Calgon, take me away
I think I'm going to name my little Outlander 'Calgon' so I can utter that phrase and have it actually happen sometime.

Hasn't been much going on at work lately other than the usual last minute frenzy of changes, with the latest expansion due out in a couple of weeks.

So...road trip. Saturday I found myself extremely bored and irritated at the world. Later in the evening, darling Josh called. That helped a lot. So much so that I ended up taking an impromptu roadtrip to Podunk Pennsylvania to hang out with him.

The part of Pennsylvania he lives is full of tiny quaint townships. They all run together, so you can barely tell where one stops and another starts, unless you're Josh and you've lived there all your life. I'd forgotten how pleasant small towns are...it's even less populated area than Tupelo, Mississippi. Since I was there on a Sunday, things were really quiet. Josh kept asking me what I wanted to do, poor guy. There isn't that much to do in a place that small! So, we watched Shrek 2, and then went to a mall to get me a smoothie. Then we drove around a bit more, and went back to Josh's house, and watched more movies. Really, that's about all there is to do in a small town.

Still, I enjoyed it. I got to drive and clear my head, and also be away from all the hustle and bustle that is Fairfax, Virginia.

The downside is that meeting Josh in person wasn't as romantic or thrilling or whatever as we'd both hoped. Turns out we're only good friends after all. I'm a little sad about that, but at the same time I'm thankful to have as many "always a friend, never a girlfriend" guys as I do. They all make my life a little happier, and Josh has joined the ranks of the "should have been my brother" friends. I wouldn't trade this weekend for anything.

Sometime I should really get a digital camera so I can share all the funny things I see. Like all the "slow down, save a life" signs on PA Highway 100. And the "Fuzzy Butts Dog Daycare" opening soon in some little town I passed through. And, the real honest to goodness Pet Cemetary we drove by in search of food Sunday morning.

The drive back seemed a lot longer. Part of that was the fact that coming home after a road trip always makes me sad...who wants to rejoin a reality that isn't happy 100% of the time? The other part was that I took a wrong turn. The drive up involved taking 495-N to 95-N, so I assumed coming back that 495-S would be a safe bet. Right. Never assume anything. As it turns out, I should have taken that 495-W option instead, go figure. Ah well. I drove around half the DC Metro area. No worries, I'm home safely now though!

Weight loss update: 4 pounds lost, for a total of 14 so far. Woo!
- posted by Kismet @ 11:02 AM (0) comments

 
Dieting
So, last week I decided to try the South Beach diet. Yeah, I know, there are lots of pros and cons to any diet, but what attracted me to this is that it was pretty much what I did for my last diet. However, I don't have a lot of willpower! So I strayed back to my old ways and gained back 12 pounds.

I figured part of my problem was that I went at the whole diet thing with no real organization in my mind. As such, I generally didn't take a shopping list with me to the grocery store, and I ended up buying lots of impulse things. Like those sinful lemon sugar cookies in the bakery. It's not so bad to have a cookie or two here and there, but buying a whole container you can't stop eating is definitely not good.

I ended up checking out South Beach's website, where I found something I think will help me a lot...a meal planner. I can plan out a week's worth of meals, and then generate recipes to print out, and a shopping list that has everything in the recipes. Neat.

Monday was the first day. The day before, I printed out my shopping list and headed to the grocery store. The first trip was a bit expensive, because I had to invest in herbs and olive oil that I don't normally keep on hand. If you don't count all those items though, I actually spent less than I normally would to feed myself all week. The recipe I chose for dinner was a lovely sauted chicken, which turned out really nicely. I really need to get a food processor though...mashed cauliflower doesn't turn out so well in a normal blender!

Except for Saturday and today, I followed the plan exactly: breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, dessert. My results for the first week: 10 pounds went buh-bye.

Holy bejeebus.

And I wasn't hungry the entire week, short of first thing in the morning. I also didn't find myself craving anything other than a looooot of water.

One more week of phase 1 induction! I can't wait to see what my meal choices are in phase 2.
- posted by Kismet @ 11:33 AM (0) comments

 
Insomnia
So, I haven't been sleeping well all week long. Earlier this week I had a fantastically long conversation with a new guy in my life and it seems to have upset my sleeping schedule pretty well. Not quite sure why either! Come on, one guy says he likes me, and the world flips upside down apparently.

Anyway, the new guy! I don't remember how long it's been since I was introduced to him in the evil game they call Everquest. A month? Maybe more? Who knows! At any rate, not too long after that he just started talking to me out of the blue. Then, he got added to my Trillian contact list, and we talked even more. One day this week I teased him about his AFK message that said to call him on his cell, and bam! I had his cell and home phone. And no, I didn't really mean for him to give me the number! I mostly just wanted to give him crap.

Later, in a different conversation, one thing led to another, and come to find out...he doesn't consider me a buddy! It's a miracle. What am I then, you ask? I'm an "interest." I haven't been anyone's interest in a while. It feels good. No...it feels great! Especially since I had sorta developed a soft spot for him already, and I just wasn't going to say anything, since the crowd with which we game communicates with flirting that's all in good fun.

I do have to admit, it seems strange. He's 20...and me, I'm a bit older. Enough that my friends are having a blast teasing me about being a cradle robber. I'm not even 29 yet! Bah. But, he's not even 21 yet, as my friends love to point out. Thanks guys.

So, his name is Josh, and he's the funniest, sweetest, nicest guy I've met in a long time. Pretty dang cute too! Given my past relationships, I'm not holding my breath or anything...but we'll see.
- posted by Kismet @ 1:17 AM (0) comments

 
people are horrible
Call it morbid curiosity. I did a google for the Nick Berg beheading and found a European news site that hadn't yanked it yet. I wish now I hadn't watched it. I have a hard time comprehending what it must be like to die at another human's hand, or to be the human taking someone's life.

I spend a lot of time being depressed that my life isn't where I thought it would be, but then I watch some poor guy having his head sawed off by a knife in less than 60 seconds, with lots of other men standing around cheering. Suddenly my life seems pretty damn good.

Poor Nick Berg. No one deserves to die like that.
- posted by Kismet @ 1:55 AM (0) comments

 
Fuzzy socks!
Best site ever.

Fuzzy and angora toe socks, omg!
- posted by Kismet @ 11:54 PM