Subconscious mind

Let me just tell you how powerful your subconscious mind is. Well, how powerful mine is. I know I sound like a psychobabbling buffoon right now, but get this... In my last post, I mentioned working on my book and how I knew the answer would come to me soon. Well, as I was laying down for bed that night, it hit me like a ton of bricks. There's still some significant ironing out to do, but I spent three hours transforming it tonight. I am feeling super-relieved and excited, although it's a major change from my original concept. Looking back, I have no idea how this didn't come to me sooner!

New Year's Eve is just around the corner and, per usual, I am not a fan of the holiday. There's so much hype about going out and doing something crazy and fun when it's truly no different than any other night of the year. The good news is that a friend called yesterday and made a last-minute plan to come to town, so I am excited! I haven't seen her since May and we always have a grand ol' time together!

I exercised yesterday and today. Yesterday I did the elliptical at work and today I did a combintion of the treadmill and the gangster elliptical we have at the fitness center. I'm satisfied with my dedication, especially after all of the holiday laziness. I'm hoping to make it three straight days tomorrow! No excuses because I'm working from home tomorrow, but we get off at 3:00 p.m. anyway for the holidays.

I haven't had much of an appetite the last few days. Maybe I ate myself out of commission over the holidays or something. I haven't really gotten hungry and haven't enjoyed eating as much as usual. I had Chili's for lunch yesterday and Mexican today and didn't finish the meals I typically wolf down. Odd!

I did my vest for about an hour and a half yesterday. That's one of my biggest resolutions for 2010, although I haven't started writing them down yet. I plan to, though, because I definitely believe in the power of writing things down and holding myself accountable.

Today I am just rambling like I'm an expert on random topics, when in all actuality I just feel like being on a pedestal for no reason. Perhaps I'll stop and go to sleep instead. Sounds like a compromise!

It's the mooooost wonderful tiiiiime of the year

Well, what can I say!? It has been an enjoyable break, but I can't believe it's almost over. I'm looking forward to another short week, though, with two days in the office, one working from home, and then four consecutive days off again. I have to say that I prefer this life over the one in which the majority of my time is spent at work. But oh well. I'll save that life for when I've won the lottery.

I haven't been outside since Friday, which is awesome. Some people might call it lazy, but it has been so enjoyable for me! I have literally worn pajamas since Tuesday, with the exception of eight hours on Christmas Eve and another seven hours on Christmas. It's back to work tomorrow, so I'm enjoying these last several hours in pajamas while they last.

I've worked on my book a lot while I've been home, but I'm still waiting to receive the answer of how to organize it all... my brain is supposed to be sending it to me. It is all scattered and on different topics, but it's all a part of what makes me who I am. I know that the answer will come to me soon because I set a deadline of December 31, 2009. Only about four more days!

I can safely say that I've enjoyed a lot of food over the holidays... including two rounds of pancakes (one for lunch today!). On Christmas Eve we had traditional Thanksgiving-like food, such as turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, etc. Then, on Christmas Day, we did our usual brunch where I gorged myself on sausage balls, quiche, fruit, etc. I have pretty much eaten for half of each day and slept for the other half. Rejuvenation, baby!

My mom and I are going to watch Failure to Launch at 7:00 p.m. We watched Knocked Up earlier today and Funny People yesterday. I'm just proud of myself because I haven't fallen asleep during any of the movies, and that's typically my forte. I think it's because I've fixed coffee to drink during each of the movies. What a senior citizen!

Well, I better start getting ready for the movie. I've got a lot of stuff to pack up before I leave for work in the morning. I hope everyone enjoyed their holidays!

Oozy rat in a sanitary zoo

Greeeeeeeeeeeeeetings. Today is 12-21, which is a palindrome. Therefore, I also used a palindrome to title this post. DORK!

Well, what a weekend! I worked at the theatre on Friday and Saturday nights. I did pre-show suggestions both nights, and also ran the camera on Saturday night. It didn't feel much like work, so that's cool. I also got to laugh a lot in the process, so volunteering was surprisingly fun. I was out pretty late both nights... Friday night I got home around 1, and Saturday it was more like 2. WILD CHILD!

Saturday I got up and exercised, then went shopping and knocked out pretty much everything you can imagine. It was relatively painless, which I didn't expect the weekend before Christmas. It's amazing how efficiently you can shop the closer you get to the deadline. I mean, the lines may be long and what not, but there's no longer time to debate, compare, pick and choose.

Sunday I got up and ran 3 miles (you heard me) and then went to lunch with a friend. We went to J. Christopher's and I had the spinach and bacon skillet. It made my mouth water! I could eat another right now. I debated getting the pancakes, but restaurant pancakes often don't do it for me. They are too...solid and calculated. I can't wait to eat some homemade pancakes this week!

Last night we had a theatre holiday party, and it was a lot of fun. I brought apple tart for dessert and my white elephant gift was a bottle of Bailey's. I ended up getting a tumbler... too bad the Bailey's already belonged to someone else at that point. There was so much delicious food to eat, including one of my favorites... buffalo chicken dip!

That brings me to a very important point. Back in September, I ranked my top three foods as Mexican, pancakes, and grilled cheese. However, I have an amendment to make. I'm officially replacing grilled cheese with buffalo chicken dip in my all-time top three favorite foods. Buffalo chicken dip is just sooooo savory.

Well, it's time to go to bed around 8:30 p.m. because I stayed up too late last night. Tomorrow is my last day in the office this week. YEAAAAAAH BUDDY! GET IT CRUNK! I'm seriously so excited about it. Plus, I'm going to lunch with my old boss, so that's always fun!

Tell 'em all I'm on vacation

Title: Song lyric from "Truth" by Jason Aldean.

WELL WELL WELL! It's Thursday night which only means one thing... I'm working from home tomorrow! Telecommuting makes a world of difference to me. It gives me the opportunity to sleep a little later, wear my pajamas all day and have some quiet time that I don't often get at work. I can't wait to get to go for a multi-hour waking period without having to speak out loud to anyone other than myself, although I won't do that either.

Tonight I got home from work a little after 7:00 p.m. and got changed into pajamas. I straightened my room a bit, and then got settled watching some Saturday Night Live holiday special. It was pretty entertaining, I must say. But I was definitely a little disappointed that The Office wasn't on in order for SNL to be on... You win some, you lose some.

I had a dream the other night that someone broke into my house. It was really interesting because the thief was actually still inside and was just sort of redecorating. Per my usual dorky behavior, I tried to look up those terms, and the robbery is understandably indicative of feeling as though my identity is being stolen or credit is being taken from me. Decorating involves trying to mask things or cover up something. Whew! Lots to think about, but someone is apparently out to get me!

Today I had what I may deem the best nachos I've ever had at Willy's. I don't know what made them any different than the nachos I usually get, but I think it's that I needed them now more than ever - emotionally. This week has been draining in every sense of the word. Now, tell me if it's ironic that I accidentally typed "weak" rather than "week" the first go-round. I think not. I think that would be one of the best adjectives to describe my current state!

It's time for another night of dreams to analyze.

Bulletproof

Well, the week hasn't improved much since Monday, but the good news is that I am alive and surviving. I somehow feel like switching from 2009 to 2010 will make me feel refreshed, although that's kind of crazy and unrealistic. Oh well... Maybe the two shortened workweeks will give me some time to take it easy. I don't think I'm going to take any days off; I prefer to hoard my vacation days.

Yesterday I got one of my favorite compliments of all-time... I was told I am bulletproof. Now, I realize that could be backhanded if said in the wrong context, but I was very flattered to hear it. I think I have gotten much more bulletproof over the last year or so. Can't nobody stop me!

Today I went to Target and got two Christmas gifts for people on my list. I think they'll like them... primarily because I was given direct instructions and no additional options. Merry Christmas! I also picked up two prescriptions, so I made a whole trip out of it. As much as I love Target, I hate shopping in general, so I'm pleased I made it through the experience without getting too angry.

Tonight at improv we didn't actually rehearse, which was probably in my best interest. I don't know what's up with me this week, but I haven't felt this wound up and unfocused in quite a while. Tomorrow should be a relaxing night if all goes as planned to be worthless. Then, I'm at the theatre Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. So I'm bracing myself for a busy weekend.

I exercised yesterday and today...round of applause. Yesterday I really kicked it into high gear and did a combination of sprints and the Stairmaster. I got riled up enough that it was difficult to go to bed. That's probably a better exercise routine for waking up rather than winding down. Today I just did the elliptical at work, so I didn't get myself into hardcore mode. Oh well, I still got in some quality exercise.

My eyes are telling me it's bedtime, so perhaps I'll listen. Good night!

One of those days

Today was one of those days. It was one of those days where, no matter what I did, I couldn't get in a good mood. Maybe it was the fact that it was Monday, that I was tired, that the weather was dreary, that the holiday stress is upon me... I don't know. But all I can say is that I am so happy to be in this bed of mine ready to hit the hay.

Well, I have yet to do any Christmas shopping and I realize that in two hours it will only be ten days away. I'm not sure where the time has gone, but it seems like I've lived in a vacuum all year; the time escapes me and I can't seem to track it down. While I enjoy the holidays, I also find them particularly draining. There's so much preparation to do, things to wrap up at work, etc.

I haven't yet decided what days I'm going to take off for the rest of the year. I was toying with the idea of not taking off any - We get off the 24th, 25th, 31st, and 1st. However, I think I'm going to go absolutely insane if I don't do something more. I may try to telecommute a bit since my typical telecommute day (Friday) falls on two of the vacation days.

Today was our division-wide holiday party. I wasn't sure what to expect, so I can't really say whether or not it met my expectations. I was hoping there might be some adult beverages and what not, but what can I say... the budget doesn't support it. Blaaaaaaaaaaah.

Well, I had improv tonight and, after the events of the day, you can imagine that I wasn't exactly in the mood to try to entertain. In fact, if I could have done anything, I would have come home and been antisocial, probably falling asleep by 8:00 p.m. However, I toughed it out and, in summation, I didn't perform as horrendously as I thought I could.

Time to finally do what I've been dreaming of all day.....SLEEP. Tomorrow will definitely be better than today. Pessimistic Patty signing off.

Best Invisible Design Award

So, I didn't win the Bah Humbug category in the door-decorating contest at work, but my boss and I won the Best Invisible Design Award. I must say I'm pretty pleased. The door we envisioned was definitely awesome, so I'm glad we were recognized accordingly.

Our holiday party and work was fun, and I ate entirely too much. We had one of my all-time favorites, which are cheese straws. Good grief, those are awesome. I also had a variety of other things... little sandwiches, dip, quiche, cake, etc. I could have eaten myself into a coma, but I stopped when I was reasonably stuffed, so that was a good exercise of self-control on my part.

After the holiday party, I broke my personal rule and went to the library. I'm not supposed to be reading until I finish writing my book, but I had to turn in a few books and figured I'd go ahead and get some others. I've already started reading one of them and I really enjoy it so far. I need to work out some kind of compromise with myself so that I can continue to read, but also continue to make forward progress on my book.

Yesterday was a nice day to work from home. It was cold out, so I stayed comfortably in bed and worked on my laptop. As has become Friday tradition, I had lunch at El Toro, so that was the perfect mid-day break. Last night, Claire and I watched some television, ate some Chick-fil-A, and played some Jenga. Wild night!

Well, today I got up and exercised. My back has been bothering me lately, so I walked on the treadmill on an incline. I would have liked to have done something vigorous, but it was a good workout anyway... plus, I got to read a good chunk of the book I shouldn't be reading.

I'm about to head to Taco Mac to meet two work people before going to a concert tonight. The concert is this male a capella group, and it's supposed to be good. I'm excited to see what it's all about! I think they do singing as well as skits, so I look forward to being entertained.

I'm tired, so I hope a second wind is about to kick in.... WOOOHOOOO!

Why you so obsessed with me?

Gosh, I am so tired right now. I'm not even sure what I'm doing and why I'm not asleep. It feels like today should already be next Monday because this week has been so long.

Well, yesterday at work we had our holiday door decorating contest. Unfortunately, the person I planned to team up with was at a conference, so I gracefully bowed out. There was a Bah Humbug category, so maybe I'll win that. But probably not. BAH HUMBUG! I love stuff like that, but I also know how ridiculously competitive I get, so it's probably best that I didn't participate.

Last night we had our annual homeowners' meeting. Let's just say it was interesting... and I think I got some good character ideas for improv. I'm glad I went because I find stuff like that thoroughly amusing. I also wish I hadn't gone because it's time I'll never get back, but oh well. At least I know my dues are increasing since nobody will probably tell me.

Today was a pretty good day. I feel like I got a lot accomplished at work, but I can't even tell you what I meant by that because I'm not sure. I went to Starbucks during lunch and wrote/read some, so that was a nice use of time. I also got on the elliptical today before I headed home. I got in a pretty good workout, if I do say so myself. Then, I came home and wasted the night away. I ate a little bit and read some more. I just tried to straighten up my room a bit, but I got tired and started sitting in bed instead.

Tomorrow is our holiday party at work. It starts at noon and then we get to enjoy an early release, so it's going to be a short day. It's too bad I have kind of a lot of stuff to do, but I'll just take care of the rest of it from home after the party if need be. I'm excited to get to leave work early. Yeeeehaw!

I just wrote this entire thing and decided I didn't say anything worthwhile. Oh well. Sometimes I just don't have anything exciting to say... or I'm too tired to make it sound exciting. Night!

Goooo Yellow Jackets!

Friday's workout-during-lunch plan wasn't too successful. In fact, I ended up eating El Toro instead. That's always a worthwhile tradeoff. Burn calories or gorge myself? Gorge! Heck yes!

The holiday party Friday night was fun. I realized last-minute that I didn't have cash for parking, so I swung by Publix and got cash back by purchasing a Red Bull. I pretty much watched student volunteers man the door. It was a very easy job, and it was kind of fun to be in such a happening place. It was pretty crowded, though, because everyone felt the need to stay in a very confined space.

Yesterday was pretty productive, I guess. I got up, went to the gym, and went to Lowe's to get some supplies. I got a letter of violation for having brass doorknobs rather than brush nickel, so I had to get new doorknobs and locks. Sometimes it's absurd to have to pay for stuff you don't even want. Especially when it's expensive.

Then, I sat around and went to the grocery store before watching Georgia Tech win the ACC championship. The game was entirely too close for comfort, but it was a good game nonetheless. I cleaned my room a bit at the end of the game because I found myself getting frustrated with what I was seeing. All's well that ends well!

Today the new doorknobs and locks were installed, and the old satellite dish (that I also got a letter about) was removed. It feels good not to be a delinquent homeowner anymore. In addition to watching these things get taken care of, I watched the Falcons get taken care of. It was a pretty ugly game. OH. WELL. At least one of my teams made me proud this weekend.

Well, tomorrow starts a long week of mass emails and shenanigans. I have improv on Monday and Wednesday and our annual homeowners' meeting on Tuesday. We have a work holiday potluck on Thursday. Plus, there are about a million mass emails I need to create that will send this week. So, it looks like it will be a busy one.

On that note, I'm going to try to get to bed early so I can get up and exercise before work. I went to the gym yesterday AND today, so let's see if I can make it three in a row. Good night!

Today. Was the happiest day of her life.

Before anyone gets too rambunctious, I'm just singing the lyrics in my head in the title of this post. So chill out, fan club.

Well, guess where I was tonight.... The theatre. HA!!!!!!!! Bet nobody guessed. Tonight's show was a lot of fun, and I'm super-glad I went. Even though I was tired and didn't know if I should go, I am confident that I made the best decision.

Everything that happened today is blurring together. Things that happened this morning feel like they happened two days ago. One of my frizziends had a dead car battery this morning, so I left work to go lend my car's strength to a car in need. It was successful. I don't know why watching people with jumper cables makes me so anxious.

After work, I met a friend at Willy's to grab something to eat before the show. I had been in a Willy's drought (probably three weeks), but I went twice this week, so that satisfied my stomach and soul. I got the same thing both times..... steak nachos. Yeah buddy.

I need to hit the gym tomorrow. I have failed at my attempt to work out this week. That's okay, though. One step at a time... I figure I can work out during my lunch hour since I won't be concerned with getting sweaty (telecommuting). Then, I'm working at the young alumni holiday party at night, so that will be hilarious.

Off to bed!

Umm..... What?

I can't even fathom that it's Wednesday night. My internet wasn't working the last few days, and I hadn't had the time to try to figure it out. However, it's amazing what unplugging a couple cords can do for you. Primarily if you plug them back in after you unplug them. So, I'm up and running again!

I have been at the theatre the last three days... I had my first apprentice rehearsal on Monday night, went to a graduation show last night, and had rehearsal again tonight. It has been a busy, but fun week. I can tell I am going to learn a lot and I'm going to learn it quickly.

I installed my cruise card on my dashboard today. I use the term 'installed' like it involved more than sticking a sticker on the windshield, but it seemed like a pretty big deal. I cruised right through the toll plaza today and felt so free. I felt kind of rebellious. I also thought everyone was probably looking at me as I cruised by, so I felt narcissistic. Not fumbling for 50 cents was such a relief. Sadly, I am being serious.

Yesterday at work, we volunteered at Project Open Hand packing meals for people who are homebound. My first task was scooping broccoli into plastic trays. My second task was putting grape juice boxes into the bags of meals. My third and final task was putting chocolate chip cookies into bags. It was so much fun! We were having such a good time listening to music and moving things down the assembly line. I kind of wish we went there every day.

What else?! I worked out before work yesterday, and I'd like to get in the habit of doing that since I'm going into work a little later so I don't have much time to kill between work and improv. I got a pretty killer workout in by getting up a simple 35 minutes early. It doesn't mean I'm going to do it tomorrow, but it felt very productive. I might try to hop on the elliptical at work tomorrow since I left my gym bag at my desk...

Well, I just got sleepy very suddenly, so I'm off to bed. Happy December!