Package hoarder

I am a packaging product hoarder. That's right, I said it. I save things that other things come packaged in. I save bags (plastic and otherwise), boxes (of all sizes), packaging air pockets, bubble wrap, tissue paper, etc.

The reason I'm telling you this is because I ran over my phone charger that I keep at work with my chair. I was able to bend it back into submission and get it working, but I fear hurting my phone if I keep using the slightly bent part that goes into the phone. I brought another charger to work today. As I took it out of its mini ziploc bag and undid the twist-tie, I considered discarding them once I had the charge out...but no. I said to myself, and actually aloud "I like both of these things." and proceeded to put the twist tie into the baggie, and the baggie into my purse. Obviously, I think they may be of some use in the future. I'm always prepared to pack things!

In my bedroom, I have a window seat. Half of my window seat is covered with bags. Half of that half is purses, of which I probably use three. The other half, plastic and paper. Bags of ALL sizes. Gift bags, gigantic bags, bags with handles, canvas bags, other materialed bags. I hoard. I also have a stack of empty shoe boxes which for a while I called my "side table" for my couch, because it reached up to the height of where the table would be. It's not a side table. It's a stack of empty goddamn shoe boxes. I'm going to add another to the pile later this afternoon in fact. For now, my new shoes sit in their shoe box, in another box, on my floor for me to trip over every time I walk from one end of my room to the other. I actually put a new smaller cardboard box into the box with the shoebox yesterday because I got a new mp3 player so that I can actually shuffle the songs that I play on my xmini speaker.

I've always been a box hoarder. I used to collect cute little boxes. I used to have boxes of all decorative types. That was my thing. Now I collect fucking cardboard. Where did I go wrong?!

Jesus, I need a hobby.

In other news. My next trip to Jamaica is all booked, minus the hotel for the first night in Montego Bay. Makes me a touch nervous, but it's Wednesday and Sugar ASSURES me that there will be availability when we get there. Ok...fingers crossed.

Look how bright the walls in the bedroom are at our apartment (the living room is brighter!) How Jamaica-y.

This will be B's last trip before she moves to Mo-Town. I don't know how I feel about this.

[insert segue here]

Last night I went to my high school's alumni networking party at Upstairs at the Kimberly Hotel. It was beautiful. I was nervous because I was feeling anti-social as shit. So I sat there, and drank beer. And then alumni from my year showed up. A girl who I have known my whole life, and a boy who I knew from fifth grade on. The night got better from there. We chatted, caught up, talked to alum from the year after us. We spent 4 hours there. I had a really good time, and was very thankful for the encouragement from all of my friends who told me to stop being so fucking anti-social and do something.

The roof was obviously closed last night, but it didn't make the roof any less amazing!

[insert more brilliant segue here]

I have a new friend at work, or at least who works next door. We go to lunch. It's been really pleasant. I'll let you know how it goes.

[insert final most excellent segue here]

I can't remember what else I was going to say.

It's OK, because tomorrow's Friday

As you may know, if you are a reader of this blog, I had surgery last Wednesday.

I'm back at work for my second day today, and I'm sleepy...

• That I'm jealous of Mo being on her way to/in Orlando this weekend during All-Star weekend because I love tall athletic men (and she didn't even know it was happening!)
• That my parents are dog sitting until Sunday and it makes me really happy seeing my dad with dog again
• To eat two brownies and two cookies that you brilliantly stashed from yesterday
• To have surgery, just because you think it'll make you better somehow
• That my body is about 30% covered with heinous bruises right now
• That my skin is so dry it's disgusting me, and no amount of lotion seems to be helping
• To feel like your head is a million pounds
• To be eating jelly beans even though they're making you sick
• To have learned to deal with a baseline amount of pain for now, because you I can't keep taking painkillers like candy
• To be excited about being able to sleep semi comfortably on your side
• To have gone on a really sweet lunch date yesterday and not marked it as taking lunch on your timesheet
• To be drinking water from a bottle you filled up in Kingston, Jamaica 3 weeks ago
• To be ready for bed at 3pm, yet know that when it's actually time for bed, you will not be able to sleep
• To be confused because last night B was ready to go to Jamaica, and now she's not even though I've been looking at the prices and such
• To not know whether to be upset about this or not
• To just have lost motivation to write more.

Here are some of my bruises, maybe I'll actually update about the surgery soon.

Jelly less belly.

First off, thanks to my coworker, I'm going to need you all to go to google.com and watch the Valentine's video, because it's cute.

Second, thanks to my boss, I'm eating sour jelly beans uncontrollably at 10am. Thanks Doc.

Third, I made sushi yesterday...but with rice noodles that I overcooked by accident because my mother took over the kitchen. Actually, I'm not really upset about this because it was the first time in a VERY long time, that my mother and I weren't at each other's throats in the kitchen. We actually worked side by side and shared! I know. It's hard to believe. The kitchen is an area of great tumult, but we did it folks. I, however, was feeling really out of it by the end of the cooking adventure and I refused to clean up after myself. And guess what? She was ok with that! My mom was ok with me not cleaning the dishes. Hopefully the cleaning lady comes today like she's supposed to. We use an absurd amount of bowls in my house.


I am thankful for good moods, and not wanting to kill the people you love.

Moving on. I have deemed 2012 the year of replacement.

That's right folks. 2010 the year of dance. I believe 2011 was the year of loss. 2012, the year of replacement.

Since the beginning of the year I have had to replace my camera twice, my credit card twice, headphones, my drivers license, my phone, memory cards, my watch and most recently, my laptop's hard drive.. I'm sure there are other things too.

New watch on its way!

There's really nothing "better" than coming home from a vacation where a lot of your belongings were stolen, just to find that your computer no longer wants to work and insists on giving you, as my dad calls it, the BSOD (blue screen of death). I would really like to catch up to the episode of Downton Abbey that my tv recorded last week. Also, I'm going to be out of work for the next few days and I would like to have some internet access. Considering my phone internet has been finicky lately, I'm hoping that my dad's total wipe of my computer system and re-installation will work its magic and I'll actually be able to use my beloved laptop while I'm on sick leave.

I should probably tell you why I'm going on sick leave.

Well I don't know how many of you were here in the beginning (when I started this blog last April), but if you were here, then you might know that in June 2008 I had gastric bypass surgery. I have since then lost about 150lbs (mostly within the first year of having the surgery).

If any of you are aware of the effects of rapid weight loss not due to obsessive exercising and toning...and even with exercise and toning, then you'll understand that "skin" becomes the enemy. Last February, you might remember, that I had a lower abdominoplasty where they removed the excess skin and fascia from my lower abdomen and pretty much trashed it. I am all scarred up, but now I have a "flat" belly, and wear a smaller pant size.

Tomorrow, I do the top half. This includes the fat wings, that I've been rocking for years. Boobs, that are not currently the way a 25 year old's should look, and some of my sides. The implant will come in about three months if I can't handle having small"er" boobs. I don't think I'll be able to actually because my fucking thighs are the size of the moon and I'm going to be so incredibly pear shaped that I might just have to throw myself out of a tree.  I mean, I already kind of feel like Rex from Toy Story, with the huge thighs and flat "belly"...and now I'll have the tiny arms to boot!

I'm not really worried about the surgery. I don't really get worried about things like this. I know it'll go fine. I'm healthy (enough) and I have good recovery time. Hopefully I'll be back in work by next Tuesday. Sure, I won't have full range of motion in my arms, and I may still have fluid drains hanging from me, but by George I think I'll do it.

I'll keep you updated on my progress. I should probably take before and after pictures again, but that might be scary. Eep!

That being said, I'm hoping that this change in body will help my change in attitude and force me to get out there more and meet more people.

Don't get me wrong I love my friends, all 4 of them (hardy har har)...but I really need to get out and do more things. I'm pretty excited to go with Mo down to ATL and Florida in May though. I haven't seen my family in years, it's time.

On that note, enjoy your Valentine's Day, folks. Love you all! May all of you be "blessed" with jelly beans, as I have been!

By the way, just because it's Valentine's day and you're feeling all lovey and floaty and whatever, doesn't mean you should walk more slowly and block the whole goddamn sidewalk.Thank you, and have a nice day.

I have returned!

I could update about how great my trip to Jamaica was (because it was, until Monday morning). I could lie and say I didn't black out every night. I can tell you that I didn't do anything really stupid (but that would also be a lie). I could say that I'm really mean sometimes, and yet too nice to the point where people know IMMEDIATELY how to take advantage of me.

Honestly, I just wish I could show you pictures of the trip. I wish I could recount all of the great memories that B and I have...but I have no pictures. Not a single one, because guess what. I was robbed. Again.

That's right. I made it all the way to Sunday night with all of my stuff. Then...a Jamaican made me angry. I pounded back the alcohol in a VERY short period of time, and I blacked out. Bad. I was obsessed with selling these three hats that I had gone to 5 different footlockers to pick up for someone, like a fool.

I kept talking about them. I thought I was going to sell them to this guy with honey eyes. He came back to the room, and the next day (when I woke up from my blackout), I had no hats. I had no phone. I had no camera. I had no watch.

No watch! I got that watch when I was 15, in 11th grade. 10 years, and gone because I can't keep from blacking out.

That last day tainted the whole trip. As soon as the Giants won the Superbowl, it went downhill from there.

So again, this trip cost me WAY more than anticipated because now I have to replace all of my belongings again. Let us remember that I replaced that camera 2 weeks ago.

I just can't get a break.

I'm glad I have my phone back so I can talk to Mo, but honestly, I was perfectly content without a phone. People just make things complicated.

In other news, Sugar is engaged and the wedding will probably be the next time I go to Jamaica.

And, I'm having surgery on Wednesday...

I don't know how I feel about the surgery right now. I'm feeling a touch selfish because there's a potential that I will be spending more money on this surgery than a person supporting a family of 4 might make in a year in this city and still be considered over the poverty line...or at least that's how I feel.

I'm sure there are a million more things I could say. In fact, maybe I will talk about my trip more, but I'll wait until I'm laying in bed post-surgery feeling like shit with nothing to do but watch tv.

It's OK that it's not Thursday

Look, I'm not going to be able to blog tomorrow so since I like it's OK Thursdays so much, I'm going to participate again.

It's OK....

• That it's 60 degrees in New York and was the same yesterday and this makes me happy (while I'm here), but pissed because I always leave town when there's amazing weather here!
• That yesterday was my birthday and although I didn't do anything spectacular, I had two great meals with people I really adore. The Mexican really made this birthday great.
• That I cried at the copy machine yesterday because of my dad, and then again when I got home
• That I broke my family's one and only tradition (I didn't want a Carvel cake to celebrate)
• That even though I told this guy in Jamaica I would not bring his little brother hats, I have now been to three different stores all over NYC looking for his size so that I can surprise them tomorrow.
• That this time tomorrow, I will be on the beach with a drink in my hand
• To wish that Mo and a few other people were coming to Jamaica
• To be torn that someone who wasn't supposed to be in Jamaica will be there. Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of hers, but I was kind of wishing this would be mine and B's trip
• That my best friend in New York is moving to Detroit as soon as we come back from our trip - and to not know how I feel about that
• To have been in a great mood last night even though I was so full it hurt
• To have had some of the best sex with Steel Pans that we've had last night
• To want more lunch because the yogurt and salad I had just didn't do it
• To be watching the clock, excited to blow out of work for the next 5 days.
• To be undecided about getting breast implants in two weeks or not (ideally I would, but cost wise I will probably have to wait until early summer)
• That my phone freezes every time I try to upload pictures to facebook (this is actually not OK and quite irritating)
• To have spent $100 on Amazon.com in Kindle today because of 1-click purchasing
• To love chick lit, even if you sometimes feel lame about it
• To want to have a story like the ones you read about
• To switch between saying "I" and using the universal "You" in this list
• To have to repack your suitcase because the two liters of vodka you're bringing to a foreign country are damn heavy
• To pack three pairs of shoes that there's VERY little chance of you wearing because when you drink, you shouldn't be any further from the ground than you need to be because you're incredibly accident prone
• To show everyone your scars because it makes you feel tough - even though not one of your stories is tough...at all
• That this list is getting incredibly long
• To be slowly getting over EPT, even if you're upset he didn't even say "Happy Birthday"
• To have been excited to respond to hundreds of facebook "Happy Birthdays" because it felt like you got more than last year and you were feeling a little forgotten
• To want more cake and not to throw it up
• To have a million other things to say, and yet feel like this might be the time to quit

By the way, here's what I ate for my birthday dinner:

 

My flash didn't go off :( There was a spicy green sauce that just looks black here.

Best part of the meal. These scallops were AMAZING

By the way, the ice cream tasted like Tiramisu.