bewize

I bit the bullet and signed up for Weight Watchers again. I feel like P is right - this is the time to get our lives back under control. I don't want to be the woman in the cartoon anymore. I want everything to make sense and be easy and feel like I'm doing good things with my life. I feel like I can manage this and Weight Watchers worked for me.

( Talking frankly about weight )

I went running today again. It was awesome. ( Exercise )

During the Hall of Fame Luncheon, the speakers all talked about Winners. I'm tired of not being a Winner by their definition. "Winners make commitments; Losers make excuses."

"A winner doesn't blame others for his failures, or credit luck for his successes."

( Thinky )

It's already Monday. Boo.

I shall go to sleep momentarily, but I'm still kind of geared up, so I thought I'd write a post.

Like everyone else on the internets, I think this post is my life. Especially the look of pure manic glee on the little woman's face. But no, seriously, this is me. I could have written this. Every single word.

Word.

Secondly, I did my W2D3 run of C25K today. It was awesome! After I finished the last interval, I just kept running and proved to myself that I can, indeed, run 3 minutes. So watch out W3D1 run! I'm coming for you.

( Thoughts on Running )

I went to a friend's house tonight for dinner (after I ran). I took with me a pack of hot dogs, hot dog buns, 4 ears of corn, and half a watermelon. (All stuff I'd planned to eat this past week and didn't.) Upon arrival, I sat down and did nothing while other people grilled for me. I feel that this is an excellent way to have a BBQ.

We ate dinner outside, where by 9, it had cooled down to 90*. It felt fantastic (especially after running in 95* heat.) Fireflies danced in the yard to the song made by cicadas and crickets. Honeysuckle bloomed on the back fence and for a single moment in time everything was utterly perfect. My soul felt at peace and I could hear it sigh in contentment.

I don't know what will happen in the next few months, but I do know that as long as the world has moments like that one, I still believe in my heart that everything is going to be okay.

Today's theme for 3w4dw seems to be books and reading. Also, since littleknownbooks is hosting an event awarding DW points for posts on, well, little known books, I thought I'd share five of my favorite children's books.

Some of these I've reread recently, but most I haven't. I was surprised to realize how old all of them were in relation to how old I am (they're a lot older!), so I want to be sure that I leave a caveat that - while I don't remember race!fail or any other fail in the books, I would be surprised if there wasn't some in there somewhere.

Regardless, I read these books until the pages fell apart as child and I loved them. I still think of all of them fondly to this day.

( Five of My Most Reread Children's Books )

I... really don't have anything at all to say about Computer Programming. I know nothing about it. At all.

Instead, I would like to make a tribute of things that computers have made possible for me.

1. The people: I've made some incredible friends. I know people from all continents now. I've met people who share my interests, from the mundane to the bizarre, and there is a real sense of community to be had.

2. The games: I confess it. I've discovered RPGs. And through the RPGs, I've had the chance to both meet incredible people and just have a great deal of fun. I've been playing in one game since 2002 with the same people. It has given me so many hours of fun that I suspect I've passed into months of it. (Also, the other players have become incredible friends.)

3. The fanfic: Fanfic ate my brain well before I started writing it myself. But then I started writing it myself and I've never looked back. And I've met friends who share my fandoms and encourage my writing. I've undeniably become a better writer thanks to it.

4. The knowledge: I joke all the time that Google knows everything, but you know what? Google knows everything. I honestly do not know how I used to cope without being able to look everything up online. Google knows my bank account balances and directions to anywhere and what time the movies start.

5. The work: Since becoming a freelance writer, I use the computer to do everything from research my topics to writing the actual articles to emailing them to editors. It allows me to work from home, on my sofa, in my PJs. It allows me the chance to do something I actually want to do and to even, perhaps, be good at it!

6. The social awareness: I've become a better person because of the awareness of issues that I have acquired online. I now look at movies, books, tv and politics in a very different way than I used to. I'm more critical and more discerning and generally just more aware than I used to be. This is a very good thing.

7. The recs: I love recs. I make a ton of them when it comes to fic. I make them when it comes to links to interesting articles. I definitely make them when it comes to music. And other people make them and that makes me so damn happy! I love finding new things - from comics to music to fanfic.

8. The squee!: There are days when seeing other people's happy reactions to things can forcibly drag me from a despairing funk into a good mood. I love watching people celebrate things ranging from political elections to the completion of projects to the latest episode of whatever TV show they want. Plus, there are picspams. And I love a picspam. Someone should make one of Timothy Olyphant soon!

9. The history: I've been blogging for 7 years. That's a lot of my life that is there for me to flip through whenever I want. It's interesting to me to see how I've changed and grown in the past 7 years. When I started my LJ, I was nearing the end of law school. It's been with me through 2 jobs, being laid off, starting my own firm. It's been there with me through a variety of personal relationships and a great deal of navel gazing. I like knowing that I can look back and see where I've been, because it gives me hope for where I'm going.

10. The unknown: One of my favorite things about computers is that I don't know where they'll be in ten years. A really good friend of mine, who IS a computer programmer, and I discussed this over dinner last week for about 3 hours (much to his wife's and our other friend's likely disgust). We disagreed, but with amusement, about what computers would do for us in the next 10 years. I propose that we will see the next Big Deal emerge from communities exactly like DreamWidth. It's a way for all of us to share our knowledge and our hopes and - in my opinion - we will see change come from that, both socially and scientifically.

Sometimes, I would like to be that person that finds a plastic bag floating in the air in front of a brick wall so beautiful that it takes my breath away. I can't help but think that the person who finds beauty in that scenario must be enlightened.

( I will never be that person. )

This entry was written in response to the therealljidol Topic 04: Moments of Devastating Beauty. There will (probably) be voting for this week's entries. I will make sure to link to the poll once it is put up and I would appreciate it if you would vote for me if you enjoy my entry. As always, feedback is welcome and appreciated.