Leaving Treadmarkz Across the Universe

by Treadmarkz

Many people on SSI think that the new Economic Stimulus plan which is going to give each taxpayer up to $600 back this year on their taxes, and every married couple up to $1200 back, does not apply to them because they earn no taxable income.

For an explanation of whether you are eligible, please read this message from the American Association of People with Disabilities. You may be eligible! Click the “Information on this Topic” link in the message that I linked to above. Then, if you still have questions, be sure to click the “Contact Us” link and find out for sure if you are eligible.

April 15 is coming soon, so don’t delay!

by Treadmarkz

As I mentioned a while back, I am a former heavy Mountain Dew drinker. Really, I am beyond the point of counting the hours since I’ve had it, and I am only counting the weeks now (12 weeks). But there is just something great about being able to say that today I reached 2000 hours without so much as a dribble of Mountain Dew or any other soda/pop going down my gullet. It’s a milestone.

I was thinking of celebrating tonight with a 12 oz. can of Mountain Dew, which would be a hell of a lot less than I used to drink in one sitting. I was at work until 9 pm, but at 8, which marked 2000 hours, I went and bought a can in the vending machine. It felt weird holding that cold, aluminum can in my hand. I had not held one, aside from throwing away an occasional empty for my wife (she hardly drinks any) or a co-worker, in nearly three months.

I flicked the side of the can with my finger, and listened to the tinny, metallic resonance as it reverberated in my hand, and echoed in my head like a giant, ancient church bell slamming back and forth.

You know what though? I didn’t drink it. When I got home, my wife reminded me that since quitting, I am looking healthier. That means a lot to me, as it does to her. I am approaching 30 now, and I know I have to take care of myself. Being paralyzed makes this evermore imperative. My wife and I have to watch out for each other and be good influences on each other when it comes to remaining healthy. So it did not take much for her to convince me to set the can aside.

I decided that tomorrow I’ll give the pop to a co-worker who recently picked up some McDonalds food for me during our dinner break. Is it just me, or is that the most illogical sentence ever constructed in the history of the written word, given the circumstances? But I digress…

Even though my plan was to drink the Dew to celebrate, then go back to my recent regimen of water and the occasional juice, I couldn’t do it. In a way I didn’t really want to drink it, and was not too bothered when my wife said she wished I wouldn’t. I don’t want to be too tempted to go back to my usual intake. You may be thinking, “it’s just pop, man” and you are right.

But the main reason I stopped to begin with means a lot more to me than a momentary rush.