Tammy's wedding tomorrow. I shouldn't be on the internet. I should be in my car.

Tosha's wedding next weekend. (which means i'm leaving tammy's reception kinda early so i can drive back tomorrow night so i can cram my workload in by wednesday.)

Just got BD's invite yesterday.

Then it should be done. NO ONE ELSE GET MARRIED THIS YEAR. PLEASE!! My pocketbook can't take it. (heehee, i just wanted to use the word, "pocketbook")

*** *** ***

I'm doing excellent along the exercise front. Surfing Sunday meant swimming against the waves for an hour. Then training session, then spinning (which I know I said I wasn't going to do until I was in a bit better shape, but what the hell), then lifting by myself, then another training session.

I have sessions scheduled MTW of next week. Finally I have a work/exercise routine down. Which, granted, will be messed up the rest of July--what, with all my travels and such--but it feels really good to start taking care of myself again. :-D

OK, getting in car now...

I AM THE PROUD OWNER OF A SURF BOARD AND A WET SUIT!!!!!!



Sorry for the all caps there, but you have to understand what a momentous occasion this is for me. I've been chomping at the bit for four years now. More so when I actually decided to move out of the desert and near the ocean. So today, after drooling over the fantasy of the purchase, I followed through. I then spent the rest of the day at the beach. It was marvelous.

I am so thankful for where I am in my life right now. I have the freedom to live anywhere I want, and right now, I want to live here. I have the freedom to drop $600 in one day on basically luxury items. I have the freedom to spend the next two weekends in two different states. Then--at the end of the month--two more states. Life is pretty effing good to me right now. I am grateful for every single minute of every single day. Life hasn't always been good, and I'm sure it will suck again at some point in the future. But I also worked my ass of to get to where I am. So, for right now, I'm going to be thrilled with the way things are.

:-D

Dear Provider,

Thank you very much for your kind letter. This correspondence is a courtesy to inform you your claim has been paid. Contrary to what you stated in your letter, I was not ignoring your bill. I simply could not pay because I was waiting on additional information from your office. Once you provided that, after several follow up letters, I was able to release your claim.

Thank you for doing buisiness with us.

Eat me.

Things that make me happy:

1. I now have a fan in my room. It's an exhaust thing that sits on the window sill and sucks in the cool air from outside. It is wonderful.

2. First paycheck that reflects what I can do when working from home.

3. Exercising again regularly.

4. Jack McBrayer Monday night. (And perhaps a little side serving of Ben?)

5. 3,2,1 Kill going very well. Coldtowne being offered a spot at the Drafthouse.

That one I want to expand on a bit. I first met Ctowne two PIFs ago. I still remember their show. I immediately had a huge improv crush on everyone. And I thought, "Wow, these guys are amazing. It would be fun to hang out with them, but they're too cool for me." haHA! I fooled them! I've watched the troupe grow from afar. Last Septemberish they opened their own theater. They teach classes and produce shows. They won (tied) Best Improv Troupe In Austin. (vote for them this year!) And these are people I know. My peers. Getting a regular gig at the Drafthouse is huge for them. A few months ago I watched some UCB stuff on DVD for the first time. And I immediately thought of Coldtowne. That's going to be them in a few years. People will come from across the country to train at their conservatory. They will film sketches. They will be huge. Their drive, ambition, and talent is rare. And very refreshing.

And as eighty-year-old-marmish as this sounds: I'm really proud of them.

Seriously, when did I become a jaw clencher? It has happened this past year, and it's only on my left side. I'm trying to eat breakfast and I can barely get the spoon in my mouth.

Also, my feet stink.

What a fun weekend! I was promptly greeted by the Austin mosquitoes. It wasn't nearly as bad as OoB last year when I had legs and feet covered in welts. But my bites are in odd places: my left pointer finger knuckle, the top of my right foot, and the tip of my left 3rd toe, almost under the nail.

I got to play Saturday night in Stool Pigeon. I've never been/done an Armando before, so I was super nervous. Other reasons I was nervous: I haven't improvised in a while, so I feel very rusty. I was in front of people I think are wickedly talented and have tons of respect for. But it was fine. There were some scenes towards the end I thought I should have edited, but I didn't know how long they were going to play/when they would call lights. Plus, I didn't want to be a stage hog. Lesson learned: edit the scenes anyway. But I felt good about my stories. They weren't too long (as I tend to ramble).

Sunday morning I helped out with 3,2,1 Kill! rehearsal. I really like the format and am incredibly sad I left the day before the show. I would have loved to see how it turned out. Also, the Alamo Drafthouse is officially the best place on the planet to watch a movie. I had falafel with hummus and an oreo shake while watching "Knocked Up" (which turned out to be better than I thought it was going to be).

A lot of Alias watching happened. I really don't think I can express how incredibly happy I am that Justin is hooked on that show. We are total nerds about it, too. For instance, a while ago he was at a party and we were text messaging mission orders. I bought the 5 season boxed set with a false bottom containing a whole disc of extras that you can't get purchasing the seasons separately.

The trip back home was a nightmare. Both planes were late, the luggage got messed up (nothing horrible, just several flights together jammed the thing and it took forever to fix), and my phone died. Not my battery. My phone. I figured I was going to spend $500 on a cab ride back to my apartment, but it eventually worked out. Slept in late today, got caught up on old emails, and started working around noon. Tomorrow I have to work really early b/c I'm training in the late morning. Plus, I have to hit my minimum in 3 days this week. It's going to be tight, but I think I'll be okay. We'll see.

So that's that.

This morning's song that I couldn't get out of my head the entire shower (which was longer than usual b/c I shaved today):

The Christmas Song by The Chipmunks.

Followed closely by:

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
(all throughout breakfast)

There are several things I learned today. Here are two of them:

1. If you have not worked out in several months, don't jump back in thinking you can pick up where you left off.

2. Bring an extra set of dry clothes to change into after said workout.

I finished processing early enough today (because I didn't take a four hour lunch and watch a movie) to go to the gym. I haven't had a training session in a millionbillion years, and they're building up. So I'm all set up with sessions tomorrow at 11 and Wednesday @ 11:30. Now, this is dumb on several levels. First, see Item #1 above. Secondly, I am going to another state on Thursday. I do not want to be so sore I can't move for the entire weekend. Because that would be no fun. For the both of us.

Anyway, today I decided to take a cardio kickboxing class. Michelle and I used to go together, and it worked our asses. And sweat glands. I figured I would never find another EvilWhoreNaziBeast, and this class would be safe. I was correct. The guy, Mike, a tall, wirey, black man was good. He wasn't totally insane. I didn't feel the need to do speed to keep up. However, it's been a good 6 months since I've been to the gym. I should have started out, perhaps, on an elliptical machine. But I decided to take the class. Crimeny, is this girl out of shape! I was in the back trying not to puke up my guts.

There is a long road ahead, and getting there means continuing to get my ass kicked in classes. Because I work harder in those situations. But I've decided no spinning for a while. Because that, I'm pretty sure, would kill me.

I would much rather check my email 1800 times than do the work in front of me. If I wasn't having so many dang system problems, I would be in a much better mood. But as it is, I'm over my minutes and I had to call Steve for a quick claim fix. So, that was probably a $20 phone call. Grr!

In other news, I hate that I am on the myspace bandwagon. That site makes me want to scratch my eyes out, then vomit in my empty sockets. However, over the past two weeks I've gotten back into contact with two people from a really long time ago. Rachel and I worked together my first year @ PKI. It's been probably 10 years since we talked. Matt was my best friend from 3rd grade-6th grade, when he moved to Maine. He's still living there, but now (what? 17 years later?) he's all growed up. We sent a couple of emails, and I'm looking forward to hearing what's new in his life. Kristen Keebaugh and I even wrote a long distance dedication to American Top 40: "That's What Friends Are For." Every time I hear that song, I think of him. And what a nerd I was to actually write a letter in to that stupid show.

Hung out all day yesterday with z, Sandow, and Jaybenton. That is, *after* I put away the kitchen. All the boxes are broken down; everything has a home. It looks so good in there! I called Faith, who is in AZ for the weekend, to tell her. You still can't go barefoot in the kitchen. We need to buy a mop. Faith broke something the first day out, and I managed to trash a brand new bottle of bbq sauce. It made a very satisfying sound when it dropped, but the place still smells faintly of the sauce, and occasionally I will step on a tiny shard with my flip-flops and hear the scratching on the floor. So, yeah, we need a mop (since my $200 good one has disappeared into the ether).

The boys and I went to Santa Barbara for the day. I don't know what I was thinking, but I didn't bring a dang thing with me. Not a swimsuit, not a beach towel, not the throw thing my mom gave me to put beach towels on. The waves were small, and we watched some amateur surfers try to stand up. I can't wait for that to be me!

Came home, watched Open Season*, went to bed. It was a fantastic day!!!




*I'm spoiled by Pixar movies. The plots, though predictable, are at least entertaining for adults. Open Season is not a Pixar film. There was 1 time when I laughed out loud. The rest of the time was spend predicting: "Oh, this is where he turns his back on his friend. Oh this is where someone is in danger so he goes back. Oh this is where he chooses to stay out in the wild." I'm not even going to apologize for that last sentence if you haven't seen Open Season. It's not a spoiler. You know that 2 minutes into the movie. Anyway, I was pretty disappointed. From here on out, my loyalties lie with Pixar, and Pixar alone!

Inspired by Michelle, I checked out my horoscope on The Onion.

"After the fire at your place, investigators won't want to question you so much about smoking in bed or the grow lights in the closet but about the stacks and stacks of bridal magazines."

Hilarious, considering *Faith* has stacks of bridal magazines and the first time Justin came out for a visit I let him know so he wouldn't think I'm totally nuts.

My comments thingy is being stupid. I don't know why, but sometimes it says "archived". If you feel the need to leave a comment, you still can--as Ben found out.

That is all.

I love my job situation ohsomuch! Last night a girl came over to pick up a computer that I brought from Shawn from AZ. We became fast friends and she stayed until 2 in the morning. Today I woke up on my own, have been gradually getting things together, and will probably start working around 10. I don't have to deal with traffic *and* I get to be as hermity as I like!

I also met a girl in the laundry room the other day. I've never known my neighbors before--in any of the millions of places I've lived in the past 10 years. But there are some young people around here and I'm looking forward to getting to know them. I'm also looking forward to getting this damn place unpacked.

Saturday I'm going to the beach. Next week I get to see Justin for 5 whole days!

Life, right now, is pretty fantastic.

ohdeargod

Are we going to get an update ever single day for the next 23 days of how Paris Hilton is doing in jail? I just might puke. Or punch her in the face if I ever meet her. Not on purpose, you know, just a knee-jerk reaction.

Oops.

Faith starts at 6 Flags today as Wonder Woman! I've been sitting with her this morning, talking, as she fights of nausea. There are three main stressors in one's life: changing a job (starting/ending), changing where you live, and changing a relationship (starting/ending). She is tackling all three. She finished up her job in AZ and is now beginning a new one. This is the first time she's ever lived away from her family. She got back together with Chris for about a week, then they broke up the day before she moved...and she's interested in a guy out here. So, fine, Faith, I concede. You win this round.

OK, now I'm off to work. Oh, wait...that means clicking open a few screens. I don't have to leave or shower or get out of my pjs!! This is awesome!

Sometimes I really feel like I need to be medicated for OCD. Do they have medication for that? The move was fine and eventless. The panic sets in when I look at an apartment full of boxes. I don't mean to get snippy with Faith, but I do. I don't mean to get snippy with zha, but I do. I work in my room, so I need to have all of that taken care of (everything put in its place) before I can start processing claims.

There are three boxes full of stuff behind me. I can't get to them until next weekend. That is almost impossible for me to handle. For the past two days I have worked furiously to put everything away and rebuild my furniture. Faith goes out with friends b/c it's not crazy important to her like it is to me. She's okay living in the chaos. In the sense that, she doesn't need to have it put away immediately. I wish I could be like that, sometimes. Because for two days I ignored phone calls or I would have cried when I answered.

I'm feeling better now that my "office" is put together. I've even spent 3 hours today processing. After a nice long lunch with Zha, Faith, and Mike. But then, that's another stress. I've spent more money in the past week than I have in my entire life. Moving to a new state is costly. But we don't have a fridge. This means every meal is out--which is expensive--until Tuesday. I purchased the fridge. Then we have to fill it with groceries. On top of that, I just bought tickets to Austin to see Justin and Ohio for Tosha's wedding. Then there's gas for Tammy's wedding. I still have the trip to Florida and New York to budget for. Plus a huge vacation for my birthday that I'm beyond excited about. Just lots of spending in a short time is making me nervous.

Things will slow down and I'll get into a routine. Plus, moving is one of the three biggest stressors in one's life. I know it'll be okay. I'm just a bit of a mess right now.

Off to spend more money on dinner. Bye-bye savings. It was fun while it lasted.

We're here We're here!!!!

more to come...