The shittiest week of the year

You know how there are some days that go so wrong that by the end you mutter something to the extent of "I should've stayed in bed"?

That was what I said every day over the past week.

Frayed and broken wires meant that the Internet connection at home was nonexsistant for over a week until just a few hours ago. Either way I could have gone to NYU to use the computer labs and perhaps make a date with a friend or two. Maybe I could take C. out to lunch at the United Nations for Greek Week since part of her family is from there. Certainly Venegas would not mind if I took her out for dinner and a movie at the Film Forum. That would be quite nice.

Instead a stomach virus hit me on Tuesday and for several days the most that I moved around was between my bed and the bathroom. By the weekend I was feeling rather stir crazy and couldn't handle more time-wasting activities like organizing mail from the past 5 years or watching daily re-runs of Keeping Up Appearances. Surely sports would help aleve my slight insanity.

Wrong and wrong.

So now I have a lot of catching-up to do. I sincerely doubt that this week could be any worse.

Here's hoping for the best.

Battle of the bulge

Goodbye Gray’s? (image via this site)

When I woke up this morning I couldn’t help but ponder of the friends I hadn’t heard of in months. Yes, I should have written to them a while ago; at least a quick 100 word greeting could’ve sufficed. Perhaps today would be the day that I would reacquaint myself with those people that mean so much to me inasmuch as time has kept us apart. Yeah. I’ll do it. It’s Friday. It’s the weekend. It would be a good thing.

Within 6 hours I heard from 3 friends I had not communicated with in over a year.

There was the message from the girl I first met as an NYU undergrad nearly a decade ago while we were trying to read quietly in a lounge at the Silver Center. Nowadays she’s happily married living in Cincinnati and about to get her MBA.

The second message came from my mentor while I was a Jackie Robinson Foundation Scholar. She wanted to know if I was going to a conference next weekend in Las Vegas. Pity I have to decline.

The final e-mail correspondence came from one of my roommates of the apartment I shared with during my 10 weeks interning in Washington, DC in the summer of 2002. He had been doing well as a grad student in Connecticut though he was homesick for his native Texas. Nonetheless he was doing okay and that pleased me.

Then he said the following:

“I would like to meet with you soon. I am going to NYC on the 27^th of this month.”

Shit.

I should have been happy and delighted that he would be in New York. I mean, I had a smashing time the last time he was in the area 2 years ago. His boyfriend was very cultured and a fantastic conversationalist. I chatted for hours with his female friend from Texas on the Pixies. We laughed, complained, drank, and enjoyed our time together.

Yet since that visit I had gained a few pounds. Normally I try to keep my weight within a reasonable limit so that my health would not be adversely affected. My weight tends to fluctuate depending on my general mood and levels of stress. I never worry about my looks as related to weight or body size.

That suddenly changed after reading that he would be visiting in about 2 weeks. For quite a while I felt obsessed with losing at least 8 pounds before the 27^th. I made plans on dieting and ensuring that I would melt away my second chin. Odds are I wouldn’t have washboard abs or a lithe neck, but I wanted to look good. Doesn’t matter if I wear nice clothes or if I’m charming or enjoy listening. My body was my prime concern.

It took me a while until I figured out why I desperately wanted to shed a few pounds. Over the past two years my life has been pretty good, but I am not content with that. My time as an NYU grad student will soon come to its end, though not without several struggles and tough times. Technically I’m still working as a UN intern but I haven’t done much since last year. I have several female friends but I still await the chance to enter a relationship. My mom and brothers have supported me through thick and thin though there are times when life at home is too much to bear. I suppose I irrationally want to have a fantastic body since that would be the only thing that would be great, not just good. It’s an unusual aspect of my life to focus on and I suppose it’s the easiest thing to target over the short-term.

Now I’m feeling a bit calmer. I will try to lose a bit of weight, though 3 pounds in 2 weeks seems like a far more realistic target. Regardless of whether I do or don’t I’ll be eagerly looking forward to their visit on the 27^th and I’m sure they’ll be happy to see me whether I’m paper thin, round like a beach ball, or somewhere in between.

diet, weight

Hoping for a clean bill of health

Well, I a’m off to go see my doctor in about an hour. Though I try not to be too worried about my health I confess to feeling very nervous and uptight since I will find out the results of several procedures I took last week. (A two-and-a-half hour x-ray exam of my gastrointestinal tract and an MRI of my kidneys).

I am scared. I really am.

In the end I hope all goes well.

Update: Good news after visiting the doc. The MRI results showed that while I do have a small cyst on one of my kidneys it is not cancerous or anything that serious. The results of the GI x-rays have yet to come in though the doctor doubts anything major will turn up. Needless to say I'm relieved and much less jittery than before.

3 down, 8 to go

Enough said.

baseball, New York

Tidbits: I will never name my son “Niwre”

Taking over Thailand, one kick at a time

* Confirming the obvious.

* So much for winning the battle of hearts and minds in Iraq.

* It’s difficult to pick which documentaries I will go to view but for now I’m leaning towards “One Day In September”, “Señorita Extraviada”, and “Hillbrow Kids.”

* The second-best reason for me to keep matriculation at NYU- computer labs open at 6 in the morning! (Yes, I really am excited about this and, yes, I am pathetic).

* Yawn.

* Hey Mandi: I hear Rutgers is a great deal for the money in case you’re interested.

* I don’t care what you say but there’s nothing as heavenly as a well-mixed White Russian.

* It’s reassuring to know that the odds are in favor of the Red Bulls to clinch the final playoff spot, though knowing them they’ll find some way to mess up.

* When I’m in my mid-50s I would love to be as cool and calm as McCall from “The Equalizer.”

* Yes it is incredibly satisfying to win the first game, but things can change in an instant so one cannot be too overconfident.

* Would you believe me if I told you that I looked at the posters in order to check out the fonts? No? Dammit I’m not a good liar.

* After reading this I will refrain from making a snarky remark about getting a public school education.

* “Medibot!”

* The second Food Network bumped off Anthony Bourdain while continuing to promote the bejeezus out of Rachael Ray was the moment I abandoned that channel forever.

* Never in a million years would I have guessed that I would have something in common with Barry Goldwater besides having the same number of letters in our first and last names.

* Lastly, rest in peace R.W. Apple Jr. ; I haven’t felt this sad over a columnist’s death since Mike Royko passed away.

(By the way, here's a hint regarding the title of this post).

television, New York, baseball, politics, media