64 hours in

Physically, I've had a slight, lingering headache the past day or so and have felt a little worn out. I don't know if the lack of energy has to do with this cleanse or with the hot and humid weather we're having. Or with the fact that our apartment is a black hole and when Stacie and I are there we can't make ourselves do anything (except watch Dexter) or gather the willpower to leave.

Tonight I'm going to a BBQ and I'm going to bring myself a veggie burger. I'm going to another BBQ on Friday and will be doing the same thing. Oh yeah, and then there is 4th of July. Apparently, I did not do a good job planning this out. Oh well. If I had waited until all of those things had passed, it would have been "Well I can't do it now because Meghann's wedding is soon" then "Well I can't do it now because my birthday is coming up" and then "Well not now because I'm leaving for Italy". I'm glad that I chose to just do it, with the help of my roommate. She has also decided to not drink while I'm on this cleanse.

The only issues I'm having so far are that I don't think I'm completely grasping this. I am eating only the things allowed, but I think I might be eating too much, as in all day long. Maybe that was just yesterday, because today has been OK. I had breakfast (2 pieces of gluten free bread with avocado on them and half of a mango) and that has held me over pretty well. I'm just now starting to get hungry, so I think I'll have a snack before the BBQ and then have my veggie burger. My biggest problem is my nighttime eating. Whenever I'm watching t.v. after work (usually 10pm or later) I get a little hungry and I start eating whatever is in the kitchen. I don't need to be eating, I could just go to bed and wait until the next morning, but usually I can't stop myself. It was the same last night, only everything I was eating followed the strict diet of the cleanse. Anyone have any advice as to how to avoid this nighttime eating? And don't suggest giving me a time to not eat after, because I've tried that and it just doesn't work with my schedule. Work puts me on strange eating habits.

Alright, that's all for now! I'm going to go have some falafel and hummus. Ciao!

Day 1

I made it one day. Actually I've made it 23 hours and 49 minutes. Yes, I was tempted by EVERYTHING IN MY KITCHEN. Yes, I was tempted by all of the crackers and chips I normally munch on at work. But, I hope that this will help me stop that bad habit I was starting. So far, I feel fine. I mean, it's only been one day, so I didn't really think I would see/feel too much difference. I am exhausted, so I will be going to bed now. Buona notte!

21 days left

I've decided to do a 21 day cleanse. My favorite blogger is doing this, and it made me feel like I should do it. I've been pretty good recently: eating fairly healthily, exercising fairly regularly and eating ice cream way too regularly. Also, I've been drinking more than enough. Last summer I went 2 months without drinking thanks to a medication I was on. I figure that 21 days will not be too hard, except for the fact that this time I'm giving up other things in addition to alcohol. Sugar, caffeine, gluten and animal products are also on the list. Even typing the list makes me doubt my decision. Am I crazy?! But, then I think about it, and remember that it is only 21 days, and it will probably make me feel awesome. So, I'm copying Heather and writing it down so that everyone who reads this (i.e. Jonathon, Stacie and Diana) can help encourage me or remind me that I'm supposed to be doing this. Also, if you see me out and about, don't offer me a drink! I might just take it.

Alarm clock

This morning I awoke from my slumber to an extremely annoying noise. I sleep with my window open, and everything that happens on the walkway between my building and the building across from my window is amplified thanks to the echo. Well, our neighbors are getting their A/C fixed and one of the guys working on it has to clear his throat every five minutes or so. The horrible thing about this is the way he clears his throat. Instead of the typical "ahem", this guy has a piercing half-clearing/half-screaming noise that he makes. I don't understand how the screaming helps his throat. It seems like it would make it light years worse. Either way, it was a horrible thing to wake up to. And it's still going on.

Kraft

Macaroni and cheese crackers seems like the weirdest idea ever.

TV shows

I like a lot of shows on tv. The usual suspects include Boston Legal, Dexter, Weeds and 24. Some new favorite shows that I have, really intrigue me. One is How It's Made, which takes every possible thing you could think of and shows you how it's made (duh). One of my favorite episodes is the one that shows how records are made. Another show that I've recently gotten into is Ice Road Truckers. It's insane. Basically, truckers have a short period of time to drive across some road in Canada. This "road" is actually just a river that has frozen enough to support the weight of their semis and whatever they're carrying. Not only do they drive up this frozen river, their trips can include crossing ice covered seas. Apparently this season, the ice road is longer and thinner than wherever last season's "Ice Road Truckers" took place.

Part of why I love this show is because they scare the hell out of you by saying things like, "This truck is carrying the heaviest load by far and will be testing the strength of the road" and "If this happens,the truck will then plummet straight into the ocean below." (Oh yeah, and if they do end up in the water, they have less than a minute before they freeze to death.) And of course, the things that the trucks are carrying are vital to, oh I don't know, THE ENTIRE WORLD.

Every little thing has to be considered when it comes to the ice: how much the truck weighs, how fast the truck is going (vibrations from the waves caused by driving to fast can cause cracks in the ice), how slow the truck is going, cracks in the ice, the fresh water from the river mixing with the salt water from the sea, etc. Every once in awhile they casually mention the temperature, and it's usually -40 or so. Did I mention that this is also a race against time? Yeah, they try to get as many loads across the ice road before the ice melts and the road disappears. Wow. That's all I can say. Wow.

Update: No Walk of Shame

Awhile ago, I wrote a blog about a walk of shame, even though I had done nothing to be shameful about. A friend (Ross) responded to my post in an email, and I liked it so much I decided to write another blog sharing his response. You should read all of the comments on that blog to get other people's bits of advice.

Anyway, a few days ago, almost a year to the date of my original post, Ross wrote me an email sharing a video with me. Apparently he thought of me when he saw this commercial. I can't imagine why. I wanted to share it with all of you. It's worth the watch. Enjoy!

Macchiato and lingerie

Monday afternoon Mom and I met to do a little bridal shower shopping for my friend Meghann, whose shower is this Saturday. I had been up pretty late the night before and was kind of dragging. (Un?)luckily, we were in an area of southern OP with lots of shopping and restaurants and therefore a Barnes and Noble which houses a Starbucks. Gross, I know, but it is caffeine, and that's what I desperately needed. I'm going to describe for you my conversation with the "barista" who was working. I don't think I even need to describe how much this frustrated me. I'm sure it will be obvious just by my responses to her.

Jennifer: Hello. My mom would like a nonfat latte, and I would like a macchiato.

Barista: OK. A nonfat latte and a caramel macchiato.

J: No. A latte and a regular macchiato. Just a double shot with some milk.

B: Do you want to try our espresso on ice?

J: Can you describe that for me?

B: It is a double shot, shaken over ice with a shot of milk.

J: That sounds pretty good.

(Barista grabs a 12 oz. cup)

J: Uh, what's that for?

B: That's for the espresso on ice.

J: But why is it such a big cup?

B: Because it's a double shot plus milk.

J: So, it's basically an iced latte?

B: No. It's shaken on ice first.

J: OK. (pause) No. (pause) That's not what I want. I just want something that comes in a small cup. A double shot with a little bit of milk on top. That's it.

B: (Barista grabs the 12 oz. cup again) So you want this with milk on top?

J: (at this point, I'm having to pause and take many deep breathes) No. Do you have any cups smaller than that? Do you have a cup just for espresso?

B: Yes, we have this. (pulls out an espresso cup.)

J: Perfect! I want that cup. I want a double shot in there, with a little bit of milk on top.

B: But is that big enough?

J: Yes. I don't want anything bigger than that.


When I go to pay, I try to use the Starbucks gift card that I was given at Christmas. I thought, perfect! I can finally use this card! I pull it out to give it to her and she says, "We don't take those cards. We're not really Starbucks, we're Barnes and Noble and we use Starbucks coffee." I started pointing to the Starbucks logo on the cup, but decided not to argue and just paid so I could get the hell out of there.

By the way, this entire conversation took so long that my mom was able to walk across the entire Barnes and Noble, go to the bathroom, walk back, and I was just then starting to pay for the drinks which took me so long to order. When mom came up to me, she asked if I wanted to sit down and enjoy the coffee, but I looked at her, said, "No. I need to get out of here." She responded with, "Oh no. What happened and what did you say?" She knows me so well. Though, I would like to point out that I was polite the entire time. Mainly just astonished that I was having such a conversation.

Cut to the next store we were in: Victoria's Secret.

I'm dragging mom around the store trying to find something for the bachelorette party. As I'm trying to explain to my mom what this present was for, a saleswoman, better yet, a salesgirl comes up to us. I'm holding what I've chosen already, am in the middle of telling mom what lingerie is for, when this girl comes up and (interrupting me) says, "Are you looking for a strapless bra?"

I was a bit confused, thinking that maybe she was talking to whomever might be on the other end of her headphone, so I said, "Are you talking to me?"

She said, "Yes."

I said, "No. I'm not. This is what I want." (holding up the piece I'd found.)

She said, "OK. Well, if you want any strapless bras they're over here, and if you want we also have these pieces over here."

Me: "Thanks, but we've already looked around and this is what I want."

I really don't like being mean, so I'm just going to be honest here. This girl was an idiot. There is no better word to describe her. I left feeling completely astonished with how stupid she seemed. I really don't think any amount of schooling would help her. She is just screwed, and I'm so thankful that I'm not her. At the end of these two experiences, I left feeling like I wasn't communicating very well, and that maybe my English was failing me. Later on that night, I went downtown where my desire for a vodka soda was immediately understood. I now think it's just southern OP that is the cause of my difficulties. That's fine with me, I don't really like it down there anyway.

Language barrier.

Every time I hang out with Stacie and Enrico (he's Italian), I am constantly stuck translating for the two of them. Not Italian to English or English to Italian, as you might think; but Stacie's English to Enrico's English and vice versus. Most of the time Enrico misinterprets something Stacie has said. When he looks confused, she repeats it in the exact same way, usually with him still not understanding what she has said. After a few rounds of this, I step in and say the same word or sentence and almost inevitably he goes, "Ahhhhh... squirrel (or whatever I repeated for Stacie)."

As I said before, the miscommunication usually comes from Enrico not understanding Stacie. Well, last night, Stacie did not understand Enrico and it was one of the funniest exchanges I've heard between them. Enrico was talking about some Italian composers/singers and at one point he said, "Giovanelli" (referring to an Italian composer from the 16th century) (and yes, I had to look that up).

Stacie looks confused for a second and said, questioningly, "Juggernaut?" And this is what I pictured. Priceless.