Par-tay

Next week, B is going to try out for Last Comic Standing. This will probably necessitate camping outside the audition venue for the night.

He expresses concern over weather, temperature, blah, blah, blah.

I, on the other hand, am trying to fully encourage him not only because he is amazingly funny...but because I'd have the apartment to myself.

Word.

Tip of the Day

If you hope to maintain your physical fitness, taking an 8 month "break" after completing a half marathon is not a good idea.

(Upon further reflection, the start of the downfall was the 2 week "break" that I allowed myself directly after the race. There's just no coming back from that.)

Day 1

I actually got my ass out of bed this morning and went to the gym before work. A few comments:

1. Why does it take so much effort to practice this kind of self-care? I feel like I'm constantly attending to what I'm eating and how much I'm working out. Getting myself back on track feels like it is becoming a 2nd job. (Ok, 3rd job if you count the private clients.)

2. It was much, much easier to get out of bed at 6:00 am when I was 30.

3. It was much, much easier to get out of bed at 6:00 am when I was living/sleeping alone.

4. I'm doing really well with my eating habits, although I have to consider that my office is being negatively impacted by my quest for lean proteins, in that it usually smells like tuna and hard-boiled egg whites.

5. It also looks weird when one of your co-workers is talking to you and you are hurriedly scooping the contents of a small can of tuna into your mouth as your rush betwen meetings and clients. I'd say I felt cat-like, but not in a good way.

6. Formal half-marathon training would need to begin February 17, which is even closer than I thought. I wonder if I'll be ready, considering that 2 miles of running is a huge accomplishment nowadays.

7. Drinking a lot of water is great. Drinking a lot of water when you don't have a functioning bathroom close to your office? Not so great.

8. It is odd to regard this diet/exercise routine as a necessity to manage stress levels, rather than a strategy for looking good.

9. I believe it's time for a nap.

On Poop

Shifting back into balance after the madness of EMDR training. The Peanut came into the city yesterday for a sleepover, and to help with the transition. Some dialogue samples:

Soliloquy

"[ridiculouschick], I'm a good eater. I eat and eat and eat. And you know what happens when you eat a lot? I poop. I poop and poop and poop."

Logic

ridiculouschick: "Peanut, do you need to poop? You keep tooting (farting)."
the peanut: "No, I toot because I'm happy."

Inquiry

(At Barbie's House in Toys R Us, Times Square)
"Where does Barbie poop?"

Contemplative

"Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate,
but that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us.
We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant,
gorgeous, handsome, talented and fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?"

Hiatus

Dear EMDR Training::

You are kicking my ass far, far worse than I had expected. Suspending regular life activities until you are done with me. Including blogging.

xoxoxo,
ridiculous

Kaboom!

Dear Guy Who Almost Plowed Into Me While I Was Walking Through Union Square Because He Was Looking At His Blackberry, And Then Didn't Apologize For The Near Miss:

I hope that message was important. Fuckface.

xoxo,
ridiculouschick

Where's 'Terrible Terry Tate' When You Need Him?

Dear Drunk English Tourist Heckler at New York Comedy Club:

Next time, shut the fuck up and let the comedians do their acts. I don't care "how comedy goes" in England. Seriously. Shut up.

xoxox,
ridiculouschick

I'm A List Lady

Prompted by some spamalicious comments on my post about my nose ring, I rewrote my ongoing To Do list this morning, and I just thought it was so fascinating that I'd share with the blogging community.

1. Find provider (is that the right term?) in NYC to replace my nose ring
2. Determine the design for my next tattoo
3. Get my next tattoo
4. Make restaurant reservations for The Peanut's trip into NYC
5. Go through mail, change address for mail that was forwarded
6. Buy tickets to Jersey Boys for parent's wedding anniversary present (note: their anniversary was in September)
7. Order from drugstore.com
8. Finish required reading for training that starts on 1.18.08
9. Make final decision re: half marathon in the Spring
10. Check cost of the gym located in our apartment building; cancel NYSC membership

Mesmerizing, no?

Blog Roll

I'm home today with a sore throat / no voice, and thus have the time and inclination to make some changes to the blog.

I've noticed that some of my past favorite reads have stopped blogging (particularly missed: The Librarian and Groomzilla) so my blog roll is due for an update.

I NEED YOUR HELP. Please comment with one or two of your most entertaining picks, I'll check em out, and if they hold up to the high standards that I've set for myself here at ridiculouschick, they'll be added.

As It Turns Out, The Bedbugs Weren't So Bad

Well, comparatively speaking.

These are my across-the-hall neighbors from my first apartment in New York City. The one with the bedbugs.

Read and, please...enjoy.

Observation

Not to get all...Rooney-esque on you guys, but has anyone seen the Cymbalta commercial? Cymbalta is some kind of drug for treating depression along with its somatic side-effects...but I wonder about the marketing strategy.

Basically, the commercial voiceover states that depression 'hurts everyone' while the accompanying montage is of kids, pets, and spouses looking on sadly. Just in case you're not getting it, the music consists mainly of minor piano chords.

If I were clinically depressed, I'm not sure that being reminded of how much my depression sucked would be helpful in driving me toward treatment options.

But I Was Prepared!

I had thought I was extraordinarily organized when I managed to bring BFL appropriate food to work yesterday for the 5 meals that I require while I'm here.

However.

The plan yesterday was overturned by not being able to feel my jaw or tongue for about 4 hours while recovering from my trip to the dentist. (Odwalla protein drink to the rescue!)

And today, I'm discovering that it is really difficult to a) cut through leftover grilled steak b) using a plastic knife c) and a spoon. And furthermore, that chewing said steak is nearly impossible given the new fillings on one side of my mouth and sore gums on the other.

Surprise

As it turns out, my teeth have been hurting *not* because I'm grinding and clenching during my sleep...but because my fillings are about a gazillion years old.

(When I told my dentist that my fillings were, um, filled in 1988 she almost did a spit-take. Almost.)

My dentist must be super motivated because she decided to replace once side of my mouth's fillings right there on the spot. 4 shots of Novocaine and all.

(Me: "But I just came in for a cleaning!"
Her: "No time like the present!")

So now I'm back at work, debating if I should cancel my 3 pm client, or just try to drool on through it.

Ridiculous!

Whilst on the subway this morning, I noticed the above piece of artwork. Is the MTA suggesting that ours would be a better world if we had the ability to commute via giant rabbit?

(Given slow trains and fare hikes, maybe so.)

Free Day

Yesterday, I did such a stupendous job of taking advantage of my day off from Body for Life that I needed to share it with all of you. It is breathtaking.

9:00 AM - Life Cereal, directly out of the box.

10:00 AM - Dunkin' Donuts French Vanilla coffee and a Boston Cream donut

11:00 AM - Diner Breakfast: 3 eggs, ham, sausage, bacon, hashbrowns, toast with butter. And a piece of cherry pie.

1:00 PM - Homemade Minestrone Soup. Cheese and crackers. Cookies.

3:00 PM - More cookies. An apple. Assorted mixed nuts.

5:30 PM - Dad's homemade ravioli with meat sauce. Tomato and mozzarella salad. Gorgonzola cheese. Bread. Mom's homemade German Raw Apple Cake.

8:00 PM - B and I debate stopping at Dunkin' Donuts (again) to experience first-hand the three kinds of chocolate in the Triple Chocolate muffin. We also consider stopping at Wendy's for a Frostee-Freeze. Sadly, we do neither.

9:00 PM - Cookies.

11:00 PM - Cheese and crackers.

Almost Week 1

The first week of the new ridiculouschick stress management plan is almost over. Let's recap.

1. Eating: For all the days that I *haven't* been projectile vomiting, I've been on Body for Life. And I've just ordered from FreshDirect so we should be covered for the next two weeks.

Some of might remember the last time I did BFL (2003). For those of you that don't, Sunday is a free day and you can eat whatever you want. I'm going to brunch with The Lawyer and then to The Jerz for Dad's homemade ravioli. Bring it!

2. Exercise: I ran three miles on Sunday, and I'll be going to Yoga tomorrow. I'm looking into canceling NYSC and joining the gym in my building. And I've got two running partners and an intent to run the half marathon again.

3. Sleep: Eh. This weekend it's all about napping.

4. Health Month: Haven't had an alcoholic beverage. So far.

Thwarted

Last night, B and I had our long-awaited apointment with The Animal Behavioralist.

(Well, it was probably just long-awaited for us, since the rest of you aren't living in our house with Demon Dog. In short: Stewie, B's dog, and now my dog - kinda - is having adjustment issues because I've moved in. These have taken the form of aggression, and, in one instance, him treating my arm like it was 'made outta ham'. 90% of the time, Stew and I are buddies. The other 10%? Mortal enemies. )

Part of the 'Behavior Modification Plan' is that Stewie is no longer allowed to sleep in our bed. (Duh.) So last night, we successfully maneuvered him into the kitchen, put the gate up, and decided to go to bed early, the bonus being that our sleep would not be disturbed by Stew climbing all over us during the night as he usually does.

Ha. Ha. Ha.

Around 4:22 am (ok, not around, at exactly 4:22 am) we were both jolted awake by the sound of the heater in our bedroom. This was very disturbing as one has to manually turn the heat on, and neither of us had done so.

Which left us, at 4:22 am, lying awake and wondering if the apartment was suddenly inhabited by some kind of heat-seeking poltergeist. And then remaining awake as the room became overly warm with no way of turning the heat off.

Very simply, a good night's sleep - is it possible? Me and my New Year's Resolution need to know.

Talkin' 'Bout A Resolution

1. We all know that my job is stressful. This will not change, even if my boss gets less crazy. There is no way that you can do what I do and not get stressed about it.

(An aside: I need to find a way to explain what I do which won't result in instant conversational death. Last night, B and I went to a party, and because it was a New York City party, the talk always turns to what you do for a living. Here's how it goes down (always):

Anyone: So, what do you do?
Me: I'm a Social Worker.
Anyone: Oh, what kind of social work?
Me: I work with people who have experienced trauma.
Anyone: Oh, what kind of trauma?
[You'd think that most people would pick up on my evasiveness, but no. They don't.]
Me: I'm a therapist for survivors of sexual assault, childhood sexual abuse, and domestic violence.
Anyone: ~silence~
[Alternately, sometimes, you get a disclosure of past or present trauma. I'm not sure which I prefer.]

2. Most people are aware of the basics of stress management. Exercise, plenty of sleep, eating right, etc.

3. For 2008, I'm gonna have to be really careful about honoring the stress management part. And adding a little extra - some yoga (thanks for the Christmas gift, B!) and knitting (thanks for the list of NYC yarn shops, ChiChiMama!) and being around people who nurture and support me.

Celebrate Good Times, Come On!

To reward myself for making it to one full year without having a cigarette, I spent the day vomiting.

On the plus side, I'm pretty sure I haven't absorbed any calories, so the nutrition plan is going well.