Die With a T

So I started a diet. And exersizing. All this means is that I am unbeleivably tired. And I have lost 5 pounds. Or I had lost 5 pounds as of Sunday. If can average 5 pounds a week I will be very happy indeed. The diet is very simple. Lots of salads. small amounts of pasta or breads. No chips. Diet Coke with splenda (I'm allergic to neutrasweet folks) and Propell. I have rice cakes for snacking emergencies, and I actually like them.
In addition to the reduced calorie intake, there is the exersize. I walk my mother to work each weekday. On days that I don't work I also ride my bike 10 to 14 miles (if it doesn't rain) and then walk to meet my mother and accompany her home. Wednesdays I add a walk to the Licoln Park Farmers Market. Saturdays and Sundays I don't ride ('cause that would be insane, the park is PACKED on the weekends*) but I do try to walk at least 6 miles. So an average weekday has anywhere from 3 to 9 miles of walking and then add the biking. I also do things like standing on a balance board while washing dishes or folding laundry. I should be skating more and hula hooping too. I am determined to lose the weight damnit.
No, I am not perpetually hungry. I eat several tiny meals in a day. What I am mostly is sleepy. I seem to be working off as many calories as I take in. Which is good, and so far it's working for me. That first week I lost 5 pounds. The second week is not over yet, so I can't say what I have lost. The scale is at my mothers house and weigh-ins are a once a week deal.
Since I started this I have seen a few weird things. Underwear. On the sidewalk. Only once was it ladies undies and those were obviously brand new, never been worn. The tag was still on them and they had that flat/folded look that only new undies seem to have. All the rest have been boxers. Plaid boxers. Rumpled and in a pile, as if they were removed and just tossed aside. Why is this? Why are men (assumption) taking off their boxers in really random places? In the middle of the sidewalk in an upscale residential neighborhood. Along the bike path by the lake-- NOWHERE NEAR ANY BUILDINGS! Nowhere near the waters edge either. In the middle of the park, by the zoo's farm. That last one scares me a little since all the boxers I have seen are adult sized.

* About the park on weekends: this is Chicago, a destination spot for vacation for a lot of people. The park on the lake's shore is a tourist mecca. It is also the place where everyone who lives here goes on the weekends. The paths are full of runners, walkers, skaters, and mommies. And then add the tourists who don't realize there is a protocol on the path. Stay to the right if you are not on a bike or moving fast. If you want to stop and watch something or look for something in your bag, GET OFF THE DAMN PATH! When you hear some one call out "on your left!" this means "move to your right" because someone on a bike is attempting to pass you. This is a sticky subject with me. I am of the opinion that they call it a bike path for a reason. It was designed with cyclists in mind. It was also designed so that pedestrians can use it WITHOUT GETTING IN THE WAY. There is a narrower section that is marked off for walkers to walk single file. Additionaly there are chat paths next to much of the bike path. My mountain bike can take the chat, and the grass if need be. But most of the cyclists I've seen have lightweight bikes with super-skinny tires, they can't ride on the chat- much less the grass.
The worst offenders are the mommies. With their $700+ strollers that have gigantic wheels. They walk 2 and sometimes 4 abreast, forcing everyone else off the path. Again for me this is not the worst thing. Unless we happen to be between Oak Street Beach and Fullerton. Then a veer off the path (for anyone) means either a 2 foot fall onto concrete (before North Ave.) or into the sand (after North Ave.). In some spots, that veer will land you in the water. The water being the rather cold and stinky Lake Michigan. It's not like I have particularly strong feelings about this or anything. Yes, I keep an eye out so I don't run over some kid. No, I shouldn't have to be your babysitter. Mommies should share the path, moving over for faster moving "vehicles". The rules of the road do apply to the path.
What am I saying?! I keep forgetting! These are the same women who drive their SUVs three blocks to the drugstore to pick up toothpaste!! Who think that ALL roads belong to them.

--Little Bird aims to be littler

It Hits The Fan

So this is what happens when you burn your candle at both ends AND everyone you know is going through some kind of life crisis. You get sick!! Again!! I have the same sore throat thing I had 5 months ago. And I feel generally icky. Time to slow down and take it a bit easier.
You already know about my dating diaster. A friend is going through her own right now, and still another is going through an even worse one. These two friends are very important to me, so their problems are not to be taken lightly. At least as far as I am concerned.
To add to all of this I got a call from a relative informing me that my fathers recent MRI shows that he might have brain cancer. Oh goody. I managed to get a cell number so I can reach him and not have to attempt a conversation with the woman who hates me. Besides, I can't speak very loudly right now and don't wish to be chastised for it. Because oh yes, she would. Also I'm sure she will manage to find a way to blame me if this is indeed cancer. But really, she's a lovely person. Compared to death row inmates that have had to be separated from the general population. She and I do not get along all that well.
Other than all of that the latest roller derby outting was fantastic fun! Well, most of it anyway. I bought skates and very much want to get out there and skate. I just would like to do it when it doesn't feel as if there were a golf ball lodged in my throat. Right now I just want to curl up and sleep for a week or three.


-Little Bird has crash landed