SSDD

Not much new here. Still slogging away at the same old job. I’ve discovered a new tactic to keep me from reaching out and grabbing my supervisor’s head and slamming it as hard as I can into the surface of her desk: I recite the times tables in my head while she’s talking. Now when she’s telling me for the thousandth time how to do my job in the most patronizing voice she has, talking to me as if I were a retarded second grader, I simply smile and think to myself, “two times two is four. Two times three is six. Two times four is eight. Two times five is ten. Two times six is…” well, you get the idea. Who knew math would come in handy like this?

The weight loss is continuing. I’ve lost about thirty pounds. This weekend I strayed, a little, as my mom was in town. We went out to dinner a couple nights in a row and I ended up consuming more calories than usual. I’m hoping it won’t make too much of a dent in my progress. I am back on the bandwagon today, though. I'll be working my booty off in the fitness center tonight. I bought myself some comfy new walking shoes and they’re great. I’m not having nearly the amount of joint pain I was having before when I was walking in my old worn-out slip on tennis shoes from Wal-Mart.

In less than a month my friend Shane is coming to visit. He’ll be here over Memorial Day weekend. Yippeee! We’re going to take him to Chicago and do lots of fun stuff. I’m counting the days…

Spidey 3 comes out on Friday… FINALLY!!! WOO HOO!!!

That’s all I can think of for now. Sorry about the completely boring entry. Back to the grind… *sigh*

~Becky

Friday's Feast #140

Appetizer: What is your favorite kind of bread?
Brownberry 12-grain (or is it 9-grain? can't remember but I'd know it if I saw it) bread with real butter... YUM... or any fresh-baked bread is good too.

Soup: When was the last time you bought a new pillow?
A few weeks ago actually... I'm REALLY hard on pillows (I beat the shit out of them in my sleep), and my old one was just dead. However I'm still "breaking in" the new one, so sometimes I wake up and I'm sleeping on the old one again...

Salad: Approximately how many hours per week do you spend surfing the ‘net?
About 10? not really sure... there are some days where I don't get on the internet at all, and then some days where I just surf through tons of sites. It depends on what else I'm doing, I guess. The net is a great time-waster.

Main Course: What’s the highest you remember your temperature being?
When I was a freshman in college I spiked a fever and scared the shit out of my friends... I started below normal temperature (I was shivering, so the nurse took my temp, declared it low, and sent me back to my dorm room) and in less than an hour I had a fever that was over 104. I was literally delerious - I don't remember a whole lot after my temp went over 103. Amy, God bless her, got me to the nearest hospital, where we found out that I had a nifty little kidney infection.

Dessert: Fill in the blanks:
When I __drive in Chicago__, I __get lost__. HA!

Hump day ramblings

Well, I didn’t get the NAC job. Ah well. I’m not too upset about it, actually. I was when I first found out, mostly because of the way my boss handled it (I found out by accident that it had gone to someone else, and then I found out that my boss had lied to me about whether or not she knew about the status of the job). But I’ve had a few days to process and think about it, and I’m ok with it. I’m just taking it as another sign that soon it will be time to pull up stakes and head south. I know we have our faults… I know that Southerners can be backwards, narrow-minded, and ignorant sometimes… but I’ve found far more two-faced individuals up here in Indiana than I knew back home. Or maybe that’s just Corporate America… probably a combination of the two.

It’s really also another indication of how different the company has become from the one that I fell in love with working for a couple of years ago… I have no doubt that if the same people were running the company in the same way they were back then, things would have been handled MUCH differently… but, c’est la vie. Live and learn, right? And I’ve learned… mostly not to trust managers, but hey, I should have known that one already, right? Let’s call this one a refresher course.

Otherwise, I’m doing all right. The weight loss is going well. I’ve lost 22 pounds so far. It’s getting hard – I’m restricting myself to 1200-1500 calories a day and forcing myself to exercise six days a week (I would do every day if my body could handle it, and when I get to the point where my joints don’t ache all the time and need a break once a week, I am going to push myself up to daily exercise), but I am determined. I bought myself a little MP3 player and I listen to it while I walk. I start strenth training this week – more muscle mass burns fat faster. I’ve gained two holes in my belt, and my watch, which was too tight when I got it as a gift at Christmas, spins around on my wrist now. I haven’t had any Coke at all in almost a MONTH!! I’m still having trouble believing in myself – but I’m dealing with that too. All in all, I think it’s going well.

My mom is coming to visit next week. I’m excited! I can’t wait to see her. She’s arriving the afternoon of the 26th and leaving that Sunday, the 29th. We’re gonna have a good visit. I don’t know what we’re going to do, but the way me and my mom are, we can just sit around and play cards and watch movies for three days and still have a fabulous time… I just wish I could see her more often.

I’ve started thinking about the martial arts class I want to take, and I’m doing some research. I’ve decided that the best way to choose is to narrow down the things I want to take away from the class. So far I’ve determined that this is what I’m looking for:

1. A class that will give me a good workout (I want to incorporate this into my exercise routine).
2. Something that isn’t too complicated, but is still powerful.
3. Traditional, but not stuffy. Something REAL. Not fricking Tae Bo, for God’s sake.
4. It needs to be forgiving of my weight (at least at first) and the fact that I’m relatively unsteady while on one foot (important to kicking!).
5. Something that will help me improve my balance so I’m not so unsteady on one foot.
6. A class that is more about punching than kicking, if possible.
7. Something that will also help me improve my strength and flexibility.
8. A class that will help me be more sure of myself, and feel as if I can handle myself in any situation – from self defense to kicking a little ass in a mosh pit, if needed.
9. Something to help me improve my confidence.
10. And as always, it needs to be affordable – PLEASE!

Anybody out there got any suggestions? I’ve narrowed down these needs/wants, now I don’t know where to go with them. I’ve got a friend in Florence who is all about martial arts – maybe I’ll send him this list and see what he thinks.

It’s finally warming up here and it’s becoming a beautiful spring. We had snow this weekend. SNOW!! In the middle of APRIL!! Jesus Christ! Indiana has the weirdest fricking weather I’ve ever seen! But at least it’s finally getting warm, things are blooming (ah-choo!), and the grass is that beautiful shade of spring green. Before too long, summer will be here. I hope to get a bike or something that I can exercise outside with this summer. That and any time spent outside is good time spent.

Sorry about all the exercise/diet talk, it’s just a big part of my life right now.

Well, duty calls. Back to the grind. Until next time…

~Becky

Friday's Feast #139

Appetizer: When you were a child, which crayon color was your favorite?
Metallic Blue.

Soup: On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being highest), how likely would you be to change jobs if it required you to move?
It would depend on how much I was getting paid, and where the relocation would be to. If someone will give me an extra dollar an hour to move back to SC and work there, you better believe it's a 10.

Salad: Take all the numbers in your birthday and your phone number and add them up, one by one. What’s the total?
75

Main Course: Have you ever “re-gifted” anything? If so, what was it and who did you pass it on to?
One Christmas, Josh and I got terrible clothes from his grandmother. He got this jacket that was completely not his style, and I got this girly kind of gold sweater thing. We re-gifted them to my sister and her (now ex) husband.

Dessert: Name something you need from the store.
Time for more fruit! I've eaten all mine.

Friday's Feast # 138

Didn't get a chance to do this on Friday, as I was out of town...



Appetizer: When you travel, which mode of transportation do you prefer?
It depends on where I'm going. I love boats and planes. Flying is awesome. The ferries to the outer banks of NC are always fun. But mostly I drive - or Erin drives. We've definitely put some miles on our respective cars, with all our driving to SC!

Soup: Have you ever met a blogging friend in person?
I see one of my blogging buddies every day, and I have several blog friends that I knew before their blogs. I don't think I've met a blog buddy that I've known exclusively through the internet, though (hope that thought made sense).

Salad: When was the last time you were really, really tired?
I have insomnia a lot, so really, really tired is kind of irrelevant to me. However, I do remember one of the tiredest I've ever been - we drove to SC, down to Myrtle Beach, and back to Indy all in about 48 hours. Talk about exhausting! I used to sleep a lot less a couple of years ago, and I would go out and sleep in my car on my lunch breaks - that's really, really tired. Also, when my mother had open heart surgery I stayed up for about 48 hours straight - I either refused to sleep while she was in surgery, or I just couldn't sleep because I was so worried about her. I crashed after those two days and slept for quite a while.

Main Course: If you could have dinner with any one fictional character from a book or movie, who would it be?
Roland Deschain from Stephen King's The Dark Tower series.

Dessert: Fill in the blank: One day, I hope to see _______________.
Peace in the world, and people be accepted by ALL for who they are regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, etc.

Monday Blues?

It was a good weekend, a long weekend, but a too short weekend. We went to Chicago and had a great time. Friday we went to Ikea and walked around for a few hours, decided on a couch we want to buy when we get enough money. (We have a few responsible things to pay for first before we can buy a new couch.) We had dinner at Ikea, and headed back to the hotel. We got a really good deal on where we stayed – the Sheraton Suites, for about $50 a night… it was really nice! Thank you, Hotwire!

Then Saturday we went into the city and went to the Museum of Science and Industry. We had a great time, walked around for about six hours and saw everything, except the new Body Worlds exhibit because they were actually all sold out of tickets for that by the time we got there. We did get to take a tour of the German U-boat they have on display there, though. It was REALLY cool. Erin wasn’t feeling well, so we headed back to the hotel and just hung out and watched TV and ate Chicago-style pizza for the rest of the evening.

Sunday we went to see the White Sox play the Twins. We had GREAT seats – two rows back from the visitor’s dugout, right along the first base line. We had a wonderful time, even though the Sox lost. We had a good rally in the ninth, but Pierzynski grounded out and the game was over. *sigh*… oh well… we still had a fabulous time.

And now here I am, back in reality, or in the real world of grownups. I’m disillusioned this morning. I’ve realized that I’m living for the weekends… getting through the work week unscathed is my goal, and then I become my real self on Saturday and Sunday. I HATE it. I want to be independently wealthy, so I can have a weekend whenever I want… but to be independently wealthy, you have to do what I’m doing now, which is work your ass off during the week to make as much money as you possibly can. I know most people have to do what I do every day… is everyone as disillusioned as I am? Maybe it’s just Monday morning blues. I’m just sick of answering to someone else every day of the week, then only having 32 hours to do whatever I want to do with my time. (I would say 48, but I have to sleep sometime, right?)

I feel trapped. Is this what I have to look forward to for the next 25 years of my life? Working 40+ hours a week, dreaming of the weekends and the occasional vacation, hating what I do for 80% of my time? Good lord. It’s enough to make you want to rob a bank… if only I could get away with it… but I know I’d never be able to, LOL…

Anyway, I’m just bitchin’. Everybody has to sometimes, I guess.

~Becky

Boring Wednesday

Three more hours and I get to blow this joint for another evening… I think time has stopped this afternoon. Why is it going so slow?

I was sick this weekend, but I’m feeling better now. I had that nasty cold that takes up residence in your head for 72 hours. As a result, I stayed in bed for the majority of the weekend. I missed the sunshine, but we rented several new(ish) movies and watched them (pretty much the only activity I was up to). We rented The Pursuit of Happyness, The Prestige, Babel, The Holiday, and Children of Men (which we didn’t get around to watching). They were all pretty good… Pursuit of Happyness dragged a little. Babel was depressing, but well done. The Holiday was cute… The Prestige had an interesting ending. Nothing really made me sit up and say, “wow”. Not even the nude Asian chick in Babel… *sigh* I must be getting old…

We’re going to Chi-town this weekend. Yippeee!!! We’re going to go to the Museum of Science and Industry, which’ll be fun… also, we’re going to hit Ikea, as we usually do when we go to Chicago (hopefully we won’t spend TOO much money), and Erin’s mom has gotten us tickets to go see the White Sox play on Sunday. We’re going to be in a skybox!! I’m excited – I’ve never been to an MLB game before. We’re playing the Twins. I hope we win, but if we play like we did against Cleveland in the season opener on Monday, there’s not a chance in hell…

We’re also going to do some sightseeing, I believe… I know we’re going to go to the top of the Sears Tower. It’s supposed to be cold in Chicago this weekend, but I’m sure we can squeeze some good touristy-type stuff in.

Everything else is pretty normal. I haven’t heard back about the new job yet, but I should soon. I’m still working on my weight loss (my current weight loss total is twelve pounds). I’m also up to about 40 minutes on the treadmill now. I try to go every day. I didn’t go last weekend as I was sick, and this weekend we’ll be in Chicago, but I’m not going to let that stop me. I’m going to see if the hotel we stay in has a fitness center, and maybe I’ll use that. Regardless, even if I don’t get a chance to walk on the treadmill this weekend, we’re going to be doing a lot of walking, and then I’ll get right back on it on Monday. It’s nice to know I can just pick up where I left off – I was worried on Monday that I wouldn’t be able to do as much as I wanted because I hadn’t walked in three days, but I was fine.

I’ve been sticking to about 1100-1200 calories a day, but it’s getting harder as I’m exercising more. One thing that I love, though, is that one of the best things you can eat when you’re dieting is SUSHI! So, once a week I’ve been treating myself to Asaka. If it’s just me, and I don’t get any appetizers like gyoza (which I don’t, because it’s fried), I can get away with a sushi dinner for less than $10. Sushi happy hour rocks socks. I love super white tuna nigiri… yummmmmmm…

OK, enough weight loss talk. It feels like that’s all I think about any more…

My life must be pretty boring right now, because I can’t think of much else to write about. So, I’m punching out for now. Until next time…

~Becky

A Universal Truth...

...Indeed!