和 敬 西 洋

I'm spending more time at the gym. Not buff yet (I like food too much for muscles to show up), but I can deadlift 115, bench 65, and squat 95 on a good day (bad knees = not many good days).  So that's nice. Aiming for three-digit numbers in all of the above, and the ability to do ONE un-assisted pullup before I die. So.

Remember date-not-date guy? We're still hanging out, he's still sweet as pie, and he likes my cooking. He's getting more attractive by the day. It helps that the panic attacks have faded away to a dull discomfort.  So that's nice. I might even find the stones to try dating him again, since he's proven time and time again that he's a Really Solid Guy.  (Not to mention an incredibly supportive gym buddy twice a week - I won't be gaining 30+ pounds due to drinking and eating to excess as a means of Doing Something Together.)

Everything else... work is still a way to pay most of my bills but the wages are rather shite (for the industry - I realize I make halfway decent money, but it's STILL not enough to live on my own despite being professionally licensed and earning some measure of seniority; compared to what others in the same positions make at other brokerages, we're a good 10K less a year, or more. It's irritating, especially when the company makes other large financial decisions that are clearly Not Smart, and then whines about the bottom line being so tight.)

I'm still hovering at the upper half of the 155s on the scale (and have for the better part of a year, now), but I'm slowly changing composition, so it's a leaner look than before. Frustrating, to see a number that doesn't signify progress, but the tape measure says otherwise. And I need to realize that at my goal body composition, I will probably weigh MORE.  I quit Weight Watchers - their system punishes me for the amount of protein I need in a day to build muscle mass, and rewards bad/overprocessed food choices (yes, it's fat free and sugar free, but I can't pronounce half of the ingredients and I'm hungry half an hour later.... so I go over my Points budget constantly trying to stay satisfied. Better to have full fat, high protein, and reduce the processed carbs as much as I can in the middle of Girl Scout Cookie season. Also, BACON.)  Using My Fitness Pal instead - more customizable goals. So yay for that.

Most of my social networking has slipped from Facebook to Fitocracy.  I tend to get unrealistic expectations of how I'll look in the mirror, surrounded by So Many Beautiful People, but it's also a site that's incredibly supportive of everyone, no matter what stage of their fitness they're in. (Added bonus: the number of fit men who post shirtless pics. Eye candy, all day, every day.)  And I really have turned into a gym rat. I ADORE lifting weights. Still hate cardio, but... Love weightlifting. Love the next-day ache that tells me I did well. Also like kickboxing, since I can get all my violent urges out on the bag and still improve coordination and conditioning. Win? :)

I still stalk everyone on my feed here, though. I just haven't commented as much. . .

Anyway. That's the state of my life right now. 

So, the Soulgeek.com singles' night was a success, as far as I could tell. I mean, there weren't people instantly attracted to each other and slinking off for some steamy rendevous in the parking lot or whatever, but people seemed to genuinely get along. It's a standing event -- the second Saturday of every month in Hollywood, on Vine Street between Sunset and Hollywood Blvds. Spread the word, please! :) :) (I like that site because it's not some corporate mess like match.com or e-harmony-drink-the-punch.com, and they rely on word-of-mouth as their advertising, and yes, there's a paid member version, but you don't HAVE to have that to reply, check out profiles, do searches, etc.) I have the freebie membership, and while there are some features that look like they'd be fun, I don't feel like I can't function on the site without 'em. And hey, they had raffled prizes and stuff this last time, and [dubbed] anime fans out there will note that Crispin Freeman? OMG. I had never heard his voice and had no idea who he was, and then it was his turn to play emcee and I just about ran up to hump his leg. He has a PRETTY voice. Yessss. Also, Richard Hatch from Battlestar Galactica was there, but I've never watched the show (don't even start, I don't want to hear it) so I was kinda like "meh, he's funny but I don't care."

Ladies, we need more of you to show next time (August 8!) - it was a 1 to 4 ratio of girls to guys. Also, we need older ladies - I think I was one of a small handful of people over the age of 22 in the room. It was a little disconcerting to find my choices were limited to the middle-aged wallflower types or the much older Klingons. (And having to explain that yes, I'd finished college, and it was five years ago, now stop looking at me like I just sprouted horns and more wrinkles than a prune.)

Anyway. Good times. We took over the coffee shop, and while it wasn't hard to find, it really wasn't designed to have 30-odd people all chatting at once plus background music. Most of us were hoarse from trying to talk over each other (and thus, bought more drinks... HM I THINK THAT WAS THE PLAN). It's a coffee shop, so no alcohol, which means no drunk people and awkward drunken behavior. And as it starts at 7pm, there's parking aplenty before the rest of the Saturday night scene in the area starts swinging into full gear. :)

But it was fun and I had a genuinely good time because there weren't any weird clingy types or bad hygenic types that so often further the stereotypes (like Nice Guy at work, for example). I didn't feel trapped into conversing or cornered by anyone (one fellow followed me around like a lost puppy for part of the evening, but he also apologized for doing so, and I didn't blame him - the two friends he came with had found other companions for the evening). There's also a guy from San Diego who's keen on the SCA, so that was nice to find out.

Next time, though -- it's a jeans-and-tee event, so I can ditch the skirt efforts. The AL makeup was fun to play with, though. :)

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Went shopping today - aside from picking up some essentials (underwear without holes in the fabric and elastic that's still stretchy, for starters), I found that NY&Co was having a 50% off sale through most of their store - I wound up with $160 of stuff for about $80. AAA discount, plus the store frequent shopper card discount, and the sale? It was a NICE haul for not a lot of money. I also got almost-too-small knee-length bermudas at Old Navy for tooling around in on weekends, and three tank tops that are nicer than the beat-up ones I wear to the gym, so I now have weekend summer clothes. Good times.