Down the Rabbit Hole with the Semi-Evil Squirrel

you never know, maybe you're dreamin'...*

0939 hrs:
Almost did not make it in to work this morning. I kept hitting snooze and was having a pretty good dream. Of course, now I don't remember what it was or even the general subject...BUT - as I said last week, the coffee was already brewing and I just can't let good, fresh and hot coffee go to waste, so I had to get up and go to work. Plus, the cat needed to be fed and let out of his carrier and in order to call in to work I would have had to get up to get my cell phone anyway. Smelled the fresh coffee and grudgingly told myself that I should stop being lazy and go to work.

I'm pretty sure most people have today off, but oh well, right? I am taking Friday off to head to Chicago for the JET interview. Still sort of avoiding thinking about it, which is kind of bad considering that now it is less than a week away. Eek!

Went clothes shopping this weekend with Nailz with the excuse that I needed to buy an outfit for the interview. Good times. I bought more shoes than clothes which is sometimes not a very good sign. Ended up getting a really good deal on a pair of nice Naturalizers for only $16! Bought a cute (below the knee) skirt and a shirt, necklace, shoes and purse to go with it. The purse is a Vera Wang that was on sale for under $25 - it is too cute! Will need to figure out how I'm going to do my hair and nails...

Also had my car repaired on Friday. It only came out to $225. Not bad considering most times shops will charge that just for the part that was replaced. I love my mechanic! The car drives much better and so I am pleased on that front.

Did proper meal planning this weekend, so I actually had a grocery list when I went to the store last night. I only bought 4 items totaling $6.73.

This week's Grocery Titan goes to the tub of Dannon All Natural Plain Yogurt coming in at $2.99! *applauds*

I was going to skip the Grocery Saver this week seeing as I only bought 4 items, but I must say that I am mighty impressed that I bought a bunch of 4 bananas for $0.81. WOW. Sometimes I see bananas advertised in gas stations for 2/$1.00, so paying less than $1.00 for 4 seems really awesome. I guess it is all a matter of perspective.

Also, a note about the yogurt... I know that I've complained quite a bit on this blog about my stomach problems. Since taking up the yogurt/health shakes (which are tasty when you don't add too much coconut milk), my stomach has felt better than it has in years. I didn't have indigestion or heartburn once last week and over all, things just feel like they are running better now. It is such a relief!

1302 hrs:
Had a good lunch. I had tuna salad with some pita bread and an orange. I have some broccoli, too, but that will probably end up being an afternoon snack. Read some of the CLAIR website over lunch. Just reading it makes me nervous. They give a lot of good information on both the CLAIR and JET Program websites. For most people, the websites' information may be helpful because they get more of an idea of what they are getting in to. For me, it is disquieting to have so much information. I'm used to going in to these overseas adventures almost completely blind - relying on my leadership to light the way, and the torch would only give off a small circle of light by which to reckon the way. I feel like I'm walking down a brightly lit hallway and any obstacles are well lit and obvious. Having so much visibility of what it is going to or may occur makes me feel as if there is going to be some unpleasant surprise somewhere.

If I am accepted in to the program, one big thing that will be very different from my previous overseas experience is that I wouldn't be going with anyone that I know. Big change there. It would almost be like leaving home for college, except bigger...newer...and probably uncomfortable and lonely at first. *unsure laugh*

Here's a real laugh.

1551 hrs:
Well, my work day is drawing to a close. I almost forgot that I have yoga tonight because I'm making up the one I missed so many weeks ago when it was so cold outside and I was l-a-z-y. Have to eat my broccoli now, as if I eat any later than 4pm, it makes yoga a bit uncomfortable because of all the bending, twisting and upside-down-i-ness of it..

After I finished writing my last portion above, I started to realize that I'm really putting the carriage before the horse. Plus, if I've gotten through some things almost blind, then I can most certainly do them when the way is lit, right? Sometimes, I think I just need to have confidence in myself and my personal decisions.

Well, guess that is it for today. Hope all had a good day off.

*The Dave Matthews Band - So Much To Say

Labels: grocery savers, grocery titans, JET program, link blogging, nutrition/diet, weekend sum up

waiting in a fast car*

0953 hrs:
I don't think there is anything quite like getting paid to do nothing. Especially when that nothing means that you are just staring into your computer monitor waiting...waiting...waiting...waiting...for your system to work.

Once again, our systems are moving super slow. Today is actually worse than yesterday. By this time yesterday, I had at least completed 1 (one) thing. Today - nada. I've been trying to open applications and databases to no avail. I end up waiting for 15 minutes or so and then an error pops up. Lotus Notes actually completely shut down on me just now. Our whole office is just waiting for things to work. Needless to say, this puts a BIG dent in our production, which is actually very important to the company right now. Well, maybe this will teach them that if you are going to rapidly increase work load, you should make sure you have the network resources and sufficient infrastructure to do so. What is it they teach you in Girl Scouts (or is it the Army?), that if you fail to prepare, you are preparing to fail.

Speaking of Girl Scouts *welcomes the subject change*, I bought 5 boxes of cookies from my niece the other night. I am pretty stoked. I love Girl Scout cookies so much that I don't think words can aptly describe it! While they may be detrimental to trying to maintain or lose weight, they are only available once a year, so might as well indulge, right?

Also, made the health shake again this morning. This time I used blueberries, less coconut milk and more (tasteless) protein powder (found the scoop buried in the powder and it is more like 2 T.). Also reduced portion sizes of ingredients overall, so I only had 1 1/2 cups of shake to drink. Not bad. It wasn't the most pleasant because I forget that blueberries have seeds and I'm not a fan of that kind of grit.

1255 hrs:
Think that I should look into getting more sleep. Sometimes when I re-read my entries just to make sure I haven't made any major mistakes, I see errors that are obviously caused by lack of attention span due to sleepiness. Plus, right now I am so tired, I'm not sure how I'm going to keep my eyes open for the rest of the day...

1553 hrs:
Just read the last paragraph and I don't even remember writing that. How scary is that? I wonder what kind of work I do that I don't even remember doing? There's been a few of those little "black-out" periods lately where I don't remember saying or doing something. Sometimes, I will remember the moments after someone has told me about it. I'm pretty sure they're just a result of being over-tired and just maybe under a bit of stress. Either that, or I've always been like this, but just now noticing.

Anywho, best to post this and go home. Maybe I'll make it a point to get more sleep tonight so I can stop doing things that I can't remember later.

*The Devlins - Waiting

Labels: exhausted, nutrition/diet, work, work bitch

thunder only happens when it's raining

0845 hrs:
*big yawn*

0902 hrs:
Just brewed some coffee. Have decided to count calories today just to see what my daily intake is like. There is a website where you can get the nutrition data for almost anything. Here's what they have to say about coffee: http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts/beverages/3898/2

I would say that 2 calories per 8 oz is a pretty good deal. I add 2 sugar packets (30 calories) and a dollop of 1% milk (give or take 10 calories). That means I am only taking in about 50 calories per coffee that I make.

Compare a home- (or office- as the case may be) made cup of coffee to the alternative: http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts/foods-from-starbucks/9604/2

Doesn't that coffee sound yummy? But it has no nutritional value AND it is 227 calories more than a plain, 12 oz cup of coffee (which, I might point out, has Amino Acids where the Starbucks does not). Add on to that the fact that the coffee I am drinking at this very moment (Maxwell House, Good to the Last Drop) cost me...*thinks*...maybe about $0.10 whereas the Starbucks would have set me back at least $3.50 plus tax and tip and I think I've just made a major dietary change decision. (Not that I drank a lot of coffee house coffee before, but now it just doesn't seem worth it!)

1139 hrs:
Have been thinking over the last few months about what it takes to have a blog or LJ that people find worth reading. I seem to have lost a lot of what made this blog interesting in the (very) beginning. From what I can tell, people who have a wide readership usually have something interesting to say about something other than themselves (in other words, SUBSTANCE). Sometimes, there is even humor involved. If I take a look at those three qualifications, my blog appears to be as dry and boring as unsalted flour crackers. This may be resultant of my life in general. I don't do things that others see as interesting and when I do, I'm too busy having fun to blog about it. In some way, it makes one want to give up. But maybe I enjoy yelling into the void too much - even if no one else ever hears me...

1537 hrs:
I am already excited that tomorrow is Friday. I have so many good and productive things to do this weekend and I just can't wait to get to it!! XD

Young Master Murphy gets to visit Santa on Saturday on get his picture taken. I'll have to trim his claws so that he doesn't injure Santa out of pure, feline joy.

Guess that is about it. I've gotten a lot of work done today and at about 3pm I finished the last page of the revised process document (45 pages!) and felt like I should be able to just go home. As if, "I've done what I've come to do. Now I leave." Just like that. That would nice, ne? *dreams*

Also, checked the Powerball numbers and I won $4. I think I know where I'm going to be buying my tickets from now on!

PLAYLIST:
The Decemberistis - The Crane Wife (proved too gently for first thing in the morning)
NEWS - Color (always helps to pep things up a bit)
Dir en grey - Uroboros (good for energizing the mid-afternoon slump hours)

Labels: coffee, nutrition/diet, playlists, weekend plans, work, yelling into the void