A New Feature

This blog is best described as free-form, at best, but since I do take public transportation to get to and from work, and since I am a freak magnet, as I’ve previously documented, I figured it might be fun to include an occasional item about “The Weirdest Person I Saw on Metro Today.”

*ahem*

Both candidates are from yesterday. The first was a companion on my morning commute, who was wearing a full-length down coat (quite sensible, as it has been ass cold for the past few days here). Apparently the down had shifted in her coat, and she wasn’t satisfied with the distribution. So she proceeded to take her coat off, and pull and tug at it, in between getting up and shaking her coat out from every possible angle. For the duration of the time we were on the train together, which was approximately 30 minutes. Now, this isn’t necessarily “funny” weird, as she may have OCD or something, which definitely isn’t funny. But there were more than a few raised eyebrows on the train as she got up and down and up and down and just couldn’t leave that stupid coat alone. If it’s that problematic, I would venture to guess that it’s time to get a new coat.

The second, and the winner, was on my evening commute. There has been a trend in the past 10 years or so toward funky, odd, fleece-y winter hats in all kinds of wild shapes and colors. I have no problem with these (even if they’re not my particular aesthetic). This particular individual, who I initially saw from behind, was wearing a hat that looked like a skull cap, with these odd, violently-colored limbs extending from it that looked as though her head was an exploding box of crayons. I was overcome with curiosity and made my way down the train so that I could see the rest. While certainly unskilled, her makeup was actually anticlimactic, because there are plenty of people who draw two single lines on their foreheads and call them eyebrows, and apply blusher to their cheeks with abandon. While her mismatched but exuberantly-colored socks were a treat, nothing really compared to the awe-inspiring spectacle of her hat.

Or would it best be called a headdress?

In any event, that’s all I’ve got for today, but I’m quite sure there will be more to come.

And, scene…

Day Two...

Got up early to exercise again this morning, so that was good. Going to see the doctor for a follow-up appointment next week; that should be good. Still no more pain, which is fan-freaking-tastic. I’m still sore and my back is still swollen, but considering that someone cut a hole in it a few weeks ago, I think that’s to be expected. It’s weird to have a goose egg in the middle of your lower back, though; you feel it all the time. However, my back appears to be (and feels to be) healing up nicely, and I have a tidy little vertical scar, a few inches long and bright pink, running down the center of my lower back. It almost looks like a little exclamation mark, as though even my lower back is surprised at how big my ass has gotten after weeks of not being able to exercise.

However, I’m working on that part.

I have my pictures of my nephews up on my walls again (I didn’t have much time to organize the new office, since I was only here one day before the “no sitting” orders were handed down.), which is great. Now I just need more recent pictures, and some pictures of my niece. I wish there were a large family event coming up…oh, wait.

So, it appears that life is kind of back to normal, for the moment. Just in time for it to get all turned upside down again!

I'm Back...

Back at work today. It’s going well, people are glad to see me and all kinds of busy. I’m trying to dive back into things, but I have a feeling it will be a day or two before I’m fully up to speed. It’s okay, though – it’s good to be back to my life, even if I didn’t get to sleep in this morning. (MAN, I am going to miss that.)

Special K and I have been venturing out for things like silly wedding-related errands, and last week one of the errands was getting me a new phone, since the screen went out on my current phone and it hasn’t exactly been user-friendly lately. I decided to also take this opportunity to switch carriers to the one that Special K (and many others) use. I’ve been less-than-thrilled with the coverage I’ve received with my previous carrier (fewest dropped calls my ass), and he and I can get some kind of uber-inexpensive family plan through a deal with his employer, so I that’s what we’ll do. And I now have a phone that works. The girl at the kiosk (I didn’t feel like searching around for a store) was very nice, but clearly wanted to sell me something fancier than what I was in the market for. With cell phones, I just need a phone. I have a camera. I have e-mail, and I don’t need my phone to do all those things for me. Granted, it’s cool if it can, but since I don’t have those things now, I’m not going to miss ‘em. Anyway, I have a nice, simple phone that works, even if the ringtones are hard core lame. So yay for that.

We did actually finally get to go out for real on Saturday, and had plans to go to a gallery opening, but instead contented ourselves with a great dinner at Zaytinya, accompanied by his brother and his brother’s girlfriend – a lovely girl in from out of town. It was a fun night, and good to be back out among the hustle and bustle, although I was reminded why I loathe Zaytinya after 6:30 pm on a Friday or Saturday night. Every hipster and their mother is there, trying not to spill their apple martinis as people snake by them on their way to snag a table. However, once we reached our table, the service was both prompt and friendly, and the food was delicious as always. Much fun was had, and it did serve its purpose – making me feel like I was part of the world again.

And now I’m back at my desk, hoping that I can make my “well rested glow” last until the wedding. We shall see how I do, but I’m taking a couple of days off before the wedding, and will do my best to get lots and lots of sleep in that time. Just in case I’m running a deficit again. (By some freak chance…)

I had a flat tire this weekend (well, it developed over the course of a few weeks, but I finally decided to do something about it this weekend.), and Special K was nice enough to put the spare on for me. If I’m not supposed to lift more than 10 pounds, I’m pretty sure lifting my car, even with a jack, is out of the question. I drove it to my lovely mechanic this morning, who will put a new set on for me today. The bad part is that I have to buy a new set of tires. The good part is that I got 60,000+ miles out of those tires, so I definitely feel as though I got my money’s worth, and that I have to be back in Rockville by 5:30, when the garage closes. That means a forced early day on my first day back. Which is actually fine, because I’ve noticed that I still wear out kind of quickly.

But apart from that, I’m trying to be good – I get up and walk every 30 minutes or so, since sitting at my desk still isn’t great for my back. I’m actually asking for help and stuff, which is really hard for me, and really humbling. But I suppose this is also good for my character, too. Or some such crap.