Doomed to Fail

I've been a little cranky lately, 'cuz I've given up both caffeine and processed sugar all in one fell swoop. What kind of crack am I on, you must be asking yourself? I wonder, too.

It's all part of the personal improvement regimen. I was appalled to discover that my old swimming trunks didn't fit anymore. That's not entirely true. They did fit, but not without my little gut hanging out, and displaying for all the world to see what religion I was or wasn't. So go figure.

I ordered a new pair from Audace, from which I'd ordered some underwear before. Underwear of the sexy variety, if you can wrap your head around that. Not so much the swim trunks... they're just basic black trunks that cover all the important bits.

So here we go... I'm turning into a gym rat, I guess.

Boy, could that be farther from the truth?!? I'm never gonna be one of those, but I am hoping to lose a little body fat, tone a muscle or two, and not cringe when I pass a mirror. I think that's a reasonable goal, don't you?

I've gone way too long without hanging out with the Lageman's, so we're making tentative plans to see the new Paul Thomas Anderson film this weekend, Punch Drunk Love. I have wariness, I must admit; it's stars Adam Sandler. I'm not the world's biggest Adam Sandler fan... in fact, I may indeed be the world's smallest Adam Sandler fan - and I don't mean "in stature."

But I figure, how can any day out with Kevin and Kirsten be bad? It's like sex & pizza. There's no such thing as bad sex or pizza, only varying degrees of good. I'm just sayin', is all.

So today I did something else that's very exciting: I bought an airline ticket for Raleigh-Durham the weekend of October 19th, so I can go and visit Jay O'Berski & Lissa Romero and see Jay in Love's Labour's Lost down in lovely Durham, NC. Or, as Jay likes to refer to it, "Nawth Kakalaka." Which tickles me no end, I have to tell you.
I can't believe that this is going to be my first flight since the tail-between-the-legs-return to Pittsburgh in July of 2001 - after Financial Fuck-Up '01®, a rather defining moment in my life.

Boy, was that a low time in my life, boys and girls. I'm planning on being like Jackie O; the details won't be released until after my children are dead. But suffice it to say that it was a low point, made all the more disastrous and stupid by the fact that it could have been so easily avoided.

What, I wonder, are the chances of three separate Australian expatriate sitting next to each other at three different tables at a Starbucks and all carrying on conversations (in the case of one, with a fourth Australian expatriate) without ever noticing each other? Just happened next to me, and it's freaking me out... I can't keep track of any of the conversations. Not that I'm trying. :o)

I just realized something: I can't remember the last time I just chilled and hung out in Sheeps Meadow. I spent much of this summer either working or traveling out of town to do a show, so I really haven't had any quality time in my most favorite place. This would also explain why I didn't get any sort of decent tan this past summer.

I have to remember to try to get there before the season is completely over. It's gonna have to be a leaf-observing expedition, because the chance to sunbathe in Central Park is well and truly done for this year.

The latest of the heat waves (this one, granted, only lasting a couple of days) has broken, and the temperatures are now hovering in the 60° range. It's sort of a "just desserts" situation for those of us who complained so bitterly about the heat this summer. Now it's time to pay for it. I am, though, looking forward to being in town to see the leaves in the park change.

Ah, autumn in New York! Which, a week ago, meant 80° temperatures! Now they're approaching something closer to what I expect. I wore a jacket and a turtleneck to work today, and couldn't have been happier or more comfortable.

Speaking of work, I've reached the ½-way point of my 90-day probationary period. I think they'll keep me, and I'm feeling pretty good about the folks at the Population Council. So far the work hasn't driven me mad, and I don't foresee it doing so; Sandy Arnold, my boss, is actually really easy to work for, and I think we've got a nice rapport.
So wish me continued luck!