And this is why I don't go to bars.

It's not that I'm anti social, it's just that I don't see the need to go to bars. I'm not trying to meet anyone. I don't see the point in spending ridiculous amounts for alcohol. And I like to have conversations with people I'm with at normal volumes, instead of shouting in their ear.

As you can imagine, I know a lot of DJs. And one of my friends DJs at a bar in Philly pretty regularly, so we went to see him mix on Saturday night. The place was packed, mostly with bachelorette and bachelor parties. Can I tell you how much I hate bachelorette parties? Hate. My favorite bachelorette party I attended was when we went to a bunch of dive bars and tried to make the bartender do a swedish fish shot, but they were always out of Jager. But I digress.

I could barely move. This one really drunk girl (who kinda looked like Snooki from Jersey Shore) kept trying her best to knock me over with her drunken dancing. I had one vodka and ginger ale, except I didn't detect any ginger ale whatsoever which makes me believe it was out of syrup, so I really had a vodka and soda. It was pretty good. It needed a lime though.

When Gene and I do go to bars, we like to play a few games. One of them is "spot the celebrity." Not actual celebrities, just people who kinda look like other people. That night in addition to Snooki we also saw James Marsden, who was sucking face in a really awkward way with an overly drunk, barely standing girl. We also like to play "who is going home with the DJ," but we didn't play that yesterday since we were with the DJ's girlfriend. She was going home with the DJ (despite one angry blondes sad attempts). Last night we got to play a game called "How much is too much?" Girls started standing and dancing on the speakers (bad for the speakers, by the way). Started with 2 girls. Girls got down on their own, and 2 boys got up. 2 boys, not allowed to dance. Too heavy. Then, 3 girls got up to dance. 3 girls are okay. One boy got up with them, too much. Boy has to get down. Then 2 more girls get up there. Apparently 5 girls on expensive speakers is a-okay, but 2 boys is TOO MUCH.

Also, some advice for those girls... if you're wearing a skin tight black mini dress probably made of spandex, and no underwear, you PROBABLY shouldn't dance up on something where creepy drunk guys can rub your legs and see your vajayjay. Just a thought.

Around 1am, I had had enough loud for the evening and wanted to go home, so we go back to our car. Outside, there is some dude with blood POURING down his face, and he's screaming at some guy and there's a girl in between them saying "Do me a favor. Baby, do me a favor. Just do me a favor" while bloody guy is still screaming and trying to go after who I assume punched him in the face. Then we see some guy smoking SOMETHING... that was NOT a cigarette, and I'm pretty sure NOT pot (I know what pot smells like. That wasn't pot). THEN!! I saw a hit and run. Well. I didn't see the ACTUAL hit and run. But I heard a car-crashing noise, saw silver car against black car, and 4 drunk people trying to walk, black car sped up... silver car chased him.

The only thing that would have made my night venture into Philly complete would have been some gang blocking off streets. Luckily, we got right on the highway back home after like a mile and everything was fine. And I love my friend and all, but I'm not going to see him again.

In case you weren't sure, I hate snow.

The greater Philadelphia area has officially broken it's record as the snowiest winter. It was 1995-1996 with 65.5" of snowfall that winter. I remember that winter.. I was 11. It was awesome! We had like three feet of snow at one time. My brother and I built forts in the backyard, as in we would pile all of the snow up in one big pile, and then dig a whole bunch of tunnels and have a snowball war. Strangely enough, it was very warm in our ice-houses. So far in the winter of 2009-2010, we've had 72" of snow. That's six feet. Six feet of snow.

I'm a little sad that I can't do that now. I mean, I could... but people would definitely look at me funny. Now that I'm a responsible adult (ha!) I really dislike snow. Though, this has been the first time that I've been able to stay home because of snow. Because I couldn't get out of my house. And even if I could get out of my house, if a cop found me on the road... I'd get a ticket with a pretty hefty fine. So I was going NO WHERE. Two whole days being stuck with Gene and no way to go anywhere else? You think I'd like that. I didn't. I was SO READY to go back to work today.

You would think that being home, and having plenty of time, that I would have exercised my little heart out. Nope. I haven't turned on Jillian since Feb 1. It's been a while. But I've been shoveling! A lot! My biceps are tired!! Tonight I'll get back into it. I've just been so unmotivated. I was so stressed out from the big work project... then it was "that time," so I was so not in the mood to do any physical activity... and then we got a shit-ton of snow. So shoveling was my exercise. I think I may have thrown out my back again. Stupid snow. I didn't even get a lot of knitting done! I can't find a single tapestry needle. I have no idea where they all got to. I have five... and I can't find a single one!

For now, I'm just going to imagine Mexico. Or Hawaii. Or Bermuda. And PRETEND like I'm not surrounded by snow and ice. Yuck.

Snowpocalypse 2010

The sky vomited snow all over me yesterday. They were predicting 6-12 inches. Then it became 12-15 inches. Nope. 26.5 inches of snow. It's officially the second highest snowfall in this area, only beat by 1996 when there was three feet.

I'm not a fan of snow. In fact, now that I'm not a student... I hate snow. Yes, it's pretty. But then I have to drive in it and put my life in danger because I have to go to work. It didn't stop snowing until 3pm Saturday. They didn't think it was going to stop until 6pm or 8pm, so luckily it moved out of here earlier. However around 2pm yesterday, I get a phone call from one of my "managers" at work. This girl has no real power over any employees, really, but thinks it's her responsibility to boss me around all the time and treat me like a child.

She called to tell me that I was scheduled on Sunday... that they WILL be open... and that she EXPECTS to see me. My response? Well.. I live in the city, and if they haven't plowed my street yet, I'm not going anywhere. Because I'm not shoveling 2 feet of snow in the STREET so that I can put my life at risk to go to a retail job. Sorry. You have a problem with that, then you can talk to the GM and get me fired, and I'll just get a different second job. It's not a problem. Here's the thing though. I'm one of those people who doesn't call out. When I call out? I'm severely sick (or just got in a car accident and am being taken to the hospital...). I feel so guilty about calling out when I'm sick or when it snowed and I honestly don't feel comfortable driving that I just go in. So she didn't have to call me and basically threaten me. She didn't say "or else" but it was most definitely implied. Anyone, except her apparently, who has ever worked with me or who works with me now knows that I'm very reliable and loyal.

I'm so fired up about it! And honestly, the roads might be okay now because it stopped snowing at 3pm and they had all night to plow and salt the major roads, but when she called me, it was still snowing really hard. AND! We were in a state of emergency. As in, if you're on the road... and you're not a government employee... you will be ticketed for driving. I am also not getting a ticket! The state of emergency is still in effect for today, but the ban on non-essential drivers has been lifted, so now I can't use the Governor as my excuse. We managed to dig one of the cars out (not mine... the road mine is parked in still hasn't been plowed. We didn't even try to dig it out). I haven't been outside yet, but I imagine that everything has been effectively salted.

Stupid retail.

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot.

Tuesday was a very emotional day for me. Very. I finally watched the finale of Dollhouse and LOST returned. I watch a lot of television, okay?

Personally, I think Joss Whedon is a genius. If you don't know who I'm talking about, he was the creator/head writer of Buffy and Angel... but more importantly of Firefly, Dollhouse, and Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog. Check out the last three. Not that I have anything against Buffy and Angel; I loved those shows. But Dr. Horrible is hilarious. And Firefly and Dollhouse were GENIUS. Absolute genius. And FOX totally screwed Joss over. Firefly only lasted one season... Dollhouse managed to get two (and I really think it was because of major campaigning done on the cast and crews part, and campaigning by the crazy fans) but was cancelled with six episodes to go. Firefly has a cooler story, I think. Firefly was the best show on television that never got to finish its story. It was on FOX in 2002... and then was promptly cancelled. FOX showed the episodes out of order, put it on Friday nights (aka where TV shows go to die), and didn't promote it AT ALL. This was season 1 of American Idol, after all. God FORBID they plug anything else. A few years after Firefly was cancelled... Joss Whedon received a miracle. Someone wanted to make a movie to finish the story. It was called Serenity. I actually saw Serenity FIRST. Which was a big mistake. Because Joss Whedon LOVES to kill main characters. Angel? Anya? Joyce? Cordelia? Fred? He loves it. Loves to kill main beloved characters. So I watched Firefly KNOWING what is going to happen... and I cried the entire time.

Now for Dollhouse. If you have never heard of this show.. go get it. Now. It's awesome. There are a few weak episodes, but in general, this show is amazing. And it actually got a nice concise ending that makes sense. FOX actually never aired the original Season 1 finale. The Season 2 finale, Epitaph Two, was a continuation of the un-aired season 1 finale, Epitaph One. I cried like someone had just shot my puppy in front of me. I was puffy... I wasn't forming words... it was bad. Poor Gene comes downstairs to watch LOST, and I'm curled up in a little corner on the couch ready to punch people.

AND THEN I WATCH THE SEASON 6 PREMIERE OF LOST. Oh my god. It was such a mistake to watch that much emotional television in one sitting. Three straight hours of crying. Not. Good. LOST is my favorite television show. It's the only show where I own all of the seasons... and I often go back and rewatch. Mostly because I'm trying to prove some new theory I have. Yup. I'm one of THOSE LOST fans. The ones who pause the DVR because "Namaste" is written backwards on a painting in the background... the ones who write down whenever the numbers 4 8 15 16 23 42 are used. I've seen the first four seasons in their entirety twice. And multiple episodes I've seen more often than that. Luckily, Gene is ALSO one of THOSE people, so it works out. But unfortunately, Gene is really pissing me off about LOST. Because he is convinced that there is inevitable disappointment in the series finale. You see... Gene was a Sopranos fan. I don't think I need to elaborate any more.

Darlton... please prove Gene wrong. Please give us the best season of LOST ever. I'm still a little upset with you for killing a few people that I really realy liked. But I have faith.

The burn is supposed to go away soon, right?

I took Monday off from cursing Jillian Michaels, but I did work out this morning pre-work. I do actually think it's a good time to work out. Not getting up any earlier. Just actually getting up when I wake up, go downstairs, and want to die for 20 minutes. When I was finished and walking out to my car... I felt GREAT.

My back.. still doing good. I'm trying to be very careful not to do anything too strenuous for my back. My quads? Totally different story. It hurts to walk... it hurts to stand up... it hurts to sit down. It hurts thinking about doing those three things. I did run across the street at get smaller weights though. I think my 5 lb weights are a bit much, especially for shoulder exercises. So I'm using 3s instead. I think it's a good plan.

But what do I do about this burning? This hurting to bend over.. hurting when I bend my legs.. hurting WHEN I KNIT (for serious--my biceps and pecs hurt really bad when I'm knitting. Who knew those muscles were engaged while knitting!) Anyone have any "oh dear god make it stop hurting" tips besides rolling around in a tub filled with icy hot? I don't want to smell like icy hot.

I know that when it hurts like this, it's good hurt. And that I should keep going. Let me tell you how difficult that is. I did some MAJOR cheating today (did not do all the pushups. did not do all the shoulder presses, or the side lunges). I know it's supposed to get better. But right now, it doesn't feel like it's going to get any better. This is the part where I usually quit. But I can't quit this time. My chiropractor and my doctor will yell at me again... a lot... if i quit again. I need some non-quitting "you can do this" mojo.

I can no longer feel my legs.

I did something dumb yesterday. I finally did the 30 Day Shred that has been sitting, unopened, in my living room for the past 2 1/2 weeks. I'm pretty sure that Jillian Michaels is the harbinger of the apocalypse.

The good news is that my back didn't revolt and try to kill me. In fact, my back feels pretty okay. It's my legs that are KILLING ME. From my butt all the way to my calves, I feel just about numb. You know that "I haven't exercised in months and months and now I feel like jello" feeling? Jello legs. I haz them. Mainly glutes, calves, hamstrings, and thighs. Those are now made of jello. My arms, surprisingly, are just fine. And there was weight strength training, and I used FIVE POUND WEIGHTS (because I could only find one of my three pounders...)

The way this work out (and I think all of the Biggest Loser workouts) are set up is a three-part system. As in you start on level one, and then after two weeks you move on to level two, and finally level three. Each level is a bit more challenging. Right now, I can't see moving past level 1. Dear god. But I am very determined this time to stick with some form of exercise and hopefully I'll prevent throwing out my back in the future.

Right now I wish I had some epsom salt... a really hot bath... some tea... and a good book. Then maybe I wouldn't feel like jello. But I have to do it again tonight. My legs hurt just thinking about it.

Little Miss Overachiever

Remember those books from way back when? The Little Miss and Mister Men books? Little Miss Sunshine... Little Miss Chatterbox... Mister Grumpy... Mister Nosey?

Meet Little Miss Overachiever. (me)

Ravelympics 2010 is coming up, and for you non-knitters and non-ravelers, it's this challenge that the awesome folks of Ravelry came up with to coincide with the Olympics. We start new projects during the opening ceremonies of the olympics, and the projects have to be finished by the end of the Olympics. 17 days. What do I decide to do? A SWEATER. A really pretty sweater. That I started and screwed up, so I have to start again, but I have new really pretty yummy yarn for Christmas that is itching to become this sweater.

But before Ravelympics happens... I have two baby sweaters to do. One for a good friend from work, and another for friends from college. One is due in March, the other in April... and baby showers are SOON. As in "Oh shit I have to do this in two weeks? Both of them?" Whoops.

The plan is to finish BOTH sweaters before Ravelympics starts. Or, have the March baby sweater finished and the April baby sweater halfway finished, because her shower isn't until late February-early March. And I'm planning it. So I can push it until I'm finished.

Oh yeah, and I'm not finished Gene's Christmas sweater yet. Whoops.