PMS and Football

I'm dragging ass today. Dragging. Ass.

I slept most of Friday and Saturday. Rest and fluids is the best thing for me to heal when I've been glutened or sugared or whatever the hell. Saturday night I felt well enough to go to MDLL's and lay around his apartment for a change of scenery. I got another 10+ hours of sleep that night too, so by Sunday I was raring to go for the Giants game. Did you hear the news?

THE MOTHER FUCKING GIANTS ARE GOING TO THE MOTHER FUCKING SUPERBOWL! AAAAIIIIEEEE!!

So awesome.

Or is it?

I was PMSing hardcore Saturday. I cleaned my entire apartment, even scrubbed the walls. I cried over the Disney movie Meet the Robinsons, which is really sweet and adorable. (The movie, not me crying.) When I got to MDLL's, he was dealing with his own male-PMS so I didn't really have the time or energy to act out mine. Man, can that kid be cranky!! The next day he was back to his loving self, so I became an insecure teenage bandgeek. (I don't know why I called myself a bandgeek, but that's what came out as I typed. It probably has something to do with watching American Pie 2 on Sunday. PETEY!) I went middle school on him: "Do you still like me? Do you think I'm cool? I still turn you on, right? Circle yes, no, maybe." Apparently, I need to be extra validated when I'm about to get my pdiddy. MDLL took my moroncy (manujaggered) in stride and made me feel better. He's a good egg.

Later on we went to Crazy Ass to watch the last half of the Ravens/Patriots game. I HATE the Patriots. Hate. It's not because they are good; it's because they are bad fucking sports. Only dickheads go for a two point conversion when the game is out of reach. Brady punting the ball himself last week against Denver was dickish bullshit, too. Just because you can, doesn't mean you should! Belichik's refusal to shake the winning coach's hand is bullshit as well. He and Brady's talent impresses me, but I'd like them more if they had some class.

Get this. When the Giants game started I actually wanted them to lose so they wouldn't face the Patriots again.

WHAT!?!?!? WHAT KIND OF FAN AM I?!?!?!

Seriously, I wanted them to lose for about ten minutes. During that time I talked it out with MDLL.

Me: I can't take this pressure. I want them to lose.

MDLL (slightly laughing at me): What? Why?

Me (near tears): The Patriots will slaughter them for ruining their perfect season!!

MDLL: Orrrr...the Giants could win again.

Me (crying): BUT, WHAT IF THEY DON'T!?!?

MDLL(smiling and hugging me): It will be okay. I promise.

A vodka soda later:

Me: What the hell is wrong with me? Why would I want the Giants to lose? I need to get to the bottom of this. I would rather them lose the Championship rather than try to win the Superbowl? What the hell? Is it because they will be heartbroken if they lose the Superbowl? So what, at least they got there! At least they tried!! Isn't not trying worse than failing?? I mean, failing is better than not trying.

MDLL (smiling, eyebrows raised): ...

Me: Look at my life! I am not scared to do anything except the things that mean the most to me, ie writing, drawing, and creating! I am so scared to be judged about the things I care the most about! But, who is judging??? WHO? I'm failing right now because I'm not trying!! At least the Giants are trying!

MDLL (drinking his beer, staring at me): ...

Me: It's my mother. My mom was so mean and judgmental when I was a kid. I wanted her to like me, but she never did! I wanted everyone to like me so I didn't try because I didn't want to be better than anyone. That's all changed now!! My mom likes me and I like her and the people in my life would love me if I was successful! And they would all love me if I tried and failed! It's like Meet the Robinsons: KEEP MOVING FORWARD!

MDLL then said lovely personal things about his life which I will not share here. More hugs and kisses.

Me: Okay, I want the Giants to win now. LET'S GO BLUE!

END SCENE.

Whine whine whine

I haven't whined in a while. Let her rip!

Stupid fucking gluten. Stupid fucking sugar. I've had a sore throat on and off all week, so I'd pop a couple of Advil and cough drops before bed to sleep through the night. On my way out the door this morning I grabbed some Halls Honey Lemon drops thinking they'd be more powerful than the Duane Reade sugarfree ones I had been using. My throat is fine now. The rest of me, not so much.

I don't know for sure, but since Halls is the only thing I ate out of the ordinary, I am blaming it for my tummy attack at work. It was the usual pattern: I poop a lot, get cold, panic, then become extremely exhausted. I went home around 1pm, slept until about 3pm, and am now blogging. I'm forcing myself to eat a lot because if I don't I'll get even weaker. I feel much better, although I'm still tired and my tummy's a little sore.

I want to cry. It's getting easier and easier to deal with this, but I still can't help getting upset. I feel stupid, embarassed, annoyed, and guilty for hurting my body. I know this is trial and error. I know it's going to take time. Look how far I've come!! I know when it hits I have to drop everything and take care of myself before I shut down.

I've been feeling great, I'm the happiest and most positive I've ever been, and life has been good. For whatever reason, I can't eat gluten and I have to watch my sugar intake. Oh no! I'm forced to eat healthy! Poor me! Ha!

I'm laughing. It was a silly mistake. Now I know better.

Interestingly enough, I ate a premade orzo dish with spinach, sundried tomato, and feta for lunch on Tuesday. I've had it before and never felt gross until this week. I thought maybe it had gone bad or something, so I forgot about it.

Today when I was looking up info on the cough drops I saw orzo is pasta. I had no idea! I thought it was rice! DUMB. So now I'm a bit confused again to what throws me over the edge. Yes, the orzo made my stomach a bit icky, but it passed relatively quickly. Why would the sugar in a cough drop knock me down if that didn't? Trial and error, people.

Oooo Pad Thai is safe! I had it Wednesday night at this really good restaurant called Topaz on 56th Street. DELISH! I'm still very addicted to the gluten free pizza at Mozzarelli's on 23rd Street, too. See, Thighs? Being GF ain't THAT bad!

This post wasn't as whiny as I thought it would be. Yay!

One year anniversary!

Yesterday was my one year anniverary at Biz. Crazy, right?

Wanna hear something crazier?

I LOVE MY JOB.

WHAT WHAT WHAT!?!

January 6th started our final practice conversion before go-live in March, so for the past couple of weeks I've been working late and on the weekends. It was awesome. I feel smarter, more productive, more invested, and HAPPY.

Last week I was walking to work when the thought crossed my mind I might actually love this gig. I stopped in my tracks and had a slight panic attack. This idea was surprising, scary, and confusing. The word "love" was stuck, the "l" caught between my chest and my throat. I forced myself to say it out loud, "I love my job."

My heart still flutters when I say it.

Here is what Professional Thighs has learned over the past 12 months. Actually 6 months, considering I was comatose the first half of 2011.

1. Be sincerely pleasant and kind

I've always had problems with my attitude at previous jobs. I hated inefficiency, stupidity, lack of vision. I hated my bosses once I figured out I was smarter or more driven than they were. I hated a lot of things and I didn't hide it.

I am now the "face of Biz" at the client office. I'm the only one from my company that is here every day. I'm sincerely pleasant to everyone, even when they are being mean and difficult. I realize now that being nice is way more efficient than having a chip on my shoulder. Being nice and kind makes others feel good about themselves and as a result, empowers them to do better. Being nice also makes ME feel good!

2. The Client is not always right.

It's hard to tell someone they are wrong. The Client is not always right, but you have to make them FEEL right or at least, not stupid. While this goes along with being pleasant, it's also a crucial communication skill I'm trying to master.

3. There's a million ways to skin a cat.

An old coworker used to drive me crazy when he said this. Now I understand that if the result is the same, who cares (most of the time)?. I used to fight for what I thought was the proper way to do something; in the end it never really mattered.

4. I love my autonomy.

While it's frustrating at times when I can't get a hold of my boss Iron, I LOVE that I am on my own now. I don't have a boss breathing down my neck, slobbering at my door, questioning my decisions. All I have to do is come here, be cool, and get my shit done. It's perfect.

5. I am a procrastinating crammer.

After 34 years, I've finally realized I am a crammer. In college I'd write papers the night before they were due. At work I can have two months to get a project done, barely touch it, then pull something out of my ass the 11th hour. I no longer stress over this because it's how I am.

6. There's no need to stress.

I realized there are two reasons why I stress over work: one, I'm not doing my job or two, someone else isn't doing their job.

If I'm not doing my job, then I need to fucking do it. End of story. If someone else isn't doing their job, there's not much I can do about it. I can talk to the person or HR, but that never seems to help. The only other options are to either get over it or leave.

Obviously I'm the leaving type. If you aren't then my advice to you is Tim Gunn's advice, "Make it work."

7. Balance is everything.

Part of the reason why I had such a shitty relationship with bosses is because I was expecting way too much from them. I was expecting them to nurture me, empower me, and encourage me to shine. Yeah, those bosses are rare.

I realize now that if my job isn't giving me what I want, then I need to find it in other areas of my life. If my job sucks my soul, then my personal life must replenish it.

Luckily, I believe Iron is one of the good bosses. She's smart, competent, constantly shows her appreciation, gave me a nice bonus, and told me I'm getting a raise next week.

I love my job AND my boss! WHO AM I!?!?!?!

Real Love?

Things with MDLL are going SUPER well. He's still waiting to hear back from his lawyer about the divorce (it's a friend who is doing it for free, so he doesn't want to be too pushy), but other than that (yes, I know it's still a big BUT) things are awesome. He is more communicative than he's ever been. He's opened up about the divorce, where he is in life, how he feels about me, and where we are headed. We go on dates, he treats me well, and he's still the best kisser in the world. Each day we hang out I find myself falling more and more in love with him. It's amazing to me how he gets funnier, sexier, and more interesting every day.

Over the weekend we reflected on the past year, specifically how all of our ups and downs affected us. We laughed about it and pinky swore not to break up again. I told him I've held back on sharing my thoughts about our future because I was afraid I'd scare him off. He said not to worry about it; he thinks about our future, too. I shared a couple of things, like how we should have a Crazy Ass table at our wedding for all of our friends from the bar. I did not tell him that I regularly update my wedding guestlist spreadsheet and have been looking at bridal gowns. Yes, I have become THAT GIRL.

Truthfully it's fun being THAT GIRL. I am excited to be with MDLL, I am excited to be in love, and I'm excited to have met someone I actually want a future with. I've always had an overactive imagination, so it's natural for me to daydream about what our home, wedding, kid (I'm thinking one boy), and life will be like. What isn't coming natural is accepting all of this.

After ten years of failed relationships, I am having a hard time believing MDLL and I are together. I, Thighs McGee, have a boyfriend. I, Thighs McGee, have met the man I want to marry. ME. THIGHS. The former commitmentphobe Jedi-slut. WHAT THE WHAT?

I do not doubt MDLL loves me, cares about me, or that we are both in it for the long haul. Actually I'm not even sure if what I'm feeling is doubt...maybe disbelief? Here is an example:

Last night we went out to dinner, then took the train home together. He invited me to his place and I declined saying it was too cold (20 degrees). I just wanted to go home, put on fleece pants, and veg. He looked sad and said, okay well I want to hang out with you, so I'll come to your place. Sweet, right?

We spent the night snuggling and watching TV. It was perfect. He's perfect. At one point he got up and time sort of stood still. I stared at him and thought, "Is this real? This isn't real. This can't be real."

I can't believe it. How the hell did *I* find love? I've been single my whole life. I can tell you how to meet guys, how to get laid (simply ask them), and how to politely break up with someone, but I have no experience with long-term serious relationships. If we move in together, where/when can I talk to myself or laugh-cry in the fetal position? What happens if the sex gets boring? Will his family like me? Will we always be attracted to each other?

The funny thing is, I now think the roller coaster ride of our relationship actually made it easier for me to digest being one. MDLL had one foot out the door for months. I'm used to guys not liking me, so it was "normal" to feel like this was temporary. Now that he's invested in me and in us, it's a bit jarring. Holy-shit-I'm-someone's-girlfriend jarring.

As fun as it is being THAT GIRL, I know I'm not ready to move in with MDLL or get married yet. He needs to get divorced (duh) and I need to adjust to no longer being a spinster. Like I wrote in an earlier post, I am SUPER excited to see what this year holds for us. I just have to remember to take it slow.

2012 Resolutions

For the first time in my life, my resolutions will not include losing weight and getting a boyfriend. Hooray!

1. Read.

I am starting this year off with Let The Great World Spin, Dark Tower Book 1, and Twilight. I also now regularly read the NYTimes online and just started buying the Sunday paper. Part of this resolution includes mastering the NYTimes crossword every week.

2. Volunteer.

I miss volunteering. I want to find something art or environment related, flexible with my work schedule, and more organized than NYCares.

3. Pay a little more each month to my debt.

I reached the halfway point of paying off my credit card debt. Have I ever said the total on Thighs? Brace yourself...$45K. FORTY-FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS. Christ. I am now down to $21K. I wish I was a bit happier about this. I've come so far AND I have a way better relationship with money. Live and learn, right?

4. Continue to make my health my number one priority.

Mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually, financially...every-ally. Eat right, exercise, floss, sing, dance, meditate, write, draw. Do everything I can to love myself and love my life.

5. Become aware

This goes along with reading, of course. I want to learn and be knowledgeable about current events, politics, and the state of the world. It's a bit overwhelming because I'm not sure where to start, but I'm glad I'm finally interested.

That's it for now...not too shabby!!

Happy New Year!

I'm so excited for 2012!! Right now I'm pumped for the crazy conversion crunch that will be the next two weeks at work and to see what this year will bring with MDLL.

I am FUCKING PSYCHED. The excitement, the positivity, the possibilities, the unknown...I can't take it!! GAH!! ANYTHING COULD HAPPEN! Anything! Sure, anything can happen any day, but I feel a lot wonderful things will happen this year. I am freaking out in a good way!

I really need to slow my roll, but I can't! I feel like the guy who saw the double rainbow...



Deep breaths...stop blogging...focus on work...

IMGOINGTOPEEMYPANTS!!