Some Days, You Just Gotta Dance

So, I took yesterday and Monday off. I maxed out my leave bank at 40 days and I stopped accruing leave. I figured I needed to burn some time so, because I had appointments both days, figured I'd take them both off.

It's amazing how different I am mentally and physically when I take time off early in the week, as opposed to later in the week. If I take off a Friday, I'm very likely to just sit and vegetate, mostly watching series re-runs of ER, Judging Amy, Law & Order, and NYPD Blue on TNT.

Monday it was very sunny, and warm, and just beautiful. It was partly sunny yesterday, but still warm and enjoyable. Perhaps the weather plays a psychological role. Whatever the stimulant, I feel like I did something while I was off.

Monday I had my annual GYN exam and, after telling the doctor that I'd not seen hide nor hair of my little red-headed cousin since July, she ordered a blood test to determine FSH levels. The results were back by yesterday and I'm told that I'm officially..........POST MENOPAUSAL! YEEHAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW! Oh, wait, am I supposed to be bummed? Sorry, can't dredge up the sincerity to feel bad about that particular part of getting older. Hehehe

Monday afternoon, I got a letter from a lawyer in Denver, CO. It seems that my ex-husband is filing for bankruptcy in what appears to be an attempt to weasel out of paying child support and the $1500 in arrears he still owes. Makes you wonder if that lawyer advised him that child support is not dischargeable under bankruptcy, doesn't it? ANY support isn't dischargeable, whether it be child support, spousal support, or any other form of domestic support. What a putz my ex is. But then again, this is the same loser that wrote his son a rubber check for Christmas.

I had my hearing tested yesterday, too. After 16 years of copying Morse Code with headphones on, I'd worried that it had affected my hearing. I often have to make Joe repeat himself 3 or 4 times before I understand what he says -- sometimes he gets very annoyed with me. Lisa often has to repeat herself, too, and sometimes she gets annoyed with me as well. I hated that feeling, so I made the appointment.

I came out borderline on some of the uppermost pitch ranges, but have absolutely normal hearing other than that. Most likely, as I suspected, I have difficulty filtering out the "background noise" in my life.

I went to the grocery yesterday and got some Alaskan King Crab legs. It's my special indulgence once a month -- for having quit smoking. I figure a $28 meal for me and Lisa once a month is a whole heck of a lot cheaper than smoking a pack a day, and it's a whole lot healthier, too. So, we each had 4 large crab legs and a tossed salad.

I broke a new "low" in my weight loss efforts, having finally reached the 160 mark. I started out at 167.5 and, ever since I've started the walking thing with my pedometer 6 weeks ago, I've lost an average of just a smide over a pound a week. I do the bulk of my walking during the week at work -- I can make a really good loop around campus without going outside. The problem is, when I'm home (like yesterday and Monday) and the weather is bad, I don't get my walking in like I want to.

So, I went and joined Curves yesterday. They were running a special where the $149 joining fee was 75% off if a one year commitment was signed. So, it cost me $37.25 to join, and it will be $29 a month for the next year. I'm really psyched about this. I'm really motivated by having lost the 7.5 lbs. so far, and I know myself well enough to know that once the weather gets bad, I'm not really likely to do anything outside and inside activities are limited to walking, and then only during the week. Now I have no excuses.

While scanning the electronics section at KMart yesterday, I found a movie I'd been looking for for the better part of 10 years or more. The Jazz Singer, starring Neil Diamond, was released in December of 1980 and, for some reason, hasn't been available for an affordable price until now. This is the movie that contained his hits America, Hello Again, and Love on the Rocks. While he's only done a small appearance in Saving Silverman since then, I still loved him in this movie. He made it believable and, in some ways, it's mirrored his life. Of course, Neil Diamond is my all-time favorite singer.

I've not seen hide nor hair (literally or figuratively) of rodent presence since they tore my office apart to clean the air handlers and shampoo the carpets. It's gotten pretty cool outside so the bees and dormant and we most likely won't be seeing anything of them until spring again. It's raining like we're in the middle of typhoon season and, so far, no sign of any leaking water in the office at the current time.

I'm tellin' ya -- it's the simple pleasures in life. No mice, no bees, no water, no period, good videos, and weight loss.