lazy

i'm supposed to be prepping for my classes. instead, i'm playing the Sims. i knew it was a bad idea to load it onto my computer!

a few more days until i'm in san fran. honestly, i just want to hang out, see a couple of sights, and relax. and maybe work on my "meeting people" skills. hard to do with two otherwise taken friends!

i had a gigantic bowl of fruit for dinner. i cut up some peaches, strawberries, and tossed in some raspberries and blueberries. it was so delish. but then i got hungry (it's mostly water, you know) so i had two slices of garlic bread. i've been practically living on garlic bread lately. and fruit. what a combo.

i believe it's going to rain tonight and for the next two days. too bad i have to go to work.

sing-a-long mamma mia is out on friday. i don't know how long it's being released for. if it's only for the week, then i'd better see it on friday. if not, maybe next week while i'm in SF. or, when i get back.

after seeing my doctor again today, i believe it is neither diabetes nor a neurological problem that is causing my taste issues. i have a feeling it's permanent. but as long as it's not Parkinson's or MS or Alzheimer's or any other neurodegenerative disease, then i think i'm okay with that.

i wonder if it has to do with my stainless steel water bottle. if so, the Mother is so going to hear from me!

the weirdest part is that sometimes, i can't tell if i'm hungry or not. i'll feel hungry, but then i see food and i'm not hungry anymore. maybe it's a Pavlovian response - i know the food isn't going to taste right so i'd rather no eat it. funny how that works.

i had a great idea for a new story and i started writing it. and now i've stalled again. oh, the challenges of being a writer.

i managed to stop myself from buying a book today. it was very tempting, and i was walking around the store with it in my hand, but once i neared the cashier, i turned around and put it back on the shelf. sometimes, i can guilt myself into being sensible. sometimes.

you know what's the worst part about not being able to taste things properly? yes, it's the not being able to taste things properly but it's also the frustration-aspect. for 32 years, i've eaten what i've eaten and it's always tasted the same. and then one day, i wake up and it's not the same. do you know how frustrating that is? my favorite hamburger at mcdonald's is no longer deliciously bad - it's just bad! i love spaghetti bolognese, which is a tomato-based sauce and now, it just tastes like something sweet that's been sitting in the sun for too long. ketchup - why bother? whole wheat bread doesn't taste like anything. and don't even talk to me about chocolate, cake and doughnuts because that will just make me cry.

it's like if one day, you woke up and the sky was yellow but everyone was telling you that it was still blue. after awhile, you give up trying to fight it and just accept your reality for what it is.

a few months ago, i decided my mantra would be "i want to be thin". apparently, i just had to be more specific on how i would get there! "be careful what you wish for" has never been more true for me than now.

crave

i love to shop. i love to spend money. i get a thrill out of having new things. even if it's just a new pair of socks or a fresh tube of toothpaste, i want it. it's my addiction. it's controllable when i stay out of the mall and stay focused on other things. but i had to go see my eye doctor today and it was at metropolis. and there were back to school/end of summer sales everywhere. and i had 15 minutes to kill. and i almost bought this , in red. but i resisted. it was really hard because this style of handbag is one i've been wanting for a very long time. i rationlized that i did not need a new purse. i reminded myself that i'm trying to pay off my existing debt so i can find out what it's like to actually live on my salary (instead of just paying off debt and living off the bare minimum). but i modeled it in the mirror. and i smelled the leather. and it was so hard to walk away when it was the only red one left. soooooooooooooooo hard.

then i walked by ronsons and they were having a sandals sale. i found these, which I already have in red:

i love my red pair. i could run in them. in fact, had i know how much i had loved them, i would've bought them in other colors at the shoe sale. but i didn't. and then i found them at the mall today, at warehouse sale prices. but i resisted. it was hard.

but then i walked by tristan and they had an additional 50% off on their summer staples. so i bought three shirts for $24. will i wear them? most definitely. did i need them? nope. but i did it anyway. and yet i know it wasn't right because when i walked out of the store, i didn't feel good. it didn't feel right.


i hate it when i do this to myself.

sticky

and not in a good way. it's been stinking hot and grossly humid the past couple of days. really only yesterday but that made it feel like it had been weeks and weeks. it did rain this morning (with an accompanying thundershower....[shiver]) but i could've danced in that rain. it made the air so refreshing. now, it's just humid again. but the sun's out.

the Ninja and i (with Mon in tow) went for drinks the other night after work. i should've known something was up because instead of just coming to my desk to invite me out (where Mon would've heard and invited herself), he sent me an e-mail. but, i don't like being one on one with him, just because of the uncomfortable silences filled (from my end anyway) with stuff i want to say and questions i want to ask but avenues i just don't want to go down on my own, you know? anyway, it turns out he wanted to bounce some ideas off me and tell me things that were going on in his life (in his own way, of course). i regretted dragging Mon into it because without her, i would've delved into more in-depth information. like, how are the kids handling the breakup and how is he doing? what is he doing with a 24-year old chippy? etc, etc. i wish he would just say, "hey, i have some ideas i want to run by you. do you want to get a drink after work?" how hard is that? hard, i know.

and on that note, and i am not quite sure how i'm going to do this, but i've decided to stop getting so invested in what happens in other people's lives. Mon is dating this new guy she met in Whistler (he's come down from Whistler to meet her for lunch, then hung around so he could take her to dinner too). he sends her texts and cute e-mails. i get a good feeling about him - this could be the guy for her! so i've been telling her she needs to get rid of her current live-in. nagging, more like it. i mean, really, if the tables were turned and it was her that was making all this effort, would she like to learn after a month that this fabulous guy she's been pursuing has a sort-of ex-girlfriend who is also his financially-convenient "roommate" who still shares his bed and for all intents and present-day purposes is his girlfriend? she'd flip out and have a melt-down. and yet, she doesn't see that this is what she's doing to him? i hope she tells him soon. and i hope his laid-back Aussie personality takes over when she tells him because it's not going to be pretty otherwise.

and then there's Doc Tardy. she has this (by her description) hot, young guy after her (in serious pursuit) and she's dismissing him before even spending any time with him because she thinks he's younger than her and therefore too young for her. i have told her numerous times to just give the guy a chance and she always says, "you're right, you're right" and then the next time i talk to her, she's talking about blowing off the next rescheduled coffee date because "he's too young." she claimed his text messages were so immature and that's why she thinks he's too young. yesterday, she read one of the exchanges to me and what did she think was immature? he wrote her after seeing her briefly one day and said, "you looked so beautiful when i saw you today." wow, so immature eh? tell him to start sending them to me - at least i'd appreciate it!

yes, okay, i get it - she's not used to getting those kinds of compliments, but do you think it's going to get any better as she gets older? if she keeps pushing these guys away that are chasing her , she'll just continue to chase guys who have no real interest in her. and then her frustrations will continue and she will continue to think that there are no men out there to date when really, she's rejected all of the ones that were viable candidates because they were too young...or too old...or weren't in the right job...or not Italian enough...or too Italian...or who worked too much...or didn't work enough....or was too silly....or too serious. the list goes on.

and then there's my cousin's girlfriend. we were all at a family gathering the other day, talking wedding plans for Kitch's wedding. and when we were all gushing over Kitch's engagement ring and then talking about centrepieces and wedding colors and venues... i don't know for sure, but i was definitely getting a "why isn't that me?' vibe from the look on MCG's face. i feel for her, i really do, and i hope it works out for them sooner rather than later, but how much more can you feel for someone who has voluntarily returned to the same the same situation she was in, with no improvements or advancements to my knowledge, not once but twice? she has set the precedent for how things will naturally work themselves out - she will always have to give in, with no compromise. it's heartbreaking.

but i'm tired of beating my head against the wall for people that don't care to better their situation. more than tired. it's not my life. i have no stake in the outcome of the situation. if a person chooses to live their life in a way that is not in line with my own beliefs, who am i to say they're wrong? live and let live, right? i'll do my best. and i'll be there if and/or when they fall. but i will try not to say, "i told you so!"

i don't know if i mentioned it before, but i talked to Mike (the one from Creston, not the crazy one) on the phone last monday. we didn't get a chance to talk much over the long weekend. i managed to position myself in a spot where i could be alone but visible and he took the bait and sat with me. we managed to chat for a couple of minutes before someone came up and sat with us. the whole weekend was a wash as far as he was concerned but i figured i would take Nike's advice (and the advice Zen master, Seung Sahn) and just do it. i wrote him a message on FB that just said it was nice to see him over the long weekend and that it was a shame we didn't get to chat more. i acknowledged that it was hard for us to talk with all of the other people present and then invited him to call me if he felt like chatting or if he was in town. within two days, he phoned. and not once, but three times because the first two times, i wasn't home. we talked for about an hour and a half and it wasn't me that did all the talking!

i realize that whatever it is with Mike will probably not come to anything. i mean it could and i'd definitely be in to trying for something but i don't know how it would end up in the long run. i could go and visit him (and i was kind of getting that vibe from him but then, i could be and probably am totally off) and he could come and visit me and we could have a LDR. apparently that's how most of his relationships have gone. but i wouldn't move to Creston. and he doesn't want to move from there. there is less for me there, work and family/friend wise, than if he were to live here, but he's just not the big city type. there are 10,000 people in Creston and even then, he lives on the outskirts of town. i don't know. i won't count my chickens before the cart goes before the horse, but i think all this will end up being is an annual distraction. but he is cute. :)

noon. i really hope my boss doesn't call me to come in now.

high horse

i perched atop my high horse today, and then realized i was not happy with the height i was at and jumped off.

i don't know what's wrong with me these days. i'm just not happy at work anymore. i still feel the same way getting up every morning and hopping on the train, but the minute the elevator doors open to our floor, the lightness in my heart disappears and i can't wait until 4 o'clock when i can run out of there.

i'm not sure what's going on with me. i just know that something's not right. i haven't been feeling right lately, physically and mentally, and it's affecting me emotionally. i've been craving one-on-one contact with people (which is unusual, because that usually means i have to talk) but being in groups is a source of annoyance, both socially and at work. even my usual groups at work are irking me and i find myself seeking out people individually to have a laugh or a venting session, instead of trying to round up a fun group to sit around and chat with.

i know i go through stages in sociability and i know that it's the end of summer so i tend to crawl back into my introvert-cave when september rolls around, but there's something wrong. i'm so irritated all the time. my fuse has been short. i have a feeling it has something to do with this whole taste bud-thing. it sucks to sit down to a meal when you know what it is supposed to taste like, but it doesn't taste like that. it's depressing. it's frustrating.

that's it - i'm frustrated, and more so than before. i don't think i've done anything to alleviate this frustration. i'm not happy with the changes (or lack of changes) that have been made at work. i'm not happy with how i've been dealing with the lack of changes. i've been doing what i always do - running away. i've taken vacations and come back feeling refreshed, only to fall back into the pattern again a few weeks later.

it's time to change the tape (or CD...or MP3) in my head. i'm unhappy because i know i could be doing more, but i don't do anything to make more happen. as i've told many people, and as i just explained to someone the other day, i can't change the people around me but i can change the situation i'm in. if i'm not willing to change the situation, then i need to figure out how to live with it. and if i can't live with it, then i need to make the hard decision and move on.

as the saying goes, it's better to deal with the devil you know than the devil you don't know but at this point, the unknown devils are looking better and better. at least there is no set pattern when i start a new job - it is yet to be made. but the patterns at my work are established now and they'll be very hard to change if other people aren't willing to work with me to change them. i can only do so much, and then i have to let go.