I always win

After a long weekend of immobilisé (and a life-long battle with emotional eating, I decided to take action: I embarked on The Dukan Diet . I began making preparations earlier this week. I sought advice from a friend who lost 50 lbs on Dukan. I purchased the book, an electronic scale, and some kit items to bring my attack & cruise phase lunches to work. After reading the first couple of chapters, I had enough information to go grocery shopping. (I'm such an assimilator .) I began the diet this morning. I'm not hungry, and I feel fine... for the most part. (I briefly daydreamed about freshly-baked bread with butter, and when a coworker announced they were going on a coffee run, I jokingly put in an order for a mixing bowl full of doughnut holes, a quart of homogenized milk, and a big spoon.) That's the problem, right there: I'm a carb & fat addict. I realized this over Christmas, when I read The End of Overeating by Dr. David Kessler. I've put in an ...

My friends and I have all freaked out about how young Taylor Lautner is (born in 1992). But as Ellen danced to C+C Music Factory's "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)" today, I realized that Lautner was born after that song came out. It charted a full year before he was born. Oh, and Madonna's "Vogue" ? Released almost two years before Lautner's birth. I decided to re-write the lyrics to "Vogue". It's how I feel this morning. what are you looking at? old, old break a hip break a hip look around, everywhere you turn it's walkers they're everywhere that you go you try everything you can to stand up and not die in the bathtub when your health fails and you long to be someone younger than you are today I know a place where you can get away it's called dementia and you get it when you're old, old feel your body break to the music hey hey hey fuckin' old let your body go with the flow you know you have De...

In a graphic display of vulnerability and weakness, I called Stephen on March 10th. In tears. I hadn't heard from him since his expressway breakup phone call , and I lost my shit . He talked me down from my emotional ledge, and we're in occasional contact now. Healthy contact. His perspective: things are parked, but not over. My perspective: I'll probably never forget that he chose career over love . I'm going out on dates with other guys, but it might be too soon. In a rare moment of clarity and focus, I decided on an action plan for returning to school (and ultimately work) — graphic design . I'm working with my Second Career counsellor to get everything in place. With any luck, I'll be starting a 28-week program at a Toronto graphic design school in July. So, despite my unemployed status, my time is taken up with research and prep work.* I'm behind in my blog reading. (Sorry.) * oh, who am I kidding? I'm still addicted to television, In...

A lot has happened in the past month. On December 2, 2008, I suddenly became jobless after my employer of 13.5 years eliminated my position. This is a good thing; I was not at all happy in my job, as indicated by several previous posts on this blog. I'm signed up for Employment Insurance , and registered in a provincial government program called Second Career . I have my first appointment with them in a couple of weeks. It's time to give my career a soft reboot . Or reinstall my career's OS . I travelled a lot in December — trips that were arranged before I got the axe. I was in San Francisco from the 6th to the 11th. I just love it there. The trip was inexpensive, because it was on frequent flyer miles and hotel points. I was in Florida over Christmas, visiting my snowbird parents. They're in central Florida, amid plentiful orange groves, cattle ranches, and surprisingly hilly terrain. The distance from the ocean was more than made up for by the enormous ou...