I have just happened across the "best page in the universe". Seriously funny. My linking to him would probably piss him off. I'm ok with that. How can anyone resist a pirate?

music videos

If you haven't seen Weird Al's video for "White & Nerdy" - a must-see(just click on it on the bottom right). If you have seen it...is this not the funniest music video you've seen in ages?

chasing cars

snow patrol - I love this album. most of the tracks are really good but my fav is Chasing Cars, and I've played it on repeat all day.

I know, I know, this is kinda like old news. But I'm kinda slow. I rarely notice or like bands when they first make their splash. So for me this is like a new discovery. I know it sounds kinda hokey but if I can't be hokey on my own blog, where else can I do it?...Chasing Cars resonates deep within me everytime, everytime I hear it.

happy thanksgiving

Half of the people at work yesteday were told they could leave after lunch -different dept but they basically do the same thing we do. Our dept didn't get that though, they told us we could leave around 3 or 4pm.
Kind of unfair but it was alright. I finished what I wanted to get done by 1:30pm and wandered around chatting to ppl until 3. I figured that made it more equal :)

It really was good because I had a couple things to mail then had to get my allergy shots. In a way it was a good thing because I would have the missed the beautiful sunset I saw as I was leaving the doctor's office. I don't see many sunsets but this one was worth taking a moment to enjoy it. I wanted to capture it somehow - I tried taking a pic with my phone but it didn't do it justice. Wished I had my digicam. So I guess it was worth leaving work a lbit later since I would probably have indoors at that time otherwise.

Got my dinner from Boston Market including slice of pumpkin pie. It doesn't feel like it's thanksgiving until I have pumpkin pie. The turkey I can take or leave as long as I have some other form of meat but the pumpkin pis is a must.

so the drama

Finally feeling more like myself. Went out Fri night to a bday party. It was at a community center and they had pizza and wings and cake. All good right. Well I tried a bite of the pizza and it tasted weird to me, smelled weird too. No one else seemed to think so though(I asked a few people).It tasted like the pizza was old and they put fresh cheese on top and reheated it. It smelled kinda moldy. Anyhoo, I only had one piece.

Then I was eating this small piece of bubble gum - it was the kind that starts out hard as a rock and after a minute or so of chewing becomes malleable. Well I just at that point when I choked. Saliva chose that moment to go into my lungs. My lungs were not amused. I gagged and coughed for a long time. My eyes were watering. People kept asking me if I was ok. As if I could answer them during my coughing/choking fit. I just kept shaking my head to say "hell no I'm not ok, still coughing spasmically" and shaking my finger to say "yeah I need a moment or two".
Finally the coughing subsided after 10min. I was in bad way by then and needed to take my inhaler. Apart from that incident which thankfully happened near the end of the night, the party was a lot of fun.

I woke up Sat at 7am with a horrible stomachache. Then I had to make a mad dash for the bathroom. Couldn't go for my morning walk. Felt awful. By 9am I already been to the loo 4 times. Felt horribly ill all day. I figured it was probably the pizza. Of course I only had 1 slice but my stomach is kinda sensitive sometimes. Either that or I caught some kind of stomach virus. I was still sick on Sunday, so no choir or church. Felt a little less like I was dying but still not quite right.
Didn't go to work today b/c my head hurt like hell and my stomach still felt kinda queasy. Probably b/c I couldn't eat much. I was so ill Sat, I barely drank anything - basic dehydration symptoms.

Talked to one of the nurses from my doc's office. She thought it was most likely stomach bug of some sort - she told several people had been in b/c of that lately. Also gave me a couple good suggestions. My stomach is still not completely right yet. At least I'm feeling hungry again. All I ate Sat was couple slices plain bread and a few crackers. The nurse suggested I also eat baked potato...something about it containing potassium. Another suggestion was popsicles - very good suggestion b/c then I can keep hydrated without it seeming like a chore. Popsicles are fun :) Not a big gatorade fan(another tip) but I got some. It kinda upset my stomach.

I know I'm definitely feeling much better b/c I'm hungry and the chocolate bar in my fridge looks real good to me now. I'm going to resist it though, at least for tonight.

movies

Saw a few movies recently.
The Prestige - more than worth the price of admission - really enjoyed it.
The Illusionist - ok, different kind of story from the Prestige even though they are both about magicians.
If you only plan to see one of them I'd definitely recommend the Prestige over the Illusionist.

Today was quite busy. In spite of the fact that I got very little sleep last night. Fell asleep on my futon around 10 until 12:20am. Then went to bed, turned out the lights. Couldn't get back to sleep though. Around 2am I got fed up of just lying there so I turned the light back on and read until 4:30am. Eventually fell asleep. Woke up at my alarm at 830am this morning. Met my friend for our early Sat walk. Then we went to the diner for breakfast (light one in my case). Went to lunch with E around 12:30pm - soup, salad and breadsticks at olive garden - delicious. Then home. I meant to do a little cleaning - almost out of clean dishes but was kind of sleepy. Took a nap around 4 until 6pm.

Went to see Stranger Than Fiction tonight with a group of friends. I laughed a lot. I enjoyed it even more than I expected to. See this movie if you can.

Then we went to small coffee shop, chatted, drank hot beverages, played scrabble, listened to local talent (guy with a guitar playing various covers from bob dylan to kenny loggins to john denver. he wasn't bad).

One of the friends I was with tonight is one a guy I know from college C - he was touching my arm casually all night, both while we were in the movie theatre and also at the coffee shop. I could totally get into this guy. I do like him. He's cute and funny and he gets my jokes.

I asked my friend Z what she thought of him and she told that he definitely sees me as a girl, not just a buddy. She thinks this is a good sign and that I should "totally go for it" :) I'm just going to wait and see. He mentioned tonight that we should get together more often. So I'm just going to take it easy and see if anything develops.

Having some hot chocolate now - hoping that'll help me wind down enough to sleep...soon :)

rain and dreams

It's was so rainy today. I left work a little early to get my allergy shots - an easy 15 min drive on the highway became a 25min chore through driving rain. It rained so much today that it made me wonder if it would ever stop. I know it will eventually but it felt like it wouldn't. Add in the early darkness of this time of year - so not helping either. I don't usu care much about the whole early dark thing but I noticed it today.

At the end of boxing class we usu do ab exercises. We did the usu ones so well that he extended our time and made do another one - dead bug using balance ball. Took some doing for me to get it right - I'm not very coordinated when it comes to stuff like alternating hand and leg movements. But I got it eventually. My sides/mid back really hurt last night. they're not too bad tonight. I guess it's must be a good one if I could feel it like that.

Had a weird series of dreams last night. It kept repeating itself. I have dreams like that from time to time where I'm in the dream yet I feel as if I've woken up but I really haven't and then I fall back into the dream, if that makes any sense.
I've got to stop watching discovery health b/c in one of the dreams, I had several conditions which I've only heard about on the show mystery diagnosis. I also had some weird blood disorder in the dream - the details of which I don't want to think about, very gross. This might also be due to a book a just finished reading - My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult very sad but great story. might also be b/c I have been having a lot of nose bleeds lately. Haven't been able to take my allergy meds( a nasal spray) for over 2 weeks b/c of them.

I woke up at 3am - probably b/c I fell asleep on the futon with the tv blaring and the lights on. I went to bed then but couldn't fall back asleep right away. I fell asleep eventually and went back to the dream I was having before I woke up.

Needless to say, my dreams were very disturbing and I woke up feeling very groggy and unsettled. Plus it took a while for me to wake up - I was in that weird state where I was half-asleep and trying to wake myself up out of the remains of my dream. You know that state where your mind is almost awake but you can't quite move your limbs yet? I woke up finally and had to check to make sure my legs didn't have any sores on them (shudders). Crawling my blood just thinking about it now.

I've got to go to bed soon, took a benadryl a couple hrs ago. I've been using over-the-counter antihistamines to try to keep most of the allergy symptoms at bay. They don't help the sore throat and upset stomach I get from the nasal drip but at least I'm not sniffling/sneezing constantly. I'll take whatever relief I can get.

pics

If you are interested in seeing my halloween pics - let me know, I'll email them to you. I didn't want to leave them on the site too long - still like to remain relatively anonymous.

halloweeeennnn

My friends are throwing a Halloween bash. I don't normally dress up for Halloween. I've never bought a costume before. Several other people already had theirs either bought or picked out already and most had pd $40 for theirs. This sounded like way too money for me. I was thinking more like $15-20 for a costume. At least before I got out to the shops. All the costumes were quite pricey.

I was thinking of going as some sort of superhero. During my store browsing last night I came across the perfect prop. A battleax - plastic yes, but perfect. I decided that I needed to find a costume that would allow me to use said battleax.

S was shopping with me and even she had to admit that the batttleax and I seemed made for each other(not her exact words but I'm sure that was her general meaning ;)

Anyhoo, I couldn't quite find anything that would work with it. So sadly, no battleax :( Moving on, thought about maybe going as Guenivere but when I took the costume out of the bag it was just a bit too frou-frou for my tastes. Didn't feel like I could work it at all. Plus, the battleax would probably have been a bit much.

The only other options at this time (10pm Fri) were Vamptessa...uummm, don't think so
Druid Witch...ummm, maybe, but only had a robe - too long, battleax, definite maybe
Supergirl...ummm, not sure but worth trying on just to see.

Finally, the decision...I'm going as Supergirl. I will take pics and post them for a short time b/c I know you are now dying to know what it all looks like. From the moment I out on that cape/top I knew it was right. I completely forgot about the whole battleax thing. I even tried a few appropriate poses that will totally work with my costume. Just needed red tights to complete the outfit (it comes with boot covers, belt and skirt).

I also plan to carry props. Yes, props :) I saw a superman logo candy bucket. Yup, had to get it right? Plus I'm seriously thinking about taking a small fan with me to have running in back to blow my cape around. Another idea is to wear ordinary clothes over my costume - will probably have to hide the red boot covers in my pocket - then after everyone is there say "what's that I hear, a distress call?". then run to the ladies rm to change into....Supergirl da-da-dun-dah-dun-da-dun! How cool/funny would that be? Don't you wish you could witness me doing this? Haven't mentioned that bit to anyone yet. Did tell S about the fan bit, she doesn't think I will actually do it. A dare? I think it was definitely a dare. One which I can't resist. When I told her her of it I was only half-serious. Now it's on.

Oh yeah...total cost of all this costumery/props :) $50. It's offical. I am insane.

no ocassion dinner

A couple friends and I made plans to go out to dinner tonight about a week ago. Then I thought of a couple more who might be interested. then a couple more. So I invited most of my friends and their signif. others, thinking that only half of them would want to go/not have plans - the number in my head was 5-8 people.

It's always weird for me when I get invited to stuff and then other people in our circle are excluded for one reason or another. Then I have been asked on more than one occasion to not say anything to the people who weren't invited. Awkward. So I thought to avoid that and give everyone the choice of refusing without excluding anyone.

The funny thing is that they are all available and interested in going. So our simple dinner out has turned into a thing. So much so that one of the original planners suggested I make up an occasion for us to celebrate.
Technically it's my half-birthday this month. Today is my Dad's birthday. Other bday's today - Tom Petty, Bela Lugosi, Jerry Orbach, Snoop Dog, Mickey Mantle. Not that anyone really cares about any of that. But I wanted to be prepared in case they ask me what the occasion is :)

I made us a reservation (12-14) at a great local restaurant(got great reviews) that only one or two of us have been to before - so it should be fun, I think. We'll see.

I was going to wash my hair but it's been raining all day. So it'll probably end up getting wet and then all my efforts would have been wasted. My hair is kinda flat b/c I went to the gym twice this week and both times worked out for at least an hr-all that exercise wreaks havoc on my hair. So it's a bit wavy and a little frizzy instead of being straight and sleek(the way I prefer it to be).

tags smags

another thing...the whole tags thing just doesn't appeal to me. My blog is about my mostly random thoughts - many do not fit into a particular category. It just seems like work to have to think up a label for it. Half the time I can't think up a title much less a tag.
The only good thing is that publishing happens in an instant.

blogbeta

This whole bloggerbeta thing - not the the best thing ever that they proclaimed it. Now I can't sign in with my short screenname anymore. I have to type out my email addy. This is especially annoying when I try to make comments on blogs b/c it then makes me sign in twice as it goes from one screen to the betablogger screen. At that point the comment I was trying to make gets erased and I just can't be bothered to go through the trouble of typing it all again. So betablogger, you suck, just so you know.

11-11-06
Ok so maybe blogger in beta is not so bad - now that I understand the ways of it more. It's more convenient to search through blog entries with a keyword. Also great for seeing which entries have comments. Also it is easier to rearrange stuff on my template without having to look at all that gobbledygook that

boxing gloves

I bought boxing gloves and wraps. I really wanted red gloves but they didn't have them in the size I wanted :(. Oh well. This way I can keep boxing without having to use the smelly-no doubt-fungus-infested-gloves that they give us at the gym. They never disinfect them so they stink - like you can't even imagine. It takes 3-4 thorough hand washings to remove the stink from my hands. That's how bad they are. I didn't want to get them until I was sure that I'd stick with it. I've bought many things with the thought that I'd use them regularly, only to have them just sitting there for years after being used only once or twice.

boxing and stuff

Boxing is great stress reliever and I look forward to it every week. It leaves me feeling exhausted though. Partly b/c I do weights for ~25min just before the hr-long boxing class. I think it'd be better if I tried doing my weight routine on alternate nights from the boxing. I've been shying away from this b/c it'd mean going to the gym 4 days a week. Don't know if I'm ready for that yet :) Seems a little excessive. Probably would be good for me though.

Tomorrow we have our yearly presentation in front of the managers/section heads. I'm hoping that we finish early and that we don't get too many questions throughout(that always slows things down a lot). Then maybe I can get out of there at 4ish. Then I'll go to the gym. Then home.

I'm taking Fri off work. I can't wait. I've been meaning to take a day off for a long time now but just haven't yet. I've been so stressed with the work that needed to be done or we had deadlines to meet or meetings scheduled. I really need a mental health day. I have no plans to do anything. I briefly thought about taking a trip somewhere but I decided to just have a lie-in. Maybe paint, definitely read and relax. that's my plan. Should be great!

mallomars

They're baaacckk :)

word of the day...exhaustion

My last post makes it exactly one year of posting i.e. 365 posts and counting :)

I'm exhausted. Going to bed in 30min. really mean that. It's been a long weekend. Slept in on Sat -the first time I've been able to sleep in weeks. We canceled our morning walk cuase my friend was going out of town. Then I went to get my hair done. then spent ~4hrs in the mall. I was looking for a cute shirt to wear Sat night since we were going out dancing. No luck on that front but I still spent a lot of money. Bought a pair of jeans (ultra low waist) which the salesgirls insisted looked really good on me. They are lower than I normally wear, comfortable but it just felt like my ass was hanging out. Not my usual goal. Also bought a few tees at old navy and a couple watches(50% of so I had to get 2 :) With my hair/jeans/watches I spent just under $200. I pd full price for the jeans which I don't normally do. They looked really good. We were out way too late though. I only had one light beer and we had appetizers to go with it. Still I was really tired driving home. Dangerously tired. I had to drop me friend home first. The drive home was a little scary for me b/c with my tiredness my night vision was horrible. I kept blinking rapidly hoping it'd improve it. Next time, We're taking a taxi/she'll have to crash at my apt(I live much closer to downtown) b/c I'm not driving again when I'm that tired. Sign that I was probably not fit to be driving. We walked a block and half past where I parked before we realized we'd gone too far. Got back home around 3am.

I set my alarm this morning to wake me up at 9am for choir. Forgot to turn it on...yeah so it didn't wake me up. Woke up groggily at 10am. Scrambled and still went to choir - in time to practice the pieces we sang today so it was ok.
This is all so stupid. Being so tired that I can barely function. I was thinking about taking a nap this afternoon after taking to my family around 430 but I just had to clean instead. Everywhere was disgusting to me and more than due for a cleaning. So I did the bathrm, kitchen and bedroom. All that's left is the living rm. Laudry will hold for another week. Still had clean sheets so at least I could change my bed.

Also cooked tonight - lamb stew - it was delicious.

Probably for the best that I didn't take a nap. Hopefully I won't have any trouble going to bed now. I'm taping "Brother's & Sisters" and will watch it tomorrow. My new goal is to be in bed by 10, lights out at 10:30. Any TV I want to watch at 10 will have to be taped. I usu end up falling asleep half-way through the show most of the time so this is a better plan for me.

Time for bed.

cold

Finally figured why my apt was so damn cold all the time...my windows were partially open at the top. Landlord told me that if i wanted to open the bottom window half-way or fully that I needed to prop up the top window or it would drop down and break. That's all he said to me. I interpret this to mean that I would only opne the windows less than half-way and everything should be fine. Right? NO! The top part of the stupid window opens a little whenever you opne the bottom part, even if you only open it 1/4 way or 1/8 of the way. I only realized this last Thurs b/c I cooked and needed to open the windows - yeah kinda heated the pan too high, burning eyes, etc....That's when I noticed for the first time that the top of the stupid window was open. On seeing that, I run around my apt checking every window - all open at the top. NO wonder, insects have been crawling in at their leisure. I've been wondering how they are getting in so frequently...they had an engraved invitation...open unscreened top windows everywhere and all. So I had to do major climbing up on step-stools and window sills to get the damn things closed completely. That night was the first time that the bathroom mirror fogged up after my shower.

Only problem now is that I don't have any control of the heat. He told me to turn it off when I was out. I tried. It'd been in the off position all weekend. I've woken up several times the past couple nights b/c it's been so hot - feels like I'm stiffling. I had to sleep with my fan directly on me last night to get relief. it all seems so ridiculous to me. There is only one "thermostat". A generous term for a box in my living room marked "Lo/Off/High". At my old apt, they turned on the heat from the main, and I could open or closed the gas valve for each of the room's radiators. Here, not so much. They are painted in place so I can't adjust any of them. Plus I get heat from the front and bottom apts as well. I guess there's just no pleasing me is there? Too cold. Too hot. This'll be a good thing one it gets really cold out.

Saw "The Departed" Sat night. It was interesting, kept my attention. Too much senseless killing for my taste but my friends said that's Scorcese's trademark. Then went out for coffee.

Going for my yearly physical with my regular doctor this week. I haven't seen her in 9mths. A lot of time, Since I saw her last, I've lost 7lbs, 2 1/2 inches on my waist. I've also been exercising 3-4times a week most weeks. Big changes. I was very ambivalent when she first suggested I take tablets for my "anxiety". anything else seemed preferable to that. As is I have to take several meds for my asthma twice a day, every day. Just wasn't prepared to take anything else. Therapy seemed preferable. It' helped me more than I thought it would. I also think the exercise helps a lot as well. I find it difficult to relax normally. When I exercise, my mind can turn off for that hr and I don't have to think or worry about anything else. It's helps me just be in that moment. I need that break. When I miss a few days without exercising - I notice the difference. And it's not a good difference.

Did yoga during my lunch hr at work. 4 of us were there today. It was great. Several of my muscles/joints cricked and cracked during the session but they are no worse for wear.
Tomorrow's boxing. I skipped last Thurs b/c I twisted my ankle - stepped on it funny while walking down stairs at work. Ridiculour I know. I've iced it for the past few nights. Still went for my am walk on Sat and it was a little tender but on the mend. In any event I hope my doc is impressed with my progress. I can tell her that she was right even though it took several months before I believed her.

Feel much better now all that is off my chest.

Fri at last

Went to boxing twice this week after doing my usual weight routine. I have lightened up my weight routine a bit (less reps/lighter weights in some cases) b/c I quite sore on the weekend. My knees and quads are the muscles that are really achy tonight, as well my calf.

Planned to take 1/2 day today, seemed like a good plan yesterday. But then today it was so rainy - i thought that I'd just come home and sleep. Still sounds good right? Except that if I sleep during the day, I have a hard time sleeping at night. Again, normally not a problem if the next day is Sat. Except that I have a defensive driving class tomorrow morning(have to be there by 830am). Class is boring true, but, food is provided and last time - the cookies were delicious. Plus it's only every 3yrs and it's great to get 10% deduction on my car ins. I can use all the deductions I can get. So I figured I 'd just stick it out today. I was very sleepy at times. But made it to the end. Did have a small nap on the futon for like 20min. But I'm kind sleepy now so no harm done. Bed in 5min.

Had to go to a seminar earlier this week. The mandate came from the senior VP of our dept that we should attend - meaning of course that it was mandatory and he would be checking to see who missed it. Yeah so I went. 90 min of my life..gone...poof! The man talked non-stop for 90min. Normally when you are given a time slot of 50min for a presentation, they expect you talk for 45min-hr max leaving the remaining time for questions. This guy kept saying that he'd come back to "that" or "talk more in detail about this" later. After he'd already bored us for an hr. Unbelievable. He had at least 100 slides if not more. Half of them could have been (and should have been) cut since they repreesented very similar data points. I don't recall much of the crap he talked about since I spent half the time trying to stay awake (this takes a lot of brain power) and the other half of the time being annoyed at having to be there.

Finally the bad karma, the bad juju, the skewed alignment of the planets that affect me are all gone. The chemistry gods are smiling on me again. So my boss told me that when our group head did the reaction I've been trying to redo he didn't add one of the chemicals that I added (perfectly legit for me to have done since I got the procedure from a literature reference) but apparently for this particular substrate, it is critical not to add it. Would have been nice to know that piece of info 3 weeks ago but no big. I repeated the reaction (4th time) and it worked. I could have done a happy dance today when I saw my product crashing out (chemist speak for solid coming out of solution). And what's even better is that I have a decent yield. I've left it to dry over the weekend but as is, it's at 90% and I expect to lose about 5-10% of the wieght after it's dried. Even so, still decent. Thank you God. I was getting really discouraged by it all and really needed this...success! Should have set up a couple reactions this weekend but was too tired to do it. By the time I got my results back for the reaction starting materials, it was 5pm and I was more than ready to leave.

This week I got 3 huge zits on my face. What is up with that? So not working for me. I managed not to pick the first 2 and they are both almost gone. The 3rd oneis just out and harder to ignore since it's near my chin - the others were on my forehead and didn't drive me to scratch them like this one does. I need to leave it alone b/c I tend to scar easily whenever I pick at them and the scars never fade, they just gets darker.

I'm off to bed. Nite.

movies

Watched several movies this weekend. Saw Jet Li's Fearless. I really enjoyed it. Classic martial arts type film. My friend compared it to Hero saying it was similar before we went to see it. That turned me off a little cause I didn't care for Hero very much. Yeah, it had great cinamatography, yeah, the sets were great. I don't see moives b/c I'm looking forward to seeing great cinamatography or sets or how philosophical it is. If all that happens while not boring me to death, then ok, but otherwise I can do without all that. For me a classic martial arts movie has spectacular fight scenes with daring moves from both the hero and his opponents and the storyline goes something like...at first our hero fights just for the glory... then some tragedy befalls him and/or his family...he goes away in shame or dishonor and ends up in some remote village...there he learns that it is better to fight for honor and for those who cannot defend themselves...returns to his hometown and fights only for honor and justice. What more could you want than that on a story?

I also borrowed a couple movies. Elizabethtown was a different kind of movie, doesn't quite fit into the usual romantic comedy/drama mold. I enjoyed it. Not a huge fan of Orlando Bloom, he's ok, but he just doesn't do much for me. Still liked the movie though.

Also saw Finding Neverland tonight. It was much better than I thought it'd be. I'd resisted seeing for a long time b/c I wasn't sure I'd like it. There are parts of it that are so sad. I got really choked up watching it. Great movie.

Meant to go get my allergy shots today but then this reaction I was heating started over-heating and it one that can become explosive if heated above a certain temperature. So I couldn't leave it. I changed the heating mantle but the new one still went over the set point and didn't seem to be stabilizung. Don't know what is up with my temp controller. It's supposed to keep it at or below the temp I set it at. In any event by the time I switched it out it was too late - I had to use an oil bath which I don't like using b/c it's very messy.

Can't go tomorrow b/c had to take my inhaler tonight. Don't know if it's because of the weather change but my asthma has been acting up a lot lately.

Went to dinner at C&T's last night. Delicious. Had couple glasses of wine, wheat beer, dessert. I slept very well last night.

looooong week...is it fri yet?

I'm exhausted but in a way it's a good exhaustion. I will probably fall asleep quickly tonight once I get to bed. Went to boxing class twice this week. ONly planned to go to the Tues class but I was just finishing my regular weight routine when the class was starting so I figured I might as well join even though I felt tired. I wasn't sure that I'd have enough energy for it. But I did. I've been practicing the ab work every other day - lying flat , lifting legs off the ground and holding for 10-count - this really hurts. Tonight finally I was able to catch the medicine ball without going "Ooof" or having it hit me in the lower abdomen.
And I was also able to throw it back to our trainer with some force - he said " hey, looks like I'll have to make you do more of this, you're getting good".
Nice to be good at something new. This class rocks. I can feel the fat burning away literally :) I did sretching exercises Tues night after class and also Wed night. It helped I think b/c I was only a little bit sore today before class. I should have done some hamstring stretches before I ate tonight but I was too hungry.

Went to an alumni network thing at a local hangout last night. It was fun, met up with a few friends from college that I knew are living here. Also met a few new people - who's faces I recognized but never really talked to them before when we at school.

I'm going to try to go to the gym Sat after my am walk. That'll make 3 days at the gym this week. That's my real goal. I've also been trying to avoid snacking on crap at night before bed. Also incorporated whole wheat bread into my regular diet.

It's difficult to find whole wheat bread that
a. tastes good
b. doesn't contain high fructose corn syrup
c. doesn't have "enriched" in the ingredients

Apparently "enriched" is bad. I only found this out recently. Was watching discov health (as usu) and saw program where the authors of "you, the owner's manual" were helping this woman take control of her life - where they figure out her "real age".
Anyhoo, this got me on this whoe checking ingredients, at least the first 5 ingredients anyway for the buzz words "enriched" "sugar" "corn syrup" "hydrogenated" and "salt". I had no idea that hydrogenated was bad or that enriched wa not a good thing. Well, I 'll see how long this kick lasts.

I'd better get to bed. My apt is cold. I havent' checked to see if my heat is turned on yet. I might do that tonight. I got a whopper of an electric bill this month. Probably due to air conditioner(when it was hot)/the fact that I've been falling asleep with the light on most nights/space heater(now that it's cold). My bedroom warms up much faster than the living area did. So great to be able to sleep in my bed.

This has been a crap week at work - reactions I've done before that worked fine now have gone to crap. have not been able to repeat same reactions with same sucess as before. In one case I've just set up the reactions again and that synthesis is not long so not a huge deal. with a couple other things though, very bad b/c one has 14 steps and my yields were really low. This means that I probably won't have enough to do the last 2 steps. It took me 2 weeks to get to this point in the synthesis. Bascially I'm screwed and am going to have to explain this somehow. then there's this other reaction that I've done about 7 times before - each time with fairly decent sucess. Last week, I repeated it, crap. This week, repeated it, again crap. I really wanted to take tomorrow off but I can't. I jus have too much to do and I needed to set a couple reactions up tonight before I left. I will have to check them tomorrow and purify, etc. Maybe I can take a half-day. I just need a real break. the boxing tonight really helped me work through my frustrations about work so that's something I guess.
Going to bed now. Nite.