Vacation... but now I'm BACK!

Boy oh BOY this has been one hell of a day. I knew it'd be a little rough because I went on a mini-vacation to see my hetero-lifemate Heather (of course her name is Heather, and I bet you think I'm making that up) (also, the term "hetero-lifemate" always makes people do a double-take and it's hilarious), and got back to Nashville last night. I couldn't sleep because I'd had so much fun and I was all like, "HMPF! I wish my trip was longer!" So there was no in-between break before I had to be back at work this morning. Today I slogged through emails from 2 missed days at work and glowered at my office door to generally made myself as mean and unattractive looking as I could so people would see me and think, "Hmmmmm, maybe I'll just wait until tomorrow to ask her about this... she might bein a better mood then...." Grrrrrr!

The trip was such a blast. I don't think 4 days have ever gone by so fast. Highlights included:

• Becoming addicted to the show Supernatural (soooo creepy and sort of campy but really good although I don't know if I'll be able to watch it by myself because I'm a big ol' baby and won't be able to sleep at night)
• Sitting on the patio at a wine bar and splitting a bottle of Reisling with Heather at 3:00 in the afternoon on a really hot day.
• Using the wine drinking time to come to the conclusion that YES I did need to buy a gorgeous new handbag even though it was expensive. It will last forever. So far it has held everything I've shoved into it, including magazines at the airport, but oddly enough it's easy to find stuff in it. I've found the holy grail of bags! And I'm not saying what it is because you will judge (believe me, I would judge too).
  
• Hanging out at the coffee shop drinking Black & Tans (that's a coffee drink, not a beer drink) like we used to do between classes in school.
• Playing with puppies at the pet store. This one is a Pomeranian and she's really cute but CHILL, just hanging out (especially compared to the other little puppy that was ALL TEETH). We named her Ethel because she was sort of a grandma puppy (no offense to any Ethels out there):

Awwwww, ETHEL you are so cute!

• Eating lots of Mexican and Asian food (it just sort of worked out that way).
• Watching Heather's bellydance class- how the HELL do people get their hips to move like that?
• Heather gave me a necklace for my birthday with "timshel" on it (that's from East of Eden- go read it). For a while I was thinking about getting that tattooed somewhere on me but now realize that explaining what "timshel" means is sort of hard and would probably get really annoying so I'm glad she had the necklace made for me instead. So is my mother, I'm sure.
• Watching "Let the Right One In" which was a super-weird creepy vampire movie. I'm tempted to read the book but I bet it's really disturbing and again, I like to be able to sleep at night.

So, that was the trip!

In other news, tonight I had my first initial fitness test at the gym before real trainer time starts. I can bench press a maximum of 65 lbs 10 times in a row before I want to die, which impressed the hell out of me and I think impressed my trainer because she started me out at something like 45 lbs and had to keep putting on more weight. I probably could have done more if I'd started out with 65 lbs to begin with. Real stuff starts Thursday. I hope I'll be able to move Friday morning.

Does anybody else find the name "Swine Flu" really funny? I thought Bird Flu was bad. Swine Flu is making me giggle because I'm picturing Miss Piggy in a pink dressing gown with high-heeled slippers that of course include fuzzy feathers on them, with an icepack on her face. In a chaise lounge. But I am fascinated by the evolution of the virus. What is the advantage of strikiing people with really healthy immune systems harder than those with weaker immune systems? Ah Genetics, I love it.