Lunk alarm

Day 243

Yeah, I'm done. 233 calories burned. Eventually, I will gather the motivation to stagger my way into the shower, because I can't sleep if I'm not clean. Today's ridiculous workout brought to you by EA Sports Active. I highly recommend it.

Family ties

Day 242

This is my little Lulu's absolutely adorable way of saying, "Please don't leave again, Mommy." She's purring while she does this. Before she settles down, she kneads me. After this, she will invariably put her head down and fall asleep. I don't want to leave the house, like ever - this is why.

To the pain

Day 241

I came home from work today and did my usual routine with the free weights. Arms, then chest, then abs while I'm already on the floor. After that, I grabbed a bottle of water and headed to the gym for my usual cardio on the elliptical. It didn't even occur to me to call first, but I definitely should have. No power at Planet Fitness means no elliptical for Michelle. Boo. So I went home, moved the coffee table out of the way, and fired up EA Active on the Wii. I created my own custom workout, heavy on the cardio. It was mostly kickboxing and tennis, with some running thrown in on the side. I should have done more running. My right arm feels like it may fall off at the elbow. This particular pain feels familiar, so I think I may have made this mistake once before. I never learn.

Keys please

Day 240

I lost my keys tonight. Again. I was all set to head home from Doug's place to spend some quality time with Luna. The only problem was, my keys were nowhere to be found. We looked everywhere. No couch cushion was left unturned. We checked the driveway, his car, even shined a flashlight into my car. Nothing. I was almost in tears at this point. What's left to do but call Mom? She has my spare car key, and then I could get my landlords to let me into my apartment. We were all set to head out to Smithtown when Doug checked the last remaining unlikely place. With his arm plunged down to the elbow inside the recliner, I heard the faint jingle of keys and gasped hopefully. He nodded at me. "Got 'em." I stared at him awestruck as if he had just performed the world's most incredible magic trick as he pulled my keys from the depths of the chair and handed them to me. My boyfriend rocks.

Storm front

Day 239

I'm sitting here playing Guild Wars, waiting for this terrifying storm that is supposed  to decimate Long Island and destroy life as we know it. Right. I don't buy into the hype. I've got a very strong feeling that this has gotten entirely blown out of proportion. I think it's a category 1 at this point. Lame. All the morons rushing to the store and cleaning out the shelves over some rain and wind really need to calm down. It's little more than a bad thunderstorm at this point, not the apocalypse. Please chill. I'm still pissed that I had to wait in line to put gas in my car. I was on empty. I bet none of the 5 jerks in front of me were. Get a grip, people.

It's still rock and roll to me

Day 238

Finespun drew me out to Mulcahy's in Wantagh tonight, and I brought these crazy cats along with me.

Toni and I always have a great time together. As the good Junior Wife that I am (even though I've technically been promoted, she still calls me by the nickname "junior"), I wanted her to share in the fun.

I haven't actually seen Rob in years. He was in North Carolina, and then South Carolina, and then I was in Florida. But now that we are both back in New York again, hopefully I will be seeing a lot more of him.

They are seriously two of the best people I know, and I'm so lucky to have them as my friends. The two of them had never met before tonight, but as I expected, they clicked immediately and got along great. It was so much fun to hang out with them both, have some drinks, and listen to awesome music.

Even though none of us had ventured out in sweatpants, Toni and I were still rather horrified by the "No Sweatpants" rule printed on the dress code outside. True happiness = sweatpants. Even when they're cranky, they're comfortable.

Yo-yo

Day 237

I'm getting fat again. And by "fat," I mean 136 pounds, not 165. If I ever tip the scales like that again, I want someone to punch me in the face. But 136 is still not 123. I have to look great in a pretty blue dress next month, so here goes the diet and gym thing for about the millionth time in my life. It's usually not that hard for me to drop a few pounds, but not as easy as gaining a few pounds, and definitely less enjoyable. I've taken up diet soda recently, which is extremely odd behavior for me, even when watching my weight. I was always vehemently opposed to diet soda, but I'm thinking it's some combination of Doug's and Mat's influence that made me think this might be a good idea. It allows for calorie expenditure elsewhere, so I'm willing to give up my sugary goodness until next month. At which point, regular soda will probably taste weird to me.

Laundry service

Day 236

I'm 29 years old, and my mother does my laundry. What? I'm poor. I don't have a washer and dryer because I'm silly and moved back from Florida, where I would probably have had my very own washer and dryer by now. I'm lucky that I have a totally awesome mom who is willing to do my laundry every week. Even though it does take away my favorite chore, I'm sure one day I will be a big girl again and do my own laundry.

What's shakin'?

Day 235

There was an earthquake today. No, seriously, an earthquake. I've been through many serious thunderstorms in my day, a handful of hurricanes, and 3 tornadoes, but I was certainly ill prepared for a freaking earthquake!

I thought at first they were doing some construction work downstairs that would cause the rumbling, but then it got worse, and when the entire building started swaying, I knew there was a serious problem. I wondered for a moment if I was having a panic attack, which does sometimes make me dizzy, but then other people started buzzing about it, running out of their offices to congregate by the printer, which is apparently just where you go when there's an emergency. It's as good a place as any, I suppose. If the building goes, it goes. Nobody's making it downstairs. We were all so shocked for a moment that we just stood there talking about what the hell just occurred before someone pointed out that we should turn on the TV. I was so freaked out that I did not remember the fact that there is a huge flat screen mounted right above my desk. It wasn't even on the news yet, and I stood there with my heart pounding, forcing myself to breathe and try to stop shaking.

Finally, "Breaking News" came up on the screen - a 5.9 earthquake in Virginia that was felt all the way up here in New York, and even further north. That truly scares me.

I thought back to the "earthquake" prompt I wrote on LiveJournal years ago. I didn't really know what I was talking about, as I had never been through an earthquake before, but I actually think I wrote it quite accurately. I wish I still didn't have a clue. Ignorance is truly bliss.

I always roll my eyes at the crazy "2012!" people, but today's events made me stop and think for a moment. Then I rolled my eyes.