Hi, 2011.

I feel like the appropriate thing to do would be to write some sort of commemorative blog about my year in review or something along those lines. However, "appropriate" really isn't my style, so I'm just going to go for a more stream-of-consciousness approach.

AM and I had a fun weekend! We ended up going out with some friends on New Year's Eve, but didn't do anything extravagant. We kept it low-key at a local bar and had fun. We spent most of New Year's Day trying to decide what to eat, which resulted in a quick (after four hours of deliberating) run to a local Chinese takeout place. Throughout this sweet and sour journey, the paparazzi photographed me trying to find a menu I'd thrown away.



Desperate times call for desperate measures. Clearly.

Oh! Saturday night I performed in an improv show - 1/1/11! I had a blast and played Sit Stand Lean Oscar, ABC Buzzer Holiday Story, Emo Interview (straight), and Remote Control Styles. The audience was great and the cast was a lot of fun. Hooray to kicking off the new year with improv!

I'm in denial about the fact that I'm about to go into the office. You know I LOVE returning to work after an abnormal holiday schedule.

So, I've set some resolutions for myself, but they're relatively simple. I'm mainly working on developing some better habits, which will hopefully be facilitated by my Habit Streak app. Yes, I have become that phone person. Anyway, I'm trying to develop better habits as far as exercising, writing, lung health, organization, and overall well-being, so we'll see how it all shakes out. I like the feeling of a new year; it gives me a sense of freedom even though it's really no different than the week before. What gives?!

Happy 2011! Let's make it a swell one!

I'll rat you out

First things first, yes, it's early, but I'm about to go out of town. I am a horrible packer.

Anyway, I was in the show last night and it was fun. I had EIGHT friends/family members there, so I was super-excited about that! ES was the emcee, and I played Emo School (I was a teacher), Phones (off-stage), Sounds Like A Song/Rap, Buzzer Game Show, and Oscar Musical. Since I probably won't get to be in a show until the last week in October (or maybe early November), I was glad to send it out with a bang. BANG! It was also my friend's (BA) first show, and he did awesome!

Well, a rat has been the focal point of my life for the last two days. Uggh... Shudder. When I woke up on Wednesday morning and walked down the stairs, I noticed an unwanted creature in the hallway, right near the crawlspace closet. I tried to trap him in the closet with a towel, thinking someone could help me extract him. However, he moved the towel, and the next time I saw him was when I hurdled him in the kitchen. I was literally on-edge all day, and I still don't feel comfortable sitting here. Atlanta Pest Control came yesterday and set up a few sticky traps (in addition to my real trap with peanut butter), but the critter hasn't taken the bait yet. There's one trap I haven't checked yet. I will do that right now while you wait in suspense.......NOPE. Rats!

I am excited for the weekend. It's gonna be good to get out of town and have some escaping-reality time.

Love you all.

..........

This week isn't on the top of my "Best Weeks Ever" list. In fact, it's far from it. I've definitely complained more than I should this week, but it was an exceptionally hard week for me. I was plagued by headaches Monday through Thursday and, although there were some twinges of pain throughout the day today, I was fairly pain-free.

I got a call about my SC joint today. I am scheduled for an ultrasound of the joint on February 17 and may also be given a cortisone injection if the doctor sees the troublesome area. While the thought of a needle going into the boniest part of my chest doesn't sound appealing, I like the idea of potentially getting rid of the pain!

The improv schedule for February came out and I'm in the shows on the 4th and 25th, so I'm looking forward to both of those. I got suggestions and worked the camera last night, so it was fun to see a show after a somewhat stressful week. I also saw some patrons that I thought I recognized from the previous week and they complimented my performance, which made me feel really good. I can't wait until I get to perform again next Thursday!

I plan to keep it pretty low-key this weekend, especially considering how worn down I feel right now. I haven't felt this exhausted in a long time. Every little movement feels like it requires so much energy. Tomorrow morning I've got to be up pretty early to go to a birthday breakfast for my grandfather at IHOP. I haven't been there in a long time, so I'm excited! IHOP pancakes aren't as good as my mother's Bisquick pancakes, but I'll manage. My grandfather just turned 86. Wow!

As you may recall (primarily if I wrote it in here because I'm not sure if I did...), I set a goal of finishing the revision of my autobiography by January 31, 2010. That's only two days away and I'm definitely not where I imagined to be at this point. I am going into writing lockdown mode tomorrow after breakfast and staying focused for the remainder of the day. Maybe before I go to bed I'll jot a list of areas that need some strengthening. Often, when I sit down, I find myself dumbfounded regarding where I'll begin. Plus, I think I'm too tired to do any efficient writing tonight, so I'll just hoard that energy for tomorrow.

Well, I somehow almost dropped my laptop on the ground just then, so I should probably cut myself off. Here's to a productive weekend!

Hairy up with our food

Well, 2010 has been uncharacteristically busy so far... as you may have concluded since I haven't said much. So... I'll share some highlights of my busy week.

I had a CF check-up on Tuesday and it went surprisingly well. Not that I didn't think it would go well, but it was actually the best appointment I've had in over two years. I didn't even have to wait all that long, either... only about 30 or 45 minutes, which is actually impressive for this place.

On Friday I went to the doctor about my SC joint. Unlike the physical therapists who determined it was my first rib that was displaced, the doctor still believes it's my SC joint that's causing the problems. Either way, he didn't have a ton to say... He was going to consult some of the other doctors because he thinks maybe we should do an ultrasound to see exactly what's going on. Everyone seems to be in agreement that this issue shouldn't be plaguing me a year later. But hey... sometimes cornhole can get the best of someone. He said that, depending on what the ultrasound showed, maybe a Cortisone injection would help. That makes me cringe a little, but whatever!

So, tonight I went out to eat at a location. I don't think I'll say the name of the location because of the story I'm about to tell... Well, when my friends and I sat down at the table, the server brought a plate with some forks, chopsticks (that narrows it down a tiny bit), and napkins. I glanced at the plate and noticed a pretty lengthy hair intertwined in the prongs of the fork. This didn't really faze me all that much, but I did ask the server if we could get a new plate with forks. Then, my friend's appetizer arrived and there was literally another lengthy hair making itself at home in her tofu. At this point I almost vomited and I'm not usually grossed out by stuff like this. I mean, what are the chances that we would end up being 2-for-2? Needless to say, everything was comped, but I'm still kind of feeling uneasy when I think about it. I chewed every bite with hesitance, and I'm kind of surprised we even stayed there... Ugh. I grossed myself out just reading that story again.

I didn't have any time to exercise this week... sadly. I did go to the fitness center today and did a combination of walking and running, but mainly walking. My SC joint (the doctor's opinion is clearly winning right now) has been aching a lot and the running was just too high-impact to do comfortably. I'm proud of myself, though, for dragging myself out in the rain to go to the gym.

This weekend was going to be solely devoted to working on my book because I really hope to be done editing by the end of January. It's a long weekend, too, so I told myself I'd get a lot accomplished on the book. I did work on it some today, but I find myself feeling pretty discouraged about it.... I guess this is what happens when my left brain enters the picture. I'm second-guessing pretty much everything, including the recent revelation I had about reorganizing my book. I've told myself I was going to start working again for the last two hours since I got home, but I'm clearly not convinced yet. I promise I'm doing it after I post this... and maybe eat something. :o)

Improv was fun this week. On Monday at rehearsal we did some trust games. On Wednesday, we worked on scenework with the main-stagers, so that was a lot of fun. I'd never worked with many of them before, but things seemed to fall right into place. I'm excited because I'm in the show on Thursday! Woohooo! First apprentified performance.

Finally, before I go, I'd like to announce that my left "control" key experienced an unfortunate accident this week. I basically just broke it. It's funny because I lost control this week (I didn't come up with that joke on my own). Seriously, though, I felt really out of control this week, so it's funny that I also I lost control. HAHAHAHA! How symbolic!

Off to write...

Party like it's 1989

Well, what a long weekend!

Friday night I worked at the Class of 1989 mixer at Atkins Park. It was a ton of fun! There were probably about 90 attendees, so it was a really good time. It's so funny to see these 44(ish) year olds talking about playing beer pong at their fraternity houses [not in college, but Thursday night with college students] and watching them take tequila shots. It was definitely one of the livelier crowds. In fact, when I saw most of them on Saturday, they did not look as though they were at full potential. I was surprised they remembered me.

So, after working from 7:30 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., I was so excited to head home. Long story short, my roommate had my house key and was bringing it to me at Atkins Park. However, in all of the 1989 chaos, I forgot to ask her for it when she arrived. I got home just before midnight to remember that I didn't have a key to my house. My sister wasn't home with my spare, so I ended up hanging out at her house until I could finally get in my place at about 1:30 a.m. Longest. Day. Ever. It's so funny that this would happen on a day where alllllll I could think about was getting home and getting in bed.

On Saturday, it was looking pretty muggy outside, but we lucked out and really weren't experiencing any rain. We got all set up for the tailgate party and the homecoming parade was making its way around campus. At that time, it started to rain. Then the bottom fell out of the sky at almost the exact time our tailgate was scheduled to start. We ended up moving everything inside, but people still had a good time, I think.

Then, I worked at the Class of 1994 reunion on Saturday night. It was a smaller, more intimate group, but we had a good time working it. I ate entirely too much food, some of which was hilariously difficult to eat. I'm just thankful to have all of my teeth today. It was a loooong day. I was kind of energetic after the reunion because I'd had my game face on, so I ended up staying up until at least 3:00 a.m.

Needless to say, my sleeping patterns have been so dysfunctional this weekend. I napped for about three hours today, so I'm hoping I can fall asleep soon. It probably doesn't help that I just walked in from running 3.5 miles. Oh well, I'm exhausted.

Oh, and the Braves are out of control right now. They have won 14 of their last 16 games and are only 2.5 games back in the NL Wild Card race. I am hoping we can will the rest of our games and maybe Colorado will see some upsets. Gooooooooo Bravos!!!!!!!