Dakota

Today was a pretty full day of work. It wasn't really stressful or difficult or anything, but it was pretty busy. I ended up being very, very tired by the time 5 o'clock rolled around. Sometime after 6, I even laid back in my chair, cranked up Aqua, and apparently fell asleep. The nap did nothing but make me cranky when woken up.

Matt and I did food shopping in two parts. The first part was him walking around and putting things in the cart. The second part was me actually being alert and putting food for myself in the cart. It ended up being $170, which was pretty obscene, and I still haven't exactly thought about the inexcusable shopping cart rape that was so blatant and unforgiving... Money's not exactly tight, and most of the things we were getting were for pretty general consumption (I did end up getting two boxes of raspberries simply because they were there and not a bad berry in the bunch). I have to say that I don't really want to live in a world where an individual water filter is $10.

Two websites that I frequent like the dickens are bugging the hell out of me. I got into the habit of updating directly from Livejournal.com, using that embedded text box they have, after about two years or more using one of their stand-alone clients. I just hated that I couldn't change the mood icon that I wanted to use if I was feeling a different adjective than the pre-determined 130-some. Anyway, now when I'm typing, the window keeps expanding, and making that horizontal scroll bar, and part of my entry obscured. Fuckers.

The second is last.fm, which is taking a very long time to load my total artists list. As someone who acknowledges that it doesn't matter what my music stats are as long as I am enjoying the tunes, I am also someone who really likes to know "who's in the lead" or whatever. It's all still uploading, but the artists are updating individually as opposed to the whole chart. After Yes, Virginia's release on Tuesday, there's a good 60-some tracks that haven't been added to my list for the Dresden Dolls since then. Nellie McKay is listed on my weekly charts as having 52 plays last week, but my overall hasn't even updated her past the otherwise anemic 40-some that came before that. Blargh.

Matt and I watched another episode of Lost yesterday, which was very interesting. Only one for tonight; Matt has a registration system to make functional by tomorrow.

I'm alone in my section of the office, tomorrow. That sucks.

My shoulder still hurts, but only really now when I touch it. Jamie thinks it's a pinched nerve. That sucks, too.

The show was good tonight. I was Frank, and Richy was Rocky. Sean and Dani were Janet and Brad, in that order. That was especially interesting.

Everything else pretty much "the Norm" (but not at all in a bad way)... missing some key HOH people, but that only really suffered the Transies, and those that were there held there own well.

...Yep.

Afterward we had three auditions: Scott as Brad, Erick (from MSU) as Rocky, and Lauren as Magenta. I was especially impressed with Lauren's blocking, but all were good.

...Yep.

I was very hungry and ate too fast. Blecch.

...Yep.

Pumpkin seeds of doooooom!

They be tasty little critters.

I really have to stop eating them, and get like a sandwich or something.

Ok. So the "Steak Fanatic" pizza from Domino's. I saw the commercials. It looked pretty awesome. I love cheese. I love steak. And I love pizza. But still, I was skeptical. It was, after all, "something new."

So I ordered one yesterday, not really knowing what to expect but entirely unable to resist. Really, it looks better on the commercials. But it tastes awesome. I really liked it. However it doesn't have, which is one of the parts of the pizza that I rarely compromise on. So a micro-waved dish of Prego Romano-Parmesan sauce for dipping was a must. But that made an already tasty meal that much better.

The real test will be reheating... I would've eaten the entire thing, but that would've been a bad idea. Plus I fell asleep before I could have more later in the evening.

It's not mozzarella cheese, which is most interesting to me. It's provolone and American... surely that's some sort of cardinal sin (or... bluejay or... something) against a pizza, but since it was barely a pizza already (by my standards), I will overlook that. I do think the sauce is an integral part, but I think it needs to be a condiment; if it had been baked in, it probably would've been gross.

So, yes. Whoot.

Today was the first day in my new working space. I'm in the back of the office, now. As yet, I am the only one shunned to the far corners... but I won't be the last.

The new desk is completely different, the monitors on a different height, and I now can't type quite as well without looking at the keyboard more often than I had to before. Everything seems to much further away and smaller.

But, it has it's advantages. No more Evil Boss staring at my screen from across the room. But it sucks as well. Kinda lonely at the moment, despite my mp3's. But! I do have the big screen TV.

In other news... Holy crap tomorrow I'm doing R&A tomorrow at the show. It's sudden and it's strange, but somehow that worked out. And Frank. Yay, zaniness!

In more other news, I had a fabulous chicken Caesar salad that I made myself. I still think I'm having a portion issue. ::holds stomach with goofy grin:: It was quite the yummy.

I have been hungry all day.

I have eaten, too--well. A coupla days I was perusing Livejournal communities that my Livejournal friends belong to, and found again the WWCUlt that Carrie set up some time ago. I've heard it's been most beneficial for many people. But what struck me was Willow's post about her concern about wagon-falling after a year. Suddenly she was snacking and dismissing it as a one-time. Willow and I bonded right then and there, despite her being completely unaware of it.

I snack. Chronic snacker. Watching a movie? Eating something. Watching TV? Eating something. Gonna hang out with friends--dude, we'd better be getting food. Everything has been centered around food forever, and that's not the bad thing, really... But when I snack, I eat meals. Sometimes more than one. I've never known anyone to actually follow the "serving" rule of thumb. I mean, really, who does that?! People who want to lose weight, apparently.

Well, I was concerned. I wasn't even on Weight Watchers for a year and I didn't just fall off the wagon, I kicked it and burned it for warmth. I lost 15 pounds in two months, which I found to be satisfying. I'm getting it back now. Gah!

Part of it is the Weight Watchers food, which are essentially Healthy Choice, Lean Cuisine, and the actual WW product Smart Ones. Ok, first off? Smart Ones? Inedible. Absolutely awful. HC and LC (as I've fondly gotten to know them) are far superior. And they're good at what they do: they are easily prepared, come pre-packaged as 4-8 points a piece, and are fairly fulfilling. The problem with them is that they don't target my main issue: I eat when I'm not hungry, and I am a gluttonous, gluttonous fool when it comes to food. I horde. If I'm gonna eat it, I'm gonna eat it all. And if I know that it'll not taste reheated, or that I'll wish I had eaten more later (i.e. it was so good I want it again), I will eat more of it. Lately my stomach's been complaining.

This is mostly due to the fact that my stomach is smaller. Three months of meal after meal of the frozen stuff will do that; it totally went against what I've always done again.

What I think is happening is essentially detox. I fixed it, lost it, and now that I'm trying to wagon-hop again, my body is freaking the fuck out.

Most of my weight loss is vanity-driven. And I am completely ok with that. I'm not someone who is convinced that my life is over if I eat a brownie. Screw it; I want the brownie. But because I am inherently LAZY, I've been finding my only weight loss has been that of watching what I eat, as opposed to exercising. Exercising is just something I don't do very well. I'm pumped for it, for a day, and I do it, and then I'm done for a while. And I don't want to become Lindsay Lohan, or even lose that much more. What I'd really like to do it get below 170, stay there, and then not go up again.

Tiny goals. All I got.

Genevieve and I went to the Olive Garden for much food. It was quite delicious, as it always is. Mmm, chicken Caesar salad. Mmm, triangular mozzarella sticks. Mmmmm.

We then went to Target and I bought a big fuzzy blue body pillow! It's awesome!

Also, the Anna Nalick CD (meh; mostly ok--may need to grow... kinda nondescript Felicity stuff) and Young Frankenstein on DVD 'cause it was $9.

Whoot.

I've been saying whoot a lot.

8 minutes til I turn 22.

When I think of the gimmicky restaurants, some immediately come to mind. And I've always grouped and categorized as each a little better than than the one before:

1 Applebee's
2 Hoolihans
3 Ruby Tuesdays
4 TGI Fridays
5 The Outback Steakhouse

As you go down that list, the more expensive and higher quality (in my opinion) the food gets. Now, that doesn't mean the food at Applebee's is bad; in fact, I eat there the most... But it's definitely not The Best. But it's good.

Similarly gimmicky, but different enough to not qualify:
- Hooters: too sexy and specialized for the rest.
- Bennigan's: shouldn't be THAT different from Friday's, but for some reason just doesn't seem as "friendly" to me.
- Olive Garden: classier than any of the above.
- Friendly's: more more desert-centered, and definitely the lowest right before Hooters in terms of quality; much as I love Hooters, the food is trash.

I've heard Fuddrucker's also qualifying as gimmicky, and it is, but it just strikes me as a glorified fast food establishment, especially now that I always see it connected to a Popeyes... which is about as low on the fast food degrees as you can get before hitting Hardee's.

It has NEVER occurred to me that I should including Chilis to that list. It fits comfortably between Applebee's and Tuesday's. I'd just never been to one. MSU-Brian took me to the first I've ever eaten in, and I had this honey barbecue steak that was awesome. And it's totally like a TGI Apple Fridays, so it really was omitted quite blatantly and incorrectly from my list.

I totally think too much, no, a lot about my food.

The deli next door stopped carrying Mango Madness Snapple. They now have "What-a-Melon" instead. It's irritatingly sweet. I've gotten out of the habit of drinking soda at home, but I had to get a Diet Dr. Pepper instead.

Additionally, I have had the "We're living in the sixth dimension..." song line from the Forbidden Zone trailer stuck in my head, for the last ten minutes.

Long work day. This was good, though, because it means I got paid more than I was expecting because I came into work a half hour early, andstayed after like 6 hours longer. My gods, it was interminable. But things were accomplished. Trade show-- every body panic! 'Cept I'm not going to this one... So, it's weird that I'm so involved.

Also, today was like the attack of food. I read in Liz's Livejournal that she was having post-menstrual must-consume-it-all. And I was right there with her. I didn't have the mood swings... But certainly the never ending appetite. What was weird was that I was legitimately eating, and it was like it never happened. My stomach just ignored it. Well, geez! I don't have that much to work with here! I need to be filled up fast, without need for snackage!

Oh, well. I had energetic days this past Sunday and Monday and Matt said he thinks it's because of that. Very possibly. That or I'm post-menstrual.

What I have learned for today:

-- Couches are heavy. Especially if it's one person moving them. And even if they're divided into different parts... still heavy.

-- "Truce" may very well be my favorite Dresden Dolls song. If not, then one of my favorite songs of all time.

-- While, yes, it is wonderful that I lost 5 pounds so far on Weight Watchers, I could still go for a huge gigantic pizza right now.

Ok. So, $66 later, I am a member of the Flex Points Weight Watchers plan.

The Man (TM) is telling me that I can lose like 50 pounds and still be in my "ideal weight." That scares the hell out of me, and I'm by no means following that. I will take it pound at a time, since most of it is vanity-based. But my goal weight is significant. And entirely too ridiculous to admit.

I am learning wild and exciting new things from Dani, and phrases like "sellout bacon" and "dish points."

It's been thrilling so far. It took me 10 minutes to find out how to plug in 5 points worth of food (a Healthy Choice turkey thing). Maybe the point is that once you break food down into these types of things, you'll want to eat it less.

Here goes.