What a zombie-like weekend...

Brains...

All weekend was spent writing papers, for both myself and Kenny. We awarded ourselves two fantastic respites: the step show at W&M on Saturday night, and dinner at one of my coworkers/new friends' house (Holly & Timmons). It turns out that being fed a beautiful, healthy meal with the company of two awesome adults and their 4 & 12 year olds followed by wine by the fireplace and stories of travel was all we needed to feel like... well, like total slackers. But! We set the alarm for extra early this morning and kept typing away.

And now I am at school, to which I had to drive due to carrying a laptop, a pile of books, a guitar, and my usual school stuff (bag, sneakers, lunch, Nalgene). Oh well. It's sunny again, so tomorrow I'll definitely be biking it.

Back to work...

Just busy

Work, study, knit*, study, work, work out, cook a meal, do some laundry, work.

More soon, when I feel motivated. It's rainy here (finally!) and colder than before (good god, finally). Still t-shirt weather, but jeans no longer stick to ya.

I've lost 4 lbs. since starting the no sugar thing about 5 weeks ago. Now if I can keep up the gym thing and eat smaller portions, I might actually get to the 10 pound mark by Thanksgiving. Well, maybe.

*all Xmas gifts, so no posting about them here.

Blah.

I feel down in the dumps. Too stressed about small things. Procrastinating and ignoring the big things. Broke yet still buying things. Constantly showering yet hair is still limp and yucky looking.

Sigh. Mope. Drag.

NYC, Bike, Projects

We went to NYC this weekend to help Karen celebrate her birthday. We had the most fabulous dinner at the high grade Japanese restaurant attached to the Waldorf Astoria (well, well!) and roamed around Brooklyn, checking out all the beautiful second hand stores and flashy jewelry-and-furniture boutiques. Awesome fun. I love riding the trains because it lets me knit: I have made much progress on my Mom's secret Xmas present project, and am now satisfied enough (temporarily) to work on my research paper due this coming weekend.

Sad thing: my bike had an accident. No one was on it at the time, so all humans are unharmed. But the bike... oh, the bike. One severely bent back wheel. One (probably) bent front wheel. The little cylinder that contains the gears? Oh yeah, the "hub"? Probably needs to be replaced, too. Big heavy sigh. Light little wallet. Oh well.

I'm hungry and in need of a plane ticket

Sometimes, not being in Saigon at mealtimes just won't do. If that's a double negative, well, I feel doubly negative about the two quarters in my pocket: here's what they won't be buying today.

Taken from The Last Appetite, a drool-inducing blog about Vietnamese street food. Mmm.

On my way back home

After work today I'm going to drive a rented car (ours is a rusty block of gasoline-scented swiss cheese) to Charlotte for the three-day weekend. (Thanks, Colombus!)

While I'm enjoying the sanctity of a large, calm house, I plan to:

1. Sort through a few boxes of papers
2. Search for my passport and SS card
3. Knit a LOT while enjoying the big glowing screen
4. Go for a jog (or two, heck)
5. Celebrate my all parents' birthdays (a few belatedly, one early)
6. Learn to make spicy shrimp 'n grits with goat cheese (this is a random goal, but a goal nonetheless)
7. Knit.
8. Knit more.
9. Visit the local yarn shops, look for Noro Silk Garden on sale.
10. Try not to give away any clues re: Xmas knitting projects.

How many UUs does it take to screw in a lightbulb?

"We choose not to make a statement either in favor of or against the need for a light bulb. However, if in your own journey you have found that light bulbs work for you, that is fine. You are invited to write a poem or compose a modern dance about your light bulb. During next Sunday's service, we will explore a number of light bulb traditions, including incandescent, fluorescent, three-way, long-life and tinted; all of which are equally valid paths to luminescence."