Camping Hangover

I had a splendid weekend. And my annual dosage of sun. I didn't burn but my body is feeling burnt out. I have a headache and lethargicness that has carried over to today.

I have so many people to thank for cards and messages. So if you don't hear a response right away please understand.

I feel loved. :)

The trip was great. Other than a 20 minutes sprinkle we somehow evaded the rain.

Some highlights:

- It was the first anniversary of my 21st birthday
- Austin surprising me with a LOLcats cake
- Moth in my ear... seriously. Woke me up and made me paranoid
- Tom's homemade beer and hotdogs
- Canoeing (for the first time)
- Crazy bear noises at sunrise...
- Saw an otter, some baby gators and lots of fish!

I really wish I could canoe... more... I hope so.

Didn't make it to rocksprings because it was closed due to overcrowding. That sucked but I still enjoyed Wekiva.

Every time I go camping I surprise myself with how much I enjoy it. I think I get back to my woods days of yore. I used to be a woods brat back in PA before Moni moved away.

Okay now I have to start calling people...

lata gata - Sheila

Thirsty

I've been so thirsty lately!

Not much to say other than I'm trying to improve on this mood.


And I'm excited that in 3 hours I'll be free for the weekend! No class.. no work!


Just camping and birthdaying!


Tonight is our June meeting for the SciFi/Fantasy Book club. Shall be good though the book gave me the creeps.


- S

Oh Grumpy Day!

So a bit of a funk is carrying over from yesterday. I know.. how bi-polar! But I'm fighting it.

Basically yesterday wasn't bad until book club meeting time. Where only me and Bald Becky showed up.

But I can't get too down on myself... it was hailing dogs and cats and I know at least 4 others read the book but due to hw and work got in the way of them coming.

It just sucked driving all the way to downtown with becky in the car. And noone else showing up.


Two resolutions:

-Set the location a week before so that if there's no downtown people I can have it up here
-figure out some local advertising
-Don't get down because these things happen in the world of book clubs.


So we came home and I ate badly and drank homemade beer and hung out with the roomies, becky and new dude Bobby. I shouldn't get too down, it was fun.

Just started the club to discuss books, read and meet new people. At least one of those was managed. Though I had a nice discussion with Becky.

I also managed to be unproductive... which is bad. I have overdue projects.

Either way I refuse to let this funk carry over today. So I'm "hunkering" down.

On the bright side I was welcomed with a birthday party yesterday at work! The cake had a bearded lady on it. You see it was a "Goodbye Priscilla, Hello Red Beard (our new task software that we built), Happy Birthday Sheila" cake.

It was nice. We also had pizza.

Hence the groan in the diet department.

But it was sweet.

Literally - S

Oh Happy Day

Things have been awesome... lets do a quick update:

1. Blues and Soul Experience


Was amazing! Talk about loving friends, good auras and awesome dances. The caliber of dancing was just so amazing and it has been one of the most beneficial dance experiences I have had in a long time.

I don't know if it just came at the right time for me... what with me being gone from dance for the last month, and really the general disconnect I have felt from it, but it was the right medicine for my dance "blues". Ha!

I haven't always been a fan or the blues but I really gained a greater understanding appreciation for it. I think it also helps the Orlando Blues scene has greatly matured. I'm gonna try to go to late nights more often.

I only got molested once! ;P

It was just an overall fun weekend.. and super cool that I could sleep in my own bed! Went to every dance except for one due to work. Which made me sad because I wanted to hear the band, Band of Brothers. But duty called. Danced from 3pm to 5am on Saturday!

And the best part of the weekend? And I know I keep on raving about it... but my body due to Yoga was AWESOME! I felt confident, I felt flexible, and rarely sore! Heck I felt Sexy! It's like my miracle drug. I've been getting in to it so much lately and its really been life changing. I barely felt sore all weekend. My knee only hurt a little the last dance due to sticky shoes.

It was just a nice weekend... I got to dance, drink some beer, and just hang out. Pretty stress free and pretty awesome. I needed it :)


My dance is definitely at the next level...

2. General Happiness

Just a lot of good things going on in my life despite the usual day to day stress. Just working out, being productive and reading as much as possible.

Class started today, Flash Game Design. Shall be interesting... I'm not a big fan of Flash. Shall be hard... but necessary to learn better.

3. Random Happenings:

- Tom the roommate made 5 gallons of beer that is yummy.
- Camping for my Birthday.
- Tom the roommate made 5 gallons of wine that is very alcoholic.
- Made stew today! So excited. I've been thrifty in the kitchen.
- Working with one of my freelance client. Going well. Hoping to pick up at least one more before the summer is out.
- Working on designing the ORLX site... I've been a bit stuck.
- doing a hundred pushup challenge.
- EVERYTHING seems to be planned for July 4th weekend...


Really I need to go work on ORLX.

Y.A.W.E.R.S. Meets tomorrow!

- S

Words, Words, Only Words

So I've been reading quite a bit lately... which makes me happy.

Mostly due to me forming a book club and joining another.

Book Club #1

I helped co-found Y.A.W.E.R.S. (Young Adults Who Enjoy Reading Still) with Nina. It's going pretty well. We have 37 members currently. Probably only 10 active ones and so far it seems 6-8 people at a meeting is a good number.

Our first meeting (and only meeting so far) was 11 people but I have a feeling that will be a fluke and already participation has slacked a little. But that's to be expected with any club. Still, I'll probably want to make a flyer to keep the new blood coming as people come and go from the group. Plus in the end small numbers keep the conversations smoother (but not too small!)

Our Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=16117212518&ref=ts

Anywho we have read High Fidelity and our next meeting (next week) will be Running With Scissors. Both angsty books... I will have to do review for what I have read so far.

Just got back from club movie night which I probably would consider a failure if Mike and Audra weren't such good company. It was me, Austin, Mike and Audra. It was fun to watch the movie and we ended up discussing the book afterwards. Totally liked the movie better than the book. Probably in the future I'll try to combine movie viewing with book discussions (if the book has movie) because it really does lead to great threads.

Book Club #2

I joined a SciFi-Fantasy Book Club: http://scifi.meetup.com/331/

I've been to one meeting (my second will be this week). Nice people, small group, actually the group leader words as UCF as a systems administrator (small world).

Probably can't continue though due to school starting up next week and other priorities. A shame. We'll see how it goes.

So far we have read: The Android's Dream and Empress

The Android's Dream was a fun "romp" but ended satisfyingly.

Empress was just disturbing. And when I get the energy up I want to do a full review. Finished it last night and was damned happy to have gotten it over with. It really got to my head and left me clinging to Austin as 3am. Poor boy. It was a good book but I just couldn't wait for it to be over.

So I suppose that is some of my "Self Betterment" I have been doing this summer.

I started Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris today. So far so good. Surprisingly relatable. It's Y.A.W.E.R.S.' next book.

I am so thirsty its distracting. I've been so sensitive to salt lately.

I need to go get work done.

So I will. Or sleep. Or read?

*sigh* - S

Thing Number 2

It feels good to do laundry and have a clean house.

No matter what failings you may have in the "real world". The stress, the feeling of inadequacy it feels good to take that time and tend to your home. To nurture yourself and those you love. A long dinner, or a good work out...

Though often it takes a earthquake to get us off our feet and doing the chores!

- S

Raining and Pouring

Usually that is a happy spot for me... but it happened just in time for me to walk to the gym.

And woah it is blowing out there.

Two things to note:

1. Where does the syrup go when you put it on pancakes? The 3rd sweet dimension? It seems no matter how much you put on it still evaporates within minutes. That's why I prefer my pancakes as thin as crepes as my Dido used to make them. There's a thinner 3rd sweet dimension.

If I had energy I would create an image to illustrate my frustration with pancakes and their syrups.

2. I forget.

- Sheila

Ah the start of a new day.. at 2pm

So after short consideration I've decided to make a journal specifically for my dieting endeavors. Eliminate some of the groaning from this blog.

http://eatther0ses.blogspot.com/

As for now I have a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it.

Laundry... GO! - S

Robert Downey Jr. is back!

*title unrelated to post*

So today has been lazy.

Woke up and yoga'd. Had Austin try it and I believe he liked it better with the new instructor.

It was good though I didn't sweat a ton. So we took a bike ride around the park and then to the grocery store (5 miles or so).

Took a hot hot hot sauna bath and read. I'm reading "Empress" by Karen Miller. A book for my SciFi/Fantasy Book Club.

Really liking the story but hating the main protagonist.. can't wait for it to end. And it will in 80 pages.

Napped. Woke up at 7pm. Man it takes time to "take care of yourself".

And now I'm on the couch. All clean and comfy. Fingers sticking to the keys and hungry as hell. I'm still 154 and resentful.

I definitely feel lighter and better yet I swear my body has been looking worse... saggy. I know great mental image.

Hopefully that's what happens before becoming fit? I probably was always like that but I just never noticed before... and now that I have no patience and what to be a twig, now, I notice.

Enough of the whining.

Austin is making my favorite, vegetarian shepard's pie. And I'll probably do some graphic work and call it a lazy night. Maybe have a few chicas over...

Nothing big to report.

- S

Diet Version 1,032.89

Today has been full but I'm not certain if it has been productive.

Basically running around a lot and helping out with a site.


I need get the ball rolling for http://orlx.org. I will do that now.


I feel like I should be eating but I'm not hungry. I ate over 5 hours ago and when you diet you are supposed to snack a lot the way. But I'm not hungry. Feels weird.

So I guess its time to introduce a big reason I'm starting this blog. My diet endeavor Version 1,032.89. I'm 154 lbs and 5.3. I'm overweight. I don't look fat I look chunky. And honestly I don't feel 154 lbs. I carry it well and I'm pretty fit though flabby (if that makes sense) from dance. But I am 154. And I'm trying to deal with it.

About a month ago I started exercising more (especially since I took a short hiatus from dance due to travel and studies) and getting more serious about eating well. It's going well and I did loose 4 pounds... I believe (my scale is 6 lbs off). But I'm starting to plateau. I've been here before and it doesn't feel great. Plus I'm sure with the amount of yoga I've been doing I'm adding muscle weight.

So I mentioned boring things I would be posting? Probably will be me recanting what I ate or what exercises I did. It's a way for me to sort things out. Because on this see-saw I'm still quite paranoid/unsure if I'm doing it right.

GOAL: 13olbs... and then we'll see from there. I know I'll never be extremely thin, I just want to be more healthy and a bit more stronger for dance.

24 lbs.. I've done it before but its daunting. I know to be realistic I have to give myself a year. I want to do it in a healthy way. But a year seems a long time and I try not to get discouraged and go back to eating to feel better. Ahhhh emotional dependency!

END OF MONTH GOAL: 148-150lbs

As for tonight I think I'll be missing swing again... for the 3rd time or more in a row. My friend is coming into town though and he'll be moving this weekend to CA... Realistically I doubt I'll be seeing him for a while if not years. He's not that into swing so I really don't want to force him to go. Maybe I'll try to make an appearance with him though.

FITNESS PLAN for the next few days:

tonight: dance?
tomorrow: yoga and a bike ride.
sunday: bike ride
monday: fitness class

Okay, I need to concentrate on making a design for orlx.

- S

Cross Swords

So I just finished watching Word Play, a documentary on crosswords.

It was fun!

Not as boring as you would think a documentary on crosswords would be. Really about intellectualism and comradery.

Made me miss sitting with cafetaria coffee and doing a crossword in Boston. Or really at UCF too! I love puzzles... Maybe I'll try to do that more once I'm more on campus in the Fall. Jack of all trades and all.

The cross word convention it documented reminded me of the warmness that is swing dancing workshop weekends. People from all walks of life together for one purpose. Made me smile.

I need to get out of this funk and back on the dance floor.

I need to not have late night cravings.

9 letter word: Richy Gooey Movie with Johnny Depp - Sheila

Affirmation

So I'm trying to figure out where this blog fits into my life.

I don't want to seem unprofessional.. but yet at the same time I have the urge to be distastefully honest. It's been so long since I've written and actually meant it. Often my thoughts are edited in my mind like well honed manuscript but they die before meeting paper. Afterbirth is what I actually say.


Okay now I'm being too poetic.


I ended up watching some SNL Digital shorts tonight. Of late I've been a little lethargic and a bit bored with most things I stumble upon (excepting my new love Yoga). But I suddenly felt the urge to watch every short. I tried and got 10 shorts in.

What it did most definately accomplish was dredge up some old feelings I have for an "ex" (he looks like Adam Samburg). Not a burning I want to see him now. But a melancholy "Jeez, what if? Where is he?" I tried to call him but I got a full voicemail box. No big surprise there. More people love him than Oprah, I'm only one of many.

I felt a bit empty and leaned back against the couch. I had been crouched over my computer. And then from behind came a surprise attack. Austin surrounds me from all sides, no way to escape. He engulfs me in his arms and kisses me warmly on the cheeks. He is an all encompassing love cozy and I am comforted. And he knows this.... he knows that I feel good but doesn't know why. Doesn't know how perfect his timing is.

And I remembered "Why".

Why I wasn't with the "ex" (quote marks necessary).

We let the chasm of "What if"s surround us to often. And the echoes that bounce off the sides often drown out the scenery.

I need to remember this.

That I am loved and lucky - S

P.S. He just made me popcorn and put on a DVD. Better go enjoy the scenery.

Obligatory "Hello World" Post

Hi! My triumphant return to blogging? Though back in the day I called it my "Moment of Zen". Does Jon Stewart still do that segment? It was hand programmed until I integrated in LJ. And good ole LJ. How many memories and drama-daries (look forward to more made up words) did we share? And here I was starting this new blog in the effort to start with a clean slate to keep professional and I go ahead and dredge up the past.

You can't help the linkage. Life is the great cache you can't clear.

Basically I plan on posting things I find interesting on here. Hopefully things that you find interesting on here. Expect some things that noone finds interesting on here.

Hey, at least it gets me writing again!