Friday Night

On Monday, I an email exchange with my coworker.

ME: I don't usually start planning to drink on Friday night on Monday, but it's one of those days.

HER: HA! It's 8:23.

ME: I know.

On Tuesday I picked up my gym bag to get changed before catching the bus, got distracted by a question from a coworker which turned into a conversation, and 25 minutes later was setting the gym bag down on my dinning table while realising that I had completely forgotten about bootcamp.

It was just one of those weeks. In the back of my mind was the continuing thought that Friday night would mean a bottle of wine. While on one hand that was fun, on the other I found it stressful.

To most people, a glass of wine after a long week is nothing, but in my early/mid twenties I had to deal with two alcoholics in my immediate family. At a time when my friends didn't give too thoughts to the amount of alcohol they would consume on a weekend, I became hyperaware of every drink that passed my lips. I became especially aware of when I was drinking alone. When I stopped living with roommates, I stopped drinking unless I was with people.

Yet here I was, spending a whole week planning a night of drinking by myself.

Last night, I curled up in my pyjamas with my Chinese delivery dinner, my wine in a TARDIS mug, two purring cats, and Tangled in the DVD player.

I can not think of a better way to have ended that week.

Here's to a better week ahead.

Question: what was good about your week? Cheer me up, people!

One of Those Weeks

I know it's only Tuesday, but I'm already done with this week.

Midway through Monday, I started to feel achy and flu-y again. I had never really shook whatever it was I had after New Years but it wasn't bad enough that I felt the need to do anything about it. Perhaps I should have.

At any rate, after 10 years of thinking 'I should buy a thermometer', I bought a thermometer on my way home. Correction, I bought a defective thermometer. No matter how much I shook it, ran it under cold water or yelled obscenities at it, it refused to budge from 108F. As I moved to package it up so I could return it, the bloody thing slipped from my hand into the bathroom sink and shattered.

I feel ya, buddy!

Remember how excited I was that I'm not involved in a certain work project? Well, it was because I was already allocated to two major projects this year and I just straight up didn't have time for another one. I got the preliminary changes for one of the projects yesterday.

So long, social life. You were fun while you lasted!

I guess that's what I get for dancing around the office, laughing at everyone else.

Then, just to top off this week of joy, I decided to be a mature adult and not go to Emerald City Comicon this year. The time of the Con combined with financial plans I want to achieve this year just made it really difficult to justify going. It was a really difficult choice to make because there are a lot celebrities there this year I would give my left kidney to see. I was priding myself on being mature about my decision when I saw the announcement today that Karen Gillian is going to be there.

*sigh*

Way to rub salt into the wound.

Not a Real Post... Again

I wanted to post a real post tonight but the internet's been up and down more times than a white flag in the French army. Solution: write a small filler post, yell at the internet connection a few more times, write something offline later this evening, and then hopefully successfully post it tomorrow morning.

If there's not something here tomorrow morning, please have bail money ready. I will most likely be calling you at some point.

Anyway, on with the filler post. I got an email today for a new project at work showing the Project Resource Allocation Hours and my name was nowhere in the email. Every single person in my department is on this project but me.

I screamed with joy and rubbed it in the face of every single coworker.

I'm not joking. I did my Kermit Flail impression during our afternoon meeting today.

I love my job. I love learning new things, I love assisting in directing the changes that occur in our company, and I love teaching people knew skills and ideas. But I have been involved in all but one project that's come through our department in the last two years in some way. In many cases, it hasn't been to the same degree as my coworkers but I still have to learn the same policies and rules that they do to contribute my smaller amount of hours. I'm already committed 100% to another project which is why I'm not on this one, but now I have an emailed excuse for why I get to do diddly. I'll take it!

This, my friends, deserves a glass of wine tonight.

So That's That Then?

It's incredible to think that another year has come to an end. Oh, to be a kid again when time seemed to take f-o-r-e-v-e-r to pass. Now, another year is over faster than I can drink a keg of Pinot Noir. How did that happen?

Cersei needs to start the first AA in Westeros.

On the whole 2013 was a decent year. There wasn't a whole lot of great amazing moments that will make up the highlight reel of my life when the time comes, but it wasn't a bad year.

The highlight of the year was travelling to Germany and Switzerland to see my friends and visit the old familiar places that I love (as well as visit a few new ones)!

Hanging out in Thun, one of my Swiss "homes", during a rare break in the rain.

And it pissed with rain the entire time I was there. In fact, it even snowed one night. Snow!! In May!! As I said to my Swiss friends "I didn't get to see the mountains I love so much because of the clouds so, obviously, I'll just have to come back." They were all very amenable to the idea. Sadly, my back account just laughed and walked away with a credit card statement.

Stumbling home from the pub in wet cold St. Gallen.

A close second for highlight of the year was finding Chikara Kickboxing and Bootcamp through my friend (and devil-on-my-shoulder), Katie. I can find kickboxing at many gyms, what I can't find is such a welcoming, friendly and supportive group of women. Also, I've found that I really like kicking and punching things. Like, if I didn't know me, I'd be worried about how much enjoyment I get out of it. As it is, I know me. I know that the idea of hurting someone (outside of my or someone else's life being in danger) doesn't sit well with my conscience. Kicking them when they're holding a pad? Well, they're just asking for it.

If Dean Winchester punches you, you deserve it... probably.

I credit the kickboxing for why I actually want to set down some resolutions this year. The past few years, I haven't bothered with resolutions. What's the point in writing down a couple of goals when I know that by the end of January, I will have stopped one half and not bothered starting the other? Generally, that just seems like a waste of paper and I quite like trees.

But this year, I want to set goals not to start new things but to build on what I'm already doing, to hold myself accountable to the changes I've already made. It might like seem like a small difference from writing resolutions to start something new, but mentally it's a whole different ball game. At least, that's what I keep telling myself.

Obviously then, it would stand to reason that if I'm talking about resolutions that I would share them. And I will. Tomorrow. Right now, however, it's time to celebrate the coming of the new year!

Happy 2014 Everyone!

If She Mentions "Ironman" I'm Out!

Those of you who know me IRL or follow me on any sort of social media (and even on this blog) are probably aware that I have a very good friend named Katie.

I recently joked on Twitter (because she's not on there) that I have to stop drinking with Katie because every time we have a girl's night, I end up agreeing to another ridiculous idea.

"You should totally come with me next time I go to Ireland!"

"Kickboxing sounds like a fantastic idea. I will totally start going with you!"

"Help you train for the TC10K with lunch time runs? Run it with you? Why not!?! Let's do it!"

Out of the blue after kickboxing this week, Katie said "I need to get you drunk so you agree to train for a marathon with me."

Shit! She's on to me!