You're either on it, or pissed at traffic

The bus, that is.


I have started taking the bus to work. Today is day two. I should be able to do it three days a week.

The total door to clock-in commute in the morning is two hours. Brutal? Maybe for a non-knitter who hates to read. In just three bus rides, I've finished a little over an inch of lil orange sock, three David Foster Wallace stories, and this blog post. Way better use of my time than screaming and yelling at the moron drivers on the freeway, getting to work late anyway, and being too burnt out by the time I get home to do anything but stare at dumb tv.


Plus, cranberry scone for breakfast! It's a win-win-win.

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Some days

I get tired of holding my neck so far out. No word from the remaining schools, no reply to my job application, no "you are a winner" emails. There are a lot of opportunities out there. For success and for failure.

It's the kind of day for knitting and yoga and little else.


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Thanks Haloscan and Blogger

So my "lifetime" support from Haloscan is over. And Blogger still has no way to import my old comments.

How lame.

Now all 1200+ comments from back in '04 til now are gone.

Guess it's time to reconsider my blogger blog.

...and then there were six.

The University of Iowa sent me a note on Thursday.

They respectfully requested that I not waste anyone else's time with my terrible, terrible writing and that I consider a career more in line with my apparent abilities, like maybe being a teller at the DMV.

I'm paraphrasing slightly, but nonetheless they won't be offering me an education next year.

And so now I have started wondering what I will do if they all say no. It's possible that is what will happen. And then, all the reaching for the stars will be a lovely footnote to my (brief) hiatus from the dreary and soul sucking cube-life. We hope it doesn't end that way, but it could!

I have decided to re-open my writing blog, the Transatlantic Enchilada (it's over there on the right), and will be posting there all the stuff that has "failed." Often, this is hardly a reflection on the work itself, so I think it deserves its own time in the sun (or at least in a teeny tiny corner of the blogosphere). That blog also has a tip jar. I was conflicted over this one, but it had been suggested to me a few times in the past, so I figured what the hell. If you think it obligates readers, please let me know--that's the last thing I want to do.

Still eating mostly vegan, by the way. And still slogging through what is possibly the ugliest sweater ever... but who knows? Maybe it will end up super cute! Maybe I will get into school! Maybe I will finally ditch these last lousy ten pounds... all things are possible.


(O Hai big round belly. Guess who should go running already?)

******




Fun times hiking with JFC on President's Day...

The experiment is mostly over

For a number of reasons, I'm done documenting this experiment. I will list two of them.

First, I can no longer support a diet that is so soy-dependant after seeing the effects first hand. Soy is estrogen! Use it very carefully!

Two, I will no longer help advertise (even very indirectly) a diet that my employer endorses.

I got the following stats on my recent "biometric screening" at work:

Nicotine: no
BMI: 24.7
Blood pressure: 119/70
Total Cholesterol: 182 (HDL: 55)

Looks pretty good, right? Nope. My employer considers me only slightly better than "unhealthy." Whole-ier than thou? You bet.
So screw them.

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Day...? Oh yeah, 16

It's time consuming, this eating plant-strong business.

Yesterday I made three recipes at once, about 10 or 12 lunch/dinners. A few of those I'll share with JFC. It took HOURS.

I've also begun to notice some symptoms that the internets and some of my anti-soy coworkers would have me believe are related to the shit ton of soy products I've been taking in. I'll call them hormone-related and leave it at that. It is a bit unsettling, and I'm not totally sure that I buy that tofu is really better in every way for me than lean fish or eggs.

I do believe that my body is way happier without dairy. Way! Happier!

In other news, this vine yoke pattern is weird. The I-cord at the neck seems way too small, and I have no idea how l'll get the vines un-puffed. But I will soldier on!



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Day 15 and car trouble

I'm actually up half a pound. Of course half a pizza is half a pizza with or without animals. Yesterday, JFC and I indulged in a vegan pizza from Z pizza and some cartoons.

The work on my vine yoke is going smoothly so far. The construction on this thing is so unique, it keeps me engaged.




The vegan thing is still going well. Except for the not losing weight part. But considering my two extravagant off-plan meals this week (mmm tsoynami, anyone?) it's good that I only went up half a pound.

Last night's dessert was lemon sorbet with warm blueberries... A beautiful and tasty combo.



My car headlamps both went out last night. This post was sent from the shop. I learned via wiki that the mechanism on my car that actually casts the light is called a headlamp. The beam it casts is called a headlight.

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Day 14 of vegan and a new knitalong

Still vegan! Still totally doable. Vegan breakfast tacos after Bikram yoga is a big fat slice of amazing!

I just got gauge and am about to cast in for my Vine Yoke cardi... Two days late to the knitalong, but better late than lazy!


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Day 12 of the vegan thing...

Tonight, I had the unhealthiest vegan food ever! Chili fries, deep fried samosas, mock chicken cutlets...and a "tsoynami". Green restaurant's version of a blizzard. It was all totally amazing! So effin good, I didn't miss the animals at all.






Vanilla soy ice cream w vegan chocolate cake, chocolate syrup and chocolate chips.

Thanks, Green!

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28 days of vegan: day 11.5

Today I couldn't find a restaurant that had much more than onion rings and "house salad" to offer me. So I came home and had some hazelnuts and Turkish apricots before bed.

I got a walk in. I have been feeling tired, not run down, but actually *sleepy*. I took a sublingual b-12 today to see if it might help, and it could be the placebo effect, but I felt a bit more alert.


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28 days of vegan: day 10

I forgot about day 9 in the blissed out state of a Bikram yoga class. Now I'm sore in all the right places. Plus, I was lucky enough to be accompanied by my friend Jeff, who was pretty inspiring as a first-timer.

I am still not missing any foods, this week I'm mostly living off last week's leftovers.

There will be some cheating on valentine's day, I have already decided. Not too much, but probably some fish.


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28 days of vegan: day 8

Current weight: 146
BMI: 25.5

Less than earth shattering, but a pound is a pound! This week, now that the crazy write-a-thon is over, I will be adding exercise to the mix, at least 30 minutes a day.

I am also going to be eating a lot of leftovers this week, as the grocery list was way too long last week for just me.


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28 days of vegan: day 7

Breakfast tacos: thumbs up!
Macro plate at a pita place for lunch/ dinner: awesome!
Mood: accomplished!

(I got my submission finished for the second contest entry this month. It was a marathon of writing and editing, but it's done! Between school apps and entries, I have nine of my fingers n toes crossed at this point...)

Tomorrow, I will weigh-in.

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