All I Want Is A Normal Life

I stayed home sick today, and as a result, I’m watching everything from “What Not to Wear” to “Animal Stars” to “It’s Me or the Dog” while I work from home. There’s not much happening at work this week and I’m probably going to go take a nap in a half an hour. My chest is to the hurting phase of the cough-fest and so a little sedation is a welcome relief. I just changed to Current TV, which is boringish.

Lordy.

This morning, I started the day trying to do power yoga from a dvd, which was really intense and got me sweating. I’ll definitely be doing it again tomorrow. I couldn’t finish the full hour, since I started really feeling terrible and had to sit down. But I like the feeling my back has today from such hits as “downward dog” and “cobra.”

Nick, I’ll respond to your email later, but this is about sleep. You’re right. I don’t get enough sleep or rest. It’s a tough situation, because you see how busy I am (well, you don’t technically see it, but you see how little I get to blog during certain times of the month, and then how sick I am around that time). And yet I still have all these things I want to do and things to finish, and now, of course, I’m all hooked on Twilight, which is really only going to last another 24 hours. But what should I do? There’s just too much stuff to get done… an easy 50 hours of work per week, dog walking, feeding myself, driving to and from work, reading, blogging, and then hobbies. And I want to start doing other projects like the Good Girl’s Guide and whatnot. I mean, I have three million ideas and time to go with zero, unless I cut out of sleep time. I pretty much consider all the other times non-negotiable. I mean, I gotta work the hours I gotta work. I have to walk Diva. I have to feed myself. I enjoy reading but do too little of it. I try to blog, but that’s really the first thing to go. David, friends and hobbies kind of creep in around the edges. I try to ride my bike, but that’s also a quickly-eliminated luxury.

So I cut back on sleep. I really get 6 or 7 hours of sleep per night… usually 6, sometimes 5. It’s not enough. I know this. But what do I do? How do regular people live on this schedule and still have time?

My mom says that I work harder than she worked at Boeing… she really worked 9 – 5. After 5, she was off. She came home. There was no Blackberry. There was no webmail. There was no “I’ll start work early before anyone else is up so no one will bother me while I get the real work done.” There was just 8 hours in a day of work, and 16 hours in a day of other things besides work. There was 8 hours of sleep AND 8 hours of something else. If I had those extra three hours, I’d totally be able to make that work. I’d have three hours per day to do whatever I wanted! Instead, I squander my 5 hours on walking my dog (about an hour a day, sometimes more), cooking (realistically, about 2 hours), and blogging while watching television and socializing with my roommate or hanging out with David. And then the weekends are a swirl of activity trying to fit friends, housekeeping, and bookkeeping into a 48 hour period.

So yeah, Nick. You’re spot on. And I’m a little embarrassed that I haven’t dedicated more time to taking care of myself. I sacrifice my health –like, my real health– for extra reading and TV time. And I’ve kind of taken up recreational cooking, since I can’t feed myself as a vegan in regular ways without getting sick of tofu or super-gassy from beans. Mmm. Gassy.

I feel like I’m just seeing a best friend after months of not talking. There was SO much stuff I wanted to write about… everything from the cyber-bullying case (briefly: It’s awful that the girl killed herself after being bullied by the mother… that woman -the mother- is a sick individual who should be in a mental institution. It’s people like this who make our society bad in the ways it’s bad. But at the same time, there’s no *explicit* law that if someone harassed someone else into killing themselves, that the harasser is a murderer. I mean, I could call you every day and tell you that everyone hated you and you should die, but you are ultimately responsible for if you kill yourself as a result of that… and, for whatever is right or wrong here, that’s the way our society is put together -or should be-. I can’t sue McDonalds for seducing me with trashy food that ultimately will kill me) to Mary Poppins (briefly: watched it last night for the first time, and OH MY GOSH that’s the best movie ever. I want to watch it every day. STEP IN TIME! hahahaha… awesome) to Beyonce (briefly: I love her. I don’t care what you say. She’s great).

But this morning, I’m eating the most amazing meal I’ve cooked since going vegan: a soyrizo burrito with sauteed mushrooms, peppers, garlic, scallions, onions, and jalapenos, topped with some fresh avocado and wrapped in a fresh and delicious flour tortilla. YUM! I’m watching Survivorman, one of my favorite shows (Les Stroud is my television crush). At 1pm, Santacon (Lord knows where that website came from… Santacon’s always been kind of an underground event), which I’ve managed to talk David into coming on. After watching Mary Poppins last night, I realize that Dick Van Dyke’s character, Bert, would be an awesome boyfriend. But no one is like that, and the fact is, David and I get along really well. We laugh at the same stuff and we laugh pretty constantly. No, he’s not goofy or larger-than-life like Bert, and I had to do a little convincing to get him to come to Santacon, and he doesn’t really like camping or hiking, but I love being with him, I love talking with him, I love laughing with him… I love HIM. So much so that I don’t really care if he doesn’t want to do all those other things that used to be most important to me in a relationship — things I thought I’d never compromise on. So I’m sticking with David and trying to find the motivation to do all these other things (hiking, camping, karaoke, etc) without him. He’s not a vegan and doesn’t even eat organic/sustainable meats or vegetables/fruit. He’d never even had real peanut butter until he met me… it had always been that sugar and lard concoction that they market as nutritional paste. Bleh. And he loved the real peanut butter! I warned him that he’d probably not like it, since it just tastes like peanuts, but he likes peanuts and loved the peanut butter! And he at least plays along when I make vegan food.

It’s a beautiful day and I’ve got a lot of stuff to do today, so I have to get moving. I’ve set myself up for a vigorous training program to ensure I’m in shape for the Wilderness Travel Course. Even though the “Girlfriends” episode of “Flight of the Conchords” is on, I’ve got to peel myself off this couch.

Seriously.

Off the couch.

OH and props to WordPress on the new look. Um, now you just have to get mobile uploads, hey?

Since people are sometimes interested in my television viewing habits, I should mention that I watched the first episode of Chase on Sci-Fi. Hutch worked on the gadget aspect of it, so we were watching it as a celebratory first viewing. I gotta say, I was pretty enthralled, but in the end it seemed like a shaft to the other people who worked so hard and endured such a grueling game. I wish it lasted longer and we got to know the people a little more.

So, there’s my take on Cha$e. I’ll probably watch it again next week.

It’s been an uncommonly exciting weekend on many levels. It was really productive. I got a lot of stuff done in the past few days… I started the an online community about my new hobby of being incredibly cheap, I wrote a ton of stuff (blog entries, restaurant reviews, and events on Good Girls Guide), I got my grocery shopping done, and I cleaned my room. Hey! All that and some fun stuff, too!

Yesterday morning, I went and picked up a bike… yes, the really rad bike from the entry a couple days ago. It turned out to be a pretty cool bike with only a couple problems. It’s a fairly light 1960s touring bike with a good frame. There’s some rust on the back gears and it needed a new chain and a new back wheel, all of that (plus installation, a lock, and an orange safety vest) cost about $200. But hey, $200 isn’t bad for a really nice bike. I hope to ride it tomorrow after work at Griffith Park. Maybe I can even ride faster than the rabid coyotes! Yippee!

While the bike was at the shop getting a new back wheel and chain (did you know they make ‘em greaseless these days?), I had breakfast with my dad. It was really great to hang with him, since I usually admire his outlook on life and had a very specific question for him: David hasn’t historically seemed to take a very proactive approach to getting out of the house and checking out cultural stuff… and that has bothered me. And my dad and his girlfriend, Linda, are always going out and doing cool stuff – usually free cool stuff! – and I wanted to get his take on how I could get David to come out more, and maybe show a little more enthusiasm for going out. And my dad had some great advice: do what he wants to do first (go see Madagascar 2) and then go to what I wanted to do (go to the Robot Garden guy’s party and see the Silverlake art walk). Which was a great idea and David totally was happy to go along with.

Except I’ve got to be totally honest here… I was kind of uncomfortable at the Silverlake art walk thing that I so badly wanted to go to. I’m just not hipster enough. There were so many hipsters there… really! Like a million! And I felt all out of place and — well, not exactly too old — just not cool enough. But the robot garden was neat and the girl performing was cool and the art was all amazing. So I think I’m going to stick out being uncomfortable to go to more of these things. Even if I’m not cool. Even if I’m not a hipster. Even if I’m just a dorky (and not in the cool, Juno dorky way) joiner. Not everyone can be awesome, right?

And on the way home, we stopped off at Villa Terraza, which I reviewed on Yelp like so:

Wow. It’s hard to imagine how this place stays in business. The ambiance is ok (the star), but that’s where the magic ends. First, the proprietress acted like she was put out to seat us. Second, the menu… wow… like Michael S (whom I don’t know) said, it really needs some proofreading. We counted no fewer than 8 spelling errors in the appetizers alone (I took a photo but will have to upload it later). Third, no alcohol. Srsly. They can open a bottle of something you bring with you (probably at a steep corkage), but they can’t sell you alcohol. Fourth, the prices are outrageous. They’re what I call “fancy food” prices, but the place is like a fancy Shaky’s.

We decided just to go with an appetizer, since I’m super cheap and only spend money if I’m drinking. The bruchetta (on a “baget”) was sub-prime tomatoes mixed with grayish basil. The proscuitto was of ok quality, but the whole presentation looked so … weird. It looked seriously inedible. The flavor was ok, but 4 hours later, I’m still burping it up. It definitely wasn’t worth the $10… I could make something much more edible using fresh ingredients and some Safeway bread.

The highlight of the evening was when our bite was over and we escaped out the back door to check out the grounds. There are some weird cabanas on a plaza. It looks like an ideal place for a party, but the business was decidedly unparty-like. We got startled off by the proprietress just as I was taking a photo of the restroom sign that said, “Restrooms Fallow the Signs.”

So yes, I was totally and brutally honest. Hey, I call it like I see it.

David had the great idea to go to the Gene Autry Museum, which is great…. I mean the idea to go, since I’m really into Western stuff and we never have gone to a museum or done anything arty at all. And so we made a plan to go Sunday (today).

We also went to Dave’s bar (reviewed also on Yelp) and it smelled like vomit and spilled hard alcohol. It was gross. And loud. And the people were really creepy. This old cougar kept hitting on David and dancing all weird. Wow, the whole place was a train wreck. And after that, we went home and watched some TV while I fell asleep on David’s lap on the couch. It was a nice day.

This morning, I woke up a little foggy and out of sorts, but pulled myself together to go to the Farmers’ Market and get vegetables for the week. $20 later, I bought everything I needed… and holy MOLY, the tomatoes are amazing. It’s like they picked themselves right off the vine.

And then we went to the Gene Autry Museum, which is its own story, but I have to go and make myself some dinner and get to bed. Tomorrow’s a big day… I’ve got a doctor’s appointment to figure out why I’m chronically sick these days. I feel like I’m playing a deck of only 40 cards, including the jokers. It just isn’t right and I’ve got to get to the bottom of it.

When I woke up this morning, I knew what I had to do. As I waited for my coffee water to boil, I sat on the couch and deleted every program I’d subscribed to. Metalocalypse, Robot Chicken, Harvey Birdman, Squidbillies… even Project Runway all checked out. I left Heroes and True Blood because those aren’t actually my to-do items, they’re Hutch’s, and besides, two television shows per week isn’t going to take up all my time. So now I’m getting the last of the Project Runway out of my system before I go out for the dog walk.

I’ve never been much of a television kind of person… I spend most of my time doing stuff that doesn’t involve sitting down in one place for more than 15 minutes (once I get off work). In the past three years, though, I’ve become much more television-focused. It started at Splat and Andrea’s place, since they had this huge and glorious television, with the added seduction of Tivo. It made television “productive,” because you were accomplishing some task (i.e. completing a television program) as you were watching. You gave the Tivo a “to do list” and it repaid you with a to do list of shows to complete. Once you’re finished with it, you can either delete the show or leave it for someone else to take care of. It’s made television very goal-oriented, which appeals to me. And now that I write about it, I kind of feel like I have to continue writing about it.

But the truth is, I think it’s kind of fucking up my life. I’ve become much more sedentary… television has taken the place of, well, pretty much anything after work. It keeps me up later, which makes me not as clear-headed the next day (not that I stay up super late, but if I stay up until 11 and wake up at 6, that’s only 7 hours of sleep, which is not enough for me). And it doesn’t truly give anything back to me… there’s no relationship advantage, I don’t learn anything, it’s not even truly relaxing… It’s just a time burn since I have zeroh moneh to go out and do other stuff besides sitting at home, actively not spending money. And don’t even get me started on the issue of my weight… I think for every hour I sit in front of the TV, I gain and/or maintain a quarter of a pound of weight. A pound saved is a pound earned.

But what’s to be done?

Well, for starters, I have to get out and walk Diva. She is doing a great job of keeping me moving.

As you may or may not know, I’m a dataphile. If there’s a stat, I’m addicted. I think that’s why I’m so fixated on the budget crisis… stats GALORE! Nothing gives stats like an endless nosedive in the DOW. *pant*

So it probably doesn’t surprise you that I’m eagerly watching my own blog stats, even though I don’t think anyone would care about this blog nor do I really want anyone to. Still, I’m addicted.

And it looks like you’re addicted, too… to my posts about True Blood.

If it was still on my Tivo, I’d watch Episode 5 again (my roommate deletes everything as soon as he watches it). Yes, it was just that action-packed! Jason went to Lafayette to bitch about ODing on vampire blood (aka “V”, just like my phone). Just like any good drug dealer, Lafayette tells Jason he’s doing it wrong (aka “drug FAIL”) and shows him how to do it right, which sends Jason into an insanely fun, sparkle-world filled with mushrooms and fairies (to any kid who’s never done hallucinogenic mushrooms, it’s exactly like drinking vampire blood, but without the pesky addiction). Meanwhile, Bill is at the “Descendants of the Glorious Dead” meeting to talk about his experience. We learn how he was “created,” and it’s pretty sad. And gross. But mainly sad. Sookie is on a date with Sam, who has pretty much been established as the hottest guy on television. OMG raor. It’s gross how much of a crush I have on him. They seem to be getting along well and they kiss at the end of the night, but then Sookie goes home and finds that her grandma is DEAD and in a pool of blood!

Now you know the whole episode… And it’s pretty clear that a vampire hasn’t been doing these murders, but we still don’t know about Jason, Lafayette, Sam, or any of the police force. Note: Jason still does not have an alibi. There are a lot of rednecks in town, too, but it’s doubtful they’d kill the people who were killed. I’m absolutely stumped.

But let’s just talk about who is very quickly becoming my favorite character of the story: Lafayette. I bet you thought I was going to say Sam, but no. Lafayette has several dimensions: he’s gay, he’s a drug dealer, he works at Merlottes, he takes care of Tara, and he stands up for himself. I’m not sure what the underwell of his personality is, but he’s got quite a river to draw on. If you’re reading this, Nelsan Ellis, you’re awesome. It’s not just the writing, it’s how you’re playing it.

I guess I’ll write about Heroes later, but it’s bed time now, so you’ll have to be happy with True Blood.

Have you been procrastinating spending an hour and a half watching the disheartening, boring, ipecac-style vomit-inducing Vice Presidential debates? Why bother now that SNL NAILED IT:
SNL’s skit (sorry, the embed isn’t working for my dumb blog)

After being superfuckingawesome every other episode, last night’s True Blood was kind of a non-episode. Dawn, Jason’s semi-girlfriend, turns out to have slept with a vampire, which totally grossed Jason out. Then she turned up dead. And aside from other plot developments (which lead me to have an even bigger crush on Sam), I think I’ll talk about sleeping with corpses.

The interaction between humans and vampires has, of course, turned sexual. I mean, you have a bunch of superhott, very glamorous, very taboo beings wandering around and people are going to want to have sex with them… and then there’s the mind control aspect of it, so it’s no wonder. But I guess Jason’s problem with it is that these women have basically all had sex with corpses. Which is, yes, kind of gross. And added to the equation is that it seems like whenever Bill and Sookie start making out, his teeth come out and he gets ready to feed… well, there’s something weird about it. I mean, when I’m having sex, I wouldn’t want to start having chocolate or strawberries (or any other moderately sexy food). I don’t even recall ever being hungry while having sex, now that I think of it.

Anyways, on that deliciously unsexy topic, I’ve got to take Diva for our morning hike and get off to work.

Is it wrong to find Peanut from Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law sexy?