Quickly–Yay!

This week is off to an exponentially better start than last!

• H. found an apartment this morning that she really likes–sounds like the perfect fit for her, and because I am empathetic to a fault it makes me feel better that she feels better!
• I have an appointment tomorrow to view a GORGEOUS building we walked by on Friday.  The price and size sound absolutely perfect, and it’s totally gut rehabbed.  It is available July 1st–no rush, but I am already excited about it!
• E. and I played tennis for over an hour yesterday, and it was a blast.  My muscles hurt in the best way today.  I love playing tennis, and I’m so excited that he’s into it too. We need to go get him a new racket though, since my spare has two broken strings.  Doh!
• The massage was, of course, fabulous.  I cried in the middle of it which was horribly embarrassing (I hate, hate, HATE crying in public), but clearly there was a lot of tension in my body much in need of a release.  Today I am feeling aces.

Better Indeeds

Sometimes the weekend is all you need.  And sometimes (often times) the weekend is too short.
Thank you all for the kind wishes.  Grandma has been moved out of Cardiac Care and into a regular hospital room.  But, she is not home yet.  Hopefully Monday, but they can’t keep her blood pressure under control.  I’ve been getting daily updates from the ‘rents.
Yesterday I took the afternoon off to look at apartments with H.  It honestly was so nice just to have an afternoon away from work, and thankfully I only got one work call on my cell all day.  That’s like, a new record.  I took Friday afternoon off and still managed to work 39.5 hours.  Anyway, I’m a workhorse–I don’t think that’s going to change, but I appreciate the reminders from friends to take care of myself. 
Sadly, the apartment shopping was mostly a bust for H., due to the fact she has a dog.  Despite my best efforts to act as a reference for her dog, few places will have it, even though he weighs in at a tiny 9 lbs, which is smaller than either of my cats.  And the prices in this neighborhood are really shooting up.  I had some luck though, even though my move-in date is July 1.  I felt awful for H.–at least I have the luxury of doing all of this on my own timeframe. 
Friday night E. and I ate pizza and just chilled in front of the telly watching Comedy Central until we both passed out.  Literally.  Passed out on the couch.  Laaaame.  Today we went to Old Orchard & did a little shopping (I got a very cute little white canvas sunhat for summer, and some sharp new Steve Madden sunglasses–he bought a very handsome red shirt–we both got our Mother’s Day shopping done.)  Then, since he had “boys night” plans this p.m., I packed up the PS2, took it over to S.’s house, and had fun playing lots of Mortal Kombat and NHL ‘06.  Oh, and H. and I went to Target, but I still can’t find a set of mixing bowls that suit me.  (I realized after I broke my beloved stoneware bowl that belonged to my mother and held many a bag of popcorn, much delicious pizza dough, and the occasional cookie dough, that I have really no good mixing bowls.  I hate plastic because I have this dirt/germ thing despite my house being a disorganized wreck, and I hate the thought of germs and stinky leeching into plastic dishware. OCD much?) I have a thing for really retro looking bakeware, so it’s off to E-Bay tonight I think.  I did get a new cutlery set which I desperately needed, and a nice cheese grater, which I’ve gone without for far too long now.  Nothing like buying new kitchen stuff right before you have to move it.  Doh.
And now, I wish to go savor an actual early bedtime on a Saturday night.  Tomorrow = Massage & Warm Pebble Pedicure at my favorite day spa, SpaSpace.  Warm Pebble Pedicure = pedicure with hot stone massage on feet.  Ahhhhhhh.

Thing Can Only Get Better

I’m not going to sugar coat it, this week was CRAP.  I have been horribly grumpy–whiny to anyone who will listen–full of headaches and grouchiness and a pathetic life of work, work, work.  Grandma remains in the hospital, with efforts to lower her blood pressure not working so well and it looks like a little bit of bleeding that no one can put their finger on.  It makes me sad and scared–most of all scared that she could go without me getting to see her first.  I can’t call her because she is in the Cardio Care Unit.  I realized some time last night that this was a shadow of stressitude hovering over an already greatly annoying week.
I wasted so much of this week conducting “courtesy” interviews–that is, interviews to make a smart political move, not because we actually intend to hire the person.  And I just don’t have time right now to be courteous.  I mouthed off at work a couple of times out of sheer frustration and surprised everyone in doing so.  (but don’t worry, didn’t get in trouble)
Poor E. (we have agreed I can use his initial instead of calling him the “boy” which seems so demeaning) took me out for dinner last night and until I had some wine in me I was distracted and grumpy.  My head ached at the end of every day this week.  And in all of this I decide to tell my landlord I’m moving out July 1st.  Feh.  (Actually, I’m glad I did, because the lack of laundry facilities in the building continues to annoy me, but still, one more thing to worry about…)  And I exercised…Monday.  Only Monday.  Which makes me feel not better at all.
But, things are looking up.  I took G. out to dinner this evening, since she leaves town for a month starting on Saturday.   We had sushi and wine and it was fantastic.  And then G. told me some stuff going on in her life that put my own in perspective.  Sometimes, it is really rewardng to be there for a friend when the poo is hitting the fan for them, especially when you’re feeling kind of cruddy yourself.  Especially when the two of you are busting a gut giggling by the end of the evening.
So I feel like my weekend has begun.  I have lots of time to spend with E., apartment-shopping with H. tomorrow (I took the afternoon off of work, which is part of the stress of the last few days–makng sure my ducks were in a row beforehand), and a pedicure & massage on Sunday just because I need/deserve it.  I feel a bit better, and for once, actually unplugged from work at 5:30 for a change.  Things can only get better…right?

As Promised–An Anti-Authority Post Before Bed

Surprisingly, these thoughts have nothing to do with work. Though, the fact I am an independent consultant is thoroughly unsurprising considering…
No, the issue is…of all things…Weight Watchers.  I have gained an unpleasant amount of weight in the last couple years.  While I don’t necessarily consider myself overweight, I am chubbier than I would like and my pathetic attempts at exercising with any sort of regularity and general free-reign approach to eating hasn’t budged the needle on the scale too much.
From about November forward, I lost close to 10 lbs because of all the stomach problems I was having.  But eventually I got bored with peanut butter crackers, the medicine proved helpful, and most of all–I got a boyfriend.  Ask anyone who is in a healthy relationship and most likely they gained weight along the way. As G. said, matching your boyfriend bite for bite everytime you go out to eat together is really not a good idea.
Oh yeah, I have a hellacious sweet tooth too, and more dining out means more opportunities for something fancier than my standard nibble or two of chocolate per week.
Anyway, I want to lose weight, seriously, and a lot of people I know have had success with Weight Watchers.  However, I see this as a forseeable disaster knowing my tendencies to buck any rules or expectations set in front of me.  Basically, if I am supposed to do it, I will most likely not, unless it is work related and means I lose my job otherwise. I do not like being told what to do.  I do not like my behavior being regulated.  So living by a “points” system would, most likely, cause me to eat even worse than I do (I generally avoid fried foods or french fries unless on vacation) just for spite’s sake.
The same has been my concern when I think about a personal trainer.  I did a free session with a personal trainer at Bally’s and was full of nothing but piss and vinegar at the end because I hate being told what to do. 
So, I guess I need to find some sort of reverse psychology equivalent to Weight Watchers to get my eating habits straight.  Or actually take myself up on my threat to train for a 5K.  Also, working less than 10-11 hours a day would help…

In Case You Wondered…

Most of these I would agree with, but I don’t think of myself as quite so materialistic. And honestly I don’t know what it means to be “mystical.” Anyway, keep the “anti authority” piece in mind for an entry later today…

Advanced Global Personality Test Results Extraversion |||||||||||||||||| 80% Stability |||||||||||| 46% Orderliness |||||||||| 40% Accommodation |||||||||||||||||||| 83% Interdependence |||||| 23% Intellectual |||||||||||||| 56% Mystical |||||||||||||||| 63% Artistic |||||||||||| 43% Religious |||||||||||| 43% Hedonism |||||||||||| 43% Materialism |||||||||||||||| 70% Narcissism |||||||||||||||| 70% Adventurousness |||||||||||| 43% Work ethic |||||||||||||||| 63% Self absorbed |||||| 23% Conflict seeking || 10% Need to dominate |||||||||||| 43% Romantic |||||||||| 36% Avoidant |||| 16% Anti-authority |||||||||||||||||||| 90% Wealth |||||||||||| 43% Dependency |||||||||| 36% Change averse |||||| 23% Cautiousness |||||||||||||| 56% Individuality |||||||||||| 43% Sexuality |||||||||||||||| 70% Peter pan complex |||||| 30% Physical security |||||||||||||||||||| 83% Physical Fitness |||||||||| 37% Histrionic |||||||||||||||| 70% Paranoia |||||| 30% Vanity |||||||||||||||||| 76% Hypersensitivity |||||||||||||||| 70% Female cliche |||||||||||||||||||| 90%

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Hey! Look Over There!

Ugh, today went from a relatively calm work day to a work day from hell and I have no idea when it will end.  Plus I’ve been dealing with a broken phone, broken wireless, and broken refrigerator in varying order all week–and it’s only Tuesday!
So instead of listening to me moan and groan, pop on over to see my friend and fellow Miami Alum plus comedic genius Steev and congratulate him on the birth of his precious baby girl.  Welcome Isabella!!

Joke Monday

I’m not going to write out everything I had to write about today, because I still have a bunch of stuff to do on the computer before bed. Yes, a couple are work related, but a couple aren’t–like buying the Towelie towel from Comedy Central’s website, booking my flight for Memorial Day, and shopping for a nicely weighted chess set.
So, in light of Kilax posting a joke to compensate for a rotten Monday (mine wasn’t too great either, at least as far as work was concerned), I thought I’d share my favorite joke from my mom, which she recently sent to me for old time’s sake.
Here goes:

A group of kindergartners were trying to become accustomed to the first grade. The biggest hurdle they faced was that the teacher insisted on no baby talk.

“You need to use ‘big people’ words,” she’d always remind them. She asked Chris what he had done over the weekend. “I went to visit my Nana.”

“No, you went to visit your GRANDMOTHER. Use big people words!” the teacher replied. She then asked Mitchell what he had done. “I took a ride on a choo-choo.”

“No, you took a ride on a TRAIN. Use big people words,” the teacher corrected. She turned to Bobby and asked what he had done. “I read a book,” he replied.

“That’s WONDERFUL!” the teacher said. “What book did you read?” Bobby thought about it, and said, “Winnie the Shit.”

As a bonus, this made me laugh too–courtesy of the boy.

Lovely

For the most part, this weekend was simply perfect.  I say for the most part because there was one small, but mostly okay glitch.  My grandma, who is 89 (90 this summer!) and near my folks a couple states away, was taken to the emergency room yesterday.  Turns out she had a small heart attack.  She is still in the hospital, but my folks keep telling me she is doing better.  I don’t know if that’s because it’s true or because they don’t want me to worry.  So…my folks were going to be in town this weekend and meet the boy and all that stuff, but it looks like it won’t be happening.  I am bummed on a number of levels, but planning to go visit the fam for Memorial Day.  I just continue to hold positive thoughts that everything is okay at least until I can get out to visit. 
In happier news,  Hot Fuzz was a total laugh riot.  If you liked Shaun of the Dead, GO SEE HOT FUZZ ASAP!! You will crack up, I swear it.  Me, H., S., and boy wandered around Evanston, shopped a bit, and then got ice cream (frozen yogurt for me) at Ben & Jerry’s.  Then H. and S. went back to the city and the boy and I stuck around to walk along the beach and enjoy the sunshine for a bit longer.  In the p.m., I went with him to a poker party (couples, it turned out) his friend was hosting.  I had a long streak of beginners luck and had it not been 2am with a room full of folks desperate to go home/go to bed, I would have stuck in and played smarter and may have actually won.  I was one of 3 remaning and really impressed myself!  I’m all about the Texas Hold ‘Em now.  Heh.
Today was pretty low key.  Boy and I went to the beach again, and just hung out.  We went to a restaurant in Evanston called Dixie Kitchen and had a huge, amazing cajun dinner.  Then we came back to my house and actually worked and puttered and just enjoyed each others’ company until pretty late.  It always sucks to have to say goodbye at the end of the weekend, knowing I usually won’t see him until Friday or Saturday.  But, since a lot of the LOST crew is tied up this Wednesday, we are going to make an effort to see each other then.  And he is actually going to sit through LOST with me–though he may be surfing the net and not really watching.  Heh x2. 
All that running/playing in the sunshine wore me out, so I am desperately going to try to hit an early bedtime.  Anyway I have an interview to conduct at 8am sharp.  Blech.

Nothing Says “Blog” Like An Entry About a Dream

Oy, it’s 8:45 and I’m already working on work things I forgot to do in a rush to wrap up my day yesterday.  Yuck.  Oh yeah, I so did not get done at 4:00.  It was more like 5:15, and it should have been later but I had plans to go for a walk with H. and her doggie.  Poor H.–her apartment building is going condo so she has to move out by May 31st.  I have been there, and feel for her big-time.   But the slightly fun part in all of this is that we can now shop for apartments together and who knows, if there’s something she doesn’t like I might be interested! (it happened with S. last time we were apartment shopping)
Anyway, I can’t pinpoint why I had the dreams I had last night, but both are seriously and obviously related.  First, I dreamt that I was at some sort of gathering and a bunch of people from current life and high school were there (not unusual, that dream setup happens all the time–something about still having to prove myself to the knuckleheads I went to high school with).  My major crush from 4th and 7th grade was there, and he and this other guy were falling over themselves flirting with me.  Note that major crush wouldn’t have given me the time of day, because he was “popular” and I was not. (He was a transfer, and because our school district was so small that you went to high school with the same folks you went to kindergarten with, any transfers were automatically cool because it was someone new.  Also, he was and still is HOT.)  I totally blew him off on the premise of  having an awesome boyfriend, sorry boys, and G. and I sat in the corner and giggled about it.  Then we got shushed by the masses for being too loud.  Ha.
The next dream involved me at some other shindig, and the guy I dated & hated fall of 2005 was there.  I was trying to tell a story to a friend, and he kept interrupting to correct me/make fun of me.  I got so pissed I smacked him across the face, stood up, and walked away.  Uh, go little dream version of me!  Honest, I wasn’t thinking about exes last night before bed, and/or any that I particularly disliked.  But apparently my subconscious was working on it.  Hm.
Okay, back to work, and the other reason I got up so early–cleaning!

Adjusting…

Hello new and invited readers.   I am still figuring WordPress out, but have to say so far I am very impressed!  Give me some time to tinker, and this blog will look worlds better soon enough, I promise.  I know a lot of you rely on feeds so as soon as I figure that one out, it will be priority to establish a feed option.
It’s Friday.  The sun is shining, and the kitties are sitting happily in the window.  I managed to close like, 4 jobs at work this week.  Sometimes it just happens that way.  I figured I owed myself for my hard work, so I am going to *try* to cut out at 4pm, get a little (okay, a lot) done in the house, and take a nice walk later.  Me, some friends, and the boy are all going to see Hot Fuzz tomorrow.  Why we opted to go to the movies on such a beautiful day still perplexes me, but it will be fun.  I’m hoping some folks (including boy) will want to walk over by the beach afterwards!
Hm, yes.  A fresh start on a spring day certainly feels good.