will be me! Why do people even have to move me down? It seems sort of wrong or something. At least I wasn't taken off their lists (like Katie rudely did to Heather).
3. You know how sometimes it rains and the worms come out? I have talked about this before. Well recently it snowed but it was a wet snow so all the worms came out and then they froze to death. Now we have their frozen carcasses on the ground all over. It's kinda sick if you ask me. Also I wonder how we even have any worms populating the planet anymore because they all come out and die. (This isn't an invitation to give me a biology lesson Heather.)

That's about it for now. Hope you like the tidbitts too!

Music Dork

Well, Katie asked me to answer some questions from her blog so here goes.

1. Total amount of music files on your computer:
I don't really know to be honest. I think I copied three christmas CDs and two other CDs on
there, but that's about it.

2. The last CD you bought:
"Feels Like Home" by Norah Jones. Coincidentally the ONLY CD I've purchased for myself. A fact that seems like a sin to some.

3. What's the last song you listened to before you read this message:
"Tiny Dacer" by Elton John the first time I read the post. A song I don't know the title to by Incubus the current time I read the post.

4. Write down 5 songs that you often listen to or that mean a lot to you:

• "Rippling Water" by somebody. It reminds me of my daddy. It's totally country sounding, but I like it especially the intro before the words come on.
• A song by James Taylor that I don't remember the title to. Its on this CD that Katie left in the car when it was transferred to my hands. Well, anything by James Taylor is pretty awesome. If you don't think that then you're a loser. I think he's one of my favorite acoustic guitarists. Plus, the song is just good.
• "When the Sun Goes Down" I don't know the artists. I probably should on this one. It's a country song. I'm ashamed to admit that I actually listen to it, but it reminds me of the first date that Daniel and I had so I love it.
• "Sleeping Beauty" not the Disney version, the original orchestrated version (I forget the composer, Tchicovsky I think). It is a BEAUTIFUL piece of music.
• I would have to say any song by Billie Holiday. Her voice is absolutely amazing and I love just to relax to her music. Plus, any Jazz song reminds me of my mom and I love them all. Jazz is the best music in the world.

5. Who are you going to pass the stick to:

Nobody. I don't really know who would like to answer the questions.

So talking about music makes me seem like a big dork because I don't really know the names of artists or songs. I do like music though and I figured I'm not that uninformed about music. I know what I like. I LOVE JAZZ! I also like country and bluegrass. For the most part they are pretty related to jazz which is pretty cool. I like the acoustic guitar. Influences from my friends that I've had at school have been my appreciation of punk music and also anything with "the funk." So anyway those are my thoughts on that issue.

ED

Well, I've recently discovered something pretty amazing! Ed is on TBS at 10AM weekdays! That show is SO GOOD! I wish I didn't have to go to class at 10 MWF. I do try to see it when I can though. Tuesdays are the best for me because I get out of class at 10:15 (so I miss the beginning) But I don't have work at 11. I'm so happy. It reminds me of Ed Night during freshman year.

World Religions

So I'm taking this class on major world religions. I LOVE IT! It makes me feel as though I have some idea of things that are going on in the world. We haven't done very many yet though. We've covered the pre-historic religions like Egypt, Greece, Celts, Romans, and Babylonians. Also we've gone into detail on Judaism and Hinduism. Right now we are studying Zoroastrianism. I am embarassed to admit my ignorance in this realm, but before this class I had never heard of Zoroastrians. Well, at least I thought I hadn't. Apparently that was the religion of Perssia (you know it the Bible). Anyway, I am totally fascinated by this religion. It has so many parallels to my religion. Some of the things in it are radically different than what I believe, but I can't wait to dig in and understand it more.

Also I have to go visit the worship services of another faith and write a paper on it due in three weeks. What faith should I visit? I would go to the Krishna temple, but I've already been there twice so the what did you expect before going there portion of the paper wouldn't be that interesting. Any suggestions?

Behold the Power of Cheese

Well, my post really has nothing to do with cheese. That's just been running through my head because I finally chose a topic for my 5 minute informative speech for my speech class. (I'm doing it on cheese.) Anyway, what this post is really about is how I'm a genius! Today has been an awesome day and here are three MAIN reasons why (not the only reasons, just the best ones)
1. I got my Valentine's Day package from my mom today. In it she put new socks (my favorite), some butter creme mint thingys that she has started making for my wedding reception, a new pencil, and some valentine refridgerator craft magnets. Sorry about the syntax of that sentence. Anyway, it was pretty much the awesomest thing ever.

2. I found out my rank in my O-chem lab. Any guesses? I am ranked number 4! Isn't that amazing?! I think it's pretty much the best thing ever. Everyone in that lab thinks I'm a chemistry genius. I think its so funny that I'm doing such a good job at fooling them all! Little do they know that I got a C- in 351 and a C in 352! Anyway, I'm planning on getting a B or perhaps an A in that lab. I'm a genius!

3. The final and most genius move of the day is that I talked my way out of having to pay TWO on campus parking violations today! (A sum total of $40 I would have had to pay today.) How did I do this you ask? Well, basically it's because of my geniosity (this is a conjugation of the word genius). I bet you all wish you were as genius as I am!

Pennies from Heaven

"Every time it rains, it rains pennies from heaven." I love that song! Billie Holiday is amazing!

I washed my car today. I know this doesn't sound like much, but this is the first time I've done it since the little incident. This time I went up to the safe one that's near my grandma's house. It's called Car Wash on 8th. It's pretty good. Also it's usually crowded. Before I didn't like that about this place, but I was happy this time. So even though it was far away, it was worth the drive. I was vaccuuming out my car afterwards and I vaccuumed up a piece of glass! (In case you don't know my car got broken into last summer and the glass from the window was all over the inside of my car. Incidently $1500 worth of my stuff was taken.) Anyway, it got me to thinking how that car and I have been through a lot together. Now it's all dented and has some scratches. (sorry Daddy, but I don't think any of them are my fault and there's no new ones since you saw it at Christmas) It's maybe a little worse for the wear but it has character. I think that's a little like myself. Character.

What are some of my other pennies? Well, I have realized this week how much I love my family! I don't mean to say this as some silly thing that you always hear at testimony meeting, but I honestly do love them. They do so much for me. My big sister will always be a trailblazer! My mom is my protector and comforter. My daddy has been and always will be a safe haven to cry in. My brother has shown me so many paths to success. I admire them all and look to their examples in my life.

Speaking of family, another set of pennies are my roommates this year. I think I have trusted them and loved them more than I ever thought possible. I wish I knew how to better show them that. I have been blessed to know one of my perfect complements, Heather Higgins. I have realized lately that we are not perfect complements because we came that way. We have worked at it three years now. We are sisters. I want to be like her when I grow up. She is a spiritual giant that is so....awesome in the true sense of the word. Toria is an intellectual giant. Watching her and how she lives her life has shown me the true joy of learning. I am amazed at her dedication. Jana I feel so close to right now. I don't have any idea of what her life has been like, but I know that she is truly a strong woman capable of much. I look to her future to see great things.

How could I talk about pennies without mentioning Daniel? I am so humbled that someone so great loves me. He chooses to love me each and every day. He works so hard and is so patient. He, who doesn't talk to people, has shown me what true communication and love can be about. He sees his faults and actively works to better himself. I love him so much. It is so great to be able to absolutely trust someone--what they tell you and what they do for you and who they are. That is a rare gift and I'm so happy that I have found it.

I have so much love and support all around me! My cup runneth over! I don't think I could get any more blessings. I wouldn't have any space for them.

PS. Heather's soccer game tonight went really great! Man she is so awesome! Bring on the Heat!

PSS. Sorry this post was a long one for those of you readers that don't actually have the attention span to read the whole thing.

HAPPY GROUND HOG'S DAY!

One thing that I think I've really changed while living with Miss Heather Higgins is my observace of all national holidays. Did anyone else know that today is Ground Hog's Day? Well it is. And I think Punxsutawney Phill will be seeing his shadow today. And here's a question for you. Does Phill predict winter for the whole US or is it a sort of regional thing? I would be leaning toward regional, but then what regions do you have? If there aren't any sort of lines drawn we could have a hog for every block in the nation. That doesn't seem to work. Then one hog could see his shadow and a hog a block over, who is a little braver, wont go hiding back in his hole. Does that mean that for the one block it's 6 more weeks of winter but the block over can say, "Bring on the Spring!"?

But it doesn't seem right that Phill would predict the nation either. How could cloud cover in New York possibly predict Utah's 6 week forcast? That is the big issue of the day. So anyway, HAPPY GROUND HOG'S DAY!

Quote from earlier this morning:
We were trying to find out the meaning of the town name Punxsutawney.
Me: Well it must be something brown because tawney means brownish.
Heather: Punxsu must mean Hog. Brown Hog.

May 1963

So I spent the night with my Grandma Margie last night. She is such an amazing woman! I wish I had spend more time getting to know her before now. We went through all her old photos and I learned about her life. My grandma is truely amazing. Her life...wow. Words can't even express my gratitude for all she has done. At any rate, we spent Friday evening going through her photos and labeling them. Who they were of really was the only thing that we got on them. I decided that they were simply amazing. I saw photos of little kids with happy smiling faces. It's kinda weird to be confronted with the beggining of someone's life KNOWING the end. I saw photos of my Aunt Sandy. Such a happy little girl. I saw photos of Grandpa Willie--the little boy, the young man, the sailor, the pharmacist. These are photos of people that were taken from me. Seeing their faces and their photos have given me such a new sense of their personallities. I'm so grateful for the chance to get to know them.

Tidbits

1. I feel the great loss that is surrounding our apartment already. Kate was such a wonderful addition to our apartment, so loving and cute. My only question is who are we going to have dispose of the body? I say a boy because girls don't touch dead stuff.

2. Last weekend was amazing! I love spending time with my sweetie. It doesn't happen that often. We went up to Logan and visited with some family up there. We went sledding up there because it's colder. If we were in Dante's version of Hell I think Logan would be the lowest circle. It was fun anyway. The little nephews are SO CUTE! I wish Dan could be around me more. I miss him so much! I think it's getting better though. I mean school is keeping me really busy and there's not much time until I get to see him again. I sometimes get a little jealous of people who get to have their fiance around them, or even in the same state, but I know that things will work out for the best.

3. There's more, but I'm off of work now so I don't have any more time to write. Sorry.

Maggie's Classes

I don't know if any of you have ever felt this, but I don't want to go to school anymore. I don't get to take any classes this semester that are food science, which stinks. A lot. I don't really like any of my classes this semester and it kinda makes me not want to keep going. The only thing that keeps me going is knowing how important it is to me and those around me. I'm glad that I have that kind of influence in my life. If it were just me, I would have given up about a semester ago.

When you've lived with girls too long

Last Sunday, I took my roommates over to my aunt and uncle's house for a nice Sunday Dinner. Well, everything was going great! My sister was in town so, of course, the family favorite topic of conversation was discussed. That would be skiing if any of you are unaware of my sister's new obsession. Also, I felt that my aunt and uncle did a wonderful job including my roommates. The dinner was a particularly tasty meal with my aunts wonderful homemade rolls. To top it all off a dessert of warm, freshly baked brownie with ice cream and real hot fudge was served. My uncle made this delicious concoction. He had it set out in the laundry room to cool on the extra microwave in that room. We were all sitting at the table in blissful anticipation when, with much pride, he brought it in. My aunt, doing her usual running around clean up went over to the bar to help serve. She suddenly started laughing. We all look over and she gasps out, "Look at what your uncle used as hot pads!" She is holding up two hot pink panties! Yes, my uncle, assuming that the brownies were resting on two hot pads just picked up the panties and brought them in with the brownies without even noticing that anything was amiss. I think this is a testament to what happens when the only boy has been out of the house for three years now and the three girls remaining take over the place. (PS. the panties were clean)

Raging Insecurities

I don't know if it's just me or this happens to everyone, but I just can't stand the beginning of a new semester. Some of the people around me see it as an opportunity, a new challange to tackle, or new and exciting people to meet. I don't see it this way at all. I just finished my first organic chemistry lab. This class brought out all of my insecurities at once. First, it was a class that is male dominated. I know I'll have to really hold my own in that class or play the "I'm just a stupid girl" route to be able to work with anybody. It sucks, but that's the reality. Also, we have to work independently. I don't like to do that because I very rarely understand things without talking about them. Thirdly, I really feel that I DON'T understand organic chemistry. It is a subject for which I have had to work extra hard just to get a passing grade. Also, I'm not a pre-med pre-dent major. I don't NEED an A in this class. I just have to get a passing grade and I know, for my last o-chem class, I had to work three times as hard as the guys I studied with who got A's. Lame. Anyway, that's what I think about that.

Happy Christmas!

I feel so sick right now and I love it! To explain first I need to say that every year as long as I can remember my family has been packing up and driving down to Utah for Christmas. This is where both of my parents are from. Every year since starting school at BYU, I've had this time of limbo between the end of finals and when my parents get here. They are coming today. They are also bringing me something better than any Christmas present. They're bringing my sweetie, Daniel. As the weekend has gone on I have gotten more and more excited to where I have now literally made myself sick waiting for them. I can only remember my sister ever getting this sick on Christmas Eve. My stomach is literally doing flipps. I wonder if he knows how excited I get to see him.

I must say though that I have truly loved my time by myself. My last roommate left Saturday afternoon and I've had the apartment to myself since then. It has been so nice to be relaxed and quiet for a day or so. I love to have the time to myself to just sit and think and get excited. Each year at the end of the semester I get rather stressed. Planning for Christmas and finishing my classes and getting everything together seems to overwhelm. Then I have this calm before the holidays start. It is a time I take to remember things that I love.

So anyway, I hope everyone has a very Happy Christmas and New Year!

The Heat

Dear Reader,
I just wanted to write a post saying how awesome my roommate is. Her name is the Heat. She is awesome. I was just sitting here, using her computer this very second. She was sitting beside me when, all of the sudden (yes I say all of the sudden instead of all of a sudden) she jerked. This jerk wouldn't have been much except she was holding her water and it spilled all over the part of the seat she wasn't sitting in. To wipe it up she just moved her bum around the chair. Yes, she's awesome.

Also, an amusing quote that she said lately is, "Cream cheese is a secret ingredient for lots of delicious meals." This would not have been weird, except that it came out of the blue! And she said it like I was in despirate need of this information.

Don't you think that a person that does things like this is awesome? Because I do!
Sincerely,
Maggie Jo Timothy

PS. Which do you think is better, Maggie Timothy or Maggie Jo Timothy?

Something Short

So my posts have been really long lately and I just wanted to write something short on here really quick. I decided the other night that one of my favorite things is to see something performed live. I love live concerts, plays, musicals, and operas. I wish I were more adept at finding things like that to go to that don't cost too much money. Well, that's it on that issue.

Growing Up

***Disclaimer: To my sister. I am nervous about posting this blog just because I don't know how you will take it. I am just writing my reactions to what I percieved you to be saying. If I am wrong in some way or I hurt you I apologize right now.****

I'm not entirely sure how this post will go. I feel as though there are many thoughts in my head and I'm not sure how to get them out correctly. This post contains my personal reactions to my sister's post "9 things I do differently now that I'm not a psycho BYU co-ed Mormon ." There are two parts to this post:

Part 1:

I admit that my initial reaction was not a happy one. In fact, I was royally upset. I percieved my sister's blog to be saying that BYU is a place that is too sheltered from the world. Perhaps even that it is difficult to become the person you want to be in that environment. I have known many people in my life that have challenged me in my decision to go to BYU and also in my decision to have my religion. Therefore, I get rather defensive. Recently I went up to Oregon State for a visit and a guy I met there told me to my face that I was a sell out for going to BYU. He said something to the effect of there's no reason that people should try to go there like they do because it doesn't help anybody. The social environment is detrimental to people. I was a little upset because he has never actually lived here. Why is it that I always here all these negative things about my school from people that haven't actually GONE to my school? Now my sister, whom I love and trust, thinks the same thing.

Here is my philosophy, BYU is an LDS school. Being such it should be expected to be a center for LDS thought. If it were a Jewish school it would be a center for new Jewish thought. If it were a liberal school it would be a place for new liberal thought. I am frustrated with people who complain about BYU not being liberal enough. It isn't a liberal school. With that said, I don't feel that people are close minded here. Maybe this is my experience alone, but I have met many very open people living here with very different ideas about life and religion than my own. (Yes they are Mormon too.) Granted there are people that are close minded, and ignorant. You would get that at any school though. Take the good with the bad. That's the kind of world we live in. You like where you live because of how you live and who you are. People can be content just about anywhere if they are living in a manner that makes them happy. It is a personal choice not the choice of the masses.

Most of that was just tangential and I'm sorry, but I've been mulling that one over for a while now. I thought I might as well just get it out into the open.

Part 2

Growing up. I think really that's what my sister's blog is about. I will admit that I had to rush off to work right after having read her blog. I spent two hours stuffing envelopes with money for the taste pannel tomorrow and had plenty of time to think. That's what I came up with. Here's my take on the topics discussed in her blog:
1. Defining yourself/prayer. Everyone has a point in their life that they HAVE to chose who they are and what they believe in. I think my sister's done it. She's made her decision. Bravo to her.
2. Lame activities/Support. This one goes off more on what was said in the comments section, but I have also been to many lame activities. Dances, I'll admit, I have stayed away from, not really ever having liked my experiences there. Also having been put in charge of many activities I personally thought were lame I know how much it means to someone if people actually show up to FHE when the only thing planned is the flour game.
3. Try to convert others. Again a timeless life lesson. Having been forced into many different social circles in the past I know what it means to have a friend that just appreciates you for who you are. I can't say I've ever converted anyone, but I can say that I have good friends that know what it means to live an LDS lifestyle. I think this lesson can be learned with no respect to where you live. BYU or somewhere else, the lesson will come.
4. Judging others. Again that just comes from growing up. Here, there or anywhere.
5. Peer Pressure. This one made me laugh. Peer pressure is overcome at different stages in life. I think of my sister as a completely independent woman who makes up her mind about many things on her own. To be pressured into not doing something by her peers seems so amusing to me.
6. Sarcasm. I personally have NEVER liked sarcasm. I have consciously tried to stay away from it, even though it pops in every once in a while. I'm glad she stopped.
7. Sleepy Sundays. I think the real message here is that she decided that she would make her Sunday more meaningful. I get this from her comments later, not the actual post itself. I personally disagree about the THREE hour nap for myself, but whatever helps you the most on Sunday.
8. Feel Guilty. I think that this is also a lesson learned in time. Being able to have an accurate picture of yourself is a very hard task. To be able to say, "I'm not what I should be, I'm not what I could be, but I'm not what I used to be either." Is difficult. By that I mean, having the appropriate perspective. I think people everywhere have this problem. Not just at BYU.
9. Opening my friendships. I will admit that at college, once you are in your major you are basically locked into a certain social circle. I'm glad my sister now can accept more people as friends. I think this was a cause of some disagreements between the two of us my freshmen year.

All in all, I'm glad my sister can see herself grow. I think it's amazing. I still disagree with her on a few issues, but for the most part I'm just glad it happened. I hope everyone, myself included, can strive to become more introspective, whether it be at BYU, CU, or anywhere else on the globe.

My Sister

This post seems to be out of place with the other one. I really do feel everything I say on this one. I guess that's one of the great things about families. You can respectfully disagree with each other and still love each other tremendously.

I love my sister. Does anyone know how absolutely amazing she really is? I don't think people around her actually do. I try to convince her, but she never agrees with me. I think she is wonderful. I love her.

Katie has always been my hero and sometimes idol. When we were younger I wanted to BE her. I have shaped my life after hers from taking the violin to wearing my two pairs of sox rolled down the "cool" way. I have followed her into the jaws of a dog and back. To me she seemed brave, fearless, undaunted, and courageous. I would do anything she asked me to. She protected me.

When we moved to Spokane I always percieved her as the popular daughter. In my mind she quickly made friends whereas I struggled. Then I watched her go into highschool. She was so fashionable. Her friend and she were always around the cool people in school. I had a hard time with friends when I was younger having had two "best friends" that decided they were too cool for me. I wanted to be just like my sister. She was popular, pretty, funny, and impressive.

Today I still see my sister as so much older and more sophisticated than myself. She has a career and a car and really nice clothes. She knows what's up in her life. She is in charge as she always has been. This whole time I have wanted to be just like her.

As time has moved on I am now finding out how my perception of the truth was completely different from hers. She has insecurities and fears that I formerly knew nothing about.

Now I see how different we are. This whole time I have tried to be her I find I am not. Don't get me wrong I am happy being me. That's a long hard road I think everyone has to travel. I still see her as a fashion expert. To me she is still brave, classic, chic, undaunted, fearless, sexy, and beautiful. I don't think that will ever change. I love her so much. She is so amazing. She is my sister.

Grotesque

****Disclaimer: Extremely Long, Emotional post. I couldn't cut any out. Sorry****

Much to my surprise I found out in my nutrition class today that I am grotesque. This startling news was doled out by a bunch of angry women and men. Mostly just the other females in my class. Here's how my nutrition class went.

The final subject in my nutrition class for the semester is energy balance and weight gain. I don't really like my nutrition class, but this topic is one of my least favorites. I think it is the least favorite of most women, but usually for a different reason than my own. I don't like it because I honestly don't care. I am how I am and I think that's ok. I also don't like it because it tends to get women extremely worked up and I try to avoid those situations. Anyway, we calculated our BMI (body mass index) before class and I went into class knowing mine is in the 18 neighborhood.

Today we go into class and everything starts out normally. I'm learning about different types of obesity and different energy balances. Then they start talking about BMI. Here's where the train wreck started. Our professor told us about the different cutoffs that the National Health Board have come up with for various weight classes:

• Unerweight <19
• Healthy Weight 19-25
• Overweight 25-30
• Obese 30-40
• Severely Obese >40

I was a little surprised to see that I am in the underweight category. He explained that the cutoffs were based on mortality rates for each of the BMIs, healthy weights being associated with the lowest mortality. He asked the class why in particular the lowered BMI would be associated with a higher mortality rate. Snide comments came out such as, "People that are that skinny just fall through the cracks in the sidewalk and get trampled on." That was seriously a comment that came from someone in my class. My professor tried to mitigate these comments by saying that low BMI is also associated with diseases that might cause death. For example, someone with cancer, at the time of death has lost a lot of weight and would thus have an extremely low BMI. I was a little upset by all the negative comments about me being too skinny and dieing, but honestly I've always been skinny so I'm used to comments like these.

Then came the real clencher. My professor introduced a study that was done at a university on attractiveness levels of each gender. He presented this to the class to try and make the point of the unrealistic expectations that society has for body shape. Forty men were shown photos of 50 women from the neck down with different body compositions. They tested waist to hip ratio and BMI vs. attractiveness level. Waist to hip ratio didn't seem to matter, but BMI accounted for 73% of the variation in attractiveness level. The highest level in the statistical model was found to be at a BMI of around 18. He then went off on how this was an unrealistic goal. Then comments were shouted out about men only liking grotesque, prepubescent girls that weren't really women at all. Keep in mind that I have a BMI of 18 and was sitting listening to how grotesque I am! I was so mad I didn't even know what to say.

I'm not complaining that I'm skinny. I'm just noting how incredibly rude some people are when they feel attacked. It's not like I was shouting out how all the other women in the room were fat lards that needed to go to the gym and eat right once in a while. I don't think that, but even if I did I wouldn't be shouting it out to the rest of the class. I think my professor could have handled this situation in a much better manner.

Raw Meat

I went to Otto and Sons Inc. today on my class fieldtrip. It was pretty awesome. I didn't think it was going to be, but actually I was intrigued by the meat processing industry. Otto and Sons Inc. is the "exclusive meat supplier for McDonald's". They also supply meat to Nestle, Kraft, and Chipotle (a Denver based restaurant company). I thought that was an interesting fact because people in the United States feel that the meat industry is corrupt and that you can't trust your meat to be safe. Let me tell you that this is so far from the truth.

My friend Jonny read "Fast Food Nation" and was trying to tell me how corrupt the meat industry was and how they were always trying to cut corners. All I can say to that was, he read an expose of one person's experience of one factory. That person was also trying to sell a book. Like any activity, you're going to get some people who don't do what they're supposed to. Do you think that the restaurants would buy the meat if it didn't pass microbial tests? I say NO. If he wants to believe the word of one person without actually researching the truth about government regulations in the United Sates, I guess I can't force him to see the truth.

Here's my attempt anyway. First of all, companies know it's bad for business to be putting out food that would harm the consumers. People stop getting food from a place that has been connected with bad food. It would put them out of business. People want to produce something they can be proud of and if they want to stay in business for any length of time they also want to produce something the consumer will buy. Consumers stop buying damaged goods. Secondly, since the infamous Jack-in-the-Box outbreak the US government has really cracked down on the meat supply and it has become much MUCH safer. In fact, what I found out was that most of the contamination that people get from restaurants that serve meat now is actually from the bathroom. Yeah, that's right, other people in the bathroom that don't wash their hands. Kinda gross, but it's true. You should see all the tests they do on the meat coming into the facility and going out of the facility. Tests run constantly.

Also, I think that my sister should give up being an aerospace engineer and design new equipment for food processing. She'd be so good at it! It SOUNDS lame, but honestly I have been so amazed at all those machines working this past semester as I've gone through the processing plants. It's pretty cool. Well, actually she's going to go to grad school so she'd probably be WAY too qualified for that job. Katie, you rock.