The reason I am fat

Ever notice that sometimes you do things on autopilot? A good example of this is when you are driving, and you know you didn't just blow through any red lights, but you don't recall making an active effort to check at the last few intersections. When I worked at Wendy's they sent me to a course that was supposed to help me train better, and the term they used for this is "subconscious competent". It basically means that after a while, tasks that you have to repeat over and over become so easy that eventually you can successfully perform a task even while you concentrate on something other than guiding your body through carrying out that task. I suppose in the driving example this might sound dangerous, but admit it - when is the last time you had to consciously press the brake pedal when a car cut you off? Not since you first learned how to drive I am sure. Nowadays you skip conscious thought and as soon as your eyes sense a danger your foot is pressing the brake. When confronted with certain stimuli, even when driving, your brain just takes over your body and without conscious thought reacts in the most familiar way. Oh by the way, this is the reason I am fat.

A couple nights ago I drove Megers and I to Jen's house where we ended up enjoying some alcoholic beverages and Jen's old yearbooks. We ended up heading out from there and my car stayed for the night, so yesterday morning I had to go pick it up. I was in a bit of a rush because it was already noon and I had a nail appointment at 12:30. Despite the rush, a billboard advertising a double-cheese burger lured me into a McDonald's drive-thru for a quick lunch. I said "double-cheese burger and a small diet coke please."
The girl then asked, "filet-o-fish and what else?"
"No, just a double-cheese burger and a small diet coke please."
"filet-o-fish, double-cheese and what else?"
"no, double-cheese and small diet coke only"
"ok, so that was a double-cheese, small diet coke... and a filet-o-fish?"
Now keep in mind I had only had a few hours sleep, and I was in a hurry, and I was cranky. Instead of answering her last question I just drove away.

Hours later I had finished my nail appointment, gone for lunch with my sister, and spent the afternoon hanging out with her. I was on my way back from driving her home and I saw a familiar billboard that made me re-live the filet-o-fish incident in my mind. I was laughing over it for a few minutes and then suddenly I was stopped next to a speaker and heard a voice say "Double-cheese and a small diet-coke? That's $3.09 please pay at the first window."

When confronted with certain stimuli, even when driving, your brain just takes over your body and without conscious thought reacts in the most familiar way. This is the reason I am fat.