I decided to jump on the meme bandwagon this week and asked Wiwille to interview me. Thanks for the questions :)

1. Do you find it incredibly annoying when a man shows difficulty making eye contact?

I find it incredibly annoying when anyone shows difficulty making eye contact.....unless of course they are autistic. I understand that some people have social anxieties and what not but I find eye contact to be a very important part of connecting with other human beings. I would be very suspicious of a man who was unable to look into my eyes.


2. What is it about reality television that you enjoy?

I really tried to think about an answer to this question and to tell you the truth....I have no idea why I love reality TV so much or why I watch so much of it. My top two are of course The Amazing Race and Departures as I would love to see the world and in a way get to live vicariously through the participants/travellers. Those two make sense......why I'm watching Date My Ex with Jo and Slade really makes no sense, or Mama's Boys or The Bachelor........I guess I love to waste my time watching crap. I have a job that can be very trying at times and perhaps I watch this stuff to relax my brain as I'm really not getting much out of such shows. I met a woman once that would only read Harlequin Romance novels....she dealt with crime in her everyday life and used those silly books to escape. She refused to read anything with substance....she wanted fluff.


3. If you could spend a day with any fictional character who would it be?


I would have to say Howard Roark, a character from The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. His character stays very true to himself, he is not motivated by money or greed but rather by his creativity and integrity. He does not care what others think of him or his work and only lives for himself. I would love to hear Howard recite his defense in the courtroom " I came here to say that I do not recognize any ones right to one minute of my life....." He could definitely teach me a thing or two.

I read The Fountainhead over 10 years ago and saw the movie for the 1st time recently. The above clip is Howards courtroom speech.



4. Have you ever owned an album by Milli Vanilli, Color Me Badd, or Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch?


I am proud to say that I have never owned an album by any of these "artists" (I use the term loosely). I did however enjoy "I Wanna To Sex You Up" and "Good Vibrations".


5. Out of all the places you've traveled where's the first place you'd like to return and why? (No you don't have to say Seattle to see the handsome Wiwille again).

While I really did enjoy your company (you were a fabulous host) I would have to say it's a toss up between Africa and Japan or more specifically Ghana and Kyoto. Africa will always have a special place in my heart as it was an amazing experience. I fell in love with the people as they were so friendly and inviting, happy and resilient. I have never in my life seen people work so hard and yet have so little.

Kyoto was my first experience venturing off completely on my own ( I did meet up with a friend of a friend for a few days) and while at times I felt extremely frustrated with the language barrier (and yes even *gasp* cried in public) I still felt a sense of accomplishment. I travelled for a week on my own from place to place and got so incredibly lost many times over, spent countless money on improper train tickets, felt completely alone and yet I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Yay we had 7 people show up for volleyball this past weekend which made me very happy. We did lose but had a good go of it so no complaints from this gal.



I had my first fall outside today, it seems as though everything is covered in a big thick layer of ice around here. It wasn't spectacular at all however I am thankful that there were no witnesses what with my big ego and all. My ankle is a bit tender but fingers crossed it will feel better in no time as I have to get my ass to the gym four times this week. I figure if I went with a sore back and a terrible cold then I can manage with a sore ankle. I'll just have to get creative :)



I must say I am rather disappointed in my progress or lack thereof thus far with this gym bullshit. I have been going to the gym four times a week for the past month and a half focusing strictly on cardio and jogging like a mad woman. I've only lost 2 pounds, two freaking pounds.......what the fuck is that??? Mid February I will be finished with this bloody goal and plan to try something new that will involve 90 grueling days of weights and cardio. It's a video that a few of my male friends have tried and swear by. I must say I'm a little nervous though as one of my friends (who is buff as hell) says that he has a hard time with this workout. At this point I will try almost anything........



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I've been feeling a bit of the winter blues this week. I'm not sure if it was the cold I had or the lack of sunlight or the million different things on my mind but I have not been a very happy kitty. I won't bore you with the trival goings on of my mind but I do need to snap out of this funk pronto, I'm just not sure where to begin......perhaps a tanning booth!!

My volleyball team (that I've played with for 3 years now) seems to slowly be folding. We started out strong with 9 players and have somehow dwindled down. I haven't seen one guy in months.....I'm assuming he's not coming back.

There are three people who tend to show up whenever and cannot be counted on.....they may or may not be there on any given evening. That leaves 5 of us that are actually dedicated to playing our set schedule (and one of whom can only make it out to certain games due to work). We have some strong players and a few weak ones....when you only have 4 people playing a game at least you have a chance with 4 strong players.....throw in a weak one and it's game over. This season has been appalling in the score department and now I'm finding our morale to be non existent. To be honest I don't even feel like playing anymore.....what's the point? We've had two forfeits due to lack of players and if we have one more we are out of the league for the season. (For the record I'm one of the stronger players :)

I am debating about asking a friend to come out this weekend just in case we need an extra body. The one girl told me she would let me know if we need anyone....I might just bring him anyway. Telling me at 6pm that we need an extra person for 7pm doesn't quite cut it. Another girl had a couple of friends that wanted to play when we first started the season but she told them we had too many at the time. I told her to ask them to come out now as it can't hurt us in any way. Who knows, maybe they will be good!!

My somber mood certainly has not been helped by my failing immune system....yes folks I have a cold. I feel like absolute shit today. I have a fever, glassy eyes, stuffy nose.....my head feels like a bowling ball blah blah. I have however been fortunate enough to sleep most of the day away. I feel like one of those commercials, you know the "sneezing, achy, watery eyes, congestion" ones for medication. I'll certainly live....but I can't wait for today to end as I will feel ten times better tomorrow due to my current over medicated/lethargic state. Sleep and meds make the world go round don't cha know!!

My appalling behaviour last weekend:

I like to have a drink every now and again but oh my I clearly had a few too many last Friday. The evening started out with dinner at a pub and a few pints to wash the food down. J and I then met up with a friend at another bar to listen to a bluegrass band play......a few more pints down the hatch. (Please note I should not consume more than 2 or 3 pints as I am well aware of my alcohol tolerance and anything more than that is a terrible idea). We felt like dancing and walked down the street to our third and final location, a bar playing music from the 70's. It all went downhill from there my friends as I had a few more bottles of beer.

(Random bathroom shot in the middle of the evening....still looking okay)

I danced with a cute nerd and then announced to my friend that I thought he was stupid ( no idea why), I tried to order another bevy at 2:30am (the bartender stared at my friend as she apologized profusely). I apparently wanted grub in the wee hours of the AM, ordered some breaky and then could not eat it, gave a $20 to the waitress and told her to keep the change. Two random guys sat down with us and I just sat there like a lump not engaging in any conversation as I was starting to feel sick. On the way home in the cab I apparently started to gag and heave J went to open my window when she saw my cheeks puff out......and then.....I swallowed it! EWE!! I don't recall that moment but J seemed very impressed that I did not make a mess.

I also drunk texted two people at 3 AM, two people that I really really should not have (how mortifying). I am banning myself from carrying my cellphone when I'm out drinking.....or wait a better idea....I'm never drinking again!!

I paid for it the next day as I stayed in bed until 6:30pm and felt awful the entire time. I did have to get up though as I had TT's Tiki Hula dinner and party to attend that evening, although I must say by 8 PM I was as good as new!! Big shout out to J for taking care of me :)

I did however have a few minor incidents at the party due to my clumsiness/not paying attention. Just after arriving IE I had not had a drink yet, I threw my back out while trying to put some beverages into the fridge. I also somehow managed to get quite a large part of the corkscrew for wine stuck in my finger while I was opening a drink with the beer opener end. I cringed, twisted it out and asked for a band aid. There were no band aids to be had however the wonderful host made one for me with cotton balls and masking tape.

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I was super pissed about my back as this was the last week of my first month (did that make any sense) of going to the gym 4 x a week. I am a trooper and waited till the last four days of the week to go. I walked super super slow and did not even break a sweat....but I was there....I actually thought it might help to loosen my back up a bit as it was quite stiff and sore.

Anyway, I plan to lay low for the next couple of weeks, I'm babysitting for a friend next weekend, perhaps I will go and see a movie as well or at least have a non alcohol involved weekend :)

Am I the only person on earth that finds Manswers to be a bit of an odd show?? I came across this gem at one of my friends houses as it just happened to be on the TV. It showed up recently on my own television when Tivo decided I needed to check it out and taped an episode for me to watch. Hmmmm this particular show asked the questions : which sport is the most dangerous? and what does a woman's breast size tell you? It also showed any interested viewers how to make a hot tub in the back of a pick up truck...oh my!!

Surprisingly the most dangerous sport (if you call it that) is fishing......apparently from the amount of drownings, capsized boats and what not it's far more dangerous than football, boxing and parachuting.... who knew?

As for breast size, apparently women with pear shaped tatas are far more sexual than say women with orange or melon shaped breasts.....hmmm.....somebody get me a mirror!!

Anyway enough of that nonsense.......

I have an itty bitty MP3 player that I use while working out. Since I have been going to the gym four times a week lately, my 50 song play list is no longer cutting it. I could read load 50 new songs however it seems like a lot of work when in reality I'm going to want to change the list again in a few weeks time. I'm debating about sucking it up and purchasing an Ipod.....I'm just not sure which size I would need......I mean do I really need 10,000 or even 2,000 songs....I doubt it.....but will 200 be enough?

I would also like you my lovely readers to give me suggestions for songs to add to the player. Anything fast and upbeat to keep me going on the treadmill or even some harder songs to keep me or get me lifting those weights again. Ha! (I took a year hiatus from weights and want to get back at it). I prefer angry boy music to lift weights to a la Ministry/Linkin Park.

What songs get you moving??

Wiwille recently wrote a post on religion (an interesting read) and it reminded me of how much I dislike strangers touching me (unless they are hot men).

I did not grow up in a religious household however I did have the pleasure of attending church with PP's family when I was much younger. Every now and again we would have a sleepover on a Saturday evening which meant church in the morning. They did give me the option to stay home however I always attended. Apparently I was much less rude back then :)

Anyway, I always dreaded the part where you have to shake hands with the people around you as I do not enjoy touching strange hands. I don't know where they've been....perhaps whacking off a few minutes prior......using the toilet and not washing.....up a nostril.....or.....maybe the person has scabies or some other thing that I would prefer not to contract.

My hesitation with hand shaking is just as apparent today as it was back then. Every once in a while I'll have a client who *gasp* likes the court ordered work they are doing and will thrust their hand towards mine as I cringe and take it.

After a game of volleyball it is good sportsman (woman)ship Ha! to shake hands with the opposing team. I always do however I make a beeline for the bathroom afterwards to wash the filth and grime off of my hands.

And don't get me started on those with a limp handshake.....I mean really....why bother at all?? A friends girlfriend had the worst handshake on the face of the earth. She barely touched the palm of my hand with the tip of her fingers before it fell limp and sort of hung there. It was AWFUL! If you're going to make me touch it.....make it nice and hard...firm if you will!!! That sounded mildly dirty!

Goal List Update

Accomplished:

#18 Pay off my car

Yay!!!! I had 11 months of payments left and was able to squash those and pay the bloody thing off. I have however spent almost a grand this year fixing various things that have broken on it....might be time for a new one. Ugh!




Working On:


#5 Achieve BMI of 24.9 or less

I have been able to drop my BMI down 5.2 by eating better and working out. I must say though I need to kick it up a notch and really really try to eat better. I'm certainly not eating out as much but I am also not following my points as I had planned to do and seem to be stuck at a certain weight. I'm just thankful I'm not gaining!!




#35 Read all of the unread books on my shelf (6/35)

I read The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd which I really did enjoy. There was one paragraph that got me thinking on pg 255


"Knowing can be a curse on a persons life. I'd traded in a pack of lies for a pack of truth and I didn't know which one was heavier, which one took the most strength to carry around? It was a ridiculous question though because once you know the truth you can't ever go back and pick up your suitcase of lies. Heavier or not the truth is yours now."


An interesting thought really.....is it better to know the truth or is it better to believe the lie?


I also read Insecure At Last by Eve Ensler and while I found it an okay read it really didn't grab me as much as I thought it would. She made a number of valid points and some of the stories were heartbreaking to read however I just didn't love the book.


#42 Go to the gym 4 x a week for 2 months (8/32)

I decided to get my ass into the gym over the holidays and thus far have been able to show up for 8 sessions in two weeks ( I went today as well and shock me shock me shock me there were a million more people there than usual....January anyone?). I do hope that my body agrees with this and continues to work hard as we all know I have knee/back issues that can spring up at any time. Cross your fingers because I will be super pissed if I'm in my last week of this goal and I am not able to finish due to injury....I hate having to start things over.


I've toyed with the idea of a group guitar lesson via the school board. (You know those interest courses they hold in the winter/summer). The only thing I'm not too keen on is the time as it does not fit too well into my schedule. I can make it happen......but it will be a pain in the ass ..... so we shall see.

A pretty slim list I must admit..... slowly but surely!