and then he kissed me

Ya. Date went well. Very European, this one. He walks up to me, gives me the half hug and kisses my cheek to say hello. Polite, kind, funny as hell, and much better looking than I remember (bonus!). Of course, he paid for everything. Even walked me to my car. Funny to date an Indian who was born in Trinidad but is a Canadian citizen. Now, if only I could lose this silly perma-grin.... Ah, the happiness will surely fade soon enough! First dates are fun. =)

ennhh!

Why oh why do I do it? I made this killer veggie curry the other day. It is soooo good. I had a little bit for breakfast. Ya, if you knew me well, you'd understand I rarely eat breakfast food for breakfast. Anywho, when I got home from church today, I sauteed a little chicken and garlic to add to some of the curry mixture. That was lunch. It was soooooo good, and I didn't eat nearly slow enough, so now I've got a killer stomach ache. Luckily, I know that this is just my "full tummy" feeling and not the "crap, I gotta go to the ER now" feeling. In fact, as I sit here and type, it is already abating. If I were at work, Wang and I would take a walk through the parking lot, and I'd be fine within minutes. Just gotta wait for digestion to kick in. C'mon digestion! Don't fail me now!!! Maybe I'll add a little GasX to the mix to help...!

Oh, and think happy thoughts. My "date" is tonight! =)

the wait

Yargh! I hate waiting. I supposedly have a date Sunday night. This is the guy from the speed dating thing. Yep, the one I really didn't want to like. Now I find myself checking my email more often than usual waiting for any news from him. He is due back in town tonight from Canada. Business. He's basically been gone for 2 weeks. Is this something I want to deal with? Hmmm, don't know yet. I guess I'll have to wait and see if he's worth it. OCD much?

so little time, so much to tell

Yes, yes, yes...I suck at blogging lately. I am terribly sorry. Such is the life of the mouse. I'll throw in the highlights (and lowlights) of the last week.

Hmmm, where to start. I blogged about all the stomach pains I'd been having, so this will be a catch up on that. I finally called the doc last Thursday, and they scheduled me for a CT scan Friday morning. Yes, as in the very next day. It was fine as far as contrast scans go I guess. I got the news yesterday that I have something called a Peterson's hernia--some sorta hernia at the anastomosis between my "stomach" and my intestines. It's gotta get fixed. Mind you I've got SAang's wedding in two weeks. I pretty much refused to have the surgery until after that. No, I'm not putting myself in danger, but it'll be taken care of pretty danged soon after the wedding (as in about 4 days after I think it will be). They even called me today and tried to talk me into Saturday morning surgery. Nope--that day I'll be spending the day with the girls doing bachelorette party things (nothing lewd or debaucherous though). Basically, the next two weeks are the busiest I'll be for the rest of the year. Sorry body--you have to wait to be healed. Don't fail me now!

On personal notes of a different nature, I did a speed dating thing with a girl from work last week. It was so much fun! I had no idea it would be! Granted, I can pretty much talk to a post in the ground. I basically had a date a month for the whole year in one night (12 different guys for 5 minutes each). There were a couple that I was really interested in, but I don't think it was mutual. Then there was this guy who when I looked at him from across the room I knew I wouldn't like him. Well, um, he was rather amazing. Learned, articulate, well travelled, funny, successful.... But no, I wasn't going to like him. Guess what folks? We've got our first real date Sunday night. (another reason to put off the surgery a smidge--I mean, how do you say "Ya, you're really awesome, but I have to have surgery because of a complication from my gastric bypass surgery, so can you wait a couple weeks more?") Anyway, he's been persistent, and he'd be a great catch. And we have so much in common! Even down to talking about jazz clubs in Montreal....

This is also a good thing because I found out on my lunch "date" today that the older guy is married. Um, 'scuse me? No, I don't do that. Ah, my naivety amazes even me.

Lastly (for tonight at least) a dear dear friend is in town for her sister's wedding. I saw her Sunday at a bridal shower (and sooooo many other people I haven't seen in ages!) and again for dinner tonight. I miss her so much, and I rue the fact that I can't see her more often. Unfortunately (for me, not her) she lives out in the Bay area. She said it was 55 degrees when she got on the plane and 100 when she got off. Ugh! I can't believe how terrible that must have been. Anyway, I'll see her again Thursday at the wedding. Yes, Thursday. No, I don't understand it either. =)

I am idiocity

Sometimes I am so stupid I can hardly believe it. Okay, so I have had trouble with the whole eating thing after this surgery. Saturday night I had issues and took it easy for a day or so. Today I decided it would be brilliant to try some raw celery. I loooooooove celery! Well, it no longer loves me. I had stomach cramps all afternoon long. I was supposed to meet a couple friends for happy hour, but I begged off. I stared thinking about it and realized that maybe a drink would be a good thing. It would relax the cramping tummy muscles. And it did! I took a little over an hour to drink one tequila beverage, and my stomach felt a ton better. So WTF did I do when I got home? I ate some left over egg foo young. Granted, on its own, I'm sure it wouldn't have caused me any problems--it didn't last night. However, after my issues of the afternoon, I'm a little painful again. As of today I am 10 weeks post surgery. Is an athlete ready to run a marathon 10 weeks after reconstructive knee surgery? Gosh! When will I learn? If any of you see me doing something stupid food wise, please tell me to stop. I will not be offended, I promise. And if I get snippy, call me on it. =) After the past week, I really don't want to think about bulimia as a way to deal with my tummy pains.

I've been remiss...

Thanks to those of you who noticed that I have not been blogging of late. I've been in my own little world of blah. Don't know if it's allergies or what, but I have been soooooo tired. Case in point, last night I got home from work at 6, fell in bed and slept until 9, then got up for about an hour and was back in bed until 7:30 this morning. To top it all, I'm still tired! Anywho, a short recap on the week you all missed:

I had last Monday off, but it ended up sucking royally. I had to take one of my boys to the vet because he couldn't pee. Either that or when he did it was all bloody. Not a good thing! Needless to say, this was after I'd already seen the dentist for the teeth whitening (yes, I'm vain that way) and I'd signed up for a swimming class. Now I am calling myself broke until Christmas! Good news is the boy is MUCH better now. He's been on meds since last Monday so he's only got 3 more weeks! Poor kitteh. I did have a bright spot to my Monday though: my gay husband was in town from DC, so I got have lunch with him. Yay for bright spots!

Tueday was back to work work work. Friday was pretty fun--to finally get a day off! I went to Winny's for a little festive-ness of food and Wii time. Oh, and I drank all afternoon! Granted it was one drink over the course of like 3 hours, but that's all afternoon, right? Much fun was had by all. Then there was Saturday. Ugh. The day back to work after a holiday. It was hellacious; we broke a record for the number of samples done in one day. I was in the lab for 11 hours. That, my dears, is waaaaaaaaaaay too long. (maybe I'm just still tired from that)

On to this week: I started my swimming class Monday night. OMG!!! My coach for the next two and a half weeks is a guy who won 3 gold medals for the US in the Olympics! He is so patient and wonderful; I'm so glad I'm doing this for myself (even if it is gonna break me). Then again, considering the price and his credentials, I'm getting a bargain! I go again tonight in about an hour and a half. I can't wait. I'm so stoked about learning how to do a good freestyle so I can exercise my entire body more completely. Gotta get my losing weight self toned back up!

Saturday night's alright for...what?

So, here it is Saturday night, and I'm home. Doing a whole lotta nuthin. While I realize that losing 50 pounds will not change my life, I must admit I was hoping for a little something different in my life. As in, maybe, a life. =)

This was supposed to be my 3 day weekend, but I got called into work today. Blech. I got up and went to yoga for the relaxation benefits, and when I got home it was automatically ruined by the IM I got from a guy at work warning me that the supervisor had called me. Yarrgh! Sooooo, I went in for something that never even ending up happening. Double yarrgh! When I got home, I wasn't in the mood to do anything I had planned for the day: cleaning, laundry, vacuuming.... I did a little cleaning but not nearly enough. I ended up wasting some time online and watching Law and Order. Now, I'm back online. Why? Who knows really. Guess I'm hoping that something miraculous will happen. Without hope, what is life really?

Actually, I'm hoping for a fantastic storm to hit so I can sleep through it! Dorky me.

one word meme

Only ONE word can be used in your answer and it can NOT be used twice.

1. Where is your cell phone? pocket
2. Your significant other? nonexistent
3. Your hair? static-ee
4. Your mother? beloved
5. Your father? nutty
6. Your favorite time of day? night
7. Your dream last night? none
8. Your favorite drink? tea
9. Your dream goal? happiness
10. The room you’re in? lab
11. Your ex? Denton
12. Your fear? loneliness
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? elsewhere
14. What you are not? disloyal
15. Your Favorite meal? steak
16. One of your wish list items? snuggle-buddy
17. The last thing you did? fibrinogen
18. Where you grew up? Dallas
19. What are you wearing? scrubs
20. Your TV is? home
21. Your pets? kittehs
22. Your computer? laptop
23. Your life? murfle
24. Your mood? cranky
25. Missing someone? maybe
26. Your car? spotty
27. Something you’re not wearing? glasses
28. Favorite store? Marmi
29. Your summer? vacationless
30. Your favorite colour? black
31. When is the last time you laughed? today
32. When is the last time you cried? Tuesday
33. Your health? better
34. Your children? catlike
35. Your future? questioning
36. Your beliefs? strong
37. Young or old? inbetween
38. Your image? bitch
39. Your appearance? labcoaty
40. Would you live your life over again knowing what you know? sure

(totally stolen from Army of Mom)

ugh

Oh, the things I'll do for protein. I was not really hungry tonight, but I knew I needed to eat something. I also knew I needed to make up some protein because I've lagged behind my quota the past couple of days. Well, hmmmmm.... I looked in the fridge and nothing looked good. On to the freezer...no, no, ooh! Lean Cuisine mac and cheese. Even better, it had 15 grams of protein listed on the label. Wow, was that not a good choice. Granted, I wasn't hungry to begin with. I ate about a third of it and was sooooo done. However, that would only be 5 grams of protein. That was not enough. Surely all the protein was in the cheese sauce and not in the macaroni, right? So what did I do, you ask? Ya, I put the noodles in my mouth, sucked off the cheese sauce, and spit the noodles back on the plate. Gross, huh? Even doing that, I couldn't make it through the whole thing. Ugh. I'm hoping I got 10 grams of my protein, but I doubt it. Serious ugh. *shakes head and laughs at self for being a nutritional doofus*

emotional overload

Sometimes it is all just too much. Between one friend going through a terrible divorce, one friend with a sudden medical issue, one friend going through unemployment, another with a whack personal problem, one who got bad family news yesterday, and yet another with a screw loose (well, that could actually be a couple) on top of me being ridiculously overworked, I took the night off. I didn't even have the energy to go to yoga. Oh ya, and I had to cancel the one thing I was really looking forward to this summer because I realised I can't justify spending the money on it when I have other bills to pay. I was home by 6pm, in my pjs by 7pm, and I vegged all night. Then I made the mistake of watching a romantic comedy. Whoa, big mistake. By the way, I'm also waaaay hormonal right now. All I wanna do is crawl in bed for a couple days and let all this pass. I wish I didn't care so much about everyone in my life, and I know there is nothing I can do for them other than think happy thoughts and pray. However, sometimes it really does just all get to me. One of these days, I'll be able to make time for myself. Unfortunately, I'll have to get out from under the black cloud of debt first. My church check even hasn't come through yet (it was due to hit the bank on the 20th). Every time I think I'm getting close, something else happens. Ya, I got the hospital bill from my unexpected hospital visit. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I have insurance, but I'd be a helluva lot happier if I didn't eat those damn sausages. =) Not to worry about me, I just needed to have a little rant time. I'm just having a little pms induced pity party!

Now it's 9:30. I think I'll go read myself to sleep. Nothing better than a little scientific non-fiction before bed!

I have 10 minutes...

Okay, quick recap of my world:

1) DCfC Tuesday night was pretty darned good. I wouldn't say awesome because they had some sound mixing issues (well, at least I thought they did). Whenever the bass quit playing, it was very nice! Too bad Wang couldn't go after all, but the May Boy stood up and bought her ticket. And kept me from having to find a replacement concert date at the last minute. Love him!

2) Short note: a black woman told me I had a great butt. No offense to anyone out there, but I take that as a serious compliment!

3) The HSBF is officially canned. He said some things last night (via IM of course) that cannot be taken back. I don't care how "affected" you are, some things should not be said. Assface.

Ya, that's about it. I know I had something else, but if I can't think of it now, it must've not been that important. More later!

eeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Or should I title this "giddy as a freaking schoolgirl"?

I just made the most insane purchase. It's not something I needed, and I don't know why I even walked into the store. When I saw it, I didn't even hold out much hope. I went into a swimsuit store. Gack, I know! However, something pulled me in there. I tried a couple of different suits. The first one fit, but it didn't inspire me to do anything. Then there was the 2nd one I tried.... I stood there in the changing room staring at myself in the mirror for a good long time. I'm sure the clerks were starting to wonder what in the world was going on. Then I texted a couple of friends. I didn't want to take it off! It looked that good on me! I am so stoked! I know, I know, I'll only be able to wear it for one season because of the silly weight loss thing, but this was a total "Go me!" purchase. Finally I can really see results. My waist has returned as has most of my figure. I'm nowhere near svelte yet (in fact, the thighs are definitely gonna need some work now), but I'm ready to show some skin! I may even be willing to post a picture or two.

Can you tell I'm excited?

TGI (almost) F

I can't believe this week isn't over yet. It's been a long one. Work has been hellacious, and like usual, we pull it all off with no problems. It's one of those circular messes: we get thrown way too much work with way to few people to do it, and yet we manage to get it all done. Ergo, why hire anyone else when so few people can do the job??? Yarrgh!!! Whoa, this was not intended to be a rant. Sorry.

Anywho, things are going well still. Still eating well, trying to drink more (actually having trouble getting in my 64oz a day). At this point, I weigh less than I have in probably 10 years at least. I'm thrilled! And today marks 6 weeks since surgery. I celebrated by going to the gym for the first time and hoofing it on the treadmill. Yay me! Needless to say, I tried to stay away from people at choir rehearsal since I went there straight from el gymo. Trust me, I could've been much worse.

I'm just soooooooo glad tomorrow is Friday, and I have a long weekend off. Well, except for having to help host a bridal shower on Saturday. That's a day gone, but it's all worth it! Finally a match of which I approve! Saang even let me pick my own bridesmaid dress--she chose the color. I might actually look cute in it! I just hope I fit in the size I ordered.... =)

a week already?

Wow, I can't believe I haven't blogged since last week. Sorry, I suck. I'll try to make up for it. Hmmm, where did I leave off? Sadly nothing much has really happened. I ended up catching a stomach virus thingamajigger so felt like absolute hooey all weekend. To the point where I got home from work Saturday afternoon and slept on the couch (okay, futon) for four hours. I felt awful for ditching a friend who I haven't seen in ages, but I figure he really didn't want me to hurl on him in a movie theater. Same scenario Sunday: I got up and did the singing thing (had a duet so I couldn't skip out--although I kinda did because at one point I totally forgot to sing--bad naughty mouse!), but I thought I was gonna spew on the priest at the altar after the singing. Needless to say, I came back home and slept on the aforementioned futon for another 3+ hours. This was not good for ingesting protein. I got a little behind, and yet I didn't lose a single pound. Damnation!

This week has been better. I started feeling better Monday night, and I was back to my obnoxious and raring-to-go self by Tuesday (much to the chagrin of my coworkers--I think they liked the break). I even threw something at my boss yesterday. He tried talking to me while I was doing something where I really needed to pay attention, and I almost screwed everything up. Blast him. He got a pad of paper aimed at his chest. Bwa hah hah!!! Today was even better because I got a call this morning and ended up with a lunch "date." Of course I hadn't planned on him paying and all that jazz, but who am I to say no. He doesn't have to pay to put gas in his car. =) We just went to a close local barbeque place, and I tried the pulled pork. I'm happy to say that it is now on the list of things the mouse can eat. Whoot! I keep adding something new almost every day. Things are looking up. I even had some almonds this afternoon!

Yes, things are looking up. I know I left a lot out, but highlights are better than everything. I don't want to bore you all to death and have you never read me again. Happy hump day people!

you'll put your eye out!

Remember that scene in A Christmas Story when Ralphie almost shoots his eye out? Well, that whole scenario came to me this morning while I was driving to work. I wasn't even 3 blocks from my house before someone tried to blind me. I was driving with my driver's side window down (my preferred way to dry my hair on the way to the lab), and I passed a woman out weed-eating her sidewalk area. All of a sudden BAM! flying through my window, hitting my left cheek, and landing on my passenger seat after who knows how many bounces was a little rock. She could've put my eye out! Oh, but it gets better. So I look over for the rock thingy and see this minimally large spider crawl across the passenger seat and down between it and the shifting console. WTF? Is it freak out Naughty Mouse morning or something? Gosh. Anyway, I hope you all found this as entertaining as I did on my way to work this morning.

happy Tuesday

Let me start by wishing a super happy birthday to the H-bomb! Yay for making it another year without killing anyone. =)

Things in my world are awfully boring. I wish I had something fun to post. The most exciting things that happened in the past few days are 1) I bought a grill pan so I can grill fish inside (because me and outdoor grilling is a hilarious display that ends with fire extinguishers), 2) I had yesterday off and did absolutely nothing I should have around the house, and 3) I'm cooking some fresh black eyed peas right now. Funny, all of a sudden I have My Hump all in my head....

Oh, ya, I did get to go to the dentist for the first time in 2 years yesterday. Whoa. I'll be back at the end of the month and then a couple more times after that. Stupid teeth. See, I've got this one cap that I got back in 1991 that needs to be replaced. Funny story how it happened: I had just finished my first year at Sewanee and was waiting for my parents to come pick me up and bring me home. A group of us decided to go out exploring/roving/killing time the night before I was to be retrieved. One girl and I were the only 2 sober people in the crowd, and who's the one who slipped on wet grass and fell down thus biting the concrete sidewalk? Ya, that'd be me. Talk about embarrassing. I had a hard time getting my parents to believe that I wasn't one of the toasted wonders I was roaming with! Anywho, I've had the same cap/veneer since June of 1991. It has served me well. Now I gotta get a new tooth. I feel very ghetto when I say that. Unfortunately, since it is one of the front teeth, insurance sees it as being cosmetic instead of necessary; ergo, they won't pay as much.

Good for me! I found something to blog about after all. Whoot to me!

more about mice

This just cracks me up more than you know.

Neuroscientists at the St. Louis university found male mice burst out in song when they encounter sex pheromones from female mice, The Guardian reported. The songs aren't audible to humans because they are sung at an extremely high frequency. Researchers Tim Holy and Zhongsheng Guo said they made their discovery while testing how male mice responded to sex pheromones. The scientists said within seconds of encountering female mouse urine, the males began emitting ultrasonic songs. The scientists recorded the sounds and then made them audible to the human ear by slowing the audio track and lowering the pitch, while retaining the tempo. Such courtship melodies are common among birds, insects, and frogs, but such behavior in mammals has previously been thought limited to humans, whales and bats. The study appears in the open access journal, Public Library of Science, Biology.

Copyright 2005 by United Press International

why oh why?

Okay, this is another not so chipper post, but it will have a good ending. Promise!

Here's my question of the day: why do I let myself hope for things that are so unreasonable? Do I purposely doom myself? Kinda like when I fell for a married guy--twice. No, I never did anything about it because that would be oh-so-seriously wrong. Maybe I have this mental thing that I only want things I can't have. Like the dream job. That'll never happen again, that's for damned sure. Of course I like where I am now, there's moving-up potential, and it's not a governmental agency. AND we have labs all over the world so there is actual moving potential. Kinda like that Maine idea last summer.... I could even go to South Africa if I got desperate enough for a real move (and see RAH again!). Anyway, I'm just being all conflicted at the moment. Maybe it's hormonal. =) Maybe I just need another sports car. Maybe I need to quit listening to Muse's "Map of the Problematique." Maybe I need a real vacation (not just spending all my "off time" in the frakking hospital). Or maybe I should just make that phone call and quit waiting for it to come to me....

Good ending as promised: got to IM with the Mayboy yesterday. He said he'd bring me some tea. What a great guy. Today he is at the birthplace of Confucius. He said it is up in the mountains in the middle of nowhere. Isn't a lot of China like that? He got to take the bullet train to get there. How cool is that? Ooh! Maybe he'll bring me a panda!

SICK

Okay kids, it's that time again. Time for the naughty mouse to have a little time to rant. Thank you in advance for your patience.

I'm sick of not being able to eat.
I'm sick of not being able to drink without hurting my stomach.
I'm sick of not being able to go out with my friends for these reasons.
I'm sick of my incision sites not healing well.
I'm sick of working too much for too little appreciation.
I'm sick of my cat eating my flip flops and kleenex boxes.
I'm sick of all my close friends going through tough times.
I'm sick of weeding the front flower bed and having the weeds return immediately.
I'm sick of hospital bills.
I'm sick of lots of things.

I really don't know how I'm gonna handle work for the next two weeks. The Mayboy is gone to China. He's only been gone 3 days, and things here already suck. I miss him. I want him to come back soon--and bring me something fun! I am running low on my blooming tea....

Lost

No, I don't even watch it, but if one more person mentions the two hour finale!!! I think I'll spew. That could also be because I'm still having troubles eating and drinking--more so drinking. I guess I'm having one of the bad days, but I'm sick to death of taking a sip of tea and having it do somersaults in my stomach. When will it end???

Okay, thanks for the rant reading. I did have one fun thing happen today. I was sitting at the microscope when one of our couriers came over to me with this shit-eating grin on his face. My first thought is, Oh hell, what did he do this time? Surprisingly, he came over to compliment me on how good I look lately! It was so awesome! Definitely one of the best things that has happened to me in a long while. It really is the little things that make me happy. =) Funny thing was that he went up to a co-worker first and said something to the effect of "is it just me or has she lost A LOT of weight?" To know this guy makes it even funnier! What a sweetie! Forty pounds down, quite a few to go....

Okay, I think I've stayed up long enough after eating my piece and a half of sliced turkey breast. I'm going to read myself to sleep. Whoot! Everyone should really read Peter Sagal's Book of Vice. It's freaking hilarious!