Utopia

Niiice, it's Friday. I wish it was another long weekend. I think I'm going to try to reinvigorate the push for the 4 day work week. I think it was France that recently gave up the 35 hour week and adopted the 40 hour week because they weren't competing in the global market. That saddens me; the French are supposed to be the last bastions of leisure. They should be standing up for a person's right to sit in a cafe, smoke unfiltered cigarettes, and have four glasses of wine with lunch. Then again, the French don't stand up for much of anything, so I shouldn't be surprised. Do countries like Spain and Italy still take siestas? How come Americans can't have that? I'd love to take a nap after lunch, except I sure as hell wouldn't want to go back to work afterwards. It would be great if we could move to a structure where you'd work 20 hours a week but then you'd also be required to spend time on a hobby. Like, you'd have to register your hobby, or hobbies, and actually pursue them. Reading, painting, gardening, photography, whatever it is. Money would seem to be barrier but I'm sure we could fix that by redistributing wealth and rescaling the world economy. Not so difficult, right?

Foodwise I have sucked the last couple of days. I do well all day at work, avoiding bad things in the caf as well as the cake that seems to appear at least twice a week, and then I get home and lose control, which sucks because its only like what, 4 more hours I need to get through, 3 if I go to the gym? I have to either eat more during the day or have something late in the afternoon so I don't get home and realize I'm starving. This stuff is a bitch... wouldn't you think that someone who is actually motivated to work out would have an easier time with the food? I would... the exercise always seemed like the hardest part. Whores. The diet gods who prevent me from seeing better results are WHORES!

GREAT weekend

It was a great fucking weekend. From Friday to last night I was absolutely delirious with glee. Joe finally finished his hellish semester and is off for two weeks, so it's great to have a husband again. We were so busy and active that the weekend actually felt really long and relaxing. Friday night we went to my friend from work's house for dinner. She has a 3-year-old daughter so we played with her while she and her boyfriend cooked. Dinner was amazing... curry shrimp, grilled chicken and veggies, spinach salad with raspberries, goat cheese and nuts, and low-carb vanilla ice cream with grilled pineapples and bananas. We brought grapefruit vodka and Fresca. Yum yum yum.

Saturday morning I survived a pilates class... it wasn't bad while it was going on but I felt it the next day. There were a couple things I couldn't do, like sitting up very slowly from flat on my back, but overall it was okay. After class Joe and I went to the park with Judy and Chris to play catch and bat around a while. Then we went up to New Hampshire with them so Judy could cave to Chris' influence and get a tattoo. She got a blue sun on her lower back with a sagittarius sign in it. I remember going with Amy and Amanda to get their tattoos back when we were like nineteen. Speaking of being nineteen, we went to IHOP afterwards, at like 10:30 p.m. We had breakfast and sat next to some teenagers who had just come back from a semi-formal dance.

Sunday we were going to get together again to play tennis but tennis could have been bad for the tat so instead we ended up taking a ride out to Grafton for some giant flea market. It was fun to be outside and look around at all the old crap. I got a kick out of the old tapes: Richard Marx, Debbie Gibson, We Are the World, New Edition, New Kids on the Block, Whitesnake, Nelson, etc. It looked like someone had stolen my old collection.

Yesterday was Patriots day. Joe and I took the car in to Honda for its first check-up on our way to the Sox game... that was the longest game, seriously, like 4 hours almost. But it was great, such a good atmosphere, and I'm glad they won. After the game, we walked over to Copley, had a late lunch at the Cheesecake Factory, watched the runners for a while, then tried to figure out how to get home. It was like 5:30, Copley was bedlam, public transportation was running on a Saturday schedule, and Honda closed at 6:30. We were contemplating going back to Kenmore and catching the 57 bus but then we found out the 504 was running. We had to wait a while but we squeezed in to the first one that came and were able to get the car in plenty of time. Then we decided to suck it up and go food shopping. We got home at 7:30 and threw ourselves on the couch, exhausted and happy.

It feels like actual spring. Tonight I am going to huff my lilac Yankee candle.

Stupid email survey

What are your first and middle names?
Melissa Anne… along with 50 million other girls born in the late 70s.

What outfit are you wearing?
Brown pants, brown boots and a pink and white striped top. Pink and brown is a yummy combination… makes me think of chocolate cupcakes with pink frosting.

What are you listening to right now?
My Guster mix

What was the last thing you ate?
Mmmm… salted cashews.

Do you wish on stars?
I have in the past, not that a giant flaming ball of radiation is going to give me what I want.

If you were a crayon, what color would you be?
I’d be blue-green. Or green-blue.

How is the weather right now?
Brilliantly sunny but very cool.

Last person you spoke to on the phone?
I think it was the IT guy.

How old are you today?
27 years, 3 months, and 17 days.

Favorite drink?
The white chocolate raspberry mocha kiss from Seattle’s Best, but I don’t drink those anymore. Dirty martinis are my favorite alcoholic drink. Diet Pepsi is my everyday favorite choice. I drink a ton of water every day but it’s not my favorite.

Favorite sport?
Baseball.

Hair color?
I’m going back to my natural dark brown after a couple years of messing around with highlights.

Do you wear contacts?
Yes, for almost fifteen years.

Siblings?
One younger sister.

Favorite month?
October, although July makes a strong case too.

Favorite food?
Cheesecake, white pizza, and my mom’s lasagna. I’m seeing a cheese theme here.

What was the last movie you watched?
“Fever Pitch,” which didn’t do justice to the book and had a blatantly sloppy ending.

Favorite day of the year?
The day we leave for a road trip. I LOVE driving vacations. I take pleasure in all of the minor preparatory actions: packing the cooler, planning the route, getting up insanely early.

What do you do to vent anger?
I seek out a friend and, whatever the problem is, we discuss it to death until there’s nothing left to say. By the end I usually don’t care about whatever made me angry anymore.

What was your favorite toy as a child?
Definitely Barbies. I never had enough Barbie stuff; I wanted to own every doll, vehicle and accessory available. In the store I would become paralyzed by indecision. My favorite thing that I had was a fancy pink kitchen that came with miniature dishware, glassware, and foodstuffs, including a turkey. One of the things I wanted but never got was the Barbie swimming pool.

Summer or winter?
Summer, no question.

Hugs or kisses?
Hugs…. you can share hugs with anyone.

Chocolate or vanilla?
Chocolate, mixed with chocolate, with chocolate on top.

When was the last time you cried?
It was a while ago, because I can’t remember. That’s probably a good thing, yes?

What is under your bed?
Besides a bunch of dust and hair, I know there is a pair of jeans under there. Back in December when I was trying to find jeans that fit I put these on and they were really uncomfortable; the rise was too low and they felt all wrong. I flung them under there in disgust.

What did you do last night?
I was going to go to the gym after work but instead I went to the mall and bought a pair of jeans (ones that are comfortable). Then I went home, cooked chicken and string beans with Joe, and watched a show on the Science Channel about Jupiter. Tuesday is space night.

Favorite smell?
Coconut and freshly cut grass.

Plain, buttered or salted popcorn?
Cheese… the more orange the better.

Favorite car?
I don’t care about cars much. There’s a nice Acura I see in the parking lot at work; I’d take that.

Favorite flower?
Peonies.

Number of keys on your key ring?
3 I think… car, house, and unidentified silver key.

How many years at your current job?
1 year 1 month.

How many states have you lived in?
Three: Massachusetts, New Hampshire and New York.

Have many cities have you lived in?
Let’s see. North Reading, MA for my first 17 years. Durham, NH for college. London for 6 months during college. Brooklyn, NY for a year and a half. Somerville, MA for 2 years, and now Watertown, MA for 2+ years. So, six total.

What is your favorite restaurant to visit for breakfast and what do you order?
It’s generic, but I like Friendly’s. When I am low-carbing I get a cheese omelet with sausage and coffee. When I’m not, I add toast and/or homefries.

If you looked back at your high school yearbook photos, what is more embarrassing? Your hair, your clothes, your glasses, or your complexion?
Hmm. I guess my hair; I had big hair and it took me a very long time to ease out of it.

If you had to change the color of one of the following, which would you change and why: the walls in your living room, your car, or your eyes.
I guess the walls in my living room, because then I’d get to buy all new furniture, curtains and accessories to go with them.