Updates

Plot #2 arrived! It was a decent success, and in retaliation Pat has launched his first plot, which he estimates as a 4. We shall see.

Work is going well, I think my only remaining coworker is going to be fired or leave soon, but Cathy will be back from surgery by next week and it'll be nice to work with her again. I'm also being offered plenty of overtime both because of the new tech's learning curves and having to reorganize the filing system for all of our surveys.

Exercise is progressing, I can do 5 sit-ups every morning now without getting sore (on a proper sit-up bench, the kind where 12 sit-ups is a moderate workout), and having my own bike, regardless of how ridiculously uncomfortable the seat is, has really paid off. I lost 3lbs in just a couple of days, while my bfi remained the same.

DoD is still much fun, still trying to get the CAL team organized, it looks like I'll have to kick that into overdrive since the next season has been move up to... just a few weeks from now.

My own plot #3 has hit a snag, so I'll be diverting away from it for a while and moving up Plot #4... which will entail making changes to #3 if/when it eventually happens.

Moving sometime after my Seattle visit is looking quite do-able, there are a lot of options and I'll have to weigh them carefully, but I don't see anything in the way of an obstacle that would keep it from happening.

OGame is quite fun, and a VERY good break from work, although it kinda sucks that most of the things I want to do will take days to accomplish... thank goodness for my colony.

Having contacts again is definitly excellent, and I can't wait to try out my new glasses... I think they looked quite good on me at the fitting.

I can't think of anything else that's happening really... although I definitly feel like I'm forgetting something... Oh well, if I am, I'll update this again :)

Exercise is good!

I spent a few minutes this morning on the bike, then weighed myself in... 127.8lbs and 24.3% bfi! The bfi is really no change, but that's about 3lbs less than I weighed a week ago :D I also feel much more awake haivng exercised this morning, although of course right this second my body doesn't agree with me ;)

As for other things... Plot #2 should be arriving shortly, my agents say it is almost ready, and Plot #3 is still in planning, although progress has been made. Plot #4 hasn't been decided upon yet, but I think it'll be somewhere around a 4-5, if I can just decide which to go with...

I'll be taking my black dress in to be altered here pretty soon, the other one will wait until I have the body that I want... I also have a number of other "improvements" that need some research/ground work done pretty soon.

Work has been good, except for my boss still being an obsessive bitch at times... but so far she hasn't been taking it out on anyone, she's just been nearly impossible to work with. Oh well, we don't really need her anyway, and my coworker and I have both been very supportive of the idea of her working from home more often.

In OGame, I'm now a Commander, which is very nice, but I'm also at a point of development where I can't do anything for a full day. Saving resources for colony ships is a BITCH!

Anyway, my lunch is done cooking (fried rice) and I need to get dressed and get outta here... cya later! <3

Feeling completely rejuvinated is GOOD!

What a difference it can make to skip a day of work and go do something completely out of the ordinary. Yesterday I went with my parents down to see the King Tut exhibition in Ft. Lauderdale, which is about a 3.5 hours drive each way. Spending that much time with my parents, most of it either in excellent conversation about mathematical and psychological concepts that I haven't discussed with anyone in years, or reading a book, was a great break in and of itself. Add on the fact that Ft. Lauderdale is a completely different "Florida" than Orlando, often referred to as the Venice of America because of the waterways leading everywhere that are always full of boats and watercraft of all kinds. Then, mix in the chance to see some really cool egyptian artifacts. Many of them were actually quite disappointing, they were wood with gold over the top, the "jewels" are just colored glass, and the workmanship wasn't anything special. Still, the exhibit as a whole gave me a whole new look into and appreciation for that phase of egyptian culture, and there were a couple of pieces that were just astonishing, particularly a dagger that Tut had on him when he was mummified and buried, with granulated gold laid on in patterns to form the grip of the hilt. All in all, it was an extremely successful break from things here, and reminded me that perhaps one of the best investments I could make would be to take a day and spend it at the Orlando Science Museum. Museums, with all the mind-stretching you can do at them, has always been a big part of my life, but a part that I have been neglecting of late.

Today at work is even great, since Lisa isn't coming in it's just Pat and I, and we are getting along extremely well. I truly hope our mind games are over, so we can get on with being friends and coworkers.

Anyway, I *do* actually still have work to do, regardless of how relaxed and happy I'm feeling, so I will stop here, with one final warning: Plot 2 has been accomplished. Beef up the defenses and prepare for a retaliation.

Excellent Weekend

Well, today I recieved a package from USPS that proved to be my "little black dress" that I picked up for nice evenings out. It fits better than I expected, and alterations should be a breeze, once I'm done with the alterations on myself that is ;)

Also this morning I mailed out the last piece of the puzzle for Plot #2. It is now officially under way.

This afternoon, my parents drove over and took me dress shopping at Nordstrom, Macy's, Saks Fifth Ave, Lord 'n Taylor, Dillards, and Parisian. Saw some nice stuff, unfortunatly it's prom season, so most of the dresses I saw wouldn't work for Les Mis. Long story short, after 5 hours of looking and trying things on, I'm right back where I started from, so when I got home I went ahead and ordered the dress online that I'd picked out last week. I just know it's right.

This evening has been spent in DoD and SW:EaW, as well as pinning up the black dress for a slightly better fit, and documenting the progress I've made with working out.

All in all a very successful day... and as a bonus, I got some very interesting looks from some extremely good looking guys at the mall. Too bad they were all the "dumb as a brick, but good in bed" sort ;)

Randomness

At work today, I was showing off a pic of the dress I got for Les Mis, and we started talking about guys and relationships and weddings (both ladies I work with just had daughters married in Feb, so it's kinda the topic of the hour). An interesting piece of advice cropped up which I believe reveals fundamental flaws in the people who follow it. The advice was "find someone who loves you more than you love him, that's how the best relationships work".

Now, there are a number of flaws in that saying that are glaring, but also *some* truth. Firstly, it's impossible for both partners in a relationship to heed that advice, which implies that any relationship based on that advice will be one-sided and biased, not exactly the best foundation. Secondly, the statement in itself is so self-centered it cannot be possible for anyone who follows that advice to have a great relationship, because it implies that only the person speaking matters, only their security and happiness seem to be important.

However, balanced against all that, is the fact that the guy is generally thought to be the one to wander first. But I wonder if that perception comes about only because the women feel that THEIR wandering is justified if their guy doesn't live up to this ridiculously one-sided farce? I mean, what guy could possibly live within that sort of relationship for their entire life and be even somewhat happy? Is that where the division begins? When years down the road someone realizes that things are not fair and even as they should be? When the guilt from not making things fair and even grows large enough to be unignorable? How does one determine whether love is equally shared within a relationship, or merely equally expressed? Can the expression be one-sided and the relationship still stand the test of time? Or do both expression and essence have to be balanced?

Interesting things to ponder, and that same general train of thought recalls a comment I made last night, regarding a "matching system" for plots. The comment was formulated entirely as bait, attempting to elicit a desired reaction. However, had it elicited the desired reaction, then the value of that reaction would be minimalized, if not elimintated entirely. Had it not elicited the desired reaction, it would have given me some degree of intelligence on what the enemy is thinking as of now. Luckily, the reaction I observed was somewhere in the neutral territory, and when you add in the fact that the comment had no basis in reality as far as it's threat to end operations in the absense of a counterattack, I guess that entire episode was a wash. The only solid thing to come of it was a "new" idea. Unfortunatly, my R&D department has determined that while the idea in itself is a great one, technology has not advanced to a point that would make that possible yet, plus current political feelings are that such a development would be decidedly premature given the current relations with the enemy. However, it will be held under consideration and reviewed for applicability every 30 days, or during the planning phases of the final assault.

And to finish off this post, I would like to state that while walking down the sidewalk on the way home for lunch, I was shot in the upper chest by an automatic sprinkler system at point blank range. The system opened fire after I had wandered well into it's kill zone, and it's aim was perfect, with the first full 3 seconds of spray cathing me on my chest, side, and back as I retreated.

My first day of Management!

I get my very own Tech today, his name is Anthony, and by the end of today he will hate me with all his heart. Too bad for him :)

On a side note, I have the 3rd highest amount of playing time on the server this month, topped only by JimmyD and Maverick.

Wish me luck at work! I'm gonna need it!