8:31p

so much time...
so i did it.
My lazy ass actually woke up at 5:30a and made it to the
gym for 30 min of cardio, an ab workout and stretching (the whole body).
I felt great this morning.
and to top it off, I even had enough time to cook myself breakfast
and eat it: yummy oatmeal with peaches.

I got to work about 15 minutes late, but
it was all worth it
since I got to commute with my bf.
Of course, he slept the whole way on BART while I put on my make up
and planned my day, but
at least he was there next to me.

work was a crazy whirlwind!
whew! I was on my feet all day from making photocopies,
getting the mail, to rushing to do some last minute shopping
for my co-worker's baby shower gift (the shower was at lunch)
and preparing for the lunch time shower.

it turned out really nice.
it was great to meet my co-worker's wife, new baby and 2-yr old daughter.
they are such a nice family.
it was also just great to be able to socialize with my co-workers like that.
it's very rare that all of us get together to just hang out.
my other co-worker and i talked about how we should do this
at least once a month just so we all can create
a little more "community" in the office.

I was sad to go back to work but I had TONS of case files
and things to do on my Outlook "tasks" list.
The rest of the afternoon was pretty much all about me
running around like a chicken with its head cut off.
wow...my poor feet sure did get a work out.
they should really allow us to wear slippers in this office!

I rode home on BART with my BF feeling super tired and sleepy.
I was planning on sleeping the rest of the way home, but
I thought I should stretch out a bit. I figured that the reason
I was feeling so tired and sleepy may partly be due to my
tight neck and back muscles.
This contributes to less oxygen going into the brain
because the tight neck muscles are constricting
blood flow to the brain (hmmm...a little lecture I always tell my clients)

The stretching helped cause afterwards
I felt a bit more awake.

like looking in the mirror
it was kind of an ironic moment.
there I was in the elevator with another woman who
also picked up the mail from the mail room.
she looked sooo miserable and unhappy.
in fact, I had seen her before and her demeanor was the same then.

she complained with passion about how she felt this week would be a long one.
she expressed how much she hated working in her current job
and how she would rather be out in the sunshine.
I distinctly remember her saying, "I hate wasting my time here..."

I smiled and told her to hang in there and wished her a good work week.
She said, "thank you", in the most hopeless tone of voice with a face so long
that it could probably reach the 1st floor of our office building.

"Wow", I thought. That was me not so long ago.
I completely empathized with that woman because I knew exactly where
she was coming from.
It's such an awful, awful place to be feeling like your life is just
wasting away in a tiny cubicle somewhere on the _nth floor of an office building,
"breathing in recycled air", as that woman told me.

I wished I could tell her that it will get better...all she needed was a different perspective.
but there was something about that that I didn't buy.
On one hand, I've been able to turn things around for the better
with my challenges.
But i often think, "is that true or am I simply falling into the hands
of conformity?"
Something tells me there is a little bit of truth in the latter.
After all, one does lose a little of one's self when they assimilate.

For now, I prefer to call myself, "flexible, open, willing to accept change".
I still think there is a lesson to be learned from all of this.
But I'm not totally blind. My third eye is constantly analyzing and being critical
of the things that go on around me.
I don't want to completely lose everything that i am by buying into
all the oppressive dimensions of the corporate sector.
I know better.

proud as a mama
as if knowing that my jr. high/high school friend is a movie director was not enough,
just think how excited I got when I heard the commercial for
his new movie, "Underworld", with the announcer saying,

"Underworld - in theaters September 19th...directed by LEN WISEMAN"

WOOO HOOOO!!!! I was jumping and screaming like crazy!
I just wanted to tell the whole freakin' world.

It's not everyday that someone you know lives out their dreams
by becoming a movie director
AND is engaged to Kate Beckinsale!

I'm so proud of Len. :)