Getting closer...

Reminiscent of the days of university yore, Malcolm, dimps and I pounded out the details of the Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia leg of our trip together. Caffeine, munchies, books, paper and wifi took up the table as we virtually and literally explored the countries that awaited us. We added a few locales to our trip, (regretfully) nixed a few, and got pumped up for the rest.

Temples, Bat Cave, and Abandoned Pepsi Factory, here we come!

And the countdown ticks away...

As the clock rang midnight, "our trip countdown days just hit less than double-digits!" Malcolm so dutifully pointed out.

Oh gawd.

I haven't made it through half of these yet.

Pass the TP, please

I'm staunchly a BlackBerry user, but I gotta admit, those other smart phones sure have cool photo apps...

Redemption Rescinded

So I was going to write a post about how my Admin Assistant had partially redeemed herself with an amazingly cute belated birthday gift to me (I'm not materialistic, I swear).  It was just SO cute and SO neat, but I could not post words to do it justice so I was waiting to have the time to photograph it and share it that way.

Until just now.

  "What did you do this weekend?"
  "I went out a lot to see people that want to see Malcolm and I before we leave.  There was a lot of eating going on."
  "Oh.  Does that mean you've gained back all your weight?"  *innocent giggle because she thinks it's a cute comment*
  "No.  No it doesn't."

Un-redeemed.  And I hadn't even gotten around to her redemption yet.

Dear Universe,

Dear Universe,

If you could toss a couple of extra bucks my way, that would be groovy and supremely awesome.

Thanks.

On a roll

So, the other day, I had my pun on.  I even had a chance to tell Boo about it (when she finally called me to wish me a happy birthday) to which she laughed, and fully understood:

  "Oh, I know, boo.  I live on a street called 'Euclid' and every time I see the sign, I think, 'No, YOU clid!''

But then, tonight, I had another moment.  Mom was telling me about a friend's sister visiting.

  "Yeah, her sister's here now.  She's Alona."
  "Oh mom, you don't know that she doesn't have any friends; you don't have to call her that."

Yessssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss.

The little things

Malcolm asked me out on a date this morning.  I said yes.

I'm so 'cited!

Not my birthday, and not my thirtieth

It's already been said and done, but I wanted to let you know that I had a good one.  No party or large celebration today--that was Sunday...or is coming up on the 22nd, depending on who you ask--and no pile o' presents to remind me I'm getting old.  It was just right.

I just wanted to say so.  I also wanted to post a couple of cool new pictures taken with my cool new camera from Malcolm...but I seem to have left it out of reach of my nice toasty spot in bed...it will have to wait until tomorrow.  Instead, I shall share an adorable moment that I already have about a million different versions of...but it just never seems to grow old...

  "If I were Brodder, I'd be looking forward to cat-sitting Moo too."

Dye-it DONE!

Results:  a total of 9 pounds lost. Mind you between celebratory dim sum with Txtr and Malcolm and others, and surprise TURKEY b-day dinner at mom & dad's last night (due to Malcolm's keen conniving), who knows how much I've already gained back. 

But that was the point, right?  To make room for more?  :D

QT and Sim-mmmmmaaayyyy are starting today, and $10 says that NoPants will probably give it a whirl before we ALL do it again in 10 days (starting Hallowe'en, of course).  Love it.  I have a bet with Sim-mmmmaaayyy that she won't last 2 days--she loves snacking and candies too much.  And drinking.  Hahaha.  She started this morning and when I see her tonight, I plan to have a few too many tempting sweets on my person.

See you on the 31st, Dye-it!

Dye-it day 3

For a little while yesterday, between lunch and dinner, I thought I wasn't going to make it.  I admit, I was starving.  Normally, I would have just grabbed a snack and said "to hell with it" but I didn't.  I REALLY wanted to stick it out and see what this diet could do.  So I survived.  As soon as I got home from work, I made dinner and wolfed it down (though getting home right after work takes a while with traffic so in essence, I really ate at the proper dinnertime).  Crisis averted.

A few movies later and Malcolm and I turned in for the night.  I'd thought about stepping on the scale before bed because Malcolm did (and exclaimed that he'd "lost 3 pounds! I've been trying hard to lose anything--this is great!" but I decided to wait until this morning.

True to form, I spent my weekend morning sleeping.  I woke once as Malcolm left for work and was convinced I was going to get up...but I succumbed to the beckon of my pillow instead.  When I finally did manage to get myself out of bed, I went for my second super-long morning pee and then stepped on the scale as I was brushing my teeth.  I squinted at the display, and then decided to go grab my glasses to be sure.

Glasses on, toothbrush still in use, I stepped back on the scale.  Once more, I sought reinforcements.  I flipped on the light switch.  Back to the display.

8 pounds?


That's what I'd see each time.  So, since yesterday, I'd lost an additional 5 pounds to make for a grand total weight of  1XX minus 8 pounds?!


Holy crap.  Again, I do NOT diet and this was perhaps half diet, half experiment, but holy crap!!!

You bet your ass I'm going to do this again in 10 days!

Quote of the moment

I asked the 50+ little old lady receptionist at work today,

  "Do you know any ways that I can make a quick buck before I leave?"
  "Well, it really depends on who you're willing to sleep with."

She never ceases to catch me off guard.

Dye-it day 2

So, made it through the first day.  I don't know how often I used to snack before, but now that I can't, I notice that I have the urge to SO often.  Anyway, now I find myself looking forward to every meal, no matter how meager it's going to be.  I just finished breakfast a little while ago, and I'm already ready and rearing to devour that cottage cheese with 5 crackers later today.

Is it worth it?  Well, we'll really know at the end of it all.  But as an in-progress update, I stepped on the scale today to find that I was 1XX minus 3 pounds!  Txtr had the same result; Señorita--who cheated a little--lost 1.7 lbs; Malcolm says he's lost nothing.

Due to the diet?  Due to super long pee this morning?  Sunday morning will tell all.

Dye-it?

I've never been one to be self-conscious of my weight (except for those two times in my life I was heavily medicated and gained 10 pounds in as many days...) and I love food way too much to ever have the discipline to make a significant nutrition change or to go on a diet.  However, this diet has always kept me curious.

It's supposedly the St. Michael's Hospital diet and it's based on a chemical breakdown more than nutrition.  I weighed myself this morning to be 1XX lbs (okay, I may not be self-conscious, but I'm still a girl) and I'll give you guys updates based on that.  You're supposed to be able to lose anywhere from 5 to 10 pounds over this three day diet.  I figure that with Malcolm and I traveling to lands of delicious foods, it couldn't hurt to try to make some more room.  We'll see.  Breakfast down, lunchtime water break coming up!

P.S.  If you'd like to try the diet yourself, message me - I didn't post the entire page simply for aesthetics.

Quote of the moment

While planning our travel to South East Asia at dinner:

  "...yeah, there's a lot of flooding going on in Thailand.  I was reading about...uh...Ayuthaiya today."

  "No, not really.  I slept pretty well last night, actually."

If you don't get it right away, just give it a second.  Perhaps say it 5 times fast to yourself.  :)

More Gems

So a little while ago, I posted some Gems from Administration where my lovely administrative assistant would say things (I hope) she didn't really mean that sounded offensive.  I have a few more.

    "You wearing makeup today?  Look good!"
Why, because I look like shit every other day that I don't?

    "Oh, smaller lunch container--you on a diet?"
Do you think I need to be on a diet?

I know that she doesn't mean to be offensive, just like a delicious durian doesn't mean to reek, but of ALL the things she observes and decides to make comments on...
...

One more.

I make mistakes--I'm human.  I was supposed to create a spreadsheet to total a certain number, and instead, I typoed a couple of numbers and it was way less than I thought.  Nothing that can't be fixed right?

  "Wow.  This is not how much it is supposed to be."

And that was said indirectly to me as she reviewed the recalculation at the printer next to my desk.  Classy.

Annnd another...

"...Owner of a lonely horse,
owner of a lonely horse,
owner of a lonely horse,
owner of a lonely horse..."

No, really, I'm not making this shit up.  That is what I used to hear.  Why can't horses be lonely too?  Can't they have a love song for once?

Yes - Owner of a Lonely Heart

Taking it to the cleaners

I received an email notice at work today telling me I had to complete an online course about anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist reporting with regards to the financial sector. Dutifully, I logged in and began my e-learning.

 "Suspicious transaction indicators can include:
  - Accounts with a large number of small cash deposits and a small number of large cash withdrawals.
  - Activity far exceeds activity projected at the time of opening of the account
  - Client is secretive and reluctant to meet in person..."

Shortly after reading that part, my boss messaged me to check in on how things were going. I told him.

me: I'm doing a money-laundering and terrorist reporting course online...and I'm convinced Mrs. G is a terrorist.

(Mrs. G had been making RIDICULOUSLY large and frequent withdrawals from her accounts lately, pretty much sapping all of her savings)

boss: yeah. She will say she is the victim...
boss: and that Casino Rama is the terrorist.
...

And, while we're on the topic of stuff at work, the other day, I guess I'd been unusually quiet at work for the day because both Bossman and my lovely admin assistant took a moment each to ask me if I was "okay."  I totally was, but I guess I'd been in the zone all day and was so focused on getting stuff done that I hadn't taken a moment to notice how quiet I'd been.  I mentioned it to another co-worker, Sasquatch.

  "So I spend one day in 'the zone,' and everyone freaks out?"
  "Well, I guess you're usually so bubbly and loud that everyone noticed when you went quiet."
  "But I was just in 'the zone!' I was super productive today!"
  "So does that mean usually you're not productive?"

Crap.
...

And while on the topic of just quotes and updates in general, I guess Malcolm took notice that I'd been typing for a while instead of the usual point-and-click surfing of late-nights.

  "Why are you typing so much?"
  "I'm blogging."
  "Oh.  Oh yeah?  Well, I love you.  Blog that."

I did.  And I love you too.