Thursday, April 29, 2004
07:39 a.m.
I woke up this morning with a weird mark underneath my right eye. I look like I was in a fight or something. I didn't bother covering it up with make-up because... well, I don't really like make-up all that much. I'm tired of these weird health-related situations. I've been Yoga-ing religiously, juicing almost every morning, avoiding alcohol... and I had a full physical a week ago that revealed absolutely no problems. Why the hell does my body continue to rebel in weird ways? It annoys me.
The Coachella madness begins tomorrow. I've been looking forward to it for months. We've got a good group going this year: Raul, London, Jen Key, Janelle, Mark Henry, Big John and Steve S. are all staying at the hotel with me and T... E-Rock and his posse are down here from San Francisco and may crash with us also. We're staying at a slightly nicer place in Palm Desert this year... and we're taking a 4-day weekend this time which means that we can go up early and lounge by the pool, etc. and also avoid driving home in the wee hours after the festival ends on Sunday. The line-up isn't as good this year as it has been in years past, but there are still several acts that I am really looking forward to seeing. I'll try to take a lot of pictures and post them here when I get back.
Friday, April 23, 2004
07:13 p.m.
Today was a lazy day. I had a physical in the morning... I got a clean bill of health from my doctor. Given my general disdain for the medical profession, it's been years since I've been thoroughly examined. It's nice to know that there aren't any surprise illnesses lingering in the wings.
I spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out at home, sunbathing naked in the yard and blasting my music. I love the fact that I can run around nude outside and nobody can see me! I will really miss The Compound when we move to NY. Even though the cost of living is cheaper there, it will likely be a while before we find something comparable to what we have now. And we'll be freezing our arses off, too. Still, I am excited to start a new life adventure. Our last few months in CA are really gonna fly by.
I've been revisiting my Depeche Mode collection today. I haven't listened to them in ages. They used to be my favorite band back in high school. Good stuff.
Wednesday, April 21, 2004
09:38 a.m.
I fail to understand the Krispy Kreme phenomenon. Maybe it's because I've never eaten a Krispy Kreme doughnut. They don't look like anything special. I can't imagine that they taste all that different from all the other sugar-laden, artery-clogging doughnuts currently on the market. Management bought a ton of them for our department this morning. I'm sitting here, watching my colleagues in disgust as they paw at the pastry boxes like rabid dogs and greedily shove the greasy little cakes into their faces... going back for seconds and thirds like they are being compelled by some dark inner force. Gross.
Tuesday, April 20, 2004
09:59 p.m.
I'm trying to psych myself up for this whole non-dairy thing. I haven't had milk since I was a wee lass, I use soy creamer in my coffee, I avoid butter as best I can. But I love cheese... going without it will be hard at first. I just need to keep reminding myself that cheese is dairy and dairy really REALLY sucks. Don't believe me? Read all about it here.
Sunday, April 18, 2004
09:00 a.m.
Introducing the world's most badass little babies... my twin nieces:
I am finally feeling like a normal person again after 1.5 weeks of shitty health issues. The cause of my problem was never officially diagnosed, but I am now 100% confident that it was nothing more than my body telling me to fuck off... loudly. I have been masquerading as a "normal eater" ever since I moved to CA four years ago, and the time has come for me to face reality and admit to myself - for once and for all - that I simply cannot eat whatever I want, whenever the urge strikes. My digestive system behaves differently than the average person's. In order to function at 100% and regain my youthful energy, I need to ditch dairy, lay low on sweets (including fruit, unfortunately) and limit my alcohol intake to a few times a month, tops. I've done the restricted diet thing before - in a much more extreme fashion, in fact - and while I definitely looked and felt a lot better, all of the rules I imposed upon myself ended up making me sick in the head. While I may be 15 pounds heavier and more lethargic now, I am no longer bulemic or body dysmorphic... and although that's definitely not the ideal trade-off, I have been more willing to accept the not-so-pleasant side effects that "normal eating" has on me than risk sinking back into the fucked up mental hell I lived in before. Until now, that is. The lack of energy, the aching joints, the bad skin, the extra poundage and, perhaps most importantly, the severe stomach pains that sent me to the hospital last week - I need to get rid of all that. I'm only 31 and I feel like an 80 year old, for Christ's sweet sake. So, I am about to embark on a new food/health-related journey and hopefully turn everything around. I really hope that I can keep my head on my shoulders this time and resist falling prey to retarded body image problems. Wish me luck.
T and I saw The Bad Plus at the Knitting Factory on Friday night. They are talented to be sure, but they put on a boring show. They pretty much stuck to the studio versions of all the songs instead of jamming MMW style, which is what I was expecting. The sound system was jacked up during their set and they were understandably distracted... still, I was surprised at how uptight they were, especially since the crowd seemed to really dig it. I'm glad I saw them, but doubt I'll go back anytime soon. I'd rather rock out to their albums at home.
Friday, April 9, 2004
02:01 p.m.
At my doctor's behest, I drove to the ER immediately after work last night to have my stomach pains checked out. What I thought would be a reasonably quick visit turned into an overnight hospital stay (IV, CT scan, sonogram... the works). The good news is that the doctor was able to rule out appendicitis and most major reproductive system problems. The bad news is that they were unable to diagnose me and my stomach still hurts. It seems to be getting less intense with time... I guess I will just continue to lay low at home and see what transpires.
Thursday, April 8, 2004
10:33 a.m.
An incredibly sharp pain near what I believe to be my ovaries woke me up in the middle of the night last night. I'm talking the kind of pain where you're doubled over, barely able to walk, etc. I drank a bunch of water and took some ibuprofen, because I wasn't sure what else to do. I managed to fall back asleep without too much difficulty, although I was pretty freaked out by the whole episode. I have some of the same thing going on today. The pain is much milder and it comes and goes... but I'm feeling kinda foggy and out-of-it, too. I wonder if it will pass, or if I should leave work to go to the doctor. I hate doctors and I rarely have faith in their diagnoses because I firmly believe that a healthy, vegetarian diet and lots of water (NOT pharmaceuticals) is the cure-all for pretty much everything. And even though this training class sucks, I don't want to miss it because then I will need to make it up later. I'm conflicted.
Wednesday, April 7, 2004
08:33 p.m.
Nothing interesting going on, but I'll briefly summarize recent events for the benefit of my loyal following:
Yoga killed me on Sunday, I was limping around like a cripple the next day and certain areas in my back are still sore. I think it's because Jeff taught the class... he is such a prick about maintaining proper form and his teaching style is very strict and intimidating. "Stretch further! Hold it longer! More, more, more!" I knew at the time that I was pushing myself a little bit too hard, but that's easy to do when you're in a 100-degree room and your muscles are much more relaxed than usual. Despite the pain, I plan to go back for more punishment tomorrow night. Heather and I have booked Saturday morning massages for ourselves at Burke Williams, which will make everything better.
I've been stuck in full-day training classes at work since Monday, and I've got two more days left. Just let me start the damn job already! I've got lots to learn, but the class is a bore. I learn best by doing.
I'm back on the coffee - no big surprises there.
Yahoo! announced plans for a stock split today, which has drastically improved morale at the office.
Ummmm... honestly, I think that's about it. I've been very mellow these past few evenings.
Sunday, April 4, 2004
08:32 a.m.
Another relaxing weekend come and gone. Why does the work week drag on and on (and on!) and the weekend fly by so damn quickly?
On Friday evening, I met some of my old LEA colleagues down in Long Beach for dinner. They were in the LA area for a conference. It's been over 4 years since I quit my publishing job, and they had a bunch of gossip for me. Fun.
Yesterday, T and I went to Auntie Em's Kitchen, a funky, little retro-esque diner in Eagle Rock, for a leisurely brunch. We took a walk afterwards, then returned home to vegetate for the remainder of the afternoon. I spent most of my time working on a CD mix for my sister Meg's birthday. At the last minute, we decided to go see a 8 PM showing of Starsky & Hutch at Paseo Colorado. It was exactly what I expected: stupid, but entertaining.
And now the work week is upon me once again. Looking forward to Yoga tonight, which should help to kick my ass into gear.
Thursday, April 1, 2004
08:09 a.m.
Today is my third day in a row off coffee. Man, it sucks. I do this every once in a while (quit caffeine) just to prove to myself that I can. Each time I do, I experience really shitty withdrawal symptoms (extreme fatigue at random times during the day, blinding headaches, violent moodswings) that make me realize how bad coffee is... yet I always end up going back to it like an addict. I wonder how long this hiatus will last? I hope I make it to the non-withdrawal stage at the very least.
I got a promotion... and a raise... completely out of left field yesterday. I start my new job on Monday. I also cashed in a bunch of my stock options and made a nice chunk of change off the deal. I will soon be able to pay off 100% of my remaining credit card debt and throw a few thousand dollars at my car payment, to boot. Finally, I will be able to start saving for our cross-country move and future expenses. What a relief! And the icing on the cake is the awesome new David Byrne album, which I ripped off a work friend yesterday. It is bringing me much musical happiness. Most of the album reviews I have read criticize him for attempting to add operatic arias to his repertoire, citing this as an overly pretentious, artsy-fartsy move. I actually think he pulls it off quite well. I dig the duet en français with Rufus Wainwright. Bravissimo!
