If I end up having to move to the Midwest, can I just do an entire series of WTF happens to a vegetarian in the middle of the country? I'm already...skeptical.

The world needs more jazz hands.

BWAHAHAHAHA!

Good luck with that, then. Personally, I plan on following in my hilarious dad's footsteps - achieve immortality or die in the pursuit.

BWAHAHAHAHAHA, ah yes, because name calling = super productive.

Anything after 50 is anticlimactic anyway.

OH HAI, me too.

Oh my lord - this sounds exactly like the kind of thing my grandmother and great aunt used to do, and this story reminded me of them so much :)

Why do you keep talking to me as if I don't understand how bariatric surgery works? Why do you keep assuming that I am stupid simply because you believe that same result could be achieved simply by eating less and exercising more?

Oh for fuck's sake, this isn't even worth the time to explain to you, but let's try anyway, shall we? You're determined to put me in a box before even recognizing the problem with everything you're saying is fantastically cruel in its oversimplicity.

I wish I could give you all the hugs and love you deserve. How are you doing these days?

Thank you! I'm sorry about your dad =/ My mom was somewhat heavier growing up, so I dealt with a lot of fat phobic stuff from her growing up and it just sucked ass.

Man, it's frustrating as hell, isn't it? Does your girlfriend have student insurance? The generic thyroid medication for hypo is usually around $5-$10 per 30 day supply. She could also get a low/no cost supply from your local free clinic.

Yeah, I get what you mean. My biggest problem with shows like "The Biggest Loser" is that it's not about health. It's solely about appearance - that's the wrong way to look at this all around.

You know, I have tried and tried to join in the conversation and be polite, but I have to be honest with you: I'm getting awfully tired of being polite in just the right way so people will listen (not you specifically, just a general "people").

But here's the thing: they were.

Oh, I agree that I was not being personally attacked, but I'll be damned if I let someone be that hurtful and callous to anyone who is not of a socially acceptable size. Not acceptable.

I disagree. By only arguing "facts" (or rather, the facts that you like for yourself), you are dehumanizing people who are of different sizes. That's why we need these anecdotes. Are you really saying that you're not willing to read this story and try to find some compassion as to how these facts are used to hurt…

No, it cannot necessarily be fixed with diet and exercise. My body is proof of that. But I do thank you for telling me how emotional and personal to get. Goodness, heaven forbid I say something true that is also uncomfortable to people who haven't had to live what I have.

Yeah, it seems to add an extra layer of separation between the person using it and the person it is directed towards.