Where am I and how did I get here?

You know that sort of disoriented, lethargic feeling one gets when returning to work after some time off? Yeah, I’ve been up since 6:30 (I know, freakin’ 6:30) and it still feels like I’m in some sort of dream state. I got up nice and early to make sure the doggies had some exercise and feeding and plenty of fresh water and foot cream (the bitch has athlete’s foot, aka ringworm, which is actually a fungus. You learn something new every day.)

Jason headed off to Florida on Saturday morning. Sadie’s mom and dad are back in Wisco/Chi-town for the holidays so I am dog sitting the Bizzle.

Dexter says “I keep my bitches in check yo. I’ll bite your head off, I swears! Merry Christmas, fools!” (Please enjoy the Christmas flair added by odd cropping and MS Paint)

On Christmas Eve my neighbors hosted a feast! There was a Honeybaked ham and roast turkey for the meat eaters, but I tried out a new product and got a Quorn “turkey style” roast. On its own it’s a bit bland, but with some gravy (home-made veggie of course) and all the awesome sides (butternut squash, shells and cheese, green bean casserole…), I think I might explode just thinking about it. And there was the added excitement of wrapping paper catching fire from a candle. Good times! Oh, and lots and lots of holiday cheer in the form of red wine…so much red wine. I slept in really late on Christmas morning.

I was pretty much a sloth-hermit for the rest of my time off. The unseasonable marine layer near the coast kept the sun hidden behind a blanket of gray, which only encouraged my hibernating instinct. I checked in on the cats on Sunday, did some shopping on Monday. The rest of my time was consumed with dog walking, napping, reading, eating (damn you butter cookies magically appearing on my doorstep!) and spending some QT with TiVo.

It is so ghostly quiet here at the office it’s eerie. Only half my department is in, maybe I’ll get to go home early… One can dream.

5…4…3…2…Incoming! Duck!

The back of a bus had to inform me this morning that I may have to worry about being hit by stray bullets on New Year’s Eve. The PSA poster had a picture of a hand shooting a gun in the air with a red circle and line though it, and some text saying something along the lines of “Don’t shoot guns in the air. It is a felony. Celebrate the holidays safely!”

WTF people? Why would you feel the need to include a deadly weapon in the drunken festivities celebrating the New Year? Until I saw this on the back of a bus, it had not even occurred to me that this was something to potentially worry about.

Reproduced from the LAPD’s website, here are some tips:

Remember, New Year's Eve is a time of celebration. Firing a handgun in the city limits is a felony and has serious consequences. New Year's Eve also traditionally has been one of the largest deployments of our Department's resources. Happy Holidays!

CELEBRATE THE NEW YEAR SAFELY!

*Shooting a gun into the air is a felony. You will spend up to one year in prison if you are caught.

*If you are arrested for shooting a gun into the air, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

*If a stray bullet from your gun should kill someone, you will be arrested and charged with murder.

*People involved in celebrating the holidays by shooting their guns do not realize the danger posed by their actions.

*A bullet fired into the air can climb up to two miles. When it falls back to the earth, it can reach a speed of 300 to 700 feet per second.

*If you ever see someone fire a gun into the air, call the police.

*Celebrate the holidays safely and responsibly. Don't fire guns into the air.

REMEMBER, WHAT GOES UP WILL COME DOWN! (no shit, Sherlock!)

Apparently this is also a problem in Miami around the 4th and NYE. Just another reminder of how completely retarded some people can be.

My first FitLinxx report

My gym has a system called FitLinxx that tracks all your activities and sends you reports by e-mail every month. These analogies make it look like I did a lot last month:





Who wants to see me lift an elephant? I do.

But then there are these bar charts that point out that I was a total slacker compared to the month before.





And now my excuse for not having been to the gym in over a week is my cold (which is totally valid by the way). That is the problem with me and the gym. I can be doing really great for a few weeks, then something happens, and I break my routine, and I don't go for weeks. At least now I have charts to tell me exactly how much of a slacker I am, maybe that'll learn me.

Happy Holidays and Bah Humbug to you too!

So, I kind of feel like I fell off the face of the earth there for a while. I had a very nice trip home. I got to meet my cousin’s new baby boy (so cute! pictures to follow). I hit some of the shops on Friday and got some retail therapy on with my sisters. Some new shoes and a new coat, and we went to David’s Bridal and tried on bridesmaid dresses. I think we managed to find a couple options that are tasteful and don’t make me look like a cow (both key). I love you Caribou and Dunn Bros Coffee! Miss you here in LA.

I also had the pleasure of spending a “night out on the town” (or as best you can manage in Hudson) with my friend Darah. We went to the trendy new hang out called The Nova, a little restaurant adjacent to the “Historic” (as many things are labeled in Hudson) Casanova Liquor Store. It was actually quite nice! Cozy, small, big selection of wine, a few beers, and light meals and appetizers on the menu. And we got big King and Queen carved wood chairs next to the fireplace. We had some wine and chatted, but headed back relatively early since her little boy Asa (who turned one year old last Tuesday! Happy Birthday to the Ace Man) was sick.

I got to spend quite a bit of time at the Hudson YMCA and went to the best class ever! Now I don’t even go for group exercise classes really, but BODYFLOW® was just awesome. My sister has taken the BODYPUMP® classes too and says great things. Too bad none of the local YMCA locations offer the classes. Boooo!

But I have not been to the gym for almost a week anyway, because not only did I carry back warm memories of a weekend spent with friends and family, I brought with me the inevitable Cold of Misery with Sinuses of Death as well. I was kind of feeling off last Tuesday as I was getting ready for my flight back to LA, but wasn’t feeling too much wrong till Friday. Saturday night I stayed out too late at a party (70s theme by the way and lots of fun!) and woke up Sunday knowing something was definitely wrong. Yesterday I called in sick and spent the whole day popping DayQuil, blowing my leaky-faucet nose, and complaining. My head still ain’t quite right, but then again perhaps never was. Trying to work with this hazy head isn’t much fun. The staff holiday party is tonight, hope I’m feeling well enough to enjoy it.

Speaking of the Holidays, I’ve decided I’m not a big fan. I know it’s probably blasphemy and all, but I just don’t really like Christmas that much any more. People get all consumed with…well, consuming. The only value the holidays have for me now is an excuse to visit family because I don’t see them much anymore. And sure, I enjoy a couple gifts from people I’m close to and like getting them a little something thoughtful in return. But really, the big to do and all that jazz really doesn’t appeal to me, and I hate that damn cheesy Christmas music they play in all the stores this time of year. So since I’m not into the commercial/secular or religious side of the holiday, there hardly seems to be much left in it for me. Since I decided to travel for Thanksgiving and not Christmas this year, Christmas will be without snow, quiet, and a four day weekend with which I can do whatever I want. Just fine by me.

I’m gonna try to actually get though some of this work as well as my groggy head will let me. Wish I had a whole week of sick days so I could just sleep :/