Hmm

For some freaking reason, pessimism and stress have crept up on me this week. I've decided it's not one big thing but a lot of minor to intermediate things that all hit simultaneously, and they're really feeding off of one another and getting to me.

It might be time to plan a real vacation. And I'm not talking some 3 or 4 day weekend. I could use it as something to look forward to. I'll estimate there's a 75% chance this happens before the end of the year... an entire week off. Amazing, I can honestly say I feel a little better just speculating. Add 5%... that's 80% now.

Waking up to no alarm

I've decided that one of my favorite things is waking up to no alarm. I have so much energy after I wake up it's uncanny... I'm sitting here ready to do about a million things. Oh what I'd do for a 28 hour day.

Fajitas

Oh how I wish I had my digital camera right now... the past two hours have been spent prepping a birthday dinner consisting of full-blown fajitas including both chicken and steak with homemade marinade, homemade guac, and all fresh ingredients. I can't wait to make this and eat it tomorrow. We'll have margaritas to boot. :)

A lot of stuff to think about

.... in all parts of my life... everything has me thinking so much that my mind is spinning and I can't make myself go to bed early. I remember such a stint a few years back where I would get 4-5 hours a sleep per night... but then I was hooked on Red Bull. Things on my mind are things that will make me happy, make me feel satisfied, piss me off... just a lot of stuff. Even poker... I played last weekend for the first time in I don't know how long. I got a taste of the past, the giving up going out for playing poker to make money thing. It really is a trade-off to me. If I go out, I'm spending money but am being social (which I think is healthy for me, personally). If I stay in, I'm being anti-social but am making or at least saving money. Holy crap I realized I'm rambling.

But seriously, what the hell is it about myself that makes me want to stay up and do something, ANYthing, when it's past midnight and I'm zombie tired? Why can't I be sane and just go to bed? To put it with my Minnesotan accent, JEEEEEZ.

The OCD in me: food edition

I know with 100% certainty that I have forms of OCD. It makes me good at some of the things I do and also vice versa in some cases. I just decided to babble about this as I'm eating something like my tenth or fifteenth burger with bleu cheese since I discovered the new favorite combination a few months ago. I do this sometimes... I find a new food or recipe that I absolutely love and keep making it or buying it until I get sick of it. Some of the foods I can think of that I've also done this with include: homemade pico de gallo (sometime in 2005), caesar salad with homemade croutons (summer of 2003 in college), Boston Market spinach (2000, so good but sooo bad...), homemade catfish sandwiches (2003), Subway turkey breast and ham with lettuce-onion-tomato-salt-pepper (summer of 1995, I would bike to Subway a few miles away and buy two footlongs that would last me a day or two), tomato soup and popcorn (1996, this sounds weird but if you like both of these it's good, I swear!), Fuji apples (2006)... holy crap this probably makes me sound weird.

A few changes

1. Weather. The temperature seemed to drop about 20 degrees (F, the nerd side demanded specification) just like that. I have always loved the change in seasons, cold to hot or hot to cold. There's just something I like about change or a break from routine.

2. Hockey. Finally after three weeks off, we're back in the swing of things. My back still aches and my finger is still messed up, but I'll live. I do think, unfortunately, that these problems may persist into long term items I will have to address...

3. General mood. I think the time leading up to and during that last weekend in August was a killer, having to move, continue to put in a few extra hours, and use up all weekend time to see long lost friends all without any type of exercise. A whip-back-into-shape week last week has me feeling 10X better, physically and mentally. Yay.

4. Apartment. It seems so, so much bigger and better than my last place. It was amazing how long I stuck around in my misery in my last apartment, underneath two consecutive tenants that felt it was okay to pound on the ground above me everytime I literally made a peep. I know this wasn't my imagination as both tenants admitted to this after complaints, and it still kept up. I walked by my old apartment a few days ago and it was the loudest on the floor, with music blaring. I laughed to myself and could only imagine how much the upstairs jerks were irritated. It really was loud. Hah.

5. Football season. I just love watching football, NFL and Badgers.

6. TV. I don't really watch TV at my place as I don't subscribe to cable anymore... I just never used it enough at my place. I save it for the weekend and watch at friends' places. Anyways, new seasons of some of my favorite shows have come out or are about to... The Shield, Entourage, The Office, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Weeds. One drama and four comedies... I guess I like funny stuff...

7. New good Metallica out on Friday. Sorry, didn't care too much for St. Anger...

One thing that's irritating me right now is my inability to find some page-turning fiction that I like... I'm on my third book in a row that I can't read more than 20 pages into due to boredom. I guess I'm picky....

A weight has been lifted

...off of my shoulders. Moving sucks. Always does, always will. This one was a bit different seeing how I was moving within the same apartment building, but had to move everything twice due to scheduling conflicts... yeah, move everything from 1st floor to 2nd, allow time for wall painting and carpet cleaning, then move everything from 2nd floor to 3rd. I think after about five different days that included packing, cleaning, moving, moving, and unpacking, I'm just about done. Yeah it sucked. But I'm happy again.

Prior to the move, work had me busy, and then I had a few activities to do this weekend along with moving, which has allowed me practically zero time to keep myself in shape. Concert with two friends back in town on Friday, friend's birthday party at the Freight House on Saturday, friend visiting from Texas in Faribault on Sunday. For me, these were can't-miss social obligations, unless I wanted to partially burn bridges, which I'm not one to do. I'm exhausted from all of that, the move, and the lack of exercise. I think it's time to exercise, I feel like a blob. But a bit less stressed.