Whoa-oh-oh-oh-ohhhhh. How sweet it is!

Helloooo. I don't know why I am staying up so late when I have such a big day tomorrow. Perhaps it's the silly in me.

My friend Brian died on Wednesday night. I received the notification at 12:04 a.m. Needless to say, Thursday was a very challenging day. I was overwhelmed, though, by the support from my friends and family. Although it's very hard to know someone has lost the battle with CF, it's also refreshing to know that he lived a life that should make him proud.

Thursday was a big mass email day and involved interviewing candidates, so there was a lot going on and very little time to process the news. It kind of amazed me how well I was able to contain myself when necessary, but how shameless I was in the brief stints alone in my office. I honestly think that my composure, even in tough situations, has really been enhanced by improv. When it's time to perform, I have to rid myself of everything going on outside of the theater so that I can go on stage with a clean slate. I feel like I handled it all so gracefully, which is a lot for good ol' "macaroni water" me.

The big whammy is that I performed in a show Thursday night, too. So, having had probably 25 tiny tear outbursts throughout the day, several interviews to sit in on, and a huge technical failure day with our mass email tool (WHAT A TOOL!), it amazed me how well I was able to compartmentalize it for the duration of the show. I felt like I had a really great show, and I think it's a result of all of the emotion circulating in my body.

I got to do several new(ish) and exciting things: I was the therapist for Emo Couples Therapy, I commentated for Slow-Mo Sports Commentary (I think that was the name), I played Oscar Musical, I was a caller in Phones, and I played Musical Styles. It was also my friend's birthday (BA) and he was in the show, so there was great energy among the entire cast. Fun times! It was such a positive end to a day that started so painfully.

Today has been a nonstop day. I was still troubleshooting yesterday's technical issues, but I got everything finished. I got some groceries, too, which I'd needed to do all week. I also went to the bank. I had a crew shift tonight at the theatre and, since I was running super early, I had time to stop at Marshalls on my way. I got an orange shirt and some teeny tiny boat shoes. They're navy, red, and white, and they are now named "My Braves Shoes."

Well, tomorrow I have a ton to do... like perform at a festival and go see Tim McGraw. It's going to be exhausting, but I really can't wait. I'm going to try to exercise, too, so I better get to sleep. When did it become so late? Geez!

Thank you again to everyone who reached out to me on Thursday. Here's another way you can help: http://www.cff.org/great_strides/drewdotson5267.

Red wine and Ambien

I haven't had red wine and Ambien; I was simply quoting a John Mayer song. I have, however, had a similar cocktail. Ambien is really cool. At lunch at Wendy's yesterday, my mom was telling me how Ambien shuts down parts of your central nervous system. It's crazy because, sometimes I take Ambien and don't feel very tired, but I won't have remembered doing stuff when I wake up the next day. We'll see if this blog post falls into that category...

Yesterday was a very relaxing day. I slept til about noon, and then got up to watch some college football. My mom came over in the afternoon and, as you may have guessed, we went to Wendy's. We then stopped by Marshalls where I fed my jacketaholism. I got the cutest navy blue, lightweight pea-coat type ordeal! Oh man, it is so cute. I want to wear it NOW.

Last night I met a friend (ER) at Pappasito's for some margaritas. We got this pitcher of something called the Wave, which was part margarita and part sangria. It was pretty good, but my stomach gets a little fierce when I've had too much sour mix. Man, I love that girl. It was so much fun just to chat and what not. AWESOME!

Today was another worthless day. I slept until about 11:00 a.m. and then tried to go exercise. While I did exercise for a good chunk of time, some of it was spent walking on the treadmill because I was kind of enthralled in a girly book I was reading. I came home, showered, and got ready for an uneventful day.

The highlights of the day consist of wins from the Atlanta Braves and Falcons. The Phillies, however, pulled out a come-from-behind RIDICULOUS win, which made me pretty angry.

I spent the rest of the day writing aimlessly in different journals, experiencing pain in my sinuses - you know, the usual. I literally stepped outside twice - once for the gym, and once to take the trash out. I guess I needed one of those pointless days, but it would be nice to feel productive right now. Who knows... maybe some of the stuff I wrote has significance.

Put on my new suede boots and I boarded the train

So, I thought of that title earlier today and totally forgot about belting it out at a bar the weekend before last. Man, that was kinda fun, but that moment is over. Moving forward... onwards and upwards.

I went to Marshalls today for my telecommuting lunch break and got some super-cute suede boots. They are flat and gray, and I make them look good. I also got a pair of gray shorts. I don't envision myself ever wearing those items simultaneously. The boots were only $29, but I found online that the actual retail price is........ TWO-HUNDRED AND TWENTY DOLLLLLARS. Can we say 'bargaining baller'?

WAY TO SCREW UP, BRAVES. Sorry. Forgive me for that anger. They're in the 12th inning, which is annoying in and of itself, but geez louis.* Get it together. High five on giving up two runs. NOT.

I sound entirely too hyper for it to be after 11:00 p.m., huh? I'm just in a really good mood. I woke up feeling awful (like really sick) today and, although my physical health is not my strength these days, I feel really great mentally. I need to recuperate this weekend.

Mmm, I better get to bed. I have to take my JUG O' URINE to the lab in the morning before our going-away pancake breakfast with the old boss. I guess I made it a pancake breakfast in my head, but it's not technically a pancake breakfast. I'm also going out to lunch tomorrow. I'm excited!

I exercised like a champ today, which makes me happy because I think it will help me feel better.

*I spell "geez louis" the way I pronounce it, which is like the way the city St. Louis is pronounced. I know that's not the phrase, but I pronounce it that way because I think it's better like that. It also originated from someone at one of my sister's former jobs who seriously said it that way.

Robot

Well, it is waaaaaaaaay past my bedtime, but I just got home from rehearsal a few minutes ago. Tonight didn't go so hot for me; I think a lot of it had to do with my being tired. We worked on straight scenes tonight, meaning they were based purely on acting and not so much on games and funniness. Anyway, I was tired and it was tough for me to make emotional connections, hence the title of 'robot.'

Today was the best Monday I've had in a while, so that's good news. I honestly think a big part of it has to do with the fact that I successfully executed the pre-work workout. Sleeping in my gym clothes left me with few excuses, so I woke up and headed straight to the fitness center before reality could set in... I took an old-school portable CD player with me and a few unmarked CDs, so that made for constant surprises. I jogged a mile first. Then I did sprints for a mile. Finally, I hopped on the stairmaster for a fast-paced climb for about another eight minutes. It all only totaled about 30 minutes, but it was pretty high intensity the entire time.

Work wasn't too shabby today, either... It was the first day in a while that I was able to keep my head above water. I accomplished many lower-priority things that always get overshadowed by other time-sensitive things. Tomorrow we have a FOUR HOUR meeting that begins at 9:00 a.m., so it looks like it might be a Starbucks morning.

Ooh, I went to Marshalls between work and improv. I got two things that I'm kind of excited about: 1) a water bottle, and 2) a household decoration. The water bottle is aluminum and is black with little peace signs on it. I got it because I really need to start drinking more water for many reasons. I figured if I had a cute water bottle, maybe I'd be more tempted to take it places. Not so much for status purposes, but more because I just paid for it and should use it. Then, the household decoration is a little wooden sign that I've placed on my dresser. I first noticed a star on it, which is what originally DREW me to it. It reads: "It is never too late to be what you might have become." That really resonates with me because I have always had a lot of big dreams and sometimes need to be reminded that I can still accomplish things.

Speaking of accomplishing things, no, I haven't made any worthwhile progress on my book lately. A friend suggested that I take a break from it for a bit, and I do believe that it will help relieve some pressure and hopefully generate some new energy.

Well, I'm looking forward to my improv show on Thursday night. I can't wait for the adrenaline rush and the challenge.

Way down yonder

Well, where to start... I got up at about 7:30 a.m. and stayed up for a little while writing. Then, I took a nap from 8:10 to 8:50 a.m. I'm truly not sure how I can take a nap before 9:00 a.m., but I did. I went walking at the Chattahoochee with my roommate and some friends. It was pretty nice outside and we walked for almost an hour and a half. It wasn't vigorous, so I plan on really pushing myself tomorrow.

When I got home, I showered and ate a snack. Then I watched Georgia Tech destroy Duke in football, so that was good. Georgia Tech officially clinched their division, so that's good news to a typically disappointed fan. I took a nap (again!) during halftime, and then got up to get ready for my MASSAGE.

Let me tell you...the massage was fun. In retrospect, I kind of wish I told the lady to focus a bit more on my back because that's where I hold the most stress. It was kind of creepy being in the massage place. It felt surreal in a very strange way... I couldn't see outside to civilization and nobody was really speaking. I just kind of felt like I had been abducted. Calming music was playing and it was so dark; it just felt like I was in a strange dream.

I spent most of the time during the massage thinking about how much I wouldn't want to be a massage therapist. I just can't imagine wanting to touch people like that. I mean, I bet she was relieved when my little harmless self came in, but imagine the types of people she might see in a given day. I was surprised at how comfortable I felt and could definitely get used to that. "Get a massage" was on the bucket list I created in May, so I officially get to mark something off!

After the massage, I went to For Eyes to look at spectacles. I'm nearly positive I successfully chose the craziest pair of glasses they had. The color of the glasses is called "prism" and is a mixture of orange, blue and purple. They are pretty awesome! When I first went to For Eyes in March of 2008, a worker invited me to her 21st birthday party. She was there, so it was fun to reminisce and get an honest opinion on the glasses I was considering!

You think my day ends there? NOPE. My sister came to get me and we went to Marshalls and the mall. I found some comfortable khaki pants at the mall, so I'm really excited about that. I can almost never find things that fit me and, of course after spending most of last Saturday looking for pants, I accidentally stumbled upon them today. On the way home from the mall, we got some queso to-go from El Toro. That's called addiction.

Now I'm getting ready to go to bed. We watched a few episodes of The Office and I'm watching the end of the Auburn vs. UGA football game. It's tied at the moment, but anything could happen. It's been a long but productive day.

I <3 the WEEKENDS!

Well, it's Friday. I have had an incredibly productive day....not. I went to sleep last night at around 11:00 p.m. and didn't get out of bed until 10:30 a.m. I'm proud of myself. I used to be envious of people that could sleep so late, but it looks like I've become one of them. I don't know that I could do it regularly, but I can at least do it when I'm so sleep-deprived that I'm slurring my speech and getting dizzy.

I headed to Smoothie King late morning and got a smoothie because it seemed like the appopriate thing to do. Then, I stopped into Marshalls to see if they had anything to complete my golfer outfit for tomorrow's bachelorette party. Well, the Marshalls gods took care of me today. I walked over to the little girls' section thinking there might be something ugly and golferesque and BOY, was I right. I got these hideous yellow Ralph Lauren shorts that have pleats on the front. To seal the deal, there is a navy and white belt attached to them and it has a polo horse on it. I was truly embarassed to buy them, but I know I'll get a hole-in-one with these. HAHAHAHA!

I haven't done much of anything else all day. I did go to the pool for a while, then came home and took a two-hour nap (pathetic). I am about to go out to dinner and gorge myself shortly. I am totally looking forward to that. Perhaps I will wear the new brown dress I got at Marshalls today. I never pay full price there.

This weekend ought to be ridonkulous.