Jello’s Ramblings Part Deux

I’d say that I’m feeling about 97% better.  This nasty stomach virus has almost completely released its grip on me.  I’m still a bit tired but that might just be my busy schedule.  I don’t feel like I could go out and run a mile right now and at times I’m still a bit woozy.

The day outside looks lovely and Fence and I are playing tennis tonight.  Uhmmmm, I haven’t picked up my racquet in almsot two years so whatever good impression Fence may have had of me will be totally lost today.  Fence may be disillusioned and believe that Jello is poised, elegant and maybe even a little bit graceful but after today’s game……those adjectives will be replaced with clumsy, goofy and generally “sport challenged.”

Ahhhh, to think that two years ago, Bonnie and I braved the heat and played our little hearts out at the tennis courts at work.  We took lessons and played almost every work day.  It didn’t matter that it may have been a code orange day, that didn’t stop our dedication!  Bonnie sprained her ankle and I had my brithmark removed on my back and that pretty much put us out of commission for a while.  After that….my tennis abilities were never the same.

I’m hoping Fence could give me a few lessons and be patient with me, hee hee.  Heck, I’ll treat him to dessert for chasing after all the balls I hit out of the courts today.

I picked up my mom from the airport yesterday and we celebrated mother’s day back at her house.  my brother and cousins came over and we heard all about my mom’s vacation to Osaka and Taiwan.

My mom bough the dogs little shirts and dresses.

I really like the little dress that she got for Heidi.

And we had her pose with the little samuri letter opener knife, ha!

It started Thursday night….the ickiest stomach virus ever crept into my tummy and has been living there for the past few days.  I got sooooo sick Thursday night and all day Friday.  I had a full day on Friday and had to call in sick cause I couldn’t be more than a few feet from the bathroom.  Total ick!

My weekend was basically spent on the couch.  Fence was nice enough to come over and take care of me.  I looked like complete craziness on Friday but he came and brought me some much needed Gatorade and some fruit.  Let me explain the extent of my crazy look.  I had my hair all greasy and up in a messy bird nest on the to of my head.  It was not beautifully done or artistic by any means.  It was a mess. I had on a neon green t-shirt with a giant frog on it and some baby blue seat pants.  My face was pasty from being sick all day and I probably smelled like a dirty gym sock.  How lovely.  I didn’t really want an  company cause I looked so horrible but Fence was concerned and wanted to bring me some supplies.  I’m surprised he still talks to me after that night.

I have never encountered a stomach virus this bad before.  I’m still not 100% today but I’m getting there.  So I’m playing catch up today at work and still feeling a lil woozy.

I couldn’t wait to get through the day.  I’d check my phone for the time.  Good thing I was running from meeting to meeting cause if I was sitting idly at my desk, the minutes would feel like hours.  A last minute work project kept my in the office a bit later that I expected.

I rushed home and quickly went out for a run with Heidi.  Maybe it was excitement or just my overall lack of energy but the run was a tough one and I wasn’t able to do my full 2 miles.  Darn it.  I jumped in the shower and playfully sprinkled water on Heidi every time she’s poke her nose in through the shower curtain.

What should I wear? What did I want for dinner?  I threw on a top and some jeans and applied my make-up.  Before I could do anything else, he called.  I felt like something light after my run and we decided to get sushi.  Within ten minutes I was out the door.  I fidgeted nervously at his door when I rang the doorbell.

I felt my nervousness melt away when he gave me a big hug.  We had lots of laughs at dinner.  As we walked to and from the car, he joked about not putting his hands in his pockets this time and held my hand.  I felt little nervous prickles up and down my arm.  After dinner we went to get frozen yogurt.  Before I knew it, it was almost 10 pm.

I didn’t intend to stay much longer cause I had the pup at home and a full day of work today but somehow we spent another hour talking.  Our favorite conversation now is how I had no idea he liked me for so long.  He said that he didn’t really know if I was interested and his biggest concern was that I would get freaked out and disappear like I did before.

Later that night when I got home, I called P.  P is such an all or nothing person and I had to steer him back to the nothing.  He’s 100% committed to the relationship and to me and I told him that I wasn’t and that that wasn’t fair for him.  I told him that I appreciate so many things about him and really do care about him but that I just think our differences are too great.  We fight all the time and I notice myself being really inpatient with him and I know its because I have not accepted him for what he is.  He was upset of course and threatened that going back and forth was destructive and would tear us apart.  I said I understood and that its a chance I’m going to have to take.

Sorry!  I’ve been stuck in meetings for most of the day and I haven’t had time to post.

Super duper quick update.  Fence and I noticed that its been two months since we started hanging out so we’re meeting up for dinner tonight to celebrate that and the end of classes for me.  Well, almost end of class..I still have to turn in my paper.  Uhmmmm, does this mean we’re a couple?  I don’t know and I feel no pressure to define it, hee hee.  We’ll see how things go.

P and I have talked since the “incident” last week and I saw him briefly last night.  I need to stop being a pushover and have a straight talk with him.  I plan on doing that tonight after dinner with Fence.  He’s been super nice and really good but I know that he’s on his best behavior and he’s really trying hard….but ultimately I need to be honest with him.  We gave it a good shot and its just not what I’m looking for.  Ugh, nonetheless its hard.  I do have a special lil soft spot for him.

I met up with Fence after work on Friday.  We each had a beer out on his deck and munched on chips and dip.  The weather was beautiful and it felt so good to be outside.  I was soaking up the sun and I could feel myself relaxing as I inched towards the weekend.

We talked out there for a while and decided to go inside and chose a place for dinner.  We ended up going through the songs he had in his iTunes collection.  Yes, we were sitting on the couch….that’s a first for us.  Earlier in the day I had chatted with several friends and made up my mind that I needed to make a move on Fence.  I had to find out if there was any chemistry between us. So as we sat there on the couch together, I made sure that we sat really close together.  When the time was right, i put my head on his shoulder.  OMG, I think my heart was racing out of my chest.  I now feel pretty bad for guys when they make their first move.  talk about nerve wrecking!

He leaned over and put his arm around me and held my hand.  I don’t remember the logistics of the situation but it felt nice.  As out faces grew nearer, BAM!  It finally happened.  Ok, I won’t go into the details but you get the gist of it.  We had moved from G rated to PG rated and it was nice.

I saw him again on Sunday and he came over to my place.  He was so sweet in that he picked up somethign I needed at trader joes and brought Heidi some treats.  He now has a new best friend.  The little four legged chaperone had he eye on us the whole time and when she felt that we were getting too close, she’d wedge her little face or body between us.

We went out for dinner in my neighborhood and when we got back, he said that he wanted to talk to me about something.  I went into full “deer in headlights” mode and he quickly reassured me that it was a good talk.  He said that we’d been dating for a few months not and that he really liked me and wanted to keep seeing me.  Huh?  I had no clue that we were dating?  Remember all the back and forth I did, wondering if we were just buddies or not.  I told him that I didn’t know he liked me, haha.  He was rather surprised.

Duh, I’m slow!

I think most of my friends will be happy to hear that P is out of the picture.  Phew!

I must give him credit in that he was great these past few weeks.  He really made an effort to be more flexible and he focused on being attentive to my moods and needs.  He handled situations well and was the more grounded on.  Well….what was wrong then?  I had dinner with a friend last night and she made a great point.  P’s doing all these things and that’s great but the bigger issue is…..he’s doing it but its not him.  He’s no longer being P.  He’s being someone else.  And if someone has to work that hard at being “normal” that says something.  I had plans to meet P for coffee after dinner and he showed up, very happy to see me.  His commitment was always 100% and I know it was hard for him to be with me cause I always had one foot out the door….actually its more like running down the hallway before he can catch me and shutting the door in his face.  Dramatic….yes!  So the immature Jello in me did something awful.  Rather than have a talk to him about it, I picked a fight.  I’m not proud of myself for what I did and I know that I need to do some thinking and reflecting on this too but I picked a fight and left in a big huff.

As I got to my car, I saw him drive up.  I drove off without stopping.

I keep rubbing and stretching my tense shoulders and neck.  By the end of the day the tightness is almost unbearable.  i just got a massage about a week ago so I couldn’t be due for another one!

I’ve been typing on makeshift desks all week.  I know its an ergonomic nightmare and I’m paying the price for it now.  All day yesterday I was in the testing lab and the desks are a bit higher than what I’m used to.  last night I used one of those large rubbermaid storage bins as a makeshift desk.  I don’t have a desk at home so I do homework on the dining, kitchen or coffee table.  Last night I wanted to watch 27 Dresses but I had to work on my paper so I decided to do both!!!  I had to watch the movie in my bedroom cause the Blue ray play is up there hence not working on the coffee table.

Heidi was great in that she chewed on a bone all night and romped around my room playing with her toys.  She only climbed up in my lap once and when I noticed that she was lying down next to me, I knew it was bed time….for both of us.

Earlier in the evening, I stopped off at the mall to do some quick shopping for two birthday gifts and a mother’s day gift.  I don’t like chore shopping, shopping cause you have to and not cause you want to.  hee hee.  I got home and chatted with Fence as I heated up a quick dinner.  I was disciplined enough to start my paper writing/movie watching right after dinner.

Towards the end of the night, my shoulders were killing me and P called.  I totally picked a fight with him and released some of my frustrations.  Not fair and not great and I apologized for that.  Fence called and we chatted for a bit while I walked Heidi before bed.

I’m about 80% done with my paper and boy oh boy will I be happy to hand that sucker in.  I’m at about 38 pages with a lot of it being screen shots and diagrams.  My goal is to have it done by the end of the weekend so I can be a normal person next week and stop this madness!  Hee hee.

One of those really productive….burst of energy moods….

Yesterday was a super productive day. I was in meetings most of the day and I kicked off a new project that will last for a few months. It has several different components and it might actually take me to California. Can you believe that I have never been to Cali?

I rushed over to class after work and was a few minutes late due to the traffic and rain. I really wanted to get my presentation over with and was fully prepared to volunteer to go first. One guy in class, the strange chatty one, needed to go first cause he had to leave class early so I went second. Phew! Glad that’s over with. I coasted through the rest of class just spacing out but still maintaining a “hmm, very interesting and I’m totally listening to what you are saying” look about me. haha.

I went home after class and took Heidi out for a brief walk. She’s not a huge fan of adolescent children and she barked and strutted around when she saw a few neighborhood kids playing outside. I was hungry and rushed inside to heat up some grub. Its about 8:30 at this point. After chowing down, I still felt pretty good about the day and I started typing my term paper. I manager to get about 4 full pages written up before I felt my brain shut down. It was after 10 and I was ready to konk out.

I put Heidi i her bed and trekked upstairs. I folded some laundry and changed into my PJs. Just when I was mid-change, Eric called and he wanted to drop off his bike. His parents are coming to visit from Taiwan tomorrow and he wanted to stash his motorcycle away in my garage. haha. Back downstairs I went to wait for him. While I was waiting, I checked my email and noticed that Eric’s roommate, Katie (who is dating Lucy’s brother), had sent me a message via Facebook. Turns out there was a string of burglaries right down the street over the weekend. They happened Friday night into Saturday morning. They entered the houses through unlocked windows or doors and took money from wallets or purses lying around. A few MP3 players were also taken. They actually happened right on Eric’s street.

Ack! Scary! Sounds like its probably some kids if that’s all they are taking but still, it makes me feel a bit uneasy. I checked my windows and door. Eric maneuvered his bike in and I crawled into bed. I was asleep in no time….

I got up bright and early (not so bright cause it was raining) on Sunday morning to go and cheer my brother on in his first race. He ran the 10 mile GW Classic and I know he was nervous cause this was his first race. He works with a bunch of very active people and he was running this with a few of them. He’s been biking like a fiend (he’s doing the Diabetes century ride in June) and running often too so I knew that he could do it but probably had a bad case of the nerves nonetheless. My mom’s out of town so I wanted to be there to show my support.

Boy was it hard to get my bum out of bed so early and trek down to Alexandria. I made it, found a parking spot (it was so crowded) and fond my way to the finish area about 5 minutes before I saw my brother appear among the crowd. I snapped that picture on my phone as he was walking towards me. He was pooped! I’m so proud he did the race and he finished too! If I keep up my running, I can see myself doing 5ks but I don’t think I want to do any 10 milers.

I mentioned how proud I was of my brother as we were walking to his car. We’ve never been a family of active people. We could take home the prize in any competitive eating contests but that’s about it. My brother said, “Well, hopefully we’ll set a standard and our kids will be less chubby.”

After the run, we joined his group of co-workers for brunch nearby in downtown Alexandria.  My bro washed down his steak and eggs with a beer and I joined the festivities sipping on a mimosa.  It was sooo tasty but I was super sleepy after brunch and I had to finish up my presentation for class yesterday.  I took a quick power nap and was able to finish up in time to meet Fence for a quick pizza dinner.

I met up with friends for an after work happy hour on Friday.  I had a giant glass of margarita as big as my head and couldn’t stay too late cause I had to walk Heidi and work on my presentation.  I was a champ and knocked out over 20 slides that night.

I had lunch with an old co-worker on Saturday and a quick trip into the mall after lunch turned into a fun filled girls shopping trip.  We got held up in the make-up section at Nordstroms.  They had a make-up event going on and my friend was getting a mini makeover and I was tackled by another sales person and joined in the fun.  30 minutes later, we walked out with a bag full of new make-up and a lot more debt.  haha.

I didn’t get home till late in the afternoon and took Heidi out to the Reston Town center to meet P and to get some outdoor time.  We had dinner and I managed to squeeze in about an hour of homework time.

So all in all, I did manage to get everything I needed to do done this weekend.  I have my final presentation for class tonight and I will be so happy to have it over with.  That gives me two weeks to work on my paper and I’m done!  So I plan on keeping up the momentum and working on my paper every evening and over the weekends.  This weekend will be tougher cause I have Lin’s b’day to celebrate and a good friend is opening up her dental office too.  Good times!