My Poor Calves

I woke up yesterday morning to aching calves that have continued to ache and impede my walking until this very moment. I could not, for the life of me, figure out why they were hurting. Yes, I did a grueling 25-minute run on Friday, followed by 40 minutes of equally grueling DDR, but these are not unusual workouts for me. It was not until last night that I remembered that we climbed the Nicollet Tower. Apparently DDR was not enough to prepare my poor calves for climbing several sets of stairs.



In other news, I have been thinking about running a 10k this fall, and found two that I am thinking of doing. One is the Bolder Dash 10k in Minneapolis, and the other is the Big Woods Run in Faribault on what looks like a gorgeous trail. It will be fun to train for these and see if I can get up to the daunting 6.2 mile distance.

Spectrum Ends

I started my day out in rural eastern South Dakota, enjoying the scenery of tree greenery and lake bluery. It was a nice drive home, even though Chester's car doesn't have air conditioning or a radio (and mine's in the shop). Next on our agenda was vegging out in front of "The Family Stone", which I did not necessarily enjoy on account of the ratio of jerks to non-jerks as far as the characters were concerned.

We rounded out the evening at Ichiban for Alexis' birthday. Expensive, but worth every penny (of Chester's). Not only was the food decadent, but the waiters put on a good show. I won't even bother trying to explain how cool it was, so you'll either have to take my word or take yourself there.

Ah yes...the reason I was in rural South Dakota, you ask? One of my best friends from high school got married this weekend. I would have liked to take more pictures, but when I remembered that I did indeed bring my camera, I couldn’t remember where it was. I took not one picture with my own camera, but I’m hoping the bride will e-mail me some for posting purposes.

It was interesting to be back on my old stomping grounds, and surprising how I remembered things as mundane as precisely which bump on the road by my house conceals a steep hill.

A good and varied weekend, all in all.

Frodo and His PTSD

Well...so my blog really doesn't have much to do with the title, but we were watching Return of the King last night at my mom's, and when Frodo decides to leave with Bilbo and the elves (oh yeah, spoiler), she suggested that maybe he has post traumatic stress disorder. Poor Frodo.

**Warning: this next paragraph may contain TMI, so if you are feeling squeamish, you should probably skip it.**

On Sunday morning, I woke up and went about business as usual. After I took a shower though, my right ear clogged itself up, and to make a long story short, I haven't been able to hear out of it until this morning (even after many obsessive applications of Debrox). I decided I should go to the doctor, and luckily snuck in at 8:00 this morning. The nurse used a gun-like tool to spray the excess wax out of my ear and said, "Oh, it looks like we got a tootsie roll." What?! As you may have guessed, this means I had a huge buildup (which makes me uncomfortable to admit, but it's true and I don't know why). However, Tootsie Rolls are one of my favorite candies ever and now I won't be able to eat one without thinking of that. Great. The good news is that I can hear perfectly again.

In other news, my car is not working correctly. We took it to Checker and used their amazing (free!) electric diagnostic thing, bought a camshaft positioning sensor (yeah, I know), Chester put it in...and it's still not working right. I bought a Chilton's and tried to figure some things out on my own, but it looks like I'm going to have to bite the bullet and take it in. Lucky I made my surprise deposit from my piggy bank last week, eh?

We saw X-Men 3 on Saturday night, which greatly impressed me. Not all of it was good, but then again, a lot of it was. I really like Magneto. I always enjoy watching him and Mystique interact, and this movie was no different. I wish Angel had a bigger role. That's all I'll say because I'm sure plenty of people haven't seen it, and I already spoiled Return of the King. Although I will offer one piece of advice: do not be tricked by the credits. Stay until they are done, because I did not and now I regret it.

That's it, folks!

Happy Findings

I emptied out my piggy bank (the beautiful clay one with the cork nose that my uncle gave me for helping him do a pottery show in Sisseton, even though I tripped and broke a bunch of his stuff) today, where I collect my loose change and any paper money I have at the end of the week. I cashed it in at the bank, and it totaled roughly $80, which I promptly deposited into my savings. After a stop at the natural food store (because cookies, chocolate and pumpkin bread--a.k.a., the only food we bought there--are healthier when you buy them naturally), I got home and peeked into the slot in my piggy bank, and lo and behold! There was $21 more that I missed the last time. It's a good feeling when $21 extra gives you a whole new lease on life.

Fargo-go

My weekend trip to Fargo was, all in all, quite successful. I headed up there on Saturday and picked up my brother first, after seeing his Ultimate Bachelor Pad (meaning there was little to no decoration--just two air mattresses, a TV, a computer, various gaming consoles and a comfortable few chairs) and we headed over to my friend Troy's, who just got an apartment in downtown Fargo. It was funny--he had all these potted plants, and after I pointed them out (I do enjoy a good houseplant), he showed me that many of them were actually a part of his indoor garden. One of these unfortunate plants included a tiny lettuce plant that was in a planter with three lettuce skeletons. I was amused.

Troy, David (my brother) and I ate at Mexican Village (which they do NOT have in the Cities, much to my shock and chagrin) and then met up with my old roommate and co-bridesmaid at the adult bookstore to get the bride some silly gifts.

The actual party was pretty tame--we went out to eat at Johnny Carino's (which has the best chocolate cake I've had in my life, and sadly, is also not in the Cities), played a racy ring toss game and Truth or Dare (which was redundant because we know almost all there is to know about each other already), made some non-alcoholic daquiris (Heather, the bride, doesn't drink) and watched Just Like Heaven.

The next day, I went to Perkins with Troy (again) and my friend Traci. After that, I picked up David and we met Liz at Godfather's. It was really nice to see her--I think out of my Fargo friends, I miss her most of all.

Being in Fargo and driving around by NDSU with the weather so nice and having that feeling of being on my own really made me feel homesick for living there. I'm actually toying with the idea of moving back to finish my bachelor's degree, partly because I'm going to have to leave the Cities anyway for vet school and NDSU has a good pre-veterinary program (which is why I went there in the first place). Chester and I have talked about it some, but I'm not sure how it will play out. I don't want to move there thinking it will be the same with my friends, so I'll have to consider other pros and cons. Just something to think about, I guess.

Bored Big Dog

I played DDR for an hour last night (and am improving in leaps and bounds, if I do say so myself, which leads me to look for any opportunity to showcase my new moves, including in non-DDR situations). As is customary, Chester always looks for something else to do. Last night he opted to watch the news upstairs, and Jack was apparently torn as to who he wanted to bug. When I finished and went to talk to Chester up the stairs, I was met with Jack looking forlornly down the stairs, his ball waiting next to him.

I Win!

This rocks, check it out!!!

I never win these sorts of things, not to mention the fact that I love The Office (even though I'm not sure what Xbox has to do with that) so I'm pretty psyched. I guess once in a while it pays to have non-friend Friends. Later!

(I won some cool stuff from "Pam's" page because I'm nerdy and always checking my myspace, in case you didn't get what's happening.)

The Guys

Since I'm low on blogging gas, I'm just going to post a picture of my two favorite fellows minding their own business (and thankfully not mine).

Snagglicious

Can you believe the dentist asked me if I wanted to do something about my lovely, character-giving snaggle tooth?

Older and Wiser

I have experienced several rites of passage, I feel, into adulthood. I had a few stupid months that were filled with more alcohol than I will probably consume altogether for the rest of my life (isn't this one of those rites?). I have a real, salaried job. I've moved away from home, and in fact live with my boyfriend and we have pets. Surely taking on the responsibility for the lives of others is something an adult does. However, I have not yet had my wisdom teeth out...on June 15th, this will all change.

The all-knowing Wikipedia says, "They are called 'wisdom teeth' because they appear so late--much later than the other teeth, at an age where people are supposedly wiser than as a child." I personally think that they are called wisdom teeth because you are wise to have them removed before they start to cause major decay to the teeth around them (damn you, pestilent wisdoms and your wild hair to grow sideways!).

Strangely enough, I am looking forward to this experience. For one thing, I have never even had a filling (although my increased consumption of pop and candy and decreased nightly brushing, especially in my "Fargo Years," has changed that a bit). This experience will give me license to groan knowledgably and appropriately whenever anyone discusses painful dental visits. For another, it was a good excuse to take the day after off of work so I can, to quote the dental assistant that advised me today, "watch movies and do nothing." Plus I'll probably get babied a little and I'll be able to eat chocolate malts (yes, plural) and no one will be able to look askance. I think in this situation, a positive outlook is best.

My Weekend

The movie we saw on Friday night, Camp Out, was great. I personally think it should be something that should be distributed to churches everywhere, as homosexuality simply isn't something that people choose. End of story. There are a few issues that I feel strongly about, and discrimination against people based on their sexuality (which has nothing to do with anyone else anyway) is one of them. Actually, I think seeing those kids and how devoted they are to their religion (despite the unpleasantness the religion has caused them because theyre gay) impressed me more than any other demonstration of Christianity I have ever seen. If you ever get the opportunity to see it, do.

Other than that, this weekend was wildly uneventful. We went to Friends With Money on Saturday night, which was a bit disappointing. But since I worked out earlier in the day, I got to have some excellent chocolate, so it wasn't all bad.

Yesterday I got good practice being crabby. I think when I get too many things (i.e., laundry, cleaning the rat cage, working out) on my plate, I get crabby and don't want to do any. So it took me probably two hours to do the dishes because I kept leaving and doing other things (i.e., checking myspace). I didn't feel better again until after I played some DDR and showered at about 5:00.

Whew. Boring entry today.

Delighted

Once a believer that peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are no good after a few hours in the refrigerator, I have reformed. In fact, I have reformed so much that I am currently eating my third PBJ this week, which means three times this week I allotted some time in my already cramped morning to make one and cart it with me to work. And boy am I ever glad.

Good Dog....Here's Proof

I was looking through the pictures on my phone when I came across a couple that Chester must have taken. These pictures of Jack put me in mind of the movie Amelie, where she takes the pictures of the garden gnome in different locations to get her dad to travel. I have yet to see pictures that "person"ify him better--he's a laid-back, happy-go-lucky fellow who is more than happy to let us take his picture, and he looks it here.

Home Sick

I think that the excitement and late nights of this weekend took their toll on my immune system. I woke up yesterday morning with a scratchy throat and congested sinuses, which carried over to this morning; add an aching body to the mix, and I thought I'd do well to stay home from work. It's funny how you get that guilty, playing-hooky feeling even when you're ligit.

My day so far has consisted of sleeping in, napping and wasting time on the computer (which makes me feel ready for a nap). It's a shame that a person has to spend one of those rare, unscheduled days off feeling rotten.

The Weekend of a Busy Bee

This weekend is probably one of the most fun, eventful and longest-seeming ones I have had in a long time. Following is the rundown, even though we didn’t take many pictures. Hopefully you can create some visual ones for yourself.

Friday

Even though I got off of work at about 3:45 (trying to keep lake-goer traffic in mind), we didn’t even get out of downtown Minneapolis until just after 5:00, to begin our journey to Duluth to see David Sedaris.

No matter, for the stressful trip (in that nothing could be done about the traffic except to shake my fist and mutter some choice words) was well worth it. David read some of his stories and answered questions for the audience; the two hours he was on stage fairly flew by.

After David Sedaris, we left Duluth and headed to Grand Rapids where somehow I managed to stay awake and conscious until about 3:00 in the morning. We went to Country Kitchen and hung out with Mikey and some of his and Chester’s friends. We had a lot of fun, which included Cindy’s (Mikey’s sister) boyfriend Omar putting some maple syrup into water and stirring it up, which I, in an unusually courageous spirit, sampled and found not at all distasteful.

Saturday

This day we hung out in Rapids a bit longer before heading back to Duluth. We went to Cindy’s synchronized swimming meet, which I had never experienced, and played a few rousing games of Munchkin.

In Duluth, we got to see the house Rudy and Leslie just bought, which is the only place we took pictures this weekend. In the back, in all of its two-story glory, was a playhouse the previous owner built for his daughter. I couldn’t help but feel a bit cheated, a feeling that only got worse when I saw the bunk beds on the second story.

Rudy and Leslie in their backyard.

Me sitting on the floor of the second story of the playhouse...I like the interesting perspective in this picture.

After the tour (wherein many helpful home improvement suggestions were made by the ever-enthusiastic Chester), we made good use of the birthday gift card (doubling as a ploy by Rudy and Leslie to get me to Duluth to visit) for the Black Woods restaurant in Duluth (where they serve the best sweet potato fries I have ever had) before we made the long journey home.

Today

As if we hadn’t already done enough this weekend, I thought it would be a good idea to call a few of our friends to come over for a little barbecue today. I got to meet CJ, a high school friend of Chester’s, and Alexis and Aaron also came. We hung out, I got my bike in working order and then Aaron, Alexis, Chester and I headed to a park a few miles away. We walked the 2.16 miles around the lake and enjoyed the surroundings while we planned a camping trip we’d like to take in the north woods this summer. We also played a few games of Extreme Bocce Ball.

It was great to get out of our normal surroundings and have a bit of an adventure this weekend. It’s always wonderful when you have a weekend like this that makes you realized that summer really is here.

Update!

My uncle has been in town this week (unfortunately because I am a responsible class-goer, I only saw him Tuesday night and tonight), and a friend of his who recently moved to Italy was at my mom's tonight. She brought a friend (an Italian friend) with her. He was very interesting, as he spoke little English. We were trying to converse with him when she wasn't around to translate, and so I got to see the flip side of the coin where you're stuck not understanding someone. I was excited to learn that, due to my two years of high school Spanish, I could pick out some important words such as "biblioteque" and the like.

It was a fun night filled with lemon meringue pie, good company and even a little inspiration sprinkled on top. I know I've written cheesy posts about my life decisions before, but seeing as how I don't really have much going on lately, I'm going to again. I'm really happy with the career decision I have made--I feel like I can focus and have something to look forward to, and being involved with both animals and people will make me feel like I'm doing something for the greater good, where being a lawyer is uncomfortably close to the other side, no matter how lucrative it may be.

Getting ready to go to Duluth tomorrow for David Sedaris--I'm really looking forward to that even though I have no idea what to expect. After that, we're headed to Grand Rapids where we will visit Mikey. I haven't been there in a while and am not only looking forward to spending some time with Mikey and his new girlfriend, but his family as well. Great bunch of people. I could really use the weekend away, this I know.

I have been reading Margaret Atwood's "Oryx and Crake" and have been most thoroughly enjoying it. However, I got to page 218 and about 30 pages were reprinted from earlier in the book and put in the wrong place, so I took my book back to Barnes and Noble today and got a new one. I started "Prince Caspian" for my class and am halfway through that, so Oryx and Crake will have to wait. How's that for multitasking?

Solitary Confinement

I've been worried lately that I'm losing whatever people skills I may have. I was small-talking in the copy room with the girl my age that works here, and I found that not only did I not have much to say, but I didn't have much in the way of satisfactory replies, either.

I am interested in people, probably to the point of being nosy. For the record, however, I like to think that I am genuinely interested and nonjudgemental, rather than simply being gossipy. I'm beginning to wonder if my days spent at work, primarily by myself, and my evenings spent talking to mainly my boyfriend, my mom and my pets (I know...talking to the pets) are taking a toll on my social skills.

A nice break to the monotony was an outing Saturday night. David (my brother), Chester (my boyfriend) and I met Ryan and Abby at Gameworks downtown for some Dance Dance Revolution. We also played a few rousing games of air hockey, and David and I played "a" (I got a little obsessive here and ended up swiping my card several times to continue our game, and if not for David, probably would have done so until my trigger fingers fell off) game of Ocean Hunter (or something...damned if I can remember). It was a good time, but unfortunately all the distractions prevented good conversation and perhaps in part led to my concerns of the day. Even so, it was a great night and I had a lot of fun.

New Pants

I have been "downsizing" lately, as it were...which involves a lot of unpleasantness such as limited candy intake and running (which I bitch about but actually enjoy and can now run 2 miles--some of which includes up hill, so I'm proud of that). Anyway, one unexpected sadness came in the form of the loss of some really cool green plaid pants I had (but are now looking a bit clownish, as they are entirely too big).

I was in Target today on my "fifteen" minute break and discovered some perfect black pants...but they didn't have my size. This resulted in a trip to the Apple Valley SuperTarget, where you can only assume they would surely have my size in the holy grail of pants...but no. Grasping at straws, I asked Chester if he wouldn't mind if we zipped to the Burnsville Not-So-SuperTarget to see if they had them. You'll be happy to know that they did, but even better--BLUE plaid pants! I have been persisting on staple pants: khakis, black pants, brown pants and brown pinstripes, so it is quite pleasant to be able to have some fun pants. The picture does not do them justice, but enjoy nonetheless.

Fruit Basket

Fruit basket: a tasty treat that is dried fruit wrapped in a layer of chocolate and coated in an unidentifiable but palatable candy.

Have you ever noticed how sometimes you associate times/places/people/events/situations with tastes, smells, etc.? So I have noticed lately that I have some bad associations. Sometimes I like to eat aforementioned fruit basket candy at work (very rarely, because I have cut candy more and more out of my life every day...which is just as depressing as it sounds). One time I was eating them while I was working on something for one of our clients. Anyway, this particular client just called to talk to one of the attorneys and fruit basket was immediately brought to mind. This is a very cruel trick of my brain.

Other associations I have developed are eating Totino's pizza while watching my iTuned episode of Lost on Thursday nights (I have class Wednesday, so I have to wait to watch it) and grilled cheese and oatmeal cookie dough while watching Saved By the Bell (I went through a phase where I watched the entire show from start to finish--thanks, Netflix). So now if I watch or even think about these shows, I start thinking about the foods that go with them. This is a distraction in my quest to eat healthy, but luckily I have superhuman will power and can generally ignore these little reminders.

Jack

I love my dog.