J is not a jerk ;)

Update to yesterday's post:

I in no way was implying my sister J was a jerk.  She DID offer to let me stay and watch a stupid movie with her.  It was just not what I was in the mood to do. :-P  I was too grumpy for that.  :)

Everything is ok, everything is fine*

I hope everyone had a great weekend.  Mine was moments of fun interspersed with moments of suckitude.  Meh, can't win them all.

On Friday, my work laptop took a crap and pretty much decided it didn't need to work anymore.  So, I spent the day in the IT department trying to get either a loaner computer or get set up on a desktop. However, they couldn't find my user identity anywhere on the servers (apparently I don't exist), so it took pretty much all day to finally get transferred to a loaner laptop.  Unfortunately, said laptop has weird firewall settings and I couldn't access our work servers remotely, so I had to go to the office this weekend to make up for not doing anything I needed to on Friday.

But, to make it a happier day, my friend RN came to visit (I haven't seen him in about 8 years), and it was so great to see him and catch up. We kept it low key. Just went to Iron Hill, and had some yummy food and beers.  Then we hung out a bit at home (and he helped me finally put together my guest bed).  It was really nice.

Saturday, I spent the morning in the office while RN slept, then we just kind of went around to different places.  I made him run errands to Target with me, then we checked out  Trolley Square and Newark.  I dropped him off st the train station that evening (kind of a short visit, but fun anyway).

Sunday I went back to the office and finished what I couldn't get done on Saturday.  I was kind of grumpy for multiple reasons (work and personal).  After work I stopped by J's house to see if she wanted to hang out for a bit, but no dice, so I just went home and was grumpy on my lonesome.

I made a bunch of necklaces and earrings while home (at least I am a productive grump).  I'll try and post some pictures tomorrow.

Soooo, all in all, just a pretty low key weekend.  Hopefully this week will be a little more exciting. :)

*Phantom Planet - I was listening to this song super loud today on my way home from the office trying to convince myself I wasn't really grumpy.

And the ice kept getting thinner with every word that we'd speak*

So, Austin hat and mittens?  Are no longer hat and mittens.  Sad face.  They are currently hat and mitten.  I have NO IDEA how I managed to lose one mitten ALREADY (literally, I couldn't even keep them for a week???). 

I looked all over the office, I looked in my car, I even called the bar and no dice.  There is no matching mitten to be found.  Super sad face.  But at least I still have my hat.  I have enough yarn to make another mitten.  I can't decide if I should just make a second mitten plain green (will anyone REALLY notice they are completely mismatched?). 

Oh, first world problems.  I has 'em.

Irritatingly, I have a lot going on right now, but nothing I feel comfortable writing about.  So, I'm feeling a little boring and unsure what I should be writing. 

What would everyone like me to talk about?


*Death Cab for Cutie (I think the universe is sending me a sad message.  I swear everytime I am in the car, I only hear break up songs.  I'm not even really dating anyone!)

Austin hat and mittens!

So, I love this yarn.  I NEEDED to buy it and make it into a hat.  I'm not entirely sure I did the yarn justice with this hat.  I feel like it may be a little plain, maybe needed to throw in some cables?  However, it does look a lot cuter on my head than on my desk, and maybe I'll take a picture of that some other time, but for now, this is all you get. 

I love the colors, the feel, the way the yarn is made.  It is also ridiculously warm.  

I ended up with a little bit of yarn left after making the hat.  Not really enough to make anything out of it, but it seemed so wrong to waste any of it.  So I made some mittens and used it for the cuffs.

I am not as enamored with these as I am with my hat.  But they are still pretty cute (and also very warm). 

So, I have my official souvenier from Austin.  I couldn't be happier. 

Austin!

So, Austin was so much fun!  I got there around dinner time on Friday, so, I found some cheap mexican food.

I am such a fan of Texas and the price of mexican food.  This, was some carnitas tacos and chips for $4.  SO MUCH FOOD.  And it was soooo ridiculously yummy.  Then, I went out and explored some bars downtown and I have to say, the girls in Austin still seem to be forgetting their pants everytime they leave their house.  This seems to be a very long trend for them (it's been at least a year since the last time I was there).  

Saturday, I woke up a bit late, and did a quick run (only about 2 miles), and tried to figure out what I was going to do for the day.  Then, Baracus texted me, and we decided to go to the Salt Lick for lunch (how convenient to have a friend that lives in Austin).  

I'm so lucky I don't live near this place, I swear, I'd have had a heart attack by age 25.  SO. MUCH. MEAT. 

Seriously, the ridiculous amounts of meat on this plate were just incredible. 

Then, after lunch, we were driving back to Austin, and saw some signs for the Wizard Academy.  And seriously, how can you pass the Wizard Academy and not explore???

So, we stopped, and drove up and explored, and it was not as exciting as one would think from something called the Wizard Academy.  It was some weird campus for a marketing/advertising school that also had outdoor chapels with weird druid/christian influences.  It was just bizarre.  I attempted to take some pictures, but the sun was creating a weird glare, and I only had my phone with me, so it didn't work out so well.  Boo. 

Then, Baracus dropped me off at the hotel (practically in a food coma), and I decided to go walk around South Congress Ave to try and digest.  I found a yarn store while there and the second I walked in, I saw this beautiful yarn that I was just COMPELLED to own.  Then, I walked a little further in and found SOME MORE yarn that I just NEEDED to buy and make into a hat.  It was weird.  I can honestly say, I have never felt compelled to buy yarn like that.  I usually just think it's pretty, or I think will make a fun project, but this yarn practically jumping off the shelf for me to take it home. 

So, I have a new hat (working on matching mittens right now) that I will now call my Austin hat.  I'll try and post pictures of the hat and mittens tomorrow.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE this yarn. 

Then, late that afternoon and again on Sunday, I went running around Ladybird trails (apparently there was a body found in the lake that these trails go around that day, but I was unaware of this at the time).  Here are just some random pictures taken on the trails. 

Blogger is being difficult again with the pictures.  Sorry for the obnoxious layout.  

Then, Sunday afternoon was spent at airports making my way home.  This trip was aweswome. 

Explained

So, I apparently didn't really make myself clear in my post last night due to the concerned comments/emails people have made to me.

I'm not a complete moron.  I DON'T think just because it's earlier than 9, I won't get attacked/whatever when I'm out running. 

I still take as many precautions as I can.  I go to nicer neighborhoods, I run where there are still people out and about, I don't use my headphones, I carry my phone, and I do my best to stay aware to all my surroundings and avoid dark corners, etc.

I was more trying to make a point that in the winter, it gets dark by 4:30PM, and if I wasn't able to go running in the dark, I'd be screwed.  I already have hermit tendencies, and they'd just get even worse.  So, I tell myself that 9 is my cut-off time, but I do have SOME reasoning in there. 

What's the deal with my brain? Why am I so obviously insane?*

Does anyone else have a completely ridiculous belief that you KNOW isn't true, but just believe in it anyway to make yourself feel better?

Example:

I believe that as long as I go running and get back home before 9PM, I'm perfectly safe running at any time of the day.  Ha! I know for a fact this isn't true.  I was accosted at least twice (maybe more?) in college running in broad daylight (luckily, I was a lot faster then), I know of someone that was attacked running at night, and I always manage to find the news stories about people shot, raped, kidnapped, whatever at various times of the day.

HOWEVER, I really don't get to run enough as it is for my mental sanity (and even joining a gym won't really help, because I can't run on a treadmill.  Just can't do it) and, in the winter, the only time I get to run is after work, when it's dark.  

Therefore, I've come up with the belief that as long as I can get home before 9, I'll be ok.  Completely and utterly illogical I know, but without this belief, I'd become very hermit like and would probably just never leave the house.  

So, I believe it anyway.

In case you couldn't tell, I went running today.   I managed to squeeze in 4 miles before 9PM (got home at 8:52).  I'm an idiot.  If I complain to anyone tomorrow about how sore I am, I want you to point me to this post and remind me that I'm an idiot.  I am really not up to 4 miles of running. I should be sticking with my 2-3.  Especially when it's this cold out.

*Weezer

The roof, the roof, the roof is on fire*

I mentioned in my last post that I have been feeling a bit meh lately.  I've got some personal issues with people in my life, a little stressed at work, not running/exercising enough, and just generally being a bit snarky. 

So, how do I fix this? 

First thing, I booked a trip to Austin.  I LOVE traveling.  I love EVERYTHING about it.  I love the searching for the best price on tickets.  I love the BUYING of the tickets.  I love reading about the places I'm going to be visiting.  I love deciding if I am going to have a rigid schedule, or just play it by ear (I usually jsut play it by ear). I love the packing and the arriving at the airport and the flying.  I just LOVE to travel.  Even the hassles involved are just part of the experience (um, don't get me wrong, I'm not a fan of sitting around in an airport, but it's still part of the trip, so it makes it worth it). 

Second thing.  I'm joining a gym.  It's about 15 minutes from work, so it's a little farther away from the office than I'd like (it's going to make lunch time workouts a little harder to do, but still doable).  It's also on my way home, so I will still be able to go, even if I end up working late.  I really need to run/exercise or I get VERY squirrely, and it's really hard for me to get out and run during the winter.  So gym it is!

Third thing.  I need to stop being stupid about certain things.  I have some people in my life that are not good for my well being.  I need to just toughen up and get rid of them and move on.  (Easier said than done, I know.  I really suck at being mean for my own good).  I also need to figure out how to get rid of my freaking neighbor.  SUCH A WHACK JOB.  He really is a BIG part of the annoyance in my life.  He is so freaking creepy. 

So what else do people do to de-stress?  I'm out of ideas already. 

*Bloodhound Gang

Austin!

I've been feeling kind of meh lately. 

Nothing is particularly BAD, but at the same time, nothing is particularly GOOD either. 

So, I do what always cheers me up.  I booked an improptu trip to Austin for next weekend.  Free hotel room if anyone feels like joining!