Cusack got it.

I'll take it from her as soon as she stops growling at everything that comes near her. *sigh*

Update to the update: The murine "puck" somehow passed back to Pixel. I liberated the thing, which was very young and mostly dead, and sent it to its watery, flushing resting place. Now if only Pixel could figure that out and stop trying to search for wherever it went...

Poll #1188036 Mouse
Open to: All, results viewable to: All

Will I ever see this mouse again?

Pixel just brought a live, squeaking mouse into my bedroom -- and LET IT GO. Fucking cats.

He better catch it again soon... and kill it fast this time, PLS!!!

Weight Watchers weigh-in week 5.

Start weight: 188
Today's weight: 180.2
This week's loss: .4
TOTAL loss in 5 weeks: 7.8

.4? Well, a loss is still a loss, I suppose, but that's not even half of my goal of 1 lb/wk. Plus, I really want to finally break that 180lb wall I've been sitting at for 2 weeks.

Guess I'll have to step up my game for this week.

I'm trepidatious about my weigh-in this evening. I've had a few days this week where I tracked my points as best I could, but I wasn't really sure how to do it. I therefore can't be certain I made my points target for the week... though I hope I did. Combine this with the fact I fully expect my body to start plateau-ing on the weight loss, well...

I guess I'll see tonight at 5.

Happy Mothers' Day to all the parents who read my babbles.

I honestly don't know how you do it -- you're all superheroes! The very best wishes of the day, week, month and year to you all.

The West Coast Video on 15th St is going out of business and selling off all their stock. I therefore couldn't resist getting:

- The entire second season of Queer as Folk (yes, the American one, the UK one was only a mini so there WAS no 2nd season). Total straight-girl porn, for reals.

- Hackers. OMG, Hackers. I now own one of my favourite terrible movies of all time.

Oh, cheap DVD sales. How you tempt me into buying embarrassing shit that I will waste way too many lonely evenings watching.

"Destiny is a fickle bitch."

OMG, yes. LOL

Start weight: 188
Today's weight: 180.6
This week's loss: 1.4
TOTAL loss in 3 weeks: 7.4

Less dramatic this week than last, but still within my goal of 1lb per week.

Today was one of the most challenging diet days I've had yet. I just could NOT stop being hungry. I ate as much fruit as I could while trying to keep enough points to have a real dinner, but I was still literally tummy-growlingly hungry.

WTF.

I was kidnapped and taken to fiber night *almost* against my will by rhiann31 and tony_s (it could never be fully against my will as so many great friends show up there, but I was awfully tired). I was really worried about the delicious snackies that people always bring. However, I wasn't too bad... too pieces of pita with babaganoush and 1 small piece of cheese. When the pizza came, I fled the kitchen to avoid temptation.

Now it's bedtime and I'm hungry again. Shit. Guess I'll just go to bed and hope I wake up less hungry.

Weight Watchers weigh-in week 3.

Result: 182 lb

That's down 3.6 lbs from last week!! An even 6 lbs total for the 2 weeks since I began the program!! Holy shit!!

I expect that within the month my loss will slow considerably, and I'll be doing more the 1 lb a week I expected. But hey, I'm happy as a clam while the gettin's good.

You know, I had my doubts. And I still feel kind of cheeseball for paying for a "program" instead of having the willpower to just do it myself. But I have to say, if you actually do it like they say, this Weight Watchers thing DOES work.

The main thing it's helped me with is portioning. I obviously can mostly figure out myself which foods are highest in carbs and fat. But, before, even if I HAD had the willpower to, say, eat cereal instead of an egg sandwich for breakfast, I would have had 2 big bowls of cereal with soy or fat-free milk. Probably a good 3 cups of cereal. And I was still hungry an hour and a half later. Now? I stepped myself down from 1.5 cups cereal to 1, and while yes, I am quite hungry by lunchtime, I'm not dying of starvation by 10a.

It's also gotten me eating much more fruit and veggies, which of course is never bad.

I've been compromising on some things I never thought I could, either. Egg Beaters instead of whole eggs. Or reduced-fat/fat-free cheese. However, there have been a couple things I absolutely cannot and will not compromise on.

1) Sugar. I will and have cut my sugar intake tremendously. What I *will not* do is replace it with artificial sweeteners. They are just utterly foul, and I don't trust them. I can't see how real sugar -- especially raw, unrefined sugar -- can possibly be worse for me than those bizarre laboratory experiments.

2) Bacon. If I'm gonna have bacon, dammit, it's going to be "real" (ie, not veggie) and it's going to be pork (ie, not turkey or beef or haddock or whatever the hell else). At 1 point a strip, it's not an unreasonable treat for myself once a week or so... I just have to limit the intake. That means no "Oh, but I have to eat it all because it's gonna go bad" or "Oh, but there're only 2 pieces left... I might as well have them too," both of which excuses have in the past resulted in me eating 5, 6 slices in a sitting.

So what I did was buy a package of bacon, and place the strips into freezer baggies, 2 per baggie. 1 baggie was put in the fridge, the rest in the freezer. When I use or throw out a baggie, a new one will come out of the freezer. So I will always have bacon available for the rare treat -- but only TWO slices and no more.

This is all quite an adventure.

That's twice in one week.

Son of a bitch. :P

First weigh-in since my diet started was today!

It's been a rough week with lots of ups and downs. Probably picking a week when I had not one but TWO family events to attend was dangerous, but I survived it.

And the result?

I lost 2.4 lbs!

I feel pretty awesome about this. My goal is about a pound a week, so this was almost 150% of my weekly goal!

Here's hoping I can keep it up...

Migraine this morning. It's actually not bad right now, now that I'm medicated, which is making me feel guilty for calling out of work. But I've been fighting this for two days and it finally broke through, so I fear that when the meds wear off it's going to come right back.

If should know by lunchtime.

In other news, I got my first fake attachments yesterday... I got a full set of "gel" nails. I never liked the look of acrylic nails; they're so heavy and unnatural looking. Gel nails are generally much thinner and more flexible, and they're better for your natural nail underneath.

That is, if you don't get them done by ladies who do nothing but acrylic day in and day out; they apparently haven't had much call for the gels yet.

These are freaking THICK. They don't look bad, still better than acrylic, but they're not as natural-appearing as I might have liked.

I think I'm going to go back in next weekend and have them cut them a shade sorter and ground down much thinner. I KNOW that they don't have to be this thick. And one of them is thicker on one side than the other, which is irking me.

I think, though, if we can kind of work out these "growing pains," we'll get to a point where I actually will quite like them.

Yesterday, up early for the Obama rally. Went straight from there into town to pick up a present for my nephew Liam's first birthday. Then I met up with Josh and his girls; we stopped by my house, and then it was off to my sister's for Liam's party.

Barbecue was consumed, yet I stayed within my "points" by eating only one rib, removing the skin from the chicken, and skipping cake! Go me!

Now I'm up early once more (not quite as early as yesterday, but still), this time to go work at the urban farm as my coop workshift. When I'm done that, Josh will pick me up and we will go to the Japanese Tea Garden to catch the last of the cherry blossoms. Somewhere in there I have to clean up for dinner, and then it's Passover Seder at my aunt's.

Phew.

Here's a few. For more, please visit my Flickr page.

( three more )

I took a lot of really good pictures of Obama today.

Now I'm wishing he wasn't so damn photogenic... every other picture here seems like a "keeper" and it's getting really challenging to narrow them down.

And yes, Obama was AWESOME.

Josh and I went to the Zoo right before my trip to Boston. Got some really great results! You can see the whole set here.

Man. Sure is early. If I don't get to take some photos today I'm going to kick someone in the face, srsly.

I got out of my doctor's appointment really early and rushed the few blocks over to Independence Mall for the rally. I got in line. There was a lot of confusion... some people had red tickets, some had blue tickets, some, like me, had no tickets at all.

There was much discussion about what this meant, but no volunteers or coordinators walked by. A few people ducked out of line to ask, but no one seemed to know, and since it appeared to be the only line, we all just stood in it.

The sun was really intense, and it was hot as hell.

Finally a volunteer walks by and everyone asks him what's going on. He serves to confuse us more, so we all keep standing.

Another volunteer comes by and says blue tickets and red tickets should line up elsewhere. Some people leave.

We keep standing. Finally, after I've been standing and sweating in the same place for an hour, a volunteer starts walking up the line saying "If you're in this line, and you don't have a blue ticket, you're wasting your time."

WTF?!?!

Incredibly annoyed, I head over to what is apparently the "public" area. It's across Market St, in the lawn next to the Liberty Bell. Obama was going to be up by the Constitution Center. For you non-Philly folk, it's a full city block away. That's so far you couldn't even see the stage Obama was going to be standing on. They have speakers, so you could hear... but honestly, what's the point in that? I hear him on the radio all the time. I wanted to SEE him and shoot pictures! Plus, I'd just waited an hour in the sun, only to wind up BEHIND a bunch of people anyway.

A few unfortunate volunteers got the sharp side of my tongue for the poor organization, and for letting so many people stand there, sweating, without explanation where were supposed to be going. And for saying tickets were not needed, when really what they meant was that they were, and everyone else just had to stand a block away. I did make the point that I realized it wasn't THEIR fault, as volunteers, but that this was really poorly done and I'd appreciate if they passed that on.

I hate to say it, but the Hillary rally was much, much better organized. The volunteer staff were plentiful, informed, and helpful, and it all ran like clockwork. Part of that, no doubt, is that it was a much smaller event.

I left. Had I not been there by myself, I might've stayed, but I felt like I'd already wasted an hour being bored and roasted, when I would probably get much more out of watching the thing on YouTube.

I did, however, find out about another, much smaller rally tomorrow morning in Wynnewood, so I'm going to hop the train and head there at absurd o'clock AM. Oh, the things I'll do for photos.

Does anyone have the Electric Mayhem song "Can You Picture That" from the Muppet Movie on mp3, and would be willing to share? :D :D

FOUND!! Thanks, you know who you are. :D

5th and Market, doors at 6.

I am lining up at 4:30 to try and get as close as I can with my camera. Who's with me?

you are darkviolet #9400D3

Your dominant hues are blue and magenta. You're the one who goes to all the parties but doesn't quite fit in at every one... you know what you want, but are afraid of what the world might think of it. You're a little different and that's okay with them, and if you're smart it's okay with you too. Your saturation level is very high - you are all about getting things done. The world may think you work too hard but you have a lot to show for it, and it keeps you going. You shouldn't be afraid to lead people, because if you're doing it, it'll be done right. Your outlook on life is brighter than most people's. You like the idea of influencing things for the better and find hope in situations where others might give up. You're not exactly a bouncy sunshine but things in your world generally look up.

the spacefem.com html color quiz

Mostly right, except for the "afraid what the world might think" part. I've marched to a different techno beat my whole life, and I haven't really been one to give a shit who knows it.

I have a confession to make.

Today I attended my first Weight Watchers meeting.

That's right. I did say Weight Watchers.

While I believe everyone can be beautiful at any weight, I just don't feel like ME anymore. I barely recognize myself when I look in a mirror.

Worse, the pants I bought last fall can now barely be buttoned, and I'm uncomfortable all day at work. Sometimes, since I'm hidden in the corner of my building and almost no one ever comes by, I even unbutton them and hide it under my shirt.

"Alright," I thought. "It's either new pants, or go back to me."

So, I did it. I'm now on the Weight Watchers thingummy. Not because I really need them to tell me how to eat right -- it's pretty simple in concept, really -- but because I need the accountability. I need to feel like someone else is relying on me to do it, and fear the embarrassment of stepping on that scale and publically failing.

Frankly, I'm terrified. I've never done this before. All my childhood I was a rail. That's still how I think of myself. And as my 20s progressed and my weight rose, I just ignored it, hoping it'd stop. And for a while, it did plateau... but the recent increase has not only been dramatic, but steady. It's not going to go away because I won't look at it. My energy levels have suffered, and so has my self-esteem. So it's time.

I am going to be painfully open about this process here on LJ. I'm going to be giving my actual numbers and talking about what's working and what pissing me off and everything. If you're not interested, just skip over those entries.

So, I'll begin with this week. I've actually been eating carefully all week, even before actually joining the WW thingy, and I think I've already seen some results -- last week at the hotel, the scale told me 192. My weigh-in today was 188. Could be the difference in scales. I prefer to think that it's the rabbit food.

Wish me luck, folks.

...I think Hollywood would never be able to make a children's movie again.

I may have to leave you for this guy.

(Link via http://www.sarcasmoscorner.com/ )

I'm back in Philly rather poorer in money but richer in laser-printed certificates.

Apologies to blacktart; it was just too hard to try and get together without a phone. I didn't really know what I would be doing from moment to moment. Next time, I promise!

Speaking of the phone, my replacement arrived today and is back up and running. Ergo you can once more contact me in the usual way.

The bad -- I had to make several calls from my hotel phone to a) try to find my phone b) request a replacement and c) tell family that in an emergency, they should call hotel. I knew it would be expensive. The hotel charged me almost $10 A MINUTE. I was charged 85 fucking dollars.

EIGHTY FIVE FUCKING DOLLARS.

Ok, I didn't think it would be quite THAT expensive. I was so shocked in the moment I didn't even yell at them. Now I really wish I had.

*sigh* This was a very expensive problem.

The more I think about it, the more I think the phone may have been stolen. I just can't see how it really could have gone missing otherwise, and not turned up again.

Cell phone never turned up. I have shut it down and ordered a new one, which I'll probably get on Friday. Until then, email is your best bet to get a hold of me.

If you need it, email or comment and I can also give you Josh's number to get messages to me.

So, a bunch of us are out to dinner, having a good time. I'm eating spaghetti with clams.

I am twirling the pasta onto my fork, when a rogue piece of clam flies off... and plunges into the front of my top.

Warm, slimy clam.

I had to duck out to the ladies room to, uh, "fish" out the offending seafood.

That, my dears, is SHEER TALENT.

Ok, remember how I said to call me if you wanted to see me in Boston? Well, you can't. Because my phone went missing somewhere in Philly International. I got a text message in the terminal, and put it back in my bag. By the time I got on the plane and went to turn it off, it was gone.

FUCK.

So, if you need to contact me desperately, try email, comment, or the hotel:

1-617-747-1000 rm 1230

I just got this goddamn phone last week. :P

Ok, I'm off to Boston tomorrow! If you're in Boston, and you want to see me this week, drop a comment or even better, call me.

I'll be in tomorrow afternoon until Thursday afternoon, working days but free most evenings.