Slack Attack

So, I wonder how many months I can summarize in a single blog post. Only time will tell...

November highlights include:
-Diagnosis of a slipped disk in my lower back (The actual incident occurred in August when I leaned forward in a booth to dip a chip in queso. Things were never the same again. This is one of those things that you wish was a joke because it's so ridiculous.)
-Physical therapy (This involved some mermaid-like movements.)
-Falcons vs. Saints game (Yes, I will confront you.)
-Train ride to Nawlins! (My mom and I went on a journey, and it was great to get away. "That's a good-lookin' rat.")
-Eating a sandwich that had MACARONI AND CHEESE ON IT!!!

December highlights include:
-A new microwave that I never would have bought if Sears didn't fail at installing my first one
-My first business trip to New York City (Nothing says "first" like missing your flight there!)
-Going to see Cavalia! (Those horses be crazy, but those acrobats be crazier.)
-Falcons vs. Vikings game (You should have seen me do the Wobble in that tent!)
-Taking a week-long staycation (I have nothing to show for it...not even sanity.)
-My brother's engagement (Wedding overload!)
-HOLIDAYS WITH THE FAMILY! (You can never have too much eggnog+whisky, sausage balls, Apples to Apples, Bagel Bites, mashed 'taters, Taboo, etc.)

January highlights (so far) include:
-BEING SICK (There's nothing like ringing in 2012 with a three-week cold! I think I'm on the home stretch, but I was very, very rough weeks 1 and 2.)
-Falcons vs. Buccaneers game (Let's verify that I am indeed sick by going out for a full-day activity that includes beer.)
-Winning my fantasy football league as a first-timer! (How could you not win with a name like "Wyte Chedda"? Word to my homies.)
-Getting a new roommate! (Traded one life-long friend [AH] for another [AM])

I'm pretty sure that's all the remembering I can do at this moment in time. I know there's other stuff -- probably even important stuff -- that I haven't acknowledged, but I can't be everything to everyone. GEEZ.

New day, new mood

Hi!

There have been a lot of things weighing on my mind lately and I'm not exactly sure why. I think that it's partially due to the fact that I haven't had a routine in what feels like forever. When I returned to work after my surgery and what not, it was practically time for the holidays. Then, when the holidays finally passed, the Atlantan Ice Debacle 2K11 kept us out of work for almost an entire week. And now, despite yesterday's MLK holiday, we're supposed to work from home this week while they move our offices. I'm not exactly complaining because of course it's nice to be at home, but I'm looking forward to establishing some kind of routine for the first time yet this year.

Things are going well on the exercise front. I've been going to the fitness center occasionally, riding my spin bike, and dancing to the Wii. I haven't exercised this frequently in a long time, so I guess that's a perk of having such a jacked up schedule. I can't believe my roommate and I got up at 5:30 a.m. to exercise. I'm still in denial.

Today I'll be heading to campus for the first time in 12 days. Can you believe it? I need to get some things from my desk, go to a lunch for Patient Family Advisors, and attend my last protein study visit. I've got a big day ahead! The first step is actually changing out of sweatpants for probably the third time in two weeks. I bet you can sense why I've been feeling out-of-sorts...

Last night I was thinking about the people we meet throughout our lives and how they affect us. I'm thankful to be surrounded by such great people. There's no such thing as too much love in this world. Just think about it...

yawn

There are about 18 billion thoughts going through my head right now, but the most important one is that I should go to sleep.

AM left town today, so I'm readjusting to life. I think everyone is, though, given that it's post-holidays and what not. I've always thought saying 'and what not' was pretty funny. Can you tell I'm sleepy? I'm starting to feel hungry, too.

Well, I just wanted to say that I have a good feeling about 2011. I hope you do, too.

Good night, noseroid.

P.S. I played the lottery for the first time last night. And no, I didn't win. The funny thing is that someone today was talking about people who play the lottery and are truly surprised when they don't win. I actually did feel kind of shocked that they didn't pick my numbers. Does that make me a narcissist or an optimist? Or just plain AWESOME?!

:-)

Hoooo, Hoooo, Hoooo

That title was me being Santa from A Christmas Story. We're in the throes of the 24-hour marathon (or whatever it is nowadays!), and I always find myself repeating Santa's angry "Hoooo, Hoooo, Hoooo" before he stomps on Ralphie's fingers.

Anyway, mentioning A Christmas Story is the perfect segue into last night's improv show since we did what we liked to call A Christmas Improv. It was a fun show and I had a lot of friends and family members supporting me. A mainstager who's in school in LA was home for the holidays, so he performed with us (Damien). I played Questions and Advice, Narration Switch, and Emo Interview (changing). Cheers to my last show in 2010!

I'm very tired, but I felt like writing anyway. I can't believe it's almost Christmas. This year was unbelievably long, but incredibly short at the same time. It always baffles me how I can feel that way. You know what I'm talking about, though...

Today I got a new phone, so I'm pretty excited about that. It's fancy! I'm enjoying it because I had lost all patience with the pitiful phone I was using as a replacement. This phone is doing crazy-cool things so far and I realize I have probably only seen 1% of what it has to offer. High five for technology!

I really wrote this post to tell everyone happy holidays. This is always a thought-provoking time of year, and there are many things that make me grateful. Thank you to everyone who has helped make this year wonderful!

Whatcha say?

Well, tomorrow's my birthday. I've never been a big birthday person, but I'm also not a holiday person in general. I know I've mentioned it several times before, but there's just so much hype involved, and then it's just kind of weird. I was considering taking tomorrow off since it's my birthday, but everyone else will be working, so I'm not sure if there's a point. I think I'd rather save the day and use it for a vacation rather than to sit around on my birthday, wondering what's going on at work. It looks like I just got that decision taken care of...

I'm not feeling that great, and I'm not sure why. I'm feeling kind of short of breath. I've also been sneezing, and just feeling really worn down. I've taken it easy this weekend and forced myself to rest, but I'm not feeling like I imagined I'd be after an easy weekend. Hopefully I'll wake up feeling refreshed.

I didn't do a whole lot today. I sat out in the sun for about an hour, which was nice. My ceiling got painted, so hopefully the colors match and I don't have to get the rest of the room repainted. But, even if that happened, it wouldn't be a really big deal.

My mom came by to give me a few presents, and we ended up going out to eat. I got a few bags of gummy bears (shock!) and two shirts. I also got my much-anticipated birthday donation, so I was very happy about that. We picked up my sister and went out to eat at El Toro. I got a gift from my sister, which was a cute journal and a turtle made out of different metal odds and ends. She got him at the Dogwood Festival, and I laugh when I look at him; he is so funny. I wish I could show him to you, but that would involve too many steps that I don't want to perform right now.

Update: Drew's Crew is at $12,800 (I added the $20 donation that my mom just got, even though it isn't posted). YAY! I hope that the birthday thing garners donations in the way it did last year. I was really happy!

What else? The Braves are pretty much sickening right now. It is seriously a joke. This rain delay that they called is probably the best thing that could happen to us right now - save some embarrassment. Haha! My brother and I are twins... He just texted and said, "I've never been so happy for a rain delay. We can't strand runners during a rain delay." I hope they can get it together because this just hurts to watch.

Well, I guess I better get to sleep. I'm going to run in the morning to get my birthday off to a good and productive start. Good night, all!

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!

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.

Rain, rain, go away

As if the cold weather isn't enough to force me into hibernation mode, it is raining and gross outside. I'm pretty bummed because I planned to run outside today. Not only will that not happen, but I will also probably talk myself out of even walking over to the fitness center since the rain is gross. I know I am totally looking for excuses here, but nothing will bring me out of this house today. NOTHING!

I always become more of a homebody during the winter. I dislike cold weather with a passion. I'm one of those people who wants it to be summertime year-round. I would be happy if it was steadily 80 degrees. Seriously. I looked at the 10-day weather forecast and it's going to be pretty chilly in the coming days. BLAH. I wish I was at the beach!

I got my new glasses on Friday, and I must say I make them look pretty good. They are super-cute and I definitely feel like I can see better with these than with any of my other pairs. I don't notice that they are correcting my astigmatism, but I have noticed that my eyes have been watering a bit when I wear them, so my eyes are probably adjusting to the change.

Yesterday I watched a CF friend compete in an Irish dancing competition. It was a lot of fun and very interesting. It's always incredible to learn about something new and see that there is a whole different world out there to which you were unaware. I was oblivious to the Irish dancing 'circuit' until I met my friend. Then, last night, I was eating dinner at Outback and saw a girl who had clearly come from the competition because she was wearing a curly wig. Had I not been to the competition yesterday, I would have just thought the girl had a ton of hair and would have wondered how long it took her to get it that curly. Anyway, I had a good time and have deep respect for Irish dancers.

I'm super-excited to head home for the holidays. I am heading to my parents' house immediately after work on Tuesday and hanging out until the weekend. It will be nice to be at home, enjoying a break from it all. I also look forward to eating some PANCAKES. On Wednesday night, we are playing Bunco at Gran's house and we're celebrating Thanksgiving at Gran's on Thursday afternoon. I am beyond eager for this mini-vacation.

Well, perhaps I'll go start enjoying my lazy Sunday - The Falcons play at 1:00 p.m., so I'll probably watch the game and lay around like a worthless one. I bet it will be everything I dreamt it will be!

25 Hours

Well, we earned an extra hour today. It would be so awesome if there were 25 hours a day. I realize I'd probably still find a way to feel as though there isn't enough time to accomplish everything, but it is so nice to get that extra hour. Too bad it only happens once a year; it ought to happen every Sunday.

Halloween just blows my mind. It seriously does. Maybe it's that I'm not very celebratory regarding holidays in general, but I just don't understand Halloween. I guess it's a socially-acceptable way to act like a child and play dress-up, but it amazes me to see how much effort people exert. It's fun when you see a clever, creative costume, but that's rare these days. It's more like people come up with a generic costume and then find out how to convey the idea with as little clothing as possible. I'm pretty glad to have not gone to anything costume-related this Halloween.

My improv show is rescheduled for Tuesday night at 8:00 p.m. Woohooo! I'm really excited about it, although I had a dream that everything under the sun went wrong during the show. I was late and missed the first half, then was doing scenes with people from work, and it was just disastrous. Thank goodness it will be awesome in real life! I also had a dream the other night that everyone was telling me my eyes were green. Hmm...

I went running Friday and today, so that's an accomplishment for me. I like exercising and all, but just haven't made the time to do it lately. I did sprints on Friday and longer distance today. I guess I feel pretty successful! I remember when I used to work out 5-7 days a week. I enjoyed it, but it's nice not to feel so obligated anymore. It's good when it fits nicely into your schedule, but not so much when it adds unnecessary stress.

It's almost bedtime. I need to get a good night's sleep so I'll be fully energized for another FUN MONDAY!!!! Last week I did really well getting good sleep, so I'm hoping to continue my new found routine.