New Sidebar

You may notice I've added a "Things I want to do this Year" sidebar to this blog. I was inspired by Kelly who made a list of 101 things she wants to do in 1001 days.

I have no intention of adding to the list actual "goals", but rather little things I want to do and unfortunately just forget about. Like making and trying couscous. I always forget about that! But my friend David just told me he had couscous last night so it reminded me.

It'll be a running list. Feel free to make recommendations!

Birthday weekend

This past weekend was incredible - very full, very fun, very diverse. Friday Mike and I got all dolled up and went to Sagami, a Japanese restaurant in Collingswood that supposively has the best sushi in the region. It was amazing! We really enjoyed our food. No fake crab in my California roll but Alaskan King Crab and I also got soft shell crab roll. We also planned ahead and Mike brought some Kirin with him to drink and I brought a bottle of Gruner which is supposed to pair very well with sushi. It did.

Afterwards we went home and changed and had a drink and went to a bar not too far from home to see a swing band we like. We drank $2 PBR's and even swing danced to an Eddie and the Cruisers song I really like. Mike reminded me that was another birthday gift.

Saturday morning Mike woke me up with beautiful flowers he had picked up early in the morning at the Farmers Market and gave me my presents. Once we were awake and ready we went out for pancakes and headed to the giant Collingswood May Fair where we walked around and checked out the hundreds of cars at the Classic Car Show and checked out the crafts and jewelry. We had perfect weather.

Once we got home it was time for a nap so we slept for a few hours then got ready all over again and headed to our friends Maria and Kevin's house. Unbeknownst to me we were going to my SURPRISE party. A whole bunch of my friends were there and it was awesome. Maria had tons of food and Amy made me two cakes. Rudy picked up my favorite beer. It was awesome! We played Apples to Apples and all hung out until late.

However, this all made the 7:30 am rendezvous to go hiking the next morning a wee bit difficult. But we all made it and Sunday morning me, Mike, Rudy, Kat and Mike May headed up to the DE Water Gap. My eight mile hike to Sunfish Pond was vetoed so we opted for a much shorter hike although it was to the top of Mount Tammany, the highest point in the Gap. Lets just say we basically rock climbed for two hours to get to the top of this thing. There were times I could hardly believe what we were doing. It was awesome, difficult, beyond our skill level, exhausting, and pretty crazy altogether. I am so glad I didn't pick the route. In fact it was downright dangerous at times.

Getting down was practically just as bad but for different reasons. For some reason there were fist sized to foot sized rocks everywhere and you had to step from rock to rock (lots of them turned out to be loose) or you had to maneuver around them. This went on for two miles and the land was never flat. After a while my ankles were really hurting from the constant twisting and turning. Luckily no one rolled their ankles although we all had some close calls.

We had beautiful weather and the hike really was awesome. It was real hiking not just a walk in the woods so I was very satisfied. And we saw some amazing sights and a gorgeous waterfall that looked like something out of a movie. We all agreed to go again and also agreed to go camping. I really wanted to start getting more into the outdoorsy stuff and now I am so I am pretty happy about that.

Pictures to come.

So Sunday we fell asleep very early. Monday Mike had to go back to work and I was home so I woke up very early as a result of going to bed so early and got lots done. I was able to lay out from 1:00 - 3:00 and overall, just had a nice relaxing end to a very fun and full weekend. Turning 26 wasn't so bad after all.

Weekend Recap

This past weekend was particularly good

Friday: Kicked Mike's ASS in two back to back games of Monopoly

Saturday: Took a nice bike ride around Cooper River. I only did two laps since the paved path was far too crowded with pedestrians and the traffic of the next day's rowing meet. Took a nap with Mike when he got home. We did our own thing Saturday night. Stayed up until 2:00 am by myself watching Must Love Dogs and eating ice cream out of the carton. John Cusack's worst movie.

Sunday: Mike was off - a rare treat. We had soft pretzels for breakfast and made it to an 11:15 matinée showing of Iron Man. Very good. I really enjoyed it. Went home, cleaned the house, took a nap and went out to a very early dinner. Got home and played Monopoly in the daylight for the first time ever. I lost. Cleaned the house some more.

I knew I was just exhausted last week so a relaxing weekend was just what the dr. ordered. Now I'm ready for a wonderful birthday weekend scheduled to kick-off Friday with a birthday dinner at Sagami in Collingswood - the best Japanese in the region. Saturday is the Collingswood car show and Saturday night we're going to a friend's house for some Apples to Apples and beer. Sunday is hiking in the DE Water Gap and Monday I'm off and will have the day to myself. It's not Disney World, but it sounds like a pretty kick-ass birthday weekend to me.

Friday is monopoly night - the best night

Last night I had particularly bad dreams - nightmares in fact. This is not rare for me. All my anxiety comes out in the form of awful situations in my dreams and this has been happening for many many years now.

But last night was different. I had the most beautiful baby girl. I loved her to pieces when I looked at her, but yet I was constantly leaving her home alone and finding myself surprised to see her when I got back and then I would feel this unrelenting guilt upon forgetting about her. I'd notice she needed to be changed then get distracted and leave her all alone again. I was the world's worst mother. And she really was so beautiful.

This didn't come out of nowhere and nope, I'm not pregnant nor will I be any year soon. My friends just had a beautiful baby boy, Patrick, and we went to visit him Saturday. He fell asleep in my arms. And yesterday on the way home from work I found myself wondering if I really ever want to be responsible for a human life. I never considered myself a selfish person until faced with the thought of a child.

In another segment of my nightmares I got in a brawl with someone who gives me anxiety in real life. I finally got to say everything I've wanted to say. This is just sad (pathetic). I really need to find a better way to deal with this shit. I can't keep having late night brawls in my head.

I went to yoga last night and it was the best class I've taken so far. I was a little disappointed I had the nightmares since I felt so at peace after the yoga but I guess it may have just enhanced my thoughts? I don't know. Maybe it was just a coincidence. I am quite sore today but it's that really nice soreness. My back is very sore but it's simply from keeping good posture. I feel like I got an alignment. Now if I could just try to stay straight.

It's disgusting out - dark, rainy, some flooding. But I welcome it. It's Friday and I am just so damn tired again. And I'm still on this Japanese kick so I'm going to bear the weather soon for a mile walk to get some california roll.

I'm gonna kick Mike's ass in monopoly tonight.

Grades

I got two A's this semester - one in Sociology and one in U.S. History I. I suspected I would get two A's but seeing them in black and white is very nice.

Current Events: Philadelphia

Working in Philadelphia amongst many wonderful black colleagues, you will oftentimes find yourself in enlightening discussions about race. In lieu of Sergeant Liczbinski being slain earlier this week in the line of duty and the next day's horrific police brutality, the topic of race can come up almost constantly.

Today was Liczbinski's funeral essentially next door at Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral. The events of the day unfolded much as they did back in November for Officer Cassidy's funeral after he was slain upon entering a Dunkin Donuts for his morning coffee. Thousands of police officers from around the tri-state area, and some from even farther, flooded the Benjamin Franklin Parkway and surrounding area. A live feed was provided from within the Cathedral.

Upon walking in to work this morning I was faced with yet again photos from the beating laid down on three black men earlier this week in all the newspapers. I carefully commented and wondered aloud to two of my black colleagues that the suspects had just shot three men. Although the beating was excessive, isn't trying to murder three people also excessive? Isn't this beating in at least some way, justified? We all felt the same way.

Well, it turns out that these three men may not have been the men that had just tried to shoot three other men on a street corner. It's much more plausible (and the investigation is still pending) that the police mistook one of the gentleman for the at-large accomplice to the Lizcbinski slaying and jumped to some terrible conclusions. The whole shooting suspect thing: a mere cover-up for a case of mistaken identity.

In talking to my two colleagues this morning, I was tremendously enlightened to what being a black parent in this city entails. Ken's son was visiting from Atlanta this week and he expressed the constant fear of his son being in town out and about while the entire Philadelphia police force looked for the at-large accomplice. He said he found himself checking in on his son hourly and couldn't sleep at night until his son was safely inside the house.

Toni told me of her son's experiences this week. Apparently, many times this week he had been out on the street hanging out with his friends and police would roll up, get out of their cars and stand and stare, trying to figure out if one of them was Eric Floyd, the wanted suspect. They would finally come to a conclusion that they were not who they were looking for and move on.

According to Toni, the goal of a black parent in this city is to get their child to see the age of 30, "but you don't stop worrying about them until they're 65." Ken nodded his head in agreement the entire time.

I think a lot of people are intimidated by the topic of race and especially racism. In my personal experience, my questions and curiosities are welcomed by my black colleagues. I think knowledge and understanding is key and I'm big on questions.

The conversations continued at length over the day and overall, I'm grateful to have been a part of them. Philadelphia is a difficult place. You can live here quite happily I'm sure if you maintain a level of ignorance, but being aware can make you very sad and very confused. I don't always understand why some people choose to live in a bubble and have no clue what goes on outside, but I do understand the results - a more blissful existence.

As an addendum, today I was greatly saddened and angered. Ken and I were outside when we looked over and saw a Paterson, NJ police officer urinating in the middle of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. And laughing. And the four officers with him were laughing. A homeless man walked by and mentioned to me and Ken that we should call the police. This man clearly was also angered by the spectacle (although what he said clearly has an ounce of humor).

Ken refused to look again. Ken refuses to look at police officers in general and he's explained this to me on many occasions. "Jess, if I only told you half the shit about how officers treat black men in this city!" I, however, stared. When the officer got into the car he sat and stared right back at me. Then he laughed at me and shut the door.

I was infuriated. What this man did was wrong on so many levels. The obvious: it's illegal. Secondly, children were in clear view. Thirdly, Sergeant Liczbinski's funeral procession had just traveled down the same road less than an hour beforehand. Fourthly, he was an out of town police officer. I really could go on and on.

Ken thought this behavior was typical. "Jess, I've seen cops in full uniform in alleyways with women bent over in front of them."

Great. Maybe in twenty years I'll be just as desensitized as Ken, but for now, I can be naive and ask my questions and get mad when I see an officer violate the law. This entire week has been overwhelming for this city and you can feel it in the air. It's like a black cloud has settled.

Quick and Dirty

Tonight's my last final exam for the semester - Sociology. I don't care anymore. I probably won't look at my notes again until I'm sitting in class at 7:59 waiting for my teacher to hand out the exams. I'm so ready for this semester to be over.

I don't have a free night until next Tuesday, which is mildly disappointing but I'm grateful for this sudden onslaught of having a life. But at the same time I'm looking forward to things getting back to normal. Dare I say I miss my cooking. Last night's dinner consisted of two Philadelphia soft pretzels and ghast, I've been buying my lunch everyday!

Mike is taking two ASE certification tests next Tuesday so I promised to help him study as best I can over the next few days but I feel awful that there's no time. I'll have to figure that one out.

My brother, Joey, is in town and I'm looking forward to seeing him Saturday. Going up north is becoming increasingly difficult. It's like being homeless. Every minute must be accounted for or else I end up sitting in a Starbucks reading or going to my mom's, which is great, but planned visits are much more satisfying. Having no where to go and going to my mom's brings me back to my teenage years of stewing at my mom's house because I have no where to go. It was agonizing then and I still hate the feeling now.

So Saturday I'll pop in to Rogue Comics for my Potter figures and chat with Pete for a little while and I'm trying to confirm lunch plans with some of my girlfriends. After that is beyond me. I have to eventually meet up with Joe but I don't want to get there too early seeing as I'll be there until roughly 9:00 am the following morning.

I am very ready for vacation in June.

A little chuckle

So Georgia is banning the sale of marijuana flavored lollipops called Pot Suckers. Good for them.

Thank you, Senator Doug Stoner for passing this bill in the Senate. hehe

http://www.wsbtv.com/news/16186311/detail.html

A weekend purchase

I bought a bicycle Saturday with the help of my brother, Doug, who pointed me in the right direction. I had been wanting one for a while and enjoyed using Mike's, but the time was ripe to get my own especially since Mike actually started using his leaving me with nothing.

It's a Schwinn Sierra comfort aka hybrid bike. It's all-purpose! It has disc brakes and front fork shocks (weird at first but then quite lovely) and it has a quick release front tire and a comfy seat and you change the gears much like you would on a motorcycle. I like it a lot. I'm not thrilled about the hunter green but the colors were slim pickings and Mike assured me it would get banged up over time anyway. I also got a dorky helmet to protect my noggin. Nope, it doesn't match the bike. Again, the colors were slim pickings on the helmets too.

So Mike and I were both very excited to "go exploring" today. Our plan was to take the trail by our house to the right (we usually go left to the lake) and see how far it would take us. But alas, it's miserable out and consistently raining. We'll get our next chance after finals are over.

But I can say that both Mike and I are generally very excited about getting outdoors. I hoped my excitement would be contagious and it was. Mike got on the bike and bought a new fishing pole and really enjoys getting out of the house almost immediately after work before the sun stars to set. It's been wonderful. I've been finding bike trails and he's been talking to people and texting me with names of places for me to look up that his co-workers recommend. It's a blast!

Kayaking the Pineys

Thankfully the weather held last Sunday and I was able to meet up with Neil, the organizer of The Best South Jersey Kayaking Meetup Group Ever!, and go on out to Batsto Lake in the Pine Barrens to do some kayaking.

It really was a gorgeous day - bright blue skies and upper fifties/lower sixties the whole time we were out. We parked at Batsto Lake and a friend of Neil's was kind enough to let us throw the kayaks and gear on his Prius and drive us the several miles through the Barrens to where we'd launch. If you're not familiar with the Barrens, which I was not, there are these extremely long, scary one lane "roads" that just run all through that area. Supposively, they are the same roads traveled by Washington (the main road is called the Washington Turnpike) and his troops during the Revolutionary War. I admit I was slightly nervous being out there with strangers but my awe and surprise that such a monstrosity of dense woods could exist in New Jersey took precedence over my fear.

We finally reached the launching area which seemed to me no more than a creek about ankle deep and very narrow.

Launch

I got a quick paddling instruction on land and I was off. I wouldn't say kayaking is difficult. But kayaking down a narrow, shallow river that's more like a stream is quite challenging. I accidentally beached myself on shallow sandbars and weird mounds of red algae numerous times and I crashed quite a few times. Maneuvering fallen trees and very low lying branches while navigating the narrowness, shallowness and curviness of the river was challenging. There wasn't much time for reflection until several hours into the trip. Oh, and not to mention that all those branches you either duck under or get swiped in the face by all have huge spiders on them.

We took a break 3.5 miles into the trip. I wasn't aware how much I needed it until I stood up and ate a pear. Ten minutes later back in the kayak the paddle felt much lighter.

The river gradually became deeper and wider and the trip got a little easier and there were times I could just coast a little. We saw hundreds of turtles over the course of the trip. They were everywhere! Neil was excellent at pointing out all the wildlife and helping me to sneak up on the turtles to get these shots:

We eventually ended up in what looked like a lake, but wasn't. I don't know what to call it but it was gorgeous. These pictures are from that area:

After paddling through the fake lake, we made it into the real lake and I didn't get any pictures because the wind really picked up out on the flat lake and we really had to struggle to get across it. In all the trip was six miles and took about four hours give or take. When we got to the lake with only a quarter of a mile left was the first time we saw another human. It was just us out in the middle of this lake and hikers along the edge were taking pictures of us.

The whole experience left me feeling small. We were certainly the intrusion out on the river and by no means was it our turf. The experience also left me feeling hopeful. I didn't know such a huge pocket of nature and beauty existed in New Jersey and it makes me happy to know that we haven't yet destroyed all of nature. I'm also proud of myself in a way. I really wanted to get out there and try something new and I found a way. I did something that the majority of the world may not get to experience. I look forward to getting out there again.

Neil

Goal Report 2 of 2 for January - April Challenge

I'm going to make you read a while before disclosing my success or failure. In case you missed the first report, please click here to bring yourself up to speed.

So I had to lose 7.8 lbs. in two weeks to make the 15 lb. weight loss goal. Last week I lost 3.4 lbs. leaving me with 4.4 lbs. to lose this past/current week

I went all out, pulled every ace out of my sleeve and, in my opinion, kicked ass. I scarcely ate yesterday and when I did the choices were deliberate and strategically chosen. I went to yoga again and it was awesome again. Afterwards, my friend Kelly and I stopped in at a coffee shop where I drank a double shot of espresso straight. The logic behind this was that I would burn calories all through the night and give my metabolism one last shock to the system.

This is where I hope to amuse you with my neurosis.

So, naturally, I couldn't sleep. Not just because of the caffeine, but also due to the anxiety of weighing in this morning. I tossed and turned all night and finally at 3:00 am, it hit me. If you weigh in now, you can put an end to all this madness and get some rest.

So I got up, stripped down, and weighed myself. I was shocked! Still an entire 1.6 pounds off from making my goal! I stepped off the scale thinking what an awful time it was for the scale to break and stepped back on. The result was the same.

So I threw my clothes back on and went and laid back down. Then another thought hit me. You can go running! You still have three hours to try to make this goal! Yeah, well, that thought left as soon as it came and I instead chugged an entire nalgene bottle full of water and proceeded to toss and turn until 6:10 when I got up, peed, stripped down and got back on the scale. The result was 2 ounces less than it was three hours earlier.

So alas, I fell short of my fifteen pound goal by exactly 1.4 lbs.

I'm mildly disappointed but also happy to move on to the next challenge. I lost 13.6 pounds in 2 and a half months. I started in the 180's and am now in the 160's.

I also learned a whole lot about my body since January and limits and moderation. I also learned that the last two weeks were pretty miserable and how I never ever want to be a prisoner to food like some people I know. I learned I really need to become even more active since I love food so much. Sacrificing food because you're too lazy to exercise is unacceptable. You'll inevitably fail, or worse, condemn yourself to a life of misery and guilt. My habits have changed, my outlooks have changed and mentally, something just sort of "happened". I honest to God don't think I could go back and do some of the things I may have done six months ago ever again. This challenge helped me to re-wire the part of brain that deals with food, diet and exercise. So for that, it was a success. *Actually, I'd like to add here that it wasn't just this challenge. I think this challenge was the final icing on the cake after three cumulative much healthier years - each one a little better than the previous one. I've changed these past three years. For the better.

So here's some stats for the past fifteen weeks:

Starting weight January 4, 2008: 183.4 (includes Christmas heft)
Ending weight April 11, 2008: 169.8
Average weight: 176.35
Average weekly weight loss: .91

So here's some privileged information for you from 2007:

Starting weight 2007: 175.8
Highest weight 2007: 178
Lowest weight 2007: 169.2
Average weight 2007: 173.3

Note that I am currently a mere 6 ounces away on April 11 from my lowest weight of the entire 2007 year.

I understand that the stats for the average weekly weight loss for the past fifteen weeks are skewed and useless. It includes ups, downs, and three pound losses. However, I'm going to use it anyway. The next challenge is a mini: 6 weeks. We start with today's weight and the final date is May 23 - the day before my 26th birthday. I learned these past fifteen weeks my body likes moderation and consistency so my goal is six pounds in six weeks: realistic and attainable.

In case you're wondering why I just spilled all this obsessive, personal information, I did it for me not for you. If you care, cool. If not, cool. This blog helped me to walk through how I really feel about all this and give myself a fair and honest evaluation.

And as promised, here is the line graph for the past fifteen weeks.

Jessica = red line
Mike = black line


I don't know how to make it not too small or not too blurry, but you get the point.

And just for shits and giggles, here's last year's graph. Where there are line breaks, we skipped weighing in that week.

Mike kicked my ass! LOL.

So you won't here from me about all this again until May 23.

Now back to less purposeful blogging......

Goal Report 1 of 2

In case you're just tuning in, as of today I have seven more days to meet a goal. That goal is to have lost 15 lbs. from January 4 through April 11.

Friday. Weigh Day. I lost 3.4 lbs this week and have to lose 4.4 in the next seven days to meet my goal. I really was hoping for a larger loss this week to take some of the pressure off of next week, but it didn't work out that way obviously. But I feel good and I'm down a total of 10.6 lbs since January 4.

I evaluated last week's "performance" and see where there is room for improvement so I have a plan for next week. That plan is completely reliant on not abusing the open bar at tomorrow night's venison dinner. Very poor timing for an open bar dinner. So I will be the designated driver.

I attended my first yoga class last night and it exceeded my expectations. The studio was fantastic - the wood floor had large knots and natural splitting, the colors and paintings on the wall were inspirational, there were orchids, candles, and deity figures strategically placed about. The class was small - about ten of us - but the studio wouldn't have accommodated more than maybe three more. Everyone was friendly especially our young, perky teacher. The setting was intimate.

The class was one and a half hours and it seemed like a play with many different acts. I knew yoga was a spiritual experience but I wasn't aware that aspect would be represented in structured classes. I'm so glad it was. I'm eager to go back next week. Although I admit I am quite surprised by how incredibly sore I am today, especially my lower back. But I feel longer and straighter.

Overall, I'd say the week was for the most part a successful one. I understand the body isn't meant to lose more than 2-3 lbs in a week so I should be pleased with this week's progress and I am.

Will Jessica make her goal? Will the weather allow her to go kayaking? Who knows! So tune in next Friday! And as an additional bonus for tuning in, get a chance to check out Jessica's weight loss line graph!

Quick update

So far so good for this week:

• I have an exam tonight that I hope to take before my head explodes. I'm feeling really good about it but will feel better when it's over
• I'm down 3 plus pounds since Friday. I'm kicking major booty this week and that goal is looking in reach. Amazing so far for two reasons:
• I sat at a hibachi table last night and only ate two california rolls. No hibachi. Impressive, right?
• I didn't stress eat while studying and pining over this exam. Nice, huh?
  
• I start my first yoga class this Thursday. I got a pretty mat and a pretty bag. I can't believe it took me all this time to just pick a class and friggin go to it. Geez. But it's never too late.
• Weather permitting, I'll be going on my first kayaking trip EVER April 12. So stoked. I bet I'll love it.
  

Knock on wood that things keep looking on the up and up.

T.G.I.F.

This week was particularly long and stressful. I plan to do as little work as possible today and simply count down the hours until I get to blow out of this taco stand.

I'm hoping the weekend will be quite cleansing. We don't have plans which is a welcomed break so I intend to do some spring cleaning and put away all the winter decorations, get the spring stuff up, and do some yard work. I also hope to alleviate some pressure by spending several hours studying both Saturday and Sunday for Tuesday night's exam. I haven't done a really thorough cleaning since before Christmas so I'm looking forward to it. I'm also looking forward to going jogging - something I haven't done in over two weeks.

I'm disgusted with my weight right now. Three weeks ago I was down 10.4 lbs. for the new year and as of today I am only down 7.2 lbs. The goal deadline is only two weeks away. Can I lose 7.8 lbs. in 14 days? Yes. Will I? I don't know.

But I gave myself a serious pep talk this morning and I'm pulling the ace out of my sleeve. I have a plan and I'm sticking to it so God help me. I'm just so sick and tired of not following through. I set the terms and conditions for this goal and I will make this goal.

Three years ago I was 16 pounds lighter than I am today. I don't think I'll really start to feel GREAT until I get back down and past that weight. It was close enough in the past that I remember it and can still see the number on the scale.

So anyway, I wish spring would friggin get here. There's been such a chill in the air. I have big plans for this spring/summer. I'm getting out there in the world. Never again will I waste a summer.

Stuck in a rut with a broken leg

I don't have a broken leg. But I can't seem to get out of this rut I'm in so it must be because when I fell into it I broke my leg. I can't come up with any other explanation.

My weight success has taken a lull with only three weeks to go until judgment day and the looming due date has provided no motivation. Monday I had a chocolate banana split for dinner and watched the National Geographic channel for six hours. And I hate tv, especially tv with commercials.

Yesterday I was feeling overwhelmed so Mike invited me to meet him for coffee after work. That turned into a minor shopping spree where I picked up a new cell phone, two pairs of new Saucony running sneakers (there was a 2 for special), and some new t-shirts and socks at Lady Foot Locker. We then picked up a wedding gift for his cousin so I could cross that off my list and then we headed to Toys "R" us to pick up some baby gifts for my friend's shower and a new board game for us.

I joke and say that Pixar Monopoly has increased the quality of mine and Mike's relationship, but I'm not convinced I'm joking when I say that. We love it! We get to turn off the tv, put on some music, have a drink, laugh and competitively play Monopoly. Sometimes we play for hours! And I think it's a pretty damn good way to spend a night.

But we decided to get a new game so that Monopoly doesn't lose its appeal. After being appalled by the game selection (none of my favorite childhood games were available), we agreed on Life.

After Toys R Us we went out for a carb heavy, oil heavy italian dinner. We got home after 9:00 and settled into a game of Life which ended way too quickly. Why do I remember that game taking hours upon hours to play? We finished the game in 45 minutes and I beat Mike by $50,000.

My point to this Tuesday evening recap was that things were starting to look up.....

until this morning......

when I couldn't take a shower because there was no hot water. There wasn't even warm water. I hope and pray the water heater isn't broken. Mike seems to think that maybe everyone that lives downstairs from us showered before I woke up and used up all the hot water, but I'm not convinced they're the showering type. Meanwhile, we have constant nausea over our roof collapsing since we had a windstorm two weeks ago that the locals call a swall that resulted in a portion of our roof shingles being blown into our backyard, driveway and neighbor's yard. We didn't realize just how bad it was until our neighbors put out the trash and we saw our roof piled inside of one of their cans. We apologized to them and told them we would have been happy to clean it up. They were cool about it.

So alas, yet another reason we are forced to deal with our slimy, no-good, lying, piece of shit landlord.

It's not going well.

So today I decided in an attempt to break free of this rut to make a to do list. I also made an appointment for the blood work I was supposed to have done back in January. I feel that getting things done always helps. And Mike having cleaned the whole apartment yesterday helped too. I'll never take that for granted.

So hopefully I'll feel motivated to try out my new sneaks and end this weight loss challenge with a bang.

Breaking HP News

The seventh and final installment in the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, is being made into two movies.

At first I was totally stoked. But now, I don't know. 7 Books. 7 Movies. I like consistency. So much has been cut from these books for the purpose of making movies and now they say they just can't get the ending right without making this book into two movies. I know they have a lot of loose ends to tie up, and lets face it, Hallows, did have some pretty far fetched ideas, but still.

I can't help thinking The Man is trying to squeeze out a couple more hundred million by splitting the seventh movie into two. But J.K. must have approved, right?

So now the shock and misery of no more HP will not occur until May 2011 when the eighth movie is expected to come out. Don't worry about the actors getting even older. Both movies for Hallows will be shot simultaneously. Like LOTR.

I guess I'll be heading to Universal Studios to experience Hogwarts Castle in 2011 after this eighth movie rather than in 2010. That will be my last hoorah....

....until I have kids and I get to experience the joy and wonder of Harry Potter all over again.

See the article here.

Wasted Time

I can't study anymore for my exam because I'm just over it and I have 45 minutes to kill before I go take my exam. 45 minutes isn't excatly enough time to do much of anything. There's dishes to wash and clothes to put away, but I thought my blog could use some updating and the laptop is keeping me warm.

This past weekend Mike and I headed up north to see friends and family. Ever since Mike transferred we haven't been up much. We made the mistake of jampacking the weekend and now I think I really know how my brother and sister-in-law feel when they come visit for Christmas.

It was non-stop! And we were hungover the entire time because we never got to sleep off the previous night's festivities so ended up just drinking more the first chance we got. We had a blast don't get me wrong but felt very rushed and committed to a schedule. So many times we had to leave one place before we were ready to and go someplace else later than we meant to.

But we saw everyone and did everything we wanted to do. I won four games of beer pong in a row (yeah, I carried my partner) and after four games of beer pong, you're pretty drunk.

The best exchange of the evening came after all that when I was very drunkenly boasting to Dustin that I lost 10.4 lbs as of that morning! He toook one look at my beer and noted that as of that moment I was only down 5.

Amazing. I weighed myself Monday morning and learned that I packed on 6 lbs in three days. I can forget about another loss this week since I have to spend the remainder of the week simply shedding what I put back on. It's a vicious cycle. However, I highly recommend awareness. If someone told me that over the weekend I'd gain six pounds, I don't think I would have done much differently. It was fun and it comes off with tons of water and tons of spinach.

This Saturday is Rudy's birthday in Atlantic City. You know you're all grown up when "Atlantic City" becomes a line item in your budget two months before you head down there.

Technology woes

I work for a nonprofit organization. That means if we want to overhaul our website, someone has to fund the project. It's hard to convince a funder to pay for a new website when there's so much other necessary work to be done...like educating children.

We have overhead of course, but there's not enough to fund major projects. Anyway, we got a $35,000 grant six months ago to fund some of our technology needs.

Our relatively new tech guy can't seem to get it through his head though that we are a NONPROFIT organization. He insisted we get Office 2007. He had all the reasons in the world why we had to have it. Then when we got it, he informed us that everything we do must be saved in 97-2003 compatibility mode because none of our partners have Office 2007.

No shit.

So every time I'm at the copier and this guy walks by he always sighs and mentions how we have to get a new copier. Well, I'm done listening to this clownshoe.

"Why?" I ask, emphasizing my annoyance.

"Because we need a color copier. And they have new ones now where you can actually send copy jobs from your desktop."

"I have been here for almost four years and never once have I heard anyone complain that they couldn't make color copies. And why do we have to copy from our desktop? It's a pretty small office and people like getting up once in a while."

"It will make us all more efficient."

"We're a NON-profit. If it's not broken, don't fix it."

You may think I sounded like a bitch just then, but let me explain. This guy would never ever get permission to do HALF the shit he says he's going to do. It's not up to him, it's up to our finance director. I'm so sick of hearing about his big plans.

Today it was that he wants to get the leadership staff using RSS feeds. I'm not going to lie. I don't know exactly what that is. But if I'm not familiar with it and never heard anyone express a need for it, then I can pretty much guarantee you that our 55+ average aged leadership staff won't see the need for it either.

I'm all about upgrading and being more efficient. We're not like that episode of the Office here where Michael thought upgrading was a nasty ploy to rub out all the older folks. We got Outlook up and running over the past two days and that's great because our e-mail system was WHACK and really quite ridiculous. We recently got Raiser's Edge because our development records were actually on real paper and in real paper folders.

We're totally growing up and it's very cool. But I just can't stand when this guy says we need to set up conference calls via web cam. Our partners are dirt, shit, poor and what the hell is the point of using webcams when none of the people we do business with on a day to day business have webcams! People in the nonprofit sector typically don't make a lot of money and typically do a lot the old fashioned way. There are about a million exceptions to what I'm saying but I'm not talking about WWF or United Way; I'm talking about your organizations who have four employees that work their asses off and do great work.

And for the love of God, someone tell me why this guy bought me a new computer last year that can burn DVD's but not CD's!? I have to go to him every time I need a CD burned. Should work computers even have the ability to watch or burn DVD's? That seems a little odd to me.

Anyway, this guy has come up with some ridiculous shit. Everything is urgent too. We're talking about a guy who walks into meetings without a pen or paper too and you actually have to say, "you may want to get a pen and paper."

But nevertheless, I am now an Office 2007 user and an Outlook user. Every time I open the 2003 version of Word at home, I get confused. It's like jumping on my brother's old hand-me-down word processor.

He went to Kay!

Last night was the best Valentine's Day of my life. Actually, it was the best Valentine's Day of my life SO FAR. Mike and I had a great time. I won't bore you with all the details but we had a nice candlelit fish dinner with some Toad the Wet Sprocket in the background. We had a drink, we chatted, and while I went to get a slice of cheesecake for us to share for dessert, Mike put a Kay Jewelers bag in my place.

This was inside

Well, not exactly that but you get the idea. Mine is 1/4 karat. My first ever diamond from Mike!

A brief history: Two years ago Mike and I were out to dinner for V-Day and he slid a jewelry box over to me. Inside were beautiful tear drop earrings! Mike immediately told me that they weren't real diamonds, but very excitedly informed me that the actual earrings were real gold! I'd like to add to this story that before we went to dinner Mike gave me a box of chocolates and a spice rack.

I'll let that sink in.

Yep, a spice rack. I didn't know what to do! I was shocked. How unromantic! Mike chimed in that he knew I needed one when we moved so really, how could I be mad? So I said thank you and that I loved it, but a spice rack! I later found out the whole spice rack was a diversion. I was supposed to think that was my gift. That Michael is a very smart man when he sets his mind to something.

Back to last night, remembering my earrings, after seeing my necklace, I looked up and asked very carefully if my necklace was real. I think he was glad I asked because he was very excited to tell me that there was a 1/4 karat of diamonds in the charm and the chain was real white gold. He was very pleased and I of course, was thrilled.

I'm wearing my necklace now and the excitement hasn't worn off. After things calmed down last night and we settled in to watch a movie, Mike gave me some of the details of his jewelry shopping experience. For starters, he informed me that he walked in and asked to see the necklace from the commercial.

Thank you, Kay Jewelers, for barraging my man with commercials and knowing that it is a very good idea to also advertise on the Speed Channel along with every other channel available. You are relentless, Kay, and I am pleased to inform you that your efforts have paid off.

I'd like to note that although I smile at those commercials all the time, especially the one where the little boy writes KAY in crayon on a box and puts a papier mache necklace in it for his 7 year old girlfriend, I never said I wanted this necklace. So again, Kay, congratulations.

All joking aside, probably the second best moment last night, opening my necklace being the first, was when Mike told me how good he felt when he bought it and walked out with the little pretty bag. I don't even know what to say to that. I can only smile.

Bohemian Rhapsody......Drunk

Well, we're all famous now, but Roman is the star of this show.