Tanka Challenge 4-7-09 and miscellany

Absence clears the mind
Of the bitter taste of pain -
Oh yes, I recall
Just how hard it is to sit
Through karamono lessons.

Tea lessons tonight for the first time in three weeks, and the first advanced lesson since December. Ouch. I intend to shed 10 pounds if for no other reason than to be able to sit seiza for more than ten minutes. Jeebus, my knees still ache. And karamono was just as hard as I remembered it to be. Eesh. (I also need to start typing up my notes and saving a copy somewhere handy, like Google Docs. Easier to edit than pen and paper, in some ways.)

Finally cracked my book of Windows shortcuts today and found I actually know about 80% of the contents already. Though there were a few handy bits in there worth looking at. Still. Might not have been QUITE worth the $18 or so I paid. Such is the drawback of Amazon.com - you can't open the book and flip through it to see if it's any good.

On the other hand, the 'Small Changes, Big Results' book I got has been really inspiring. I spent a ton on groceries Monday night, including little snack-sized tupperware containers, so I could package up edibles in reasonable single-portion sizes, and picked up protein-enriched bread and sugar free orange marmalade and reduced fat peanut butter, because skipping breakfast just makes me cranky or I wind up buying fatty junk from the cafe in the lobby. So. I was a good, healthy-eating-habits model child until after Tea, when I hit up Jack in the Box for some cheddar potato wedges and an (unsweetened) iced tea. But up until that point, it was whole grains and dairy and veggies and low fat everything. So I think I'm still under the 2000 calorie mark by a decent margin (the goal is 1600-1700, but no more, not much less). I DO need to get more muscle work in, which means I may just have to try some weights when I get home if I don't go to the gym. I certainly intend to go to the gym tomorrow night, though. It's been two weeks. (Again, with the once-monthly thing. Rrgh.) Also, Yoplait's light was on sale, the Thick'n'Creamy variety? That stuff is like pudding - best snack/dessert EVER. It's like I get junk food, but it's good for me. So hey. Not feeling totally deprived.

ONE cup of coffee today. Just one. Not three, not five. ONE. I deserve a fuckin' medal for that. Jeez. (And a whole 20-oz tumbler of water, which is a lot for me. I do need to work on hydration more.)

Also, the company re-org slot I have been fit into has been announced to me - I'm staying in G's group of high-maintenance drama queens, but the idea is to get me licensed and moved up a rung on the totem pole. So. There's that. It's not clerical-only, and it means I can start talking to clients. It also means I'm not moving away from G and her bullshit like I'd hoped. Mixed blessing, really. [I'll take it as a compliment - it means there is NO ONE ELSE IN THE BUILDING who can stand to work with G, or has the patience to deal with her PEBKAC tech support needs. I suspect y'all will start seeing a 'K' as a rant subject, too - she's a real piece of work. It also means that every single one of my breaks at work will be taken away from my desk, preferably out of the building. G has no respect for boundaries, and never will. I suspect I will be going to whoever is my supervisor more than once on this issue. ]
On the other hand, I still have a job, and they clearly think well enough of me to put me in a position where expectations are a little higher, so my paranoia about being a poor performer is somewhat lessened. (I think I work really hard and have a pretty damn good work ethic, compared to most in the office, but I don't know that OTHERS see it that way, because I keep to myself unless I'm on break/lunch and I'm not in the habit of listing my list of accomplishments for the day for everyone in earshot. So. I do know that I probably shouldn't hop on the 'net for my breaks as often, simply because it's going to give someone, somewhere, the wrong idea about what I'm doing and whether or not it's company time. Meh.)